SHORTER DAYS (double sesh), MON 20AUG2012 EVE

Location: Old Mans

Crew: Briana

Conditions: 2 FT, hot, onshore, inconsistent.

     By the time we got back from sushi and did the grocery shopping for the night, the sun was pretty low on the horizon. I miscalculated how much daylight we had. Being that the summer solstice was two months ago (minus one day), the days are already getting shorter. No more evening sessions with visibility until 2030.

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     We stop by Churches first for a look to see if it’s worth it. For some reason, it doesn’t look as good as Old Mans. The peaks are dribbly. We walk out on the sand to catch a glimpse of Middles and Lowers. Everything looks flat until the Lower’s peak. Some black dots are going down the line. It looks small, but we’re far away. With daylight burning, I decide on sticking to Old Mans since it’s closer.

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     Even though the morning was warm, I throw on the 2/2 wetsuit just in case. We can tell that the lineup is thinning out as soon as we enter Old Mans. Most surfers are working their way in through the rocks and loading up their vehicles. There are still a sparse few that remain in the lineup.

     We paddle out at the same exact spot that we surfed this morning. Even with the low tide, small two-footers are still rolling through, despite long lulls in between.

     Briana capitalizes on her day’s progress by standing up on most of her waves. Still slow on the pop-up, but honestly . . . she’s learning a lot faster than I did.

     I get waves similar to this morning. Once the sun dips below the clouds for one last show before heading below the horizon, the waves get a little harder to see. Just like the evening sessions at Lowers, the sensation of feeling the wave takes over.

     I can’t remember any memorable rides during this session; it was short. Once the sun is down, the lineup clears. Probably because the lot has to close down soon too. We are the last people in the water, trudging through a long lull to catch one in. The scenery turns eerie with the line of headlights exiting the lot behind us. Surfing at Churches is fun in the evening because there are still people camping nearby, but there’s a sense of isolation here. We both catch the same closeout and head back to the cottage.

#

     The cottage is so convenient. No more showering separately, sand in the tent, condensation, and cooking in the dark. We have three bedrooms, cable TV, a full kitchen, our own shower, dishes, couches, etc. Since our lunch was huge, we just eat some sandwiches we bought from the mini mart. However, we get a serious case of the hungries later and eat some Lunchables and S’mores Pop Tarts. 

     I hope to rent this same cottage out for a DRC get together later this year. There are beds for four people, but I’m sure we can fit no more than ten heads in here.