CHURCHES--COMPLETELY BEACHED PT.2: MON 5.30.2011 Noon

CREW: Rick
TIME: 1300-1430, 1 hr. and 30 min.
CONDITIONS: light onshore winds, warm, sunny, 3 - 5 feet, inconsistent, extremely crowded.

    I really should have sat this session out. By the time we ate and broke down camp, I was officially D-U-N, done. Loading up the car was already a bitch in the hot sun, but I didn’t want to let Rick down. He barely gets to go camping as much as he’d like, and he was as stoked as I was the very first day that I arrived, so I couldn’t let him surf alone.

     By now the weather was almost perfect. Everyone that chickened out after Sunday’s storm was now in for their redemption that Monday. Longboarders crowded the line up. I didn’t argue or make a suggestion to paddle anywhere else. Rick wanted Churches, and he got it. We paddled out into the main pack. I sat on the shoulder and didn’t get shit while Rick inserted himself into the thick of things once again. I paddled until I was north of everyone. My spot was less consistent, but there were random rogue sets that broke in the five foot range on the outside. I was able to get a couple of them, but the sections kept running away every time I top turned--probably a sign that I was tired. I really wasn’t pulling off any good turns for the afternoon. Rick and I got separated. After an hour and a half I took a wave towards the inside. I turned around and saw a longboarder in an Oakley wetsuit coming down the line headed straight for me. I was in his way, a deer in the headlights. It seemed like there was nothing I could do to get out of his way. He had to ditch his board. I felt embarrassed; I needed to get out already. As I reached the shore I saw Rick speeding down the line on a right, dodging and weaving his way through longboarders trying to get out of his way. “Fuckin’ guy,” I said to myself. At least he was having a field day; I was glad for that.

    We parted ways. I was so goddam tired that I pulled over in San Juan Capistrano for an hour long nap. I drove to my friend Dan’s house to drop off his camping gear. It took me at least an hour to unload all my shit into my apartment. I was beyond exhausted, and my poor feet were torn to shreds. I immediately resumed getting things together for Bali. So tired. What a great weekend, but maybe that fourth day wasn’t necessary, at least not without Lauren.