Autumn has been good for surf, which is a really good thing because the summer was just awful. Hermione produced some really clean head-high to overhead surf at the local break, and Matthew served up some decent sessions as well. I’ve been out in some of my biggest waves, and I’m mostly able to manage the drop, the turn, and the trim – even in lineups packed with surfers.
In between the big storms, we’ve had plenty of long period, midsize swell that’s just great for logging. In late September, I made a commitment to cross step. While it has really compromised the quality and length of many of my rides, I’ve used the relatively consistent 3- and 4-foot surf as an opportunity to get comfortable moving fore and aft. I still head to the nose too early (or too late), but I’m pretty comfortable cross stepping my way around the board. It’s still not pretty; I have a heavy-footed approach that I need to lighten up quite a bit. But I can sense the progress. I see it, feel it, and experience it in the ways I recognize what I need to do on the wave and quickly execute it.