Longboard Or Shortboard - Surfing

Until now I have not had a longboard surfboard that I can use while I am at home.  I always use my co-workers longboard at work and my 7’6’’ board when I am home.  Thanks to my roommate and his beater longboard that needed repairs those days are over.  He told me that if I fix the numerous dings and holes on his old longboard I can use it as often as I like, so I did.  I spent all weekend and about $20 worth of Solarez fixing the board and I think it turned out great.

My other roommate and I decided to go surfing today at Tourmaline.  So I threw the Frankenstein longboard on top of my Jeep and went down there.  Unfortunately, it was choppy again with a strong on shore wind that was closing out all the waves.  On top of that the inner break with the white water, what I call the noob section, where I wanted to try the new board out had a very high wave frequency.  A high wave frequency means that the waves are crashing one after the other with very little time to rest between.  The good thing about a high wave frequency is that you get an awesome workout if you are trying to paddle out in those conditions.

I was not looking for a good workout session today.  I was more looking for some nice calm waves with a low frequency so I can get used to the new board.  Oh well, I still had fun.  Handling that board was like trying to steer an ocean liner man.  I kept trying to make sure that the board was never parallel to the shore and if it was parallel to the shore, that I did not let the board get between me and the wave.  This was a struggle in itself but all in all it was a good learning experience.

After wrestling around with the 9’0’’ tank board I borrowed my roommates 6’10’’ and took it out for a spin in the white water to get a feel for the difference between a longboard and a shortboard.  I really like the smaller boards maneuverability compared to the longer board.  I also loved the fact that I was able to duck dive with the shorter board.  I really didn’t manage to catch anything with the shorter board but it definitely got me thinking again about spending more time on a short board.  I will continue to try both of them out and let you know what I discover.

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Repaired My Surfboard - Surfing

I found a hole in the bottom of my mid sized board a few days ago and was really bummed because I do not have enough money to spend on surfboard repair.  Well I looked online and found this stuff called Solarez.  This stuff works great and only takes about 10 minutes to use.

Epoxy Surfboard Hole

Above is a picture of the hole I found in the tail of my epoxy board.  Unfortunately, the guy at the surfboard shop did not ask me whether I had an epoxy board or a fiberglass board so he gave me the polyester Solarez resin that is meant for fiberglass boards.  I found this out after I made the repair haha but oh well it still worked great to make the board water tight.  I read online that the polyester version of the Solarez resin can eat the foam used inside epoxy boards.  Luckily I did not have to use much so I don't think it did much damage.

Solarez Resin

Again, the stuff I used is for a fiberglass board NOT an epoxy board so this is another case of learning from my mistakes.  After I added the resin in the shade I put it in the sun for about 5 minutes to let it cure.  This resin cures very fast in the sun.  It doesn't matter if it is a cloudy day either, it will still cure from the UV rays that make it through the clouds.

Sanding down the rough edges

After the resin cured I sanded off the rough edges and I was done!  There are lots of techniques you can use to avoid having to sand as much as I did, which I found out after the fact, but even if you don't use those techniques a little extra sanding should give you the shape you want.

Water Tight Board!

I really don't care how this boards looks just as long as it is water tight so I am happy with my first attempt at repairing a hole.  I will definitely get the Epoxy version next time.  Not bad for the $3.25 I spent though.

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Always Be Prepared - Surfing

My surf buddy and I just took a quick drive out to our surf spot to arbitrarily check out the conditions during lunch.  Unfortunately, my buddy did not bring his board with him today so it really didn’t matter if the conditions were good or not but it was an awesome day so it was still worth it to go.  I am happy we went and checked it out because this is what we saw.

Terra Mar Surf Spot

I took this pic today!  The waves are definitely not huge today but they are nice and glassy with a long wave that was breaking very clean.  We watched a lady catch a wave on the outside break and ride it all the way in to the shore, and it wasn’t on white water!  It was awesome to watch and very inspiring.  But, because my buddy didn’t bring his gear and I am dependant on him for transporting my board… I will not be able to go out today after work.  I guess the lesson for today is to always be prepared because you never know what the conditions might be.

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Surfs Up! - Surfing

Man it feels like it’s been ages since the last time I surfed… I guess it’s only been about a week but that just seems like way too long.  The conditions in SoCal have not been great for beginners the past week and it has really had me bummed.  There was an awesome swell last week which is great, if you’re good and know what to do with the large waves but not great if you are still trying to stand up in the white wash like a noob.  Today I forgot about the last week in a second because the waves were awesome!

I paddled out to the point break again and sat there for a bit before I decided to get out of there because I did not want to get in anybody’s way once the larger sets started to roll in.  After I left the prime real estate I headed for the inner break with the white wash.  I actually had a blast in the inner break and managed to catch some white water, it’s the little things I guess.  I am in this for the long haul so I try not to get discouraged if I am not progressing very fast.  As long as I keep getting out there that's all I care about right now.

Something interesting I wanted to mention about the spot I surf at work is that during high tide the waves crash close to the cliffs and then bounce back toward the ocean.  This is usually kind of dangerous if you are not careful.  While I was riding my last wave in toward the beach to end my session today, another wave crashed on the wall and rebounded straight back at me.  I hit the waves heading out and it launched me into the air haha.  It must of looked hilarious because I heard a woman on the beach scream “YEAH!! You caught air!!!”.  That was definitely a good way to end the session.

My Sandy Wetsuit

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