Walking On Water

I set my alarm clock 15 minutes earlier so I can get in for the sunrises earlier. It's worth it! Weather is changing a bit with showers slated to fall over the next couple days. Another south is forecast to come ashore today while the wind swell slackens. The waves have been disappointing here in town. While the buoy is putting up good numbers it's just not translating into good waves. Surf is small and inconsistent. Therefore the swell is not angled efficiently for our little niche on the continent.

No matter...SUP to the rescue. SUP surfers always have focus, are always engaged and always have something to do, even if it's just to stand there and balance! Once again I paddled over from the pier...ten minutes to Sarge's, and another five to GW's. Surfed there for an hour and a half and caught quite a few really, really small, really small and small waves. I caught waves I never would have bothered with on a longboard because they would have been too small. But on a SUP they're really fun! Met Richard who was on a 10'8" Angulo and like me just learning how to surf the board.

The pelicans and cormorants were massing again this morning and I was able to get a pic of them for posting that still does not do justice to the total amount of birds present. Between the two species there were two to four hundred birds in the water today.

Paddling back to the pier the tide was higher and I was getting some interesting backwash off 3 Palm Point and Apartment Point. Makes paddling all the more interesting.

I bought a C4 paddle grip online which they agreed to ship USPS for about half the price their website quoted. Thanks to Kellie at C4Waterman for working with me on this. I figure the grip will be good for two functions. 1) Visibility should I lose my paddle which I know will happen one of these days...especially in bigger surf. 2) The Kialoa carbon fiber paddle shaft can get pretty slippery when it and my hands are wet. The grip pad should allow me to get and keep my grip where I want it without slipping off and losing a stroke or two. This can be fairly critical when catching waves, or when trying to get back outside fast before being caught inside.

Today was my third day in a row on the SUP and I'm feeling stronger and less sore. If I were to do this on a lie down surfboard my back and neck would be hurting big time. So far SUPing is an incredible core workout that is actually good for my back. I hope it stays that way.