check your wax... / chip's a kook .....

General Discussion
1

Well , I’m dry and warm and laughing [now] , consoling myself with two coffeee flavoured kitkats , 3 hot donuts , and two moccha coffees .

Ran back from the shops , excited by a nice looking swell and winds .

Grabbed the board , got changed , ran down the beach …in the water by ten minutes…

BUT…

paddled for the first wave , late drop , back foot , uh oh … do the splits !!

paddled back out . A nice left pops up …woohooo!! I 'm in position , jump to my feet , pull in …boogie drops in [deja vu] …straighten out .

Ten minute lull .

Everyone staring at me , as I notice I am literally the ONLY person with a coloured board , a coloured wettie , and a hood on . [Shit , eh ? … who cares!]

Okay , here comes a set . I’m outside , spin , paddle , two people closer to shore decide to also paddle for it .

I spring to my feet …[ I wish !]

… Left hand slips on slippery wax job on left rail , chin hits the deck , just as I thread my way between the guy trying to drop in BEHIND / INSIDE me , and his girlfriend on the shoulder . Get to the bottom of the wave [ still lying on my guts !], and try to stand up , just as a booger paddles up the face laughing at me . [“karma” ??]

Well , the very next lull , I paddle away from ‘the pack’ , figuring I have made enough of an arse [ass] of myself .

A wave finally appears , a nice right with a wall on it . I take off sideways , keep going sideways , get hit by the lip , and drilled headfirst into a nicely shallow sandbar. [ I knew there was a reason I wear a hood ! ]

After the rinse cycle , my board pops up next to me , bottom up , and I notice that both the wood keels [that I so enjoyed two days ago] had been ripped clean out of the plugs . Caught in some seaweed , no doubt , because after a five minute pounding in the impact zone looking for them …nowhere to be seen !

“Well , I guess it’s time to go home now , then …”

ever had one of those surfs ?

ben

I hope this cheered someone up , anyway …

and , as the title of this says …

2

You should have waited on the shore for them to float up…go back down there now and find them…

3

like I said …

"Caught in some seaweed , no doubt , because after a five minute pounding in the impact zone looking for them …nowhere to be seen !

“Well , I guess it’s time to go home now , then …” "

[also, you know what they say about returning to the scene of the crime … ]

ben

4

Now that’s a sad story Chip, don’t worry cause I’ve had that kind of a surf too. Fortunately they’re few and far between! At least you still got out there and caught a few waves, you always have to look for the positive in situations like that. I can defenitely relate to having your wooden fins break off too, did I tell you about my reinforcing idea for wooden fins with FCS tabs?

5

metal inserts ? …was that you ?

mine were solid epoxy …they remained in the plugs …the plugs remained in the board …coulda been a lot worse [like , 6 plugs to replace !!]

ben

…I’ll be on it early tomorrow , with three big thruster fins on the prawn !! [maybe those carbon fibres I made !] …or else , the good old reliable single fin in the finbox …

6

Buzz as a widowmaker 2 weeks ago, the perspex fin just wabbled and wabbled and wouldn’t let me down the face, I made an arse of myself and was frezzing in my coloured wettie (80s). I wen’t in grabbed the web but didn’t take to many waves as i had no legrope and it was crowded big and cold. caught one good wave and had to go in…

yep i should have been riding the single fin that day… actually later on i went up the coast a little and had a magicall surf with just Dad and I out on the single fin…

7

Man, I’ve had worse surfs than that. How many times have you paddled (tried to)out on a big cold winter day and never made it to the line-up? Ice cream headaches and the zipper of my suit ripped down with ice cold Pacific down the back. Caught no waves. Just an cold ass whuppin. Or, you do finally make it outside(you think) and a clean up set gives you a spanking all the way back in. Pretty humbling.Mike

8

Ben, this misfortune was sent to you by God in order to test you: “Will he have the nerve to make even more fins out of whatever material he can find in the back of Hicksy’s garage and what’s more, to POST EVEN MORE PHOTOS OF THEM ON SWAYLOCK’S?”

9

One winter down PI. Went to Flynns, even though I hate it, and saw some good left sets further down at the farm, no-one out.

Ran back to the car, wettied up in the freezing wetsuit, ran down the beach and paddled out.

