Longboarding

I've been debating which surfboard to take to Rincon tomorrow. The forecast for the Sharing the Stoke Invitational as grim as last year's, when I decided not to make the long drive.

Lisa, SDSL's President, says "bring a longboard." Since I sold Magic and Emm, my longest board is Rocket, a 6'2" custom Ward Coffey that I'm loathe to use because it feels like going backward. My 5'4" shortboard is out of the question. Yesterday on little waves was a trial run for my 5'4" fish, and I didn't ride a lot of waves. Since the goal of the unusual competition is to get as many of your team sharing waves as possible, it seems I should bring my "longboard." My buddy Steve also suggested to me that longboarding is a great confidence rebuilder.

I took my "longboard" for a spin at Tourmaline on a breezy afternoon. The choppy waves were waist high and the crowd expectedly light. I forgot the longer nose on my first takeoff and pearled, hanging onto the board and cartwheeling as the wave pitched. But I compensated on the second wave and got the feel of the board again. It's much more stable and forgiving than my 5'4"s, and also slower to turn. And it's a relative wave-catching machine. Although conditions were poor+, I rode a lot of waves in an hour and left smiling. Yes, Rocket is going to Rincon!

Beach art