Not territorial yet

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.”