A Hui Hou Fransauce - 060912

Surf Report: 3-5 feet

Atmosphere:  Sunny

Water:  Cool

Winds:  Trade winds to off shore

Today was a day for the core of the DRC to bid “a hui hou” to Fransauce.  It’s not a “good-bye,” it’s a “see you later.”  Whoever could make it out to the dawn patrol, would make it out, and we will surf to our hearts content. 

And it just so happen to fall on my birthday. 

I slept early Friday night in order to be able to dawn patrol.  Fransauce was adamant about dawn patrolling, since Thursday was so good and got really crowded quickly at the beach breaks. 

I woke up at 300 AM for no good reason.  My body just told me to wake up.  I didn’t feel like I slept, but my body was energized and ready to go.  I said no, I need a little more sleep, and lay in bed, checking the first of many birthday texts and facebook messages I was receiving.  After about an hour and a half of trying to go back to sleep, I said “Fuck this,” and got ready for the day.  I warmed up a cup of water and squeezed lemon into it, and started to do my yoga stretches.  By 500 AM, I was ready to go. 

First stop was to Nicky’s house.  It just so happened he was back in town from his recent journey to San Francisco, and was psyched to surf.  I was trying to get a hold of him for about a week to no avail, but he contacted me Friday night and we agreed to go dawn patrol on Saturday morning. 

Second stop was to pick up Fransauce.  He watched Prometheus the night before, and had only slept for two hours.  Needless to say, he was stoked to go dawn patrolling with us. 

We drove down to 26^th Street and the lot was still closed.  So, we parked up the hill and started to get changed.  Fransauce called Matt, and Matt arrived shortly as we were walking down the street from our parking spot. 

As we made our way down the hill, we see Khang getting changed in the lot.  I threw him a shaka and we all made our way down to the beach.

The waves were pumping today.  At first the waves came in slow because of the low tide, but eventually things picked up. 

I paddled out and got caught in a rip current.  I thought I selected the right path, but I got caught.  Before I knew it, everyone else was at the line-up, while I was struggling to get out of the impact zone.  I think about fifteen minutes went by before I finally got to the line-up. 

Khang was the first to greet me with a happy birthday.  I wanted to keep it low key, but it was nice that Khang wished me a happy birthday in the water.  Don wished me a happy birthday, and so did Fransauce, Nicky, and Matt.  So far, so good. 

One of Khang’s first waves was a right.  He was riding the Don Kadowaki from Dais.  The board is a virtual twin from my board, except a little bit thinner, and set up as a twin fin.  He gets down the line, cuts back, pumps down the line a little more, and hacks off the lip at the end.  Khang was pushing a lot of Da Boys into waves, getting assists for nice waves.  He was about to mess around and get a triple-double this day. 

Nicky was struggling most of the session, getting his feet wet and shaking off the cob webs.  He could go for some waves that seemed good but then close out.  He also snaked Fransauce really badly, when Fransauce was going right.  Uncharacteristically, Nicky snaked him on this right.  Usually, he snakes people on lefts.

Matt was on his Wade Tokoro potato chip, and seemed to be getting his feet into the wax quite well.  I snaked him on a right, where I didn’t think he was making it.  I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and he just flew into my peripherals as I was popping up.  I apologized to him, but he went back out to the line-up and caught an even nicer right.  This wave was almost Trestles-like, with a mushy take off and a slowly building face.  He makes the smooth drop, and then does a check pump and then a drawn out pump, then lays the rail right in front of me, spraying me.  I let out a hoot, as he kept going down the line. 

Fransauce was operating on the least amount of sleep out of all of us, but he was still the clear cut performer of the day.  He went for both rights and lefts like no one’s business.  I had a front row seat for one of his rights, where he stylishly did a carve from top to bottom, wrapped the board around, pumped again, and snapped off the top and kept pumping to shore.  What a beautiful way to ride a wave! 

