Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Inamuragasaki 2

So I have been jonesing to surf, but my surf buddies are all busy for the next little bit. There was a little storm swell this week, so I decided to try taking the train out to Kamakura. I was checking the surf report all week and trying to figure out if the wind and swell direction were both going to be working anytime. I finally rediscovered the surf forecast site magic seaweed, which I highly recommend, especially for Japan, which is pretty tricky. The wind is often coming from either the north or south and the coast curves in and out and so different places will be onshore, or offshore, depending on which way they're facing. Anyway, it looked like the wind was going to be okay, but only till 9 or so. So I went to bed around 11, but didn't fall asleep until 12-1 sometime. Since I surf so seldom, I get all excited about going and can't sleep. Nowadays, the problem just feeds off itself and I stay up worrying about whether or not I am going to be able to fall asleep. I set the alarm for 4:50, but got up at 4:20. I couldn't go back to sleep so I just got up, check if there was an earlier train and left. I figure you're going to get one or two REM cycles and the rest it doesn't really matter if you're actually asleep. It was totally light outside and there were actually quite a few people out and about as I walked to the station. I got to the spot at 6:10 and saw some surfers heading home. Japanese surfers take advantage of the fact that there is no daylight savings. I overheard some saying that it was best at about 4:30. It was waist to chest high, and kind of a long time between sets, and weak. The fish is kind of good board for these conditions. A long board would be even better, but I couldn't have taken in on the train. It was a beautiful clear day. There were lots of hawks. The water and air were mid 60's. I surfed for a 2 hours and some. When the outside got unbearably inconsistent and small, I paddled over and surfed some shore break, which was fun. By the time I came in the waves were mostly gone and the onshore wind was just starting to pick up. I walked around the town a little bit afterwards, checked out a small temple from the 13th c. and got home by 11:15. Fun day.

2 comments:

Melinda said...

this is ephraim.
man, that's dedication. I think I really only feel like doing stuff like morning sessions and such if there's someone else to go with.

chelsea said...

Love surfing...I totally get anxious and can't sleep before stuff like that. I really have to talk myself down and almost forget that I'm going in order to get a good night sleep. I love that you took M on a play date. so sweet. Can't wait to surf with you some day soon. Of course you'll have to surf slow waves for me :)