FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: No one
TIME: 1600 - 1730, 1 hr. & 30 min.
CONDITIONS: No wind (still), negative low tide, glassy, chest to shoulder high, soft, long, and ridable waves. Lulls were a little longer.
Shan had given me a call while I was reading. He asked if I was going to surf Porto in the evening. I told him where I was, and I had to take a moment to share how good life was. I polished off three short stories from my assigned readings, and then I took a look at my watch. It was getting close to 1530, and I knew that if I wanted a second session that I would have to leave, pronto. I hung my wetsuit, but it was still damp. I changed, grabbed my gear, and headed back to the trail.
I wanted to surf closer, but the same peaks were still crowded. The shore took on a different appearance, as rocks lay all over the exposed shore from the low tide. I mean it was really low! I saw guys walking out carefully, watching their steps over the uneven ground. Despite the low tide, there were waves. I couldn’t find my old spot; in fact I walked all the way past it and didn’t realize it until I reached the Cristianitos trail. I turned around and found a familiar branch that I put my stuff on earlier.
 |
| I surfed a little bit north of here. |
Just like this morning, there didn’t seem to be many waves coming through, and the crowds were still at the main peaks in both directions. Daylight was burning, so I went out again, still not expecting much. It was a long and painstaking walk to deep water. The rocks were slippery, and I probably looked physically challenged from a distance. I was worried about slipping and cracking my board. I finally made it out for enough to start paddling. There were two short boarders in the same area, and all three of us were pretty close. I didn’t like that feeling at first, but it didn’t become a problem.
I would say that the waves were maybe a tiny bit smaller from the morning, but still clean and fun. The main difference was the wait was longer. Also, some rogue sets would break on the outside without indication. I still got a lot of waves, and the evening session still blew the South Bay out of the water.
When the two guys left, a long boarder showed up, and we shared the peak for the last half of the session. My wave of the evening came in the form of a small four footer, but it was one of the best four foot right handers that I’ve ever had. The long boarder saw it, too, but I had the peak. He watched me the whole time, ready to paddle if I scratched. This wave was odd because the water was perfectly flat all around it. It was literally just poking out of the water. It looked so small, but the peak was curling, so I saw the potential in it. I didn’t think I would get it, but I dropped in and got three turns off of the lip. I kept stalling at the top after each turn, but the wave kept pushing me into each reentry. The peak was like a ball of water with a shoulder on the side. Clean waves … they’re amazing, and they sound different. I could hear the rush of the wave peeling away behind me, my rail carving into the face, the separation of water splashing back on the shoulder, and the simmer of the foam all the water to shore. They also put so much potential into small surf. My evening session was made, and it could’ve been the wave of the day for me.
I fell on some waves, and I was waiting for that “last one” before I left. I was still getting rides after the sun had set. I got my last right, and I grabbed rail just to ride it all the way to shore. I got greedy, stood up, pumped, hacked the lip, and then I slipped on the reentry. I had to call it after that because I had somewhere to be.
Staycation. Zero complaints. It was a special trip for me. I’m trying to sum up this whole experience in words, but I can’t. Actually, there is one complaint. Towards the end of the session I looked out at the sunset, and I felt alone. I wished that I had someone to share that experience with; something was missing.
I drove to Mission Viejo for sushi night at Zenko’s and met up with three of my close friends. I was starving. We put the owners in the negatives with an hour and fifty-five minutes of non stop eating. That’s all I have for now, expect more staycations.
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