I find myself again at the start of another Summer season, ready for sun, waves, camps, and the busy-ness of it all.  I kicked off the Summer in Cabo for the first stop of the UST.  Peluso reserved a prime spot for the Exile guys at one of the condo hotel units on Solmar beach.  We were so close to the waves that the sets would rattle our sliding glass door.  All in all, the event went well.  It did seem as though that not as many people made the journey to Mex as they did in years past.  A couple new faces that did make it all the way there were Bernardo and Jack, two of the Batardubreak skim heads.  It was their maiden voyage to Cabo and they kept me entertained day and night.  I must say that Bernardo is hilarious.  He soon was nicknamed by the cougars of Cabo, “Bernardo DiCaprio.”

From Cabo, I came back home for a couple weeks then left for my 11 day trip to Delaware and Florida.  Delaware was my first stop for the second UST event.  The waves weren’t the best, but there’s something about Dewey that makes it special.  It’s become a skim town.  This is probably the first place I’ve been where skimboarding is well known by everyone and it reigns supreme there.  On any given Summer day, you’ll see stoked groms walking across the street with skims and local businesses supporting the sport with event posters and photos.  It’s quite impressive how Jason Wilson and the local pros have developed the sport into the city’s culture.

From Dewey, I went to Madeira Beach, Florida for a skim camp and the Grammy’s.  I wasn’t expecting waves on the Gulf and so I was a bit anxious about how I was gonna teach kids in those conditions.  Fortunately it all worked out because the kids were psyched skimmers lovin every minute of it. I was overwhelmed with a welcoming sentiment by Bryan at Overhead and all of the locals. It was fun to see first hand the type of waves and conditions that the locals skim on a regular basis.  There are some skilled riders who are incredible at making the most of it.  I was impressed by their skill and devotion to the sport.

Now, it’s the day before the Vic, probably the biggest contest of the year.  There’s always a lot of anticipation and hype surrounding this event.    All the skimsters are in town are wave hungry and the beaches are packed.  This is definitely one contest that every skimboarder should check out.  Laguna is the birthplace of skimboarding and this event has been running for about 34 years.  There’s a lot of history here and everyone’s wondering who’s gonna take the title this year.  Hope to see you there.