FRONTSIDE, MON 20FEB2012 MOR

Crew: Francis

Time: ?

Conditions: 4-5+ ft, high tide, offshore then switched to onshore, walled with occasional shoulders, semi-consistent.  

     Francis’ call wakes me up. He’s on his way to 26^th. “I just passed Grand. There’s some sets out there,” he says. I’m tired from sleeping late, but I grab my gear and head out the door. 

     I can’t find parking to save my life. After about fifteen minutes of driving around in circles, I finally park all the way by 15^th St. I debate on what board to take. The DMS is already laid out while my JS is in the bag. Since it’s mooshy, I go with more volume to paddle-in easier. It’s a long walk, but there seems to be scattered peaks everywhere. Surprisingly, it’s not that crowded either. I hump all the way to Marine and paddle out in a little empty spot in the water. I spot Francis at the main peak, but I wait for a wave to take me to him. There’s a little size this morning. It’s walled up, but there are occasional peaks that have makeable shoulders. I drop in on a steep left, but it closes out. I catch a lot of closeouts, but it feels good. A lot of guys are backing out or pass, but I’m actually enjoying how easy it is to catch boards on this wave. I get a left that opens up, and I get two decent carves on it. There’s that moment when I dump all the speed on the shoulder and shift my weight on the tail. Words can’t describe the feeling, it’s like I’m frozen in time. I shift my weight on the tail again to redirect down the line. It’s not flawless, smooth, but my transitions are getting faster. 

     I finally make my way to Francis. He asks me about the Wave House in San Diego for his birthday. I’m surprised at this because I’m not supposed to be aware of such an event, so I remain silent. He laughs and says, “It’s not a surprise, Matt.” To be on the safe side, I still shut my mouth. It makes the conversation between us awkward. 

     I get a couple more lefts, but not as good as the one from earlier. However, there’s a little progression here. I’m not getting spray like my backhand, but I’m drawing a highline, tagging the lip with my tail for baby-tosses of water. It’s the same way my backhand progressed. Taking words from Wagner, I say to Francis, “You see that monster out there?” There’s a bump in the surface on the outside. After a wave passes us he sees it. He paddles for the peak while I paddle for the shoulder. He’s too deep, I’m thinking. I’m scratching, just about to drop when I hear, “Wooooooh!” I look down, and I swear I have a bird’s eye view of Francis. He looks tiny down below, and he’s looking up at me. I pull out. His wave didn’t open up, but it was a juicy one that he straightened out on. 

     There’s another monster on the next set. I set myself up on the shoulder and start paddling. I’m caught off guard by the waves speed and power, and I’m a little late for it. As I’m sliding down the face is getting too vertical, so I step off the rail. I see the lip coming down and turning hollow as I plunge beneath. I’m embarrassed when I resurface. I remember seeing bobbing bodies down the line of that wave, all looking, all watching me eat shit. I smile and laugh it off, shaking water out of my ears. A guy paddles up to me a minute later and says, “Was that you that took that drop a minute ago?”

     “Yeah, that was me.”

     “Man, you look like you could’ve just made it if you held on a little longer. I had a perfect view in the barrel.” 

     I feel like an idiot. Did I bail out too early? “Yeah, it just got really vertical on me.”

     “Well . . . way to charge though!” 

     It’s almost 1100, and Francis and I need to leave. On my last wave I do the same thing. This one’s not as big, but I pop up a little too late and wipeout again. I blame it on switching the boards, but maybe it’s just me, probably surfing lazy. 

     We part ways, and I haven’t surfed since. Either way, that solid carve that I got off that one wave is still sticking with me as I write this. I can’t wait for another one.