In all honesty, the fact that Fransauce will no longer be in LA hasn’t settled in me yet.  I know he is leaving.  In fact, I am leaving for Hawaii with him.  I’ll be in Hawaii with him for ten days.  But it still seems like I’ll see him in LA again, and that I’m not getting nostalgic and emotional yet.  I am just enjoying my time with him now and I don’t bother thinking about the future – a Fransauce-less LA. 

I had two good waves for the day: one was a right, where I get to the face of the wave.  I do a small carve off the top to produce some spray, stick with the wave, and get a final maneuver on the end.  Fransauce tells me he saw my little cutty, and gave me props.  So did Nicky. 

My second wave was by far the stand out wave for my birthday.  It was a left that popped up on the horizon, and I just went for it.  I didn’t think twice about it.  It was probably a shoulder high wave that broke perfectly where I was positioned.  I slid down without grabbing rail, and leaned into the face.  I see Fransauce in my path, but was able to control my board and make a smooth cut back on the wave.  The wave got mushy after that, and so my ride ended.  But everything up to that point, I could place every drop of water onto a canvas and re-paint it because it was such a beautiful wave. 

We collectively drift further north.  We could have easily just fought the current, but that would mean to fight for waves with thick crowds.  Today was definitely crowded, and there were just packs of surfers on each peak.  However, it seemed like our group of five were holding our own.  A longboarder or a stray short boarder would come near our group, and quickly leave the area. 

There were some groms charging today too!  I hooted them into some waves where they looked overhead on the groms.  They wiped out a lot, but they were charging, and I loved their spirit.  I complimented the dad on his son’s wave because he charged it and made it all the way into shore. 

For about thirty or forty five minutes, when the tide rises, the waves just turn on!  The winds switch to off shore, and the surf resembles classic Manhattan Beach surf.  It was just all time.  I know I got caught on the inside for a lot of them because they were so unpredictable and unexpected, but they were just so beautiful.  On one of these big ones, Fransauce just raised his arms in awe as the hollow wave opened up and engulfed him on the inside.  I had to duck dive the white water explosion behind him. 

On another wave, both Matt and I got caught inside.  I knew we were going to get clobbered for being out of position.  I remember feeling the water just detonate on the back of my head, and just getting tossed around violently underwater.  Both Matt and I resurface, laughing.  It was just so big and gnarly, and we got our asses handed to us, but we both love that feeling of being powerless in front of Mother Nature.  It just makes us laugh.  Fransauce was behind us and said that the wave was super hollow. 

Christina and Apolla came out to surf too!  It was a delightful surprise, especially since I know Christina is still in a lot of pain.  By the time they showed up, my arms are running on empty, and collectively, we just all wanted to grab that “one last good wave.”

I see a wave build up on the horizon.  I tell Nicky, “This is the one!  Go go go!!”

He starts to paddle for it. 

“Naw, you gotta paddle harder!  Paddle harder!”

And then he starts kicking and scratching as the wave just builds up right behind him.  And then… he takes off!  Nicky makes the smooth drop, and then pumps hard and shoots down the line.  Then he pumps hard again, and shoots further down the line.  He keeps going as all of us watch his wave from behind. 

“Oh man, he is just CLOWNING!” Matt says.

The wave ends on shore, where Nicky just got the wave of the day. 

I felt we surfed a complete session today, from start to finish.  A total of three hours was spent in the water, and we were all absolutely drained.  Cheryl was on the sand to greet us today.  She was unable to paddle out because she was sick, but she wanted to spend time with us, which was really cool of her. 

Apolla had to leave to fly to Canada that day, so she took off immediately.  Christina said she would meet us up any where we decided to eat.  We all watched the waves and talked for a while, looking for Dais.  He was out there, but we couldn’t find him. 

“Oh shit!!” screamed Fransauce.

“What, what happened?” 

“That wave just spit!!  I think I just came,” he said.

We decided on eating at the Blue Butterfly Café, where they serve amazing bagel sandwiches and coffee, along with a plethora of other breakfast items and sandwiches.  I think we just sat there talking and laughing our heads off for a good hour or so before calling it a day.  So far, this morning has been an amazing birthday. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!  Mahalos to all those who came up to show some aloha to our crew member Fransauce!