Hold that Note

     The thing about surfing, Chip told me, is that "you leave no trail." Yessir, Mickey agreed: "It's like music -- you play it and it's done."
     The strategy you're looking for is the one that teaches you to hold the note.
                                                                   -- Bob Shacochis from "Return of the Prodigal Surfer"

Hanging on to that ephemeral note that vibrates as one long chime, rather than the ear-worm loop from some pop song that can annoy you to death, is similar to solving a zen riddle. You don't try to do it, you just let it happen. The more you concentrate on making it happen, the further away it becomes. This morning's session on the sandbar was a case in point.

The strategy was to allow the waves to come to you rather than paddling helter shelter trying to find a workable peak. There were definite indicators of a south swell -- long period lulls followed by a flurry of activity with faces rolling quickly over the bar. Mixed with fast-changing surface winds, however, there seemed no rhyme to wave shape or direction.

Although the shallow water was as warm as a baby's bath from a few days of intense sunshine and little wind, the breezes that were blowing beneath the morning marine layer carried a chill that made sitting and waiting a losing gambit.

Lots of smiles and chatter about the shark sighting (most calling it a hoax) and about needing to leave soon for work, projects and, of course surfboards, punctuated the camaraderie of a sweet day-breaking session.