CREW: J, Rick, John A., Dave T., Jimmy, and a bunch of Rick’s other homeboys
TIME: 0640 - 0850, 1.3 hrs.
WATER: Cold, soft, chest high, mid tide, holiday crowded,
Last night I let Shan, J, and Dais know that I’d be surfing Porto in the morning. J showed up. I scored free parking on 45th before the gate was even open. I couldn’t tell what the waves were doing yet, but I saw that there was some action in the water. My girlfriend, Lauren, bought me a lock safe to keep my car key in, so I used it for the first time. I sunblocked up and met up with J who was parked in the first stall. We paddled out at 45th. The water wasn’t crowded yet. The early morning was really good. The waves were only chest high, but the shoulders were well defined, and there was enough push on them to propel you down the line. J and I caught one wave after another. I got a really good left where I was able to carve its face. I wanted to attempt a cut back, but there wasn’t enough size to work with. It was a fair exchange. I like surfing with J because we give each other a lot of waves. Perfect sets were coming in with us telling each other to go for them. At about 0730 the water changed. It was no longer breaking where we were, the waves got softer, and the two prime spots were 42nd or north of 45th. Both of those spots were jam packed. I saw that Dave was surfing right next to us, and he told me that Rick and the gang were all there.
We paddled to their group by the tanks. I introduced J to John A. … There are just too many Johns that I surf with. We actually had a hard time catching waves there. Those guys were cool, but they are really good, and they were catching a lot of the waves. J left to feed the meter. I paddled further north to get away from the crowd. The waves weren’t as good over there. I was surfing with John, and he caught a lot of rides all the way to the sand. He even said he was getting mini barrels over two feel of water. I was getting frustrated when I finally caught a left. I looked ahead of me and saw John trying to paddle towards my right to get out of the way. I thought I would go past him, but I got hung up on the lip and totally ran him over. Lucky for us, we didn’t hit each other or our boards, but I was a little embarrassed and traumatized by that incident. Someone could have seriously gotten hurt, and I felt at fault for the whole thing.
J made it back and caught some nice rights. I got some rights, too, and managed a couple turns off the lip. It was a little past 0850, and I was worried about getting a parking ticket. I tried to catch one last wave, but that wave never came. I ended up back at my car right after the parking enforcement got there.
It was fun while it lasted, a Christmas Eve surf session. I think two years ago to this day I did the exact same thing. Even though tomorrow will be small, I can’t wait to surf.
Friday, December 24, 2010
ENTER THE SUN: THU 12.23.2010 EVE
CREW: Dais (couldn’t find each other, but he was there)
TIME: 1530 - 1650, 1.3 hrs.
WATER: Warmer than the morning, fairly consistent, waist to shoulder high, drained out tide, waves breaking in shallow area, some heads out.
After the morning session I went home and ate like a damn champ. At about 1515 I headed back out to see what the surf was like. Dais had text me and told me he was on his way from the valley. I was delighted to see the sun shining all throughout El Segundo as I drove off. Hyperion and Hammers had waves, but they were breaking close to shore. I was in total awe when I saw the low orange sun above the ocean as I made my way into the lot. Even better, I saw a set rolling in; there were waves! I was beyond happy; I was giddy. I shot a text back to Dais to let him know where I’d be. The tide looked completely out. Once I was on the sand I realized that I got excited too fast. Yes, there were waves, but they were breaking really shallow. I walked out in front of 45th. It was actually harder than anticipated. Since the waves were breaking so close, I was faced with waves breaking right in front of me in chest deep water. I had a hard time duckdiving them because it was too shallow. Once I got to the line up it didn’t take too long for a wave to come. The lull in between sets wasn’t that long. There was a little wind which put a little bit of texture on the water. The peaks were pretty long with a well defined shoulder to work with; it’s just too bad that the tide was so low. I tried to catch the outside sets so I could get a longer ride, but that wasn’t always the case. My first couple waves were rights, and I was surprised that I was able to get good top turns on all of them before they completely closed out. I got a pretty good one where I was able to hear the spray. It sounded like a splashing crack. I caught a couple lefts that didn’t hold shape. Unfortunately, it was a little dangerous out there. I drifted a little south which placed me in the crowd. When I was done on a wave there were people paddling into rides right in front of me. There were so many heads in harm’s way because of the shallow water. I finally went back to shore so I could walk north, away from everyone. I was in front of the tanks, and it wasn’t as good over there, but I still got some rides. I looked for Dais, but there was no sign of him. He could’ve been mixed in with the main crowd.
