Thanksgiving.... to cook or surf, that is the question!

When I asked what to bring to Thanksgiving Dinner she said, "just bring beer." Being quite handy in the kitchen this is a hard task for me to comprehend. Beer is easy, right? Go to convenience store and buy beer, preferably cold, and bring to family gathering. I like to cook and holidays that involve cooking whether it's a 4th of July Cookout or baking Christmas cookies are my favorite (make fun of me if you like) so when my sister told me to "just bring beer," I was not having it.

On Thanksgiving morning I started my insubordination by beginning to cook a banana nut bread. It is 11 a.m. and the meeting time at my sister's house is 1 p.m. My cell phone beeps with a text message and it's Dees telling me how great the surf is at New Smyrna Beach Inlet. It says, "Wind offshore, clean long period sets head high bring blue board." The blue board is my 9'0" Walden performance longboard that's great for sectiony powerful waves. It's fast and turns quickly.

Now I have a decision to make. There's not enough time to bake some bread and go surfing.

For about .5 seconds I'm really torn so I think hard and then make a decision. . . GO SURFING!

The roommate recently bought a longboard on Criag's list where the seller threw in a 5'10" twin fin fish. The Fish is totally sick. It's very retro, super wide and 3" thick. I've been eyeing that board since Day 1 wondering if I can ride it being 6'6" tall. I mean, seriously, this board is so small that when I paddle it my head is at the nose and my knees are at the tail. It might as well be a hard bodyboard!

Well, when the roommate heard I was going surfing he wanted in too and since his new longboard is getting some glass work done he grabbed the Fish. Now the roommate is learning to surf (I let him borrow one of my wetsuits) and I've already had him out on a classic-super-fun-glassy-small day with a lot of friends in the line up so he's hooked now that he knows how fun surfing can be. However, as we get on the beach the wind has shifted to a side shore wind causing semi-choppy conditions. The waves are good on the outside break, but the inside is a small washing machine with a south-pulling current.

Dees is waiting for us as I pull up and ready for his second session. I'm stoked to get some waves to ride. The Roommate looks anxious and makes a comment about how hard it's going to be to paddle out on the Fish and it would be easier on a longboard. In my book that's a loaded statement. Yes, I'll paddle out a longboard any day in most conditions, but I don't think it's always easier to get a longboard to the outside in some conditions without having a lot of experience points on your side, which the Roommate is seriously lacking. I tell the Roommate to give the Fish a try and we'll keep an eye on him. If he's struggling he can simply give us the Team America secret signal and I'll bring him my longboard. We can switch and I'll paddle the fish out and we can switch back once we're all on the outside.

We start our paddle out and I find myself sitting in the slew watching the roommate struggle to get through the first break. Dees waits as well, but is a little further out. After a few minutes the roommate is completely exhausted looking. It's not the Team America super secret signal, but the delusional look upon his face is enough for me. I paddle over and ask how it's going. He just gives me a look and with no words, I toss him my leash and board and we switch in the slew between sets. He starts paddling out the longboard and I let him go. It's my first time laying on the fish in the water. It's surprisingly buoyant, but definitely NOT a longboard. I start to paddle and it feels more like swimming.

It's not long before I pass the roommate. I wasn't trying hard or meaning to belittle him, but I hear him yell out in an exhausted tone something like, "how are you paddling that faster than me!?!" I look back and try and explain that he needs to dig deeper in his strokes and not thrash the surface of the water so much and for God's sake pace himself. I duck dive the fish under three waves, paddle past the fourth wave, sit up and turn around. The roommate is a good hundred feet away drifting quickly south and taking wave after wave on the head. I've instructed him how to turtle roll and how to duck dive, but today I don't think he's accomplishing neither.

By the way, as thick as the fish is, it still duck dives very easily. It wasn't long before I found myself sitting next to Dees on the outside watching the Roommate doing the walk of shame up the beach back to the Jeep. He never made it out and he's completely defeated and exhausted. Hey, it's happened to all surfers and I feel for him, but now I'm way out here and my longboard is up on the beach. I guess I'll just have to see if it's possible for a 6'6" guy to ride a 5'10" fish!

Dees takes a wave and as he's paddling back out I spy a wave coming my way. It's peaking up perfectly. If I was on a longboard I'd paddle past it, but guessing that this fish is going to be a late takeoff board I wait for it and at the last second turn into it paddle three times and it takes me! I hear Dees screaming encouragement in the background as I pop up. Both feet land on the board right where they should be, but I'm so high up on the lip I free fall a couple feet before hitting the bottom of the wave. The first thing I notice is how fast this board is and its ability to turn on a dime. The bottom turn is a little slow, but once I'm up on the wave face it goes! It goes so fast I shoot way out far down the line and attempt a fade away, but it turns so fast I fly off the board from the shift of momentum.

