Surfing again

At last, a decent swell; it rolled in from the west over the weekend. I met it on the usual beach, late on Sunday afternoon. Haven't been out on my board for quite some time; paddling was very tiring, and I succeeded in getting out to the main break only when I decided to ignore protesting muscles and paddle flat out, using long, deep strokes, as if rowing.

Catching the waves was still easy, though, and my weight distribution was good; I never dug the nose in. A bit shaky on my feet though; took a few runs in to get that sorted out, but eventually I found myself getting up and staying up. I even had some success with steering - both prone and standing - using changes of weight distribution to move along the wave front and to avoid bodies in the water. Nothing dramatic, but it seemed easy, and I never tipped myself in. The best/funniest ride saw me catch a wave very late: I only decided to try for it at the last second,
and was only half on the board when it hit me. Vaguely astonished not to have been capsized on the spot, I eventually manged to pull myself fully atop the board, and eventually to scramble to my feet; would have made hilarious video.

Practice makes perfect; must get out again, soon.