Loc:
Manhattan Beach, 27th Street
Time:
0700-0900
Conditions:
3-4 FT+, overcast, clean, racy
You can imagine how pissed I was after
getting skunked at HB. Pulling up to 27th Street, I see clean lines
coming in, but they’re a little sectiony and breaking close to shore. It’s an
average beachbreak day with slightly challenging conditions. I can already tell
that. I can also tell that it’s one of those mornings when a good corner can
make a difference.
I score free parking and head towards the
water. All the high schoolers have taken over the best two peaks, the two lefts
that break just south of the tower close to Marine Ave. Instead of paddling out
there, I meander towards Brick House that’s just north of the tower. A
funboarder paddles out next to me. When I make it out, I turn around and see
that the funboarder’s back on the sand.
The current’s up a little today. Stretches
of black dots are being pulled towards 30th Street. Guys are doing
the carousel, getting out and walking south again. Bricks is a little
inconsistent, too. Most guys in the lineup are just watching the groms kill it.
A few groms choose to sit nearby where it’s less packed, too.
But there still are waves. I catch a
heaving right. I try to hit the lip before it closes, and as I’m winding up for
the snap, the lip is already in a follow-through pitch. So fast! I kick away my
board and land in the flats. Ugly. I resurface, and another wave’s behind it.
Sucked beneath, I’m awkwardly holding onto my board upside down, waiting for
the fucking thing to rise up.
When I get back to the lineup, I suffer
from bad wipeout syndrome. For me, it’s a parched back throat. It doesn’t make
sense, it’s like the back of my throat feels painfully dry, and then the mucous
buildup starts.
I’m hacking and spitting, pulling webs of
mucous away from my lips. It’s my first bad wipeout in a while.
The next left has a good shoulder on it. I
pop up and get down the line, causing a kid to pull out for me. I get a
frontside snap and see that the wave’s standing up. I can tell it’s going to
close, but instinctually, I pull in, set my rail, and go about a yard before
getting pinched. Resurfacing from that, I feel pretty damn good. I mean, not
just on the opening turn but my timing on pulling in felt natural. The first
turn was well timed, too. The wave wasn’t standing up yet, so I knew to carve
instead.
Afterwards, I just want more waves like
that. Poor grom who’s next to me. I get the next one, too. He’s on the shoulder
watching as I pop up, crouch, and set myself up for a shallow coverup.
Unfortunately, my timing isn’t well on this one. I sense that the shoulder is
slotting behind me, but I’m too far in front. I could have done a number of
things better. Could have faded out and pulled in tighter behind the shoulder,
could have force stalled with my rear hand. I ditch the barrel attempt, stand
up, and pump my way to the open face. I sneak a carve and pull into the inside
closeout.
When 0745 hits, the groms leave, and they
take the pristine conditions with them. Collin’s out. We surf the rest of the
session together. More guys are coming out to sit south of the tower, but the
wind’s starting to shift, and the shape’s not so good anymore.
Leaving the beach, I have a sense of
satisfaction. Nope, didn’t have to drive for waves, didn’t have to get skunked,
and I actually had one of the best local sessions that I’ve had in a while.
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