Surfing with a shoulder injury (or two)

It's not easy to accept that you can't surf.  Whether it's for a few days because you're sick or, even worse, a few months to years because of injury, being stuck out of the water is miserable.  In the last few years I have had a number of injuries that have kept me beached for more time than I was able to surf.

After two [only somewhat successful] SLAP repairs on both my shoulders, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things.  I was able to paddle around and stay out in overhead waves for almost an hour last weekend (see photos below).  Keep in mind, this is after almost a year of Physical Therapy (I hit my yearly insurance maximum of 65 visits), and countless doctor's appointments to discuss alternate treatments to an additional shoulder surgery.

I wanted to share what worked for me.  Firstly, find a GOOD physical therapist.  Make sure they (or, more likely, their aides) closely monitor your exercises and make sure you're using the correct muscles.  I spent months of physical therapy doing the correct motions with the wrong muscles.  I was sure physical therapy just couldn't help me until I went to a better practitioner who specialized in shoulders and had experience with surfers.  He was slowly able to ween back into more difficult paddling motions and strengthen the necessary muscles to maintain shoulder stability.

A less likely solution that I decided to try was a joint supplement called Animal Flex.  Yes, it sounds like an underground animal testing facility, but it seems to work.  It's a collection of 10+ joint supplements that supposedly increase joint functionality and resilience.  There are 3 categories of supplements called 'Joint Construction Complex', 'Joint Lubrication Complex', and 'Joint Support Complex'.  The names are somewhat self-explanatory and each complex consists of 3-6 individual supplements.  You take a pack of pills daily, and when you bust it out at lunch you look like you have a serious disease.  After just 3 weeks of taking the supplements, however, my shoulder feels much more mechanically sound.  Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

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BMW i8 - Powerful Idea Commercial

In this skin-tingling BMW i8 commercial the writing may not be mindblowing, but the acting is superb and lends to the incredible vibe of the spot. The car is a great blend of performance, technology, and design and this spot certainly makes you feel it.

Mercedes Demonstrates Vehicle Stability With Chickens

... and it's about as amazing as you would expect it to be.

Ad is for the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250.

Finding that Perfect Uncrowded Wave

We all know that feeling of excitement when you find a spot with perfect, deserted waves.

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Surfboard Storage in a Studio Apartment - Revisited With Tips

Last year, I posted about surfboard storage in new studio apartments in New York.  You can see that post here: http://offshorewinds.blogspot.com/2013/01/surfboard-storage-in-studio-apartment.html.  If you don't have unique storage spaces for your surfboard like those studio apartments in New York, here are some tips to make your apartment livable and the waves ripable.  Pick and choose to fit your style.

Please note: I do not own any of the images displayed in this blog.

You might not have this kind of entourage in your apartment (if you do, then why are you worrying about something as petty as surfboard storage?), but this is a great surfboard rack placement.  The wall racks fit nicely over the couch and look good at the same time.  As you can see, there's plenty of space to keep extra boards on it

This isn't a studio apartment (not all of these are), but it offers a unique way to store your surfboard.  It's a variation of both ceiling and wall racks.  This rack is mounted out of mind on the molding where the ceiling meets the wall.  This way, you use space that would otherwise go wasted.

This design-friendly approach matches the surfboards to the apartment's walls.  While this looks nice, it's not necessary.  This is how I store my surfboards in my studio- a simple lean against the wall.  You can put some rubber or padding where the board touches the wall to keep it in place.

Here's another design-friendly alternative to the above method.  These wracks are more for permanent display and less for storage, but they can be used for both.  What a great, minimalist look.

Here are some simple, DIY racks up close and personal.  They're nothing fancy, but you can build some of these or pick them up on Craigslist for less than $20.  This is a good option for shortboards in a studio apartment for the price-conscious consumer.

Here is true ceiling storage racks.  These are perfect for surfboard storage in a studio apartment because they're taking up unused space.  For bigger longboards like this, use caution because they can make the apartment look cluttered.  This is a good example of function over form.

If you guys have any other ideas for storing surfboards in studio apartments or small spaces, leave them in the comments!

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When a Friend Wants You to Get Out of the Water Early

I don't think so.

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Playalinda Florida. Surfing Exposed.

Playalinda Beach in Florida is better known as a nude beach than a surf break.  However, when hurricane season comes around, the nudies come out to watch the surf and the locals rip it.  Despite the waves' small size, Playalinda has great shape.  Because Playalinda Beach is located rather far from the city, the waves are pretty wide open for most of the year.

Enjoy these photos...

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Offshore Winds' Most Amazing Surf Photos (round 2)

Because the last round of Offshore Winds' Most Amazing Surf Photos was so popular, here's a new and improved round 2.  Enjoy this amazing surf photography.

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Insane Drops

In every surf blog, it seems that there's a post for the worst wipeouts.  On YouTube, 'surfing wipeouts' is one of the most searched surfing keywords.  Instead of sure wipeouts, I wanted to make things interesting and catch people in a pivotal moment: a moment of a disbelief.  Check out these insane drops.

