MaureenDempsey.me
I’m getting more and more settled into my shortboard popup and we’ve been getting some great footage with the GoPro.
This morning was just one of those mornings when we didn’t have high expectations (the first step to happiness) and all we wanted was a ride or two before we started our day.
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The lead for my project at work takes our group out on his boat every year as a little team building opportunity. We always anchor on the bay side of Shell Island and spend our time playing around the boat. Probably one of the more riveting games is throwing the football in waist-deep water while avoiding the sea urchins.
So back in the winter, I started noticing a fleshy spot in the corner of my eye that would get red when I’d spend too much time on the computer. When it didn’t go away (and when my coworkers were telling me with increased frequency that I looked tired), I figured I’d make an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
“It looks like you have a pterygium,” the doctor told me. That doesn’t sound good. “What exactly is a pterygium?”
The answer: a noncancerous growth, common in light-eyed people who spend a lot of time outdoors, particularly on the water.
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Ted and I are the proud new owners of some of the coolest advancement in recreational technology: a GoPro.
These little puppies are high-definition video cameras that can be mounted to a borage of things like helmets (to capture skiing, skydiving, or anything else that requires a helmet), bikes, boats, but most importantly, surfboards.
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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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It’s been pretty hectic at work lately, so we needed a weekend away. We decided to take our boards to a cute little beach village just 20 miles west called Rosemary Beach.
There was really no surf forecasted for this weekend, but I was anxious to get back out on a board after returning from California. So when I first opened my eyes this morning, I called the local surf report hotline.
“Good morning Panama City,” the voice on the recording called out to all the hopefuls dialing in. As my head was still resting on the pillow, I heard the best few words I could have asked for, “It’s a beautiful day out here on the beach. Grab your long board because the sets are coming in clean.”
WHAT!! I sat up immediately.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! What better way to spend a beautiful February day than to take off from work and go surfing?!
For the love-centric holiday, Ted and I gave each other the gift of neoprene. I gave him booties and a hood (as he already had gloves), and he gave me gloves and a hood.
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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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