Stronger by the day

Sticking to the routine of physical therapy is paying dividends. I am walking and climbing hills. Spending time in the morning on the spin cycle is giving me the flexibility to put on my own socks. Ha! I am going to get in the water as soon as I can put a bootie on my right foot without help (putting on a 5mm bootie is not an easy task when you're in pain).

I've been able to check in at my surf shop and help customers choose the right board. I shape my own boards, ranging from Mavericks Big Wave Guns and fun guns to short boards, from longboards to the Flying Fish (pictured here). The Flying Fish model that I shape seems to be the best seller for the smaller summer surf. It looks retro, but I put a single-to-double -concave bottom with a double wing swallow tail. Add the glass Speed Dialer fins and you've got a magic carpet for the summer. I can't shape boards for a while during this recovery, as it puts a lot of pressure on the joint and I can't stand for that long yet. I'm looking forward to getting back to work in the shaping room sometime soon.

Lately my son Kevin (25 yrs old) has picked up windsurfing, which has got me pretty stoked to get back into it. Back in '83 the first Windsurfing World Cup came to San Francisco, and the wave sailing event was held at Waddell Creek. I spent a week watching guys rip waves apart on small sail boards. I got into it and did almost all of the sailing events from here to Santa Barbara. The '84 O'Niell Classic, one of my favorites, was a 17-mile race in the SF Bay on a sailboard. It was summer time and blown out small surf, so this was a great option to surfing.

I can't wait to get back in the water.

All the best to those who are following this blog,jeff