Several years ago I attempted to ride a 6'2" thruster. I failed big time and could never get my footing right on that board. Now I'm riding a fish that is 4-inches shorter and I'm nailing it! Nothing.... NOTHING makes you feel better than concrete proof that you're improving in your sport no matter what it may be. I get in about a dozen more decent rides before it's time for that Thanksgiving feast and I can honestly say I ripped it up on a fish! Twice I did have trouble with my back foot initially landing on the fish tail section of the board and slipping off, but once I corrected for that it was not a problem. I just may be in the market for a fish as my next board. Or maybe something like a Rusty Dwart... maybe 5'11" or 6'0" ???

Here is the famous fish next to my 9'0" Walden epoxy performance longboard to give it some scale.


In all fairness to longboarding, I did not feel like the Fish compared to the same awesome feeling I get from trimming up a longboard down a perfect line, or ripping up the lip with a monster board. But, what really got me was the challenge. Can I ride this board? Yes, and it was fun. It kind of felt like a skateboard, but in the right conditions I think it would be sick. I can already tell this little fish will ride smaller waves than my 6'8" shortboard.

And don't worry about the Roommate. He'll get it. He's got the addiction. I can see it in his eyes. Now all he needs is time and experience and perhaps a little stronger paddling arms.

Riding that fish really made my Thanksgiving. Of course seeing family and friends was awesome too, but what better way to go to a family gathering than already being stoked about a fun surf session?

So in the end I just brought some beer.

Behold! ...New Shoes!

Asics Gel GT-2150

Picked these babies up at Spikes Athletic Footwear a few days ago to replace my well worn GT-2140s. I tried on the new Asics Kayanos, but they felt almost the same as the GT-2150s and for the price difference I just don't see the value.


These will be the shoes I wear for the Disney Marathon on Jan. 10th.


Perhaps influenced by Spike... I felt it necessary to introduce my old Ascics to their new Ascics replacement. Although I have NOT given them names yet. However, I am considering "Disney" for the new ones and "Achilles" for the old ones.


Nancy at Spikes was kind enough to throw in a free pair of Kayano II low cut Asics running socks even though I passed on buying the more expensive Kayano shoes for the GT-2150s. They are left and right foot socks. I've never owned socks designed specifically for left and right feet. I will post a review as soon as I get a chance to test them out a few times.


I know I've been AWOL the past week and even missed my Thursday Stoke, but I promise I have good reason and will have lots to write about this week as I get back into the swing of things!

Tour de Florida Football Recap

327 miles driven
1 trumpet dropped on concrete
1 camera dropped on concrete
3 orange and blue glazed donuts consumed
2 football games in 2 days
2 tailgates in 2 days
1 Waldo sighting

Favorite Weekend Quotes:
"You suck... back up!"
"Gator Band Good!"
"What F*ck The?" (WFT not WTF)
"Squeeze hit!"
"Are you ready band, Hell yeah!"
"I want to set her purse on fire."

What a great weekend? I'm soooooo tired and at the same time feeling the need for some exercise. I ate way too much junk and drank enough to almost be worthy of living in Gainesville again. This weekend was the Gator Band Alumni Game. The University of Florida Gators (who are number 1 in the polls by the way) played Florida International University (a sacrificial lamb of sorts). The final score isn't important. We'll just say they could have had the Gator cheerleaders in playing toward the end of the game. The important part was the fun times. I got to see dozens of old friends, some of whom I had not seen in a decade since our old glory days as band geeks. This was the first year I've attended Alumni Band for the entire weekend and not just the game. Yes, they actually have a practice, a business meeting and a cookout, not to mention marching across the field at halftime with the real band to park and play a few songs. I lucked out and got a spot on the 50-yard-line only three rows back. Trumpets always get a kick butt spot on the field. I figured out a way to clip my Go Pro Camera in my music lyre on my trumpet for some interesting wide-angle shots. On Sunday I said farewell to my friends and Gainesville (ahhhh... what a great town) and drove up to Jacksonville for football day two! I rendezvous with some other friends to tailgate and attend the Jacksonville Jaguars game against the Buffalo Bills. Jags won with a game winning touchdown with 56-seconds remaining. Here's a few photos to recap the good times!

