Aloha bras!

Well, there has been some pretty good surf these past few weeks, providing good fun and pleasant memories (to be cherished until overshadowed by even better surf, in the future). I will try to give a decent report, but I am currently learning to kite board on South Padre Island, Texas, and, at this point, it is kind of all blurring together. So, I will just try to focus on some of the most memorable highlights.

On Friday, 2008-10-10, after dropping Clint off at the airport for his trip back home to Nor. Cal., I had intended to go directly to Newbreak Cafe and get some work done. However, it was such a nice day that I just had to check out the surf. When I got to the Cliffs, the surf was looking decent (even kind of big). When I got to Garbage, it was not as big as it was by the cliffs just north of there, but it still looked nice. While I did catch five nice rides, the surf died quickly after I paddled out (and was not as big as I thought it would be when observing it from the top of the cliff). So, I ended up having to ride close to the nose in order to keep most of the waves, and I got out after about an hour. It was quite satisfying.

On Saturday, 2008-10-11, I went back to Garbage. It was fairly decent sized (much bigger than on Friday). Low tide was at 1:55 PM, and I got in somewhere around noon or so, and the tide was already so low that I walked up north along the bottom of the cliffs in order to paddle almost straight out to the break that I choose to surf.

It was wild, but there were no surfers in site when I went out. Indeed, some dude who was enjoying the "beach" with some of his friends said something like, "It looks like you've got the whole place to yourself..." I was like, "Yeah; wild, huh?" Then he said something like, "It looks like there are some pretty fun rides out there."

As I was getting close to the break that I wanted to surf, I noticed a dude on a really big board paddling to the same spot from the south. When I got there, he jambed me up on a couple of waves that I had intended to ride. I remember thinking something like, "Great, it's breaking everywhere, and this dude picks the same spot as me... Ugh."

Anyway, only about four or five other surfers came out near me the whole time that I was out, and I stayed out until something like 3:30 PM or so. (I would have stayed out longer, but my shoulders just did not want to make the paddle back out, once more, after my last wave.)

It was one of those days when no matter how far out you paddled, you still were never really outside, since a bigger set would always roll in farther out than where we were. Also, those of us who paddled out the furthest were still out amongst and past many sets of fishing nets and buoys. So, I am beginning to suspect that various fishermen are starting to fish closer to shore, which is kind of bogus, since they might end up catching surfers -- not cool, to say the least.

No one seemed to know why there were hardly any surfers out on such a good day. However, some people did make the observation that Garbage is often more crowded during the week than on the weekends, and it was pretty windy most of the day.

Anyway, after the previous (big) Sunday, I was fairly cautious, and even when a big wave did break on me, I tried to stay with my board (not the wisest decision, since I ended up getting cut by one of my fins while holding onto my board with my legs when one fatty broke on me). All in all, it was a decent day, but I did not catch all that many waves, because they were not that easy to catch (save for taking off late, which had its own issues).

I took my first decent ride almost all the way to the rocks, but the paddle back out was killer. I wanted to take my last ride all the way into the rocks, but as the tide came in, the waves started dying out way before the rocks. (Garbage can be weird, that way.) So, the paddle in was also fairly significant.

On Sunday, 2008-10-12, I got up early to carpool up to Pipes with Kris. (Eva was supposed to arrange a trip to Pipes on Saturday but either did not or did not notify me.) That was my first time at Pipes, and I now understand why so many people enjoy that spot, as it has really nice waves, both in shape and variety. (Directly out from Pipes is a nice, mellow ride that is good for long boarders. To the north of Pipes, near the ramp, is a nice fast wave that attracts mostly short boarders.)

Kris seemed to know every surfer at the place, and she practiced cutbacks with her female surfer group while I tried to catch waves out from the ramp. I did catch a few enjoyable rides, but Kris and her friends caught more, and some of them really ripped.

At one point, Kris went in with one of her friends, and I also went in and walked south to Pipes. Shortly after I paddled out, a perfect wave came right to me, and people were shouting before I caught it. When I caught it, it was nice, fun, long ride. However, after that, I only caught one less enjoyable ride that did not even take me all the way (had to get in, in sections).

