THE STUBBORN SWELL, FRI 03JAN2014

Loc: El Porto

Crew: Randy, Rick, John A.

Time: 0700-0830

Conditions: 2-3 FT+, walled, foggy.

     The swell is stubborn because even though it’s smaller and backing off, it is still walled. It’s foggy at first, and none of us can see anything. The sun’s absence makes everything colder. With Bri taking a lay day, I’m using her 5mm hooded wetsuit and Randy’s using my 4/3. Rick says he doesn’t even want to paddle out, but since John and I start changing, he joins in.

     The parking lot is about half full, with people peering through the fog. Some guys walk closer to get a glimpse of the waves. Others are like us, just changing to go for it.

     One the sand, the waves look like they’re breaking close to shore. Shoulders, but already soft and only two-to-three feet. But we’re all here and all dressed, so why not paddle out? I do so, hoping that there’s something else beneath the fog that’s better than what I see now.

     And once out in the lineup I can see how the ocean is glassy, but it’s flat. The lull is suddenly broken up by an outside wave, but it’s walled. We all catch waves but with nowhere to go.

     One longboarder is scoring though, popping up early and getting down the line before his waves closeout. I can’t help but think that if Bri was here she’d be clowning.

     So the sets are long and lined, but the end of some of the waves have shoulders. The challenge is just being in the right spot at the right time. Waves approach, initially looking like they’re rideable, but once they hit the sandbar, the shoulders line up and turn into walls, shifting the shoulders further down the beach.

     I’m lucky enough to be in the right spot for one of them. Randy’s on my outside, saying, “Go, Matt!” as I paddle into it. I can’t believe that the wave is holding shape. With my friends and brother watching, I want to put a little extra mustard on my backhand snap, but the wave is so soft that I can only do what my speed allows. I do a get a snap though, a small one. I pump down the line and get a second one. On the inside, I fall on the third snap once I’m over shallow water.

     Paddling back, I see John giving me a thumbs up. Despite this stubborn swell, I got my one-wave quota for today.

     The fog’s so thick that we can’t tell how far south we’re drifting. Rick goes in, and John gets one back-hand blast on a right before going in.

     I feel bad for Randy. The surf’s not that great here, but his trip to Cali wasn’t about surf anyway.

     Once the fog lightens a bit we see that we’ve almost drifted to Rosecrans, so we paddle back north towards the sandwich shack. The area we’re in is not breaking, and we catch some shitty waves in.

     Back at the lot, we see that 45^th is way more consistent, and the waves there seem to have more shoulders now.

     Since Rick has to go home to babysit, he has to leave early, but he agrees to meet Randy and me for breakfast at Denny’s.

     At Denny’s there are six of us: Rick, his two daughters, his brother John, Randy, and I. It’s a crowded morning for a weekday, but here we are having a family meal, laughing and joking around. Not a bad way to start the morning, even with the walled conditions. Although, I’m looking forward to a better swell. I hope that the next one that comes in has more angle in it so we can get more shape. I’m glad this walled week is coming to an end.