Let the tailgating begin!

One of my contributions to the Alumni Band tailgating... a recipe I found on Vancity Allie's blog. See it here under "The Most Absolutely Delicious and Moist Banana Bread Recipe."
It really is the most absolutely delicious banana bread and I'm totally making it again for Thanksgiving!

TEBOW! Need I say more?!?

Go Band!

Daniel and I before halftime. Two old trumpet friends!

"Gator Band Good!" lol... you'd have to be a band geek to get it. Can you spot me?

Can you spot Waldo? Where's Waldo?

Jags game!

It was a fun weekend, but like I said, I'm seriously feeling the need for some exercise. My Achilles tendon is still prohibiting me from running, but I'm going to try some long bike rides this week, perhaps some surfing and yoga. Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!

The Thursday Stoke!

Welcome to my 69th Post.... hell yeah, what's better to be stoked about than seeing 69 Posts on your dashboard! LOL....

Seriously though, I'm completely stoked about this weekend. I am calling it the Florida State Tour de Football by TallGuySurfing! Tomorrow afternoon I'm off to Gainesville to meet up with my University of Florida Pride of the Sunshine Marching Band Alumni band geek friends! Whew... yeah that's right. TallGuySurfing was a band geek once upon a time. As a matter of fact, I was a kickass trumpet player band geek! This is the annual band alumni weekend where we all get together, pretend we can still play our horns and march across the field during halftime slightly intoxicated from tailgating. While it's not the same as the old days of real marching, it's still fun and great to see a lot of old friends.

So Friday night I'll be making appearances in Gainesville. Saturday morning we'll be tailgating outside the MUB (College of Music, next to the famous bell tower) . Saturday afternoon it's Gator football time. Saturday night will likely be more Gainesville shenanigans or I'll head back to New Smyrna Beach to catch the finish of the Ragnar Race. Sunday morning I'm off to Jacksonville. A different set of friends twisted my arm and talked me into coming with them to the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills NFL football game. I haven't been to one football game this season and I'm going to knock off a college game (the number 1 team in the country I might add) and a NFL team in the same weekend. This should be ram jam fun packed craziness! So stoked!

Here's a shout out of good luck to the Redhead and also my friend Rolling Hooters (of the Daytona Beach Hash House Harriers) in the Ragnar Race. Both of them are crazy off their rockers and are going to run an all day all night relay across the entire state of Florida. Good luck gals!

My 1st Surf Contest: FAIL.... kinda

The background:
Three of the four days prior to the contest I surfed multiple sessions in Puerto Rico until my arms couldn't paddle anymore. The night before the contest I slept only three hours before getting up at 1 a.m., driving to the Aguadilla Airport and flying back to Florida. I landed in Orlando at 6 a.m. and drove straight to Bethune Beach (site of the Contest) so I only had the equipment I packed for Puerto Rico... in other words no wetsuit. I did not sleep on the plane, but opted to watch the movie "Up" over "G.I. Joe" instead.

The reason:
Brian has been bugging me to surf a contest for months now so I figured this was better than never. I'll try anything once and while I have little desire to surf contests nor do I fully understand how they work, I figured I might as well give it a shot at least for the experience, not to mention I'm a curious person.

The story:
Saturday morning was a classic Autumn-like day on the east coast of Florida with a twist. A Nor'easter had pounded the northern states for the prior week leaving a swell in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Ida had passed through the gulf coast in an easterly direction and out to sea causing west winds along the central east coast of Florida. With the swell and offshore winds it was an above average day for surfing. Head high sets rolled in with moderate periods. The waves weren't hollowing out, but were on the edge almost feeling as if they want to and just need a little more push. Perhaps a tidal change. Looking back it's obvious that I under estimated the conditions having surfed much bigger waves in Puerto Rico the prior few days.

Initially I was not going to enter the contest. I came to scout the south beach area while another friend went north with the goal of finding the best waves. Brian, Jeremy and Blythe were already at Bethune. Brian already entered the Open Men's Longboarding Division. As I arrived the surf looked really fun and clean. My friend scouting the north drove down to meet up with me, but while I was waiting for him, Brian convinced me to enter the contest. Jeremy entered it as well. The folks at the "Before the Fall" Pro Am contest could give us no real idea of how long it would be before our heat would begin in our division. This was frustrating. I felt as if we had to wait around all day to be called just to surf a 20 minute heat. I just want to surf. This is why I have long felt that surfing contest are NOT for me and also not considering myself skilled enough to be competitive.

