High Tide Board Breaker

There's another full moon out this week making the tides messed up in the morning. I went out later in the morning to see small waves with very few people in the water. Good thing I brought the 9'2 or I wouldn't have caught any waves. Towards the beginning, I was catching waves, but they were breaking so close to shore that I had to bail out of them early or risk breaking my board or my neck. The bottom is still screwed up so the waves on the outside are mushy and the inside section is still bowling over. I tried to get barreled a few times, but got pounded into the sand.

As the day went along and the tide was going out, things got better. There was some texture on the surface, but the crowds thinned out completely and I was able to catch some great waves. They weren't epic, but still fun rides.

I recently received a book on how to get better at surfing. It has tons of pictures and gives step by step instructions on what to do. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but plan on doing so. They go through the basics to the advanced stuff. Pick up a copy if you can find it. It's in my car and the next chance I get, I'll put up the title and maybe a link, if I find out where it was purchased. It was a gift after all.

Locals

I didn't get to surf this past weekend cause I flew over to Guam on a last minute basis for work. I figured I'd have the weekends to catch some surf in crystal clear water over there. Shows you what I know. The locals were pretty tight lipped about their surf spots and since I didn't want to cough up the money to ship a board over, I'd have to stick to body surfing. They had surf shops, but I didn't come across any place that loaned out boards. One guy at the local surf shop said that they send all the tourists to some beach break, in the far (1 hour drive) south. The whole time I was there, the trade winds were howling like mad. I could see the surf, but they were breaking over the reef that surrounds the whole island.

So, in the internet age or information age, I use the internet, hit up a site called Wannasurf.com in order to see what's been posted about Guam. Well, lo and behold, there are some world class reef breaks, but you have to bribe the locals with some bud (both the beer and the herbal kind) and beg like a madman. Or, you find these spots, surf as much as you can as fast as you can, then get the hell out of there before some locals come over and either A.) Come over and slug you in the water, B.) Cut your leash and take your board to sell it off, C.) Wait for you outside and thrash you on the street, D.) Flatten your tires, E.) Or all of the above.

I got chummy with one of the locals who worked at the hotel. He said that his cousin surfs most of those breaks and the locals don't mind thrashing people in the water. He actually told me about some marines who got the great welcome treatment for surfing their break without the herbal (medicinal of course; glaucoma is a huge problem on the island probably due to the crystal clear waters and tropical weather) sacrificial offerings. Well, kind of spoiled my weekend. Why go in the water, even if it looks like a natural swimming pool, when you can't catch any waves? In all honesty, I would have probably died after I wiped out on a wave. Never surfed a reef before and it doesn't sound like fun if you wipe out.