LOW ROCKER ON SMALL WAVES, SUN 06APR2014

Loc: Manhattan Beach

Time: 0700-1000

Crew: Tom, Calvin, Klaude.

Conditions: 1-3 FT, sunny, weak, offshore.

     I had planned to surf Porto at first light this morning, but I hit the snooze button a couple of times, finally getting out of bed at hearing Shan’s text. Gary had also sent me a text, saying that Manhattan Beach is chest high and fun.

     I’ve already broken the cardinal codes of being a good dawn patroller. I had gone to sleep at 0145 this morning, and now I’m skipping breakfast.

     Driving past Porto, the waves are small. It doesn’t look like my original call to surf here would have given me much of an advantage, and if I’m going to surf tiny waves, I may as well surf with the homies.

     The sun isn’t over the hill yet, but everything is bright. There’s no residue of a dawn patrol remaining anywhere. I hate this feeling of being late. I love driving towards the ocean in the dark, and I’ve robbed myself of it.

     There is still free parking on Highland. Looking down the hill, the surf looks just a hair poorer than Porto, but it still looks doable. I have to choose between my standard shortboard (Tokoro) or my Motorboat Too. Since the tide is dropping, I expect the surf to stand up more, so I grab the Tokoro.

     The lineup has changed at this spot. The locals used to surf in front of the Brick House or the lifeguard tower, but now they sit hella north, just in front of 32^nd Street. The lineup in front of the tower and south of it is filled with new faces.

     The surf is weaker than expected. I’m sluggish on my Tokoro. Too much rocker and not enough power from the wave equals gutless rides. I go back up the hill and swap boards.

     Now Shan is out here. So is Tom. Calvin, the prodigal surfer, has been out because of a shoulder injury, but he’s here too.

     Despite the small surf, I’m amazed at how much a low rocker helps. I paddle into little two footers, and they stand up towards the inside. The shape of the waves don’t offer good carving sections, but I’m at least able to milk the waves for distance with a lot of floater attempts on the closeout sections. But it still is a little frustrating. The set waves look good coming in, but they wall up and closeout fast.

     Klaude shows up at about 0800, just as the surf is thinning out just a little bit. We have a spot to ourselves for a while.

     My wave of the day is a three-foot closeout. Immediately off the bottom turn, I see the section wall up. I climb the face and do one of my most vertical drives up and through the lip that I’ve ever done. As the wave breaks, it pushes me back down the avalanche of water. The base of the wave is bumpy when I land, and it feels good. If I can stick this landing, I will actually pull off a decent closeout maneuver, but I get bucked off my board by the whitewash and fall.

     Towards the end of the session, I’m making the best out of the two footers. I call Klaude into a right. I miss his ride, but he tells me that the Neckbeard that he had borrowed from Dais is working well. He’s gonna buy it from him.

     Good waves are scarce, but I still manage to milk the small waves. Who would have thought that this would have been possible on a little 5’9 shortboard? The Motorboat Too is pulling through right now.  

     Afterwards, Klaude and I do breakfast at Blue Butterfly in El Segundo. For under ten bucks, we both get smoked salmon bagel sandwiches and a cup of coffee each.

     I hope the surf is better tomorrow. Just a little more size will do plenty.