After coming in, I could not find Kris. At first, I started to take a nap on a chair that was on one of the picnic tables overlooking Pipes. However, I quickly realized that I was starving. So, I figured out how to break into Kris' car, changed into my clothes, and walked over to one of the restaurants in the downtown area that had some vegan fair. Kris met me there when she finally came in, and we had some fun conversation. Before that, I enjoyed the surf video that the restaurant was playing on its big screen entitled something like, "One Day in California."

On various days, after week, I met up with Eva and the gang (e.g., Tobias, Vidal, etc.) after work. It was a really pleasant way to phase out the daylight.

Clint and I went out to Tourmaline every day after work from Tuesday, 2008-10-21, through Thursday 2008-10-23, and we met up with Eva, Tobias, etc. on most (if not all) of those days. It was nice, really nice, and mellow. I really, really enjoy social aspect of surfing with friends. So, I am very thankful that Eva makes it happen. By Thursday, Clint had every component of surfing down (i.e., the pop up, wave selection, wave timing, etc.), and he just needs to bring them all together and he should be catching boo koo waves. So, I am excited to see how he does next week (starting on 2008-11-03). Tobias took some really nice shots during one of our sessions (2008-10-23).

On Friday, 2008-10-24, I dropped Clint off at the airport and decided to check out Garbage after that. It was nice. So, I paddled out (should probably have gone to a coffee shop and done some client work, but that wasn't going to happen). It was awesome. I caught lots of really nice rides and ended up coming in because my body felt worked -- nice, very nice. Anyway, the wave frequency was pretty fast, and the tide was fairly high when I came in. I decided to get in via the cove (did not even want to chance getting slammed into the face of the rock that waves kept crashing into by the stairs). So, I thought that I had timed everything correctly when a wave heaved up while I was in the cove (paddling for the exit), and it caught me and my board. I got off the board, jammed my feet into the rocks and kept myself from getting slammed up on the cliffs, but my board got slammed into the cliffs, pretty hard. (I had taken back my 9' that I had lent to Clint for the week that he was in town.) Anyway, after that, I got right back on my board, paddled back out a ways and did a better job of timing my exit the second time around.

Some of the surfers who I had talked to on the way in and who saw what happened said that they were glad to see that I was okay, which was nice. Actually, in general, I really like the friendly vibe, down here, in San Diego, much better than that crazy territorial vibe that most of us have experienced in Nor. Cal. and places like SLO.

On Saturday, 2008-10-25, I cannot recall if I paddled out at Garbage or not. Anyway, I took some photos for anyone who cares... :-) I also took photos of Tourmaline. So, I might have paddled out for a second session, there, as well...

On Sunday, 2008-10-26, the surf at Garbage was crazy big at low tide. The paddle out was long, and there were huge closeouts way far out. (Kris had told me about days like those, but this was the first time that I had observed it, myself.) Anyway, most of the waves were so big that I could not make myself make the drop. My first wave heaved up so steep while I was popping up that I feel right off my board and into the wave -- can you say, "got thrashed?"

Also, there was a strong south current, and I was not liking the waves at the break that I had selected (big and huge -- too big for me, right now). So, after a while, I let myself drift over to the main break where I thought that I would catch a wave in. When I got there, guess what? It started breaking further and further and further out. (I saw future Dave, out there, and he paddled out the farthest and caught the largest of the waves, but from some of the looks on his face, some of those waves looked borderline intimidating to him.) After a while, I stopped paddling out, since I was never going to go for one of those bad boys (way too huge). So, I paddled out to where I thought that I could catch a shoulder in. (Even the far out parts of the shoulder were huge.)

When my ride in (or so I thought) arrived, I made the turn as I was popping up (finally figured out how I am making that happen, BTW). The curl was moving so fast towards me that I started getting tubed, and the force of the water coming down on my back leg was so powerful that it torqued my knee a bit. Since I had never experienced that, before, I was not certain what to do (until after I was out of it), and I ended up turning completely out of the wave. I stopped paddling back out and caught a smaller (but still big) wave in. Unfortunately, I rode it too far in and dragged the bottom of my board across part of the reef. Ugh. So, now I have two boards to repair...