I saw jellyfish in the water, which I thought was odd for El Porto. There were also dolphins catching waves right next to me. I got a little scared because they were catching the waves right in front of me as I paddled out. I was so worried that we were going to collide. When they were done with their ride, they swam right next to me to get back to the line. It freaked me out a little bit. At about 1650 I caught my last wave in. It wasn’t a great session, but I was happy to get some turns on those right hand waves; it was more turns than I got during the morning session. I would later find out that Dais did make it out, but we had missed each other. Despite the mediocre surf, I needed to pull a double session. I’ve gone too long without surf, and we are expecting rain again next week, so now’s the time to get in.
TIME: 1530 - 1650, 1.3 hrs.
WATER: Warmer than the morning, fairly consistent, waist to shoulder high, drained out tide, waves breaking in shallow area, some heads out.
After the morning session I went home and ate like a damn champ. At about 1515 I headed back out to see what the surf was like. Dais had text me and told me he was on his way from the valley. I was delighted to see the sun shining all throughout El Segundo as I drove off. Hyperion and Hammers had waves, but they were breaking close to shore. I was in total awe when I saw the low orange sun above the ocean as I made my way into the lot. Even better, I saw a set rolling in; there were waves! I was beyond happy; I was giddy. I shot a text back to Dais to let him know where I’d be. The tide looked completely out. Once I was on the sand I realized that I got excited too fast. Yes, there were waves, but they were breaking really shallow. I walked out in front of 45th. It was actually harder than anticipated. Since the waves were breaking so close, I was faced with waves breaking right in front of me in chest deep water. I had a hard time duckdiving them because it was too shallow. Once I got to the line up it didn’t take too long for a wave to come. The lull in between sets wasn’t that long. There was a little wind which put a little bit of texture on the water. The peaks were pretty long with a well defined shoulder to work with; it’s just too bad that the tide was so low. I tried to catch the outside sets so I could get a longer ride, but that wasn’t always the case. My first couple waves were rights, and I was surprised that I was able to get good top turns on all of them before they completely closed out. I got a pretty good one where I was able to hear the spray. It sounded like a splashing crack. I caught a couple lefts that didn’t hold shape. Unfortunately, it was a little dangerous out there. I drifted a little south which placed me in the crowd. When I was done on a wave there were people paddling into rides right in front of me. There were so many heads in harm’s way because of the shallow water. I finally went back to shore so I could walk north, away from everyone. I was in front of the tanks, and it wasn’t as good over there, but I still got some rides. I looked for Dais, but there was no sign of him. He could’ve been mixed in with the main crowd.
I saw jellyfish in the water, which I thought was odd for El Porto. There were also dolphins catching waves right next to me. I got a little scared because they were catching the waves right in front of me as I paddled out. I was so worried that we were going to collide. When they were done with their ride, they swam right next to me to get back to the line. It freaked me out a little bit. At about 1650 I caught my last wave in. It wasn’t a great session, but I was happy to get some turns on those right hand waves; it was more turns than I got during the morning session. I would later find out that Dais did make it out, but we had missed each other. Despite the mediocre surf, I needed to pull a double session. I’ve gone too long without surf, and we are expecting rain again next week, so now’s the time to get in.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
POST STORM SESSION: THU 12.23.2010 MORN
TIME: 0630 - 0900, 2.5 hrs.
WATER: Not too cold, consistent, head high to over head, high tide, difficulty on inside, not too crowded.
