Don't Forget Your Leash KK

Surf Report:  2-4 feet with plus sizes on the sets

Winds:  On shore

Atmosphere: Sunny!

Water:  Cool

Welcome home Nicky!  Nicky was back for the last portion of his spring break, and so we definitely needed to get some water time in while he was here.  It’s been about six or seven months since we surfed together. 

I walk up to his window that was slightly cracked open and called his name.  He woke up and we exchanged hugs before I destroyed his toilet bowl with a brick of poop.  We packed up his Lucy, a towel, and his pee smelling wetsuit, and headed out.

“San Diego?” he asked.

“Naw, we staying local today.  I don’t have the Prius,” I replied.

We caught up in the car about school, life, and girls.  It was great to have my little brother back.  We drove as we read Matt’s dawn patrol text.  We decided to meet him up at Porto for a first look. 

We arrived at Porto, and no one was really out.  There were a few people out, but the parking lot was pretty much empty.  It was one of those days where people pulled up, took a look, took another look, and went back home.  The waves looked walled, and the rides seemed too short to justify any paddle out.  The sky was gray, and the sun wasn’t out at all.  The sun peaked out of a small hole in the clouds, like a child peeping through the key hole of his dad’s office, and then quickly faded away behind the grayness. 

Matt told us there was only one guy at 26^th Street.  I told him that we were trying to score some free parking, but we would go to 26^th Street to surf.  He said he would meet us there.  So we both pull out of Porto as the older guys had their flannel red and black lumberjack shirts on with coffee steaming in their hands as they slowly sipped up some caffeine. 

The sun still showed no sign of life.  Oh well. 

We get to 26^th Street, and forego the free parking at the top of the hill.  I was overly optimistic thinking that maybe one of the lower parking spaces were available.  I was wrong.  The parking lot was empty, but I had no quarters to contribute to the Manhattan Beach Nazi Party, I mean, the parking meters.  So we drove around to try to find a spot.  Matt called, saying that he scored some parking north of 26^th Street, so I told him we would meet him at 26^th Street. 

We had to go down to 16^th Street to find parking.  Good old 16^th Street, never lets us down with the free parking.  We were stoked to get free parking and not be constricted by time, so we eagerly got changed.  The sun was still hiding behind the clouds, and the winds were still blowing strongly.  We changed into our wetsuits and decided to skate down to 26^th Street in order to make the trip a bit more enjoyable.  And then I realized… I forgot my leash.  I called Matt, but he didn’t have his phone with him, so I was shit out of luck.  It’s my fault for forgetting my leash; I made my bed, and now I had to sleep in it.

We skated down from 16^th to 26^th Street, and looked for Matt.

“He’s probably in the water by now, “I told Nicky. 

We wrapped our boards under my towel and left them at the 26^th Street lifeguard tower.  We saw a cute couple snuggling under a few blankets right by the tower too.  It was nauseating.  We stretched as I took a piss in my wetsuit that I had been holding in for a while.  There were a few heads out, but no more than five.  The long haired dude with the neon board was out there, so we knew that a few of the locals must be here at least.  And then, the sun started to peak out as the clouds blew away. 

The first paddle out was gnarly.  The shore pound really gave us a baptism for our right of passage to the line up.  I was very adamant about not letting go of my board, for if I did, it’s straight to shore she goes.  We paddled for a good ten minutes before getting out to the line up.  We both take a sigh of relief once we were in the line up.  The winds were still on shore, but the sun was out as the clouds were chased away by the morning breeze.  Nicky’s arms looked so thin, it was a bit weird.  He said that he was biking a lot and playing basketball too, but he sure wasn’t surfing.  He said his arms were pretty tired already. 

As the sun showed the way, a blue bump appeared on the horizon.  I paddled for the right shoulder, popped up, and slowly descended down the wave until my nose dug in, and boom!  I wiped out.  FUCK MY LIFE.

OK, let’s start paddling in to shore.  My first paddle in was kind of a panic attack.  I was breathing every stroke, and trying not to get torn up by the white water.  I was really just worried about my own safety and not quite confident about swimming in the open ocean.  I paddled and floated, and then I just started to tread water and let the wave take me in because I grew tired after breathing so hard and uncontrollably.  I finally get to a depth where I could walk, and run out of the shore pound.  I grab my board who was being tossed and turned by the white water.  I take another look out, and head back to the line up.

