Tues 2023-10-10 Blackies 3ft waves

Challenging but good. Caught 4-5 waves in 1 hour. Surfed south side of the pier. Some big 3ft waves, felt the drop and about half the time, fell and capsized and rest of the time, my 9ft max rode them out. I need to keep low with the weight on the back to avoid nosedives. I wish I could crouch like a cat 😺. Still having a hard time balancing once up. When waves are big, powerful and plentiful, it's fun to let the board catch the breaking wave and practice standing and keeping balance. My paddling is still weak but it's getting better. When I only catch a few good ones, it's hard to stop wishing for One More Good One and trying one more time. Surfing is addictive that way. Afterwards I grabbed my usual donut and coffee and chatted with an old surfer I saw go out earlier while I was out on the water. His friends called him a pro. I asked him why people mostly surf on north side of the pier and he said the wave shape is better. But when I asked where is the best area for beginners, he said nowhere really 🤣. His name is Rick (the guy in the wetsuit in picture above). His friend said to watch out for the lines from fishermen on the pier especially around this time of the year when they are fishing corvina, a tasty fish. Next time, I'll put in the longer walk and try surfing on the north side. Also, today for the first time in my life, I got a leash burn on the back of my neck.

Picture of the much less crowded south side (I was the only one surfing there).