Hey Dale… Last Fri. I had a good surf…Westport beach was sunny with offshores @ 20Kt…Swell was 4’ @ 10 sec… High Tide…Fun A-frame peaks…Rode the cork hollow 2 hours sharing the peaks with a good friend… After he went in, I switched to the mat…Tide real full now…The offshores were diminished a bit because the waves were a lot closer to the beach dune, blocking some of the wind…Anyway, a beautiful sunny day, most of the other surfers are gone…So I’m out there on the mat…Since my last mat excursion, I’ve been mentally trying to find the sweet spot of the mat… I’m finding out that kicking/paddling out and around, and catching/riding waves are two different positions… To catch/ride the wave…I move forward on the mat so my thighs are on the mat…This reduces the drag of my legs when riding…But when I’m paddling/kicking around, I’m on the mat only as far as my hips…This lets my feet be in/under water allowing the fins to do their thing as designed… Anyway, I get a few nice rights and lefts, letting the wave move me as it wants…OK, It’s feeling better than other go outs… Then I go down the beach to a better peak…A few board riders still out…The Westport locals watching/toking from the dune…Still not fully sure about the mat technique, I decide I’ll stay wide of the board riders, and not embarrass myself in front of the boys on the beach…Then a nice right comes to where I’m waiting…So I slide into the wave under the lip…The mat picks a high line, the wave has some concave warbles up ahead, the mat finds the line that gets me through a few sections like that before the wave closes out…My best wave yet…Feeling good, I head back to the takeoff zone…Another right comes…Assume the takeoff/riding position…Into another one, this one a pure lined-up shoulder/wall…As soon as I’m in the wave, the lip is seemingly stationary above my head…With my right hand trailing and in the wave, I stay locked in to the pocket, my head now turned sideways and up, just digging the view of an offshore wind, a sunny lip, the blue sky, the texture of the water…Being in the moment…The time stops thing…An ECHOES flashback… Pulling out before the shorebreak, I’m stoked…I’m filled with a feeling of accomplishment …One of the board riders nods approval…The boys on the beach are for sure wondering now…I’m back at the takeoff zone, deeper than the board riders…Here is another right…A carbon copy of the previous wave…And a carbon copy ride…Stationary lip, hand in the wave, the view, length of ride…Identical…How stoked do you think I’m now!!!..This is SO COOL!!!.. Back to the takeoff zone again…Another IDENTICAL WAVE /RIDE…Twilight Zone… I’ve never had two identical waves/rides in my life, let alone THREE!!!..Did you ever see the movie Groundhog Day???.. Dale, you can probably sense that I’m really stoked with the mat…Thanks again… Paul
– “Being in the moment… the time stops thing… an ECHOES flashback…” Thats what its all about… and you`re in good company. Many thanks for sharing, Paul! A 9.4 mb/5:40 min. taster of dolphin surfing footage from George Greenough: http://www.surfingsports.com/george_greenough.asp –
Hey Paul, Are you talking about Westport WA? I’ve been weighing getting a mat for a while. It’s funny, I was just wondering about a mat versus a board for those high tide and post-high slacking tides at the jetty. Usually there just isn’t enough juice for a board. I was going to head down Sat or Sun, but with the timing of the tides I figured I’d get there just as the conditions were getting slack. With the near 5 hour round trip from Seattle, it would be nice to have something that would work in those conditions. Thanks, billa
Are you talking about Westport WA? …Yeah…>>>I’ve been weighing getting a mat for a while…Don’t wait!!!..>>>It’s funny, I was just wondering about a mat versus a board for > those high tide and post-high slacking tides at the jetty. Usually there > just isn’t enough juice for a board. …I now plan all my surfs to include mat time… Paul
Are you talking about Westport WA? …Yeah…>>>I’ve been weighing getting a mat for a while …Don’t wait!!!..>>>It’s funny, I was just wondering about a mat versus a board for those high tide and post-high slacking tides at the jetty. Usually there just isn’t enough juice for a board …I now plan all my surfs to include mat time… Paul – On the other hand, dependent upon upon your skill level, you
ll never find too much juice for one of my mats... unless the wave completely closes out or heaves an impossibly long section... if theres the slightest chance… itll pull you through and never redline. The funny thing is, youre just along for the ride. Dale
Hey Paul,>>> Are you talking about Westport WA? I’ve been weighing getting a mat for a > while. It’s funny, I was just wondering about a mat versus a board for > those high tide and post-high slacking tides at the jetty. Usually there > just isn’t enough juice for a board. I was going to head down Sat or Sun, > but with the timing of the tides I figured I’d get there just as the > conditions were getting slack. With the near 5 hour round trip from > Seattle, it would be nice to have something that would work in those > conditions. Thanks, billa Dude get a clue. You so need to move to another state before you get it locked into your thick little skull that you actually need to use an air mattress for any kind of real surfing! Go buy a wider, longer thruster. Ever see a thruster up there in the great big PNW? Today`s lesson: thrusters rip everything.
Thanks for your responses. I figure that there are all kinds of ways to ride waves, and for that matter to be in the water. I do wish I could be some place more optimal for surfing (proximity, wave quality = frequency of times surfing). I’m just glad I get the chance to do it however and whenever I can. I figure, if you are in the water, it’s all good. Now if I lived someplace warmer, I could free swim and dive on flat days… billa
Hey sceptic, You know, you are absolutely right about thrusters and the quality of surfing today exceeding the past. Nolo contendre. That’s kinda what the shortboard revolution and guys like Bertleman were all about, busting out of those limitations. On the other hand, I think that it is kinda like music. Different styles sound good at different times, and sometimes you just can’t stand a certain type no matter what. No matter how lousy it might sound to you at a given time, it is valid to someone, so ultimately, who knows. Ripping, noseriding, even mats: different sounds.
Dude get a clue. You so need to move to another state before you get it > locked into your thick little skull that you actually need to use an air > mattress for any kind of real surfing! Go buy a wider, longer thruster. > Ever see a thruster up there in the great big PNW? Today`s lesson: > thrusters rip everything. …It seems that water isn’t the only thing stagnating in Baja Oregon…
Dude get a clue. You so need to move to another state before you get it > locked into your thick little skull that you actually need to use an air > mattress for any kind of real surfing! Go buy a wider, longer thruster. > Ever see a thruster up there in the great big PNW? Today`s lesson: > thrusters rip everything. Bring your thruster down and paddle out at Mav’s. The “Boyz” need a good laugh.