Name: Christopher Mirendil
Age: 30
Occupation: Engineer
Location: Tabletops, Cardiff by the Sea
On a two- to three-foot day, I find Christopher Mirendil nursing a bloody foot after a surf session at Tabletops.
“Today I had an awful day surfing,” Mirendil says with a laugh. “I ripped my wetsuit. I cut my foot on the reef.”
The 30-year-old has been surfing for a year and half.
“I have a neighbor who likes to surf, so I thought, I might as well take up surfing now that I have a buddy to do it with.
“Most of my friends kind of hate me because it took them four or five years to get where I am today. I snowboard, and I am comfortable in the ocean. I think that might have helped.”
Mirendil started off on a longboard. He has slowly transitioned to shorter boards. Currently he rides a six-foot board. Despite living a few freeway exits away, this was his first time surfing at Tabletops, a reef break, frequented by advanced surfers. Mirendil mostly surfs Fletcher Cove or Cherry Hill. He stays away from the more territorial spots.
“The guys that surf those spots [like Windansea] tend to be really good. I’m not there yet, so I stay away.”
Mirendil has made beginner mistakes. “I was taught to do the stingray shuffle. I was being stupid and I wasn’t shuffling. I stepped down and all of sudden there was this shooting pain.”
Name: Christopher Mirendil
Age: 30
Occupation: Engineer
Location: Tabletops, Cardiff by the Sea
On a two- to three-foot day, I find Christopher Mirendil nursing a bloody foot after a surf session at Tabletops.
“Today I had an awful day surfing,” Mirendil says with a laugh. “I ripped my wetsuit. I cut my foot on the reef.”
The 30-year-old has been surfing for a year and half.
“I have a neighbor who likes to surf, so I thought, I might as well take up surfing now that I have a buddy to do it with.
“Most of my friends kind of hate me because it took them four or five years to get where I am today. I snowboard, and I am comfortable in the ocean. I think that might have helped.”
Mirendil started off on a longboard. He has slowly transitioned to shorter boards. Currently he rides a six-foot board. Despite living a few freeway exits away, this was his first time surfing at Tabletops, a reef break, frequented by advanced surfers. Mirendil mostly surfs Fletcher Cove or Cherry Hill. He stays away from the more territorial spots.
“The guys that surf those spots [like Windansea] tend to be really good. I’m not there yet, so I stay away.”
Mirendil has made beginner mistakes. “I was taught to do the stingray shuffle. I was being stupid and I wasn’t shuffling. I stepped down and all of sudden there was this shooting pain.”
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