One Surf Spot Off the Bucket List

Surf Report:  3-5 feet, waist to chest high with some head high + sets coming through

Winds:  Light off shore to side shore to on shore

Atmosphere: Sunny!!!

Water: Cold

“Tomorrow.  I got an open seat in my car, and a wave down south with your name on it.  GOLD RATINGS.” – Matt the Sly Cat. 

That was the text message that started it all.  Matt left me a phone message similar to that last night too.  I was all for going south… but I had an obligation.  I already committed to surf with Dais, and I did not want to go back on my commitment.  So, I called Matt.  Nothing.  He texts back, saying he was watching Rango.  I was like shit… I hope he gets out soon so we can touch base on what was going to happen. 

11:24 PM.  I’m already in bed, and Matt gets out of the theater. 

“Guy, I don’t want to put pressure on you, but I’m heading down to San Onofre, and I’m gonna go solo if you don’t come.”

Ok, that’s great.  I explained to him how I told Dais I would be surfing with him already.  He kind of faded off saying “Oh, it’s ok then… we can do it next…”

Before he could finish, I cut him off and asked him, “Can Dais come too?”

“OF COURSE!” he said, emphatically. 

Done deal.  See you at 545 AM. 

I call Dais.  He said he was down.  Ok, see you at 515 AM. 

I go to sleep. 

Wake up at 200 AM, thinking it was 500 AM.  Still tired and lethargic, I crawl to my phone, only to collapse back onto my bed once I knew what time it was.

456 AM.  I wake up.  I do a little bit of yoga, and call Dais.  He’s up.  He’s ready.  Ok, let’s go. 

I call Matt before I leave the house to tell him we’re on our way.  No pick up.  A bit of my nerves get unsettled; please don’t leave without us! 

We get to Matt’s place around 545 AM.  He see’s my bang van bus, and he looks delighted.  We all pack up our stuff and head out before the sun is up.  5 surfboards, 3 wetsuits, 3 back packs full of goodies (actually just 2 full of goodies, for I didn’t bring anything), and 3 surf nuts, all in one car. 

We get a call from Rick, and he says that __________ was unorganized and a few feet overhead (yes, that place is still a secret spot.)  Dais and I look at each other.  We didn’t exchange words, but we both said to each other:  “Fuck, are you serious?  A FEW feet overhead??  Are we going to be ok?”  Matt tells Rick that we will check out Old Man’s and Churches first. 

We get to Old Man’s, and it’s not that big.  The shape is so-so.  Not that epic, really.  We drive down to the end of the camping grounds, and we start to get changed into our wetsuits.  The sun is shining hot on us now, and the wind chill is minimal.  Dais got a new board on Wednesday!  A 6’4” x 19” x 2 ½” beauty by J7, a Santa Barbara shaper.  That board looks sexay!  Matt got his JS board back from Rick, and had to re-wax his stick.  In the meantime, I did my stretching and breathing exercises.  The sea water tickled my nose as I breathed in, and warm air came out of my mouth.  The sun baked my back in my wetsuit as I stretched and prepped for our session. 

We walk down to Churches.  It looks good, but not all too great.  We keep walking, as I take a piss in my wetsuit that I was holding in.  We decide to look at Middles, Lowers, then Uppers.  I took another piss in my wetsuit.  “What’s that rancid smell?  Is something dead?”  I thought aloud. 

It looks just like the scene from the webcast!  I was sweating beads already from hiking in the hot sun with my full suit on, and my body was pretty warmed up.  Just then, we hear the loud siren sound of the train passing through Trestles.  Wow, we were really at Trestles. 

We paddle out at Uppers.  There were some rocks to step on, but once the water got deep enough, I started to paddle out.  The paddle out was smooth and casual, and the water was still ice cold.  Well it was better than baking in my wetsuit on shore.  I get to the line up, and Matt and Dais followed right behind me. 

First wave I paddled for at Uppers, I stroke into a nice right hander.  The wave was mushy at the critical point, and I was a bit surprised at how easy it was to pop up.  It seemed like I had a lot of time to pop up.  I was able to make the drop, pump up then back down, bottom turn, go up the lip, and come back down.  I was in love. 

The water was clear, and the breeze was light off shore.  There was a crowd in the water, but not as bad as Porto by any means.  This was an “average” day at Trestles.  I was surprised that there weren’t as many people out.  Another wave comes, and so I gun for it.  I pop up, and I see Dais pop up on his brand new board.  I watch his every move as he has his knee bent, stabilize himself, then get to his feet.  He was snaking me, as I always told him to just take off on waves that I’m on.  Then he eats it!  The wave died by that time, so I fall too.  I point at him to give him props and laugh. 

Then, Matt looked hungry for a wave.  We got ours, where was his?  Well, he paddled for an outside set that came out of no where.  The wave stacked up on the inside as it rolled through, and was a good head high plus wave.  The peak was right next to him, and the white water started to break on him.  I started to hoot him, and then he popped up, made the drop to escape the white water lip, and bottom turned.  I was like “ohhh shit here comes the whack off the top!” but he just kicked out.  I think it was just a warm up wave for him. 

He paddles for a left.  He muscles his way in to the wave and catches it on the inside, but slides quickly down the face as it slowly pitched out its popcorn white lip.  He reappears on the shoulder and smacks the lip off for a handful of spray.  Going down again, he guns down the line to beat the white water all the way to shore.  Damn goofy footers.  It seems to me a lot of goofy footers are stylish with their surfing.  Great thing I'm surrounded by them.  Not only can I learn from them, I can split the peak and take the rights.  Actually the same goofy footers snake me on rights too.  

