Searching...FINDING!

 This picture has nothing to do with what I am going to write about, but it's where I live and I took it. I don't have a waterproof camera so I don't have any footage or pictures of what I want to write about. Maybe it's good that I don't have any pictures, maybe I don't want you to see it, maybe I want you to have your own vision, or maybe I can write good enough that you will see what I saw. I hope you have a good Imagination!


 I am going to warn you that this might be a long one. I have great reggae music flowing, great beer as always and I spent a lot of time in the tube this morning! This picture is somebody else's and I have no credit to give and I am sorry for that, but it sets the mood perfectly.

 I would like to start off by saying, ON the record; that I do not believe that there are really buoys that tell you how big the swells are. I think that there are a couple of idiots like you and me sitting in front of a computer typing in numbers. The forecasts change faster than the ticker on CNN for crying out loud. I took off Monday for hopes of a much needed mini surf trip, to Shackelford Banks. Of course the forecasts changed and that trip never happened. 

 After trying to reclaim my shift at work, with no success, Nick and I decided we were determined to find surf somewhere in New Hanover County. Wrightsville had it's all to typical "morning sickness", waves; but it needed more water or less water or less wind or this or that... blah blah blah blah! Everything was wrong for our not so secret spot across the inlet, ( if you don't know what I'm talking about sorry, E-mail me and maybe I will tell you what it's called...MAYBE! ) We were heading to Pleasure Island, FF, KB, had potential but nothing special. Checked several spots in CB and found chest to overhead closeouts in waist deep water due to "beach re-nourishment". DON'T GET ME STARTED! 

 We settled on a spot that we saw some maybe make-able BIG tubes.(see above pic) AKA...good way to break a board! Our goal was to each get one good one and then continue on to look for waves, somewhere. The kids with black wax on their boards, yes black, told us it was hard to catch and un-make able. I should add that all 4 of them still had their leashes on walking through the street. ( If you don't think that is funny then you are NOT a surfer and should never call yourself a surfer! )

 My 1st wave sucked, but the 2nd which is really the 1st, because who counts the shitty ones, was more or less epic...for here. No stalling, straight up behind the peak stand up barrel! Reminded me of LINY!! Dirty brown water tubes! Nick got a good one and we both continued to catch closeouts for about an hour before we continued the search. 

 

 Again this picture has nothing to do with the story but, I just took this the other night and I think it's sick! I got a good dog! She sat like that for at least 5 minutes waiting for the sun to be perfect!! SNOH I love you!

 So the search led us to putting the Jet Ski in at Wrightsville and heading to you know where...Sorry. It was awful! The waves were terrible, way too low tide and the ocean was very unsettled. We left, the search continued. We pulled the ski out and checked the piers, and ended up chilling at the brown house. The jetty sucked, the middle sucked everywhere sucked. Monday was not a good surfing day...except for the literally one Insane tube at CB. We spent all day searching and literally caught one good wave! What a good day! 

 So after a GREAT dinner with my absolutely amazing girlfriend thanks to BRIXX Pizza. Tuesday was soon to come. Will the buoys and wind predictions be right, finally? Could tomorrow be the day? 

 We put the ski in just after sunset and headed to the spot. I run fairly often and my longest run has been 16 miles. No matter how much I run; that 200 yard jog over the dunes seems to make me feel out of shape. Maybe I am running super fast or maybe it's just being in a wetsuit, I don't know, but I couldn't get to the edge of the dunes fast enough! What will ocean give us today?

 YUP! Tubes by the dozen! Not crowded! Offshore winds! Water in the mid 50's! No Hood! Undeveloped Island! GREAT PEOPLE IN THE WATER!!!! One of the best mornings of surf I have had since the north inlet day during TS Danny! Many good surfers got tubed, nobody was trying to do turns, It was surfing the way it should be! Fast and hollow! If you make it you make it , if not at least you got the view and maybe the breath!

 For those of you who do not understand the life altering experience of being inside the ocean, study the picture above. STUDY IT HARD! Imagine breathing inside of it. Imagine controlling your speed enough to stay in it, but not too deep. Seconds last forever! Time stands still! All problems go away! You are truly living in the moment.

