I hung out at the warm water jetty today and caught a few so-so rides - but I thought I'd tell you about the one world-class ride I got...

I was hovering to the south of a pack of young turks who were getting most of the nice peaks... I'm not much of one for crowds, and so I stayed mostly out of the way, waiting to pick up the occasional stray "off-point" wave. Mostly it was a day for glassy, slamming, killer shorebreak. I caught a few two-second rides which were pretty much fast drops followed by closeouts.

Looking up, I saw a big wave forming outside. It was just too large and began to break too far out, catching the gang inside... I, however, was in the sweet spot. I lined up on it and went for it. Looking left one last time, I could see the large wall of water begin to break, and that no one else had gone for it, and so I had a clear shot. The shoulder reached me, and looking right I could see that I had a chance, that it wasn't already too steep.

I took off and stood up quickly, got my balance and felt a surge of power under my feet. I was suddenly standing on the face of an overhead slope of water. I had to shift my weight back on the board because the water was rushing up the face, driving me rapidly upward. I managed to balance the upward rush, converting it into forward motion as I drew a line that took me further and further toward the crest of the wave as it prepared to close out.

When the wave finally did close ( 10 sec.? 15 sec.?) I was near the top and so I simply bailed out over the back. When I came up for air, I shouted "Hallelujah!" a few times, and then paddled back out.

Just thought you ought to know what you've been missing! :)

Best regards,

-Dann

PS I went out on Christmas morning and got three 1 1/2 head high waves, the last of which was a classic long right! :) I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Millenium to you!