On a gamble (not knowing when my heat would be called) I told my friend, Bob, that I'd surf with him for a while. Bob had somewhere to be later in the day and I could tell he wanted to surf with someone. He was not entering the contest. Besides, I wanted to surf with Bob. He's a super cool longboarder and I'm always stoked to paddle out with him. The water was colder than what I was acclimated to so I wore a long sleeve 2mm top that I borrowed from Brian. This worked out well, but Brian wore a full suit and ended up being too hot and wanted the top back for the contest forcing me to wear a short sleeve top. I took it easy so not to wear out my arms. The waves were fun and clean and after getting a feel for them I felt as if I could actually rip a few of them up and score some points.

After the warm up session with Bob the waiting fest begins. Heat after heat competes, but still no Men's Longboarding Division. Hours go by and finally they give us notice. We are going after the next heat and since there is only one girl registered in the Women's Longboarding Division she is going to surf with the men. She's a talented local longboarder that also works in a surf shop here in town and I'm stoked because of the five of us in our heat only one person is a stranger to me. This is going to be like surfing with friends on any given day I tell myself. A contest official calls my name and hands me a light green rash guard. Brian scores a blue rash guard, Jeremy a red, Kristen a yellow and stranger gets the white (they have us wear these so the judges know for sure who is who). I'm told to surf as many waves as possible and they take the best two waves to score you. Jeremy and I joke around about a twisted strategy while we're waiting. Since we both feel Brian is the better surfer and Jeremy thinks he doesn't have a chance we joke that I'll drop in on and snake Brian on all his waves and they'll disqualify me (the thought of contest officials telling me to never come back makes me laugh), but ruin Brian's chances for a good score and give Jeremy a fighting chance! This is all good sarcastic fun and we'd never really do that to each other.

Longboarders tend to be so much more laid back and mellow than the shortboarders. This is a generalization of course, but more often than not if you hang out with a group of longboarders you're going to have a good time regardless. The contest is allowing five minutes to paddle out and then they blow an air horn indicating the 20 minute heat has begun. As we're waiting for the go ahead on the paddle out we are all talking casually on the beach. Jeremy borrows some wax from me and then I decide to put a little finishing touch on my board. I look up and everyone has left me and they're already in the water paddling out. I didn't even realize someone said "go." .... shit, it's game time!

I toss my wax in my pocket and sprint to the water to catch up. It's funny how quickly the seriousness of being competitive can take over the vibe and spread like Ebola virus in any sporting environment. I hit the water fast and hard and immediately gasp from the chill. I paddle hard not only to stay warm, but to catch up. Since the warm up session hours before the conditions have changed drastically. The wind switched to a north wind and that has crossed up the waves a bit leaving it choppy. The tide has changed from flooding to ebbing and the long shore current is now pulling south like nobody's business. We entered the water well to the north at the advisement of the contest officials with the hopes of staying in the boundaries or contest box once we make it to the outside break about 300 meters offshore. I paddle at a 45 degree angle to wear I'm heading. If I was an airplane I'd be crabbing into the wind. I lose sight of everyone except Kristen in the yellow jersey. She's slightly ahead of me and gets pushed back by a large set wave. I turtle roll the same wave, but recover much faster. Soon I find myself past the break and in the midst of several female shortboarders finishing up their heat. I yell to one of them, "is your heat over" and she gives me a stupid look. I look at my stop watch. It's been 4 minutes. I look behind me and see that I've made it to the outside ahead of the rest of my competitors. Kristen soon arrives on the scene and Jeremy and Brian are a little south. I look to shore and realize we're on the southern end of the contest box about to drift out of bounds so I start paddling again north. I hear the air horn blow and now our heat is officially beginning.

At first there's some hesitation and we're all kind of clumped together fighting to stay in bounds. Brian goes for a wave and backs off. Kristen takes a wave and nails it going toward the right (north). Jeremy passes on a wave so I turn into it and pop up making a fast bottom turn to the right. It's a four or five second ride and I complete one cutback and a fadeaway. Then it begins to close out so I exit off the lip not wanting to get caught on the inside. It's my first wave and it felt really good. I probably could have done a floater into the foam ball, but it's early in the heat. I'm amazed at how strong the current is pulling to the south. The contest is running two heats at once in two different boxes. We're in the southern box and a shortboard division is in the northern box. As I'm paddling to stay in my box I see several shortboarders drift by as they can't keep up with the current. Suddenly it's apparent that these are not the ideal conditions for a contest. The strange thing is the current subsided a little while after our heat almost as if it were only there to pick on us.