  The breath I take inside the tube is what keeps me alive! If I don't get that breath every so often things seem to get really confusing, harder than they should be, I get aggravated easily, I lose the confidence that I NEED so badly! Surfing makes me feel alive! The harder you search for it , the better the it feels when you find it!!!

 Once you know what it is like in there, your life is different. Those who know...KNOW! 

 I really appreciate you taking the time to read this! 

The Dolphins

 An afternoon session at Masonboro yesterday turned into an experience most people will never be able to relate to, for a lucky few. Nick and I took the jet ski over, walking over the dunes we saw 4 waves lined up all in the chest to shoulder high range. Something was weird though, there was only 5 guys out! Generally you are surfing with at least 200 of your "closest" friends when it looks this good. Clean A-frames were littering the sandbars, the way the rest of the world was littering bar floors with empty beers! Ahhhh St. Patty's Day!

 We paddled out on the peak to the North of the 5 guys already in the water, kind of the unwritten rule, in my world anyway! After stumbling on the first few waves, I blame the sick new booties I just purchased, I finally got things going. I haven't had new booties in years, these things were awesome, I could actually feel the board. I had several fun waves in a row and was super stoked to not be wearing a 5/3 anymore! ( that would change about 2 hrs later though!)

 We saw another set peaking on the shoals of the inlet and scratched for the outside, at the same time we saw the first couple of Atlantic Bottle-nose Dolphins. We actually started splashing a little bit, the pod headed directly at us. More were visible now, There must have been 30 dolphins around us. One swam right between us and we were about 20 feet apart. I love the sound they make as they exhale when they surface!

 There were 2 separate pods of them, they swam down to the jetty and made their way back towards us. The most perfect wave I have seen in a long time was standing up in its classic Masonboro way. I was paddling out and north trying to cross paths with it, nobody was around, it was all me! I was about to get really tubed, then about 8 dolphins appeared in front of me. I just paused and watched them gracefully glide through this perfect head high peak...

 Other waves will come I thought to myself, let's just enjoy the view. I never saw another wave that good, it started closing out and about 30 people showed up. Maybe I should have took off on that wave with the dolphins? Maybe not? I have had way too many dolphin encounters to remember over the years. I have never seen this many together and definitely never saw that many on one wave, they were only about 10' away from me. I will never forget this encounter, it was a special one!

 Stories like this is what surfing is all about to me. It doesn't matter how many turns you did, or how deep that tube was, and it most certainly doesn't matter what sticker or how many you have on your board. What matters is the bond we have with ocean!

Keep Our Beaches Clean!

Thanks For Reading!!

"Waves"...Emphasizing the Quotations

 Another "swell" has come and gone in Wrongsville Beach. Friday was stormy and in the waist to head high range. Very typically it was better when I couldn't surf due to work than when I did get to surf. Everybody can relate to the frustration of this scenario; unless you are one of the fortunate few who actually earns money by surfing. Nothing in the world is more frustrating than surfing all morning and seeing the wind turn offshore as you walk in the door to work. Well, OK, I guess there are things that are more frustrating than that. And yes I am super lucky to have gotten in the water with my friends and have fun. Going surfing in the worst waves in the world is still better than just about anything else! Hands down better!

 A friend of mine recently purchased a jet ski, and yes, I felt like a meat-head on it! But it was fun going out Masonboro Inlet in some relatively rough seas. The goal is to practice towing each other in, hopefully surfing some big waves on the shoals, if we ever get any "real" waves! I was always very against jet skis, but at this point I am willing to try anything that just keeps me in the water! I guess we will have to wait and see where this new adventure takes us! Hopefully it will take us places that normal people would never dream of going...

 Saturday brought cleaner surf, this time we took the ski out Masons Inlet, I learned very quickly that standing up on a surfboard while getting pulled behind a jet ski is not easy! I did manage to paddle into a few fun waves, however I never succeeded in getting up while being towed. I will have to practice a lot!! All in all it was a fun day. Its always good to be in the water, no matter how poor the waves are.

 The weather is getting nicer, the water is getting warmer, and the beach crowds are returning. For those of us who enjoy the beach and water all year long, we have a responsibility to protect our beaches from the ignorant people who think that being at the beach is a license to act like a moron and throw garbage around! Every time you see trash on the ground pick it up! Pick up your dog waste! We are lucky to live in such a great place, it is up to us to keep it great!