Friday, November 12, 2010

THE RETURN OF THE DEPRESSION SESSIONS: FRI 11.12.2010 MORN

    Rick text me right before six in the morning and asked me to join him at the Blue Butterfly to get some coffee, then check Porto.  I told him I was already heading to the lot to get first dibs on parking.  The plan this morning was to surf Hammerland, but on the way there I could tell that the surf wasn’t producing in that area.  The tide was low, and the surf looked a crumbly by the jetty.  J text me to let me know he was already in line to park.  Once they opened the gates, Rick, J, and I got the first parking spots on the left.  I introduced Rick and J, Rick just came to check it out, and J and I paddled out right in front of 45th.  We were the first ones to paddle out.  We were almost able to walk all the way to the line.  The waves were about three feet, but fast, walled, or closed out.  The water was cold, but it was definitely more bearable than yesterday. 

    I caught a couple closers to start.  I was happy that I was able to paddle hard and catch those waves; maybe my paddle is getting stronger.  The wave of the day came through.  It was a small left, and even though J was on my inside I still paddled for it.  I was in the perfect spot where the shoulder formed.  J told me to go for it, and I trimmed pretty far down the line and kept up with the fast section.  J was stoked that I got a good ride; too bad it would be the only wave with shape for the rest of the session. 

    Whenever the set waves came through, they were walled and dumpy.  The crowd began to arrive, and the line up became packed.  Every time I caught a close out, there were so many people paddling and surfing towards the inside; it was dangerous.  A lot of people were caught on the inside because the waves were dumping in the shallows where everyone was. 

    Besides my one good wave, it was a shitty morning.  I couldn’t believe how crowded it was for the shitty waves.  We got out right at eight.  Oh well, what did we expect?  Whenever the surf dies it usually lasts for at least three to four days.  Tomorrow I’m supposed to check out San O. for Rick’s birthday.  I hope I can get some decent waves there.

   

WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER: THUR 11.11.2010 MORN

    Randy almost decided to come up to L.A. to surf.   I showed up at 26th St. at 7:00 A.M. and shot a text out to Shan.  It was definitely smaller than the last time I was there.  The waves seemed to be breaking closer to shore, the tide was at mid level, and it was about 2 - 3 feet.  It was packed.  There were so many people there that it took a while for me to choose where I was going to paddle out.  I then realized it was Veterans Day, and that a lot of people had the day off.  The waves were a little punchy and not holding shape.  I spotted Shan in the water a little before eight o’clock.  We both struggled to find some good waves and compete with the crowd.  Worst of all, it was balls freezing out there.  It was the coldest morning that I had since I’ve been home.  I was wearing my holy wetsuit that’s thinned down like a nylon stocking on the shoulder part.  The crowded line up and teeth chattering cold took me out of the session mentally.  Shan spotted his girlfriend on the sand waving him down, so we both paddled back in just before nine.  I’m glad that Randy didn’t come out.  He would’ve been disappointed.

    We have been blessed with warm weather and good surf lately, but now … the party is definitely over for the meanwhile.  Every session can’t be awesome.  For now, I expect shitty surf until the next good swell. 

   

Thursday, November 11, 2010

BRO’S BIRTHDAY SESH AT HUNTINGTON: WED 11.10.2010 MORN

BRO’S BIRTHDAY SESH AT HUNTINGTON:  WED 11.10.2010 MORN

    Originally, Shan, Tim, Randy, and I were supposed to all surf together.  Randy wasn’t sure if he wanted to surf the OC or come up to L.A. since the surf has been pretty good up here.  He didn’t let me know until about 6:40 A.M. where he wanted to surf.  In fact, he said he didn’t want to surf.  I was glad that I got him to change his mind.  After all, it was his birthday.  The decision came in too late to wait for Shan.  I showed up in HB, and Tim was too tired to surf and had to study.  It ended up just being me and Randy.  He said the surf sucked yesterday.  We parked at about 9:30 A.M.  The wind was already up, and the morning crowd was leaving.  At that point we didn’t expect much, but when we walked out between towers five and six we saw two consistent peaks breaking.  Even though there was wind and choppy water, those peaks couldn’t have been any better for those conditions.  They were about three feet, and no beach in the South Bay that I’ve been to breaks like that.  Like I’ve told my brother many times, “I’ve never seen a bad day in Huntington.”

    I told my bro my concerns as of late:  shitty duck dive and front side bottom turn.  He kept telling me to crouch and spring up to project myself back up the lip for my forehand.  The tide was getting high, and it was a pretty long paddle out.  Thank goodness, the waves were easy, and not as “pitchy” as HB usually is for me.  Duck diving out to the line wasn’t that bad, but I was far from getting it down right.  I wiped out on the pop up on my first couple of waves.  It was the nervous energy from surfing with my bro and being at HB.  I’ve always done horrible at this place, but I hoped to change that. 

    I got some nice lefts, but without that bottom turn all I could to was trim hard and go down the line.  I attempted some bottom turns, but every time I crouched in the pocket, my rail duck in too hard and I fell.  I wasn’t springing out of the pocket at all.  My bro told me to extend myself to project up the face, but not to literally “spring” and lose my board.  Well, if there was any progress, then maybe it was the fetal stages of setting up the crouch. 

