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| This was one of the many shoulders that was in front of the tanks this morning. I don't know the guy's name on this wave, but he's out there a lot, and he's really good. He rides anything from short to long. I actually envy this dude. |
CREW: Solo
FLAKES OF THE DAY: J
RAN INTO: Ray
TIME: 0630 - 0800, 1 hr. & 30 min.
CONDITIONS: Very light on shore wind, sunny, clear skies, extremely high tide, mooshy long rides, consistent enough for a good time.
I didn’t surf yesterday. I made a small promise to make the most of my time surfing, especially since I haven’t really had a good session since the MLK weekend. Surfline had a shitty forecast for yesterday, so I opted to pass. I wanted to try out Bolsa or HB this morning, but I have to tie up some loose ends for my brother, locally, so I stayed put. J said he’d be at Porto in the morning, so I thought it would be a good excuse to get a session with him. Last night I sent out a text to both Shan and Jon to ask them if they wanted to surf. … I never heard from them. Oh well, not everyone can be a surf bum, and I’m blessed to have that privilege.
I got out of bed before six, changed into my wetsuit, and ate a gigantic banana. I was really jealous of this thing. It was so long and girthy; it put me to shame. Well, it was such a big banana that I had to take a tremendous dump right after. I had to take off that damn wetsuit and take a monstrous dump. I was running late, and I was worried that J was waiting on me. I text him as I warmed up my car. It was 0620, and J had just called to tell me that his alarm didn’t go off, so I would be surfing a solo session this morning.
I parked facing the ocean at the first set of stairs. There weren’t many people in the lot. I could tell that the tide was high. The inside looked a little consistent, the waves looked really mooshy, but I could make out a left going off in front of 45th and the right hander in front of the tanks. Despite the mooshiness, I saw the potential.
I paddled out right by the tanks; it was a long gawd damn paddle. Music and surf quotes ran through my mind (as always). For some reason Madonna’s “Material Girl” played in my head as I duckdived wave after wave. Yes, my mind is ridiculously random, and I’m also a sick bastard.
I used to LOVE surfing by the tanks. 45th was usually the crowded spot, and the tanks were the place to be to escape the main pack. Well, this morning and as of late, everyone has been hogging that peak. I paddled just south of all the heads over there and lingered at 45th.
Mooshy and clean. It was the typical South Bay morning that I know so well: high tide, mooshy waves, clean shape, and long rides. The only trick is catching the waves just a little late since there’s no backbone or power in them. The waves were about shoulder high, soft, and carvable.
The session was best when it was early. Guys with bigger boards were milking those mooshy waves. I got two right handers pretty fast, but I didn’t get long rides out of them. I dropped in, stayed on the high line, got one top turn, and then fought to keep my momentum. I realized what the problem was: I needed more momentum off the drop and should’ve picked the low line, as the high line was too boggy. I got another right which went all the way to shore. Too bad I fuckin’ slipped on the pop up and rode the rest of the wave trying to recover, and take what was left.
I saw Ray get a long right in front of the tanks. His wave never ended. Despite the decent conditions out there, I wasn’t necessarily getting the best shaped waves. I caught more rides that were fast, or I was too deep in the peak, and the section was too far ahead for me to catch. Since it was mooshy, it was hard to get the speed where I needed it.
I was thinking to myself how January was a frustrating month. I only had a few sessions that made me cream in my pants, and I was bummed that it was continuing. Shit luck, I guess? The Surf Gods must’ve felt sorry for me because, right then, I saw a bump in the surface start to form. 45th had this sand bar working this morning. Smaller waves would hit it, and then they would jack up, magically. It wasn’t even a plus sized wave. It looked about shoulder high and soft, but I paddled into the left shoulder as it hit the sand bar. A fucking miracle. I don’t remember every detail of the wave like usual. I think that when I got this gem I was truly happy to be on it, but I was also scared of losing it, so I literally just enjoyed that open canvas and stretched the experience as long as I could. There was no thought of practicing or carving, just freedom of expression. I did my best to spend some quality time on that wave, no distractions, just an empty mind combined with the board under my feet and the water under my board. I must’ve been on the mid line because I had momentum to spare. The wave was one of those slow open rollers; you can’t rush those rides. I did a gentle carve on the lip, reentered gracefully, bottom turned, got back on the mid line, and I just rode the wave going top to bottom until it ended.
It was about 0730 when the waves got a little inconsistent, and the wait for a good shoulder was longer. I got pushed out farther from the tanks. That’s where it was happening. Those guys were getting the good waves. 45th, where I was, wasn’t really doing it that well. I ended the session at eight, took some pics, and decided to start the rest of my day.
I’ve always said that all it takes is one wave to make the session, and that’s exactly what happened today.
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