Surfing #29

As I stated in my other journals there are many factors that cause waves to form. Such as the winds, different depths of the ocean floor and the moon. But I did not know man could make a wave almost like mother nature could. I was just surfing the internet and I came across some websites and videos about tanker surfing. I had no clue what this was so I continued researching about this so called tanker surfing. Tanker surfing is simply a tanker ship which generated 5 foot waves that just go on for miles and miles. These waves go on for so long surfers get tired riding them and have to stop. This will be one of my long term goals to go tanker surfing.

Surfing #28

You may wonder why surfers never fall of these smooth slippery boards. The best thing you can put on your board is the classic surf wax in my opinion. When i first got my 6'4 Ron John Surf board i waxed it up and then i was ready for the water. Now my wax is getting dirty and losing grip. So I took it off with a wax comb the washed off all of the residue. Then I had a perfectly clean and smooth surface on my board. So i took a ride up to Sawgrass mills mall and went to Ron John and reuped on some more classic wax. Once I arrive back at my house I waxed up my board and was ready for the beach. Other surfers may prefer to use traction pads instead of wax. But i like to keep it classic with classic wax. :D

Surfing #27

On monday these was no surf so I could not go to the beach and surf. Bummer.. But anyways I went to the pool to swim a couple laps. When you are paddling out in the water you can get extremely tired and then you wont have enough energy to paddle into a wave. So swimming laps at the local YMCA helps out tremendously. So then swimming laps will enable me to catch more waves while I surf enabling me to have a better time while I surf. I Also went to the gym to do some cardio and lifted some weights for my back, chest, biceps and triceps.

Surfing #26

This past few weeks Rip Curl hosted and sponsored a surf competition in Australia. My mentor informed me of this and I surly tuned in to watch some of this competition. Since the contest was all the way in Australia I started to watch these amazing surfers around 10 P.M. My favorite surfer Kelly Slater started out great and destroyed some of these waves that came through. Wow I wish Florida got waves like that, (If we did I'd be a pro surfer by now) these waves looked like walls of glass in the water. They just started to barrel ever so perfectly. They were head high and the best word to describe them is "Perfection" As I watched this competition I tried to pick up and see what techniques these surfers used. I cant wait till the next time I go and surf so i can try these out for myself.

Surfing #25

Usually I surf at beaches close to town such as Ft. Lauderdale, Deerfield beach or Dania beach. The waves for florida are the best in central Florida, in places like Melbourne beach, Sebastian inlet and Fort Pierce inlet. Me and my buddy looked at the wave repot for south florida here, the waves were about three feet. Surf-able and should be fun, but we decided to look at the cameras and repot for central Florida. We looked for the report for Fort Pierce and the waves were chest high and very clean. So me and my buddy decided to take a mini surf trip 2 hours up the coast to Fort Pierce. When I was at the beach some of these kids were just studs at surfing due to the fact they get consistent waves throughout the year. Hopefully someday I will be able to shred like those kids.

Surfing #24

This week has been an interesting surfing week. I have been looking to get a board for the west coast of florida. In the west coast there is smaller and less clean waves than here in the East coast. So a bigger board will enable me to catch those waves there on the east coast. Also it will help me learn and progress as a surfer. Even when the waves are small here in our backyard this board will allow me to go and catch those waves.

Surfing #23

I have been talking about me surfing adventures throughout all of my journals. But i have never really talked about how to surf. First you need a board the longer the board the easier it is to catch a wave and surf. So for beginners i recommend any board at least 7 -10 feet. Once you get your board you need to get surfing wax and spread over 3/4 of your board. Next once your at the beach you need to attach your leash to your ankle (left ankle if goofy footed or right ankle if regular.) Once you have everything attached you are ready for the water. Now you need to walk out in the water as far as you can with your board. Then once you cant stand jump on your board and start paddling. Your going to have to duck dive under the waves. Once you are out over the break you have to play the waiting game. Once you see the perfect wave coming you have to paddle hard as you can like you never have before. You will feel the wave picks up the back of the board now you are caught in the wave. You will need to pop up on your board and then if you successfully do that you will ride down the face of the wave. Then if you want to turn left or ride you will need to simply lean your body to the desired way you want to go. Then ride the wave until you stop moving then jump off your board and do it all again. Now you know the basics on how to surf a wave.

