It's On Like Donkey Khang 111211

Surf Report: Solid 5 foot faces

Water: Cold

Winds: Strong off shores throughout the day

Atmosphere: Gloomy

My dad volunteered to come out and film today.  He wanted to get some pictures of everyone that he’s missed getting pictures of so far this year.  I didn’t know who or what to expect, or even if I was going out today.  I was still a bit “hung over” from surfing Friday morning:  I wasn’t too stoked on surfing Saturday morning.  I surfed a solid two hours on Friday, so I figured, Saturday, it’s raining, I should just stay in and study my butt off to make use of my time.

I woke up at 530, and went back to sleep.  I woke up again at 600, and went back to sleep.  I was determined not to go out today. 

“KK, are you coming out?” asked Christina.  “I’m already on my way to Bundy!!”

Wait for the 2nd Wave of the Set... and be rewarded

The time was 650 AM.  Shit, if Christina is heading out, I need to head out.  I can’t just leave her hanging like that.  So, just like that, I set aside my questions and concerns and started to pack up.  My dad got ready in a flash, and we were off to the beach.

Tom calls me while I’m on the road.  He says he will meet me at 26^th Street.  Cool, another person to surf with!

I parked in a rather empty parking lot for pre-8 o’clock 26^th Street.   I guess the size was a bit intimidating.  I could see the sets were coming in at a solid five foot on the face, and the howling off shores were holding the face up. 

I got changed in anticipation of the surf.  I was stoked, but at the same time, I wasn’t really prepared for the surf.  I wasn’t planning to surf in the first place, so I was all jumbled up inside my head. 

Cheryl arrives to the scene of the crime, debating whether or not to take her longboard or her fish out.  I told her to take her longboard out, and I’ll ride her fish.  I was really stoked to take her fish out up to the point where I paddled out.

When I paddled out to the line up on Cheryl’s Pinky, I completely felt under-gunned.  I paddled straight back in to switch to my thruster.  The waves were just too big for such a small vehicle.  It felt like I was on a penny skateboard bombing the hill on Grandview Avenue. 

Paddling Out?

I see Christina and Cheryl on the shore. Christina was stoked to see us, but she was definitely in “survival” mode.  The waves were way out of her comfort zone.  Cheryl was debating whether or not to paddle out.  Tom was still on shore, saying that he lost his contact lens on his first wave.  I convinced him to paddle out again with me.

My first wave was a small left that I couldn’t really do any bottom turns on.  I just made the drop, and that was that.  My second wave was probably the cleanest, but I ate it on the right.  I felt my board getting lifted as I popped up on the wave, and I lost my balance and fell on my wallet as I tried to make the drop.

Tom eventually left after a few more minutes.  I guess surfing blindly isn’t for everyone.

Cheryl and Christina made their way to the line up.  They both echoed the fact that they got stuck on the inside, but a lull allowed them to get to the line up.  They hung out on the outside to avoid any sneaker sets to crush them.

Collectively known as "Those Guys"

There was a group of guys I’ve noticed from the summer crowd that have been coming here pretty consistently, even in the start of winter.  I commend them to making this spot their “home break” but they definitely weren’t in their comfort zone.  One guy had  a GoPro on his shortboard, another guy was on his yellow longboard, and another guy had a wood-colored brown surfboard, probably made out of epoxy. 

Bald man, tearing it up

This bald guy was on point today.  He took a lot of the set waves and made them look really fun.  He hacked off the top at least twice on every wave, and took them all the way to shore.

Glenn says hi to me in the line up.  He said he was struggling to get out into the line up for a good fifteen to twenty minutes today.  He laughed it off though, noting that if he catches just one good wave, it will all be worth it.  I was still struggling to find my one good wave. 

Soon enough, Dave, Dais, and Khang showed up. 

Death Wish Dave, living up to his name

Dave was easy to spot in the line up.  I didn’t even have to see his sexy figure in the horizon; his bright wetsuit was enough.  He sat on the outside, avoiding the clean up sets.  I didn’t blame him, since he hasn’t been spending time in the water.  He paddled for a wave and almost ran into the aforementioned guys that have been coming to 26^th Street consistently.  They all laughed it off and apologized to each other. 

Dave also went for this gnarly right, where he slipped, regained his composure, got to his feet, and then slipped again.  He said he got “bitch slapped” by Mother Nature. 

OUCH!!!

 

Dais had some difficulty paddling into some of these waves today.  I would think he caught the wave, but then he would back out on the last second to let the wave pass him by.  Oh well.  In due time.

Khang was the man today.  He took two memorable lefts before I had to leave the beach.  The first one was an outside set that rolled in to our spot, where it kind of mushed out right where he took off.  Then, the wave jacked up again as he got to his feet, and he was able to crack the whip off the top on that wave.  He then made another backside hack on the same wave.

First Wave Crack of the Whip

His second wave was about a foot smaller, but he was able to do an off the top crank going backside, and took the wave all the way to shore.  We all cheered and hooted him on both waves, even the other guys in the line up were hooting for him. He was hands down, the obvious stand out in our group. 

The high tide mushed out the whole line up.  I had to switch back to Pinky to at least catch one more wave for the day.  I caught a small inside wave and called it a day.  I was just out of synch this whole day.  It was wipe out after wipe out after wipe out.  But, I was glad that I paddled out today.  I got to see a lot of my friends out in the line up, and I got to see Donkey Khang tear shit up.  None of this would have been possible without that one phone call from Christina in the morning. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean, and Mahalos to my friends who make surfing even more fun.