TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY PT. I, MON 23JUN2014

Loc: Churches

Conditions: Scorching hot, 3-4 FT.

     After attending Klaude’s belated birthday party last night, we could only manage to wake up at 0600. However, we had pre packed my wagon the night before.

     Exiting Basilone Road, we took a peek at Lowers. The famed wave was working, but Middles was flat. It could’ve been a lull.

     We reached Churches. The tide was coming up. A pack of longboarders sat at the south end of the Point as a peaky three-footer broke through the swampy conditions. The wave was clean, a classic Churches wave. Then a similar wave broke a little further out. Suddenly, a set rolled in, creating scattered A-frame peaks throughout the whole break. I texted Rick to give him a report and changed right after.

     Our favorite spot, Mons Pubis, used to be empty, but now everyone knows about it. We paddled just north of the crowd to sit outside of them. Waves still swung wide, but the rights were a little walled and not lined up well. I picked off the random lefts, as I always do, and managed to connect a couple carves. Even though I’ve had some breakthroughs on my frontside turns, I decided to surf conservatively instead of forcing miracles. Once the wind turned onshore, we headed back to check in and set up camp.

     Bri treated me to Mexican brunch at La Tiendita. After that I was so full that a nap was mandatory. Underneath the shade of an umbrella and facing the ocean just feet away, I was burning hot. The sand, the air, the sun, the shade, everything was scorching. I’d doze off only to wake up in hangover-like discomfort. I found Bri in the tent, miserably lying on our inflatable mattress. I told her we needed to paddle out to cool off.

     We paddled out at Churches in trunks and rashguards. The initial shock upon submersion was freezing, but by the time I reached the lineup, I was warm. The water felt silky and smooth over my arms, like its consistency had been changed by its temperature.

     The tide was coming up again, and the consistent surf was reduced to small and weak lumps, but something odd happened. With the increasing tide, the swell actually got bigger. There were 3-4 FT peaks, but most of them were breaking section on section. I managed a few turns, but it was more of a going-down-the-line kind of session.

     We got out at 1800 after the tide got too high. After showering and getting resettled, we still had over an hour of daylight left to burn. It was the first time that we had been done surfing so early. We didn’t have to cook in the dark or even cook at all. Bri was down to just PB&J it for the night. After we scarfed our sandwiches down, we threw some saimin over the burner and shared it. Our one bundle of firewood lasted into the evening. In the past, we had packed more gear and cooked so much food, but this minimalistic approach made things so much easier. But we still had our Wenzel Instabed. In our sleeping bags, we sank in the middle towards each other over a huge cushion of air.

     So the forecast had been overrated, but everything had met summer expectations. On a quiet Monday, with only the few shrill screams of the kids a few campsites down, we fell asleep to the sound of the roaring ocean just yards away.