Don't get excited it's knee high.

Although the waves have been fun, conditions for taking photos have been poor.  Almost everyday it has been onshore with the sun glaring off the ocean really bad.  Even though the conditions were marginal for shooting I do have a few photos from the past week or so.













I snapped my Rocket in half the other day.  Not like the nose or a little chunk of the tail, I'm talking directly in half.  When it happened I didn't even notice my board was in two pieces until I yanked my leash and got a handful of delaminated glass and tail. 

It was my only board, the waves were fun, and it was like my second wave. I was so depressed.  The way it went down is I tried kicking out of a wave, got launched, and basically karate chopped the board with my front foot off the back of the wave. 

After being depressed the whole morning I manned up and dug into my 'emergency fund' of money.  I valet at a hotel downtown so usually all the tips I get I put into my 'emergency fund.'  My Rocket was my most favorite board I have ever ridden.  Mckevlins as well as every shop in America can't keep Rockets in stock they are so popular.  The only rocket they had was a 5'10".  Not an option for my size.  Another board I had never ridden was in my future.   

Over the past few months there has been a lot of chit chatter about one of Dane Reynolds' favorite boards now available to us mortal surfers. The Dumpster Diver.  Usually I hate when Channel Islands or any other board company describes a board on their website by starting, "Kelly was looking for something with a little more..." or "Kelly has been experimenting with..."  I'm not Kelly Slater and neither are you so I hate the, "Well Dane loves this board so you will too!"  I can't do airs or massive hacking turns so I pay attention to what the heck I need aka the dimensions.

I was in need of a new board quick.  Waves were on the horizon and I was boardless.  Like I said earlier lots of people picked up Dane's new favorite board named the Dumpster Diver.  Inspired by a shortboard's shape but with enough foam for us here on the East Coast; it was one of my first choices.  Two things kind of weirded me out about the Dumpster Diver though.  First a few people who surf a bunch better than me that have the board said it took them a while to get used to it.  That made me stressed.  Second, I'm used to snub nose boards like the Rocket and RNF.

But it had a bunch of foam to compensate the shortboard shape so I dumped off my tip money and got the Diver.  I took it out that afternoon and parked at the end of the Washout.  With everyone saying it's gonna take a while to get used to I didn't want to look like a total idiot.  Tide was dropping out and the waves were running about waist high with a bit of push. Fun. 

First wave I paddled into I went right over the handlebars.  Great, it's gonna take me until next hurricane season to get used to this thing.  One good thing I noticed right off the bat though was that it paddled a lot easier than my Rocket.  Both were the same size (5'6") so I was happy about that.  Second wave I paddled into I learned from the last and popped up a bit quicker and was pleasantly surprised how responsive and so much quicker the Diver ran down the wave than the Rocket.  After getting a few more waves I was stoked I pulled the trigger and got the Diver.

I was actually happy I snapped my Rocket by the end of my session I loved the Diver so much.  Turns are a hell of a lot easier and feel fluid, speed can be achieved instantly, and it's really light under your feet.  Before I got the Diver I never really rode anything other than a fish type board with forgiving rails and swallow tails.  The Diver's tail and rails I'm guessing are making things a lot easier for my type of surfing.  I'm pretty light on my board. 

All in all I'm still happy I broke the Rocket.  I've been riding the Diver for a week and hey, maybe I'll be surfing like Dane next hurricane season. (kidding)  Yes I'm happy I broke the Rocket but I still wish I had it.  It's a really fun board and if I had a bunch of money I'd get another one.  That's why I'm going to fix it.  You might be saying, "Mike C. you're so stupid.  How are you going to fix a snapped in half board?"  My answer is I really don't know but I have an idea. 

When I have a bunch of time off work I will post pictures of my repairs to my Rocket.  It's going to be fun...

Mike C.