CHANGING IT UP, MON 16SEPT2013 MOR

Loc: EL PORTO

Time:0700-0900

Crew: Solo                                                   

Conditions: 1-3 FT, sunny, glassy, inconsistent

     Something tells me to make the right turn, down the hill, onto 45^th Street. I haven’t surfed Porto in a while, and it’s nice to change things up. I’m counting on a parking spot being free on the hill, and definite as diarrhea, there it is!

     I change and walk down, avoiding the parking lot and going through the path in the trees. The surf doesn’t look as good as yesterday, but that’s okay because I wasn’t expecting much. 45^th Street Tower looks inconsistent with a lot of longboarders sitting on it, so I walk a little more south and paddle out in front of 42^nd.

     Some of the faces are familiar in the lineup, and I imagine that I must be “unfamiliar” since I don’t frequent this spot like before. But with the surf small and inconsistent, the vibe here is mellow.

     I catch some waves, forcing the most out of them that I can. I’m picky, favoring the lefts, and I pump the hell out of them, setting up for one solid hit at the end. Rides like this are still fun, especially on small days.

     On the inside, I turn around and notice a dorsal fin that does NOT look like a dolphin's. I’m spooked watching it stalk the inside behind the surfers. I even ride the white wash in and watch it from shore. I make eye contact with a longboarder who’s also watching it, but he looks calmer than I. About a minute later, I see water shoot out of its spout. Oh, so it is a dolphin. . .

     Back in the lineup, everyone just sees it for the first time. All around me, the word “shark” keeps being repeated. One guy yells, “What the hell is that, dude!? Is that a shark?! I’m OUTTIE, dude!?”

     As the guy paddles away, I turn around toward the guys behind me and say, “Sharks have gills.”

     The dolphin has such a huge dorsal fin that everyone in the water is still suspicious. It looks lost and disoriented, loitering close to shore. A longboarder paddles up to it, petting its fin. It gets so close that it’s right under me, and that’s when everyone agrees that it’s a baby whale. It looks like a beluga, but it’s gray not white. Its face is round, lacking the pointy-nosed dolphins.

     The baby whale steals the show, and more surfers congregate around it to pet it. Eventually, the whale ventures further south. When it reaches the next tower, I hear, “Everyone out of the water! Shark! Shark!”

     I laugh, looking over and seeing the longboarder who’s sitting way outside, making the announcement. Days later, Rick tells me that it was probably a baby pilot whale.