Back to Desperation Sessions...

When I heard the bouys were three feet at eleven seconds last night, I decided I was getting up early and checking Matanzas. Tide would be high at 7:30am, so with a little luck, I could catch the rogue remnants of Bertha and no one would even have noticed the slight bump up until it was too late. This was when I again realized that I am obsessed, and there needs to be an organization like AA for people like me who can't imagine life without surfing. I got to the parking lot, and when I saw Bob's car was missing, I knew it probably wasn't worth it. A guy was sprinting back to the parking lot from the overlook, and he was actually smiling at me like there might be waves. He was barefoot. He looked like a surfer. Hope springs eternal, and all that. When I got to the overlook, one shortboarder was running out to the break which looked marginal to me. Sure there were waves, but they were small and looked weak. He streaked across a pretty decent left, but I could see the sets were sparse. Gnats were everywhere, making it hard to stay and watch. The same guy I had just seen walking by came running along the boardwalk with his longboard. "Don't look too close," he smiled as he passed me, "I have to get to work!" I decided to let these guys have the spoils. I had all morning, and they probably had to get out of the water in an hour. I drove back to the pier. Good call. I caught it alone, and better than what I had seen back there. Rights were wedging near the pier, and they were a lot more fun than yesterday. Only drawback was the annoying fishermen. Their game seemed to be how close they could cast without actually hooking me. Why is it they can't stand on the other side of the pier? The drift was going south, unlike yesterday when this same question formed in my mind. It is as if they deliberately want to fish right where we want to surf. I turned around then, and saw Karen up on the beach, holding onto Jake, watching me, waving. I waved back. Then two guys paddled out, and I knew there was not enough for all of us. Karen came out after I left, and said by then it had gotten lumpy and that I had gotten the best of it...