ON THE SAND PT. I (double), SAT 26APR2014

Loc: San Onofre

Crew: Bri

Conditions: 3-4 FT+, howling onshore, unorganized, sunny

     I called San Onofre on Thursday to see if there were any campsite cancellations. Lo and behold, there was one. Immediately, I reserved a campsite or Friday afternoon thru Monday morning.

     Magicseaweed.com had the surf forecast at five or six stars for Saturday, so I was pumped. Like 4-7 feet. As soon as I sent out the invite, Gary texted me and said that there would be wind, and then he attached a pic of Surfline’s forecast, which showed that it would be poor to fair.

     When Friday came, I was stoked. I chose three boards to bring. Since Bri was at work, I packed her stuff too. All our camping gear.

     We arrived at about 1600, and it was windy as shit.

     Later that night, in the howling offshore wind, about ten of my friends showed up. Despite the gnarly conditions, we barbecued and drank; it was a lot of fun. By 2300, it started drizzling. At 0100, everyone (save for Orlando and his wife who camped in their van) left because the wind picked up to hurricane strength.

     Lying in my tent was like being inside a jumping castle. The sides of the tent kept slapping against the bed and my head. It was nuclear, like fucking explosions, chaos, the apocalypse. Combined with the roaring surf just feet away. I have no idea how Bri went to sleep, but no bullshit, I was scared. I thought our tent would blow away.

     I finally fell asleep around 0400. I woke to the sound of wind, just a hair weaker. The sun was out and the tent was getting hot. The ocean was ferocious, victory at sea conditions. There was size, but just too scattered and gnarly. Only a few heads were out at Churches, even some kite surfers.

     At noon, Bri and I couldn’t stand being dry anymore. The peaks were scattered at Old Mans, but some of them looked rideable.

     Paddling out was a bitch, and the current took us towards the state beach parking lot. A kite surfer was there too. The waves were consistent with size but unorganized and choppy. Despite the wind, the water was surprisingly warm.

     Bri got some shoulders all the way to shore. I had to kick out of my waves because they closed out. I got a small turn on one lip before it closed, but the session was just for the sake of getting wet. It was horrible.

     A kite surfer was clowning us, surfing close by and flying in the air. It was time to get out.

     Back at the campsite, Orlando said he was over it. He and his wife boned out. Magicseaweed was wrong. They’re usually right. Surfline is usually a little off, but they were spot on. The camp trip was looking like a bad call.

TWIN FIN MOTORBOAT TOO, SAT 26APR2014

Loc: Churches

Crew: Cassady, Briggs

Time: 1800-1930

Conditions: Light onshore, 3-4 FT+, high tide, consistent

Before Cassady drove over, I had warned him that the surf was shit, but he still showed up with one of his Santa Barbara homeboys.

Cassady’s my classmate from school who’s also in the MFA program, and he’s a dedicated surfer.

He whipped out the beers. The wind began to calm down a little. I looked at the MSW report, and it said that the wind was gonna calm around 1800.

“I wanna be out there when it changes,” said Cassady.

Bri was tired, so I let her sleep in the tent; we had a rough night.

Churches looked like shit from the campsite, but when we reached it, the wind died even more. More guys were paddling out, and despite the high tide, there were some decent peaks lining up to shore.

I had swapped my thruster setup to a twin-fin configuration on my Motorboat Too. Seemed like a good idea to practice with the mediocre conditions.

And the conditions . . . turned classic. The low sun was beginning to set, setting the sky aflame into an orange blaze. It reflected off of the water. It was on fire too. The wind died, which made the water glass off even more. It was a moment that made me glad I could share it.

Peaks protruded through the swampy conditions. The current was pulling people south. Briggs got a big one before I got one. Cassady was milking the short lefts. On my first wave, a classic right, I was thrown off by how different the twins felt. I didn’t drop in with speed but was hung up instead, although I didn’t purl. My turns weren’t snappy, and I dragged ass through the turns, sluggish. Yet, when I pumped I still went down the line.

My next wave was a bomb. I should have purled, but the inside fin grabbed. So weird. I still couldn’t figure out how to ride my MB Too with this setup. My snaps weren’t snapping. Cassady hooted me on as I passed by.

My third wave was a deep one. Again, I should’ve ate it, and then I kind of figured out what was happening. Twin fins have speed, lots of it, but the turns are just so much different. Like they’re wider, still holding speed but looser. Not really how I’m used to surfing.

After the sesh, Cas told me I had looked good on those waves, but . . . those twin fins. It’s best to keep them on the fish.

     When we got back to the campsite, two underage chicks were practically throwing their nanas at Cas and Briggs. It’s never happened to me at San Onofre before, just random chicks showing up.

     After they left, Cas said, “When they ask everyone how old you are, you know they’re underage.” They had claimed to be 24.