The shore pound yesterday was bad, and today was probably worse.  Just every single wave would come at you and push you back, as if Mother Ocean didn’t want you there.  There was a wall of white water, shoving you back like a row of fat lady’s eager to get to the buffet line.  Then there was the sand tinged laguna seca colored waves that pounded the inside.  Then there was the azure blue line up, mixed with a touch of royal blue.  It took me another fifteen minutes to paddle out the second time, and I finally got to where Nicky was sitting. 

Nicky scratched out on a few waves.  I for one tried to wait for a better looking shoulder.  There were still only a few heads out, but it seemed to get crowded. 

A blowhole let out a spray of mist.  Dolphins joined our surf session today.  They were pretty big too!  One had to be six feet long.  Their streamlined bodies dipped in and out of the water, and blew mist out every time.  As I duck dived a set wave, I could hear their echolocation under water.  It was a beautiful moment to me.  I then realized we drifted down to the lifeguard station which was a few blocks south.  I told Nicky we should paddle back to 26^th Street, so we did. 

I said hi to the people I saw on the way back as we paddled slowly and steadily.  Once we got back, I sat for a wave.  Nicky was south of me and hanging on some prime real estate.  I paddled for a right, popped up and stood up.  The wave crashed before me on a close out, so I was just riding straight.  I grabbed onto my board as I tried to hang onto her, and I flipped upside down and got him by her on my shoulder.  Oh well, at least I didn’t lose her this time. 

I get out to the line up again and I paddled for a right, popped up, but fell because I was leaning too much on my outside rail and fell on my butt.  Good bye board.

I felt that subconsciously, I was defeating myself before I even popped up.  I was so worried about losing my board to the waves today, that I couldn’t really just SURF.  I was unleashed, but confined in a little box. 

I felt something inside of me that told me to look back, so I did.  Nicky paddles for this left that opens up for him.  He drops in, seamlessly pumping and carving in his stylish skateboard form, getting two or three pumps down the line, and gracefully kicks out.  I had to hoot for him as the white water pummeled me.  This paddle in, I actually took my strides as I did in the swimming pool.  Stroke stroke stroke, breathe, stroke stroke stroke, breathe again.  I got to the shore in no time, and a guy was holding my board.  He was a pretty stocky dude, and he had a huge board on the sand.  He gave me my board and told me that I was nuts. 

“Yea I picked one hell of a day to forget my leash,” I told him.

“I had to take a time out.  That shore pound is too crazy!” he told me.

I brushed him off like a piece of lint on my shoulder.  Whatevers man.  You can’t paddle through this? 

Just then, Mother Ocean sent a rip tide right where I paddled out.  Nicky saw me flounder on the inside for a good twenty minutes.  I could not get passed the white water!!  I realized today that my duck dive was still in noob status.  If I can’t get passed this white water, what the fuck am I doing correctly?  Absolutely nothing!

So, I said fuck it and paddled in.  I needed a change.  I walked back to 26^th Street and paddle out a bit north there.  That paddle out was a bit easier, but no walk in the park.  I saw the local guys tearing it up, so I thought maybe I can snag a wave too.  Like the tortoise and the hare I paddled and paddled slowly and steadily.  I’ve noticed that I paddle slowly compared to others, but that’s fine, because that’s how I paddle out.  I finally make it out to the line up and chit chat with the 26^th Street locals, throwing a shaka here and there.  The neon board guy took some nice set waves that opened up.  I don’t know what it is about better surfers, but they are better readers of waves and always seem to get the right wave at the right time.  I didn’t see his wave, but I heard his SPLASH from a round house cut back and a smaller splash from a top turn on the inside.  I was busy not to get pummeled by the outside set. 

The sets would come out of no where, and jack up a dumpy wave onto the line up.  I realized I could go deeper and deeper on my duck dives now, out of fear of losing my board.  I think my back and neck took a pounding since the neck portion around my throat is really sore, almost like a boxer’s neck when they get punched in the neck, or whip lash from a bad car accident.  I took a left here, no grab rail, no turns or anything, but a clean left.  I took it all the way to shore and lost my board.  Well at least now it was a short paddle in, I thought to myself.

I tried to go back out in front of 26^th Street, and I couldn’t get out passed the white water.  I felt defeated once again.  I laid down on the sand as the sun baked my tired body inside my wetsuit.  The couple were still snuggling in their cozy blanket.  I watched the locals get wave after wave, and paddle back out.  The guy on the neon board actually got caught on the inside while paddling out, and I saw him struggle to get out.  That actually made me feel better.  I wasn’t the only one getting tossed and turned on the inside.  Even the experienced guys were getting a shit load of white water thrown at them.  That moment put everything in perspective as the neon board drifted further and further south as he tried to make it passed the white water, but was not going anywhere.  Another shortboarder leashed up and jumped in, only to be stuck in the same rip.  The sun warmed my body and soul, and I was ready to head out once more.

