THE LITTLE HB WAVE THAT COULD … KICK YOUR ASS: SUN 3.13.2011 MOR

CREW: Klaude
FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: Wendell
TIME: 0945 - 1045, 2 hrs.
CONDITIONS: Clear skies, no wind, mid to low tide, no current, waist high, occasional chest high sets, some hollow, fast, pitchy waves.

 Saturday night Klaude called me and suggested that we go to PV instead of Parks. I was a little apprehensive, initially, because I’ve heard bad things about PV; even Rick has told me he’s had bad experiences at PV. But I knew that new surf spots don’t get discovered with that attitude, so I obliged. The plan was for me to load up in his van by 0630.

 I had a restless night. I had--what I thought was--two cups of weakly brewed coffee. I drank them late at night because I wanted to stay awake to write Saturday’s surf entry. I lost a couple hours laying down, staring at the ceiling pumped on caffeine, and I lost an additional hour because of the time change. I woke up at 0600 with barely two hours of sleep. I ate, packed, and staged my gear outside my door. 0630 came around, and there was no sign of Klaude. I called him, and when he picked up he sounded groggy as hell. He said he was doing his yoga stretches and that he’d be here by 0700. I brought all of my shit back inside the house, and then I watched TV to kill some time because I couldn’t fall back asleep. At 0713 I was staring at my watch. I’m usually pretty punctual about getting in the water early, and I was past my usual start time. I was about to tell Klaude that I was just going to head out to 26th because I had been awake since 0600, but Rick called and told me that Porto looked like shit, so I couldn’t surf local. Klaude arrived at exactly 0715 just as I was about to call him.

 We cruised down PCH and made our way to The Cove. I’ve never surfed PV before, and it was a breathtaking morning view. The sky was gray, overcast, and the water looked ice cold. There were about fifteen surfers out. We could see the lines of waves for a couple miles, but there was one problem: they weren’t breaking well. We watched some longboarders drop in and go straight, or the waves broke too late, closer to the shore. After further deliberation, we decided to use my brother’s state pass to surf HB.
 We got back to El Segundo, cross loaded our gear, and headed out on the 405S. Even though Randy’s in Bali, we thanked him for handing down his parking pass. I looked forward to showing Klaude another new spot, especially a spot that my brother turned me on to. There were a lot of surfers parked along the coast, which was a good sign for surf. When we reached our parking spot I saw Randy’s friend Wendell pull up. I said hi and introduced him and Klaude to each other. It was another adventure, two days in a row of escaping from LA.

 We took a familiar walk out to the water, a walk that my brother and I used to take. I thought about my brother and how much I missed him. Before I paddle out I always say a little ritualistic prayer: one for me, one for the other surfers around me, and one for my brother when he’s surfing in Bali.
 I told Klaude how I’ve rarely seen a bad day of surf in HB. I recalled the last session that Randy and I had there; it was too small. Other than that, HB has never let us down. Sunday morning wasn’t big. It wasn’t getting much of the WNW swell, but it was still clean, and there was shape. Unfortunately, since we were there late, the water was getting a little shallow, but we saw a couple good peaks with little three foot A-frames rolling through.

 Klaude stretched while I hurried to get out there. I forgot how much that spot grew on me, and I was comfortable being back. It was an easy paddle out, as there were long lulls in between the sets. It was more crowded than usual but not as crowded as Manhattan Beach or Trestles. My first wave was a right, but I wasn’t able to pull off any turns before it closed out. Just as I resurfaced, Klaude had just got to the line. I told him that HB has some high performance surfers, and that I usually stay away from the crowd, especially since I don’t have Randy around anymore. A bump started to form on the surface, and before he knew it a peaky left was fast approaching. From my perception it was like slow motion, but I could tell that Klaude was paddling into the wave too late. I saw the thing jack up and start to pitch just as he tried to pop up; he disappeared in the fast, exploding, and throwing lip. During the drive there we talked about how HB is a different wave, and I shared my description how HB’s waves are more “pitchy.” That morning was no different.

 Klaude wasn’t the only one. You have to pop up fast at HB, faster than any other spot that I’ve been to, yet. I got thrown by the lip a couple of times, but after that I backed-out when I knew I couldn’t make it. I saw Klaude eat it on a couple. I had the view from behind the wave. He’d paddle, disappear, then his fish would go flying in the air. We both had a frustrating time. The funny thing is that we still saw guys ripping, getting mini barrels, airs, etc. It wasn’t the conditions at fault; it was us.

 More people ended up in our area, and we pretty much let them have the waves. They were locals, they knew that wave, and it was obvious that we weren’t shredding. As the morning went on, the tide got lower, and the onshore wind picked up just a little bit. By the end of the session the lulls were longer, the peaks weren’t as defined. Rogue sets randomly popped up. Klaude and I got walloped by a couple chest high waves. They weren’t even that big. The waves were pretty small, but they had some speed and power behind them. Combined with the shallow water, it only added to their strength.

 Before we left I saw Klaude get a couple clean rides, and I managed to get two rights that I got to hack the lip on. It bothers me that I still can’t get good spray on my front side.

 It wasn’t a phenomenal session, but we both appreciated that it was still better than the South Bay. Even though we didn’t do well, we still had fun, and we both knew that the trip was worth it. HB has always served as a reality check for me. I can appreciate guys like my brother and the locals that surf there; they mastered that wave. We still have a long way to go. Just thinking about it now, though … I can’t wait to go back. I do love that spot, it’s such a great alternative to Porto, and it’s good when I can’t make the drive further down south.