Loc: 33rd
- 26th
Time:
0800-1000
Crew: Bri, Klaude,
Hideki, Chris, Calvin, Tom, Sonny
Conditions:
2-3 FT, sunny, inconsistent, crowded, high tide, hot
Bri and I had plans to surf HB today. It
was a toss up between Brookhurst and Bolsa, but Calvin had invited some of the
boys to paddle north of the pier this morning, so Bri and I could either surf
on our own or join our friends.
#
I never surf the pier or anywhere close to
it, but Bri and I have parked on PCH in front of 8th Street.
Somewhere in the midst of the black dots in the water is Calvin, possibly
Klaude too.
I don’t think the weather’s been this good
all summer. It’s already hot, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, and the vast
openness of the view from PCH just emits an overpowering blue.
Some of the waves are walled, so I tell Bri
to be careful. The crowd’s a little thick, but people are surfing along the
whole coastline, so for the most part, people are spread out.
The first person I see is Chris, Hideki’s
homie. After the morning greetings, a left-hand peak rolls in my way. I turn
and go. I love HB waves. They just stand up a little bit more than MB, and they
are much more racier. The momentum just feels different when I’m surfing HB,
and I’m able to set myself up for two solid turns.
After that, Hideki and Klaude paddle
towards me. Chris introduces me to his friend Sonny, and they all say that
Calvin’s drifted somewhere north. But there isn’t much current today.
Despite the wideness of this break, more people
start paddling over, and now it’s crowded. Whenever there’s a wave, someone’s
on it. The inconsistency doesn’t help either. Everyone’s waiting, feening for a
ride, so as soon as a peak sprouts up there’s a mad dash.
Bri’s able to get the tiny ones, and since
those waves have better shape, she takes them for maximum distance all the way
back to shore. It’s a long paddle out, so she pays for her good ride.
I get desperate waiting for a wave, so I go
on a walled up one. There’s only enough room for one little check turn before
the wave closes out, but some other chick drops in on me. “Whoa!” I say as I
straighten out. On the inside, we resurface together.
“Sorry,” she says. But . . . I’m not
pissed. I’m easy, still trying to carry yesterday’s energy with me. On a day
like today, I have to be easy. There aren’t enough waves for everyone.
There’s a perfect left-hand peak rolling
through. A stranger on my left wants it, but I’m going for it. Hideki has
priority though. He’s scratching and scraping on the peak. So am I, and the
wave is about to let me in, but Hideki is still going for it. I pull out, the
wave passes, and I watch it for Hideki. I turn around, and Hideki is still in
the lineup. “Fuck,” he says. “Sorry, guys.”
Awwww, man. Now this is where I’m a dick.
If there’s a good wave and you can’t catch it, especially on a day when
everyone is desperate and waiting, you have to communicate and at least yell
out, “Go, go, go!” or something.
Klaude, goes for his last wave around the
same time that Bri and I have to leave. I get perfect view of him going right
on his frontside, and he lays so much rail on this layback snap that the speed
has somehow kept his body on his board. I’m not sure what happens on this
attempt, but it looks like the nose gets buried into the water and he falls.
Klaude’s getting close to pulling these off though, and pretty soon he’ll have
a nice little move added to his repertoire.
No comments:
Post a Comment