I HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL: THU 4.28.2011 MOR

I HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL: THU 4.28.2011 MOR

CREW: Solo
FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: No one
TIME: 0700 - 0800, 1 hr.
CONDITIONS: Early morning onshore wind with choppy and disorganized swell.

    Something came over me, and I had to try to do a morning sesh to start the day. I filled up my water jugs and walked outside my apartment. I noticed that the leaves on the trees were already rustling about. I knew that meant bad news. Sure as hell, the American flag was blowing like a battle streamer at the lookout point. However, when I pulled into the Porto lot, things still looked doable. Despite the choppy conditions, I saw some crumbling three foot, right hand shoulders in front of the tanks. The lot wasn’t crowded yet, but I thought that Parks would be the call. I scored a free parking spot and walked out to take a look. The swell produced some surf, but the water was just too disorganized. There were some guys at the 26th St. peak, and they were cranking out a couple turns on the sloppy, chest high waves. They looked a little racy, but I was sold.

    I made it to the water at about 0700. My paddle strength diminished since the last time I paddled out and from the lack of time I’ve had in the water. After duckdiving at least four waves, I finally made it to the line. It wasn’t a crowded morning. I could see people watching from the shore, wondering if it was worth it or not. There were more people debating on what to do than people in the water.

    My first wave, a right, came pretty fast. But that was the problem, it was too fast. The sloppy right had me fighting for balance the whole time, and it closed out as soon as I got composure. My second wave was the same, another right. After that I got a couple close outs. It was an unpredictable and uneasy morning; there was no way in telling what the ocean was gonna do next. It wasn’t big, maybe chest high on the bigger sets, but some random rogue waves would break outside the line up. It was like there was no sweet spot: either you were too far out or too much in the inside.

    I was just about ready to call it a morning, but I saw that I hadn’t even been out an hour yet, so I at least waited until 0800. My last wave looked like a close out, but it was a left that I took all the way to the inside.
    I was pretty upset at the conditions. I saw Bruce with his binos and the rest of his crew hanging out at the meters. I changed, grabbed my camera, and caught a second look. For some reason, the wind switched from onshore to off, and the conditions started to clean up a little bit. Either way, I was done for the morning. Some guys were walking to the water, and they asked Bruce if he was going out.

    Bruce replied, “I haven’t seen one good wave out there yet!”

    I suppose he was right, but I do recall one significant thing. I recall the way that the sun lit up the sand at that very morning hour. The hues of dark blue, light blue, and carbonated white wash, combined with the cool morning air reminded me of something. Last year, during this exact time, I came home for my two weeks of leave from Iraq. The conditions were shitty then too, but I didn’t care. I precisely remember. I was just so glad to be home in the South Bay. The salt water air was no different one year ago. I leaned on the 26th St. railing, looked out at the ocean before me, and I thanked God that I was home.