I look at my stop watch and we're three minutes into the heat so I've been going full strength with no rest for 8 minutes. I know I need to calm down and pace myself. I feel like I just ran a 6 minute mile. My arms are a little sore from surfing in Puerto Rico and my body is tired from lack of sleep. But, it's a contest and I'm fully involved in the moment. Another wave approaches. It looks good and I'm in the best position. I look left and right and nobody has priority over me so I drop in and take this one left for the hopes of a longer ride. It's a smaller wave so I push it a little to far thinking I might get more points for a long ride. Eventually it begins to close out on me. Hmmmm, how about that floater? I cut back on the lip and try to line my 9'0" Walden up to go down the top of the white wash, but it stalls leaving me to fall into a void of aerated water. A few seconds later I surface, flip my board over and begin to paddle back to the line up. But, before I can get there a set wave crashes down before me. I turtle roll, recover and fight to make it back out before the next wave arrives. I FAIL. The next wave is larger and I'm in the worst spot. A spot that you can't turtle roll. A spot that endangers your board in that it could break it. A spot where the only thing to do is push away from your board and dive to the bottom. I do this and get under the wave, but the leash drags me back a good distance all underwater. When I surface again and get back on the board a third wave arrives and forces me to abandon ship again. This time I'm dragged underwater even harder and in the middle of all the roaring water I hear a loud "pop" followed by a release in pressure upon my leg. "F*ck," I yell underwater as I realized my leash has just snapped.

It would be just my luck that in my first surfing contest the conditions go to hell in a hand basket and my brand new leash that I bought only five days prior breaks leaving me in a dangerous situation. I've had a few leashes break before, but this one was the worst possible situation. I'm located just on the verge of the outside break about 300 meters offshore after riding a wave to the left (south) leaving me outside the contest box. At the time I couldn't figure out how nobody could see me and my situation, but now I realize the judges are only looking at surfers riding waves plus I'm only a head in the water now making me harder to spot despite the bright green jersey I'm wearing.

My first instinct is to get back to my surfboard. Only problem is I can't see it anywhere. The bigger problem soon becomes the fact that I'm exhausted from paddling out, surfing waves back to back and then taking three large waves on the head before my leash broke. I can't get my breath back. I'm in colder water than what I'm used to and only wearing a 2mm short sleeve top. Unlike most people I'm negatively buoyant in saltwater because I'm so thin. If I cramp up I'm dead. Trying to put that thought out of my head, I start to do the natural thing and swim for shore. Swimming in rough conditions is tricky. You have to pay attention to the waves around you. You can't just put your head down and swim like you would in a pool. Several waves break right in front of me. I try to dive below them, but get tossed around like a rag doll. I still can't get my breath. I turn around and can see Brian about 100 meters away paddling away from me. He's fighting to stay in the contest box. I yell out to him, but then realize how silly the thought of him hearing me over the crashing waves is so I look back to shore and triangulate position. I've already drifted a few hundred meters south of the contest box. This leaves me about 1,000 meters from the judging tent and the lifeguard tower. Still no sight of my board and I still can't seem to catch my breath. Then it happens.

I puke then dry heave and puke again.

It happens so fast I can't believe it's happening to me. I've never barfed from exhaustion before. I've hurled from being ill and also from injury pain, but never from exhaustion. I'm so stunned by the fact that I'm actually puking I fail to notice a wave breaking right behind me. It engulfs me and my body involuntarily decides it's a good idea to drink some saltwater to wash out the puke. This promotes a few seconds of uncontrolled coughing that seems like an eternity. I regain my composure still not being able to catch my breath and all of a sudden that lifeguard tower starts looking more and more appealing. I've never counted on a lifeguard to save me before. I've never even considered the lifeguards good for anything other than say helping me if I get bit by a shark and only after I make it back to the beach. I've even joked that the lifeguards here don't even pay attention to surfers, but right now in this moment I decide to give him a wave. I'm also a scuba diver and I know from diving that if you surface and wave your arms from side to side it's pretty much the universal signal for "help me dude!" I still can't catch my breath.

