Loc: Manhattan Beach
Time: 0710-0910
Crew: Tom
Conditions: 1-3 FT, consistent, fast,
hollow, empty
Board: Tom’s 5’6 x 19 ¼ x 2 ¼ Dumpster
Diver
#
Pre Blog:
When
Tom had texted me the dimensions last night, I had a couple concerns. I had the
Dumpster Diver from Indo to compare to, which has exactly the same dimensions,
save for the thickness. Tom’s is thinner by 3/16 of an inch. How much would
this difference be felt?
#
Tom
and I had planned on meeting at 0620. Coincidentally, we both text each other
at exactly 0611, saying that we’re running late.
I
meet him at the lot at 0645. Joyce, another occasional local, is also here. I
haven’t seen her for a while, so we catch up for a minute. She introduces Tom
and I to her surf homie, a different Toru. He’s riding a CI Prototype. The
thing looks like a short pill or a box of soap.
Tom
hands me the Dumpster Diver. It feels light in my hands. After reparking my car
on the street and swapping out fins, I head down to shore.
According
to Surfline, the surf should be a poor 1-2, occasional 3 FT. Instead, the surf
is actually standing up with fast hollow sections. With the low tide, the rides
look short but fun. It’s almost like a small groundswell, but there really
isn’t supposed to be much on tap, so this is a surprise.
Warming
up, I watch Tom take three waves on his Lost Weekend Warrior, not riding out of
his turns, but putting as much mustard into the closeout sections as possible.
It’s good aggressive surfing.
Paddling
out, the board feels like it’s lacking a little volume for me. Tom’s about a
hundred and forty pounds, max, and I’m easily fifteen pounds heavier.
Just
like Indo, I scratch and kick as hard as possible to get into waves, and
there’s good entry volume to get me into them. Since the waves are punchier
than yesterday, it’s hard getting to the open face for turns. Backhand and
forehand, all I can really do is pump. Even though the surf is fun-sized, I
should be pulling in more than carving.
Compared
to the weekend, there is barely anyone here. It’s a blessing. Everyone had
loyalty with the forecast and left us out here with decent surf to ourselves.
Only the desperate dawn patrolled it, and the desperate are being rewarded.
Some
three-foot waves roll in. They’re so peaky and shouldery. Combined with the low
tide, they offer hollow slots for potential barrels. I can’t say much for the
rights, but I get some solid lefts.
Blame
it on the board or blame it on my skill level for not making it out of the
barrels, but I don’t give a shit. I have so much fun pulling in. One shouldery
wave tapers off and runs away, but before it does I pull in, stick my hand in
the face, stall, and get some shampoo coverup before punching out through the
ceiling. It’s nice, slow, and deliberate. I go late on another one and do a
desperate frontside rail grab. It’s a nontraditional tactic, but it’s worth
getting that barrel perspective. Tom even gets full view of me for that split
second. There’s one that I should have made it out of. Probably more assistance
from a quad setup would’ve helped. My standard shortboard would have been fine
today.
Tom
and I trade off on waves until he leaves at the one and a half hour mark. He
leaves at the right time, as the wind switches, its gets crowded, and the tide
kills the consistency.
Plenty
of ass cheeks come out to surf, even that one Asian dude in some straight up
Daisy Dukes. It just looks wrong. One of the chicks is wearing a thong. Gonna
have to rename this place to Little Brazil.
#
The verdict? After Indo, I’m a true
believer in Dumpster Divers. There’s a reason this board had won the SIMA board
of the year award (so did the Neckbeard if I’m right). As far as this
particular one being the solution to my groveler dilemma, I felt like I was
really missing some volume on the thickness. Surfing on in, I felt that
familiar feeling of riding my brother’s standard shortboards. Just too chippy.
I
ran into Toru in the lineup today. He told me he also has a Dumpster Diver
that’s a 5’7. He couldn’t recall the rest of the dimensions, but he said it was
thicker than the one I was on. Maybe I’ll sample it, too?
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