    I got some decent rights. My bottom turns going backside weren’t a problem.  I got two clean ones followed up by two top turns, both letting out some spray.  However, at this point I’m really not satisfied with only being able to pull that off on one side.  I am trying my best to put my time and effort into my lefts now. 
   
    As the tide reached its highest point, we had to paddle more south to some other peaks that were still firing.  The swell got a little bigger at four to five feet.  We had been in the water for over two hours, I was spent, and my bro was shivering his ass off.  Those damn Maui guys just can’t handle the cold weather.  *Joke*

    I took my brother out to Zenko’s Sushi in Mission Viejo for his birthday.  It was nice catching up with him and getting some face time.  It was one of the best birthdays I ever celebrated with him.  He told me that once I can bottom turn and top turn consistently throughout the whole ride, going front and back, that I will be ready to jump on the short board that he gave me, which is collecting dust in the corner of my apartment.  I look at that thing, and I can’t wait.

   

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

SPEED: TUE 11.09.2010 MORN

SPEED:  TUE 11.09.2010 MORN

    My alarm was set for 5:30 A.M., but who was I kidding?  I snoozed for another hour.  It was too hard to get out of bed.  It was a chilly night.  Despite the brightening blue sky outside the crack of my blinds, my bed was so warm; it was nice and snuggly.  I can see why people can’t get into surfing.  Fighting the body’s natural tendency to stay warm, cozy, and relaxed is hard.

    I already felt like I had a late start, so I made some coffee and ate an apple.  I hoped that a little sustenance would help me in the line up.  I was looking forward to a redeeming sesh and one where I would walk away with something new.  Before I started my trek I thought about the duck diving videos I watched last night.  I also reread a text that my brother sent me when I told him I had trouble getting spray on the front side.  He wrote:

    Sprays are the result of carves, quick snaps, or cracks off the top.  Having a solid bottom turn comes first, though.  That gives you speed and projection up the lip.  Then you need to time your top turn.  Watch your surf porn and see how they “crouch” off their bottom turns.  Work on that first.  Bottom turn, go up the face, then coming down.  Work on trimming with your knees to gain speed.  I don’t see that in your surfing.  Trimming and good bottom turns should be your focus.

    Until recently, I didn’t even know the difference between carving and trimming.  Actually, I didn’t even really know what the hell a trim was.  My barney ass had to look it up!  With my brother’s advice in mind, I realized that I can definitely carve going back hand, at least set myself up in the pocket to get speed up the face; I can also top turn off the lip going back hand.  Going front side, I definitely have a weak carve, and I’m more of a trimmer in that direction.  I had a huge “to do” list for this morning.

    I got free parking on 27th right above the metered lots.  I really wanted to surf Porto, but I just can’t deal with paying for parking if I can avoid it.  Since the sun is up earlier, I will probably start paddling out right at 6:00 A.M. if I choose Porto.  From my car I could see that, compared to Sunday, there was barely anyone out.  I felt the guilt, the guilt that I didn’t surf yesterday and the guilt that I should have woke up earlier.  I’ve seen hundreds of beautiful mornings in the South Bay, and today another jewel in the treasure chest:  the low morning haze by P.V.,  the mountains, and the bright beige sand under the sun’s penetrating beam.  The waves seemed better on Sunday, but today it was about four feet high with random peaks, and it was consistent.

    I took my time warming up.  It was a long paddle out because of the tide.  I tried to work on my duck dive to no avail.  I practiced on the white water on the inside.  I just can’t get the leverage.  It seems that when I push on the nose, I have no gravity to push down on my tail with my foot.  I tried.  I should have had this down a long time ago.  I’m still a newb.  If I could duck dive correctly I would have more energy to catch more waves instead of getting pounded.  I’m just gonna have to work on it; that’s all I can do.

    The waves were a little walled.  There were shoulders, but they were really fast.  About a half hour into the session the tide rose, and it made the waves more workable with easier drops and shoulders to paddle into.  I got a lot of lefts this morning.  I had the easiest pop ups ever with my nose already pointed towards the open face.  I had my knees bent and did a lot of deep trims.  I say deep trims because I don’t think I was officially “carving.”  The waves were still a little fast.  I chose my lines, went high, varied at mid level, trimmed the lip again, and got a little a spray.  It doesn’t sound magnificent, but it felt like it.  Normally my ride would’ve been over fast, but every time the wave seemed like it was going to close, I was able to stay ahead of it, and it just kept going.  My knees were nice and springy, like shock absorbers.  I tried to carve the lip, but then I’d lose speed.  I’d shift my weight by leaning to reenter, but it didn’t work all the time.  I think I actually need to move up on the board, but what I’m missing is more speed.  I didn’t get any good bottom turns on the front, but it was a start.

    I spotted Shan as soon as he walked by the tower.  It’s funny how I spotted him so quick.  He didn’t even know where I was.  All I did was giving him one wave, and we saw each other.  I was happy he was there, especially since I blew a perfect left and a right before he got there.  I was frustrated up until that moment, then when he paddled up to me the mood was positive again.

