Wave of Mutilation

The last time I tried chasing the weather was about 5 years ago when we were searching for big powder dumps in the pacific NW. I ended up flying to Reno to catch a depression which dumped a ton of snow in the Sierras. It was the best powder I had ridden in Tahoe. Instead of following storms, this time, I was following sun. The weather forecast called for rain and storms for the rest of the week. However, I was afraid to venture too far north since getting back to Brisbane would be a hell of a long ride from Airlie Beach. I ended up settling for Noosa which is two hours north of Brisbane.

Despite the rain, I ended up doing a surf lesson in the morning. The lesson itself was well run. For some reason there were only women in my class (not that I'm complaining). Our instructor was a French guy who looked exactly like Clive Owen except for an annoying accent and zinc oxide all over his face. Having a REAL lesson was much better than taking instructions from a friend. The last time I tried surfing was in LA and the only thing my friend Steve told me was to paddle hard then stand up. The lesson that time was like the skiing scene in Better Off Dead when Booger tells John Cusack's character to go straight, then when something gets in your way....turn. Maybe it was due to the snowboarding or the BASI training, but I was able to get up on my board every time. I even paddled into my own wave. Although the the lesson was fun, I was absolutely getting worked by the waves. The incoming storm had really made the surf big (not that nice for beginners) and the rip current kept taking the students towards the jetty. I wish I had been able to take a multi day surf course, but the weather was not expected to ease until later in the week.

The next day, all of the schools were cancelled due to the surf. There were still people in the water, but the waves were too big for beginners. It would have been miserable if I would have decided to rent a board and practice on my own. I did see something unusual that morning. She was a tan and super hot Asian surfer girl. For those who don't know, most Asians HATE the sun and do as much as possible to stay pale. The beaches in Thailand often have lawn chairs under a canopy to keep Japanese tourists out of the sun. And if you pick up any Japanese beauty magazine, every other page is an add for skin whitener. That is why I was so surprised to see this gal so tan. It is obvious that she was not a FOB Asian based on her style. My guess is that she is actually from Hawaii and is just here for the endless summer surfing all the time and living out of a camper van. There is no other explanation. This is what I believe and I'm sticking to it.

The rain has killed the Frazier Island cruise, so I'm going to play things by ear until it's time to head to Brisbane.