October 20, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:20 am to 10:45 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid out-going tide	Offshore breeze
Bright sunshine, clouds on the horizon	Frustrating session

I tried an experiment this morning: I used my son’s 8’ 0” Becker surfboard. Since I ripped the fiberglass off the bottom of my favorite 9’ 2” Haut (see October 1 entry), I’m in the market for a new board. There are three boards that I’m interested in: another Haut like the one I recently destroyed, a Becker 9’ 0” Mike Gee model and an Al Merrick (Channel Islands Surfboards) waterhog model.

My Haut was 9’2”, three inches thick, thin rails, tri-fin with lots of rocker. I used it for seven years and patched twelve holes in the bottom. I loved it.

The Becker 9’ 0” Mike Gee model is a beautiful board. The bulk of the board is a little in front of the mid-point, narrow in the rear and a rounded tail. $610 price is a bargain. Problem is Becker’s shop is in Hermosa Beach. Do I drive down there, purchase the board and drive back? Or do I order it online and have them ship it to me via DHL for an extra $100?

The Proof Lab surf shop in Mill Valley carries the Al Merrick waterhog model, another beautiful board. It’s a cut-down longboard that also has the bulk of the board in front of mid-point, pulled back in the rear and a rounded tail. The waterhog label implies the owners catch waves so easily they will hog all of them. Models are available from 7’ 0” to 8’ 11”. Proof Lab just got a new shipment in and the longest waterhog they have is 8’ 6”, and longer models have to be special ordered and take three months to deliver.

I’m tempted to purchase the 8’ 6” waterhog, but it’s a shorter board than what I am used to. Kevin thinks I can handle it, and so does the sales guy at Proof Lab. Thus my experiment, if I can handle riding Kevin’s 8’ 0” Becker, which is a Mike Gee model, then the 8’ 6” waterhog would not be problem. So I threw the Becker into my car this morning.

When I pulled up at Bolinas, Mary and Doug were in the water. Mary and one other person were at the Patch. Clean lines came through but without any force behind them. I watched Mary catch a couple of mushy slow ones.

Doug was out by himself at the Groin riding small slow waves. Marty arrived. He’s nursing a knee injury but came out to see us and to check out the waves. We watched Doug for several minutes. Finally a good set of four foot waves came through. Doug caught a good long curl and that did it for me, I was going out.

When I entered the water, Professor Steve and Jim had joined Doug. I jumped on this smaller board and immediately felt the difference. The board sank under water and paddling out was almost impossible. I couldn’t gain any speed. The usual “glide” just wasn’t there. Fortunately with the tide going out, I could walk out to the waves, which I did. The waves were well formed, left peeling lines. My first wave was ok. I managed to ride some curl before the waved closed out. I missed the next three waves. “I have to wait until the wave is breaking,” I kept reminding myself. Then I pearled, and on the following one I slipped off. On another I barely pushed myself into a wave and by the time I stood up the wave had broken twenty feet in front of me. Jim caught a long right wave, Doug got a few good lefts and Professor Steve connected with a beautiful four-footer, the wave of the day. I caught nothing.

Finally I got a good one, a small well-shaped two footer. I jumped up as soon as I felt the wave take up the board, the swell was in front of me, the small board allowed me to quickly position myself in the middle of the curl to gain some speed. My next wave was even better, a shoulder high fast peeling curl. Again I took off late and jumped up quickly. The board hung at the top of the curl, I took a half step, pushed my weight forward and shot down a beautiful section. Yes, that’s how it is done. Take off late and for an instance the board hangs at the top. If you can jump up at that moment you will be into a good wave. If not, you drop to the bottom of the wave, momentum dies and the ride is over. I found it difficult to get into that groove. I tried and tried but did not catch another good wave.

What a beautiful day, sunny, bright, stiff offshore breeze, blue-green lines of swells and me on a board that is too small. After an hour and a half my arms were spent and I gave it up.

Result of my experiment: at age 63 one does not downsize. I’ll stick with a 9’ 0” or longer board.