Latest Surfs...

[BaNZ]

Today I was in the right spot to take the wave. I was sandwiched between two surfer. The wave was breaking right and I noticed the guy who was deeper gave up paddling. I went for it and did a bottom turn but I realized I'm not going to make the next section as I saw the surfer on my right dropped in. So what I did was punch through the wave. I had so much speed that me and the board flew up in the air. My face took the full force of the lip of the wave and that was pretty painful. Although I did not finish the ride, it just feels so good knowing that I made it back out and me and the board did get some air time. Just felt so alive.

[BaNZ]

Today the wave was a little choppy and over the place. Once in awhile nice sets rolls in. I decided to add the side bites on since I see all the other longboards are using 2+1. I went to point break spot where I'm the only one on a longboard. As this is the spot that has the smallest wave and looks like it breaks nicely. First 10 minutes I caught two waves and both had a very steep bottom turn that the nose was probably inches away from going under. It was really risky because this is the spot that I injured myself last year. Although I made the drop, I was very close to not making it out.

Later on a big set came in and I paddled as hard as I could to try and get out. But it made it much worse because I was right in the impact zone. I dunno what to do because there's boil underneath me and I don't know how shallow it is. I tried to do turtle roll but needless to say I flew back with the board. When I resurface, I looked behind me and all the other surfers are gone, they are swept away by the white wash. All that was going through my head was praying that I don't hit the reef. I could not control where I'm going and I'm just being thrown like a rag doll by the white water.

Eventually I caught one of the bigger wave I've had for awhile and ride it all the way inside.

Bonus was that I think I'm finally accepted as a local? When another surfer was asking me if I'm with the homeless group of surfers as they always see me at this break.

[jaffa1949]

In quiet lull and you are sitting in the break zone dive off your board and go down and see exactly how deep it really is! Waves normally break in 1.3 times depth of their height . The bottom is deeper than you realise!

[BaNZ]

In quiet lull and you are sitting in the break zone dive off your board and go down and see exactly how deep it really is! Waves normally break in 1.3 times depth of their height . The bottom is deeper than you realise!

I have sea phobia. I do not want to know what is down there Last time I saw a Manta ray at Rincon, my heart rate shot up to 180bpm.

Today the size was bigger and I surfed at low tide. I'm sitting on top of the boils and it keeps throwing up sand. I sat away from the other surfers because I know I will have to bail the board when overhead sets comes in. I learnt that I can just bail the board and dive into the wave. This seems to be much safer than doing a turtle roll and getting swept all the way inside with the board. When I bail and dive towards the wave, the board seems to follow through and I can pull it out the wave rather than it dangling and flying around when I do my turtle roll. Although I don't know how long my brand new leash will last if I keep doing that.

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah that seems to work good for me but I try to avoid it if anyone is around because they’ll freak out. However I don’t get swept down towards the ocean when I attempt other stuff

[jaffa1949]

Ah, BaNZ, i really feel for you, thinking yourself into a phobia state, sitting on the surface, wondering about all the lurking unseens below.
Whether you are going to hit the bottom, .
Part of my work was cognitive behavioural therapy, and clearing people from issues like yours.
Sadly it needs to be hands on work with me being present to guide you through.
a couple of things you can do, pick a clear sunny day with little or no surf, wander along the shore line look at the water and what you can see in it and through to the shallow bottom, think how much you enjoy the riding waves, remember a particularly good ride you had!
Watch that ride like a movie in your head!
Is the rider ( you)thinking about anything other than the ride and responding to only the wave?
Watch the movie in your head a number. of times, that is what is keeping you surfing! If you had a full phobia, it would keep you out of the water entirely and would without logic
You have a level of fear and concern, that is evident but that can be overcome!
Next step , next time we we go knee deep along the shoreline, the area where you transition from the sand into the water, do the walk along the shore that deep observe, again this needs to be on a calm day, but you already cross this zone one your way out to the surf!.

Watch the movie of yourself again and add another good wave!
Tell us your journey, others will benefit!

[BaNZ]

Today was warm and sunny. First time in awhile that I've seen so many women at my local break. It looks like they all knew each other. There was two other older men in longboard with me and they were hogging all the waves. They were able to catch the waves but from their stance I could tell they were not great surfer. It was a little crowded and they were telling people not to get on their waves. They had many close calls as they were really wobbly doing their turns.

I sat right at the shoulder because there is a shallow reef where normally the surfers who take off at the main peak usually cannot make pass that section. It's a little tricky spot for a longboard as it becomes steep very fast. Although it was clean glassy waves, the sets were slow rolling in. I decided to share my wave with the other ladies and they were super stoked. They came and chat with me and thanked me for sharing the wave. I did manage to score some really awesome overhead waves. Initially I was a little worried but I kept telling myself that Jaffa said 1.3 times the depth so I should be safe even when I can see the reef.

[BaNZ]

On Sunday I had a surf session at SanO. Clean waves and sunny. It was really crowded initially. While I was scouting far out ahead for incoming waves. I'm pretty sure I saw a fin or something surfaced. It spooked me a little as it's not the usual dorsal fins from a dolphin. I kept looking around me but no one said anything. It was mid tide so I was thinking the sharks can't really be that close to the shore.

