Who Says No Fear? Not Me

I retooled my paddle stick/brake with a shoe. Training wheels so to speak. This all started a few years back when I was surfing the Ube and a girl told me I should get a skateboard and Bomb Union. I think she told me it was called the Ube as well. So I wanna bomb Union but right now fear is winning.  I've been having trouble shaking this fear since I took that nasty spill on Island View last year (runs parallel to Union).

Street SUP

They have these land paddles for skateboarding. They cost like $150.00+.  I saw a video on how to make your own.  Big Wave's cost--$6.39.  My intention for the paddle was to go down Union. If I go too fast I can use the stick to slow down. Well after a little test run, I determined my homemade stick isn't gonna slow me down. I chickened out and did our little Old Orchard loop.

So As

Gotta thank Glenn for letting me use his SUP. This aircraft carrier is lighter than my green board. So my rolfer and my doctor have told me I have a super-duper,extremely tight psoas (pronounced so-as). What does that mean...means I need to start up yoga again. Poor Stephanie (my instructor). There's no talking in yoga. I ask her a million questions (hips forward, hips back--I don't know). Anyway, that's why I did the SUP today...it's 'spose to be a good core work out. I've tried it before with no success. Today the ocean was FLAT so I gave it a shot. After that initial wipe-out getting up, I went for 40 minutes straight without falling.

Update

Good News!!! My longboard can be fixed. Woohoo. Well we are not going to bother with the bottom, but it will be fixed and surfable. My green board now has the fin box ripped out and it is drying. I will be able to pick it up in the summer. It's drying--I told you it was water-logged.

Sad State Of Affairs

Pretty Sad. Prior to buying a new board yesterday, I had three boards and all are/were severely damaged.

Off To The Emergency Room

• My 9'4 has a crack from rail to rail and the bottom is toast as it looks like it buckled in a shore break
• My 8'11 water hog's tail is cracked, crumbled, and missing foam (being fixed)
• My 8'0 has a damaged fin box and is water-logged weighing about 100lbs

So I have 3 boards that are toast. I brought the 9'4 and 8'0 to see if they can be fixed. Keeping my fingers crossed. I think the 8'0 is repairable but don't know about the 9'4 (previously told "beyond repair"). If I get all my boards back with the addition of my new board, I will have a nice little quiver.

Quiver: A surfer's collection of boards for different kinds of waves

What Was I Thinking

Went down to NH hoping for some surf. With no surf I went to the surf shop and ended up with a new board. Bye-Bye bandage-water log....I bought a 7'6" Fish. What was I thinking?  I don't know. I've been researching and looking at Fish boards for a little bit now. Besides..My water-logged 8'0 is virtually the same as my water hog 8'11 (minus the rocker). Time to go wax this bad boy up!

Street Cred

Got a rag-tag-repaired, water-logged board (super glue & duct tape), but hey...I'm out there. Can't wait to get the waterhog back. Anyway, I was in the heart of the lineup at the Rivermouth. I have never been in the Rivermouth lineup at Ogunquit before. I've always surfed the main beach (what the locals call the ladies tee). I had to let a lot go.  I was out there with about 6-8 shortboarders at all times. I gave respect and went strictly for scraps. Coulda gone after a few real ones I guess, but I gained some street cred at OGT and gained some confidence as I got up on a bunch of crap.  No real rides 'cause I didn't go after any real waves. I can't wait to hit OGT again and hit that lineup and go after some real waves.

Phew

Big Wave's Rental

Phew for you that I didn't put my camera on the rented board. I was/am so bad....The waves were small and lousy but still. Others were working the waves. Then I had a breakthrough. I saw Ivers. He doesn't paddle, he pops up slow motion and yet he is always in control and he is one of my favorite Higgins' surfers. So I think it clicked....Slow it Down.

Wish I Had More...

But I don't. Nothing blog-worthy. I even messed up this ride. I should've cut it back down at the end. I was trying but I..(don't know). Hey who's that other kook on the wave?