When I went to pick up on new 7'6" performance egg from the board shop on 13th Street in I.B., run by Tim, on 2008-10-29, we got to talking about various surf experiences, and I told him about my experience on 2008-10-26. He said, "Don't feel bad. We have all been there on days at Garbage when it is too big, and we just turned around and paddled back in." He also told me about some funny times when he and some of his friends returned in at No Break Beach. (He referred to it as something else, but I do not recall what, and Kris calls it by a rather foul name, which I will not repeat.) One time either he or one of his buddies was having trouble getting in, and some bystanders were going to call the life guards, and he and he buddies were begging them not to call them. It was so funny... LOL...

There were so many other decent (or better) surf days, since then that I can vaguely recall the details of them all. However, on 2008-11-04, Bo and I did a dawn patrol just before 6 AM at Coronado and saw dolphins. When I was paddling out, I only saw one and only one (dolphin) out a ways from Bo, and it had a weird looking fin. So, I was somewhat concerned that it might be something other than a dolphin. When I got out, I confirmed both with Bo and via other sightings, that it (they) was a (were) dolphin(s). Bo said that it initial freaked her out, as well.

The waves were mostly closing out, but I did manage to get on a couple and then turn right out. Bo seemed to get some much better rides. So, I guess that I was not making the best wave selection. It was such an invigorating way to start off the day.

On 2008-11-06, Clint, Bo and I did a dawn patrol at O.B. near the pier a little bit after 5:15 AM. Bo complained about not getting any rides, but she carved up a few, and she road in with some serious attitude. I had one really good ride that I maxed out, which Clint said was over head high, and I cut out of it right near Clint. Clint was having trouble practicing on the inside, since the waves were all bunching up there, and, thus, there was very little time between each inside wave. (I had previously suggested that Clint practice on the inside, so that he would have more waves to practice on.) In any case, we are going to start meeting at Tourmaline in order to let him and, perhaps, some of the other newbies get caught up. I did catch a few other rides, but the best one was definitely the one that I just described.

As I mentioned, Clint and I and a bunch of other dudes from Nor. Cal. are currently kite boarding in South Padre Island, Texas. (Actually, they are kite boarding, and I am just learning to kite board.) I can see that it is going to be difficult to choose which sport to engage in during times when conditions are good for both. However, I am very much looking forward to having kite boarding to fall back on during long summer surfing dry spells.

These are good times. Praise God for that!

BTW, Clint, Vidal, Tobias, (hopefully) Bo, (hopefully) Eva, and I are planning to do dawn patrols from Tuesday 2008-11-18 through 2008-11-20 at Tourmaline at 6 AM. We plan to meet at the bench to the right of the showers (as you face the ocean) at 5:55 AM. Feel free to join us. The more, the merrier!

Aloha,
Darwin

Awesome.

I'm going to cut Taj some slack.  If he commits 70 or 90 more priority errors, that's it, I'm changing my allegiances and putting my money on a winning horse.

It's been a while since I've seen you in the line up, Caryn.  You didn't miss much this weekend.  Stormy and jumbly on Sat. then tiny and barely surfable on Sun.  The water's turned quite cold this weekend too, still I'm out there every minute I can be.

good luck with everything!

--Max--

Hi, all!

Well, I have not felt motivated to write about all of the lame surf that has existed for almost a month, now. However, this last weekend was epic. So, I feel motivated to write, again.

Malcolm and I had engaged in numerous humorous discussions regarding the nada surf that has existed over the last few weeks (e.g., Garbage on 2008-09-16), especially after Sunday, 2008-09-28, which was so flat that I was actually kind of depressed after my morning session, and I did not even bother to paddle out for my early evening session. On that day, we talked about a good use for one of our military's aircraft carriers: Driving it, at full speed, up and down the coast (from I.B. to Oceanside and back again) so that we could at least have a decent wave every half hour or so. We both agreed that, that would be a far better use of such an aircraft carrier than any application to the current corporate war that our military is engaged in.

Also, on various days, Malcolm observed larger waves in his toilet and bathtub than in the ocean. Furthermore, on that most lame of surfing days (Sunday, 2008-09-28), I told Malcolm (who is often depressed about the surf here, in So. Cal., even on days when I and others are very happy with it) how I think that I finally understood how he fells when there is not adequate surf. To which Malcolm responded, "Now, imagine how you will feel after thirty years." (I said that I just hope that I will still be surfing in thirty years, but I understood his point.)

