Surf Bumps

Rashes. Let’s talk about rashes. The one upside to surfing in Northern California is the protection from rashes…chaffing to be more precise. The 4mm wetsuit (or steamer as an Aussie would call it) worn to insulate the body from the frigid 50 F (10 C) waters of Monterey and beyond also provides protection from the inevitable surf rash experienced in warmer clines. When surfing without a steamer, one is bound to develop rashes. I now have rashes. Every part of my body where twp planes of skin interact with each other, in the salty sandy environment of the sea, have developed a bumpy red irritating rash. Personally I welcome the rash, I cherish the rash. It’s like a rite of passage; suffering surf rash on every crevasse of my body is a direct result of getting waves, which is always a good thing. Getting waves in warm sub-tropical waters none the less. The great thing about surf rashes, something the one timer never realizes, is with time they develop into tough calyces. Some have already begun to form on my knees, referred to by old school board riders as ‘surf bumps’. Soon I won’t have to worry about surf rash; my skin will with time develop a natural armor of surf bumps to defend my dermal layers from the abrasive environment of the sea. Now I just need to develop a method for defending my dermal layer from mosquitoes (mosies).

I’m telling you the reader these personal details of my crevasses partly because I want to convey how much surfing I’ve been cramming in over past few weeks, partly because I have not much else to report, and partly because I’m 3 beers down of Cooper’s red and still counting, with nothing much to do except escape the persistent chatter of massed people and stare at the moonless stares. Turns out my social anxiety still persists, although I’m thinking it’s more just a longing for quiet. So I think I’ll head off to the beach, beer in hand. Not a bad way to end the night.