OPTION 2, WED 02JAN2013 MOR

 

Loc: Palos Verdes

Time: 0900-1030

Crew: Bri

Conditions: 2-4FT, soft, mooshy, slightly walled, sunny, cold, offshore then switched to sideshore.

     I wake up at 0730. It’s late if I want to surf. I have to attend a graduate meeting for school today, so if I do make the call, I have to do it now. Bri spent the night last night, so when I get up I ask her if she wants to surf.

     “Right now?” she asks.

     “Yes . . . no pressure.”

     Despite my grogginess, I’m moving around my apartment pretty fast, getting shit ready. I do want to give her the “option,” but I imagine how nice it might be out there right now and how much I’d regret it if I didn’t force her to join. I imagine she’d thank me later for it. After I load my boards and my water jugs, she’s still sitting on the bed, pondering.

     “Come on, let’s go,” I say.

     “What happened to ‘no pressure?’”

     I smile. “Okay, you don’t have to go if you don’t want, but the conditions are good, plus you haven’t surfed in a while.”

     She pouts, but she gets up and starts to change.

#

     It’s a beautiful, sunny morning. I don’t bother to check what the local breaks are doing but imagine they are still walled. Despite the nice, winter conditions, I’m beating myself up at our late start. I think for a moment that if it is indeed fun out there, we missed a good first-light window where we could’ve surfed ourselves stupid for a solid three hours.

     When we pull up to park, we see other cars there. It must be decent. We change, and on the way down the hill, other surfers are making their way up; most of them have longboards. Once I see the water, I realize that I may not have the right board for today. Nothing is breaking on the outside, and a pack of surfers sit, bunched up together, in the middle of the cove. I figure I got my new board that rides better than my thrusters in small conditions, so this will be a nice test for it.

     At the shore, I tell Bri that I’m gonna go ahead and make my way out. It’s nerve wracking, paddling through the rocks in the shallows. The last thing I need is to ding my brand new investment, especially since it is literally the last board in my thin quiver that is injury free.

     On my way to the outside, I see some fun, peeling, little two footers that look rideable enough, even on my Motorboat Too. On the outside, some bigger sets are beginning to roll in, bigger at about four feet. It turns out I was wrong. I find a place to sit just north of the longboarders. I’m waiting for a wave to swing wide, one of those walls that will taper off right where I am. It doesn’t take long before one comes. I paddle into it late. As soon as I stand up, the peak, despite its gradual slope, is running away fast. I pump to gain speed and pull off a front-side carve from the top, down to mid face. I square up my shoulders to redirect my nose down the line. The motion is fluid and fast. It feels good.

     Briana works her way out. We can’t even feel the offshore wind, so the water is glassy and ideal. The sun is still low but still giving everything an orange, morning glow.

     “I would have been pissed if you went without me,” says Briana.

     Some nicer sets roll in, but they are breaking better where the pack is sitting. I try to go, but there are already guys on those waves, so I have to back out. The problem with catching waves that break wide is that they have to be big enough to wall up where everyone else is, but sometimes these waves are so walled that I’m way too deep behind the shoulder to get a good ride out of them. I still force some wave or try to paddle for better position. I’m definitely having more fun than the last couple walled sessions at Porto, even though I can’t get more than one turn on these waves.

     I’m paddling back out when I see Bri paddling for a wave. I’m glad to see that she’s going for it a little deeper than usual and not shoulder hunting. It’s a better wave than anything I’ve caught this morning. She pops up perfectly on the peak. Her board is gliding down the face at an angle, setting up for a down-the-line ride, but she’s really slow at getting to her feet. If she could stand up instantly, she would be getting some long rides. She disappears as I paddle over the wave. She doesn’t get the full potential out of the wave, but she still pulls off a late pop up and gets some distance.

     We’re only an hour in when the wind changes. Sideshore wind from the north gives the water texture and makes it just a little choppy. Even though the wind isn’t strong, it’s messing up the shape. The morning glass is gone, and now the already-racy waves are being forces to break a little faster.

     Bri goes on another wave. I’m not sure what happens, but the board hits her head. I feel her scalp for the bump. It’s not bleeding.

     It’s a good time to call the session, plus I don’t have much time to get ready for my meeting, so we head in.

     On the trail, we watch the surf at a little lookout point before the trail bends away from the cove. From this vantage point, the waves still look fun. It’s a pristine day and a shame to have to turn our backs on the surf right now, but it’s okay. Maybe when the local beach breaks are walled, it’s not so bad. At least I know I have other options.