 Okay, so this guy has no chance...

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Shacked

Surfing barrels.  Getting shacked.  Taking a ride in the green room.  Getting barreled is a surfer's ultimate move, and one of the best feelings.  When you're barreled, you're in the zone.  You're dunking over your opponents, you're teeing up your balls just right, and hitting the sweet spot on a racket.  Many try to describe the feeling as insatiable... addicting.  Here are some photos (and quotes) on the subject.

Getting Barreled is Nirvana ... it's hard to achieve, but once you've been there you'll never forget the experience. And, you'll want to get back there as often as possible

You won’t find a better feeling from anything else, way better than any drug and way more addictive.

Once you have tasted your first barrel that’s it everything else on this world will come second, work, school, responsibilities, you can forget all of them if there are some shacks to be had!

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Surfing Nostalgia

A beautiful and heartfelt article written by a man to whom I can relate.  Many dream of being a surf writer, and many of us surfers define ourselves by our sport.  This article shows an interesting evolution of this concept by writer Roy Harrell.

Almost 10 years ago to the day, I began to write this weekly column I called the Surf Report. At the time I had recently rediscovered the joys of surfing after a sabbatical of quite a few years, and rather naively reasoned that everyone shared my enthusiasm and would appreciate a weekly newspaper column dedicated to the sport of surfing. Some 520 columns later, I find myself looking back on a paper trail of a big section of my life. My children grew up in this column. My son, Roy, was 12 years old when I started. He’s 22 today.

During that decade of writing I bared my soul. I sent dispatches from every surf trip, every surf contest, every week, no matter where I was. I got up in the middle of the night in Hawaii to get my article in before the 8 a.m. deadline in order to compensate for the five-hour time zone difference. I tapped out my stories in Internet cafes in strange cities long before the days of WiFi. I’ve written from the Bahamas, from Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, California, and just about every state on the Eastern Seaboard.

I don’t know what drove me to do it. It certainly wasn’t the money. I got paid the same ridiculous pittance for 10 years without an increase. I guess you would have to say I did it for the love of surfing. I never was really that good at it, but boy, did I love it.

At one time the column was printed in as many as five different papers, reaching from Assateague to Salisbury, to Seaford to Milford. And thanks to the Internet edition, I heard from critics and readers from all over the world.

Back when I first started, the Delaware buoy was our only forecast and reporting tool. Nowadays, there are multiple sites that offer hourly forecasts, updates, and several surf cams strategically positioned around Delmarva. My article posted a week after I wrote it with generally no pictures. It was hard to compete. So I didn’t. I wrote about what interested me and hoped that it was interesting to others as well. Funny thing is, I think a lot of people that never surfed a day in their life found it more interesting than many surfers ever did. Little old ladies I met in the grocery store loved it.


But today is going to be my last Surf Report. Oh, I still love surfing, but maybe not quite the way I used to. Once upon a time, even though I wasn’t a very good surfer, I defined myself first and foremost as a surfer. I would have to say that isn’t the case anymore. Today, surfing is something that I do, it’s not who I am.

In fact, incongruous as it may sound to some of you, who I am today is a pastor of a small church called The Beach Fellowship, which I started here in Bethany several years ago. I worked a number of side jobs to support myself in that, and the surf column helped some in that regard. I still surf on a regular basis, and hope to continue for another 10 years at least. But I write a to a different tune nowadays. And I can only hope that I write better sermons than I did surf columns. I imagine they are just as confrontational at times though. I invite you to visit my church, which meets on the beach in Bethany during the warmer months at the end of Ocean View Parkway, 8 a.m. Sundays or you can visit online at www.surfersfellowship.blogspot.com.

There is an old adage popularized by General MacArthur which says “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Undoubtedly, you will still see my old red Suburban parked at North Side or down around 36th Street from time to time. But hopefully I will be surfing with a sense of relief, a bliss of anonymity that escaped me all those years when I was writing. And maybe, from a surfing point of view at least, I can finally just fade away.

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Surfboard Wax

Surfboard wax is an often overlooked necessity for surfers.  Imagine a slip-n-slide.  Now, imagine the slip-n-slide on a well-polished basketball court that moves up and down, side to side, bucking you off.  That's what surfing without wax is like– it's impossible.

Unlike snowboard wax, surfboard wax goes on the top of your board and gives you traction to planet your feet for big maneuvers.  Boards are rewaxed daily, and a fresh coat of wax makes a world of difference.  I wanted to explore wax a little bit, and I found that wax comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and forms.  Here are a few of the most notable (and, oddly, sexual) waxes...

A regular bar of Sex Wax

 Multi-color surfboard wax

Mighty Humps Wax

Hang Ten Surfboard Wax

Pink Sex Wax Skull

Various wax combs for removing wax from a surfboard

Waxing a surfboard

A freshly waxed surfboard

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