Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Slippery slope...

Me, tomorrow, minus the flowing blond hair.

So, you imagine yourself as something. Father. Husband. Teacher. Surfer. More specifically, a Surfer who prefers a specific style of board, wave, wind, water, coast, crowd. Confession. This mat riding thing is going a little haywire.

Tomorrow, for the first time in two years, I have the opportunity to ride any wave I want in the middle of the day. That means small crowds. That means I'll probably head to one of the area's usually overcrowded quality reef/point waves. Question: what do I throw in the car tomorrow morning?

Wetsuit. Wax. Mat! Fish. Fins.

It used to be I mind surfed my favorite surfboards across swell lines. More and more I find myself imagining the fall line of a mat on a yet unbroken peak, rolling towards it's cascading climax. To be sure, my last several sessions have taken the form of most in the past- Surfboard for an hour and change, Mat for a bit, bodysurf a few, boogie if the barrels and blackball are cooperating. A bit schizophrenic, I know. But more and more the slow leak of ugly, black bag, prone and projectile-like stoke has been dripping into my surfing thoughts. Not a bad thing. Just a thing.

5 comments:

pranaglider said...

it's starting to sound mind expanding ...

Anonymous said...

If they aren't already, people will soon begin to wonder about the silly ear-to-ear grin you wear for no apparent reason.

Just tell them you're infected, or infested... attempting to explain the sublime nuances of mat surfing will only make things worse.

Take care

Anonymous said...

Was that you at the swamp this afternoon Mr. ASmithy?

borntoloser said...

It was me. Some keepers but a lot of, um, learning moments. On the ones I lined up I got some good fast sections. Were you in the water or on the shore?

Anonymous said...

Both. The crew knew you were there. They know everything, see everything. I thought I saw you on a left and by the time I got out and rode one to amble over I saw you on your way in. Waves were good and got real fun.

We should get together for a surf. I don't have your email. Try me at
kendogm@hotmail.com