First off, Andy Irons died on this day. It's so heart wrenching for this to happen. I was a huge fan, enjoyed his surfing, followed his career, and hoped to see him beat Kelly one more time. The surfing community everywhere will feel this hard blow for a while.
I got to the Porto parking lot just before 4:00 PM. I was hoping that the good surf would continue after Monday's sesh. The conditions seemed similar: clear skies, hot as hell, no wind, etc. As I drove on Vista Del Mar I saw that a left was going off at the Hammerland. I was able to see the swell as I drove down 45th and into the parking lot. There was no where to park until I drove by the bathrooms. I parked and text Shan, Dais, and a couple of other people. Shan called and told me he was almost there. I left some sunblock on my bumper for him and told him to meet me at 45th.
Looking at it, initially, it looked really good. At least the break in between the bathrooms and the 45th St. tower looked good. I couldn't tell what it was doing everywhere else yet. Or maybe I knew what it was, but I just didn't want to believe that it was WALLED.
I paddled out right in front of 45th. I thought I would have a hard time, but I timed it just right where I only had to duckdive one wave. The waves did seem pretty walled up, but I was hoping for one of them to at least have some kind of shape. There were a lot of people at the main peak, but no one anywhere else, so I only had a couple people around me. I paddled for my first wave which was a bomb. I survived the drop, and there was nothing but white water after that. The waves were close to six feet, and possibly a little more on the plus sized sets. I saw a guy on the inside just getting pounded. He was there forever, caught between a world of wanting to surf and being in fear of drowning at the same time. I didn't blame him. I could easily be there as well, and this was clearly not a day for beginners.
Into my first hour, more people started to show up. I saw three guys getting worked on the inside, too. It took them a long time to get where I was. Just as they were close to the line up I caught a left that actually opened up a little. As I got the slide and popped up I looked at fast building shoulder that was forming into a wall. No crazy pumps or carves here. I had enough speed and momentum to enjoy that moment of serenity as the lip started to curl right next to me. I could have tried to tuck in there to get a half second barrel, but I knew that this wave was going to end one way, and that's with a ferocious crash. Once the wave closed I stepped off the rail and turned back. Just as I was paddling, I saw Shan waving me down. Not only that, now there just seemed to be double the amount of surfers in the water. It didn't matter. No one seemed to get in anyone's way because people were passing on the close outs, and if there was a shoulder, you had to be in that one perfect spot for it. I got a couple more waves that opened up a little, but they were still very fast rides that closed. After that, Shan and I spent the rest of the session scratching for, then backing off of walled up close outs.
Shan looked at me and said, "This is the worst, best conditions surf day ever." I agreed. There was size, just no damn shape. Or as usual ... you had to be in the right place. The jetty was going off. I saw rights breaking in front of the jetty's point, and they seemed gnarly and huge. There was so much roaring white water on the inside over there.
It was almost 6:00 P.M. I told Shan I had to go, and that I'd shoot him a text that night. I tried to catch one in. As I paddled, the backwash from the inside jacked up my wave as I was about to pop up. It ended up disrupting my movement, and I got pitched upside down. I covered up my face as my brother taught me. I was pulled under so hard and deep that my upper back and neck hit the bottom. I surfaced for a breath, but the wave sucked me under again. Thank goodness I got a good breath. I thought to myself, "Is this what people go through before their last moments of drowning?" I stayed calm, swam to the surface, and was all right. The scene was eerie once I got to the top. No one was around, and the shore looked even farther away from the water being pushed high up on the shore. It finally occurred to me that I must've been the only dumb ass to go for that wave because everyone else rushed to the outside to avoid the set. I was alone. I turned around and couldn't even see the horizon. Another huge dumper was opening its jaws on me. I forced myself under and went through the washing machine again, resurfaced, then one more time. I caught a violent explosion of white water back to the shore. When I got to the sand I saw Shan. He was going to surf longer than I, but his hair and suit was completely peppered with sand.
He said, "I got caught on the inside and sandwashed. There was another guy next to me freaking out. It was about eight feet." As we got back to our cars we watched the waves. The break by the bathrooms seemed to be the only place where there was a consistent left. There were also surfers catching waves near the inside, but working the inside was a gamble once the outside sets came.
Yeah, it was kind of big, kind of gnarly. I wanted to dedicate that sesh to Andy, but I got my ass kicked.
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