Emails to a Young Surfer (2)

Glad to hear things are going well out in the lineup. I think I may have surfed for the last time this summer this morning. At Scripps at least.

More crowded this morning with noticeably more Slim Shadies in the water. I was getting waves, but always leftovers, while I'd just be out of position on the best waves. I noticed that this one guy and girl were getting the best waves by waiting more patiently on the outside. So I decided for my last wave I would wait outside and try to get a good one in.

Well, after 15 minutes or so, I finally spot my wave. A sweet head-high left. I'm right there, in position, mine alone. I swing around, start to paddle, and... right in front of me -- some slack-jawed yokel on a banana yellow longboard caught on the inside. The only consolation was he didn't make it over the wave and must have got worked. I didn't see him back outside after that.

But fucking idiot, it still pisses me off. My foul temper helped me grab a few more waves that I probably wouldn't have caught if I had been in a more civil mood -- and certainly wouldn't have caught had I caught that wave in. And I finished with a pretty good right. But still nothing like that left. I felt like Sunny Garcia after a couple mojitos. (Which, curiously enough, is how I used to feel most the time I surfed -- when I was younger and at my peak.)

The funny thing is I had noticed that guy 10 minutes before that sitting about 10 yards away from me. And I thought, "that guy really doesn't look like he belongs out here. At least he's out of the way."

Of course, I should just take a deep breath and let it go. But the thing is, I probably won't get another wave like that all summer. (Especially not without that attitude.)

Ok, thanks for listening to that. The other side of surfing I was telling you about.