Why People Pee in their Wetsuits......

Cuz its so F'n cold in the North Pacific! (Peeing in your suit is referred to as a "wettie warmer" in surf lingo by the way) Our surfing trip was SO much fun! The weather was ideal on Saturday but MAN was that water cold! Every wave that breaks over your head results in a pounding ice-cream headache like you just snorted an entire 7-11 slurpee! It really gets the adrenaline going though and the suit actually does a very good job of keeping you warm. I asked for a beginner's board at the surf shop and the guy brought me out a monstrous longboard. Trying to impress the surfer dudes that I realized this was a ridiculously large board I said "is that a board or a boat!?!" he replied, "Yah, sometimes we rent it out for parties..."

On the first day, I spent much of my time in the water fighting the current and getting a feel for the waves at Westport. I got up on the board to my knees and then tried to stand up only to be repeatedly launched from my board with arms flailing wildly. It was very much fun though. We had a cooler full of beer and food and an umbrella over some lounge chairs, a very sweet beach setup. The second day our typical "liquid sunshine" was back and it was cold, windy and rainy so we skipped the beach setup and headed straight to the waves with only our boards. I must say though, I was very impressed at the crowd on the beach. People in the PNW just don't let the weather interfere with their plans. There were kids building sandcastles, kites flying, people picnicking and about a hundred surfers. I managed to actually get up and stand on the board this day many times. I wasn't maneuvering at all, but definitely was up and riding the wave. It was a great feeling!