BACK TO THE GRIND PT. 2, SAT 15AUG2015

Loc: Manhattan Beach

Time: 0640-0930

Crew: Bri, Klaude, Tom

Conditions: 1-3 FT windswell, scattered, consistent, crowded,

Board: 5’9 Motorboat Too

     After Friday’s lackluster performance on my old 6’0 Mini Driver, I opted for my Motorboat Too instead. It was Bri’s first session since returning from Indo. We scored free parking. As we walked past the lower lot, we saw Orlando and Jose changing. We exchanged a few passing greetings and continued to the sand. It was nice seeing those guys. I felt like a local.

     The lineup was crowded despite the small surf forecast. The day before had been a pleasant surprise for surf being bigger than expected. At that moment looking at the surf, I was glad that the surf had only tapered off a little bit. It was still shortboardable.

     Bri and I had debated on which board she should jump back on again and decided on the 6’10 Becker, so she could feel the difference after riding a 6’4 in Java.

     Aside from Orlando and Jose, just about every other local regular was out. Whoever I hadn’t seen on Friday was in the lineup, and I filled them in on how our trip was.

     After donating nearly all my Hurley gear in Indo, I only had one pair of trunks to my name, and the water felt great in them. Even after surfing tropical water in Indo, I was stoked to be able to bareback it.

     Surfwise, I can’t say that I surfed well. None of the rights stick out. I did catch some lefts. Though some of the waves were peaky, they were still a bit fast. No solid carves come to memory. Instead, the whole session I was setting up for layback snaps on the end sections. In the past, that would have been a disappointing session for me, but I wanted to practice something new instead of doing the same standard forehand carve over and over again.

     Just when we thought Klaude wasn’t going to show up, I spotted him on the shore warming up. That had to be around 0800. Shortly after KK showed up, I spotted Tom Yama on a short soft-top funboard.

     KK was looking good on his brand new Don Kadowaki shaped Puddle Jumper. In broken up surf, he was able to get into his waves early and make all the sections. On my board, I would have had to work much harder. I was stoked for him.

     Bri said her Becker felt much stiffer than before. Even though she surfed better than I did, she said she was over the Becker. Looks like we’ll be cleaning it up and putting it on consignment of CL.

     After the session Klaude came over for breakfast. I made him some coffee and a veggie smoothie. These little visits are always nice. He let me borrow his 5’9 Neckbeard, which might get put into retirement since acquiring his new board.

     With the surf forecast being on the tiny size for the next week and a half, and after seeing how well Klaude performed on his local-wave board, I really wanted to get a solid local groveler for small days, too. I hoped the Neckbeard would work out for me.