Weird Boards

My friend used to always bust my balls about surfing "weird" boards. "Weird" [to him] was defined as anything but a standard thruster. It's true that Venice Pier -which was where we'd surf together- is probably a better fit for a standard thruster, but, Porto can throw you many different looks. I've found that I actually need something  other than a standard shortboard under certain conditions. Such was the case this morning.

The tide was super high which really slowed down the waves that would roll through. My Tokoro quad was perfect for this. It could be considered a quadfish but it has a much more performance-oriented outline than your typical fish with it coming in probably 2 inches narrower across and a defined nose that is really pulled in. It almost has a point. However, it's got girth where it counts -right under the chest- which makes it a real wave catcher. I'm not lying when I say I was about the only one that was getting anything on the peak I paddled out to.

In fact, while spocking from the parking lot I almost decided not to paddle out because waves were rolling under the other two surfers that were on it which made me think it wasn't surfable. Still, I saw a wave roll through with a good left shoulder and decided to give it a shot anyway. Glad I did.

Weird boards rule.