E's Surf Report: onshore, a few sections..

I sat at Sloat for about 20 minutes this morning debating whether to go out.. Onshore winds (WSW) were blowing pretty good.. but not raging.. signs of the south swell were showing.. with obvious sets coming through with lefts peeling better than rights. The rideable sections were few and far between, with most of the waves crumbling and then closing.. I saw one guy paddle out and do about 10 duck-dives for every 1 measly drop he got.. I bailed.. though now.. warm in my office.. i'm kinda wishing that i paddled out for some sections.. oh well.. if you're jonesing hard you could paddle out and get a few.. it's just not that good..

I'm still reeling from the terrorist attack at Kuta Beach, Bali.. I'm sure that many many surfers were killed and injured in the attack.. probably over 100.. It really hits close to home for me, as i spent time chilling in both those clubs.. scary.

Kus.. thanks for the footbag thoughts the other day.. you forgot to mention your own sandaled clipper stalls, mirages and flying clippers!

Robme.. tomorrow we should dawn patrol and get wet regardless of conditions..

scott.. duck diving.. hmm.. duckdiving is similar to olleying on a skateboard in that it involves a subtle, quick movement and use of leverage that is difficult to convey via words. As you paddle toward a wall of whitewater, place your hands on the rails and the ball of your dominant foot in the center of the back of your board. Hopefully you have some forward momentum from paddling as you begin the duckdive. When the wall of whitewater is about one-foot (maybe 2 or 3 feet as you're learning) in front of you, sink the front of your board by pushing down on the rails.. this is sometimes made easier by kind-of turning your board a bit to the side so that it slides down under the water... as you duck your head under the water press down hard with your back foot (on the tail of the board) and push forward with your hands on the rails.. at this point you should be underneath the crashing white-water and moving out to sea.. keep pushing with your back foot until the front of your board turns upward and you pop up out of the water... ready for another duck-dive.. there are some good tutorials on the web with pictures (video?) that i will try to track down..

if it makes you feel any better.. i learned to surf down the line, both backside and frontside, before i learned to duckdive.. it took me a while to get.. but is a NECESSITY at places like OB and in Indo..

good luck! good to practice on small days when you might not even need to duckdive..

here is a cool pic from an island off of Portugal...
sunrays and nice waves