Miss The Morning Surf, session notes from the Rogue.

"It's like, a place that's always there. It's free. No one's telling me what I can and can't do when I'm out there," he says of the water. "It's the one place where I feel like I can breathe deeply." - Kai Lenny
Exploding blue-green bomb along Castles frontage, 9/21/2019.

   Snapped my leash a couple days earlier trying to navigate the storm surge. Finally had a morning clean-up surf in mind. Initial focus of the session's start was to find another leash. Castles at 38th had a fair break goin.' Not the usual point break, with Humberto playin' off the coast well north of Bermuda.

Endless Summer Surf Shop right on the corner on the Coastal Highway. Convenient for sure. Closed when I first walked up. Went back to the Terrain, changed into trunks, pulled the stick outta the bag. Looked towards the surf shop and Mahalo!, a bro was pulling gear onto the sidewalk. I was in business, new leash in hand. Ten minutes later, I was paddling out into the lineup.

Incredible morning in the 80s. Bright sunshine. Shimmering blue-green water. Ocean temps still in the lower 70s. Off-shore winds. Semi-clean, waist to stomach curlers that closed out occasionally. Steep. A little heavy. If you didn't take off on angle and set your rail, the drop would get ya. Got me, a couple of times. More lefts than rights. One particular ride I took the drop, skimmed down a frontside, and was surprised by a fair sized echo swell that snapped me off my feet. Lost my balance and ended up knocked in the head by the next wave. Wish I had been ready, would've been fun to jump.

Conditions like this morning's usually mean a crowded lineup. But, the guys in this one were friendly and talkative. Good group. There was this one dude who was rippin' every wave he went after. Hoopin' and hollerin' on every ride and for everyone who caught a ride. Into the 2nd hour, the closeouts occurred more often. Everyone (especially me) began to struggle more. I remember, and this stood out to me, he said to anyone listening, "well, I guess guess it's about time to stop being selfish." I'm thinking, as he was catching just about everything, he was going to let up to give others a chance at a few more. So, I said to him, "not being selfish as long as you don't miss." He kinda smiled, looked down and said, "Naw, I mean I've had my time. Now it's time for family. Gotta have that balance, ya know?" This resonated with me. I rolled on the next attempt, so I took to the beach. The Wife and I were goin' to our Granddaughter's birthday party slated for the afternoon. Didn't wanna be late. My balance. Was a nice start to the day. I miss the morning surf.
   Even a semi-heavy session pairs well with a heavy beer. DC Brau Brewing had the Imperial IPA, On the Wings of Armageddon to fit the bill. Strong aromas of floral hops, grapefruit, and tropical citrus filled my head as I poured. Red tinted copper in hue and a two-finger, beige head that topped off the glass. At first sip, flavors of sweet orange, mango, more grapefruit, and biscuity malt to balance it all out. Gotta have balance, ya know? 2nd sip brought more sweet citrus and the signature resinous pine that characterize a lot of Imperials. Had a creamy feel to the 9.2% ABV it represented. Enough to take the edge off the Atlantic's chill too. Finished off nicely bitter and crisp thanks to the snappy 110.0 IBUs. Wow! 110.0 IBUs...I like it! DC's Redskins haven't been able to give me satisfaction so far this season, but DC Brau certainly did. Rated this hop bomb an A.

"Beer doesn't have that many vitamins.
That's why ya need to drink lots of it!" 
-Anonymous

Balance.