    I caught at least three perfect rides after he showed up.  I caught this long left that was really fast.  There was no way I could’ve carved it because I was barely keeping up by just trimming.  Deep trimming turned to pumping; I think I might actually be pumping my board correctly.  It’s been a while since I’ve had really long rides.  I didn’t care about snaps or sprays; I was just caught in the moment.  I went over the lip unscathed and paddled back to Shan.

    There was a south current that took us to the next tower down.  The tide got higher, and the surf became a little more inconsistent.  We called it at 9:20 A.M.  We looked back and still saw some nice peaks A-framing towards 26th and 33rd.  The morning crowd was leaving.

    This morning was another reminder that there is still so much to learn, but that’s okay as long as your still having fun along the way.

  


 

Monday, November 8, 2010

GOOD CALIFORNIA SURF: SUN 11/07/2010 MORN

GOOD CALIFORNIA SURF:  SUN 11/07/2010 MORN

    We originally planned to take Jon’s international guests to surf in the morning, but Jon nor his friends seemed too enthused about the idea.  I planned to surf with Cheryl and meet Klaude at 26th.  Due to the time change, I was surprised to wake up at 6:10 A.M. with blue lit sky outside my bedroom window.  I kissed Lauren goodbye and headed out.  It took a while to find free parking, but I scored on Highland and 31st.  There was a sign that read:  compact cars only.  Well, my car didn’t fit that category, but I thought it would be worth the risk.  I’m a cheap bastard nowadays, and paying at the meter gets pretty annoying, especially after the city of Manhattan beach spiked the fees (assholes).  I took my time to prep my equipment, and I shot a text out to the DRC.  I would later find out that only Jon received the text, and that the rest of us would meet by chance.

    The line up seemed packed.  I walked to 26th on the shore.  There seemed to be random peaks everywhere.  I had to go a little more south to find some dead space between some surf groups.  Once at the line up I had to wait my turn.  A little north of 26th breaks really well, and there were nice right handers that came through.  Where I was, there were some decent waves, but the choice ones took a bit longer, and the ones in between were closing kind of fast.  I went for some bombs.  They were still fun, but a steep slide down was as far as I went.  A couple waves opened up, but nothing really memorable.  I surfed from seven to nine.  When I caught the white water in, I felt drained again.  My shoulders and back muscles were sore, and all I had on my mind was going home to eat some breakfast.  As I walked on the sand I saw some guy sitting down with his arm in a sling.  It was Klaude.  He was there with Shan, Shan’s girlfriend, Cheryl, and Silverton.  I learned then that my text wasn’t received by them, and Klaude had been there since 7:30 A.M.  I asked Klaude if he talked to Jon.  He said he did, and that Jon wasn’t sure if he’d make it out.  It was a gorgeous morning, and if there was a day to surf, it was that day.  I told them how tired I was.  Silverton gave me a Kit Kat and a Nestle Crunch bar.  It was great seeing them at the beach.  It had been a while since I surfed with my friends, especially to at least see Klaude on the sand was the closest that I was to surfing with him again.  I thought I’d go out for round two.

    I love surfing with my friends because we push each other to do better, and I go a little harder than I would when I’m pulling solo sessions.  Shan paddled back out with no problem.  Cheryl was struggling a bit, and I didn’t have the easiest time either.  I had been writing about my shitty duck dive, and after already surfing for two hours I was toast.  With friends on the sand, I was anxious to get a good wave.  I got a nice left that opened up.  It was actually my wave of the day.  There was nothing fancy.  I carved to stay on the face, took a high line then dropped back down to get some speed, then I grabbed rail to get close to the crumble.  No, it wasn’t a barrel, but it my mind it looked cool.  I like practicing little stuff like that to exhibit some kind of control.  After that I got worked paddling back out.  I didn’t perform well on the next couple waves.  There was a nice right that came through that was about head high.  I saw the nice shoulder ahead of me.  Instead of staying on the face of the wave and going down the line, I tried to set myself with a deep bottom turn so I could hit the lip.  I failed.  Instead, I stalled at the lip and the section ran away.

    Shan was commenting on the conditions.  I was so exhausted that I could barely reply.  Cheryl’s ear was sore after she got pulled under.  We went to the sand to check on her then paddled back out.  I kept getting worked on the inside.  After another wave I just floated on the inside trying to catch a breather.  I was done- expended.  I hated ending my session like that.  I hated that I was too tired to surf with my friends, which was a rare occasion.  I went back to the sand to talk to Klaude.  We watched Shan and Cheryl catch a couple waves.  Klaude commented on my shitty duck dive.  It drove me to go home, go on youtube.com, and watch some instructional videos.  I know, it’s sad, but I should actually thank Klaude because now I see what I was doing wrong.  Actually, I felt like an idiot that I couldn’t figure it out for myself for a long ass time now.

    I can’t wait to go back out, get a fresh start on my duck dives, and try to redeem myself by getting some nice rides.  It was great seeing everyone out in the water.  Hopefully next time we can get more organized, maybe bring some food for a surf break, and just have a long ass session.