Anyway, I am not sure whether we helped build each other up or tore each down with such discussions, but it is nice to have someone who understands to discuss such matters with, especially in the humorous manner that Malcolm employs.

That said, last Saturday (2008-10-04) was awesome. Indeed, I dreamt of a certain wave configuration the night before, and I observed it along the cliffs on the way to Garbage on Saturday morning. (Thank goodness the shark that I dreamt of never showed up! :-)) Anyway, I remember calling Dave to tell him of the news that there were finally waves down here, to which he replied that he had caught some fifteen foot faces up north (near L.A.). Anyway, I was supposed to teach Donna how to surf that morning, but there was no way that I was going to take a beginner out in that. (Most of the waves looked well overhead in the morning, when the tide was around five feet, and low tide was not supposed to show up until around 5 PM.)

So, after eating breakfast, I paddled out at Garbage at around 1 PM or so. The paddle seemed hella long (probably because I have done almost no cardio in weeks due to having no cardio as a result of catching some sort of respiratory infection that is going round). Once I got out, I caught a nice big fattie, and going down the face of a real wave seemed almost foreign to me, since it has been so long. The ride was incredible, and I rode the wave almost all the way to the rocks. Oh my goodness it was sweet, sweet, sweet. The only down side was the paddle back out. My next ride was just as sweet, and a bonus was that there were very few surfers out on Saturday, and I am not sure why.

At first, I thought that it might have been due to the onset of winter and the big swell. (However, on Sunday, the swell was even bigger and there were enough surfers that it felt unsafe to be in the middle of the ideal line up spot.) However, it might have been due to the wind conditions earlier in the day, but by the end of the day, it was quite nice, with the sun shining and glassy conditions.

I did experience some initial localism when I got to the outside of the break that I had selected, even though I was trying (as I usually do) to be nice to everyone. I remember this one dude (who I believe was a lawyer, from his conversation with one of his friends) giving me really bad stink eye and refusing to talk to me, no matter how nice I was to him. Also, all of the other locals, save for one, seemed to follow his lead and refused to talk to me. So, I really did not let it bother me, since I was more interested in catching waves than talking, anyway. However, I do remember having to paddle further and further out as the tide got lower and lower. At one point, I realized that those of us on the outside were actually past the floats that held up fishing nets and marked fishing cages. Wow, I do not recall seeing those, before. (So, either the fishermen are fishing closer to shore, or the waves were breaking farther out than ever.)

Anyway, after one of the friendly locals started talking to me, and I mentioned to him that I live in I.B. and that, that was my favorite break and that I come there as often as I can (usually both days on the weekend), all of the stink eye, etc. seemed to die, and the rest of the locals all started talking with me, making jokes, etc. Indeed, we each starting making fun of the others whenever we messed up, and we were happy for each other when we got nice rides. (Actually, lawyer dude never really said anything to me; he was too busy bragging about his alleged surfing exploits about the world, but at least his stink eye subsided, and all of his friends completely warmed up to me.) Quite an interesting change in dynamic, 'eh?

One of the dudes, who was incredibly nice (and who also warmed up to me after learning that I come out there, all of the time), actually started to annoy people, a bit, since he had a twelve foot board that he basically did not have to paddle to catch any wave. Thus, there was no competing with him for any wave. (Although I cannot imagine wanting to have so much board out there on a day like that day.) Also, at one point, him and lawyer boy changed boards, and lawyer dude could not even seem to stand up on that big board when he caught a wave, which seemed out, since he actually just paddled that big assed board out and then popped up with no wave and just stood there, previously. Anyway, it was nice to have the warm, friendly atmosphere to go with the nice waves.

I got out of the water at around 5:30 PM, and the only reason that I got out was to attend a friend's going away party. (The poor soul, a Marine, is going to Afghanistan. Ugh.) When I got out, my shoulders felt quite worked, however. Also, on the way out, a dude who had been surfing the same break as me said something like, "It turned out to be really nice day," and I completely agreed.

BTW, Eva, one of my bras who I surfed with on Tuesday after work, said that she got her butt kicked by the waves at D Street in Encinitas on Saturday.

