Muizenberg was good this morning: a light north-wester and bright sunshine; ambient temperature low 20s, incredible for mid-August; sea temperature only 14 but it was so good I stayed in for 2 hours. The swell was bigger than in recent weeks. I had a first today - as I was paddling out a big breaker scrunched me. I was shunted backwards for 20m but stayed on, eventually swinging the ski around the right way. I was so chuffed. The main difference between a paddle-ski and a surfboard is speed. A board is faster and you'll see most surfers riding the swell to the bottom and then cranking it back up to the crest. On a ski you have less speed so if you drop to the bottom you lose pace more than a board. It's better to stay higher on the wave and keep up the pace. That sound of water hissing around you as you surge across the face is so exhilirating. You get the same sound on a dinghy like a Laser or Hobie, cutting through the water. It's natural energy. There's a similar effect on AM radio at dawn when long-distance signals rise up through the ether creating a fluttering sensation. The QSL is from WAKR Akron Ohio, a 5kWer - heard just before 7 am Cape Town time in winter 1968, one of my first US AM stations, 8200 miles away.
Saturday 14 August 2010
Going backwards to Akron
Muizenberg was good this morning: a light north-wester and bright sunshine; ambient temperature low 20s, incredible for mid-August; sea temperature only 14 but it was so good I stayed in for 2 hours. The swell was bigger than in recent weeks. I had a first today - as I was paddling out a big breaker scrunched me. I was shunted backwards for 20m but stayed on, eventually swinging the ski around the right way. I was so chuffed. The main difference between a paddle-ski and a surfboard is speed. A board is faster and you'll see most surfers riding the swell to the bottom and then cranking it back up to the crest. On a ski you have less speed so if you drop to the bottom you lose pace more than a board. It's better to stay higher on the wave and keep up the pace. That sound of water hissing around you as you surge across the face is so exhilirating. You get the same sound on a dinghy like a Laser or Hobie, cutting through the water. It's natural energy. There's a similar effect on AM radio at dawn when long-distance signals rise up through the ether creating a fluttering sensation. The QSL is from WAKR Akron Ohio, a 5kWer - heard just before 7 am Cape Town time in winter 1968, one of my first US AM stations, 8200 miles away.
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