SOFT SHOULDERS, TUE 14JAN2014

Loc: El Porto

Crew: Bri, Gary, Dave T

Time: 0645-0800

Conditions: 2-3 FT, sunny, offshore, glassy, high tide, soft, crowded.

     Bri opens the door to the bathroom, the light bulb behind her radiates around her head like an aura. I can’t see her face, but I’m blinded. Squinting, I sit up butt naked. She’s dressed and heading for the door. What the hell happened to my alarm? It’s 0615, and Bri’s ready to head out the door and hit the surf. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. I’m the dawn patrol master in this household, but my woman’s outdone me in wave count and popularity in the lineup over the last year.

     “Here’s your water,” she says before closing the door. I brush my teeth and start changing. On the carpet is a hot-water jug filled and ready to go.

     I have a special delivery for Gary: a box of 12 military rations or MREs. On the way to Porto, Bri calls and tells me that she had done a surf check at our other spot further south and that Porto is better.

     When I enter the lot, I pull up next to her and tell her that I have to find Gary because I have to give him the MREs. Bri’s parked near 45^th, so I know that that’s where she’ll be.

     I park next to Gary, but he’s already in the water. I skip the warm up and paddle out. I gamble with my 3/2 since yesterday was pretty hot, and it pays off.

     With the tide about to top out, the waves still have shape. Gary’s popping up into a long, three-foot right. I hoot him on as he passes me. I turn and go on a little left, but it’s smaller, and the inside mooshes out.

     Dave T. is out here too, but the lineup’s already getting much thicker.

    

     It’s a typical California summer morning, but the only thing is that it’s not summer. It’s technically still winter. The water’s glassy without any fog, and the high tide makes a fatter board the wiser choice. There are still plenty of people on shortboards though.

     I see Bri in the distance, but she’ll have to leave for work soon. By the time I would get there, she would already have to leave. I try to watch her catch some waves, but she’s with the main pack at 45^th, and it’s super crowded.

     I struggle to get a good bomb. Since the waves are softer and breaking long, I have to be in the right place. I get two more waves that moosh out again. I try to muscle in some power carves without much momentum to begin with.

     The best sets break outside, and with the overflow of surfers, it’s hard to get prime position. Somehow, Dave T. does.

     He drops in on a longboarder who’s too deep, and he takes a long, three-foot right to himself, throwing a lot of water out the back towards the inside. And then he gets another one. Two bombs for Dave.

     I paddle towards Bri and see her go right. I want to get some face time with her before she leaves, but she walks up the sand and heads to work.

     The rest of the session is a little frustrating. I haven’t minded the Porto crowd lately, but on this morning, and the way the waves are breaking, I just can’t get good positioning.

     I see another local guy from my usual spot. He tells me that it hasn’t been working over there. There’s this chick named June here too, another local from my other spot. Wow, I guess Porto is the only option for local surf. I wonder where the other vets are surfing right now: Don Kadowaki, Ross, Roy.

    

     Back at the meters, I give Gary the box of MREs. The tide is still high, but there are soft inside waves that look fun, so I whip out my credit card to pay the meter. It doesn’t accept my card. I try it again, and the fucking meter is broken. Dripping wet, I’ll have to get in my car and switch parking spots, or should I?

     Sign from God? The universe? Maybe it’s not meant for me to get that second session in. I have to be aware when the cosmos is trying to tell me something: “Don’t go out. It won’t be worth it. You have school assignments to get a head start on. Start your day early.”

     So I guess another paddle out isn’t meant to be for today. I go home, change into my house shorts, throw in a Toaster Strudel, and polish off my surf blog early. Afterwards I’ll kill off a book of poetry, maybe get some PS3 in, and then hit the gym with Bri. Either way, I’m glad I had begun the day in the water.