DEATH OF A SWELL, WED 12MAR2014

Loc: Manhattan Beach

Time: 0700-0900

Conditions: 2-3 FT, high tide, mooshy, uncrowded, inconsistent

Board: Fish

     You can smell the death of a swell like a fart in a car. Not that many people are out. So much street parking is available. Half the high school kids are body surfing on the inside. Where are the vets? Probably waiting for it to get better, but will it?

     With the dark hours extending later into the morning, the early chill has me in my 4/3 wetsuit.

     Two main peaks are breaking long, producing a right and a left, both towards the lifeguard tower. Even though the tide is high and going higher, the set waves still break out at the lineup.

     Some groms are shortboarding the mooshed-out waves but find themselves pumping furiously instead of turning. I see another guy pumping too until his wave mooshes out on the inside. That’s fine with me. I guess every kid wants to be the next pro, and they want to ride what the pros ride, which means that most of them are on the wrong equipment.

     I feel like a wave thief.

     And . . . my fish still works in this two-to-three foot moosh. To think I had initially wanted a fish that was at least two-and-a-half inches thick. Surprisingly, my board is still thick enough to get me into these little waves. The peaks start off long, but they break so slow that I can just hold my line until I’m behind the section a little, and that’s when I’m able to pump and get some turns in.

     Some guys are out with the right equipment: Costco foamies and single fins, and I’m still getting more waves than them.

     Don Kadowaki is sitting behind me towards the inside. “Hey,” he says, “I saw you the other day trying to get barreled on the rights.”

     Unfortunately, I can’t really hear what he’s saying because I have my earplugs in. Usually I don’t take them out, but I do for Don since he’s the king of this spot.

     I thank him and tell him how Porto was fun yesterday evening. It feels good to be recognized for something.

    

     I sense the guys around me getting irritated that I’m getting most of the waves, so I paddle south and try my luck at a more inconsistent spot. These are my standout moments of the session:

     I get a left, the face stands, and I get this arcing carve with the fish, pointing my nose down into the base of the wave, but since the tide is high I ride out of it. Feels awesome.

     On this right, the peak is long and walled, but I hold a high line, and my board takes me all the way to shore. No pumping, no turns, just smooth gliding. The wide nose on my fish just gives so much stability that I can just cruise it.

     My last wave is a right. I get one backhand hack before the wave closes out. I ride out of it and take it all the way to shore. Again, bonus points for ending the session on a good wave.

     On the way back to my car, I see some locals suiting up and walking down. One of them says, “Perfect time to paddle out. Tide is going down!” On paper, that sounds right. The tide is going down, so it should be getting better. But there is still something waning about the conditions. I caught some decent waves, but the surf is getting smaller as the tide gets lower, so it seems. Not sure if any window after this will be better.

     Walking to my car, I see the local vet Bruce, watching the surf too. He should have been out a long time ago.