Loc: North Churches
Time: 0615-0900
Crew: Hideki, Tom, Collin
Conditions: 6 FT, sunny, glassy, warm
Board: 6’0 Lost Mini Driver
Klaude
left last night, but we gained two more friends: Collin and Tom from Manhattan
Beach.
That
Labor Day morning, I woke up at 0515, made some coffee, and threw on the Hurley
gear that Rick had let me borrow. I threw on a light coat of sunblock while it
was still dark out and woke up the fellas. There was no way I wasn’t going to
do a legit dawn patrol, especially on our last day with the cleanest conditions
possible. Bri said she was sleeping in. She earned it. I told the rest of the
boys that I’d meet them out there.
It
was 0600, and as I passed Churches there were already a dozen guys out.
Suddenly, I felt like I wasn’t early enough.
Paddling
out to Mons, it was already packed. Fuckin’ A. To think, I expected the crowd
to die a little after the last two days, but no, this morning was the most
crowded since being here.
One
thing going for me was the conditions. Out here a little earlier, the water
just seemed that much cleaner. The rights were looking much better, and I felt
I had a chance to score a few good rides.
First
right, it just ran away and sectioned off. As pristine as the conditions were,
the sets came in just as harsh and chaotic as the last two days. Paddled out
and drained from the last four sessions, I was getting worked on the inside
once again. It was barely 0615. I was half asleep and could barely hold onto my
board. Every barrage of whitewash sent me in an awkward tumble, struggling to
remount my equipment.
Back
outside, another right came my way. With barely any time to rest, I turned and
went. My takeoff was late and steep, but I managed to make the drop. From
there, the wave opened up and offered an open face. All the frustration from
the last sessions went into the first turn, and the next, and the next. Three
solid backhand powerhacks, my best wave of the trip. Even though I got worked
paddling back out, this time it felt worth it.
Everyone
else came out at about 0630. Hideki would later say that it was his most
frustrating session, but Tom and Collin managed to battle it out with the pack
and score some good rights.
The
major difference this morning was that the lulls were longer, and the surf
would go deceivingly calm, but then the sets would be breaking so huge way far
on the outside. Hideki and I were fortunate enough to beat a set together, a
rare moment of being spared.
Straight
up, the sets were horrendous. Two longboarders were paddling into these bombs,
but I’m not sure if it was such a good idea. I mean, there was nowhere to go,
only straight, and these guys martyred themselves just for a single drop.
For
the first time this trip, almost everyone was getting caught by the sets,
that’s how far outside they were breaking. A pack of five Polynesian chicks
were surfing together. Two were on longboarders. When the sets came, one of
them was actually making it through by turtle-diving her board. I applauded her
for not ditching it. Meanwhile, her other friend just faced the shore and let
the mountain of whitewash obliterate her. Collin later told me that the chick
was clutching her board through the turbulence and that she would have ran him
over if he hadn’t duckdove so deep.
Yet
in between the sets, I somehow managed to get a few double-hitter rights that
lined up with good shape. It wasn’t an ideal Churches session, but it was as
good as it was gonna get, and I was satisfied.
We
were back at camp by 0930, and the heat was already stifling. I was sweating
through my clothes, breaking down the tent. Tom left, Collin left, and then
Hideki was the last to go. We made our checkout time at 1050, ten minutes
early.
Usually
Bri and I park and stay for the afternoon session and hit up some
all-you-can-eat sushi on the way home, but we were drained. No mas. Plus the
Labor Day crowd was out in full force, the lineup still packed, and the surf .
. . the surf was looking better from shore, but it didn’t matter.
We
debated on where to eat on the way home, but I was so salty that I said I just
wanted to unload the car and take a shower. We were heading back to our studio
apartment in El Segundo, and she was okay with that. I really don’t know how
lucky I got to get a good down-to-earth woman like Bri. Most chicks wouldn’t
dig a surf bum. I feel I have a right to make that statement because I’ve
earned it, I am a legit surf bum. She doesn’t care. She doesn’t like the clubs
and the bars. She likes to surf. It’s only one of the many things I love about
her.
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