I walked down to the other lifeguard tower in hopes of finding Nicky.  I felt that maybe he would be around here still, and so I started paddling out.  This paddle out wasn’t so bad actually, and I got out pretty quickly.  I then saw Nicky and he saw me, and he laughed at me because he saw me struggle so much today.  I had to smile and laugh about it too, since it was pretty funny.  A bald Paul Bunion-esque man was on his longboard near us, and so we shared a peak with him. 

Nicky went for a clean right.  I couldn’t get in it, but he did on Lucy.  I thought he fell but he didn’t and he took it pretty far.  No turns or anything, but still looked fun from behind!  I then see a rogue set approaching, and all twelve valves in my arms started firing.  I gunned for the horizon.  I saw the blue azure water turn royal blue as the deep water current jacked up in front of me.  I did my best duck dive of the day to avert eminent disaster.  The wave pretty much chopped off my legs from the calves down, though.  But hey, I got out of the way!  I was a bit proud of my small, miniscule achievement until I saw another wave come out of the blue azure and so I gunned for the horizon again.  I kept my eyes open under water and could see the sand bottom as I duck dived under this wave.  It was so crystal clear under water that you could see everything.  It was just so beautiful, I felt like I was looking through the whole world through a giant sapphire lens.  I get out of the way on that one too, and see another wave pop out.  This one I was in position to duck dive for already, so it wasn’t as crazy.  I still kept my eyes open as I duck dived, seeing the bits of air bubble out from beneath me as the azure and sapphire enveloped me quietly. 

Nicky got caught on the inside here.  I didn’t see him for a good ten minutes, and I had a sense of satisfaction at that moment.  He knew how I felt, and I knew how he felt.  It was Mother Ocean just ripping us a new one, again.  I don’t care what you say, but it does feel good to wipe out on waves or get pummeled on the inside.  It makes you feel alive.  Or that you averted danger and that your life is so precious, because in front of this massive body of water, you are nothing more than the surrounding grains of sand. 

The winds died down a bit.  They were still on shore, but they weren’t howling on shore.  Nicky finally makes it passed the white wash, and I yell at him, “Almost there!” and then another rogue set pops up.  The bald guy on his longboard paddles for it at an angle, and takes off on a beautiful wave.  He trims down the line and gracefully pumps his board on the wave face.  It was the wave of the day.  He took that wave further than any ride I saw that whole week, and it was done so gracefully.  I hooted for him, and so did Nicky.  We both complimented him on his ride, and he had a smile reminiscent of a five year old boy getting a triple stack of ice cream on sugar cone on his face. 

“That was a fun ride!” he said to us.

I think I caught one clean wave, but that didn’t really stick out in my head at this point.  I just let go of the fact that IF I fall, I MIGHT have to paddle in for my board.  I told myself, “Just don’t fall down.”  I let go of my fear of losing my board and looking like a kook, and it actually worked.  I felt so free and unleashed. 

The sky was clear with patches of clouds shrouding the horizon.  The blue azure mixed with laguna seca and royal blue water was breath taking, and the sand spit inside painted a nice tone of chaos on this rather peaceful looking, menace of a wave.  The inside was light blue with the white water lightening up the palette. 

“Just one more good wave,” Nicky said.  “That’s all I want now.”

Well that never came.  We both got caught on the inside again, and decided it was time to head in.  Those rogue sets cleaned out our pockets and put sand where our wallets would be.  That sand had an inherent weight to it, but it felt so good at the end of the session to unzip and empty out our wetsuits of Mother Ocean’s deposit. 

The couple was now awake, watching the surfers in front of 26^th Street.  The waves looked better now, but the wind was definitely picking up more and more.  We gathered our skateboards and headed off to the strand to skate back to 16^th Street. 

I must say, I have to park at 16^th Street from now on and skate down.  It’s a great way to start and end a session.  The best part of today, besides the free parking, gnarly wipe outs, the swimming in and paddling out constantly, the beautiful colors from the waves, or surfing with my little brother, was the food we had afterwards.  We went to Rutt’s and sat at the counter.  We ordered the following:

1.      Regular size Kings Hawaiian bread French toast with coconut syrup, six pieces of Char Siu, and two eggs, sunny side up;

2.      Portuguese Sausage Burrito (I was craving this all throughout the session); and

3.      King Size Original Royale (fried)

After we polished that off, we were set.  It was nap time for Nicky, and Laker time for me.

Till next time, Mahalo Mother Ocean.