Surfing #22

I have talked to several different surfers and each of them talk in a surfing language. When there's someone boggy boarding the surfers will call them boggers. When a surfer is surfing a waves and someone yells "nice cut back!" the surfer just performed a 180 degree turn on the wave. One the most famous phrases is most likely "hang 10". This is actually a trick performed when riding a wave, It is when you have all 10 toes on nose of the board, one of the most difficult tricks in surfing. The last term used to describe me is called a hodad this terms means a beginner surfer. Now you know some of the surfing phrases!

Surfing #21

It's been a busy couple days so far this week. I have not been able to go surf because Florida doesn't want to produce waves anymore. But i have been busy researching one of the worlds best surfers Kelly Slater. Kelly Slater is an America Professional surfer and has won the World title in surfing 10 times! He is like the Tiger Woods of surfing. Slater is a Florida native growing up in Coco Beach. Slater can do it all he has a handicap of +2 and 46 WCT wins. (most all time)

Surfing #20

Volleyball has been keeping me busier than I could imagine. But the sport has not stopped my research. I learned about reef breaks a little bit. These breaks could be amazing or just a disaster waiting to happen. Reef breaks cause the biggest and cleanest waves. If the reefs are far below the ocean surface this is ideal for surfing. But if the reef is shallow it is extremely dangerous and life threatening because these reefs are razor sharp and could cut you up and your can hit your head on the reef and become unconscience or many other things. This is why I surf on a Sand bar break. :D

Surfing #19

Injuries might just be my thing this year. I just healed from my strained hip flexor. Now I have a calf strain so these injuries won't stop haunting me. As far as surfing goes I have been trying to go out but the water has been flat. Now I recently saw some big wave surfers surfing 60 feet waves! It was absolutely insane these men have courage like no other. One of the surfers on the show went to France when the waves were 28 feet high! And he complained that the waves were to small.

Surfing #18

This week there was waves on monday about 3 to 4 feet. But I had a volleyball game scheduled for that monday. So I had to miss out on this surfing adventure. The game started at 4:30 and around 2:30 I received a text message that the game was canceled. Basically all along I could have went surfing, that mad me mad! We had the game yesterday and won so i guess that was a plus.

Surfing #17

This weekend was a blast. Also busy at the same time. I had a volleyball tournment all the way in Coral Gables Miami. The school we played at over looked the beach. There was no waves in the water. But i did get to see some marine life while i was at the beach. I saw a few man-o-war along the beach, then there was a few tarpon near a dock. I did some research on the internet about a famous surfer! He has won 10 ASP world titles. His name is Kelly Slater.

Surfing #15

There has been no waves in the past couple weeks and the report dosent look any better this upcomming week. I have researched various type of dangerous marine life. First jelly fish, they have many tenticals with stingers that come out when they make contact to the skin. I also researched various types of sharks. By far the most deadly shark is the great white off the coast of South Africa. A great white was also spotted recently off the coast of palm beach. So I better be on the look put when go surfing now.

Surfing #14

Spring break was a Blast! I went on trips, hung out with my friends and went to the beach. First i went to Duck key and stayed at Hawks Kay resort. I went all around the keys to different restaurants, snorkeling and relaxed at the pool. I got the worst sun burn of my life due to the fact me falling asleep in the sun. There was no waves over spring break so i didn't go surfing. Im waiting for another swell to come through.

Surfing #13

The wave repot for this week is looking just mediocre, there might be waves tomorrow morning. The report and winds show it will be around 3-4 feet! Those waves would be perfect for me; a beginner! So I didn't get to the gym as much as I could last week due to the my volleyball practice five days a week. But I got to practice yesterday because my hip flexor finally healed. But we lost one of our started so this season has gotten off to a rough start.

Surfing #12

On tuesday I went to the gym in the a.m. then went off to school for 3rd hour. After the work out I had practice immediately after school. I arrived a few minutes late to practice and had to run suicides and in the process of running those i strained my hip flexor. It is not the serious of a injury i just can not run or jump for the next several days. But on wednesday the surf repot looked promising once again. So Mario and I got out to the beach around 7:30 wednesday morning. We surfed all afternoon then packed up and got into the truck. And the truck woulden't start I left my headlights on! I went searching up and down the beach and looked for someone to give me a jump. After 45 minutes some construction workers came and gave me a jump.

Surfing #11

This past monday I woke up at the crack of dawn and looked at the surf camera for Fort Lauderdale beach. The camera looked very nice and like we could have a ton of fun out there. So my friend Mario and I went on our way to the beach and arrived there at 7:00! We beat all of the rush hour traffic and got to the beach and the waves were perfect! We surf there all day then came back to school! It was a blast!