Immediately after he caught the wave, fifteen surfers paddled to hassle for the peak.  I was like shit, I’m not competing in that.  It’s not that important.

The horizon was a clear blue azure, and the waves came and went.  Every little piece of work stress and family issues and thoughts and insecurities about everything in life just seemed to disappear.  I’ve been going through some rough work schedules and tough times dealing with the Japan earthquake situation, but once I got into the water, all my problems seem to have melted in the horizon afar.  I felt free and liberated from the grips of the work desk grabbing hold of my life, and the worries of the world swirling around like a tornado.  There were a lot of rights coming through, and I was having a lot of fun.  There was a smile from ear to ear on my face the whole time. 

The winds changed to a side shore, and we started getting pushed north into Cottons.  I kept paddling and paddling to maintain my position on peaks, and swam until I got to Lowers.  I lost sight of Dais and Matt from there.   I would occasionally see Matt catch some rights where he dropped in and hack off the top.  Maybe he's actually a natural footer?  haha Well I guess he dusted off the cob webs after the first wave. 

I tried not to get in people’s ways, and I stacked up a few waves under my belt.  I had difficulty going left, but hey, I’m still dusting off some cob webs too.  On one particular set wave, I saw a longboarder go, but he always went straight, and usually fell, so I gunned for it.  I paddled for the left, popped up, and… free fell a few feet in the air.  I saw my board flip upside down as I free fell, and I landed on my fins.  My left calf was the first to get hit, and then my head got hit.  I kept my eyes open, and saw my board get really close, but luckily I didn’t lose an eye.  At this point, I was in a lot of pain.  I thought I cut my calf muscles with my fin.  I thought I was bleeding, but I had to paddle back out.  Something inside of me didn’t let me quit just because of some pain coming from a laceration.  I checked my left calf, and my wetsuit protected my body.  I just had a small flesh wound and a huge bump on my leg.  ::Phew::  I was so thankful and relieved that I hadn’t cut anything or broken anything.  This was a turning point in today’s surf session.

I get back out into the line up, glad that I’m still in one piece/peace.  I start smiling again, thinking how lucky I am.  I was thankful for this injury not to be serious, and thankful that I was able to part take in harnessing the universe’s energy.  Some of these waves came from the Aleutian islands off of Alaska, and some of these came all the way from Japan.  I felt so interconnected at this moment, and this epiphany made me feel in-tune with the whole Pacific Ocean. 

“Oh, what’s this?” I said out loud.  The Asian surfer chick next to me probably thought I was crazy, smiling the whole time and talking to myself. 

I paddled for the right.  Actually, I gunned for it.  I popped up smoothly, and dropped in.  I pumped hard, and saw the wave hollow out.  I squatted down low and get really close to the face, and before I knew it, the wave caved over me, and I was standing in a mini barrel.  My surroundings got black and dark, and I couldn’t tell where the wave went, or where I was, or if I had fallen off my board again.  It must have been just for a split second, not even a full second, but I am replaying it in my mind over and over and over again, stopping time while replaying this moment.  The wave lip crashed on my head, but it didn’t knock me over.  My first barrel that I made, ever!!!  Smile from ear to ear, baby.

I stay in the line up again, on the inside bowl of Lowers.  The waves would roll in slowly and gradually, and jack up right where I was sitting.  The low tide was kind of killing the whole place, but I was still having fun. 

Another right came through, and I paddled for it.  I popped up on a smooth drop, where the white water hung up on the lip and allowed me to enter her beautiful face.  I pumped and pumped, then bottom turned.  I went up the face at my best attempt at a top turn with all my weight on my back foot, completed it, and then realized I was still standing.  So I put more weight on my front foot to re-enter the wave.  I pumped some more and tried to bottom turn up into the close out section.  Fail.  But I still felt like I had just won a great victory. 

I paddled back out, and saw Matt.  “How are the waves?” he asked. 

“AMAZING!  I love it here.  No one hassles you, no one drops in on you.  It’s great.” I replied. 

Just then, the devil appeared.  A guy who was on my left, paddles around me for a right, pops up and I had to back out of the wave in a critical spot.  I saw him take the wave kind of far.  I wasn’t too impressed by him. 

I told him, “Hey, did I drop in on you?” 

“WHAT?!?! WHAT DID YOU SAY?” he said, in his best aggro local voice.

“Did I drop in on you?  If so, I’m sorry man,” I said, very calmly.

“Oh, naw man, you didn’t… naw, it’s chill man don’t worry,” he replied, completely changing his tone and mellowing out. 

I think that was a great way to end the session.  Matt took a right with his trademark wide Hawaiian stance, leaning on his back heel and taking the wave all the way to shore.  I just paddled for a close out onto my belly and met Dais and Matt there.  The train honked its horn again as it raced across the tracks, and the foul stench from the dead, fat dolphin left a pungent scent on our noses.  I told them about my wipe out and then my eventual triumph.  Dais was stoked from head to toe about his new board and his experience here, and Matt grinned from ear to ear as he dug out his camera from the sand. 

Well, Lowers is one spot that I can check off my bucket list of surf spots.  What an amazing experience!  Mahalo again, Mother Nature.