sometimes the answers find you

Well I'm a genius.
No you know, I'm just pleased as punch because I've cut myself a fringe and now my hair doesn't go in my eyes when I'm surfing.
I'm sure you don't realise what a big deal this is but when you get onto a wave everything happens so fast and to not be able to see through seaweed hair is definately crippling those crucial immediate moments.
At this point those few moments are all I've got!
Well now I've fixed it. Pleased as punch.

After moving boxes and sneezing dust two days in a row I genuinely feel that a house fire would be equally as much a relief as it would be a tragedy.

So despite having only had five hours sleep because of my LAST BAR SHIFT EVER!!!!! And then being buggered from moving boxes, I rewarded myself with a surf out at piha.
It was fine, small, occassionally biggish, closing out a bit but good over in the corner far north.

Perhaps the tallest surfer I have ever seen said hello and then asked if
"I would like a tip from someone MUCH worse than me"
ABSOLUTELY!
"When you get up you're landing on your front foot which is pushing your nose down and thats why you're coming off".

So the very next wave I made a concerted effort to get that back foot through and dang if he wasn't absolultely correct. Managed to stay up a bit longer with that wave.

Paddling back out he said, my disclaimer is that I'm 6 foot 6 and my centre of gravity is all off.
I said
"no excuses mate"!
becaus the truth is, every object no matter what size has a centre of gravity ahy?
And anyway, no fricken excuses.

Then i had a wee chat to him about core training... mentioned how much I reckoned it was helping me... he seemed pretty much disinterested but it gave me an exciting notion.
What do probably ALOT of beginner and learning surfers need help with...
core stability, balance and agility...
three of my favourite things. Three things I myself have been training on for near three years, and train people on in the gym on a weekly basis.....

Next week I'm going to Raglan for a 'final fling' and going to meet up with the Surf Dames organiser Ange. Might just mention to her about my ideas about core training, see if she is interested in yours truely helping out with the surf school they run... I've already emailed her and she is psyched to meet up.

So I had a good little session then got tired. came in and had a drink and a snooze and then the wind changed as the sun sank and headed back out, but i's so tired, i kept trying to push up and slipping off the side. ridiculous. sometimes you need food and sleep, not surf, try as you might to ignore it.

Then just packing up to go, I swear surfers are the friendliest bunch of people I've ever met,
Pimm, from Holland, pulls up alongisde and strikes up a convy.
Turns out he's with Surf Safari and entered a few comps and clearly knows his surfing and after yarning for near on an hour we swap digits to hook up for some evening surfs.
Rad, cuz you know he's going to be FULL of helpful advice. Which is really what I need.
A teacher. And someone to talk to out there, I'm always talking and singing to myself.. between mouthfuls of saltwater..
And no it's not 'like that' at all.
Although I'm sure the bikini factor works in my favour. But hey.

I learnt a new term it is: 'trim'.
which is the angle your board is in relation to the wave.
Fascinating.
Obivously with longer boards you have a larger trim, or more scope for trim.
Trim is determined by the length of your board and where your weight is placed, and each wave requires a different alignment.

You see sometimes the things you need just find you.
Vunderbar.
:)