After about 5 seconds of waving I soon realize that it's taking up more and more of my energy to wave and the chances of him seeing me are slim. Last I saw him before the heat he looked like he was half asleep.* I stop waving and feel an odd sensation overcoming my body. It makes no sense at all. The instinct to panic is a strange one. Panicking is basically a death sentence in my book. If you panic you lose the ability to think rationally and usually kill yourself in the process. I've been around the water all my life. I'm extremely comfortable in the water, yet right now the thought of panicking is actually appealing. Perhaps my brain is hypoxic since I can't seem to get enough oxygen to catch my breath and I'm not thinking rationally? It's now that I feel a sense of anger coming about me. I series of thoughts fly through my head. Things like I should have checked the leash since it took a few strong pulls in Puerto Rico and if I was wearing a full wetsuit I'd be more buoyant. Then things like where is the next set of waves and does that look like a rip current over there? Then the movie "Major League" of all things pops into my head. I think of the character that prays to his god named "Jobu." At the end of the movie Jobu is failing him because he is about to strike out and he looks at his bat and says "F*ck you Jobu, I do it myself!"

I'm getting no love from the lifeguard. My surfboard is gone. I'm out of sight of my friends. I want to panic. The only person that is getting me out of this situation is me. F*ck you waves, I do it myself! Anger overcomes the instinct to panic. I fight and I fight. I flip over on my back and attempt to float in the hopes of catching my breath. This works, but takes a while as I have to frequently dive under breaking waves. Just when I think I'm getting close to a sandbar where I might be able to touch bottom the waves subside a bit and the texture of the water changes to something I know all to well, a rip current. Usually in rough surf I seek out these holes in the sandbar that funnel water out to sea. It's the easiest way to get to the outside when you're floating on a surfboard. Now is not one of those times.

I turn and swim toward the south at a 90 degree angle to the shore, with the long shore current and eventually make it through the rip current, but I feel like I'm back where I started on the outside. This happens a second time, which pisses me off even more. Adrenaline flows through my system as if I've injected myself with heroin. I fight and I fight some more. After 22 minutes (yes, somehow I kept track of time on my stop watch) from the point that I took the second wave that ultimately snapped my leash I feel the bottom. I'm on the sandbar and I can't only barely touch, but this gives me a boost of the "I'm almost there" feeling. I'm able to rest between waves crashing down and finally catch my breath enough to swim through the slew and crawl up the beach. I swear I wanted to kiss the sand!

Almost immediately an extremely intense headache overcomes me. I recognize it as a side effect of all the adrenaline my body just used to survive. I spot my surfboard about 75 meters south of me drifting in the slew. I thought it would be washed up on the beach, but like me it was also having a hard time getting to shore. I forced myself to swim out to get it and then I begin the long walk back to the contest tent. I estimate I drifted 3/4 of a mile. Upon being spotted by my friends and competitors they gave me the "what's wrong with you" look and had no clue that I had just fought for my life. The crazy thing is we stuck around for the awards ceremony and I got third place. I couldn't believe it, but the two waves I rode (my only two waves) counted enough to get me third place. Brian got second and the stranger got first. Unbelievable!

The Lesson Learned:
Contest are not for me. It was fun and I can see how it can be exciting, but I'd rather just go surf on my own schedule and agenda. Despite surfing with friends that would usually be watching out for each other, none of them even saw what happened to me because they were so involved with their own ability to surf the contest. This experience strengths my believe that panic in any situation will kill you. The fight instinct can save you if used correctly. I'm not sure if I would call this a near death experience, but I am certain if I wasn't so comfortable in the water that I would have panicked and drown. That's a crazy feeling to have and ponder. It makes me thankful to be alive and appreciate the things and people in my life.


*No offense to the Volusia County Beach Patrol. I truly believe you do a top-notch job saving hundreds of swimmers each year from rip currents. I've even assisted from my surfboard before in saving swimmers, but as a surfer I feel like the lifeguards don't expect us to get into trouble and that is completely fine with me and a fact I accept every time I paddle out.

"Hey Papi" Here's your Puerto Rico recap!

Last week was my fourth trip to Puerto Rico (third this year) and I must say it was the best surfing trip of them all! I went to visit my friends John and Julie and see their new digs (they moved down there 6-weeks ago). A decent swell was already in the water as I arrived and we wasted no time seeking out and ripping up the best breaks on the Northwest coastline around Rincon, Aguadilla and Isabella. Here's the recap by day!


