Slipped disk will keep me from surfing till summer

It's been a few months now but I've been too bummed out about this to share it. I'll be out of commission until summer due to L4/L5 disc problems. The injury was not body boarding related... just moving some furniture around the house. The good news is I'm no longer in excruciating pain and the prognosis is good; no surgery needed and I'm mostly recovered.

I have a awesome new chiro (dinker not a cracker... I'll explain later) who got me 60% better in about a week. Considering it took me 3 hours of heat therapy and massage to get me out of bed prior to seeing him (and then I limped horribly and used a walking stick) this was phenomenal.

I'll post again later and share my MRI and some other treatment details.

Stay stoked,
DH

Ever play Cannon Ball?

A few weeks ago I was enjoying a great session at eighteenth street when I drifted close to a group of  surfers (highschool age or so) who were talking about drinking, fighting, stupid movies and chicks (pretty much in that order). After a few minutes I heard one of them say "There's tons of jelly fish! Anybody want to play Cannon Ball?"

Cannonball Jellyfish - From BeachHunter.net

I'd never heard of the game but the next thing I know jellyfish are flying in all directions.  Everyone in the group is grabbing them and throwing them back and forth as fast as they can (see beachhunter.net/thingstoknow/jellyfish/ for info on cannonball jellyfish and other jelly fish occasionally found here).

Surfer 1: "That one turned inside out, gross!"
Surfer 2: "Oh no! Some of the juice got in my eyes when I threw it! It burns!"
Surfer 3: "I almost got you!"
Surfer 1: "Yeah! Faceshot!"
Surfer 3: "Ahhh! You got it in my eye's!"
Surfer 1: (Laughs hysterically)
Surfer 3: "Come here! I'm gonna kill you!"
(Mock battle between friends ensues)

Though I didn't participate, it was fun to watch while waiting for waves. How about you? Ever play Cannon Ball?

Stay stoked,
DH

Halloween Swell 2010

Well I finally have a decent picture of me body boarding. During the Halloween Swell of 2010  I met a group of guys with a disposable water camera who wanted me to take pictures of them surfing. So I gave up about an hour of one of the best swells of the year to give surf photography a shot. Sadly none of my shots came out really well (sorry guys) but it wasn't a waste, I had a ton of fun and learned a lot from the experience; also they returned the favor and one of them, a guy named Philip Purvis, snapped the following picture of me (awesome shot... thanks).

Notice how well the wave is pitching over... sadly no great tubes to report from this session. The wave before this was was head high and pitching beautifully and if I'd thought to pull back on my board and stall a little I might have gotten a good tube out of it, but sadly I've been in so few waves of this quality that the idea of  stalling to get into a tube didn't occur to me.

The good news is that the following weekend the swell was even better with these big bowl shaped waves that broke from either side. That session I caught my first big tube as the middle of the wave I was riding closed out over me in slow motion, thundering with a cavernous rumble. I'd caught some small tubes from time to time, but now I finally get what the big deal is all about... totally awesome experience.

Anyway, stay stoked,
DH

Review: 44" NMD Stox Evolution Bodyboard

The Stox Evolution is a great board. I picked it up at Jax Beach Board Shop at the beginning of the summer. I'd narrowed down to two choices, the Stox and another board that was 45". I was worried I might miss the float that extra inch provided, but the Evolution just felt so solid and well put together that I chose it anyway. Turns out I didn't miss the inch... I currently weigh in at 275 and it floats me just fine.

I've ridden this board in every condition from 3 foot swell to triple overhead and I really love it. It was a little stiff at first but it loosened up a bit over the first month or so and even picked up just a bit of rocker, then locked in at what I consider a perfect feel. My last board felt perfect when I got it then loosened up way too much, so I'm guessing that choosing a little on the stiff side is a good call.

I just found out that Jax Beach Board Shop has a selection of mid to high end bodyboard rentals so sometime I'll have to rent a few to do compare and contrast to but for the moment this is the perfect board at a reasonable price.

