Ride the Wild Surf? Umm…not quite.

After a dismal winter surf-wise, northern New England has had a much better run of waves this spring. We’ve enjoyed a series of small swells every week-and-a-half or so, with the most recent impulse showing up over the past few days. It was, to be sure, small. I mean: really small. I’d call it knee- to thigh-high, with occasional waist-high sets. But here in New England, we takes what we gets…

This recent swell coincided with some spectacularly sunny weather and with ocean water that has warmed dramatically. One source put the sea temperature at 62; that seems a bit optimistic, but the water has definitely reached the mid- to high-50s. Throw in warm sunshine and light winds (before the afternoon sea breeze comes up) and it’s been really comfortable out in the surf. I was wearing a full-on winter wetsuit — 6- and 7-millimeter thickness — with hood, boots and mittens as recently as late April. I made the transition to my 4-millimeter suit with boots and thin gloves in early May. But for this past swell, I got down to my 3-millimeter suit with no gloves at all — and I was toasty.

I also made it out with my GoPro camera for the first time. I bought the camera for last summer’s sailing adventure on Polar Bear, but I’d been looking forward to trying it out IN the water rather than just near it. So on Wednesday, 23 May, I finally mounted the the GoPro to my 9’8″ longboard and paddled out for a morning session. And here’s what resulted:

What a blast! Riding the longboard is always such a joyous occasion. Something about the laid-back nature of cruising around on that canoe, casually catching pretty much any wave, and then walking the nose whenever possible always puts a smile on my face that is in stark contrast to the more aggro shortboard riding. I love riding my shortboard — it is very much my preferred method for surfing — but maybe it’s because I’m still (at 46 years of age) trying for somewhat high-performance surfing that I don’t chill out like I do on the longboard. Putting this new gadget into the mix — and being able to see the results — only added to the experience.

Whatever the reason, it was a successful first GoPro mission — right down to the strategically placed water droplet that appears for every wave. Seriously…could that thing have been any better placed?! No, I didn’t do that on purpose, though I do point out frequently that I have a good face for radio and always prefer to be BEHIND the camera. I’m not sure why that water drop was so persistent but I’ll see what I can do next time.

And there will be a next time. I had that much fun messing about on my longboard with a waterproof camera.

Ocean Fun, Sports and Fitness, Uncategorized, , ,

Fore!

The Luke 2012 Resurgence Tour continues. Today I played golf for the first time in just under seven years. Seven years.

The last time I played golf was the first week of June 2005. I had flown to Park City, Utah, from Alaska for the high-school graduation of my niece. That niece’s father, my brother, Eric, and my best buddy, T Mac, gathered for 18 holes at the Park City Golf Course (it has some hoidy-toidy name now, just like so many other things in the new Park City) and we got through 11 holes before a summer thunderstorm chased us off the links…and that was it. Until today.

Which is kinda crazy when you consider where I’ve been in the intervening years. I spent three years living in Solana Beach, California. I was six, seven, maybe eight miles from Torrey Pines, that glorious course on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, California, and site of Tiger Woods’ great triumph in the U.S. Open. In the other direction, I was maybe 15 miles from La Costa. And in all that time in San Diego County, I never played once. Didn’t take my clubs off their hanger in my garage, even to go to the driving range about a quarter-mile away. What the HELL was I thinking?

I have no idea. But T Mac and I got out on the Ould Newbury Golf Course this morning…a course we last played “back in 1988, ’89, when we were both highly intoxicated,” as he put it this morning when we were walking to the pro shop. I can remember playing Ould Newbury a few times back in those college years: playing with my brother, who was visiting from Utah, and with my father’s late friend, Doug Cray. I even have the impression my father tagged along with us one time though he didn’t play. (Aside: I remember seeing Air Force One fly overhead, surrounded by four F-16s, taking then-President George Bush (senior) to Kennebunkport, Maine.)

Anyway, T Mac and I made the rounds today over the nine-hole course and I have to say: I wasn’t displeased. The first hole? OK, we can skip that. But starting with the second hole, I drilled most of my drives. My iron play absolutely sucked, to put it bluntly. And my putting wasn’t very good. But you know what? After seven years off, I expected all of it to suck a whole lot more than it did.

No, I’m not a good golfer. I’ll never be a good golfer. As I mentioned to T Mac today on the fifth hole: I know I’ll never, ever, be a good golfer…and I’m OK with that. I’d be stoked if I didn’t suck quite so bad but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it if I stay at this level.

It’s in keeping with my belief that golf is a very Zen pursuit. To be good at golf, you have to be focused on the present, not the future…the shot, not the results. If you make a good shot — if you’re here, now — the end result will be what you seek. But if you’re focused on where the ball is going to go and not how you hit the ball, well, then you’ll screw it up, for sure.

I screwed up plenty of shots today. I also nailed a few. More importantly, I had a great time. The resurgence continues.

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