A Reality Check

Surf Report:  2-4 feet with quick sections

Atmosphere:  A bit sunny, but cloudy for the most part

Winds:  Slight off shore to on shore

Water:  Cold

Today was a special day.  Today was the spring forward time difference so everyone, including myself, slept in.  But today was also a day where Matt and I ventured to Palos Verdes to see the disappointing waves at the Cove.  So, today we headed down to Huntington Beach, where Randy and Matt spent most of their time in the water together. 

The morning started out sluggish and slow for me.  I was trying to get Matt to go to Palos Verdes, only to be disappointed my Power of Poseidon ability had been disabled, and so the waves didn’t hit PV that well.  Manny (Rick’s brother) was surfing dockweiler I think.  Rick told us that Porto and 26^th Street were all closing out with some fast sections.  I already felt that we shouldn’t be at a beach break today, but these reports confirmed my premonition:  Waves SUCK at Southern LA when it is chest high +. 

Matt had the same inclination too, so he volunteered to drive down to HB so we can take advantage of Randy’s parking pass, which is good until August.  It turns out I forgot to bring a leash for my board, so we needed to be in Matt’s car in the first place, since he has two leashes.  Actually the second leash was Randy's so thank you Randy.  PV was never meant to be.  The HB spot is sort of a secret, and I respect that.  The only information I will disclose is that it is south of the pier, and there was barely anyone out. 

Once we got to the parking lot after getting “lost” (the main entrance was locked up, so we had to go a round-about way to the parking lot) we parked to a near empty parking lot.  One of the guys who pulled up, Wendell, knew Matt and Randy, so we exchanged pleasantries. 

I was still sore and stoked from the session at Trestles, and so I was trying to take what I learned from there to HB’s canvas.  Today the waves were pitching over quickly, and the sections ran fast.  The waves seemed a bit hollow, so I was targeting some tube time.

Matt walked out into the line up first.  He kept warning me about the current and the shallow bottom here, so I was trying to prep myself for the session.  The current wasn’t that bad actually.  I’ve been to Huntington up towards Goldenwest where the paddle out took 30 minutes and the drift was super powerful.  I remember on the paddle out, Nicky and I would drift all the way down 3 lifeguard towers before reaching the line up.  But today… it was mellow, almost non-existent!!  However, the waves at HB tend to pitch on the lip, so you have to have a quick pop up in order to make the wave, and on top of that today the sections ran super fast so you had to be able to pump up and down to make it out onto the face. 

I heard the birds chirping, and the sun started to shine through the AM fog.  As if hung over from last night, I took deep breathes slowly as I watched the horizon.  There were birds feeding out in the distance, and dolphins that swam passed us.  It was a quiet Sunday morning, and once again, I felt at peace with myself and the world.  It reminded me of the Tao of Pooh section, where Pooh listens to the birds, and he hears them say that it is a beautiful day.  And when he hears the wind blow, Pooh hears that the wind is telling him it’s a nice day.  So today was just a nice day. 

As Matt put it, today was a reality check session.  I tried really hard to angle myself and pump down the line, but I only got onto the face of the wave about twice.  The other times, I would get in too late, get pitched over, or end up straight on a close out section, while the wave outran me by a few yards. 

For most of the waves, I tried to slot myself into the barrel.  After the Trestles experience, I really wanted to get slotted into the barrel and be able to come out again.  I failed on all attempts of getting slotted.  But hey, I tried.

I watched these other guys pull in to the barrel, so I knew it was possible.  It was just up to me.  I also watched these guys rip the shit out of the wave face.  They seemed to find the shoulder fine and pump down the line, only to disappear behind the wave for a bottom turn and eviscerate the lip.  So, it really goes to show that the waves were actually rippable.  It was just our skills that needed to be polished.  It was a reality check. 

Matt got some decent rides, but he wasn’t going off the top like he would normally.  Or maybe I’m just glorifying his image?  I think the sections were running off way too fast for him to get around the white water.  He would paddle for lefts and rights, and pull off the drop, but was racing against the white water section to get around. 

I would like to give myself the wipe out of the day.  We both ate a plate full of poop on more than one occasion because our lapse in judgment and bad pop ups, but I wiped out on a critical wave, right in front of Matt.  I paddled for a wave, and before I knew it, the wave was already breaking.  I could feel the wave lip just pitch me forward, but my board stayed with the wave.  So, I got flung to the front, and luckily I had a smooth penetration into the water in front of me that was pretty deep.  I tumbled across the bottom of the shore, and when I got up, Matt was smiling at me.  I had to laugh. 

I felt tired yet energetic.  I felt happy to be in the water again, just with my friend.  I felt the numbness of my fingers regain a tingling sensation every time I paddled into a wave and popped up.  I felt completely and undeniably free while surfing.  I felt like a newb, a kook, unable to do what these other high performance surfers around me were doing.

At the end, we were still stoked out of our minds.  Our bodies were exhausted, and in need of some fuel.  Matt drove us back in his trusty wagon, and I read him the comments Randy put up for him on his Trestles entry from Saturday’s session. 

“Man, your brother really pushes you huh?”  I told him.  As a coach, I know that this pushing, especially from an older brother, is because Randy wants Matt to get better at surfing. 

“Yea, the truth hurts, doesn’t it?” he replied.  Indeed, the truth hurts when told so bluntly.  We are still mediocre surfers at best.  But like everything in life, if you try and try and try again, you’re bound to get better. 

It was another notch under our salty surf belt.