My repair didn't hold up so I went and rented a board so I can surf tomorrow. I'm not sure if I will put a video mount on or not. I have to return the board. We'll see.

Cry Baby

This video is the morning surf at Ogunquit (take note Srpskis and Romanians).
Here's a recap. Yesterday morning my gopro came off my board. Yesterday afternoon my gopro came off my board and I broke my board (water hog) pretty bad. This morning I take out my indestructible green board. Guess what???? Yup, I destructed it. I've been thinking it has been water-logged lately. Well sure enough, the board is de-laminated and I can rip out the fin. The board is toast at the fin box. So, I'm gonna perform surgery with super glue and duct tape cause I gotta hit the afternoon action.

More Of The Same

Got back out on the Water Hog this afternoon. Nice waves and this is all I have to show. A glorious wipe-out. My GoPro mount came off this board too. When I got home I saw that my board was seriously damaged. The whole tail is cracked and missing foam. We caught up with Eugene and he says he can fix it. Thank God. I was so deflated and discouraged. This was my first time out with the board since it had been repaired

Backdoor Floaty

Life of a GoPro:  Lost the GoPro right out of the gate. Good thing I had the backdoor floaty. I thought for sure the thing was gone. Then I looked toward shore and saw the orange floaty. Glenn caught some nice waves this morning. I only got one legit ride (wish I had it on gopro). Anyway...

We have real deal waves today.They are pumping right now. Hopefully we'll get a nice afternoon session.

Fear Not

Big Wave, we haven't seen you for a while. Fear Not!!! Here is Friday's report. The highlighted blue is the projected wave height. The part that says 10s, 12s, etc is the period.  That is the time between waves. All is looking good for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!!!


Or you can check out the site:  http://magicseaweed.com/Higgins-Beach-Surf-Report/362/ Ken, I think you would enjoy this (navigate around).

02/14

12am

4-6ft

6ft

10s

122.71°

13.5ft

9s

4.5ft

10s

35 53 mph

Blizzard

36°f

100%

3am

5-8ft

14.5ft

9s

72.62°

5.5ft

10s

27 47 mph

Heavy Snow

34°f

100%

Fri 02/14

6am

4-7ft

6ft

10s

122.97°

5ft

11s

12ft

9s

23 37 mph

Heavy Snow

34°f

75%

9am

4-7ft

6.5ft

10s

119.3°

7.5ft

9s

6.5ft

6s

17 28 mph

Light Snow

36°f

75%

Noon

5-8ft

7.5ft

12s

153.58°

7ft

11s

4.5ft

5s

19 29 mph

Light Snow

34°f

100%

3pm

5-8ft

6.5ft

13s

115.62°

6ft

12s

4ft

5s

18 27 mph

Overcast

34°f

100%

6pm

4-7ft

5.5ft

13s

117.84°

4.5ft

12s

4ft

5s

11 16 mph

Cloudy

30°f

100%

9pm

4-6ft

4ft

13s

116°

4ft

12s

3.5ft

5s

9 11 mph

Clear

27°f

100%

The Great Mitten Debacle

Let's see if you can follow this. Let's see if I can remember everything correctly.

• About 3 or 4 days ago Glenn and I go to Higgins. On the way home we are swapping boards etc and I leave my mittens at Higgins.  I go back and can't find them.
• The next day I go to the shop to buy some. The kid tells me he found my mittens. They are in his car but he doesn't have his car with him
• Yesterday I go to get my mittens. On my way there, I am called back home due to an emergency. I don't get my mittens.
• There are waves this morning so I put on my spring gloves, but can't go out it's too cold. So I go to the store to get my mittens. The guy who has them isn't there so I buy new mittens (in between spring gloves and winter mittens).
• I surf the Ube and the kid from the shop is out. He asks if I got my mittens, I explain that I bought new ones. He told me he left my mittens at the store.
• After the session I go to pick up my mittens

Does this make sense to you. Well that's my mitten debacle.. The good news at this point is I have my winter mittens and I have my water hog back. So let me go wax that pig up!