MY BRO‘S PRE BALI SESSION: FRI 1.14.2011 MORN

This post is dedicated to my brother, Randy.  This picture was taken at El Porto, Spring 2010, by a water camera man that was there exclusively for another surfer.  By chance, he snapped this shot of my brother getting barreled.  This picture has been an inspiration to me and my friends ever since.

CREW:  Randy
FLAKES OF THE DAY:  None
RAN INTO:  Brett, Ray
TIME:  0700 - 0845, 1hr & 45 min.
WIND:  Slightly offshore
WATER:  Small waves, waist high, some shoulders mixed in with some close outs, easy paddle, sunny and clear.

    Randy moved out of his temporary HB apartment on Thursday and got a hotel room for his girlfriend and the baby.  He was set to fly out that night, so he wanted to get one last session before he left.  He said he didn’t care about the wave size, he just wanted us to catch a last session together. 

    The surf in the South Bay was pretty flat until that moment.  I didn’t expect much, since the swell was expected to arrive Saturday morning, but there was a little pulse that Friday.  No, it wasn’t spectacular, but at least it wasn’t a stagnant lake.  There were (what seemed) consistent waist high waves.  Not all of them were holding shape, but there seemed to be some corners out there that looked fun for a little ride.  We were ready:  wetsuits bone dry and hot water jugs standing by. 
   
    We paddled out in front of 45th.  We saw Ray and the knee boarder out in the water as usual.  My brother gave a little chuckle before we paddled out, but it was for the sake of sarcasm from the lack of surf.  I was actually optimistic.  It was at least bigger than the last session at HB, and I had already been frothing from the recent lack of surf. I had to feed the meter, so I got out and ran into Brett who was just arriving.  We had a little small talk about the morning’s conditions, and he paddled out just south of Randy.  My brother was on his 5’7.  I used to think that small boards were only for waves with power, but I learned from watching my brother that a lot depends on the surfer.  Yes, a lower level surfer (like me) would struggle on that board.  My friend Rick has tried, and still does try, to convert me to a fish board because according to him, “It’s better for the smaller L.A. waves.”  Rick laughs at my brother’s boards and my attempts to ride them, but when I see Randy paddle into any wave and pull off a full scale of turns, it makes me feel like anything is possible.  Despite the small surf that Friday morning, Randy still caught his fair share of waves on a tiny 5’7. 

    I didn’t bother with my back up 6’2 DMS.   I had the juicy Merrick out there, which was great for the conditions.  I can’t say I made any ground breaking progress.  I caught a couple rights that I was able to carve the lip on and shoot just a little bit of spray.  I caught two long lefts all the way to shore, and I still failed at carving the lip front side.

    The benefit of having Randy was getting all the little pointers, here and there, from him.  When I paddled back to him he told me that he noticed something on my front side turns.  He said that instead of throwing my left shoulder forward to carve the lip, that I was doing the opposite and twisting my torso counter-clockwise (I‘m goofy).  He said that instead of setting up for a carve that I was setting myself up for a layback snap.  When I thought about it, it actually made sense.  I realized that I sure as hell don’t do that when I’m going backside.  I felt like an idiot that I never noticed that, but at the same time at least I have been practicing layback snaps even though I never knew it.  THE MYSTERY HAS BEEN SOLVED!  On my next wave I tried to throw my left shoulder forward, but I felt completely awkward doing it.  It’s going to be hard to break that habit in the coming months. 

    We’ve had better sessions, and that morning it was just “okay.”  I actually wanted to stay longer, but Randy was shivering his ass off.  I said, “Don’t worry, where you’re going you won’t have to worry about that problem anymore.”  I saw Shan’s car parked next to mine, and then I saw Cheryl locking up her car.  They arrived late, but I was glad that she at least got to see my brother and wish him well.  He caught Ray before he drove away, then they exchanged information since Ray plans to surf Bali.  While we changed, the WHC pulled up.  Apparently, they drove up to Oxnard to witness a beautiful scene with howling winds that caused some shitty ass surf.  They ended up driving back to L.A.  I was happy that they showed.  Rick, John, and Manny were able to give their formal farewells to my surf hero. 

    I tried to pick his brain as much as I could while he was here.  I at least learned a couple things from him:  not to EVER ditch my board (even if a punchy lip from an overhead wave is about to crash on me), how to pump my board properly, proper feet placement, the difference between tail and nose rocker and how that affects the board in the water, trimming, carving, which swells are better for L..A. and Orange County, timing my paddle out, etc.  I was sad to see him go, and it still bums me out to think about him gone.  He arrived safely in Kuta, and I’m happy that he’s returned home with his family.  The plan now is to visit him in the summer.  The question is, “Will I be ready?”