Sat freezing for forty five minutes waiting for a wave…NOT ONE WAVE!!!

Lesson learned…chose your tides wisely.

10

Ben, If you’re having a day like that, (who hasn’t ?) the number 1 rule is:

When you see you’re going to fall, arch your back and make it look good.

Doug

11

Starting like that, I always change something. If I’m going to kook out, I know right away. But anything can break the spell. If I had booties on (usually the culprit for me kooking it), I’ll take 'em off. Or ditch the hat. Or put on a leash. Or re-wax the smear under my chest…

Its just random bad juju. Break the spell & you’re golden.

12

Yes Chip, that was a great story, I laughed so hard when I read that. Not at you, but because I thought those kind of days only happen to me. That makes me feel good knowing that I’m not alone and juju is out there happening to everyone. Bennie’s right, you do anything to break the spell. What works for me is I just sit on the side, let a couple of waves go by, reset my harmony with the water, waves and myself and go for it hard. The broke fins that was juju at its worst, todays a new day, chaaarrrrge iiittt !!!

Poe Rava

13

“Its just random bad juju. Break the spell & you’re golden.”

True, last week I had my 10’ on the roof of my car for several days. (I hadn’t noticed that the wax had melted into a shiny film on the deck.) Pulled up to my fav spot, threw my wettie on and paddled out. Took off on the first wave and did a beautiful cheerleader style splits. Nearly popped a n… 2nd wave was no better. Smooth takeoff, bottom turn and both feet slipped off the board. Performed an A1 faceplant on that one! After that I rode the whitewater in on my belly. Ran to the car grabbed a fresh bar of wax, bumped up the deck and had a great session afterwards.

All you’ve got to do is break the spell. ;D

14
Quote:

Ben, this misfortune was sent to you by God in order to test you: “Will he have the nerve to make even more fins out of whatever material he can find in the back of Hicksy’s garage and what’s more, to POST EVEN MORE PHOTOS OF THEM ON SWAYLOCK’S?”

at the moment , it’s had the opposite effect .

think I’ll stick to making a skateboard deck [or two]…

ben

15
Quote:

Yes Chip, that was a great story, I laughed so hard when I read that. Not at you, but because I thought those kind of days only happen to me. That makes me feel good knowing that I’m not alone and juju is out there happening to everyone. … The broke fins that was juju at its worst, todays a new day, chaaarrrrge iiittt !!!

Poe Rava

thanks Ralph …

that was a bit of light at the tunnel’s end …

okay , I’m out there now , on the fin setup I know and love …the prawn , as a single fin ! [taking down spares , just in case ]

ben

16

yea the the only time i ever had a twin slide out on me was when i was on my uncle’s board and then two waves later i came in one fin was missing. Darren, sorry you single is taking so long i am really very sorry and my extreme underestimation of time.

17

Well , I’m pleased to report …

I got three good waves on the prawn this morning [as a singley] , then the swell died !!

…go the early !! …

18

I had a Bad Experience recently. I was at galveston surfing katrina w/ friends… while paddling out, I was talking w/ on of my friends. while I was talking, a wave crept up on me and not the clean kind either. it was fast moving and steep. It lifted up the nose of my board and flung me into a backflip. I had to go through the “rinse cycle” fakie (backwards and upside down) I must have gulped a gallon of nasty water and for those who are unfamiliar w/ galveston, it is very shallow w/ shells, so the rinse cycle had me slamming into the bottom over and over. all good though because I caught like 4 good waves after that.

Also, REPORT on my board… that was the first time I got to try out my new board. its a little too narrow (unstable) and has a tendency to hook left. I had a feeling (which later proved true) that one of the fins was towed in too much. (I suck w/ a tape measure) O well, next board (when I can get to my tools… still in New Orleans in my dorm room) will be single fin longboard, so wont have that problem. for pics of the board in question, look up my previous post “First Board FINALLY done… pics”

19

Ben you lucky bastard…

Whenever I have one of those surfs, within the next couple I find I have an all-time day.

Let us know what happens in the next little while, I bet you have a memorable one.

Mark.

20
Quote:

Well , I’m pleased to report …

I got three good waves on the prawn this morning [as a singley] , then the swell died !!

…go the early !! …

Early and Singley go hand in hand!!!

Prawn as a singley, i was going to tell you so…