Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A NONRARITY, SUN 20APR2014


Loc: Manhattan Beach
Time: 0700-0900
Crew: Bri, Klaude
Conditions: 2-4FT, offshore, consistent, low tide, crowded.
     Imagine . . . Imagine that the surf is good. Good as in good shape. There aren’t consistent A-frames, but say that the rights are lining up nice and shouldery all the way to shore, at least two turns before a closeout maneuver, if you’re good enough (which I’m not). And imagine that you paddle out, get a good wave, and you want another one, but now more and more people are paddling out.
     Imagine a pack of Stand Up Paddleboarders holding down a whole break. One of them sits on the outside, catching one all the way in. His friend takes the next wave, does the same. And then the first SUP guy that had caught the first wave all the way in, paddles all the way back outside and catches another one. Imagine being so frustrated and seeing that even if you paddle away from the SUP guys that you’ll still be in the midst of another crowd, but you do anyway.
     In the midst of the new crowd, the waves are still good, but you have to jockey for position, back off for guys already on it, or pretend that you don’t see the wave approaching to give it away, but little do you know that every other surfer is doing the same thing. Imagine that you’re so desperate to catch that wave that you try and sneak-paddle towards it, but it starts a chain reaction and now everyone is paddling for it.

     Imagine that you look back at that session, trying to remember it, but you can’t. You know you had caught some waves, but all you remember is the crowd. 

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