“Kelly may have 10 World Titles, but how many Guinness World Records does he have? Exactly.”

These were the first words Bill Laity spoke upon exiting the waterat Huntington Beach Pier after 26 hours and 147 waves. Having brokenthe previously held World Record for longest continuous surf session(which had been set in summertime North Carolina, as opposed to theheart of a west coast La Nína winter), Bill’s smug declaration wastaken with little to no rolling of the eyes.

There stood before us a waterlogged, sun burnt prune of a man, onethat had clocked more continuous hours in small craft advisoryconditions than most do yearly. He was a specimen of the sea. Perhaps asummer time-frame in the Bahamas could have been a better option…