LEFTS, SAT 15OCT2011 MOR

Location: South Huntington Beach

Time: 0845-1115, 2 hrs & 30 min

Conditions: Sunny, onshore wind, slight chop, strong current pulling north, fast waves with both shape and walls, 4-5 feet with occasional 6 foot.

            Surfline downgraded the forecast for the South Bay this weekend. On Friday, I asked around to see who was surfing where. I had a really strong itch to surf north of County Line, basically to just get out of the South Bay, somewhere south-facing. I told Rick that I wanted to go up north. He concurred with the call, and he said he’d be on the road at about 0530.

            Last night, Klaude hung out and spent the night to make things easier for the drive. Unfortunately, we stayed up a little later than intended from watching Innersections and Los Atlas. Lauren also cooked some taquitos, pupusas, and dark chocolate brownies, so we were up late splurging too. 

            This morning, Rick texts me at 0600 to let me know that he and Manny are already driving past Zumas. I reply, tell him Klaude and I have a late start, and that we’ll meet him there. I’ve slept just under six hours. When I get to the living room, Klaude’s racked out on my couch. When I wake him, he tells me that he didn’t sleep very well. I feel kind of bad for forcing him up, but we do need to go. We scarf a couple bananas, chug some water, and then we crossload the vehicles. I’m only a couple miles north on the 405 when we call Rick, and he tells us that the surf at our spot isn’t doing its thing. I give Klaude the option if he wants to check out County Line or just stay local. He’s open to anything, but since our friends are surfing local we figure it’s worth a shot.

            Driving on Vista Del Mar, the El Porto Jetty has some small waves breaking off of it—tiny. “You wanna check out Porto first?” I ask.

            “Nah, let’s just go straight to 26^th.”

            There isn’t any free parking, so we go to the metered lots. On the lower tier, there are a lot of guys parked and checking things out. Out of the spectators, Klaude introduces me to Mikey AKA The Mayor of Manhattan. He’s a pretty cool guy. He says he’s been working with the wounded warriors at Camp Pendleton. I tell him I’m a vet, and then he tells me about his service in Vietnam. He’s a former 11B and served with the 1^st Cav. We share our experiences and form a bond. It’s going to be nice knowing another face at 26^th. Veterans are usually pretty welcoming of each other. 

            As far as the surf, it’s even smaller than yesterday. Surfline was right with the downgrade. It’s 1-2 feet, the crowd starts to grow, and everyone is just sitting in the lineup waiting for anything. Even Mikey and his crew don’t want to paddle out on their longboards. Klaude texts Tom, Khang, and Dais. Tom’s aware of the local skunk, so he’s gonna check out Torrance Beach. As I look out at the ocean, I know that I do not want to surf here. I ask Klaude if he’s willing to go down south. I mention North Oceanside, even Trestles. We debate on Newport and Huntington, but we’re not sure. We jump back in the car, and I give Rick a call. He says that they may check out Malibu or Zumas. Rick’s surprised that we’re still in the South Bay. I feel really bad. We planned to surf together, but I’m really greedy to travel where the surf is hitting, uncrowded preferably. Manny suggests South HB. Klaude gets word back from Tom. Torrance Beach isn’t happening either, so we let Khang and Dais know where we’re going. 

            We let Khang and Dais know where the free parking is, and then Klaude and I head to the sand. Once crossing PCH, I can see some waves closing out in the distance. I try to get Klaude’s attention, but he misses it. No matter. By the time we’re on the sand, we can see the top of the waves. They look walled and fast. By the shore, we can make out sets around five feet high and round. The conditions are a mix. Some shoulders turn hollow but the sections up ahead start connecting which makes the rides racy. Regardless, the morning still looks promising. Most of the waves are lefts, and we watch some rippers get clean barrel rides. It’s not that crowded yet, surfers are spread out, so we choose to paddle in between two peaks. 

            I’m worried about getting caught on the inside during a nasty set, but we make it to the lineup in good time. Without delay, a little bump forms in front of us. The water’s so glassy that the overcast makes it hard to see the wave’s shape. It jacks and pitches at the last second, and with Klaude right by me, I drop into my first wave of the day. I go right and top turn into a cutback. When I redirect, I’m behind the section, but that first turn felt smooth. Returning to Klaude, he slaps the water which generates a little splash. “That’s what you wanted, right?” he says. 