I missed my morning session on Sunday (2008-10-05), but I finished up with my ministry work on time to get to Garbage around 4:30 PM. When I got there, I could hardly believe my eyes. The waves were bigger than on Saturday, and they were breaking everywhere. Indeed, when I called Dave to tell him about it, I remember commenting on how difficult it looked like it would be to paddle out, since there was no real channel to paddle out in. When I got out, I was excited at the prospect of catching one of those bad boys. However, they were moving fast, and they were big. It was scary to look down the face that formed as the waves broke, and it looked like the faces were easily twelve feet plus.

Indeed, the waves were moving so fast and were so big that a late takeoff was in order. However, that meant risking getting tubed or worse. So, everyone was cautious out there, and no one seemed impolite. I was actually over confident until one set rolled in outside of what used to be the outside, and I observed that what looked like a house sized wave of water (which I could not paddle over fast enough) was about to come crashing down on me. So, I shoved my board as far away from me as I could and dived down deep. The wave caught my board and dragged me and my board under the water so fast and so deep that I felt seaweed brush along my face as the wave carried us along. When I was nearly out of breath, I followed my leash up to my board only to find that my board was pointing straight up, under the water. I believe that I asked God for help and was quickly up to the surface with my board after that only to observe another wave getting ready to break. At that point, I know that I asked God for help, and I paddled so fast that I made it over the wave before it broke on me. (I was rather certain that I had not sufficiently recovered from the previous encounter to deal with being held do for that long, again.)

In general, I remember having to continue paddling out further as the time went on, since bigger and bigger sets continued to roll through. Indeed, those of us who sat close to the outside were often well past many of the fishing nets. Actually, I considered and did not like the prospect of potentially getting dragged into one of the fishing nets by a big fattie. So, I tried to stay out of such a path, as best I could.

Also, I remember feeling really small in the ocean on that day. While the waves were so big that none of the breaks looked that far away, when a wave started to form on the outside and I paddled as fast as I could to get past it before it broke, it seemed like I hardly moved, at all, even though I was flying along the surface of the water. Indeed, when I looked back at the cliffs, I was much, much farther out than I had ever been, and waves would still roll in that would break beyond those of us who paddled out the furthest. Wow.

I decided to head in at 6:30 PM so that I could make it to church on time (which normally provided plenty of time to catch my last ride in, get out of the water, shower, etc. and get to church by 7 PM). However, this day it took me almost the full thirty minutes to get in. By the time I got in, I had only caught two nice rides, and I was happy for those, and I was even happier to be alive. Wow, what a day; it was awesome!

Shane watched the waves at the pier in O.B. on Sunday and said that they were big, there, as well. He also saw a huge Humboldt squid swimming around in the surf.

Dave said that he caught some fifteen foot faces up at Bolsa Chica on Sunday.

Furthermore, one of the bros who I went surfing with on Tuesday said that the waves were double and triple overhead at Mission Beach on Sunday.

I checked out the waves at I.B., Monday (2008-10-6), and while they looked decent before sunset, it was clear that the swell seems to have already dissipated. Hopefully, we will have more swell by next weekend.

On Tuesday after work, Clint and I went to Mission Bay to check out the wind for kite boarding. The wind was no good, so we headed over to Tourmaline Street. The wind at Tourmaline was good, but there were too many obstacles for my skill level. So, I taught Clint how to surf, and then he practiced on his own while I joined some members of the San Diego Surfing Meetup for a session down the beach. The waves were not that great, but it was nice to meet and paddle out with some new surfers. I had one really good ride, and Clint said that he was catching waves on his own and now really enjoys surfing. (We are planning to kite board during lunch and possibly paddle out after work, tomorrow...)

Well, that's my report, for now. I hope that you enjoyed it!

Take care,
Darwin

P.S. If you are married, were married or one day plan to get married, here is an awesome video for you: The Compatible Marriage. Also, I highly recommend the movie Fireproof; check it out with your current romantic interest, but bring some tissues, since you will cry...

P.P.S. Clint is organizing a ten day kite boarding trip to San Padre in November. Clint, I and several of his other friends (mostly from Nor. Cal.) are planning to go. If you would like to join us, let me know.

Ya know, I actually had a chance to drop in on the K-man.  Damn it if my better judgement didn't kick it.  I shoulda gone.