Surfing #10

Finally I am recovering from my surgery. So this week is getting better and better each day as I recover. Also my volleyball season has just started so practice everyday for three hours is helping me get back in shape. I have been doing some research on waves. Did you know waves form from tiny ripples? The speed of the wind, direction, time and distance all affect how a wave will form also.

Surfing #9

It has been a rough few days since Friday. I got all four of my Wisdom teeth pulled out. It seems like all I have been doing is icing and taking painkillers. Hopefully the swelling will go down in the next day or so. I have done some research and a lot of sleeping and icing. I should have a full recovery by next week some time. Good thing I only have to do this once because it hurts!

Surfing #8

It was a Wednesday night and I looked at the surf report for Thursday. The repot was about 3-3.5 feet waves! So I work up early that Thursday morning and went to Ft. Lauderdale beach. I got out on the beach around 8 A.m. There were various jellyfish out in the ocean and people around me were getting stung. Luckily I avoided all of the jellies and did not get stung. As the morning started I did not stand up on my board. I was boggy boarding more than anything. Then as the day went on I got to my knees. The at last I stood up and finally rode a wave!

Surfing #7

I have just been bombarded this week with school, sports, WISE, and work. But Monday - Wednesday I did some research on various topics. First I looked for some the best spots to surf in the World. Gold coast Australia came into the number one spot. Then I went on to research some of the best spots on the east coast of Florida, Sebastian inlet came in the number one spot. With this beach only two hours away, once my skills get better I am going to have to take a trip there. Also I have been to the gym a few times this week to keep getting stronger to help me surf.

Surfing #6

This weekend it looked at if there was going to be waves on Saturday. But when i woke up in the morning and looked at the surf cam and the ocean was completely flat. Today I had work from 10am to 4pm. At the beach today the waves were knee to waist high. That means when you catch a wave and stand up on your board the wave will be from your knees to waist. These have been the best/only waves in the past couple weeks. I Just checked this website http://www.magicseaweed.com/ and the waves look mediocre on Wednesday. Lets hope this swell actaully comes down here to south Florida.

Surfing #5

Surfing monday - friday was just awful this week because it was flat. But I am so excited to go out this saturday and try and catch some waves. Also the gym has helped me this week get stronger so paddling out in the ocean will help me this saturday. This upcomming week I plan to learn about various surfing pro and continuing to read about tricks to surf. I will keep you posted on how the surfing trip goes on saturday!

Surfing #4

Sore is my word of the week. I have been hitting the gym pumping iron and play a little basketball. Then I have to go work at Substantial Sub and Salads from 4-9. These days are getting longer and longer. Im going to have to quit my work soon due to my volleyball season starting up on monday. The ocean has looked flat for the past few weeks but now the report is looking promising for saturday! Im getting very excited to go out and catch some waves. Also working out at the gym will have benfited me for paddling out to get over the break. Also i have learned this week how the economy has put a dent in the surfing community. Once a year there is a surf expo in Orlando Fl. Several years back this was a huge event where the streets where packed with thousands of people. Now the event is like a small gathering

Surfing day #3

Last week may have not been the most successful week on the water. But I have learned numerous of interesting facts over the last week. To start off with i was on Youtube looking at different surfing videos. First i watched a series of videos that teach you how to surf step by step. Also i some how stumbled upon this video where a professional surfer rides a 75 foot wave! It almost looked as if a wall of water arose from the bottom of the ocean. The surfer looked like a little spec in the wave. The biggest wave ever recorded was 1740ft  in Lituya Bay off the coast of Alaska. Another fun fact is the longest wave surfed was in the amazon river the surfer surfed for 37 minutes. Saturday of this week looks promising i hope i will be able to go out and surf this week!

Surfing #2

I woke up early this morning around 7:30. I quickly jumped on to the computer and went onto various websites. First i went onto magicseaweed.com and looked at the report and the waves were two feet so nothing surf-able. But i have done some research on the history of surfing. The first time people started to think about surfing was in 1779 by a crew member on captain James Cook first voyage. Then the Hawaiian culture viewed surfing more of a ritual rather than a sport as it is now. Surfing came to the North America in 1907.

Surfing #1

Wow, WISE has been a great experience so far already. The best part of the class is being able to leave campus which is so cool! For my project i have decided to go with surfing and targeting certain muscles at the gym which i need in order to surf. A few days ago i looked at the surf report and wednesday looked promising with 4 foot waves all day. But the report now has the waves only at 1.5 to 2 feet so my surfing trip for wednesday looks to be canceled. Maybe some waves will come later on this week but i will have to wait.