WEST COAST WALLS, TUE 31DEC2013

 

Loc: Bolsa Chica

Crew: Bri

Time: 1100-1300

Conditions: 4 FT+, walled.

     Rick had called me this morning at first light, telling me that Porto was big and walled. I thanked him for the info and went back to sleep. I don’t mind challenging conditions in the surf, but I’ve surfed the South Bay long enough to know how those “walled sessions” go: sitting out at the lineup, dodging walls, finally getting frustrated and paddling into one just to go straight, and then getting worked on the inside. Over it.

     Since I have to pick up my brother from his son’s house in HB, I make the call to check Bolsa instead. Now Bolsa is ripe with surf signs. Even on the freeway there were dozens of cars with surfboards strapped on their roofs. Imagine what it’s like to live somewhere without surf where such a sight is rare, while we SoCal’ers take it for granted.

     The parking lots along Bolsa Chica State Beach are packed, and surfers can be seen from PCH going to and from. My favorite parking spot is taken and just about every other one for that matter. It’s the most crowded that I’ve seen Bolsa this year.

     Bri and I walk out to the sand for a look, and . . . the surf is just a hair better than Porto. To think that I expected the sandbars here to be much better, but there is so much west in the swell that it’s still walled here. However, there are some shoulders.

     A pack of surfers sit in front of the main life guard station. A clean right breaks and peels. The break in front of us, my break, is more on the walled side.

     “It’s a little smaller and softer here,” I say to Bri.

     We change and paddle out at 1100, and the sun is so high that it’s evident that we’re on the late train for surf. With the tide dropping, I’m not sure if the surf will improve or not. 

     We time our paddle out well and avoid getting worked, but once the sets start rolling in, I realize that it’s not much smaller than Porto nor less walled.

     The sets lift us up and bring us down. Out back more are coming. I’m still within my comfort zone. Another foot would be another story. If anything, I’m concerned for Bri. I would hate to have a huge longboard strapped to my ankle in these conditions.

     Despite the walls, we both fair well on the surf. Bri gets a right that holds shape. She gets another one, and a guy hoots her into it. Although, she draws a low line on a fast section, which causes her to fall behind and lose the wave, but I applaud her for trying.

     Later, she has a critical drop in on a set wave. It’s a late take off. She pops up, but it closes out. Once her popups get faster, she’ll be able to take off on more bombs.

     Surprisingly, I get a long, sectiony left that I do two floaters on. I also get a single-shot right on my backhand. More than I expected on a walled day.

     After Bri goes in, I’m in the water with five guys. A lull sets in, and a guy in a speedboat goes cruising by with the stereo blasting, and all we can hear is: “Your love is like a wre-e-ecking ba-all!” We all look at each other and smirk. Fuckin’ Miley Cyrus has to be part of my last surf sesh for 2013.

POST-OREGON SESSION, MON 30DEC2013

 

Loc: Palos Verdes

Crew: Bri

Time: 1500-1700

Conditions: 3-4 FT, glassy, soft, cool, sunny, low tide, crowded

     Bri and I got back from Oregon on the 27^th, but the surf has been walled since we’ve been home. We had checked Porto this morning but concluded that it was so walled that our only chance at decent surf was to go to either a point or a reef break.

     So it’s now the evening and the tide is dropping into the negatives. Any beach break in the South Bay isn’t even worth looking at, so Bri and I head straight for PV. On the way down the coast, I look for surf signs: cars, surfers, surfboards. But as we pass Torrance Beach, there isn’t anything of the sort.

     It isn’t until we approach The Cove that I see a line of cars parked. The conditions are right for The Cove to work: low tide, direct west swell, at least four feet of wave height. We park and take a look down the cliff. The longboarders far away are black dashes, paddling over smooth lines that look like dick veins. The inside is roaring white wash. I’m stoked.

     I whip out my 6’10 Becker Board just in case the waves aren’t as big as they look from the cliff, but I also want to sample it to see how it rides at PV.

     The tide is so drained out that we have to walk a good portion of the inside to get to deeper water. Rocks are sticking out that I never knew were there. My shoulders burn from the long paddle out, and when we reach the lineup there are more surfers than I thought I had seen earlier. Today, surfers are sitting directly in the middle of The Cove. I like to sit wide to the north, but the waves here are coming in walled.

     The main peak has the best waves. The sets roll in at about four feet, and longboarders are getting long rides, long enough that I have to back out even from my distant position.

     But waves do swing wide to where Bri and I are, but my Becker board feels sluggish. I still paddle and kick to get into waves, but I don’t feel the advantage of this board’s size. The best I can do is pump and get as much distance as possible. I get a half-ass floater that ends up being my wave of the day.

     With the sun already low, more people still paddle out. Now a pack of Brazilians sit next to me and Bri.

     The session turns frustrating, as I can’t scratch into the bombs. Even with this low tide and swell size, PV breaks so soft that big boards are the way to go here.

     Bri gets much better rides than I do. She even offers to swap boards.

