PV GAMBLE (double sesh), SUN 30DEC2012 EVE

 

Loc: Palos Verdes

Time: 1530-1630

Crew: Bri

Conditions: 2 FT+, onshore, choppy, ugly, and cold.

     Since Bri hasn’t had a chance to surf lately, especially with the swell being too big in the South Bay, I take her to PV where the waves are mellow. On the drive there, the beach breaks look like shit. All along the coast between El Segundo and Torrance, the swell size has gone down while the wind picks up. It’s ugly out there and choppy. I have a feeling that PV is either going to be too small or it’s going to look like shit.

     To my surprise there are some surfers parked at The Cove. I tell Bri that we need to just suit up and head down without looking at it since daylight’s running out. As we’re walking down the path, I see that the surf is just as horrible as everywhere else. The inside is consistent, but it’s ugly consistent; it’s just a mess. However, there are still about ten heads out.

     Bri warms up while I work my way through the rocks on this drained, low tide. I let the little waves wash over me, as I’m worried about dinging my brand new board by duckdiving it into a boulder.

     Once at the lineup, I’m sitting close to some other longboarders. An ugly two-foot bump rolls through. I get to it first, making the other longboarders pull out. I pump and get down the line, but the wave conjoins with another small wave in front of it, forcing it to close out. The rest of my waves are close outs.

     Bri makes it out. She turns around and paddles for the next two-foot bump. The wave breaks, and I see her board tumbling with the white wash. “I purled,” she says. “I feel like I’m getting worse.”

     I tell her that it’s been a long time since she paddled out and that she’s just a little rusty. On the next set, she catches a wave straight all the way to the inside. I remain at the lineup, waiting for another wave while the crowd gets thinner.

     Minutes pass. I search for Bri through the foamy inside, and she’s caught towards the south side of the cove. The crowd thins even more, leaving me outside by my lonesome, so I catch the next closeout in, passing Bri along the way, signaling her that our session is over.

     Bri’s bummed out back at the car. It was terrible conditions to paddle out in; I remind her of that. The evening cold doesn’t help, as the air temperature has us freezing our asses off.

     We head straight to Chili’s in Torrance to burn off a gift card that I got for Christmas. We forget about the bad session and are just grateful to be indoors where it’s warm, but our feet are still cold as shit from our spongy flip flops. I think I’m due up for a good session.