======== Newsgroups: alt.surfing Subject: There's no place like Home (break)!! From: Foondoggy Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 16:54:23 -0400 Back from the Left Coast, still sick with a headcold and somewhat jetlagged, the week at work seemed like some cruel and unusual punishment for taking off to travel. My nightmare began when I found out that one of my biggest deadline jobs projects was grossly late and had remained idle while I was away. The result was I had to pull three consecutive, 12 hour days deep in the bowels of a printing plant in Baltimore, sucking press fumes and absorbing the deafening roar of a big 8 color press while babysitting the job. My only compensation was finding a genuine neighborhood Tavern called "Ned's" that opened at 9 am and served a great breakfast, and like "Cheers" everybody got to know my name. ("Your nickname is what, mister? Hey Norm, dis guy's name is Foondoggy!!!Whatta Pissa! Here Foon, dis one's on, me. You da one wit da problem.") By Friday I was stretched as tight as a drumhead. The weather for the weekend looked bad as a classic Right Coast Nor'Easter gathered strength to paste the Coast with driving wind and rain (and cancel the first game of the World Series). It had been 3 weeks since my last session and I was as desparate for surf as a drowning man is for a life preserver. In spite of the bad forecast, we were scheduled to go to the Surf Palace for an annual homeowners association meeting. The drive to the shore was the worst I could remember with terrible wind, rain and standing puddles of water the whole way. By the time we arrived at 1 am, my brain was toast. Since the storm was predicted to rage throughout the weekend, I decided to sleep in Saturday, late. When was I ever gonna learn? At 9:30 am one eye blinked open. I could no longer hear the driving, torrential rain that had woken me up several times during the night. Instead, I could hear: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Hey! I know that sound! It sounds just like.....!!!!!! Launched from the bed like I had a rocket in my pants,(Actually I do, but that's another newsgroup) I flung open the deckdoor blinds and said, "oh shitttttttttttt, Foonboy, now you've done it." Out the window I could see chest to ohead plus sets pouring perfectly over the sandbar. The sets of 5 or more waves at short intervals (8 seconds) were visible almost to the horizon. The cold front associated with the Nor'Easter had come through overnight creating very good waves and an offshore wind of 10-15mph with higher gusts. I ran out to the dune path to see only about 8 guys getting fantastic Fall Classic caliber rides! As I came crashing back into the house, Mrs.Foon reminded me of the homeowners meeting we had to attend since she is the Secy/Treasurer, and I wanted to propose and vote on several important items. I was already cursing my luck as we left for the meeting. I found a good place to sit and watch the surf in the president's living room. Bob brought the meeting to order and I immediately moved that due to the fantastic surf conditions that everyone could see out Bob's window, we take up new business first. But noooooooooo, since Bob is a control freak and loved to see me squirm with each breaking wave, he decided to prolong the meeting with organizational stuff like budget and old business. Finally my long dormant and surpressed, native Nu Yawker personality could no longer take the delay (a 4 wave set of unequalled quality and form had just broken UNRIDDEN!!!) I interupted Bob midsentence, "Frankly Bob, no one here gives a shit about what a good rental season you had. Maybe we should move on to new business and you can save your gasbag speech 'til the end for that one person who may give a damn! All in Favor???? The ayes have it!! I would like to propose and simutaneously post my vote on these new items:" 1.New Roofs and paint jobs on all the community buildings. 2.Replace and expand the hurricane fencing around the dune and dunepaths to keep those damn tourists off our sand dune. 3.A no vote for paving the dune parking lot. Don't people come to the beach to get sand on their feet anyway? 4.A no vote for providing hot water at the community beachside showers. Let 'em freeze their tits off for all I care! "OK, with that said, you know how I feel - gotta go." Bam, I was outta there. Later Mrs.Foon said there was a stunned silence and someone said, "What the hell got into HIM?" She reported that she explained, "Sorry folks, he went all the way to the West Coast to surf, but couldn't and now....... well, you can see out the window." Everybody nodded in agreement, "Yeh, he's a nutcase alright!" In five minutes I was paddling out. The water was a toasty 65 degrees. I could have done it in a springsuit, but I wanted to test out again the 3/2 Mrs.Foon had bought me last year. Actually, with the airtemp at 52 and the wind whipping in straight from the West at 10-15mph, the water felt like a bath tub. God, I love when this happens!!! Though rusty and weak from my layoff, I scooted outside in a lucky lull and wondered why there weren't 3 dozen surfers out? Too eager to surf, I chose waves that were way too challenging for my startup rides and ate it big. In each of the workings I could hear Huey say, "Welcome back, Foonboy. We've missed stomping your flabby, freckled body into mush while you were gone. Take it easy friend, there's plenty to go around." And there was. It was one of those deliriously wonderful all day sessions that actually got better as the wind and tide did their thing. Everyone was scoring once in a season waves which were not as big as Edouard, but better formed and stronger than Hortense! Tube, lip, and pocket stunts could easily be done as the waves formed up as big peaks from the North, then angled into long leftbreaking walls with rides up to 75 yards! The biggest trick was figuring the wind. You couldn't let up when you first felt the slide. You had to continue on down the face helping gravity give you extra speed so that when you reached the bottom, your vertical drop speed would be converted into horizontal speed. You really had to bounce out of your turn and get moving because once these lips started to come over, you really didn't want to meet up with them. At one point the Foondoggy II memorial sandbar became the break of choice as it created 40 foot wide horseshoe shaped peaks, that tailed off into screaming coverup walls. Lots of fun, if you dared to pay the price. By mid-afternoon my battery was dead. I let myself be washed up on shore and I recalled the disappointment of my journey West. I could hear Huey admonish me, "That'll teach you to abandon your homebreak Foonboy, not to mention your birthday tradition." In 20 years I had been in or near the Ocean on my birthday, until this year. I regretted breaking the tradition and resolved never to do it again. My experiences on the Left Coast could have been punishment for not honoring that commitment but I thanked Huey anyway for welcoming me back to my home break. -Foondoggy ;^) "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." -Christian Morgenstern