Local 4.7, Mystery Solved

So I emailed Paros Surf Club to figure out what Local 4.7 was all about. Faster than you can Google it, I got the following response from Nikos at PSC.

"The story goes like this. There was a guy Kostas, who is now running the surf club. He used to work at a restaurant 4 to 5 km away from our beach. He had a 3 hour break every day between 4 to 7 in the afternoon so he was coming running to the beach asking what sail to use, according to the wind, and then he was always using a 4.7 sail (size sqm) because that was the only one that he had.  Kostas will always use a 4.7 EZZY sail. So this became the official size sail of the beach. The truth is that our beach is ideal with conditions for 4.7 ... As for surfing next time that you come to Paros we go to a very nice place for surfing in Antiparos." 

Thanks Nikos.

So there you have it. Rest easy tonight knowing both the mystery behind Local 4.7 and that there is surfing on Antiparos.

Keep surfing,

LSF

Greek Mythology

I was driving out of Piraeus today in another mini European vehicle at approximately as fast as it can go when I saw it. Boards. Kite boards, windsurf boards, snowboards and... Em. Effing. SURFBOARDS!!! It was like when Santa met the M&Ms before he passed out, "They DO exist!"

A few days ago, before I came to Piraeus, I had my hotel staff in Santorini look into surfboard rentals on the Attican peninsula where Athens, Piraeus, and a popular surf spot called Vouliagmeni are located. Their final answer was that there were many shops but all closed for the winter. Confirmed.

Obviously some place in Piraeus slipped through Google's cracks. I saw the shop, slammed on the breaks and parked at a bus stop. Just maverick Greek driving moves all over the place.

"You guys have surfboards?"
"Of course." The go-to Greek answer when there is probable doubt.
"SURF boards. Not windsurf boards."
"Oh, yes. We have those."
"For rent?"
"No, I am sorry we cannot afford to do that. We do not have the conditions here."
"Is there anywhere on the peninsula that is open now that rents boards?"
"No. Nobody does that."

Confirmed.

Got me a Paros Surf Club tee to commemorate the search. I looked up the PSS online and it is also a windsurfing only establishment. I don't think I can wear it in good conscience. Comments section time: Big time poser move or at least you've been to Paros. Keep the gloves up, tryna keep it clean.

Update: I can't even figure out what "Local 4.7" means. Wearing this would be the dastardliest of deeds.

Surf Crete

I will say this definitively, authoritatively, decisively, Ah-heh-heh-HEM: there is no surfing on Crete in the month of November. To be clear, there is as much surfing on Crete in November as there is crying in baseball. Which is none. I scanned 200km+ (or about 5-10 miles I think) of beach today and did not see a single person on, with, or who has ever heard of a surf board.

That last part was an exaggeration. Cretans 100% know what a wind-surf board is. Got gales galore up in here. If you don't specify "just plain" surfboard, people will tell you it's a great day for surfing because of the wind. I talked to about 2 dozen people over those 200km, all of whom looked at me like I was a crazy person. Maybe I am. I tried to see things from their points of view. What would it be like in the US if someone rolled up on my shop/restaurant/bar/gas station and asked about an uncommon sport with a close and much more prevalent partner sport? Idunno, is that unicycling?

"Uhh really? You came across the Atlantic to do some awesome unicycling? Well since you're here, lost I guess I'll help you out. I have seen some people who do that in the next town over at 3PM when conditions are good. Are you sure you didn't mean bicycling? A lot more people do that here but they do it when it's warm. Its really not in season now. Say, did you check the Internet?"

This last part killed me. Did I check the Internet? They must have changed the name of this country to Freece because I was talking to a bunch of Freeks. I checked the internet so hard I referenced posts from 2004. And it said to go check your town. Here I am. I guess they haven't given much consideration to the I-just-came-here-for-the-marathon-and-thought-i'd-see-if-there's-any-surfing-during-the-winter demographic. It's a key market.

Anyway, the only surfing here in the off-season is done by locals who already own boards. None of whom were out today. However there ARE a ton of awesome roads that go absolutely nowhere and provide views that combined the terrain of the helicopter scene in Jurassic Park with the fauna in the Sicily scenes in the Godfather. Loved it. Also, driving in Europe is carte blanche to drive like an a-hole. Loved it. My seafoam green Hyundai Micro Machine and I blended right in with the Freeks.

Keep training,
LSF

5 Reasons Why I Loved Athens

First off, thanks to everyone for the congratulatory messages. I appreciate the recognition. Thanks especially to DD and SN for your direct support along the way. Whether driving me to my starting points, offering great advice or letting me borrow some gear, it would have been a much worse experience without you. Let me know how I can return the favors.

