C Street Cherry Popping 011512

Surf Report: Dwindling swell, 2 footers with the occasional 3

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Some sun piercing through the heavy clouds

Winds: On shore but glassy

Khang, DK, Fransauce and I rolled in one car to the fabled sands of C Street in Ventura County.  Fransauce and I have never been to C Street (California Street) so it was our cherry popping moment. 

The day started out very mellow.  I was the last to arrive at Khang’s as we piled into his van.  DK sat shot gun while Fransauce was in the back, and I sat in my VIP area behind Fransauce with all the boards and gear. We stopped by the bank and the gas station, and got on the 405 to the 101.  We arrived at C Street in about fifty minutes from LA. 

We file out of the van and take a look at a pretty “empty” line up.  I always pictured a point break to be crowded and over run by surfers, but here not so much.  The wave peeled perfectly from the point and sectioned off to another take off zone, which sectioned off to another take off point.  The waves looked so beautiful as they peeled right like a machine.  There was definitely some waves to be ridden, but a longboard would be the best choice of equipment today.

Khang was kind enough to lend me Jade for the session.  I knew I would catch more waves with a thicker, wider board than my standard shortboard.  Khang took out Maria, Fransauce his usual red surfboard, and DK his fatty Al Merrick Motorboat? Or Fred Rubble… I forget.

All I see in the line up was longboarders and fishes.  The longboarders definitely had priority of the waves.  There was also a contest going on further up the point, and so people would be buzzed from the beach speakers if they ventured into the contest area. 

This place had a very mellow vibe.  The people were older than us, but they acted like groms.  They weren’t rude in any sort of way, but they just had this grown up kid attitude and playful spirit. 

Fransauce got to work quickly.  He was moving in and out of the crowds getting a lot of rides.  He would get into some waves that longboarders would get stuck behind and so it looks like he’s snaking them. 

Khang caught this nice, big right.  I didn’t get to see the whole wave, but he took it pretty far, and took a long time paddling back out. 

DK was trying his best to catch some waves.  The high tide made it hard to read the waves.

I personally had a low and a high point today.  The key was to not let the valleys too low or the peaks too high.

The low point in the session was where I blew the wave of the day.  It was a sneaker set that no one saw.  We were all scrambling for the horizon, but Fransauce and I intended to catch the wave.  I was on the inside, and I just gunned for it.  The take off was steep where I was, and I wasn’t able to get on my feet.  I saw Fransauce back out of the wave, and I see Khang duck dive ahead of me.  Everyone got out of the way.  By this time, I was in the flats, body boarding my surfboard.  I tried to pop up as I was “bottom turning” on my belly, and that proved to be a mistake.  I just completely ate it after getting to my feet.  I fucking BLEW THE WAVE.

Usually, I would want to scream my head off for blowing that wave.  All my friends saw it.  All the surfers saw it.  Hell, I bet the guys in the parking lot saw it.  But I didn’t let it bother me.  I just thought to myself, “Oh well, you blew it.  Shit happens.  Don’t cry over spilled beer.”  And just like that, I felt better about the whole situation.  I don’t know, maybe it was the mellow vibe in the water. 

My high point in the session was when I got one of the longer rides of the day.  Fransauce put me in prime position, telling me to go for the wave.  There was an old longboard dude in blue with a scruffy beard and hood cap on the wave, but I just put my head down and gunned for it.  I was able to pop up cleanly, and Fransauce backed out (I had his inside again.)  I was able to maneuver through the crowd as I just pumped and pumped.  A guy in front of me took off, and I thought I could go over him by taking the high line.  However, this guy was no dunsky.  After taking off straight rather than an angle, he manages a bottom turn up the face, right where I wanted to be.  So, all I could do was chase him in his wake.  I was able to pump a few more times, but the wave died out.  And so my ride ended.  It wasn’t an epic amazing ride, but it was just a fun ride nonetheless.  I apologized to the bearded man for dropping in, and he just laughed and said not to worry about it. 

With the advice of some of the older dudes in the line up, we four ended up at the Great Central Steak and Hoagie place off Thompson.  The hoagies are made fresh, and their fries are really good too.  A regular sandwich will cost about $7, while a hoagie cost $8.08 (Hawaii’s number! Chee!!)  It was definitely great junk food for a post surf session.  You know it’s a great place when the only guys stopping in are beer-bellied white dudes with surfboards on top of their car.  In all honesty, it was way too much food.  hahahaha

Here is the yelp page for the Great Central Steak & Hoagie. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean for producing some fun ones for us today.  And special mahalos to all da boys today for making this cherry popping a pleasant and gentle one.