Location: North
Churches
Crew: Bri
Time: 1045-1230
Conditions:
1-3 FT, warm, sunny, light onshore.
Pre Blog:
I reserved my campsite at the last minute.
It was last minute because I’ve been busy, busy with both the honeymoon phase
of a new relationship and busy with the preparation of a two-week military
class in Massachusetts that I have coming up. Being that I’ll be gone, this
camping trip is important. Either way, I love the San Onofre campsites. Small
surf or not, there’s something about tenting it, surfing all day, barbecuing,
and drinking beers around a bonfire that I can’t say no to. These trips are
always a win-win situation.
Staycation
Time:
I sent an open invite to twenty-five plus
people about my campsite. Most importantly, the other surf bloggers. Even if no
one shows, it doesn’t matter. I can make do with a romantic getaway with just
Bri and me, but I like to show love to the people who matter to me by making my
site available to them as well.
I’m supposed to be up at 0600 to start
loading up the wagon, but I’m tired. I wake up at 0715. By the time the wagon’s
fully loaded, it’s 0900. After the drive to Yorba Linda to pick up Bri, we
reach San Onofre a little after 1000. I try to check in early, but I’m told
that the site’s still not available. Since we have about two hours to kill, I
figure there’s no better time to suit up and go for a paddle out.
We cruise by Old Man’s first. Even though I
told Bri that I wanted to take her surfing here, the crowd is so thick that I
opt to go to North Churches / South
Middles instead (always less people here). We park in front of Churches and
unload the boards. Churches is small but fun and consistent as always. Since
there’s a little crowd at the main peak, I opt to take her further north. The
late morning sun beats us down. I’m sweating as I’m putting on my Vertra. The
wax is so hot that it smears when I try to put a fresh coat over it. I whip out
the trunks and rashguard while Bri sticks to her wetsuit.
The surf is inconsistent where we paddle
out. In the distance, surfers split the peak at Lowers. Just to our south, the
top of the wave at Churches entertains a dozen longboarders. Here, I make a
small sacrifice for my surfing to help Briana get her fundamentals down.
#
Let’s face it, surfing is a selfish art. It
takes patience to teach someone how to surf. For example, my brother rips; he’s
a shredder, but he didn’t teach me how to Surf. Rick did. Randy’s probably the
better surfer, but Rick is the better teacher. Me? I’m selfish as hell. I’d
rather spend the day going where the waves are good for my own sake than waste
my time surfing where it’s small, calling waves for a buddy on a longboard. But
is this really a waste? If surfing is truly something that I’d like to share
with Briana then this is not a waste at all. But with the instruction comes my
time. In the meanwhile, I’ll sacrifice my own soul sessions to teach my
girlfriend how to surf. I only have one rule for her. For whatever advice I
give her, she must take it and use it.
#
The paddle out is easy. Bri’s getting
better at the cobblestone dance, using the NSP for balance as she walks her way
out. The lulls are long, but when they come, I try to give Bri the priority.
She has a good start. Some of the waves are
small, mooshy dribblers. She purls a lot, being too far in front of her board,
but she is also able to arch her back in time to keep the nose out. She catches
almost all of the waves on her belly and some on her knee. At this point, I’m
more concerned with her getting the feeling of dropping into a wave.
I struggle to get a decent ride. Most of
the waves are too small to turn on, so they turn into trimmers. Even though I’m
internally bitching about not riding bigger waves, there really isn’t much of
an alternative. Everywhere is 2-3 FT across the board, and that’s only south
facing beaches. The South Bay is even smaller right now. So I appreciate that
surfing with Bri has brought back the natural stoke of surfing even the
smallest of waves.
#
“Right here,” I say as the set approaches.
“This one?”
“Yup. Go.”
She swings her board around and starts
paddling. I realize I set her up a little late. The wave curls while she’s
still in front of it paddling. Her board shoots straight up unto the air. I
cringe at the thought of it landing on her head. She resurfaces.
“You all right?” I ask.
It takes a while for her to respond. “I hit
my head on a rock.”
“Shit. Are you bleeding?”
“No, I’m okay.”
She’s a little rattled, understandably. I
tell her to cover up when she falls and to watch out for her own board hitting
her. Her mishap has her a little apprehensive to catch anything else. It’s past
noon, so I figure it’s a good time to check in.
#
Unfortunately, no one’s cancelled their
beachside campsites, so Bri and I have to take a site up on the bluffs. Even
though it’s just a short walk to the beach, nothing beats being on the sand
with an ocean front view, but if I had to choose between this and a Netflix
night at the house, I’d rather be up on the bluffs.
It’s somewhat of a joy to set up camp. The
Coleman Instatent pays for itself again, only taking minutes to set up and
stake down. I’m a lucky man to have friends with camping gear who don’t camp at
all. I have a Coleman propane grill, large cooler, and an inflatable full-size
mattress.
We make a run to the Commissary and PX to
buy supplies. We make an active effort not to overbuy and plan to cook and eat
EVERYTHING we purchase.
Back at the site, we open some beers, get a
good buzz on, and play speed with the deck of cards that Briana suggested we
buy. I haven’t played speed in years, but it’s fun and gets really competitive.
Aside from the surf, this camp trip’s off to a good start.
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