Doctors Orders - Go Surf.. By Eric Cedeno

I went to the doctors the other day because I wasn't feeling very well, figured it was time for a check up. Turns out I have high blood pressure right now. It's the first time in my life that ever remember having high blood pressure. Usually I'm super mellow and not stress out, but lately life has been a bit rough. My Doctor ask me if had gone surfing lately and I have to think about and suddenly realized that the last time I went out surfing was on 9-16-12 (Read all about it) over a month ago. So my Doctor said I shouldn't be out of the water that long and ordered me to surf and relax and said that I have to make time surf.

I have to admit that I didn't realize that it's been that long, but now surfing is all I think about and that's a good start. I woke up around 7:00 am and it was still dark out. I looked online at the surf in Torrance and the report was calling it 1-3 foot and walled. I figured I'd better go surf and make the best of it and that should help mellow me out again (Doctors orders).

I loaded my 7'10" noserider and 6'10 mini-log in my car and headed for the beach. I did a quick surf check and I could tell right away there was waves out there, but the surf report was right (for once) it was walled, but now and then a clean zippy barrel would find its way to shore. I figured I'd ride my 6' 10" mini-log that Jamie from Open Ocean made me a while back (I love that board).

 I caught a few fast ones right away and felt a little rusty, but happy. I found a good hole where the right were coming in clean and waited. I saw the familiar ripple on the horizon and new a set was on its way. I paddled a little farther out. It was lining up good as I paddled deep for the one of the better waves of the day. I popped up easily to my feet and took the drop casually dragging right hand in the water as the wave section and pitched out wide high above me. My mind took a mental picture that of the was curling a few feet out of my reach as another guy was paddling out over the shoulder pointing at me smiling. I didn't make it out of that one, but it was worth it.

I caught a few more fun ones here and there as the tide slowed thing down even more. The waves seem smaller than earlier and pretty much most of them were all walled up. I saw a fun little wave making its way to me and it looked like this one was going to hold up. I paddled into the shoulder high wave and after standing up quickly pulled into the pocket and stayed there... all the way in...I escaped from the barrel just a few feet from shore. "Now that's a good wave to end a session," said the guy hanging out on the shore line and happily agreed and thanked him.