Exploring Athens has been a good time. Initial observations (if you hate travel blogs, stop reading):

1) It's not totally safe. I'm staying in an immigrant neighborhood and the lines to the soup kitchen are out the door by 8AM, you don't see women out after dark, cab drivers lock their doors, I've heard stories of gunshots (not that I've heard any myself), its easy to get lost, and tonight saw a guy cuffed, getting escorted back to the police station which isn't far away. Even though I'm not staying in a tourist area, I'd like to think the rest of the city isn't like this, but I can't speak for other neighborhoods. There is very little swanky area in downtown Athens.

2) The Acropolis is incredible. The size of the Parthenon (the hugantuan temple with columns) and view from the hill is comparable to the views from Sugarloaf or Cristo Redento in Rio de Janeiro. This alone is almost worth the trip. PS: They just built a new museum to augment the Acropolis experience. I don't like visiting ruins because it involves so much imagination which I can use home. However, they show the glory of the monument with what remains. Mad sculptures of Greek history and mythology.

3) Cryptograms are everywhere. Translating Greek is a culminating event for every language I've studied. I've just about got the alphabet down and can translate words like "write" (graph), "people" (anthro..), "child" (pedi... easy now) which have close English parallels. Just looked up parallel: παράλληλο (parallelo). Easy peasy.


4) The riot threat level is still at red. The picture I posted on FB of runners waiting on buses is exactly where the action went down. Guards are still standing outside the capital with their gear on, tear gas canisters clipped onto their kit, carrying shields, batons, and pistols. They're big dudes and ready to bash some heads but you can tell they are sick of being there. They have buses as  mobile armories. They are caged in and with additional gear strung up in case the situation gets worse. I took a picture and nearly had my phone ganked. The fact that I'm American and that the picture didn't show much got me off the hook. 


5) The Greeks stink at English. I was 100% expecting this until an Aussie on my flight from Rome who looked exactly like Drew Carey told me that 85% of Greeks speak English. He did not mention that all they can say is "Okaeye" and "Khan ah hailp yeww?" Either way, their English > my Greek. So good on 'em.

I'm flying to Crete tomorrow morning to see what's going on in the surfing world. It's the Mediterranean so I'm not expecting huge waves. The off-season just started so I'm expecting very few open hotels and surf shops. The internet, locals, and travel agencies are all giving me different answers so I'm getting boots on the ground on the Greek islands to see what I can see and catch ferries as I need to. If anyone in cyberland knows anything about surfing Greece, get at me.

This is officially the start of a hiatus on fitness/working out. I know you all stay at home updating

Keep training,
LSF

You Take Your Car to Work...

Surfer Freaks,
It was a busy week at work. Got overtime hours, little sleep, ankles sore from running, and a pulled back from moving boxes. The only solution was to drop everything, resolve to come in on the weekend, grab a board and a wetsuit and head for the waves. Surfline reported 4-6 ft waves in Narragansett on Friday with a few remaining for Saturday. If you're used to New England surfing, this is about as good as it gets without a hurricane or Nor'easter offshore.

With a nap and traffic it took a whopping 3 hours to get to Narragansett from Natick. I stopped at Narragansett Surf and Skate, got the usual Bic 8 foot 4 incher. And eeeeeYUP, that's the same company that makes the ballpoint pen you use at work. The one you have to shake to get the ink to the ball every time it's been sitting upside down in your briefcase or pocket. The Bic long board does three things well.
1) Saves you some green. At $20 for a full day rental you get your money's worth and don't have to feel bad about denting or breaking it.
2) Makes it easy for beginners to stand up. It's practically the size of a canoe. Easy to balance on, easy to stay afloat even on slow breakers.
3) Hoists a red flag to other surfers. Don't get between a Bic boarder and the shore. Chances are he will be falling off it, accidentally flinging it 20 feet in front of him and killing everything in his clumsy path. On the danger scale: Sharktopus  > Noob on Bic board > Jaws > Piranhas.

And it does 2 things poorly:
1) Goes through breakers. Bigger board, more surface, area more push against you. A surfer dude on Yahoo Answers said to either push up and over for smaller waves or turtle roll. Duck diving, the technique used for short boards, won't work because of the buoyancy of the board.
2)  Steers. So I hear. Longer board, longer diameter/radius, more weight, more drag on the water. I'm not at the skill level where I need to make sharp turns. So no biggie for me. If you're good enough to need to make tight turns, this is very old news for you.

Tip du jour:
When paddling past the breakers, wait for a lull in the waves. Mind-blowing, I know. They generally come in sets of 4-8. When the mini swell is over,  paddle your way out. This lull was extremely brief on Friday afternoon and getting out was a major issue for me. If you lack the skill to turtle roll or the cardio and muscular endurance to keep paddling, you'll be stuck in the breakers. I call this Water Boarding because you've exhausting yourself, getting nowhere, and taking a 3 foot breaker to the grill every 20 seconds.

Keep training,

LSF