     We surf until it’s dark, and even with only six guys left out, everyone is still greedy for waves. I sit in with the pack, and I still get outhustled by the longboarders.

     Back at the car, Bri and I change in the dark. I’m bummed that my first session back home has to be a frustrating one, but I hope that the swell improves. Maybe the shape will improve over the next couple of days.

THE PRE-OREGON SESSION, SAT 21DEC2013

 

Loc: El Porto

Crew: Bri and Rick

Conditions: 3-4 FT, offshore, cool, sunny, high tide, crowded

     This is the pre-Oregon session because Bri and I are flying out tonight to visit her parents for a whole week. Yup, so that’s a week without surf.

     My brother Randy is in town from Java for the holidays as well, so the three of us have arranged to meet Rick for a surf session this morning.

     Upon pulling into the lot, Rick’s already here and is talking to Dave T. We go through the morning greetings, and then Bri and I start suiting up. When I’m done, Dave tells me that he’s going home instead. Randy’s not dressed either. “I’m not paddling out,” he says.

     I’m wearing my 3/2 wetsuit. I had packed it this morning because I was gonna let Randy use my 4/3. I had also packed my brother’s board and a towel for him, but now he’ll just be hanging out in the parking lot. I look out at the surf and . . . yeah, so it’s not phenomenal, but it’s still rideable. There are peaks similar to yesterday. The main difference from yesterday is that there’s now a weekend crowd.

     Rick goes out ahead of Bri and I, and we see him paddle out at 42^nd right into “the pack.” I have a special place in my heart for the waves here, but I usually don’t surf here on the weekends because of the crowd. As much as I’d like to follow Rick, I look north and pick a spot for me and Bri in front of the tanks.

     The tanks . . . back in the day this was my favorite spot to surf at Porto, and as much as the sandbars have shifted over the years, it seems that there’s a right here that breaks consistently.

     In the water, I run into Brett AKA Whiffle Boy, my fellow South Bay surf blogger. Ray’s out here too. I haven’t seen him in months. I wave, and he waves back. The crowd here’s a little thinner, and it’s nice when familiar faces go along with it.

     I get my wave of the day early. The tide is going from medium to high, so the waves are starting to go a little soft. A fat, right-hand peak rolls my way. I paddle into it late to prevent from scratching out. Whiffle Boy’s on the inside as I’m paddling for it. My take off is much later than expected, but the mooshiness of the wave is forgiving, and I get to my feet as the lip crumbles behind me. I get a steep drop and wind up from my bottom turn to set myself up for a backhand snap. It’s a set wave, and seeing that textured face behind me with the rising sun in my face, just over the Manhattan homes, fills me with the feeling of home—this is my local break and waves like this make me fall in love with Porto every time.

     Whiffle Boy just makes it over the shoulder as I’m climbing the face. I get a gouging backhand snap and reenter the wave with speed. The sensation of feeling, seeing, and hearing the bucket toss of water out the back is invigorating. I’m just so happy to be a surfer.

     Back at the lineup, Whiffle says, “That was a late drop.”

     And . . . the tanks get even more crowded with surfers. With the tide rising, we shortboarders begin to struggle. In the distance, Rick is now in front of 45^th, so Bri and I paddle there.

HOW VETERANS SURF:

     Rick gets this long ass left all the way to shore. From behind, I’m watching, and during his whole ride I watch him throw buckets out the back on his frontside (he’s goofy foot too), and his head turns from going down the line, back into the face, and then rebound again for another carve. Rick’s using the full potential of the wave, cutting back the whole time. My brother once told me that spray comes from carves, and Rick is living proof of that. Rick isn’t even trying to snap the lip, but the railwork on his cutbacks is so clean that he’s throwing water out the back just from his arcing carves.

     I need to be more like Rick. Instead of just setting myself up for snaps, I need to go rail to rail.

CLOWNING SESSION:

     And Bri gets way more waves than me nowadays. She and Rick party wave a left with Rick on her outside. Bri’s timing and wave selection have improved so much that watching her from out the back, it’s unquestionable that she draws good lines. Even other guys watch in disbelief that a girl surfer can catch wave after wave and look good doing it. She only needs to do three things to bring her to the next level: 1. Pop up faster 2. Never pass up big waves 3. Lean to turn.

     And I need to do one thing to help her, which is find her a smaller longboard.

     Regardless, I’m proud of the progress she’s made, and I’m proud that that’s my girlfriend out there getting her clown on while other guys watch.

#

     Two hours later, we head back to the car. Randy’s there, chilling by the railing and watching the surf. I feel bad that he’s been there for two hours, but he could’ve paddled out and surfed if he wanted to.

     We grab breakfast at Blue Butterfly with Rick. After that, Bri and I spend the rest of the day packing before Randy drops us off at the airport. I hate being away from the surf, but now that the school semester is over, I think that this is a much needed break. Sometimes it’s good to disappear from your life, even if it’s just for a day. For me it will be a whole week. Food, family, and cold weather. Oregon, here I come.