Tuesday, Nov. 10th
Arrived at Aguadilla airport at 2:55 a.m. on the $59 Jet Blue flight. Grab three hours of sleep and get up with the sunrise to surf Maria's in Rincon off HWY 413. The wind is offshore. The waves are 6-7 feet and slightly sectiony (yes, I did just create the word sectiony), but packing some punch to make the sections. It's a little crowded, mostly at the point, but nothing I can't manage. Just think New Smyrna Inlet on a perfect day in the summer. John and I surf for 3-and-a-half hours straight without coming out of the water once! I meet a family from New Smyrna Beach in the line up. They look familiar, but I don't know their names. The father is a little arrogant and likes to name drop like the fact that he lives next to the house that Johnny Damon bought a few years back and is now trying to sell (yes dude, I know the house and I remember when he bought the over priced home). My injured Achilles tendon seems to be fine. Around noon we admit exhaustion and head in to crab some lunch at Calypso's. This is when I meet Crazy Dave, who also just moved to PR from D.C. We hang out the rest of the day at Crazy Dave's pad directly on Corsica Beach only a few blocks from John and Julie's place. There's nothing better than drinking frozen rum drinks, eating fresh avocado dip and floating around in the clear turquoise ocean water until sunset, that is until I decide it's a good idea to surf the dumping shore break in an inflatable lounge chair!



Wednesday, Nov. 11th
As the sun rises I'm waking up. My body is now in tune with the time of nature! We pick up Crazy Dave and head out to Aguadilla. I'm excited because I have not surfed Wilderness yet. All previous times it's either been too big or flat. Today it's perfect. Epic with offshore winds and overhead sets. It's also got to be one of the strangest surf breaks to get to in the world. You drive into Aguadilla like you're heading toward the airport. After you pass the giant radar domes the airport runway is on one side of the road and a golf course is on the other side. You literally drive through the middle of the golf course, down a hill, through some woods and onto a muddy dirty road almost worthy of Costa Rica or Nicaragua before passing some old ruins (that break is named ruins) and then an old bathroom (the break there is named shithouse) and finally arriving at Wilderness. I decide to try out my Go Pro HERO 5 camera for the first time in Puerto Rico. John said I got more stares from other surfers with that camera on my board than he's ever seen. I didn't notice. One nice surfer named Danny King asked me about it, but that was all I noticed. I was too busy riding amazing powerful waves. My 9' Walden performance longboard was struggling to keep speed with the fast moving waves. Several times I found myself working the board extra hard just to keep up my speed on the wave face. I think for these conditions a pintail longboard with a pulled in nose would work much better... maybe a semi-gun shaped board. Let me just say after this session I was more stoked than I've been in the last year! Everyone in the water was friendly. Hell, even a body boarder struck up a friendly conversation with me. I counted six sea turtles (hawksbill I think) during the session and even ran into Bernie Crouch (owner of Maddog Surfboards) in the line up. He told me about the tasty pinchos they sell on the beach.


Thursday, Nov 12th
After scouting the other side of Rincon (Pools and Sandy Beach) and realizing the swell is fading we drive to Isabella on the north coast and surf a break called Jobos. This is probably one of the more scenic beaches. There's a beautiful cove protected by a rocky point that creates a right point break and a wedgy left in the right conditions. The bottom is mostly sand with a few scattered rocks and the current pushes one way on the inside and the other on the outside with a distinct channel to suck you out at the rocky point. It's a lazy surfer's dream as you don't have to fight the waves if you ride to far into the inside break. John and I paddle out and there are only three other guys in the water, all shortboarders trying to surfer the wedgy wave coming off the rocks. John and I hang just down from them and systematically pick off and rip up the long rights coming off the point. The waves are head high and perfect for fearless screwing around. The water is super clear and you can see everything on the bottom as you surf down the line. I'm in Heaven! After two hours and countless rides we break for food and head toward Aguadilla as the afternoon wind is chopping it up at Jobos. We eat lunch at a place called Jimmy's Pizza. It's the best pizza I've ever had in Puerto Rico (yes, better than Brother's in downtown Rincon) and I eat and entire pie all myself! In Aguadilla we check out Surfer's Beach, which is right in the middle of the old housing area for Ramey Air Force Base. This is where a ton of North Americans turned Puerto Ricans live now. In other words, the beach is full of gringos. Everyone is super laid back and extremely friendly. There's a right breaking wave just south of Table Top that we surf for a few more hours. John points out a girl in the line up about 20 feet away and I realize who it is... Shannon McIntyre from the surf travel show called "On Surfari." I'm stoked because this is one of my favorite travel shows. If you've never seen it check it out sometime even if you're not a surfer. Unlike so many surfing shows, they capture more than just the surf. The always make a point to portray the culture of the destination and usually volunteer with some charity group in the area too! After the session we introduce ourselves to Shannon and have a conversation. She's the nicest down to earth celebrity I've ever met. Very humble. Her and her husband, Shane, and two kids live in Aguadilla. It's nice to see someone you see on TV and see how real they are, unlike so many other famous personalities.