            We underestimate the current. Before long, we’re already halfway to the next lifeguard tower. I start paddling south to see if I can maintain position. Just then, another peak forms. This time, it’s a left. One thing I love about HB is that the waves are faster. For a while, my timing was always off at this spot, and I got pitched. Taking off on the shoulder, the wave will still go steep and send you down the line with speed. I haven’t caught a left like this since I injured my shoulder. It’s a fast and steep drop on this four-foot wave, but the speed sets me up perfect for an arcing top turn. I’m only realizing now that speed makes things so much easier; lead the board and it will follow. I redirect and practice a couple more turns on the lip. It’s the practice that I’ve been waiting for. After my wave I continue to fight the current. I see Klaude behind me, but he’s fading farther north. Just as I turn to the shore, I see Khang and Dais on the sand. I wave and they see me. 

            I paddle into the next left a little too deep. The drop is a lot steeper and faster than expected. I feel the wave going vertical as I slide, and then I’m at the base of the wave with the lip curling over me. I try to grab my rail to point my nose down the line, but my board and I crash on a flat surface of water. The pack of guys further north sees this, but I laugh it off. A least I got my first wipeout out of the way. Behind me, I see Dais paddling out. He tells me he saw my wipeout. Khang joins us, and I point out where Klaude is. The next left approaches, and it’s one of the bigger ones. There’s a guy on my outside, but he backs off when he sees me going for it. As I fade out on the drop, I can see the water cascading and the empty slot behind it. Just as I try to fade back in, I see Khang paddling into the wave. I yell, “Whoa, whoa whoa!” in hopes that he’ll back out. He drops in, and I’m forced to straighten. I resurface and let him know that I was on the wave. Khang apologizes repeatedly, but I tell him to drop it. I’m not mad, and I was struggling to make the section anyway. 

            The overcast burns off, and the onshore wind picks up. What was once glassy is now choppy, and the waves start spilling instead of barreling. Dais and Khang drift all the way to where Klaude is. It seems that the morning crowd has all converged in the same area from the current, but I keep paddling south to stay away from them. The River Jetty is firing long, fast, and hollow. Barely anyone is there because one left, plus the current, will take you away from the break. I see Klaude on the sand walking south to paddle back in. I give up fighting the current because there’s just too much water moving around. I drift near Khang and Dais, and later we catch waves in to see if he can find Klaude. We walk several lifeguard towers south when we finally see him. By the time we paddle out, he’s drifted further north. Then Klaude gets out and walks past our break. The whole time we are trying to yell and wave for his attention, but he keeps walking. 

            For about twenty minutes, our spot turns on and gets consistent. Khang and I split a peak, and I get a right all the way to the sand. Even Dais is getting some. I watch him paddle into a monster close out. I tell him, “I’m surprised you went for that one.”

            “Yeah, I’m practicing taking the high line.” 

            I catch a couple more fast lefts that set me up for some easy turns. I only catch about five waves on this session, but those waves are worth it. Once we call the session, we find we’ve drifted five towers north. It’s a long walk, and we finally see Klaude sitting on the sand. He says he’s been waiting forever, and that he even walked back to the car, came back, and took a nap. We explain our efforts to flag him down earlier. 

            Even as we’re leaving, River Jetties is still insanely consistent, but the waves are looking a little more walled. Back at the cars we say our goodbyes. Klaude makes it known that he didn’t’ have a good session, but he simply justifies it by saying, “I had it good last weekend. Today, I just wasn’t gonna have a good session.” 

Post Surf Refueling with Donny Duckbutter:

            Back on the 405 freeway, I ask him if he still wants to grab lunch. He says he’s down for anything, so we opt to check out this Hawaiian Food restaurant called Bob’s in Gardena. It’s in a pretty bad area, but it’s tucked away in a little parking lot with some other small restaurants. The set up represents the local Hawaiian color. The place is crowded with Hawaii transplants, live Hawaiian music plays, and it passes for a small, local, hole-in-the-wall restaurant back in the islands. We order the “go for broke” meals which consists of two scoops or rice, macaroni salad, chow fun, dark chicken meat, and chicken katsu. Klaude also orders the poke. It’s the perfect way to end the day’s surf. The vibe here is mellow, different, and we’re immersed in our new cultural surroundings. When the meal’s over, a Hawaiian lady stands next to me with her arms crossed. She looks pissed. I look at her face, and it’s my old coworker from my corporate clown days. I say, “Cynthia!” and then stand up and hug her.

            “I knew that was you from the back.” 

            She introduces her husband and son to us. We catch up. I’m so happy to see her. She’s always treated me like family. Klaude meets them too, and as we leave the restaurant we are both stoked with the good energy from Cynthia and her family. We bring up how we met Clay Marzo a couple weeks ago, and how the way today’s events lined up brought us to run into my good friend. Despite waking up late, changing surf spots, and losing Klaude in the water, it’s all led to the paths of old friends to cross. It’s funny how that works out sometimes.