SUN 1/7/2024:

Sunrise was beautiful, surf was meh, being on the water & starting the day OtB (on the beach) — AMAZING. Waves were soft, mostly sand breaks that were closing out. Caught a few & got to ride a face R for a few seconds before it closed out which was fun. Seems like no matter what the conditions are when I take my board out, almost always catch at least one fun wave. 

It’s been 2 years, 2 months, and 10 days since I purchased my first surf board on 10/28/2021 — 12 days after my 50th birthday — and started surfing regularly. I started w/ a used 9’ foamie (aka – the Beast) for about 6 months and then was advised to try an 8’ fun board (that I named ‘Beauty’) as a stepping stone to a proper board. I adjusted to my 8′ board pretty easy and rode it for about 5 months before falling in love with Cinderella, my 10’ board, and buying her, my first ‘proper’ board, in Sept 2022 as an early bday pressie to myself. I was up to 3 boards in less than a year!

Catching small waves & getting up on a 10’ board was pretty easy but managing a 10’ x 24”+ after riding an 8’ x 22” was a lot – not to mention hauling it back & forth from the beach in the back of my truck to a 3rd floor condo (at least there’s an elevator that I can squeeze onto w/ the board kitty corner from the back top of the elevator to the front lower corner, if the board was 1-2” longer, I don’t think it would fit!). Cinderella was lovely but she pretty much handed my arse to me for a couple months and it took awhile to learn to ‘dance’ with her on the waves. 

About 6 months in I was feeling pretty good about riding my 10’ board and in less than a year, in July 2023, I started to turn — taking off L and then coming around to the R. Something that seemed nearly impossible just a few months before. Then in September this year, I decided to try a ‘shorter’ board and found a 7’6” x 21 3/4 x 2 15/16 – 51L — board #4 for my quiver and I’m still getting use to the feel of surfing ‘on air’ when the swell gets over 3-4’ or if it’s pretty windy and I decide to take it out and leave Cinderella home. 

I was hoping to take board #4 (haven’t named my element board yet, maybe ‘heiress’ – a play on the ‘airy’ ride I experience when riding this shorter, lighter board that doesn’t have the ‘smooth as butter’ feel that Cinderella has as she glides along) out tomorrow a.m. but not sure what the waves and wind will be like with the severe weather forecasted . . . we may have to at least check it out . . . always an adventure awaiting.  

Sweet dreams w/ shaka vibes.

xo