GRAY, WET, AND COLD; FRI 12.17.2010 MORN

   

    I didn’t even set my alarm.  I was so drained from the last couple days’ lack of rest, surf, and substance abuse.  My body woke itself up at 5:48 A.M.  I was so cold, had a headache, and so warm in bed that I contemplated just sleeping in.  I thought about how I told Shan and J that I would be at El Porto at first light.  I got up and headed out the door.  J text me that he was there, and Shan asked me how it was.  I arrived at about half passed six.  J was still in his clothes.  It was clean.  The offshore wind was strong, there was a little texture in the water, but the conditions were still excellent.  The waves were just too small.  It was one to two feet, maybe three on the plus sets.  The bigger waves were racy in the middle, but the shoulders were rideable if you were in the right spot.  There were a lot of people suiting up and heading out.  The whole sky was canvassed with a blanket of impenetrable gray.  Towards Manhattan beach there was a sheet of white in the air.  It was barely sprinkling where we were.

    We paddled out in front of the bathrooms on the south edge of a crowd.  The sets were hogged by the main body, so we went further south by the sandwich shack and had our own peak.  Everything I caught fizzled out pretty fast.  J, once again, was able to get some long rides that opened up.  I looked around and saw some other guys getting some good rides.  I only got one right that gave me a clumsy top turn on the closing curl. 

    I was cold.  The lack of waves, wind, and inactivity was a combo that had me shaking in my wetsuit.  J left for work at seven forty.  I caught a couple of the set waves that broke way on the outside, but they didn’t open up for me.  As I looked towards 26th St. I could see more peaks rolling through there.  Maybe that was the place to be this morning.  I called the session at eight o’clock.  It was a good day for a longboard, and it might even get better with the lowering tide.  It’s a little wet out, and I’m still freezing just sitting on my couch.  I’m not sure if I’ll go out again today, but I know that the rain is coming in, and things may not be clear again until Monday.  It wasn’t a good week for surf, but I can only get better by getting in the water.  Good or bad, I have to paddle out.

NIGHT SESSIONS: THU 12.16.2010 EVE

    I met with J at first light, and it looked horrible.  My brother told me that HB had a lot of wind, so it wasn’t a good idea to drive down south.  I went back home.
   
    I wanted to wait for the tide to come up, so I waited until about 3:30 P.M. before I headed back to Porto.  The waves were just as bad as the day prior, but this time there was more wind.  There were still some quick corners at the end of the long peaks, so I figured it would be worth a try.  J showed up, and I told Shan were we would be. 

    J and I paddled in front of 45th before the crowd got there.  The experience of duckdiving my short board on Wednesday helped my technique on this session.  I felt that I was able to punch through better.  The waves were mostly close outs, and we didn’t find ourselves in the right place.  J was the first to catch some waves that actually opened up.  The crowd started to drift into our spot, and by 4:30 P.M. we were sharing waves with a bunch of guys.  Shan finally made it and paddled out to us while his lady waited on the cool evening sand.  We drifted north from J, and I didn’t have much luck throughout the session.  Shan caught a wave in, so I paddled to where J was. 

    It was already dark, but the water began to clean up a bit, and it wasn’t as choppy.  Paul was out there with three other people from his surf crew.  He didn’t recognize me, so I didn’t say anything to him.  I finally got a decent right.  I was able to bottom turn and get some spray off the top.  J told me he saw it.  It was only a “one turn” wave, but it made the session worth it. 

    Some chic was talking to J in the water about the Billabong Pipleline Masters.  She said that Jeremy “Tores” won. 

    J said, “I think he’s from France.”

    She said, “Yeah, he’s French, but he’s totally from California, or he lives in California."

    I figured that it wasn’t worth getting involved in the conversation, but initially I couldn’t help but mentally roll my eyes at hearing that.  I don’t have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the surfing world, but this girl was totally off.  I ended the session with a clean ass right.  The only problem was that it was so dark that I couldn’t make out the face, so I didn’t get to hack the lip.

    It was about 5:20 P.M.  As I walked back to the lot I saw the meter maid out there giving tickets.  I rushed to check my meter.  It was good.  I grabbed some change for J, but he was right behind me.  About three guys got tickets.  You have to play it safe at Porto.  It’s better to lose another buck in change instead of forty dollars to the city of Manhattan Beach.

    We made the best of it.
   
  

MY OLD FRIEND, THE POTATO CHIP: WED 12.16.2010 EVE

MY OLD FRIEND, THE POTATO CHIP:  WED 12.16.2010 EVE

    My brother told me that Wednesday afternoon supposed to have some new swell.  He suggested that I go to check it out so that we could tell if the next day would be good.  Rick called me in the afternoon and said his brother, Manny, was paddling out because it looked fun.  It was about 3:00 P.M.  I grabbed my gear and head out the door. 

    I took the short board that my brother gave me because I thought there would be some size.  When I got to El Porto it was exactly the opposite:  weak and crumbly.   Rick drove there straight from work, so he didn’t have a board.  I let him use my Merrick which left me with the potato chip.  I had to hear Rick’s lecture about how I need to ride a bigger board, but I explained how I only brought it because I thought the waves would be bigger.

    We exchanged greetings with Manny and his other friends as they were leaving.  We paddled out in front of 45th.  One thing I noticed immediately was how much easier it was to duck dive with that little board.  Sure, I was slower, but I think that on bigger days I could save myself from getting worked so much by rogue waves and white wash.  Rick paddled more south and did his thing.  I struggled to get into the flaccid waves.  I had to catch them late; my pop up was a little slow, but I still was able to get some rides.  It’s too bad that the surf was weak because I bogged out instantly once I got on the face.  I could be blamed for my lack of skill, but I felt that I could’ve got some nice rides if it was better out there.  I pumped as hard as I could, but I just didn’t have the flotation and lift that my Merrick would give me. 
    By the time we left the parking lot it was already dark.  Even though I had the wrong board for the session, it was nice getting the feel of that board.  I was sinking on it, felt too heavy for it, but I am definitely ready for another board.