2017 – 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

            It’s so easy to fall behind in keeping track of my sessions, especially when I haven’t been scoring. As far as session number 9, Bri and I surfed local, and it wasn’t that great. It was a morning session at 26^th St. Manhattan Beach. Session 10 was another gamble at Trestles after scoring the weekend before, but this time the gamble did not pay off. The most interesting thing to note is how the recent storms have changed the San Onofre shoreline, eroding the sand so much that the beach is just getting shorter and shorter.

            11 was another lame local sesh. The sandbars are kind of weird now south of Rosecrans. They are extremely tide sensitive and swampy.

            Session 12 was my best one as of recent, which took place on WED, 01FEB. I got off work and couldn’t find free parking at Porto, so I parked by 33^rd Street. Lo and behold, despite the swampiness, I caught a nice, sunny window where the mooshy left was actually a little rippable. I got my first turns in a while, sharing the peak with a longboarder and some chick trying to learn with her instructor riding tandem, her ass in his face.

            I felt rusty as shit but extremely grateful to get the feeling of a few solid frontside carves and backhand snaps.

            Thursday the 13^th I was hoping for a repeat, heading back to the same area, but I got skunked. Even though the tide was lower, the surf just wasn’t doing it there. The only break that looked like it was breaking far out enough was Rosecrans and the rest of El Porto. A few guys got lucky, but for the most part the surprisingly semi-thick crowd served as human buoys.

            I had to take the paddle of shame in… Frustrated, I stopped by the Porto lot to see if the surf was any better. It was by just enough for it to be surfable. Most of the waves were breaking towards the inside, but it was something.

            So Surfline says that the local surf has been head high plus. Klaude told me he took a look at it and it was walled. Rick’s brother Juan even passed on it, with only a few takers out.

            As far as what I’ve learned from all this is, when the surf is not on, it’s time to dip into other things, both hobbies and errands. With my wife out of town, I gamed all fricken day yesterday. Today I knocked out the gym, laundry, and handled some military emails that needed my attention. Although, when I’m out of the water for a while, I worry for my surfer identity. I don’t want to be a guy who used to surf. I just need to find that stoke. All I need is another good day.