It was exactly six days ago since the last time I surfed. Since then we had a DRC Xmas dinner. We were all pumped to surf again and talked about paddling out on Thursday or Friday. This morning was a must. With only Shan and Rick on the roster, I was looking forward to a good sesh with some buddies. Despite going to bed at 0200, I sprung out of bed at 0545 without a problem. M wetsuit was bone dry from being out of service. I changed at my apartment and made my way down to the beach. I didn’t feel like taking advantage of the free spots on 45th; I felt like being closer in the lot. Just as I parked I sent the text out to let everyone know what was up. Rick was already in the lot, and I got texts from Shan and Dais that they weren’t going to make it. The white wash appeared brown and foamy, but I hoped that it was just the lack of light producing that effect. As the darkness dissipated, I could see that the waves were consistent, and the peaks looked about head high, maybe even a little overhead on the plus sets. I could already tell that it would be a tough paddle out.
On the way to walk to Rick, I saw his friend Gary pull up. Parked next to Rick was Dave T. Gary gave us all gifts of sex wax. Extremely inexpensive, but better than a cheap shirt. We stretched in front of 42nd. Dave paddled out first, but I took a page out of Randy’s Book of Surfing, and I waited for the lull and found a channel. Miraculously, I only had to duckdive a couple waves to get to the line. Since the tide was coming up, the waves seemed to break a little late, but sometimes some outside sets came. The plus sets were amazing. They were big and peaky; some were a little hollow. We even saw some guys further south getting slotted. The current took us north, and I still didn’t have a wave to claim. Rick obviously didn’t waste any time and started doing his thing. I caught a couple waves that were too fast and closed out right away. Not every wave had good shape; some were walled, but every set had a good wave that came with it.
I knew I made the right decision waking up to surf when I saw the sun rays hitting the patchy clouds. They turned to pink cotton candy around the edges with the blue sky showing its face for the first time in almost a week. Despite the treacherous inside, the line up was calm with just a little wind. It was a good day for surf.
My wave of the day was a plus sized right that broke outside of the line up. Rick and I saw it at the same time. Just as I started to paddle for it he said, “You might want to be careful on that one!” It didn’t matter; I had already committed. I caught it right at the peak. The drop was steep and fun. I managed a rail grab while going backside. It would’ve been perfect for a barrel, but this wave was just big and unhollow. The section opened long. I was actually so stoked that I made the drop, that it didn’t click that I should pump down the line and try to get a turn in. I bottom turned and stalled at the lip before I fell. The speed from the drop sent me down the line a distance. When I resurfaced I saw those three guys cheering and stoked for me. Gary said he saw the rail grab; it’s nice when your friends actually see you do something cool because a lot of those moments are only etched in memory.
I tried to duplicate that ride, but I didn’t get another open face, or I’m just not at the level to take full advantage of days like this. I paddled in to feed the meter and returned. My second paddle back out was a complete fail. I’m still trying to get my duckdiving technique down, and I wasn’t pulling it off. Ground hog day effect, I was on a treadmill of white wash- stationary. I thought of that movie The Never Ending Story because the waves seemed “never ending,” and it was starring me, the guy that’s stuck on the inside. I had to turn around and rest on shore before another attempt. I felt defeated as I examined the little bits of trash that washed up on the water’s edge. I made another attempt. I thought I timed it right, but I got pounded again: paddle, paddle, submerge, lose board, grab board, paddle, paddle, set wave, duckdive, resurface, blinding bright light, white wash, then … a lull. … I thought it wasn’t meant to be, but a second paddle out was written for me on this day. Exhausted, I turned around with gaping mouth and all. I saw Gary fighting to get to the line, too. When we met he told me that he drifted all the way from 45th; we were on the north side of the tanks!
I watched Rick and Dave get some long rides almost all the way to shore. It felt like such a long paddle out. It seemed like minutes before I saw Dave returning from the inside. I caught a couple more insignificant waves and called it a little before 0900. Rick, Dave, and I perched and checked out the surf after getting all dried and changed. Then whattaya know? These guys changed out of their dry clothes and put on those dripping wetsuits again for another session. Jesus, I thought to myself. I contemplated, but I was done. All that paddling killed me; I was drained. I said my goodbyes, and now I sit here in my apartment full from last night’s left over Thai food and a cup of coffee. Second session?
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