Friday, August 12, 2005

First Contact

With all the red tide going around and very little surf to boot, I thought I'd finally take the time to write about my own experiences about surfing after having been an avid reader of Whiff, Surfsister, and Col. Parker's travails.

Before launching into my first post, I must say that red tide just blows. First contact with red tide came in fall of 2003. Didn't think anything of the red funky crap rolling in. The water looked like mud water or thai tea before getting stirred up with the cream. I was on a roll, surfing all the time, getting into the groove of catching waves consistently. Everyone else was surfing and I just wrongly assumed that there weren't going to be any side effects.

Now, after every surf session I've ever had, my nose always drains. Whether it's right away, or a few hours later, my nose always dispels all the seawater that it accumulates after every wipeout. I've even had it come out in a big gush 2 hours later during lunch. I bent over to wipe off the seat and then my nose just opened up and water came out in a big spurt. Sounds gross, but it feels great when it does come out. My brother was witness to it and gave a mixed look of amusement, disbelief, and slight uneasiness.

Well, after surfing in red tide a few weekends in a row, the water stopped draining, so I started to sound like I had a cold without the nasty effects of the cold. Phoebe from Friends should consider surfing in red tide if she wants to retain that "sexy" voice for singing "Smelly Cat."

I woke up one morning, right before heading to the beach with the nastiest ear ache. I head to the beach, but by the time I get there, I'm in pain. I have to get pass up on a huge swell, go home and crash out for a few hours before heading to urgent care. Doctor gave me meds for both a sinus and ear infection.

It took me a few weeks to recover, but I didn't learn my lesson. I went out again, got another infection and was laid out for a month. I was definitely torn up.

My friend had a similar reaction to the red tide. His doctor wanted to make cuts in a few places to his face in order to drain out his sinuses completely. Didn't sound like it would be that fun and he's postponed the procedure thus far.

This year, I got a mild ear infection, no sinus issues yet. I just wade around the whitewater these days teaching friends how to surf. No wipeouts to worry about.

After reading the extensive article on Surfline.com about red tide, it looks like we can hope for red tide to dissipate once some storms hit so that the water temp will stabilize.

Here's to hoping the red tide goes away.

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Clerks II - July 21, 2006