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This past weekend was Memorial Day and we were invited out on our friend’s sailboat for a trip to Shell Island.  This barrier island is a hugely popular spot for boaters in the area.  Because there’s limited access there for the tourists, it’s the most local beach around.

We had our boards in tow, so once we arrived at the bay side of the island, we paddled to shore and walked across the island to the gulf.  Jumping off the 50-foot sailboat with our boards looked nothing like this but is was fun navigating through the other boats having their own Memorial Day parties.
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Today was one of the prettiest days we’ve had all winter.  The skies had cleared from days of rain and the temperature had warmed up into the 60s.  I had watched the swell charts all week and a hopeful bump on Friday remained a constant promise.  So I was determined to kick off early and go surf.

Around 2:30, I skeedattled out of the office and grabbed my board and wetsuit.  I decided to take Olive because I had been practicing my shortboard pop-up and was getting better.
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We just got back from a trip over to Jacksonville to visit Ted’s family and there have been reports that the surf was going to be on today.  Between my new board and the booties my dad and stepmom gave me for Christmas, I was ready.

When we got to the beach, I saw a lineup unlike any that I’ve seen before.  There were probably 30 guys in the water, many of whom were doing some seriously impressive “shredding.”  This refers to the cuts that shortboarders make back and forth across a wave but there has to be enough wave in order to pull this off.

Today, there was definitely that.
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Oh what a MAGICAL time of year!!!  My first Christmas as a surfer has been full of all sorts of sugarplum fairies (only these fairies were wearing board shorts) and it began on the 23rd when I arrived at Ted’s for our Christmas dinner.

I had just come from getting my fourth-ever pedicure (seriously, why pay for those when you can do them yourself…without the risk of a weird bacterial infection from the foot tubs) and went to set down my bag.

When I walked by the wall where he mounts his snowboard, I immediately noticed something different all together: a surfboard with decorations shaped like giant Christmas lights hanging from it!
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