 |
| Perfect little three footers in front of Churches. |
JUST AS EXPECTED: FRI 4.01.2011 MOR
CREW: My Bunnie and me
FLAKES OF THE DAY: None
RAN INTO: No one
TIME: 0800 – 1000, 2 hrs.
CONDITIONS: Sunny, warm, glassy, clean, long lulls, clean rights, 2-4 feet, a little bigger on plus sets.
Lauren has been missing out on my trips to Trestles, but on Thursday night she said that she wanted to go and paddle out. We went to bed late, so we had a very late start. We left at about 0630 and arrived an hour later. We brought her longboard along for the journey. Entering San Onofre was like seeing a familiar friend again, one that I’ve missed so much. There were a lot more campers than the prior Friday. Old Man’s was crowded as usual, but Churches had a thinner line up due to the weekday. It didn’t take long for me to see the reminder of why I love this place. Right in front of where we parked were perfect, long, three foot rights, and only three longboarders were on that peak. The tide was so perfect at that hour for Churches that the southern most peak was breaking well within the military base. The water was calm, the sun was shining, and these perfect shoulders were breaking in front of us. I was excited, not only for myself but for Lauren, too. I’ve only taken her to surf the breach break of the South Bay and on the most mediocre of conditions. Exuberated, I told her that today would be her day. Well, that excitement was short lived. To make a long story short, she said that she was nervous and felt like paddling out when it got warmer . . . when it got warmer . . . perfect fucking waves out there, no wind at all, clean, glassy, but she wanted to wait until it got fucking warmer. . . . OUT-FUCKING-STANDING. That morning window to surf right then and there was the best opportunity of the day, especially for a beginner. That ordeal kind of killed my stoke right from the get-go. Why the hell did we bring the longboard along in the first place? Because after all, who doesn’t like to drive with a ten foot board running the length from the rear hatch all the way up to the dashboard for an hour of driving on the freeway?
 |
| One of the longboarders catching that right. Hard to tell how big the wave is. What do you think? Three feet? |
She took some things to keep her occupied, I suited up, and we headed north towards the BP. I couldn’t stop looking at Churches. Even though those three footers were great for longboarding, I knew there was potential for turns on a thruster. It just looked fun!
Once we got to the BP I could see Lowers doing its thing from where I was, and of course there were a lot of bikes stacked in front of that peak. I opted for the less crowded atmosphere. There were only about seven guys out, and I paddled out to the saddle between two peaks. It didn’t take long to get my first right, but it wasn’t the best wave. It was a little smaller and broke closer to the inside. When I popped up it was racy, but I made it to the face and kicked out of it. It was a long wait after that. I inched my way north and sat on the outside. The guys around me were catching some insiders, but I have never been an inside guy. It could be a bad move on my part, but I’ve always liked to sit on the outside and wait for the bigger sets that everyone else can’t get to. The only downside is the wait can be long. In this case it paid off. The peaks at Trestles are so defined. In the distance I already saw it forming. Pure flatness along its sides, but there was the rising mound in the middle. It looked like it was half way out to see, you could see it so early. I, being on the outside, had the wave all to myself.
A lot of things go through your mind in those situations: yes, finally, a wave for me, all to myself, no one else on it, no one else paddling for it, don’t fuck this up, don’t fuck this up, DO NOT FUCK THIS UP, paddle hard, right here, over more, and turn around now; THANK YOU, JESUUUUUUUUUUS!
Oh, in those situations, I am more worried about mistiming something, scratching out, accidentally being out of position, or falling unnecessarily. I caught it right when it broke. From my POV I see my hands push up, the nose of my board, the spilling lip pouring from the side, the descent, and then I turn to the face building next to me. It was another long, beautiful ride, a single ride worth more than my last two paddle outs at Porto combined. Blurry, black wetsuits were in the background as I set up my turns. I got a top turn, pumped my board to get back to the face, top turned again, and repeat. My ride ended close to shore right in front of Lauren. I gave her a wave as I turned out the back. She was there cheering for me. Finally, it’s been ages since she’s seen me surf; it felt great having the love of my life “in my corner.”
The most upsetting wave was from a similar situation, but all that time to prepare for that wave made me outdo myself, and I ended up scratching out. I was a little baby at that point; my emotional frustration of missing that wave almost brought me to tears. Yes, that bad. A perfect wave all to myself, lost. I gave it too much respect and paddled too far on the outside to get it, if I was only a couple more feet inside. . . . But the session wasn’t over, for after that I still got my fair share. I even started timing the waves to see if I could wait for the outside sets. My findings were pretty inconsistent, there was no perfect interval.
I watched Lauren on shore. She had a branch similar to Gandalf’s cane, and she was exploring the shore line like a little girl at the beach for the first time. That sight made me happy. I paddled in at the two hour mark because I didn’t want her to have to wait on me that long. When I got to her she said she was bummed that I came in. She showed me all the cool things that she found on the beach.
Once I cleaned up, she decided that she didn’t want to paddle out at all, and I didn’t want to be selfish to make her wait again, so we went back home. Hmmmm, it was kind of a wasted trip in a way. If I drive to Trestles, which is a lot of gas, I like to at least stay for two sessions. It was still fun.
