CREW: Shan, Christina, Klaude (Ph)
FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: Brett, Manny, Dave T.
TIME: 0630 - 0920, 2hrs. & 50 min.
WIND: ?
CONDITIONS: Cold water, 57 degree air temp., high to mid tide, sunny, chest to shoulder high, closed out bombs, and random shoulders if you were lucky.
The forecast showed Saturday to be very promising: three to four plus and fair to good conditions. I was stoked the night before just thinking about it. I woke up at 0530, ate breakfast, suited up, and walked out the door. I was the tail end car that entered Porto after the gate opened. It was still dark, but I sent out a text to give whatever report I could muster. My brother forgot his green leash, so I strapped it on my board for good luck. I had the 6’2 DMS,. I thought that I’d be able to get some solid rides, and work on my turns. Shan pulled up just as I locked up my car. I told him I’d be on the sand. I paddled out in front of the tanks. I knew it would be a crowded morning, so I decided to start off away from the masses. It was 0630. There was only one guy to my south and about three guys to the north. Unfortunately, I missed out on some clean peaks. I went for a left on my first attempt, but I only got a piece of the section before it closed out. As I paddled back to the line I saw a cleaner left roll through. I took a late take off on a right and got pitched over. It was a little unpredictable; clean lefts started to come through at 45th without warning. My plan to surf away from the crowd backfired. Within the first thirty minutes, I was completely surrounded by surfers, and no one was at 45th. What the fuck, I thought. The people that paddled out to my north were in the prime position for the good lefts. I ended up on the shoulder, but there was always somebody on it. Soon I was in the water with Shan and Christina. I can’t recall the rides that they got, but I knew that we were all struggling.
Klaude was on the sand. When I got out to feed the meter I caught up with him. I ran into Brett again by 45th. I told him that it was a frustrating morning, but just as I said that we both watched a guy catch a nice, inside, left in front of us. When I got back to paddle out again, Shan and I went in between the stacks and the tanks. We ran into Manny and David. The WHC was out there, and they dominated the peak closer to the tanks. It kind of didn’t matter because there were nothing but close outs over there. I didn’t catch any waves worth while, but I saw some other guys get decent rides. Shan and Christina, understandably, called their sessions early. I was frustrated and tried to force at least one good wave. I caught a left that was too racy and closed out. As I resurfaced, I saw a longboarder get into a wave early and take it for a long left. My last wave was a closeout straight to shore.
I settled with the familiar feeling of disappointment as I walked back to my car. My expectations were high. I wasn’t sure if I failed them or the waves did.
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