Loc: El
Porto
Time:
0645-0820
Conditions:
light onshore, 1-2 FT, warm, empty, inconsistent.
Oh, my South Bay, how you once had waves.
It’s hard to imagine how good the winter was to the local surfing populace.
I’m at 26th Street for my dawn
patrol. Only one guy is paddling out. Weak crumbly lines are rolling in. The
peaks are like weak clawing fingers, swiping instead of gouging.
I drive to Porto. A set rolls through at
three feet but sectiony. Did I see a shoulder? It looks good enough. Surface
conditions are fairly clean with a light texture.
Under the overcast sky, I sit and wait. My
first few waves are weak, but the inside stands up a little. I fail at my
layback snap attempts. On one, I completely back flop onto my board. I turn to
shore where a lifeguard truck is parked and watching. I turn back around,
acting like I didn’t notice how stupid I looked.
I do have a miraculous two-turn wave of the
day. My Motorboat Too works so well out here. I get an arcing top turn on the
open shoulder. I’ve been getting better at this. Where the eyes go, the
shoulders go, and then the hips and the feet follow. It’s nice. Instead of a
layback attempt on the inside, I reach back with my forehand and just lean backwards,
shifting my weight as I transfer from my inside to outside rail. I don’t ride
out of it, but I get that extra torque on the arc, whipping the tail a little
more. Practice makes perfect.
I want another wave just like that one so
badly, but that’s it. The South Bay is closed for breakfast. Even funboarders
and foamers sit on the inside, their surf appetites unquenched.
I return to a near-empty parking lot. How
sad. Meanwhile, I know HB is working. I’m spoiled, having had my recent
sessions there. I can only imagine how good it is down south right now. In the
winter, the South Bay shines. In the summer, we have to pay the price to
travel. Tomorrow I’ll be there.
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