Loc: Manhattan Beach
Time: 0620-0850
Conditions: 2-4 FT+, sunny, warm,
disorganized, crowded
Board: 5’10 Lost Mini Driver
After
taking a lay day yesterday, I decided to get in the water again. Despite the
south swell, I just stayed local because I didn’t want to road trip it again.
Plus, it would be nice to show my face and get my local card revalidated.
I
didn’t really know what to expect. Collin had told me that yesterday the swell
wasn’t hitting right and that he got worked, so I slapped on my quads in case I
needed the speed.
Finding
parking was easy. As I made my way across The Strand, parents were dropping off
all the high schoolers.
Like
dejavu, Young Mike was out just south of the tower. “Where’d you surf this
weekend?” I asked.
“I
just surfed here. It was pretty fun,” he said.
“I
heard there was current.”
“Yeah,
there was, but most people here don’t know how to surf, so the current just
took them away, and. . .”
He
took the next wave. Ha. . . I wondered what he thought about me and if I fell
into his kook category or not. Either way, it all depends on whom you’re being
compared to. Someone’s always better than you.
The
second wave of the set popped up. I went for it. It didn’t look like much of a
wave, but I was surprised at how fast it was standing up. Aside from that, I
was just as surprised with how well I paddled into it. Seems like resting and
taking lay days is paying off.
I
bottom turned and pulled in. The wave stood up and curled over me, a super
fun-sized four footer. I saw the exit but got pinched at the end. Wow. Almost.
I looked at the shore. The surf coaches were watching the kids in front of the
tower, who were all donned in red, yellow, and blue jerseys. All around me, the
rest of the kids paddled out.
I
really wanted to stay and surf that peak after that wave, but the abundance of
groms pushed me out. Instead, I paddled north and sat on the brick house.
The
surf was a bit disorganized. It was mid tide, but there was already some
backwash. Most of the peaks were coming in a little too lined up and sectiony,
but there must have been a different swell mix because a decent peak would come
through now and then.
At
first I was trying to pull into everything, but nothing really opened up. I
finally started going for turns. On one wave I got three floaters in a row
because it was so sectiony. No turns but fun.
Wave
of the day was a shouldery left. As I popped up, I saw that the shoulder was
standing up and about to curl. I pulled in but didn’t stall. I got as close to
the face as possible and just dipped my head for a partial coverup. The ride
felt fast, bumpy, and uncontrolled but still worthy. I was pretty stoked after
that. Not bad finding a gem in mediocre conditions.
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