Trestle's was awesome, good weather, good consistent swell.  Taj lost it to the K-man in the last minute of the 40 minute final.  All Taj had to do was paddle into that second wave, case closed.  He just sat there.  Punching your board after the fact is not going to win you any World Titles.  Taj, if you make 10 or 12 more priority errors, you're not going to be my favourite surfer any more.

Some highlights from Trestle's '08:

John and Thomas made it down to OC.

Delicious OC tacos are still only $1.

No freight train earthquakes at night.

Film premiere of "Live" and got to meet and greet Tom Curren and Greg Noll.  Very cool.

Viewing of "Busting Down the Doors" on San Clemente beach at night.

Chatted with Mick Fanning's Mum on the shuttle.  

Saw Birds of Paradise in bloom.

Surfed Lower's with 100 of my closest surfing friends.

Witnessed some amazing surfing.

Mahalo!

--Max--

Aloha, bras!

This weekend started out pretty flat on Saturday morning but built to a nice finish by late in the day on Sunday.

Ivette and I went hunting for waves on Saturday morning. We started in Coronado, but it was basically flat. We ended up in IB, which was small (for IB) but still fun (before the churn kicked in). I actually road one wave perfectly and cut out just as the curl I was riding meet with the curl from the connecting section. So, I was happy about that, and Ivette caught one ride, also.

Late in the day, one of my Christian brothers, Johnny D, and I paddled out at Garbage. For the most part, the waves were pretty small, but some nice size singles would roll in from time to time. John caught the shoulder (going right) just perfectly on one of the bigger waves, while I was cheered him on. Unfortunately, I did not catch any good rides. We stayed out until after dark, which was kind of cool. (Kris had mentioned how cool it can be to watch the sunset while out, and she is right; it is absolutely beautiful.)

I missed out on my morning session on Sunday, but I hit South Garbage at around 5 PM, and it was finally going off (and it was not even low tide). There were some nice, big, fat sets rolling through. As I watched people ride (during various times paddling back out), it was clear that a decent number of waves were well over head high -- sweet, sweet, sweeeeet!!! However, one thing that I observed over the last couple of days is that the water at Garbage is noticeably colder than other spots. Also, even though there are far less surfers who paddle out during a big day, people just will not form any sort of line up, and dudes with really huge boards will catch a ride, kick out early and then paddle right back out to get on what should have been someone else's wave were there any sort of line up. (Hopefully, the cold winter water and big winter swell will put things in order...) All that said, it was still a really nice day, and I hope that the swell sticks around for a while (or at least comes back by next weekend).

When I got back in, some dude with a really long board asked how it was, and I was like, "Awesome, with lots of well over head high sets." He said something like, "Yeah, I can see that; I guess I am going to end up night surfing..." The only reason that I am reluctant not to night surf at Garbage is because of the rocks. Otherwise, I think that it would be really awesome, especially on a clear, moonlite night.

Have a great night!

God bless,
Darwin

Aloha, bras!

On Saturday, I did not end up paddling out until something like 1:30 PM, but it was okay, since low tide was not until 3:30 PM, and the break just north of south garbage did not start firing off until just before I arrived. By the time that I arrived, it was looking better than it had in weeks.

I took out my 8'6" (which I had just picked up from the repair shop that morning) and caught some nice, long rides. When I first got out, there was only one other dude (riding a 9'6"), and I was struggling to catch anything, since the tide was still too high (and, thus, the waves were still too weak, given the swell conditions). I mentioned to him that I was glad that I took out my 8'6" instead of my 8'0". At one point, he was paddling for one of the nicer waves that we had seen, and he yelled, "hop on," but I was like, "thanks, dude, but that's your wave." Right after that, a sweet, sweet set rolled in, and I did not have to paddle too much farther out to catch the biggest wave in the set. The dude was like, "your patience paid off." However, to catch that wave, I had to paddle until I was down the face before I could pop up; so, even though it was big, it was pretty weak.

Anyway, that dude's kind of friendliness was really, really nice to observe, and I really hope that more surfers learn to behave like he did, in which case, everyone would have a lot more fun and enjoy the sport that much more.

