This just keeps getting better...

My enjoyment from surfskiing just keeps going up. I've basically lived on small inland flatwater rivers and lakes my whole life paddling North American canoes for ~5 years before I got a ski. My first 2 years on a ski were limited to small lakes and rivers and chasing boats around the lake. Even chasing boat wakes is fun, but only goes so far.

Now, living on the Pacific, I've experienced some real waves and they're like crack (or what i imagine crack is like in terms of drive to use). Summertime in California is relatively placid - swell and wind waves average 1-4 feet this time of year. We get waves up to 4' or so with some regularity over the past 2 months. I remember the first time I lost sight of the horizon and thought "This is awesome", in am "makes you feel small" sort of way.

Well, I've decided I do not have a ceiling for how awesome surfskiing can get - example; last night. Last night we got some good southern hemisphere swell in the neighborhood of 5-6' @16 seconds per the NOAA bouy offshore, my first experience with 'large', long period swell. We also had a nice 15 knot wind that filled in the swell with consistent 2-3' bumps. When the waves combined or approached shore, I bet they were 6-8'. They were by far the largest waves I've ever experienced and I got the fastest and longes runs of my life. Like, lean back and still get a face full of water coming over the deck. I don't know if you can get addicted to big waves, but if so, send me to rehab now.

I think this is common across a lot of the world, but our swell will slowly build through late winter which couldn't make me happier. I'm very lucky that the swell size is slowly increasing so I can keep pushing myself into larger waves and start to experience what I assume you southern hemishperians take as a 'normal' day (i.e. 8' surf).

Anyways, this sport just keeps getting more fun every day. Now that I've experienced waves that are double overhead, their power is amazing and really something to be respected. If a 4' wave made me feel small, the 8'ers elicit a great combination of excitement, adventure, determination, fear, respect, and humility.

I would say to anyone who thinks they control their world, go paddle into 8' surf and tell me how in control you feel. We are all but a infinitesimally small piece of the puzzle of life. Personally I find the feeling of smallness very zen, and nothing evokes that feeling like a huge wave which is promptly followed by a blissful surf.

Anyways, Im getting excited for the large surf of the winter! Now if I could only find a used Mako or Bluefin in my area... Hope you all are enjoying whatever waters are in front of you.

Absolutely! You're in a nice spot where the waves mostly come straight into the shore, so you get a nice warm-up heading out and then the reward coming back .