Listen, I’m proud to be from SF, and also to surf Ocean Beach — or at least try. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m basically hopeless at it, but I have to say something about the conditions. Having surfed a couple other places where the waves are actually good (Baja, Santa Cruz), OB flat out sucks most of the time. It is a great place to surf, simply because you’re on a huge exposed Pacific Ocean Beach, and it’s quite dramatic, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how the surf is. I know that it’s possible to get decent rides there, and I do like to surf, and OB is the closest place, etc. but frankly it’s often the case that I just don’t really enjoy myself out there. Maybe I’m just a pu**y, but even a crappy point is better than heaving beachbreak. I’m still going to surf OB — and Pacifica (which is usually even worse) — but I may have to take up windsurfing or something again for better water time.

After three or four visits to local surf shops and a lot of web surfing, I picked up a new board to replace the Snapper that finally snapped. It’s a 9′1″ McTavish Razar — a modern epoxy longboard. Rich insists that epoxy boards are made by robots in Taiwan, but the fact that windsurfers (and boat builders) have been using epoxy for 20+ years is enough for me — the board is stronger and lighter than a traditionally-constructed surfboard of the same size. Since it’s lighter, it’s also floatier (sinks less).