In my backyard

This Sunday, August 9th, I will finally be racing the paddleboard at my own beach, in my own backyard. Well, in the Ocean, technically, but you know... it's my piece of Ocean. Instead of getting up pre-dawn and driving an hour or more, while the coffee attempts to kill the butterflies in my gut, I'll simply roll out of bed and roll down the road, through Pebble to Carmel. I'm looking forward to getting to the beach early, checking out the conditions, checking out the state of the kelp beds and plotting my course for maximum efficiency from a variety of elevated vantage points—the home course advantage. The gun goes off at 8am.