Monday, September 05, 2005

Surf and tennis

The retreatants retreated from the estate after a transformative yoga retreat. Lucky for me, Holla gracefully let all the guests know that it was time to go - translation: no lingering. I walked the estate and tied up all the loose ends: emptied trash bins, straightened beds, organized the pool area, cleaned up the back porch... Kip the caterer and Holla the teacher/organizer remained in the kitchen, bringing it back to a sparkle. The whole morning all I can think about is one thing: get out in the ocean and surf.

I manage to leave the estate before 2 PM. I am in the ocean at 2:45. One can't help but thinking how much easier it is to surf on the North Shore... This swell is a bit disorganized and small. Must be why there are not too many folks out here. When I paddle out a set of waves rolls in to greet me. I accept the offer of a ride from the third wave and it take me on a brief 55 m tour of the coast before depositing me into the not too cold water. There are surfers in spring suits, full suits and some just in board shorts. One girl wears a bikini. I paddle back out and a guy on a big red eleven footer starts talking to me, asks me my name, tells me his name - Mark. He's a nice guy. Says this is his time to get away from the wife and kids. I say something like you need to recharge and this is one of the best ways to do it. He says he started surfing a year ago. Mark was self conscious about his weight and mentioned it several times. The waves keep rolling in, I catch about 3 more rights, then a couple lefts. I fall on a few but mostly stay up and enjoy the practice waves on this Labor Day. 80 minutes after entering the water, I exit with 8 waves in the net of my memory. I plan on returning tomorrow...

The next phase in today's activity log is tennis. Once again, Devin and I meet on the courts at 5 PM. We warm up for 30 minutes before play begins. I start out winning the first 2 games. Devin wins one, I win the next. He then mounts a come back and brings it to 4-3, on serve and it is my serve. Some how I manage to scrape out the next 3 games and win the set 6-4. We have enough time to play 3 more games. I manage to win 2 of them. Devin has decided to just work on going for it more. He wants to hit the ball alot harder and so is making a lot of unforced errors. He's working on a couple different spin serves and so double faults more often now. He says he is trying to win but... and then smiles.