Beachgoers and surfers alike are all too familiar with the posted swim/surf signs that separate like-minded ocean lovers (with safety in mind), especially on those crowded summer days. However, on the last day of 2015, swim met surf, and the two weaved together in their shared passion of the ocean.
Bryan Mineo, famous and accredited swim coach and writer for Triathlete magazine (and a few others), joined me on the beach today to do a bit of frolicking in the Pacific. While the waves weren’t as big or shapely as originally hoped for, we decided to paddle around together and share some surf, him relying on his herculean swimmer arms and me on my speedy blue longboard. Bryan made the small Hermosa breakers look powerful with his mighty strokes, and in between drifting around we managed to catch a few waves together.
While we plan for a better swim/surf day in the future with more energy in the water, we still relish in every second of time we get to spend with the ocean. Bryan and I have both spoken of it as being our “number one”, and I can see the sparkle in his eye when he talks about the magic of the sea.
After the waves succumbed to the incoming tide and died out a bit, Bryan and I said our goodbyes and I paddled back out with my good friend and chocolate milk afficianado Paul Roustan (of www.bumpsetsurf.com) and his friend Pat. We chatted and bobbed around in the small surf, occasionally catching a bump here or there before making our departure, on my very last surf session for 2015.
I can say with unabridged confidence that this year has been the best and most rewarding year of my life. I found my love and passion for the ocean again, consequently made the commitment to surf for a year straight no matter the conditions, and have met countless beautiful individuals with the most genuine of souls. There are no words that come close to expressing the drive I feel every day when I wake up and know that I’ll be in the Pacific shortly after, and I completely owe the difference in my demeanor and newfound love of life to the sea and the incredible friends in my world that I call family. I can only imagine what is just around the corner in 2016 – but off in the not so distant future is without a doubt new adventures, pumping surf, new friends, and many more breathtaking experiences.
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