10-inches and hangovers!

There's no better way to get rid of a hangover than going surfing. Yes, it sucks dragging your butt to the beach, but once you're in the water you always feel better.

Today was one of those days. Last night a few friends and I went to a local bar to hear some original music by a band we like called Whole Wheat Bread (crazy name I know). I had planned to only have a few drinks and come home by midnight. Somehow my plans always get thrown in the trash and set on fire along the way. One too many drinks later and half past 2 a.m. I finally hit the sheets. Luckily for me, a surfer friend called at 8 a.m. to wake me up and let me know how good the waves looked. It was hard, but 20 minutes later I approached the inlet in my Jeep.

The water was cold for some reason and that was all the better with the hangover, but I was definitely off my A game. The waves were glassy waist to chest high sets rolling in with perfect lines for longboarding. For the first 30 minutes it was fun, but by 9 a.m. all of Florida had showed up to surf a half mile section of beach. I've been riding the 9'8" Anderson noserider pintail sans leash for a few weeks now, but I still get nervous in crowds without the leash so I paddled in...

My nose riding is progressing quite well. I'm able to cross step on the board now instead of shuffling back and forth. The cross stepping was uncomfortable and awkward at first as I had to force myself to do it, but now it's becoming a smooth movement and actually feels more natural than shuffle stepping. I'm able to get one foot up on the nose very consistently, but the few times I try both the board feels like it's about to give way and pearl. I realize New Smyrna Inlet isn't Malibu, but other guys are doing it on the same waves I'm riding. After sitting through a mundane home inspection this afternoon (yes, I'm a Realtor and actually do work) it was raining so I decided to stop into a local surf shop. Picked me up a shinny new fin!


It's a Mikey Detemple 10 inch RFC (clear color) and it has a little less rake than the 9-inch Josh Farberow Flex Fin (blue color) that I've been using, but I think the extra inch and the wider base will give me that little extra edge to support me on the nose for longer periods of time. I'm super excited about it and if I wasn't so dang tired from lack of sleep and being hungover I'd hit the waves this evening, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow morning!