Friday, Nov. 13th
As I'm writing this I realize it was Friday the 13th and I didn't even realize it on the day! Good thing I didn't surf. We scouted Maria's and Domes at sunrise and decided to make it a road trip day. Crazy Dave did score some fun smaller waves at Sandy Beach. John, Julie and I headed south through Mayaguez to Cabo Rojo on the extreme southwest corner of the island. There's a beautiful beach near the light house (El Faro de los Morrillos de Cabo Rojo). The landscape of the island changes from lush jungle (near Rincon) to a more arid and dry setting with less trees and even cactus. There's a south wind chopping up the sea and it has created a silky looking water. John is upset because normally the water is crystal clear making the coral reef visible from the cliffs along the coastline, but I still think it's one of the more beautiful beaches I've seen. We hike around and my Achilles tendon protests for the first time during the trip. Flip flops and hiking on rocky slopes is No Bueno. The rest of the day we spend driving along the west coast stopping at random beaches and enjoying the day. That evening we cook out at the house and sample "blood sausage" a Puerto Rican favorite. It kind of reminds me of black pudding in Scotland, but way better. I hit the hay early, grab four hours sleep before getting up at 2 a.m. and heading back to Florida for another adventure that I'll post later in the week.



Now in list format... a few of the experiences of the trip!

- Enduring an hour long story about "Pistol Pete" and the adventures of Crazy Dave while slightly buzzed from rum all in the name of getting two old Puerto Rican ladies, who have overstayed their welcome, to leave.
- The cabin lights went out on the Jet Blue flight down and the individual seat TVs reset all at different times, which caused them to flash rapidly while alternating between black, blue and white screens. This illuminated the ceiling of the aircraft like a disco dance party. A Puerto Rican passenger in the seat behind me turned up a speaker with dance music and everyone on the plane started clapping and singing as we taxied and took off. Never seen anything like it in all my days of aviation as a passenger and pilot!
- Racking my balls upon my surfboard while exiting a wave at Jobos and having to rest for 15 minutes on the outside to regain my composure!
- Making it rain starfruit by shaking the tree in John and Julie's backyard.
- Attempting to order my meal at the Taco Maker using only Spanish and getting something entirely different than what I thought we had agreed on in Spanish.
- Drinking my first Mojito in a bag purchased from a gas station in Rincon.
- Discovering the best way to grill pork cutlets and it's so simple! Just marinate them overnight with tons of garlic, some salt, pepper, oregano and a lot of olive oil.
- Smoked a locally hand rolled cigar that Crazy Dave brought over to the point that I couldn't feel my face.
- Drank the best Port wine I've ever tasted... with the port cutlets of course!
- John and I taught Crazy Dave how to use the spear gun he recently purchased while drunk and out of the water.
- Met the owner of the Playa Oeste surf shop and art gallery. Purchased a "Rincon, Low Life" trucker hat and ran into him again on the flight back to Orlando.
- Represented my friend Christina and her clothing company Bellasol by plastering a Bellasol sticker on a street sign overlooking Tres Palmas.
- Ate pretty much any food I came across including Blood Sausage and Spicy Octopus!
- Jammed out to Two Live Crew while in a traffic jam in Aguadilla.
- Ate a ripe starfruit as opposed to the unripe starfruit I sampled the prior trip. Much better.
- Applauded a local mechanic to do what Pep Boys couldn't do in two weeks as he fixed the Trooper in 15 minutes and then declined any form of payment.
- Took the dogs (Cooper and Macy) for a walk or run on the beach. They went "ballistic."

That's it for now. I'll try and post some more pictures later in the week! Adios Amingos!

The Thursday Stoke! (better late than never)

It's Friday and I'm writing the Thursday Stoke from a bakery in Rincon, Puerto Rico, about the "stoke" that happened Wednesday! So much for being prompt about things, but nothing is prompt when you're on island time!

This is the first chance I've had to get to Wi-Fi and really only because the swell died down a bit so I'm going to explore the south west coast today before returning home tomorrow just in time to catch a swell hitting the east coast of Florida!

For the Thursday Stoke on Friday that is for Wednesday I'd just like to thank all the Veterans that fight for our Freedom and allow me to enjoy epic surfing days while traveling. So at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month of this year I surfed this wave at "Wilderness" in honor of the Veterans! Go U.S. Military!

More photos and a full recap to follow in a few days! Everyone have a killer weekend! Peace out from Puerto Rico!