putang, you're right, major monster swell! biggest swell i've experienced since my '98 salt-water baptism.

checked out aurora saturday morning with an "old friend of yours"-- cemento was maxing out! solid 8-10ft, surprisingly offshore in the mornings but even at high tide, the reef couldn't handle it anymore. so much water moving, it's impossible. charlie's was bigger, since it's more out in the open! banks weren't perfectly lined up so and the current was killer. but still offshore-- imagine the dilemma we were in? and the sabang beachbreak was going berzerk! serious, waves were breaking just below the horizon, i say solid 12ft up.

no one could surf during the weekend. but yesterday (monday), cemento was solid! as the locals would say, it's "horror cemento", typical wedging, sucking backless signatures were on display. set waves would even double suck, making high tide still seem like it was bone dry. insane putang, insane.. your friend "captain aloha" was charging the peak. he gives his regards-- was wondering where you were for 26W

word is it's still solid until now. smaller, yeah, but not exclusively for psychos anymore. still for the gun-ho though.

let's give the shortboarders some credit. i'd like to think that they prefer the shorter stick because it's what they like to ride, not because they think it's cooler or what the ones before them whispered in their ears. I'm a shortboarder, but i have nothing against longboards. i'd use one if i had one, given the right wave conditions; but sad fact is i don't have anything over 6'3" in my quiver. maybe if i save up some more money, i'll definitely graze over the 9+ pastures.
aside from that, i'd also say they picked the shortboard over the longboard because it was what was available. i'm pretty sure you know how hard it is to come by a cheap longboard; shortboards being a more common sight in the 2nd hand / brand new market we have here. aside from the availability, it's no contest that shortboards are easier to bring around, be it on the beach, in the bus, plane, or your car's roof. those things, in my opinion, affected their decisions more than the cool factor, if they even bothered with that one at all. coolness should never be the gauge for one's choice of ride. that's surfing for the wrong reasons. fun, now that's the factor. whatever gives you a bigger smile, then your choice suits you fine.
surfing is great. shortboarding, longboarding, skimboarding, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, they're all good.
keep surfing guys