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| Photo courtesy of Gary C. The recon text pic after his morning sesh. |
Loc:
El Porto, 42nd Street
Time:
0920-1120
Conditions:
2-3 FT+, light onshore, soft, inconsistent.
Board:
5’10 Mini Driver
After getting bamboozled the last two
mornings, I decide to sit out the dawn patrol and wait for the tide to go down
a little. It seems logical. I check the surf cams. Nope. Too swampy.
Bri’s only window to surf is in the
mornings. She goes to Porto to run on the beach. She texts me and says that
it’s still soft. When she’s done with her run, she says that Rosecrans is
surfable.
On cue, I get a text from Gary. He says
that it’s been fun since first light and adds a photo for proof.
Fifteen minutes later, I score free parking
at 26th Street. I spot Roy walking back to his car, dripping wet.
Dang. The peaks look soft again. Opening my rear hatch, I find that I had
forgotten to pack my wetsuit. . .
Twenty minutes later I’m pulling into the
Porto lot. It’s crowded. Parking starts to open at the bathrooms. I pull in.
Before locking up my car, I step up to the railing and have a looksee. Fuck.
Still looks soft. 45th is semi decent but that’s also where at least
two dozen surfers are sitting. Rosecrans does look good. While 42nd
looks lullish, I decide to chance it there. The tide’s going down, it may get
better, and it’s less crowded.
My first wave is a racy left. I fall on a
floater and feel some tension release from my ankle. The ancient leash that
Rick had given me a while back is now done.
Ten minutes later, after a leash swap and a
rewax, I’m back in the lineup. Lulls. It takes a while for a good set to show
up. The longboarders are ruling this morning. Only if 45th wasn’t so
crowded. I get another left and stick a floater. Later, I catch a right and get
a backhand snap, but it lacks “umph.” I still gotta get this board dialed in.
About an hour in, the onshore wind starts
to pick up a little more. A long peak rolls in, and, finally, I’m in perfect
position on the shoulder. Popping up, the section stands up and starts to run
away. I pump and find myself with a perfect three-foot plus open-face canvas.
Now you can imagine what I’m thinking. Here I am, been waiting here all morning
for a wave to finally open up on with this board. It’s like slow motion bottom
turning to set up for my carve. Responsive, I climb the face with speed. Turning
my shoulders back into the wave and torqueing at the waist, I bring the board
back under my feet as I pull off a carving wrap. Redirecting down the line, I
force a couple whitewash floaters and get a little more distance. It’s my wave
of the day. Nothing else after. It’s the only gauge I have for how this board’s
working for me.
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