THE WIND (double sesh), SAT 10NOV2012 NOON

Loc: Churches

Crew: Bri

Conditions: 2-4 FT, low tide, strong sideshore, choppy, sunny, cold.

     There’s no way Bri and I are going back to L.A. without at least checking Churches. Bri’s hoping for San Onofre, but I know that Old Mans doesn’t handle the northwest wind that well. As expected, Old Mans looks like shit when we pull up. Churches has nine heads out. We watch a longboarder make all the racy sections going right, making it to the open face.

     Despite the wind, Churches is still holding some shape; it’s definitely better than Oceanside is with the wind. The bigger waves are walled but some of them line up for at least a couple of turns. The windswell has waves popping up randomly; there’s no right place to sit.

     I change into my dry, extra wetsuit, but Bri has to put on her wet bikini and wetsuit. I hear her shriek from the dripping neoprene, and I’m sure that the wind-chill isn’t helping either.

     We paddle out at the south end of Churches, working our way closer to the pack. The waves looked rideable from shore, but we have to sit and wait once in the water. The waves look like they’re going to break, but there isn’t enough of a trough to pick me up, even on the Zippy.

     When I finally get my first wave, a right, I’m unprepared for the speed. The wind is knocking down the waves which make them faster. I shoot down the line so fast that I almost fall backwards on my bottom turn. My next turn off the lip is slow and sloppy. If anything, I’m just trying to down-turn into the face so as not to lose momentum. As I redirect down the line, the shoulder tapers off.

     In rapid succession, I get a closeout left and then another right. I paddle back to Bri, who’s having a hard time just getting “one.”

#

     Solid four-foot waves start popping out the back. They look like they’re going to line up, but just as they approach, the sections build and wall-up. I pull out of the first two waves, taking the last one. I shoot down the line again, and the oncoming section is approaching. I bottom turn and attempt to cutback off the oncoming shoulder but purl as soon as I rebound off the lip.

     Bri says, “I’m done. Meet you at the car.” She paddles in.

     I take two more waves before leaving. I explain to her that, unfortunately, this is the less desirable, other half of surfing: The Skunk.

     We make it back to L.A. in good time, not needing coffee to stay awake during the drive.

     Even though we didn’t score good waves, and Bri didn’t have a good session, it was still a fun day. We made the best of it.