Saturday AND Sunday Surf Session - WHAT!

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

That's right!  I surfed Saturday AND Sunday this weekend.  I was down south in Northern San Diego County.   So, I went surfing at one of the best spots down that way, Cardiff by the Sea. 

Saturday's session was on my Infinity Phoenix V4 SUP.  I love my asymmetrical board.  I did the paddle thing for an hour.  It was fun.  I'm starting to get it more and more.  It is definitely harder to paddle into a wave than the Walden Magic Model I had before.  At the same time, it surfs so much better.

After an hour or so of that I ditched my paddle on shore and prone surfed for another hour.  Again, I love my Phoenix.  It surfs so well.  It is confidence inspiring even in powerful surf.

This weekend's surf was not powerful, but it was a lot of fun.  I think both Saturday and Sunday ran about waist-high for most sets.  Every now and then a larger set would roll through. 

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

The tide was a bit of an issue because it was really low mid morning and didn't really push in for the following high tide.  Cardiff is a reef break (rock reef - not coral) and a low tide brings a lot of the rock really close to the surface, but not quite out of the water.  There's usually just enough room for your surfboard fins and not much else as you get closer to shore.  It also makes stepping off your board at the end of a wave weird.  You have to be careful not to just step off because it might be rock, it might be sand, it might be shallow, or it might be deep.

On Sunday, I surfed my 8' Grain Surfboards Steamer that I built back in October of 2013.  It was finally done at the glass shop, Moonlight Glass, last week and I picked it up this past Saturday from Surfy Surfy in Leucadia, CA.  It turned out SO good.  It looks AWESOME.

I purchased a Progress Project Board Bag and a wood Rainbow Fin for it in the mean time.  The bag is made from a repurposed surf competition advertisement sign.  It is heavy duty waxed tarp like material.  It is very well made and I am equally stoked on it as I am with the board itself.

The Rainbow Fin is cool because the wood pattern matches the board itself very well.  Plus, at 9" it handles the heft of the board in surf no problem.

Original photo by Clayton Plummer

Surfing the Steamer was such an awesome experience.  It is a really heavy board, somewhere in the 30 pound range.  I was worried that the heft would be an issue, but the opposite was true.  Paddling was tough to start, but once the board was in motion, it was easy to keep momentum.  Turtle diving the board was equally easy.  The weight helped keep the board under the wave and going through the wave.  Paddling to catch a wave was again tough to get going, but once motion started it was easy to continue.  Once in a wave, it bottom turned like a dream and tracked down the line like a freight liner.  I'm not anything to write about when it comes to my surf style, but I was styling it up as much as I could on this board and those waves.  SO MUCH FUN!!

So, needless to say, I am happily sore and tired from all of my surfing adventures this weekend.

Until next time,
Clayton