Few minutes later the lady next to me screamed. She got spooked by the sea lion! It was hunting for fish. Then I saw it jumped up the air with a massive salmon in his mouth? Probably 12-15 inch long! It was less than 5 feet away. I wasn't really scared as I realized it's just hunting for food! Felt really awesome but at the same time the water around me was smelly. My guess is it's the smell of the sea lion or the fish.

[BaNZ]

Went to SanO. It's been awhile since I last surf a swell that was overhead. It was rough, windy when I arrived and wave was generally not that great. Not many people were catching waves and it walls up fast and breaks in multiple places. I've been to this break when the conditions was like this last year and I could not catch that many waves. The issue was that the peak was overhead and the shoulder was 3-4 feet. The drop was hard because you have to in the right spot and it's not steep enough to paddle in from the shoulder.

Long story short, I was surprised because I was catching every wave that came at me. That was the moment where I knew my training paid off from last few weeks of surfing. Even though it was small, I kept pushing myself to go out and surf. Today should've been a bad day due to the poor conditions, but because the other surfers were not able to catch the waves. I was catching most of them and I had some really nice long rides.

[ddszcevermore5556]

"Wow, this photo captures the true essence of the surfing lifestyle! The vibrant blue waves, the surfer riding the wave with such grace and confidence – it's absolutely mesmerizing. Surfing is not just a sport, it's a way of life, a thrilling dance with the ocean's power and beauty.

I can almost feel the adrenaline rush and the saltwater mist on my face just by looking at this picture. It's incredible how surfers manage to harness the raw energy of the waves and turn it into an exhilarating experience. The feeling of catching that perfect wave must be pure bliss.

[oldmansurfer]

It's my 70th birthday today so as a present to myself I went surfing. I went to the middle of the bay which was head high to 1.5 times head high and stormy but there were ridable waves coming in. The first wave I paddled for I could see it was going to break on me so I stopped and sat up on my board and the wave broke over the top of me so no big deal paddled back out. Did this two more times. The second wave I paddled for I almost didn't go for it because it was too big for the first wave after not surfing for over a year (since my wife had stroke) but then I decided I was in the right place and it looked like it would be slow breaking so I took off at a slight angle and had enough time to pop up but not enough confidence to do much of a bottom turn and ended up just behind the break getting battered by the whitewater for the whole wave and managed to stay on. Moral victory but it was the only wave I caught. I paddled for at least 5 waves and tried to popup too soon. I think because I was timid due to not surfing for a while and didn't want a steep drop which is what I normally really enjoy and I quit paddling too soon. Hey but I feel good and I got my dose of vitamin sea so really happy for now. Of note I caught a whitewater to come in which I rarely do and when I reached the shore I was knocked down by a wave which is also a rare occurrence. I was walking in and heard the wave breaking behind me so I held the board above the wave and it smacked me but missed the board and swept my legs out from under me but I held on to the board so once it let up I simply turned the board to the side and stood up and continued walking in. Normally I would walk rapidly when the wave hit me and stay on my feet but out of practice. It was a good experience overall to me. Happy to be in the ocean again.

[surf patrol]

Happy Birthday oldmansurfer!

[jaffa1949]

Happy Birthday OMS plenty of board wax in that many candle

[oldmansurfer]

I went out surfing again today. When I arrived at the beach there was a small shorebreak that appeared to be the best wave but wile I was watching I noticed a guy who was at outside Horners so I waited to see if any waves came in there but no waves came in there. However middle Horners had a few waves there so I paddled out there which is abut a 50 yard paddle. I was unable to catch any waves there so I paddled to the original break I wanted to surf which was 150 yards or so away and was unable to catch any waves there. Wave count zero but I got some time in the ocean and that is always good. I told my wife I would be gone about an hour and a half so I figured I needed to be back by 1 hour 15 minutes or she will start stressing out. It takes 5 minutes to get to the beach and 5 minutes back and another 5 minutes to get ready at the beach and 5 minutes to get ready to leave so 30 minutes in the water or a little more. But I always feel better after surfing

[BaNZ]

Wow latest surf update in 2023?!

Today I surf SanO in preparation to meet a long time friend and a fellow forum member. I remember looking at the cam and from the shore thinking there are too many kooks with all the waves missed.

I paddled out and caught a wave immediately. I did not go all the way out because I wanted to catch as many wave as possible in the limited of time I had. I caught a couple and I was really gassed out. The sets keep coming in and I see my watch beeping as my heart rate was over 180. I realized this is too much for me and my paddle stamina is not the same as a year ago so I need to get further out.

I eventually paddled out to the furthest lineup. I sat for around 30 mins because I don't have enough confidence that I won't mess up. Eventually I'm like this is it, it's now or never as I gotta go pickup the kids. A big set came in and was chest to overhead. I know it won't break on top of me based on observing the previous waves.

I popped up, look to my left and see the other surfer go other way so I went right. Probably one of the highlight of my surfing life. I was not expecting the wave to be that good and I think I was able to utilize the whole face. My watch showed over a minute of ride time. When I got home I check the recorded session. I thought I was close to the pocket but I was like 20 feet away. Overall it's a great session and my other hobbies have definitely improved my ability to move around the wave. I wouldn't say if I did cutback correctly or do top turn because what I think I do is usually very different to what I actually did.

[jaffa1949]

Self assessment, comes down to what I think I do differs from what I actually did!
One of the greatest ego shocks is a clear video of your personal surfing. It is like the first time you hear your recorded voice!!!
Great you are back in the water, your skills are there, short time sessions increase fitness……… have a health check!
All good.