I did it! My goal this summer was to get 5 toes over the nose of my longboard, and I accomplished that this morning. The waves were about waist high, mushy, with a stiff offshore wind. However, they were good for setting up and getting to the nose. I was able to do some cross stepping and I was able to get to the nose of the board with control. I found myself with my toes almost to the nose and the board was still in trim, so I told myself “Just get them on the end!” so I just shifted forward a little and put my toes right up there. The wave petered out on me but I was able to back up and kick out of the wave. So I didn’t fall right off.
I’m hoping to get better at this. It’s tough, but it’s not that hard. I already have a good sense of balance and wave judgment thanks to all the shortboarding I’ve been doing. I’m stoked because I’ve only been seriously trying to do this for about 4 or 5 surf sessions. I really just don’t longboard that much.
Meghan got this great pic of me with the waterproof camera of me cross stepping a few days ago. This is probably one of the smallest waves in the history of surfing haha. Maybe I can photoshop the wave a little bigger….hmmm…
Longboarding is fun. I primarily ride short boards, sub 6′, but it’s definitely fun to break out the heavy log now and then.
I did just that with Claire on Tuesday, and had an absolute blast. I like to rag on my longboard, saying it’s too heavy to turn and it’s too big for me and yadda yadda. Well, I can’t turn it because I’m just not used to it. I mean, the thing weighs about 30 pounds, and it’s a heavy single fin. Not the most maueverable longboard. There are other styles of longboards out there that will turn much easier. But my longboard….well, let’s just say I like to call it the floating sidewalk. It’s relatively easy for a kook like me to bounce up to the nose, especially since I’m light in comparison to the board.
Anyway, I’m going to dedicate myself to one goal for the rest of my time in NY: wrapping my toes over the nose. I can get to within inches of the nose, but I haven’t gone all the way. I don’t think I’ll get all 10 toes over, but a cheater 5 will suffice. Now we just need some waves around here!
