Update: Illness and Travel Plans

On Saturday March 30th, I went to the beach sans wetsuit and con skimboard to open skim season.  The warm weather and mid-day high tide ensured I wouldn't be too cold.  A friend of mine swears that wearing a wetsuit while skimboarding is akin to laying down with a man so I waited long enough to avoid the hurtful whispers and accusatory stares she would likely bestow upon me the next time I meet her acquaintance.

There was very little swell and the shorebreak didn't really have much going on.  I skimmed maybe a dozen times before zoning out a good half-hour, not finding a single decent hit section or launch pad.  I felt sluggish and I packed it in.  The next morning, I woke up with a sore throat and as Easter Sunday progressed, the telltale signs of a sinus infection gingerly crept in.

I was feeling well enough to continue my gym routine as usual, but on Wednesday night I went a little too hard on the guitar jamming and blew my throat out.  My voice was useless on Thursday and not much better Friday.  It still suffers from an octave or so drop to the extent that passers-by may mistake me for someone who did in fact complete puberty.

This setback pushed me back into full-borne cough/cold/fever/congestion mode and I've been functional but pretty miserable.

I'm still feeling the symptoms and have kept myself out of the water as a result.  Today I managed to complete a full routine at the gym so I am very close to being at full strength and will likely go for a surf drive tomorrow morning.

My wife and I found out we're expecting our first and likely only child at the end of February.  It's due at the end of October.  Thanks to the discovery of the fetus, my plans to go to India for a wedding were scuttled and will be parlayed into a boat trip to the Mentawai islands of Indonesia.


This is exciting for me for several reasons:

1. I've never left the northwest hemisphere of the planet.  The Mentawai are in the southeast. Padang (my last air connection, in Indonesia) is JUST south of the Equator.
2. I'll be surfing a whole new ocean, so far having only amassed the Pacific and Caribbean.
3. The trip would normally cost $4500, but airfare has already been paid due to the India plans.  Interestingly enough, I will be only about two hours by air from India.
4. Ten days of only surfing.  No internet. No phone calls. It is very likely I will not see a single woman during the entire trip which will be trippy.  Luckily my system is set to hermaphrodize AFTER fifteen days of not seeing a woman so I should return a heterosexual male.
5. The Mentawais are the most wave-rich zone on the planet.  Swell comes roaring from storms near Antarctica and funnel east and north.  The multiple island setup allows for there to be surfable waves as long as there's swell.  Problematic winds can be sidestepped by going to the opposite side of an island, where the winds will be offshore.
6. I can surf waves about which I've dreamt for years: Macaronis, E-Bay, HT's and Greenbush in particular.



So far I've had trouble finding someone to go with.  My last hope appears to be Missed-It-Mike, who has a big work project ending in August.  My goal is to go in early September, approximately six weeks shy of the due date.  I'm getting a little push-back from the Mrs. as she's afraid I'll miss the birth, but the chances of that are somewhat slim.

I will be taking my day-to-day 6'1" DHD, a step-up 6'3" for the head to slightly overhead days and a balls-to-the-wall 6'6" or 6'7" if it gets double overhead.  All will have GoPro mounts and I'll move the camera from board to board as needed.

Stay tuned...