STAYCATION SESSIONS, DEL MAR: ATMOSPHERE OVER SURF SAT 4.16.2011 MOR

CREW: Klaude and Dais
FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: Rick, Gary, Michaelson, and Tim
TIME: 0815- 1015, 2 hrs.
CONDITIONS: Slight onshore, high tide, 2-3 feet, breaking really close to shore, shallow, not what we drove for.

    As usual, one day out of the weekend is dedicated to driving somewhere for surf. Last weekend we went to County Line for the first time, so the bar was set to score for another consecutive weekend. Del Mar was in our sites, and I planned for an early day.

    I couldn’t sleep Friday night. I watched a little bit of Innersections and Modern Collective, and then I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The swell forecast was small down south, but the anticipation of riding perfect shoulders kept my mind a hundred miles an hour. With only three hours of shuteye, I packed my lunch and gear for the day at 0445. As I loaded the wagon, I got the call from Klaude saying that they were running a little late. I sat with the engine running as they pulled up. Their equipment was loaded up rather quickly, we were strapped in, and we noted the time check of 0555. The distant horizon was already changing to a light blue as we merged from the 105 onto the 405S.

    By the time we were driving through Carson, Rick gave us a call and said he was passing Seal Beach. Once the sun rose, Klaude whipped out his camera to snap a pic. I put on the Sebastian Tellier station on my Pandora to set a relaxing mood, and then Dais requested to hear “Levrolution” by American Royalty, the intro to Who is J.O.B. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great song, but it’s a damn letdown to listen to some kickass surf porn sounds if the surf for the day isn’t firing. Fingers crossed, we parked, headed to the shore, and surveyed the scene before us. Well, the forecast was right, at least swell wise. Not much surf was expected, and it definitely showed at Del Mar. We caught the high tide, some waves wanted to break on the outside, but they reformed and turned into shorepound. The good news was that the line up only had a few heads, and the winds were off shore. We greeted Rick, Gary, and Michaelson, and then we changed.

    On the sand, we squinted, imagined, watched, and tried to make waves out of what we were seeing, but the reality was that the surf failed our hopes. We still paddled out and caught some waves. I didn’t catch anything worth remembering. Due to the tide, the waves were breaking close to shore. Every time I caught something I could see the water being sucked back over the shallow sand. The rides were fast with a little bit of face before they closed out. Dais and Klaude were having more fun than I, but I felt a little let down.

    Gary paddled out next to me and said, “You don’t have any control over that. I’m just happy, happy to be out here without a crowd of people around; I’m stoked!”

    Gary, on his Bonzer, milked those fast and shallow rides, robbing them for everything they had. He even hit the lip and showed the bottom of his board before he fell.

    “That was good!” said Klaude and I.

    “Yeah,” Gary replied. “But I didn’t stick the landing.”

    Shit, we thought. That didn’t matter; the old Venice vet was out there showing the young bucks how the West was won. I’m glad that my boys got to meet Gary and Michaelson. Along with Rick, those guys grew up during the Dog Town era, and they always have good stories about the history, and what things were like in Venice during those days. Dais and Klaude, being Venice alumni, respected all of that.
    After two hours I was over it. The rest of the guys left their boards on the shore to body surf some shore break. The rest of the morning, into the early afternoon, was spent with the rest of Rick’s guests. We observed beach goers, snacked, read, lay in the shade or in the sun, talked story, and enjoyed life on the sand.

    At 1300 we walked out to the water to see what it was doing. The waves started to break but still a little close to shore. The offshore winds picked up, and the surf was unappealing. We made the call to go to San Onofre for the second half of the day.

    Let’s face it; the surf was crap. Okay, and of course, our lacking beginner abilities didn’t help either. The best part of that morning was enjoying a summer like day with good people. It was a positive atmosphere with strangers becoming friends in the midst of the beautifulness of it all. Surfing brings people together, and I can always appreciate that.