Loc:
Manhattan Beach
Crew: Klaude
Conditions:
2-3 FT, cool, slightly overcast, crowded, mooshy.
Damn you, Call of Duty, Black Ops 2 on PS3.
Why do you have to be so fun and addicting, so addicting that going to bed at
0200 is considered early. I just love blasting fools online. It’s the BEST! Oh
my god, once this semester is over I’m just gonna game for a couple days
straight and not leave the house. I can’t wait.
So . . . I’m late. Yup, I know Klaude is
out there already surfing. I need to get up and get out of the house. It’s
about 0800 when I reach the sand, and . . . I look out there and see Klaude. I
just know his shape, his silhouette, even from behind, that’s how you know you’re
close to your friends. The usual local crew is out. I see Tom Y. first. He says
hi. I haven’t seen him in a while. And Calvin . . . I already saw him near the
parking lot. He left, which is not a good sign.
“Heyyy!” says Klaude. He motions in the air
with his hand and his palm up, as if to say he’s been waiting. I ask how long
he’s been out here, and it turns out he wasn’t exactly an early riser either.
He tells me about his evil shenanigans that he’s been up to, the real “Pirate
Klaude” that not too many people know, and I must say, I’m impressed (I’m
sparing the details of his personal life, but they would make a cool story).
“Has it been good?” I ask.
“No. That’s probably why so many guys were
leaving.”
Roy is to our south with some other locals.
Now . . . I can’t remember too many details about this session for the life of
me. I think Klaude was getting some rides, so was I, and it was crowded enough
that we had to miss some rides too. However, as soon as the tide comes up there
is this nasty lull; I mean the waves are taking forever. Everyone is impatient,
so much that over half of the lineup is sitting way on the on inside, hoping
for something that won’t moosh out. The tide has pulled me towards the outside,
so . . . I’m already in good position for this random bump that’s forming in
the distance. I paddle more towards the outside, over a smaller wave. Once I’m
over it, I see this peak, a decent three-foot left just rising in front of me.
I turn, scratch, and kick. I notice everyone on the inside now scrambling for
the outside, hopeful for the next couple waves of the set. A ride like this on
a day like this is . . . rare. I pop up and pump to get to the open face. I
draw a bottom turn, not too deep, but deep enough to give me some decent speed
when I climb the face. From there I shift my weight to the outside rail and do
an arching top turn. A successful opening move on a wave in front of everyone.
After that, the wave kind of mooshes out, but I pump until I get back to the
reform on the inside and finish off with another turn.
I meet Klaude on the way back to the
lineup. I’m smiling ear to ear, saying nothing, wondering if he had seen my
ride.
“Duuude,” he says.
“You see that?”
“Awww, man. I wasn’t sure if that was you,
but I knew it was just from your paddle. I was like, ‘Is that Matt?’ Then I saw
you come around and make the first cutback before I had to duckdive.”
I tell him that it was luck, pure luck.
Usually a wave like that goes to the local vets, but I just lucked out. I remember
seeing Roy’s face as I dropped in. He might have been thinking the same thing.
Although, my turn was a halfass cutback. If I were to describe my level of
surfing right now, it’s trying to do cutbacks and floaters; I still have a long
way to go. None the less, that was a really fun wave.
We catch our last waves in. On the sand I
ask, “Breakfast?”
“Yeah, sure,” says Klaude.
“What are you thinking?”
I know what I’m really thinking, but I don’t mention it. “We can stay local. Blue
butterfly?”
“Man,” he says while trudging through the
sand and looking down, “but I’m hungry!”
“Bobs?” I say.
“Well, we’ll see. Just meet me after you change.”
But that doesn’t matter. We know we’re
addicted. I’m thinking pancakes and coconut syrup. My mouth is watering. I know
Klaude wants Bob’s too. Mmmmmmmmm. Plate lunch after a surf. Goodness. After I
change, I drive down to where Klaude is parked. Roy is there too. He’s
contemplating Bob’s Hawaiian Restaurant too, but he passes.
Then, we go. We go and we frickin’
SPLURGE!!!! I love the South Bay. Food and surf, food and surf, food and surf.
Gotta love it. Sorry, I don’t have any pics of Bob’s.
 |
| But I do have a picture of Bruno. I had to help Rick move a TV after we ate. This is his Mom's labradoodle. |
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