Surf Report: 1-3 feet and clean
Atmosphere: Gloomy with the morning marine layer
Winds: Slight off shore to on shore
Water: Warm!!
Good bye wetsuits, hello ball rash.
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| Golden Sunrises |
Dais and Khang were raving how the water has warmed up, and that they have no need for wetsuits anymore. I was stoked to hear about this news. Last summer, it was so cold that we wore wetsuits almost the entire summer! I hated that. I love my wetsuit and how it keeps me warm from the California cold currents, but man, is it liberating to be in just boardshorts and a rash guard! I feel so FREE. So, today, I wasn’t quite expecting much in the realm of the surf size, but I was excited about just getting wet without wearing a wetsuit. I wasn’t expecting any decent size or waves to roll through at all, but I was sure to score some free parking and surf at least three hours today.
I picked up Dais a little before 0700, and we head out to find street parking. We get to 15th Street and park at the City Hall, and he lets me borrow his jacket. We grab the skateboards and head down to the strand to skate back 10 blocks to 26th Street.
The waves today were nice and mellow, and some of the sets came out to maybe 4 feet. The crowd was out in full force, and there were some nice peaks right in front of 26th, one north of the tower, and one south of the tower. We chose to paddle out in front.
It was a wave buffet today, and I got snaked on almost every good wave. I was still stoked and determined to surf at least a good three hours. I kept paddling into waves, and so did Dais.
I saw Dais’s first wave from behind. He paddled, kicking his feet, and popped up. He waited for the wave as he got to his feet, then he dropped in the wave and took off on the section. It was a short ride to shore, but still, it was a nice little ride to open things up for the day.
There was a constant pull south from the NW swell. We kept maintaining our position just north of the tower. The mood was so mellow, and everyone looked happy to be in the warm water.
I started talking to one of the local guys, his name was Dave. He is a white dude with long, dirty blond hair, and a beard. He surfs goofy footed, and tears shit up. Dais pointed out that I needed to grow long hair too, since all the locals have long hair, and Dais and Khang get to blend in nicely with them with ease. I am the blacksheep of the 26th Street locals then. I am the non-conformist.
All the locals were out in full force, along with every new soul surfer lover and their mama, dada, brother, cousin, second cousin, bastard child of second cousin, and broke back lover. My god, it was so crowded. But the conditions were so nice! The ambiance was mellow, and I couldn’t really complain. Everybody was getting their fare share of waves this morning.
I had to snake someone to get a good ride. I snaked one of the local guys that gave me advice about surfing with your back foot and “keeping your hands quiet.” Dais says that there was no way he would have made it around the section, but I still felt like a snake. I dropped in, bottom turned, and came unstuck on the top turn. I then saw his shadowy figure pumping in the white water, all the way to shore.
Khang, Peter, and DK showed up too. Aloha welcome home Pete. Originally a Los Angeleno, he hails from the lands of far far away in Chicago. It felt weird seeing him on a foamie, since to me, “he’s better than that.” Not that I’m denouncing foamies, as I watched Bruce tear it up on the foamie today, but Pete was on a shortboard before leaving for law school. So it was a bit nostalgic to see him in the water, and at the same time, confusing.
Khang did his usual thing catching waves, and I saw DK catch a close out going straight. Dais and Khang joked that he was O-facing it when he got a good wave today, since it was probably the first time he got to the face and ever seen a lip crash down in front of him.
I started to talk to this girl Tavi. She had short hair and a green fun board. Khang and I debated whether or not she had long or short hair. At first, I thought she was a short haired girl, but Khang swore that she had long hair.
“You’re blind,” he told me.
“You’re blind,” he told me.
“Yea, you’re right. She probably has long hair. Wait, was she even a chick?” I replied.
Phew, thank god she was a chick. Turns out she comes from West Hollywood all the way down to surf here, and she works at BMI as a recruiter, trying to sign artists up on the long list of artists of BMI Group. She surfed well, going for some of the bigger sets and making them, walking up to gather speed, and then wiping out.
Cheryl shows up on her longboard too, paddling out with her usual smile. She caught a few good waves but “got too excited” and slipped off after making the drop. I was there to witness all of her glory.
Do I have a SNAKE ME sign taped on my forehead or something? It seemed all day today that I was getting snaked and dropped in on. It didn’t bother me that badly, but this one guy did it to me twice, consecutively. The first one I took off on, it was definitely a right. The left was closed out already. But this guy goes for it, and being goofy footed, he only knew how to go left. I was already initiating my bottom turn, but had to straighten out, for he was heading straight for me. He looks at me wide eyed, as if to say, “Where the hell did you come from?” and hops off. I couldn’t get passed the white water section and wave him off with both hands. He apologizes to me and I tell him not to worry about it, and that it was ok.
What I should have said:
“Don’t ever fuckin drop in on me ever again, you goofy footed kook who can’t go right.” But that is way out of my character.
Khang jokes, “Damn, don’t mean to rub it in, but that was a niiiiice fucking right.” Yea, thanks man!
The guy who dropped in on me probably wanted to get one last wave in since the next wave that approaches, he did the same thing again. He wanted to go left, I wanted to go right. I couldn’t see if this one was a right or a left, but he looked like he wronged me again, and I never saw him again.
I felt ball rash coming on my left testicle. I felt a little chaffing from the boardshorts, but ignored it. I started to think, would I give up my left testicle to surf? The answer is a definite yes.
Anyways, I don’t remember many other waves afterwards, but I know for a fact that all the DRC got at least a few waves under their belt today. It was just that kind of day: Mellow, small and forgiving waves, and a tidal swing that cooperated with our local beach break. Dais and I surfed a marathon session of four hours, and skated back to the car. It was an overall great day for surf, and I will cherish this day forever and forever.
NOT.
Fucking snakes.
Oh, Mahalos Mother Ocean. At least you don’t snake me.
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