Of course, as the sets built, more and more surfers came out. A bunch of more aggressive long boarders came out and kept positioning themselves on the outside. Whenever anyone would paddle up to get to where they were, they would paddle out further. It was kind of ridiculous, but, unfortunately, typical. Anyway, as the day drew on and the waves got better, few people seemed to follow the rules, and many people were jumping on other peoples waves, and it was quite the opposite of the more enjoyable behavior that existed earlier in the day. Oh well, it was still fun, and I went in around 4 PM, ate and practiced flying my kite before going to a meeting at my church. At that meeting, I found out that a number of my brothers in Christ are also surfers. So, I am hopeful that we can paddle out together, from time to time.

Well, I was supposed to paddle out on Sunday morning with Kris and some of her bras, but I just could not get my butt out of bed. I did not paddle out until late, again, which was also okay, since the low tide as not until 4 PM on Sunday. I took out my 8'0" to south garbage and paddled out around 1 PM or so, again. I hit the same break (just north of the main break). When I got out, there was only a couple (some dude and his wife or girl friend). We had a really nice line up formed, with each of us taking turns (one person per wave, cycling through each of us).

Of course, as we started catching waves, others paddled out, and it became what seems to be the normal summer mess. Indeed, it was getting borderline dangerous, at times. I some nice conversations with some of the locals and met a really nice short boarder from Florida. It was dispiriting, but I had to get out before the surf had even peaked, to help out with my church's homeless ministry, and I prayed for a wave to take me all the way in and, at just the right time, it came, and I took it as far as was safe to go - wow!

On Monday morning, I taught Ivette how to surf. She arrived early, and I was still making breakfast. So, I showed her how to practice on my balance trainer while I got ready. By the time that I was ready to go, she was balancing well. She followed me up to Tourmaline, where the waves were nice but the surfers were many. So, we went up to La Jolla Shores, instead. I had her fall to determine which foot is her dominant food, and I let her use my 9'0" softy and had her practice popping up on it. She could not perform my single move pop up. So, I taught her the dreaded multi-step pop up and had her focus on getting her feet positioned correctly as soon as she got up, and I warned her not to stop on her knees but to get all the way up.

When we went out, I had told her which waves to paddle into and gave her a push. At first, she did the dreaded knee ride. When she came back out, I reminded her to get all the way up and not to just stop at her knees. She properly road the next wave that I pushed her into, and I was shouting, "Woo hoo! Yeah!" After she road three waves well that I pushed her into, I said, okay, now you practice on your own, and I grabbed my 8'0" and paddled out to catch some of the bigger waves (had intended to take some pictures but forgot to do so before we left).

There must have been a crazy strong current toward the pier, since I over by the pier in no time. (Actually, there was a nice bowl were the waves were forming consistently just before the pier, and I caught my best ride somewhere around there.) The life guards kept announcing something, and after I caught that ride, I asked on of the dudes nearby me what they were talking about, and he said that we were supposed to be on the other side of the checkered flag way down the beak. I was like, "Way down there?" He laughed and said, "Yeah." I said, "Does everyone just ignore them," (since many, many surfers were over by where we were). He said, "Yeah." So, I went in and walked down the beach.

As I was walking back, I did not see Ivette, so I looked for her. When I found her, she was still practicing. She said that she had caught one wave on her own. So, now she can surf - awesome!

After that, I went to hang out with some of my Christian brothers and sisters, and a couple of them talked about paddling out with me for my second session. However, after playing football, etc., they changed their minds. In the interrum, Kris had texted me that she was going out for a second session, and we met up at garbage. She did not like the fact that there were so many surfers, there. (She had a number of bad experiences at garbage.) So, we paddled out at the pier in O.B.

There were some fairly powerful sets that rolled through by the pier, and I made the mistake of taking one of my rides all of the wave in and struggled to get back out. Ugh. When I got back out, there were these incredible sets that would roll through and break way beyond what was previously the outside. So, I paddled out and tried to catch one of those bad boys. However, once those waves started rolling through, I guess everyone in So. Cal. decided to paddle out, since there were soon surfers everywhere, and it seemed really, really unsafe. So, I did not catch many waves after that.

After we went in, Kris showed me this place with really awesome, huge vegetarian burritos, and she told me the reason that garbage is called garbage. Usually, in a hot summer, it loads up with dead seaweed and looks like a garbage dump of dead seaweed.

That's my report, and I hope to see some of you out there, this coming weekend.

God bless,
Darwin

P.S. The Way, at His right hand, and baby got book (LOL)...