Fun Waves and Free Wax

The San Diego Surf Ladies Wednesday Wahines met up at Tourmaline early this morning so I had no excuse not to join them, although I thought the high tide might swamp out the surf too much for even my fish. Happily there was enough swell left to keep lots of fun waves rolling in anyway. The Point was head-high but oh-so-far away.

While the rest of the group suited up, I hit the water with Ashley and Eva, who were on longboards like most everyone else. They paddled farther toward the Point than my back would allow, so I found a nearly-empty peak just in front of the cliff and caught a wave immediately. Yay Nemo! The waves on that peak were rarely chest-high, but plentiful. My best ride was a bigger right with a shoulder that held up for some of that swish-swish Nemo does so well. Stoked!

As I walked up the beach, a blue-jacketed woman with an iPad and a clipboard intercepted me to ask if I'd participate in a Surfer Health Study. Their brochure explains:

State, local and federal regulatory agencies are interested in determining if there are any links between marine water exposure during the winter, infectious illness, and beach water quality. They are also interested in finding ways to more quickly and accurately determine if there is a health risk to
beachgoers due to pathogens in the water... This will be the
first prospective study to measure the health risks (if any) associated with surfing on the California coast.

I think we all know there are health risks from surfing, especially after rain, so I was happy to answer her questions about my surfing habits and recent health. She gave me a bar of wax for my trouble, and said I'll be entered in a prize drawing if I complete the rest of the weekly surveys online. If you're interested in participating in this worthwhile study, find one of the blue jackets at Tourmaline or Ocean Beach (chosen because they're popular and have storm water discharge into the surf zone), or go here: http://sccwrp.org/shs. Now we just need some rain.