Bodysurfing Stories to Inform and Inspire

Over the past six months or so I've learned to body surf fairly well. When the waves are just right (pitching over but not closing out with plenty of force) I get some good rides and have a lot of fun. I'm still quite the novice and I don't talk about it much on the blog so I thought I'd point you to a few stories that have informed and inspired me.

• Dolphin Surfing - "I can clearly remember the first time I ever saw someone body surfing under and behind the wave"
  
• Moonriding at Pipe - "I bet the moment before death I will regret not being able to say aloha to my loved ones"
  
• Bodysurfing with a Handplane - "My first half dozen sessions were naked"
  

Stay Stoked,
DH

Flash Back: Hurricane Igor

Hurricane Igor was a category 5 and at 500 miles across it was a true monster of a storm and promised to send some major swell our way. Friday and Saturday were choppy, small and nothing to speak of, but by Sunday afternoon it finally started cleaning up and there were a few weak, crumbly double overheads coming in on the far outer sandbar at 18th street... I'd whiz by the young surfers sitting further inside and paddle back out past them again... very satisfying. I got about an hour of surf before my daughter got stung by a man of war and we had to drive her to the lifeguard building over on beach blvd to have it taken care of. She had a big red welt that went all the way around her leg but fortunately she didn't have a bad reaction (I hear some do). In any case it's always better to play it safe.

Monday morning I woke early to catch a few waves before work. I normally don't pull dawn patrol but the forecast said offshore and big and I had to give it a check.

It was beautiful. A dim orange disc of  a sun peaked over the horizon passing in and out of view as double overhead sets cast their shadow on me then lifted me up into the sunlight just before they broke... cool spray blowing back on me from glassy giants pitching over just feet away. A perfect morning, perfect waves and only an hour to surf. Just time enough for 5 rides, two of which were as perfect as I could ever have hoped for. Reluctantly I rode my last wave in to shore and headed home to get cleaned up for work. Short as it was this was without a doubt my favorite session ever... I'd even go so far to say that for that for a few hours that morning, 18th street, Jacksonville Florida held the best swell on planet earth. 

Stay Stoked, I know I am,
DH

Recent sessions

I prefer to avoid the more popular spots until after the water turns cold (meaning requires a wetsuit) as they get packed in the warmer months with noobs, kooks, and surfers with attitude. You still get all of the above in the winter but in much smaller numbers (this might not be true everywhere but Floridians have a strong aversion to the cold). By the time the water temp hits the 50s it takes some really decent surf to pull people out in any numbers.

Unfortunately 18th street, my normal spot, just hasn't been the same since the hurricanes came through and shifted the sand bars around, so I hit the pier last week to test out some new fins (Orange and black Ally Stealth fins w/ fin socks) -- I lost one of my Churchill Makapuu fins in a big wave during one of the storms and replace them with  Laguna Surf II fins which literally fell apart at the seems after a month. Anyway I loved the Ally fins and the waves were great which means it was packed, though only one idiot dropped in on me and gave me attitude. Surprisingly there were two other bodyboarders in the water which never happens. I caught some fun waves on the south side then it turned a little weak so I paddled under the pier and stayed till dark catching great waves on the north side.

Saturday I took a tip from the owner of the local board shop and headed to the poles. There were a lot of great waves at first but as the waves died down the line up filled up with LOTS of A##H####. I got dropped in 8 times by 8 different people. Short boarders dropping in and tearing up the shoulder ahead of me causing it to break and killing my ride. I guess its to be expected... I don't normally surf there, so I'm the new guy and a bodyboarder to boot and it's an elitist group... still it pissed me off... I charged right ahead and they seamed surprised to find me not backing down still right at their feet. The waves were really fun though... never been there under the right conditions till now and I caught a handful of really great waves. I have to keep going back and earn my place. And like I said the line up thins with colder weather so I'll try back in winter.