BACK TO LEGIT DAWN PATROLS, MON 03NOV2014

Shape was improving when I left. This guy got partial coverup. He hooted so loud that we heard him from way up here.

Loc: North Huntington Beach

Time: 0615-0800

Conditions: 3-4 FT, offshore, consistent, uncrowded, fat.

     Since the clocks went back, it’s legit dawn patrols again. More time to surf in the morning now, and one can paddle out as early as 0530 if he wants.

     I get up at 0430, eat breakfast, and I’m on the road by 0515. It looks like it’s still night time without a hint of light over the horizon. Traffic is sparse. Everyone seems to be half asleep still, as cars swerve slightly in every lane.

     I reach HB before 0600. No surf signs apparent. I’m the only one here besides a few dog walkers. HB is much more wide open and vast than the South Bay when looking east. The sky here glows more orange than pink. Below, dark lines roll in consistently, but there’s a problem. Too much tide. I can tell. The waves are fat and a little racy. It doesn’t look like the peaky barrel buffet from Friday. Regardless, it’s manageable, and the shape is much better than what Manhattan Beach has to offer.

Doesn't look too appetizing, but it's consistent. There's potential.

     There’s a guy with a tent at the bottom of the cliffs. Not sure if he had spent the night. No one else is on the beach while I warm up. No surfers. Ground zero. First one in.

     I have my holy 3/2 that’s dying for retirement, but I don’t want to bust out my 4/3 yet because it’s not cold enough, so I must keep it in rotation. As cool water enters my wetsuit through the ripped seals along my knee, crotch, and back, I feel that the water’s still warm despite the cold air.

     The peaks are a bit wampy, and I get jostled around a little on the duckdives. Still, it’s an easy paddle out.

     I turn and go on a right. I think about crouching, but the wave isn’t going hollow, so I pump instead. No turns. The wave runs away.

     It takes some time to figure the waves out, but pretty soon I find a good spot to sit that has decent lefts.

     I love the shape in HB. Soft mounds show up on the outside, and as soon as they hit the sand bar, they just stand up. My first left breaks just like that, and paddling into it is so easy. No barrels today. I pump down the line, get a wrap around cutback, and connect a second turn. And that’s how most of my morning goes. I pick off the lefts and get as many turns as possible.

     As the morning progresses, a few other surfers paddle out. Some guy on a Costco foamie barebacks it nearby. I’m already a little chilly, so I don’t know how he’s managing. Even with the light crowd, no one sits on me. Guys show up and watch the surf from the cliff. Most leave.

So many breaks I still haven't surfed on the Cali coast, but I've surfed enough to know that SoCal is paradise.

     The big sets don’t line up well. They look like they will, but they just wall up. I paddle into one of these bombs, and the backwash just lifts me on the pop up. Next thing you know I’m air dropping, weightless. I resurface in the same spot. I look up. Fuck. Like six guys saw that.

     I get a good layback snap on my wave of the day. I pulled it off on a section that was standing up. It’s so imperative for the face to be a little vertical because it makes the layback so much easier to ride out of. I try to finish the wave with another one, but I don’t ride out of it.

     With the tide going down, I’m hoping that the waves will go hollow. There’s one left where I pull in and drive a little in the tube before it closes out. A decent attempt.

     I leave the water at 0800. Not bad. Surfed for just about two hours and didn’t have to feed the meter. Before leaving, I snap a couple of pics. It was still worth the drive.

     The only thing that sucks is how much traffic I hit on the way home. Next time, I need to have breakfast in the area or at least bring my computer or something.

     Even though movement is stop and go, I’m still satisfied from this morning’s surf. Listening to instrumentals on the radio, I mind surf my way home.