     At about 2230, Rick and Gary showed up, and everyone hit it off. The wind was offshore and light, a 180 from the previous night. Rick couldn’t stop talking about how good those big swells had been in the South Bay fairly recently, and he kept showing pics to Cas and Briggs. Even Gary chimed in, sharing his experiences with surfing Santa Barbara, where Cas and Briggs are from.

     I watched my surf buddy Cas and my surf mentors talk around the fire. Even though the surf had been mediocre thus far, it was so worth it to see the generation gap being bridged with surfing.

     After Rick and Gary went to bed, Cas and Briggs told me how lucky I was to have those older vets as my friends to “show me the way.”

     But I’ve already known for a long time that I’m lucky. 

40th Street, WED 23APR2014

They need to start opening up that lot earlier. 

Loc: El Porto

Time: 0630-0830

Conditions: 3-4 FT+, consistent, glassy, crowded.

     My friend Gary had said that he’d be paddling out at 40^th Street at first light, so I intend to surf Porto. Why not? Especially since my other spot is a high school on surf boards until 0800.

     The gate to the lot hasn’t opened yet, but I luckily score free parking.

     I’m walking down the hill when the gate opens. To my right, I see consistent rights, peeling and reeling all the way to the inside. It’s a spot I like to call The Tanks, since the Chevron tanks are there (they tore down one of them). My instincts tell me to surf there. It’s empty there. I can at least have it to myself for a little while, but then I jog on over to 40^th. My friend said he’d be there.

     I’m on my smaller board, my Motorboat Too, since the tide will be coming up and the surf size has dropped.

     The inside is so consistent that it takes forever for me to make it out. I see guys catch waves, kick out behind me, and still beat me out to the lineup. It’s just one of those bad paddle outs, when it feels like you haven’t moved and you’re just duckdiving wave after wave.

     When I finally get out, a nice right pops up. Even though I’m out of breath, I have to go.

     The waves are consistent, peaky, and beginner friendly. The tide push is making the waves beach-break soft, like there’s still some umph to them but they’re not completely dumpy or round either.

     I catch some rights but never connect more than one turn. On my lefts, I get a couple lame-looking cutbacks and one frontside snap. I am content.

     I look around, still no sight of Gary.

     The current’s pulling south. 40^th Street tower is smaller now. I’m almost in front of Rosecrans. Everywhere I go, there are people sitting and waiting, but at least the energy isn’t that bad. There aren’t any SUP guys here, and at least everyone is minding his own business and not snaking. It’s just as crowded as my other spot but more adult-like. I’m proud of this behavior, especially after the recent squabbles Porto has had as of late.

     Going left, the whole wave stands up. Instead of trying to get a carve off, I instinctually hunker down and keep pumping down the line, and that’s when I see it. I’m on the shoulder, the lip is swirling over me, and I see the opening, just a glimpse of that almond light. And then I eat shit. I don’t even know what happened, but I suspect that this was a case of self sabotage. Did I just get scared and hit the self destruct button?

     I’m upset at myself and want another just like it, but the wave never comes.

     Gary never shows up, but the whole South Bay does. At least everyone was cool though. I can’t remember the last time the surf has been decent for about a week straight. The South Bay is good. I heard HB has been even better. Maybe everyone is getting good surf now?

Later that day

IF IT’S THIS CROWDED . . ., TUE 22APR2014

Loc: Manhattan Beach

Time: 0630-0900

Conditions: 3-4 FT, inconsistent, overcast, crowded, light onshore.

     I surf this spot because it’s mellower and mostly because it’s less crowded than Porto, but all the high school kids also surf here in the morning before school.

     Up on the hill at my car, I feel like I have an advantage being here so early. On my drive over here, even the El Porto lot wasn’t open yet. But as I make my way down to the sand, so do all the high school kids.

     Right on cue, the SUP guys paddle out too. They call each other into waves, one after the other, unsharing. I have to sit there in silence, hearing the SUP guy ask all of his friends: “Did you go out yesterday? Ahhhh, it was INSANE!” over and over again.

     An older local dude is loud in the lineup, hooting on the high school girlies.

     I’m on my Mini Driver again, and I get a two turn right early. It feels good, like I’m proving my worth in the lineup. Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean. It’s the feeling of pulling off a nice turn at least, something that shows you know what you’re doing, that you’re not just some clueless beginner in the lineup.

     There are no gaps anywhere. I paddle away to find myself in another crowd. El Porto probably isn’t even this crowded yet because it’s early, so I’m dealing with a double-edged sword. This spot is crowded from first light to 0745 before the kids go to school, but El Porto is super crowded from 0730-as long as there are waves. If I’m dawn patrolling it, I’m not beating any crowds by surfing here.

     My last wave is another two-turn right. In two hours I get two standout rides, one in the beginning and one at the end. On that note, I had to get out. I didn’t see how I could end the session on a better note. If it’s this crowded here, I may as well be at El Porto.