Margaret Gets a Seshie, 1 Foot Lies and Last One Out at P----

Margaret and I went out on the water today. We parked at 12th and hopped down to the beach. The tide was already coming in fast. We got there at 4, and HT was set for 7:45pm. I’d been worried about that. The tide’s been so unpredictable and when it’s rolling in fast, it’s rolling in fast.

We did a quick sesh on the sand, going over

anatomy of the surfboard
some basic stretches
how to fall and protecting your head

The waves were 100% bigger than MSW had read. MSW said 1 footers with fair wind at 11s. The periods weren’t terrible actually, but we were consistently getting 2+ footers, which neither of us was prepared for. But Margaret was stoked. She told me that she’d been thrown into the deep end surfing before and that she was just so excited to be there for a refresher. Before last week, when she hit a spot in Rye, it’d been 5 years since she hopped in. I told her we’d take it easy and nothing too wild.

The waves were a little big at 12th so we walked south to 10th where they seemed a little more manageable. We started to head out but decided to just focus on the white water. She brought a gorgeous single fin long board and I was jealous. Just did some belly-riding and she kicked ass, holding her balance and getting up. I told her she’d tricked me with all her talk about “what a beginner” she was etc etc.

I love sharing the stoke with friends on the water. There’s almost nothing that makes me happier.

Clouds were rolling in and the waves were getting bigger so we ended the sesh but we’ll definitely be heading out again soon. She was so pumped.

I stayed out for a bit but it started to get a little crowded. There were two solid, nice and rideable waves, and 10 people on each, plus the tide was coming in hot. I wondered how P—— would be so I rode a couple last ones there, including a 4-5 footer that had me on a ridiculous vertical drop I somehow managed and rode straight in kookstyle. After a few nice rides on the shoulder, I jumped in the car and headed north.

It was sooooo clean. And there were only two people out, and a couple waves not being surfed by anyone at all. I fucking love this beach. I’ve loved it since the first time Melissa took me there. There’s something so friendly about the waves on a nice day. I just knew it’d be cleaner there and it was. Gorgeous periods and perfect shapes.

This paddling for every wave like a nut job has completely changed the game. I’m so galvanized and I’m riding better because of the fact that my whole energy is different and higher. I caught a left during this session that still has my head spinning. I ripped it. I rode it high and I didn’t even know what was happening in the most euphoric way. The turns I’ve been practicing on the Carver totally came into play. I rode this left, my backside, more artfully than any other wave I’ve ever ridden and I was so fuckin’ stoked.

I stayed for a while, just going for nearly every way, since no one was around me. My arms were so exhausted but I really didn’t want to leave. I pushed it and was the last one out. I could hardly see the waves anymore and hated heading in but finally had to. Thankyouthankyouthankyou for such a beautiful day, with wildly threatening clouds overhead that never split the sky with lightning.

Solo Saltfest, Trying a Turn and Mr Seal

P—-s. Rolled up at 4 right after work and there wasn’t a soul parked. The ride north had looked flat as hell, with some promising undulations, like the ocean was clearing her throat. I hopped out and took a look. A bit of texture and hardly a moment between most of the waves but I thought there might be something surfable and I saw potential, saw a few lines that made me wonder and it was on. And that’s the thing. You’re not just looking for the active waves. You’re looking for the potential. I’m always hopeful it will clean up. Not always. But 99.99% of the time.

I grabbed my board and hopped in. I was a hot mess and just positioned poorly for the first thirty minutes or so but it started to clean up and I started sorting out where the waves were rolling through.

I needed this session. I’d been so buzzy the last few weeks, my heart has really been hurting with some personal stuff, and this week just felt like I couldn’t get quiet. I was completely alone out there, except for Mr. Seal. Every now and then he popped his head up, and he checked on me throughout the sesh, over two and half hours, just looking at me curiously with his big black eyes.

This session was magical.

“You’re not just looking for the active waves. You’re looking for the potential.”

Between really turning over Timmy’s advice to paddle like you’re being chased, hold nothing back and having listened to Ian Walsh’s podcast on Finding Mastery—along with really making The Commitment to surfing—I just approached almost every wave differently today, approached the whole sesh. I held nothing back. I chased the waves, chased the peak and went for drops I normally wouldn’t. I held back on two waves and my heart felt scorched. None of that! I thought to myself, and hoped hoped hoped I’d get another chance on a wave like those two.

Some amazing things did happen. First, I finally started to try to turn early, to wedge into the top of the wave, and ride it high, rather than immediately doing a bottom turn, which often cuts my time on the wave and lets go of some of my control. That was working. And I was really struggling with these rights that had steep faces—was just eating shit—and finally got one at the end. It was “The Wave” of the day, no doubt, and the ocean sent it right to me. Plus, this was really the first time where I started actually trying to do a turn. I pumped, stood with my feet a little closer like I’ve been trying on the skateboard and just kind of tried to get a little vibe-y.

I didn’t want to leave. The sky was turning orange, the water was reflecting pink, I could see the Isle of Shoals off in the distance.

I took my nose to my thigh and rode a few more just to not end on that note.

I pushed it until 6:30 and finally popped out. My feet were numb but my heart was on fire.

I’ve accepted that I’m always going to look like a spaz when I’m surfing and I’m ok with it. I really couldn’t be happier in this moment I took this shot. (C) Sara Dyer

Hold Nothing Back

Didn’t get out today because I had to leave super early in the morning for work but was at least able to catch the ridiculously beautiful sunrise.

Yesterday and the day before we got some big swell rolling through from Lorenzo, which I was calling Lombardo for a solid day. Tuesday I got a solid left as I was getting out of the water. The current was crazy and pulling me north before I even realized what was up. Wednesday, I was out for DP along with 45 other people at TW. And I gotta be honest. I had a sesh I wasn’t proud of. A couple clean monster waves rolled through, right toward me, Mother Nature sent them right to me even though I was 100% sitting in a channel.

And I didn’t go.

Surfing should be about having fun. Absolutely. But it is also a sport of progression and a sport of opportunity. Letting a couple beauties go by yesterday morning really ripped me up. I paddled in without having caught a single wave. I was still happy that I’d paddled out and in safely, as it was a big day for me, but that really stuck in my craw. I couldn’t shake it. I was bummed with myself.

Then, driving to BU today, I was listening to a podcast with Ian Walsh in the podcast series Finding Mastery. And he described that exact feeling, and discussed how, after a session like that, where he’d missed opportunities he should have taken, and how he would write a note to himself afterwards saying something like I never want to feel this way again.

It reminded me of what my old springboard diving coach, Matt Leone, one of the greatest, instilled in us. He never got mad if we over-rotated on a dive, but if we under-rotated? Shit. That was grounds for some serious iras. And I get it. Over-rotating means you went for it—you just misjudged. Under-rotating means you didn’t fucking go for it. You held back.

My heroes are the ones who are .going for it, who aren’t holding back. Many of them surf around me every day and you can see it. They’re paddling like they’re being chased. One of the best is injured right now, out of the water, but that’s his philosophy—hold nothing back—and it’s the one to follow.

And that’s where I want to be. With surfing. With life. Thank you, thank you, Ian Walsh, for understanding and for giving me time in the car to really reflect and sit with that session.