Surf Report: 3-5 feet
Winds: Mild on shore
Water: Freezing cold
Atmosphere: Gloomy
If there is one word I can use to describe NorCal surf, it
would be “RAW.” I went through the whole
spectrum of weather, from dense fog, to strong on shore winds, trade winds,
sunny and off shore, freezing cold water that would make your nipples cut
glass, scenic backdrops of cliffs and evergreen forests, brown sandy water,
clear, aquamarine water, golden bronze water, and rain. The wave power was raw too. I had some nice wipe outs and got a few
bruises that mysteriously appeared a few days later. Some of the white water duck dives were
pushing me back a few yards because of the raw power. I definitely felt my paddle get stronger
after this visit. And finally the people
here are raw. In a nice way of
course. They weren’t fake, like how we
see in Los Angeles. Everyone was
genuinely nice. I’d like to say they
showed me their raw side – unabated and unfiltered. Who would have known rawness could be so
warming? I’ve visited NorCal to visit
friends, but not for the intention of surf.
This trip’s intention was solely surf related, and I feel that I was
extremely lucky to experience a great array of NorCal surf.
Fransauce has wanted to show the DRC how surf was up in his
hometown of Pacifica. Pacifica is
located about 20-30 minutes outside of San Francisco. It is a small beach town with beautiful
scenery, lush green hills and cliffs, and beach breaks galore. Fransauce drove Friday night for five and a
half hours with one break in Bakersfield.
I tried to stay up, but for about two hours of the home stretch, I
knocked out in the passenger seat of his truck.
Apparently I missed gale force winds hitting his truck, making him
swerve a few times. By the time I woke
up, the dense fog was obscuring our view as he pulled up to his hometown of
Pacifica.
His mom greeted us inside the house, and we chit-chatted for
a few minutes. His sister, Bernice, was
also home, and she greeted us too.
Fransauce and I decided to go to bed, and wake up whenever we woke
up.
.JPG) |
| 8 AM |
We ended up waking up around 800 AM. We were both still tired, but my body was
telling me we should go surf. Fransauce
explained to me how June Gloom takes place here, and how it’s always foggy and
gloomy during the month of June. He
first took me to the Pacifica pier, where he almost drowned a few years ago on
a heavy day. The scene when we arrived
looked like a victory at sea day. The
waves crashed on the boulders and sprayed above the cement wall that protected
the pedestrians. Not one surfer was
out. We got a bagel for breakfast, and
munched on it while we walked down the pier.
The clouds kept the skies grey and cold.
We drove down to Rockaway Beach, where there were about six
to eight guys taking off on some waves.
The waves looked playful, but not very appetizing. There was only one take off spot working this
day at Rockaway, and it seemed like the guys out there were struggling. So, we drove further down to a spot called
Linda Mar.
Linda Mar is a big beach break, with a range of surfers
dotting the line up. There were guys on
foamies, guys on longboards, guys on fishes, and guys on performance
shortboards. There is a taco bell right
on the beach, which I used as a landmark to position myself.
Fransauce was the first to hit the water. I stretched extra and took my time. It was a new place, and I wanted to be able
to surf as long as possible.
The water was brown and ice cold. It smelled a little different from SoCal, or
even Hawaii. The water smelled a little
more salty. I only had my 3/2 Quiksilver
wetsuit, and the moment my feet touched the water, I knew I needed a thicker
wetsuit. It was so friggin cold!! I couldn’t believe it. But hey, no complaining. You’re surfing!! Just paddle out and catch some waves.
The paddle out was long, and every time I duck-dived, I got
an ice cream headache. I couldn’t
believe it was June, but so frigid. I
saw why wetsuit companies up here are at the forefront of cutting edge
technology and design for wetsuits and booties.
Everyone was wearing booties or gloves or a hood.
.JPG) |
| On our way to grab runch |
The cliffs cut into the shoreline and the tall evergreen
forest gave the brownish cliff a scenic backdrop while sitting in the line-up. I wished I had a palette of paint and a
canvas, or some pastels to draw while waiting for the waves.
The waves were mushy and hard to catch. I caught two waves this whole session, with
just the drop. After I made the drop,
the wave fizzled and lost all power, and I lost all my speed. The locals were getting longer rides than I,
so I figured I was doing something wrong.
99.999% of the time in the water, I was paddling to maintain
position. The current was strong. I didn’t really catch any amazing waves, but
I saw Fransauce killing it on some of the rights that came through. He caught three waves this day, connecting
the dots to the inside and spraying some water as he did a cutback.
The sun would peak it’s shy head from the heavy, grey
clouds, but then get covered up again. I
guess we in SoCal are spoiled. It’s
sunny over here all the time.
We surfed, or paddled, for three hours this session. My arms were so tired, but I felt like I
should at least catch one good wave before getting out. That one good wave never came, and I took a
close out.
.JPG) |
| Gorilla BBQ |
.JPG)
I told Fransauce how everything in NorCal so far seems to be
RAW. Raw weather, Raw surf, Raw
power. I feel like in SoCal your brain
turns into mush, but up here, you have to stay on your toes and be alert.
Even though we only had five waves between us, we definitely
deserved a good lunch. We stopped by at
Gorilla BBQ, where we each got a three meat combo, complete with two sides, and
corn bread. Fransauce got pulled pork,
pork ribs, and hot links. I got pulled
pork, pork ribs, and chicken. We ate at
Rockaway Beach, watching the surf tumble and steam roll some surfers.
We were both done with surfing for the day. The winds kept getting stronger and blew out
the surf. So, we went to hang out at
Francis’s childhood friend Jerwynn’s house, and Tim, another one of his
childhood friends. We watched OKC game where Kevin Durant just went ballistic and willed his team to a stunning Game 5 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. We came home and
knocked out before midnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment