HB: STILL WORKING, TUE 7.26.2011 MOR

Crew: Francis, Nicole, Dave

Ran into: Manny

Time: 0750-0950, 2 hrs.

Conditions: AM onshore wind, overcast early, sunny later, two footers with occasional three footers, inconsistent, warm.

      Last night Francis told me he wanted to take his girlfriend Nicole to HB. I took another look at the forecast. Things still looked small for Tuesday but obviously smaller in the South Bay. Why not? I tex'd Khang, Christina, and Dave to see if they wanted to go. Khang didn't respond, Chris had some tutoring to do, and Dave said he'd meet us there.

      It's another night with only about four and a half hours of sleep. What am I, in college? I need to start going to bed earlier. I wake up at 0531. I'm so tired that it's a mission just getting my underwear on. I reach for the same shorts and tank top that I've worn for the last two days. They smell, but I can go one more day before they go in the hamper. I plan on eating some cereal, but last night's cookie and ice cream binge is knocking on my anus. My shit's so creamy, it's like a churro machine. I'm so tired that I can't muscle out all of my poop. I'm still shitting when I get the text from Francis marking his arrival. No cereal today, just a banana and some water to go. We load the car and hit the road.

      It's another easy drive to HB. Dave shoots a text saying he'll be there in thirty minutes. Nicole says she's surfed HB with Klaude, but it's Francis's first time. I give them the same prebrief that I gave the other guys yesterday. As we pull in the parking lot, I can see that the onshore winds have started early. I'm disappointed at this. Yesterday's wind was so stale, but today it's prevalent. We walk out to take a look. There are less people than the day before, and to our surprise, some two-to-three foot surf is breaking on the outside with some consistency. We watch one local go for some nice rights. The rides are still kind of short, but it's enough to capture that feeling that we all came here for. We go back, change, and wait for Dave by the lifeguard tower. When he arrives, they all go through the introductions. Apparently, despite our connections through similar friends, they've never met each other.

      A local guy from yesterday, in a gray wetsuit, shares the peak with us. I'm not sure if he's aggro or not, but I see that he and Dave are having the casual morning conversation. My first couple waves bog out after their fast drops. Dave scratches out on a couple waves. I see that he's trying to paddle while looking behind him. I tell him that when his paddle is stronger that he can do that, but right now he should keep his head forward and just focus on paddling. Francis wastes no time, and gets some waves immediately. Eventually, I get some rights that hold some decent shape, but I rarely get more than one turn in. We all start to drift north, so I paddle down south to maintain my position. The conditions change a little, as the surf turns inconsistent. The lulls are longer now, and we all wait for the sets. I paddle pass the guy in the gray wetsuit. He comments on how the swell is backing off. I guess he's pretty mellow after all, good people.

      I sit in my new spot alone, and I get a fun left similar to yesterday's lefts. It looks small but doubles up on the inside. I try to stay in the pocket and get a novice whack at the lip, but I find it more necessary to keep up with the fast section. I stop short of two guys hanging out on the inside. Another sign that today is small is the presence of fun boarders, a lot of them. I'm not complaining, but I have to note this because I've never seen so many in one day at this spot. Usually HB has nothing but rippers, but today is not like that at all. I see Francis, Nicole, and Dave in the distance. Francis waves. I wave back. Just then I see Dave paddling for a wave. He's looking back. I expect that he'll continue to do so, but he looks forward and paddles harder. The lip comes down, and all I can see is white wash from my vantage point. Amidst the explosion, I see Dave stand and officially get his first wave of the day. I can hear faint cheers from the happy couple. We're all happy for him.

      The group decides to work their way back south towards me. Dave paddles up and tells me that they all did meet before. It turns out that Dave served them food at his job, but I guess it all didn't click right away. After a wave I see Nicole pop up on a right hander for a little ride. We're all catching waves. Francis is some kind of human wave magnet because I've been sitting for a while, and waves just keep coming towards him. Dave is a little north of me. He sits and watched the horizon. I look outside and see a wave forming in front of him. “Dave!” I shout. “Go for it!”

      “This one?” he says. He still has time to think about it before he lies down to paddle. I see the wave jacking up behind him. I'm worried that I called him too late on a late wave, but he's actually on the shoulder. In one fluid motion he stands up and catches his second wave. I wait for him to resurface, and I give him a thumb's up.

      When he paddles by I tell him, “You're no longer 'One Wave Dave.'” The waves become hard to read. They look flat, especially with the wind knocking them down, but they jack up early and throw off my timing. Francis goes left, Dave is in his direct line, the section closes, and I hear Dave apologizing to Francis. A three foot right forms in front of me. I turn around and paddle for it, and Dave is in my direct line. I grab my board and brace for my plunge, nose first. Poor Dave. He has to apologize again, but we're not sore. “It happens,” I tell him. We're all there to catch waves, and I'd rather have him in my way that not have him there at all.

      It's almost two hours that we've been out. Nicole's already on the sand taking a nap under the sun. I tell the guys that I'm catching my last one in. Once we're all out we say our goodbyes, and Dave walks back across PCH. Francis needs surf wax, but I don't know the local shops around this area. We park by the pier and head to HSS. I'm surprised to see how much stuff they have on clearance. Outside of the store are racks of clothes and surf gear. They end up eating lunch by the pier while I have a look around. I can't resist but buy a board bag. After the forty percent off it only comes out to thirty eight bucks, a no brainer. We people watch, check out the Hurley US Open event site, and watch the surfers by the pier. The north side is breaking better, it's crowded, but the waves are nice. It's a beautiful, sunny, summer's day, and everyone seems to be out. 

 

      On the way back to the car I see Manny walking towards me. I haven't seen him since I left for Bali. I feel more ashamed than happy because I'm wearing a tank top with a giant Billabong logo. He's given me so much Hurley gear that I should be wearing his stuff. I have been using the wetsuit he gave me. I tell him I have a shirt for him, but it's at the house. I introduce him to Francis and Nicole, and he invites us back to check out the US Open finals whenever it happens. Unfortunately I have work that weekend.

      And that's how it went. I still praise HB's surf on what's supposed to be a flat day. Even though it wasn't as consistent as yesterday, there were still enough waves for a fun filled morning. I've been trying to keep the ball rolling since returning from Bali. I need to surf as much as possible. Thank goodness we'll have swell this weekend.