Archived February 7, 2023
GIF from accidental photo burst misfire with the new Soloshot robo-cam. Could have gone a lot worse, considering I bought it off a guy at a truck stop in Exeter.
NNE/NE winds 15mph / 3.5ft @ 7s
The waves were fun. I borrowed my sister’s longboard. I haven’t surfed my primary board (6’8” midlength thruster setup) since it broke my nose. I’m preserving the nostril-shaped bloodstains on the deck to make a print (to be continued).
I’ll surf it again eventually but for now the long board feels like a slower, safer transition back to surfing after my facial trauma. It’s a 9’0 EPS board with thin rails and a thinner glass job. But I like running around on a big plank and catching lots of waves at rocky Rhode Island breaks, even if it means owing my sister a $175 ding repair. I probably caught 6 or 7 this time which is not bad in the cold and the crowd. I only last for about an hour and a half tops in the winter. The saltwater takes a toll on neoprene more so than the freshwater of the Great Lakes. The seams leak and the cuffs get crusty.
Today I was accompanied by my new friend, Mr. Soloshot. Other friends have offered to take pictures of me surfing, but they always get bored and look away right when I’m catching the wave of my life. I thought Mr. Soloshot would be different, because he is a robot. Turned out I was wrong. I was told his gaze is glued to a lump on your arm and follows wherever you go. But in the end, he succumbed to the same boredom that has afflicted many of my friends.
I got him all set up on the beach. I gave him some instructions. He blinked in acknowledgment. I paddled out, but as soon as I left the frame, he got bored and found something more interesting to look at. Seaweed. When I returned, he was gazing listlessly into the shallows. I wish I knew what was bugging him. And I wish he told me before he agreed to photograph me. Hopefully we can repair this friendship, but until then my surfing practice will continue to go undocumented.