A Rare Sunday Wave Fest at 26th Street 073111

Surf report: 1-2 feet, the occasional 3 footer

Water: Warm

Winds: Strong trade winds to nil towards the end

Atmosphere: Gloomy with some sun

Home is wherever your heart is, and my heart lies in 26^th Street.  I just love this place. 

I had a text war going on between the DRC last night.  We didn’t know where to paddle out tomorrow.  Sunset? Malibu? HB?  Trestles again?  Or just stay local?  I went to sleep eerily dreaming and drowning in the cold waters of a flat lake, suffocating from the stagnant pools of darkness.

I woke up at 0600, without my alarm.  As I started to stretch my alarm went off, so I turned it off and made a few phone calls.  Francis didn’t pick up, but Matt did.  It sounded like he had “slept in” for a change.  Sleeping in for Matt is waking up past 0500.  So it must have been nice for him to sleep a little longer, I’m sure. 

Christina had texted me if we had decided where to paddle out.  Since Fransauce wasn’t answering his phone, I made the executive decision of paddling out at our local break – 26^th Street.  We three are to meet there. 

I left my house by 0630, and headed to Costco to fill up on gas.  The morning was still waking up as I drove down the sleepy streets of Culver City.  My eyes were wide open, and I could feel the cold nip of the air as I cracked my window open.  I fill up on gas, and take off to Manhattan Beach.

As I drove down Vista Del Mar, Matt pulls up next to me and I follow him down Highland.  We pull up into a rather empty parking lot of 26^th Street.  I see Don’s car, and think to myself, “Well, if he’s surfing, we have to surf too.”

Matt and I take a look at the waves, and we see a guy pumping down the line.  On queue, I say BAM! and he blasts off a mean hack.

“That’s all I need to see.  Let’s surf!  It’s a small window, you know…” Matt said.

So we proceeded to get changed. 

We went through a list of “who to call” today.  We called or texted whoever needed to be called or texted, and it was totally up to them to show up or not. 

We got to the water by 0710, and Matt was the first to paddle out.  I took my time stretching out my aching muscles, and to take a slow Sunday morning start.  The water was warm and inviting, and I felt like I was back at home. 

The wind was up and howling, but I liked it this way.  The chop created more waves because it would break up the waves and make them wall up more.  Matt and I had a buffet for the first hour. 

“Damn, that first hour just flew by!” he said to me.

We tried not to drift as far, and I maintained my position just north of 26^th Street.  Matt was off to the south at times, or right in front of 26^th Street.  I saw him from the inside going for a backside snap, but the lip projected his surfboard up, up, and awaaaaay as he came crashing down with the lip.  Heck, you gotta go for those!

He also had a nice one turn wave where he was able to hack off the top.  Man, if only the waves were longer!  We could have more practice for our turns… but man, was it fun today! 

I formally introduced Matt to Don.  I’d say that introduction was way over due.  They chatted it up while we all traded waves.  It was such a mellow morning, but the waves just kept coming in.  I couldn’t believe that no one else paddled out today.

After the first hour, we both got out to feed the meters.  Christina was out on the sand, stretching.  She told me that she put an hour into my meter, but she failed to do so for Matt.  No love for Matt!!  So I walked back with Matt to put more money in his and mine. 

We walked back to the sand to see Christina still stretching next to these three jail bait.  We tried to avert our eyes away from the potential law suit, and just focus on the surf. 

“Did the wind just die?” Matt asked me.

“Yea, I think it did… weird.”

The current was still there, and we lost sight of Christina in the first five minutes.  I think she drifted down towards 33^rd Street.  

Matt and I just traded waves all morning today.  Our high wave count was unexpected for a Sunday morning, especially after being skunked at Trestles the day before. 

There weren’t too many stand out waves this day, but I did have one confidence booster, if it means anything.  There was a guy on the peak of a breaking wave.  The wave was maybe three feet, and I was sure he was going to get it.  I hooted him into the wave, but he looked like he just FROZE.  Shit, what a waste!! Or is it an opportunity for me?

I turned around, grabbed the nose of my board with my left, tucked the board under me, paddled once with my right hand, and popped up.  The wave wasn’t that long since I caught it off the shoulder, but it was fun knowing that I took advantage of a wave that someone passed up.

I guess this just shows my comfort level here at 26^th Street.  I really felt one with the water today, even while standing up and pumping on the wave.  I just knew where my board had to be, and my board listened to me.  “Oh I wanna be there.”  “Ok, let’s go there.”

I even went for a no-hope close out with Matt.  We both knew we weren't going to make the wave, but we just had to go for it.  The wave was a modest three feet and closing out.  I paddled, popped up, knowing that I wasn't going to stick the landing, and felt the free fall of the wave.  I saw my board under me, and I just thought to myself, "Don't land on the fins, don't land on the fins!"  and my heel hit the rail of the board.  No dings, no cuts, no bruises, we are all ok.  I saw Matt in the white water about ten yards away, and we laughed about going for such a hopeless wave. 

I’ve been changing my paddle again lately.  I’ve been watching Don and the local guys paddle into waves at the peak, and I observed that they paddle with their elbows out of the water.  I remembered in Matt’s Bali chronicles that his brother Randy criticized his paddling, saying that Matt paddles like he is swimming.   I thought to myself, “What, that’s the wrong way?”  So I’ve been picking and analyzing how the locals paddle into the waves, and mimicking them.  I realized that when I paddle into waves with my longboard, I only submerge my hands.  So, I try that with my shortboard now.  My triceps, deltoids, and traps definitely feel the pull, but that’s because I’m not used to it yet. 

So I asked Matt what Randy meant exactly by his criticism on his paddle.  He explains to me his evolution of paddling, first from swimming, then the s-turn under the board from Rick (which I employed from a surfline article), then to the exposing of the arms and only using your hands to paddle into waves.  I had a small sense of accomplishment to have figured this out myself, and was glad that I could take someone’s experience and make it my own. 

Combined with my “fish wiggle” I’ve come to the conclusion that my paddle is better when I don’t submerge my whole arm into the wave while paddling.  I’ve tried to paddle without my arms being submerged even when I’m not paddling for a wave, but it’s kind of tiring.  We’ll see if I can keep that up. 

We surfed a total of 2.5 hours.  The sun was starting to shine through, and the winds were completely dead.  We both felt the stoke, and our bodies felt like we actually surfed today.  It’s kind of crazy how we get skunked all the way down at Trestles, come back home to our local beach break, and score.  I was glad that I didn’t have to surf solo today, since it wouldn’t have been as much fun if I didn’t have my paddle buddy out with me.  The last wave for both of us was an A-Frame wave where we split the peak.  I went right, and Matt went left.  We took the wave as far as we could, and paddled in the shore pound.  It was only fitting that we split the peak to end the session. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean, and 26^th Street!  Home is wherever your heart is, and my heart belongs to 26^th Street.