Loc:
Manhattan Beach
Time:0700-0900
Crew: Bri,
KK, Mel
Conditions:
1-3 FT, consistent, light onshore, warm.
Since Tuesdays thru Thursdays are
one-hundred percent dedicated to school, Friday’s my first chance to paddle out
after sitting on my ass for three days. Actually, that’s not entirely true,
since Bri and I have picked up yoga at a local gym two nights a week.
Bri’s started her new job this morning, so
I head to Manhattan Beach early before she’s up and head out to meet Klaude and
Khang.
Yesterday, Khang called me and said he
would surf, so I offered to buy him breakfast afterwards since I haven’t seen
him in a while.
Street parking is a bitch, as it always is
on Fridays, and I have no choice but to park at a spot that’s only good until
0900, but since I’m early it shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a solo
session, and I enjoy the quiet atmosphere, only disrupted by my music and the
sound of me breathing.
Looking out at the break, I see small,
consistent lines rolling in, but they look a little walled. However, it’s the
best local surf that I’ve seen for a while.
At the lineup, I don’t see Klaude yet, but
I’m not concerned with that. What I’m concerned with is all the high school
groms that are now there at first light. There are so many of them. Even the
local vets are complaining as they walk towards the sand. They point to the few
areas that aren’t congested with groms, saying, “There . . . no. How about
there? No. . .”
I’m surprised to see some kids bare backing
it. Sure, it’s been warm lately, but not that warm. I paddle out, and my 2/2,
short-sleeved full feels mighty fine.
I sit south of the tower, trying to avoid
the crowd, but the good waves are where all the kids are sitting. I move in
closer and sit by the longboarding groms. I’m jealous. They’re just about
catching everything, local vet Mitch is out here too, and we both give each
other a look that spells frustration. Meanwhile, I’m burning up in my wetsuit.
I should have trunked it.
I am still able to get some waves though,
but none of the rides are memorable. There is a right where I get one, small snap
on. It’s been a while since I’ve had one of those. I catch an even better
right, but one of the morning groms snakes me on it. I ride close to him, on
his ass, but then I back off. What’s the use? It’s not like it’s that great out
here, and he’s just a kid.
Back at the lineup, I split a small peak
with a grom and go left. I clear a small section with a tiny floater but look
behind me to make sure that I’m clear. I’m not. That grom didn’t go right, and
now he’s standing behind me the same way I was standing behind that other kid. “Shit!”
I say before kicking out.
Once the grom patrol clears, I see KK and
Mel making their way out. I paddle over towards them, since Klaude is blind and
can’t see me unless I’m in front of him.
I say hi to Mel, and then Klaude dismounts
his board to give me some man-hug love. Roy’s out here too.
“Where you’ve been surfing?” I ask Roy.
“Up north,” he says. “Last Saturday I
surfed for like eight hours.”
Then I recall how Rick scored that super
session last weekend up north too. Barrels! Roy just about confirms that I
missed out on a good one.
And for the rest of the morning we all
trade off waves. I can’t say that they’re high quality waves. I guess I’ve been
a little picky lately. There are a few single-shot waves that I get, but I
probably have the most fun on a set-wave closeout. The drop itself was more fun
than any of my other rides.
When KK and Mel call it, I decide to go in
too. I catch another wall and try to pump to set up for a carve, but the wave’s
too fast, and I climb the white wash a little before coming down with it. There’s
no sign of Khang either, but he has a pass since he’s been a hundred times
busier with his promotion. We all have to make sacrifices some time.
On the shore, Klaude says, “Nice way to
finish it!”
I just smile back. Truth is, it’s been a
while since I’ve had a real solid session. I think the last time I did have one
was my second to the last trip at San Onofre with Bri when Mons Pubis was
working. That might have been before I had left for work in August, and that’s
a while ago.
I head back to my whip and decide to sham
out for the rest of the day. It’s Friday, I have the next two days to write
some nonfiction and do some reading. I hope the surf gets better soon. We need
at least another foot and the tide to be lower in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment