Randy planned to surf Hammerland in the morning. According to him, there has been a lot of onshore wind in HB, and that L.A. looked better on the surf cams. Shan said he’d meet up with us, too. I had a hard time sleeping, so I effortlessly got out of bed at 5:23 A.M., had a cup of green tea and watched some local news while I prepped my gear. I text my bro and asked him to bring some wax since I was all out. He replied that he would be arriving late, and to head out without him. On the way to the beach I drove around El Segundo to see if there were any liquor stores open that might sell surf wax; nothing was open. I stopped at the Chevron on top of 45th St., and they didn’t sell any either. I was in line to get into the El Porto parking lot when a parking space freed up right beside me. Lucky me, I had another morning of free parking. I turned on the heater to thaw out my sunblock and text Randy and Shan that if Hammers wasn’t going off, I’d be on the south side of the jetty. I combined all the tiny bits of wax that I had left and made the best of it. I greeted the long haired Asian guy in the parking lot. We exchanged names. It was Ray. We talked about how yesterday was good, even though he missed out. Another surfer chimed in on the conversation and added that he had waves all to himself yesterday morning.
I was on the sand a little after six, power walking to my destination. The water was a little crazy, meaning that there were scattered peaks everywhere. The swell was weird. The water wasn’t smooth at all. There were numerous scattered peaks all over the place, and the inside had consistent white water roaring to the shore. I took a look at Hammers, and it looked like shit. I went back on the other side of the jetty to assess the situation. The waves weren’t breaking off of the Jetty, they broke off just a little to the south of it. The tip of the jetty would jack up and have shape, but then it would bog out. I was all alone out there, and the Porto lot was barren enough when I walked through. I saw a lone dolphin a ways out, but only its fin. I paddled out alone and felt kind of “sketch” the whole time. I didn’t know if being out there was a good idea, then a lone head high peak came my way. It was an asymmetric peak that opened up beautifully with a long right shoulder. I was caught by surprise, so all I did was trim down the line. It was hard to believe that there were good waves like that out there, plus I had it literally all to myself. I turned around for more. I was even able to get some lefts that had more than enough clearance from the rocks. The peaks feathered at the top and needed to be caught a little late, but once on the wave the shoulders were more than rideable. I was able to work on my front side. Instead of developing my bottom turn, I was instinctively shifting my weight to carve the top of the lip. I didn’t pull anything ground breaking, but I started to get the feeling of aggressively changing the board’s direction on the top turn to get back into the pocket, then pumping my board to get down the line again. I felt the fetal stages of progressing more on my front side. Some fishermen showed up on the rocks, which gave me a false sense of security. A little seal showed up, popping its little head out of the water. It was chillin’ by the fishing line, probably trying to steal some breakfast.
I kept looking towards the Grand Ave. parking lot to look for my brother; it was still a little lonely out there. I turned around to my south, and I saw Shan holding his board up high, signaling his arrival. Right as I saw him, another peaky left came. It had a nice steep drop with a quick building shoulder. I pumped my board top to bottom, but I stalled when I failed to carve the lip. None-the-less, it was a nice long ride, and that wave sold the morning’s potential to Shan who watched from the shore. He paddled up and said, “It looks like Norcal up here, the way that the waves are breaking, and the rocks.” He was right. The scattered peaks everywhere gave an ominous look to the place. On top of that, it was really hard to predict and pick out the good waves. Some waves jacked up really far on the outside, but they rolled through and didn’t break until they were close to shore. Some of the most defined peaks hid behind the swell bumps, and only revealed themselves at the last moment.
Shan and I had a decent wave count, and still no one else arrived to join us, not even my brother. The inside was another story. There was no easy paddle out. Every time I caught a wave too far to shore, I got worked by white water. It took forever to get back to Shan. It was the groundhog day effect; I felt like I didn’t even move. I was lucky to get a little lull in the sets, and I finally got back. There was a longboarder watching us from shore, waiting for the right time to paddle out. He ended up trying his luck elsewhere.
I got a lot of air on the rights, but I’m not talking about maneuvers. Going back side, the waves built up pretty high, and I had to jump backwards over the lip to get out of the wave. The first time I failed, and my right ear got smacked by the curl. The second time I bailed out and did a back flip. Well, it was a half back flip. I landed in the water upside down, but it felt like I was in the air forever, and I remember seeing the sky for seconds before I landed. The third time I landed on my side. Shan saw it and called it a “back flop.” Those waves were perfect set ups for aerials, but that’s way above my level.
My wave of the day was another big left. This time I was able to carve the lip and do a half ass cut back. It was half ass because as I turned, completely facing the other direction, I failed to recover to turn back towards the section. Either way, it was something new, and something I hope to pull off with more practice. Towards eight-thirty the tide rose, and that waves took a lot of work to paddle into. They were breaking closer to shore. A paddle boarder showed up and started getting fun rides for himself. We figured we got the best that the morning had to offer, and we headed back to 45th.
There still weren’t many guys out. It was a cold morning, and I guess a lot of people in the South Bay just don’t believe in charging the Winter. I called my brother, and he said he didn’t bother to check his texts, and that he paddled out at 42nd because it looked so good. Most important, he said he had fun, which was all that mattered to me.
It was a good session. I was glad that Shan showed up to enjoy the experience with me at the vacant jetty. Surfing solo is alright, but it’s always great to share great waves with a friend.
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