Unleashed 021713 @26th Street

Surf: 2-4 feet

Water: Cold

Winds: Null to slight off shore

Atmosphere: Morning sickness and clouds

I woke up soooo late today… man, it’s so hard to wake up on Sundays.  I get to the beach around 7:00 AM and snag a parking spot in the lower lot.  I can see Calvin and Roy are here and in the water, so I make haste to change into my wet wetsuit. 

I see Robert, Jose, and Orlando lollygag in the parking lot, but they change quickly to catch some waves.  I for one couldn’t wait to hit the water.  After yesterday’s paddle out, I felt the spirit of Pabs still with us. 

The tide was drained out and let me walk out pretty far into the line up.  The skies were grey even if the sun was out.  There was just too much marine layer on the beach.  The water was clear and clean.  I paddle and duck dive a few waves and say wsup to the locals.  Eric catches a nice right and says hi to me.  Then he says, “GO KLAUDE GO!!” as a bump forms right in front of me.  I flip around and go, not thinking and just going.  I don’t stick the pop up on the close out wave, and I feel my board slip from under my feet.  Then, I feel the tug on my leash, and the quick release.  Oh crap.

Just as I suspected, the little string that connects my leash to the board has snapped off AGAIN.  There are no remnants of the little string.  I just have my leash wrapped around my leg and my board is all the way in shore.  I start to swim in.

Tom waves me down from the shore.  “Ey, you getting out?” he asks.

“Naw, the leash snapped, but I just got here, so I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, do you have a spare leash?”

“Yea I do, but that’s not the part that snapped.  It’s that little string that snapped off.  I don’t have any of those in my car… and my keys are in my leash too… do you have pockets?”

“I do, but I don’t trust this thing,” Tom replied.

“Ok, that’s cool, I’ll be right back!”

And I left my board where it was and hustled up the beach to leave my leash on the car. 

I hustle back to my board, and grab my board.  “Well, this is probably not the best day to go leashless, but oh well.  I can’t go home now.  I just have to go for it,” I told myself. 

This paddle out was super easy, and I made it to the line up with ease.  Roy hollers at me, and Calvin comes by to say hi.  The drift was deceivingly strong today, and there were a few rip currents that kept pushing surfers out of position.  Ray was on his yellow and red rail board, and came by to say hi. 

To my pleasant surprise, CC showed up!!!  I was so stoked to see her in the line up.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her in the water.  We give each other hug-humps in the water. 

Earlier in the session, the waves seemed to dump, then become mushy.  Or they would just mush through.  The waves were hard to read, and a lot of them were dumpers.  I definitely felt my surfing was different going leashless.  I was a bit more picky, but I took off on an angle every single time.  On top of that, I wouldn’t ditch my board after a close out or the ride ended.  I would carefully crouch down and grab my board with both hands.  I made sure to not let go of my baby today. 

But of course, on more than one occasion, I found myself lose my board.  Luckily, the paddle in wasn’t so far, and so I would relaxingly swim in, grab my board, and head back out again.  It felt refreshing to surf like this.  This was different.  This was new. 

Roy was killing it out there.  He snaps his turns so vertical and aggressively, but makes it look so easy.  It’s amazing that this guy has so much style and ability to link all his turns together. 

Don was out doing his thing too.  I saw him almost pop an air on a backside wave where he pumped and blasted the lip.  His tail was almost off of the lip on that one turn… one day… one day.

Tom had a few rides… but I was surfing away from most of this session, so I didn’t get to catch any good glimpses of his waves.  He left early saying that his ass was freezing.  Perhaps time for a new wetsuit?  Or just move to Hawaii… hahaha

Damon caught a nice first ride today.  I hooted him into a right, and he was able to go backside pretty far until the thing dumped.  He also got pulled out far by the rip current and sat way the fuck out there.  Dolphins splashed and frolicked around him.  It was pretty fun watching the dolphins do that with him. 

I had a few memorable rides today:

One was a left that I consciously pumped on, and then set up for a cutback into the white water.  Then, I pumped further down all the way until the wave closed out. 

The wave of the day peaked its ugly head on the horizon.  Don was North of me, and so was Roy and Christina.  We all paddled out towards the horizon, but I kept telling myself “GO FOR IT!  GO FOR IT!!”  I know for sure Don was too deep, but I’m not sure about Roy.  He must have let me go on it because I was all alone on the wave when I popped up.  The set had a four foot face, and I was pumping frontside.  I did a small turn on the face to stall and not go too far ahead of the wave.  Then, I saw the wave double up on the inside so I prepared for the second drop on the step created by the inside double up.  Once I made it, I pumped up a little higher on the reform wave, and set my line.  I saw the wave was closing out, but I wasn’t going to bail on this one – no, no straightening out on this wave.  I was gonna go for it.  I crouched, and braced myself.  Everything went deafly silent and dark.  I could feel the water rush up from under my board, and in the dark room, I felt the wave close on my upper body.  Then, I could tell my board got flung from under my feet to the top of the white wash as I took my trip into the washing machine. 

I came up smiling, laughing, for my barrel attempt.  That was probably the first time I went for the set and then went for the no-hope barrel close out.  My board was all the way in shore, and so I had to paddle in, but I had a smile on my face paddling in.  A kid on a stubby single fin grabbed my board for me, and I thanked him.  I paddled back out with a smile still on my face.  Pabs, that one was for you! 

Just GO FOR IT! 

Don asked, “You took that last one all the way to shore huh?”

“Oh, did I?  I don’t know… I don’t have a leash on, so I had to swim in to shore,” I said, laughingly.

CC was chatting it up with Roy while going for some dumpers.  I’m not sure if she caught any good rides, but it’s always nice hearing her voice in the line up.  She is definitely part of the DRC Ohana.  I hope she doesn’t move away to Australia like she is planning.  But that is just selfish of me.  She should go out and experience life her way.  GO FOR IT CC!!!  You know we all have your back no matter what!

My last wave was a left.  The peak formed right by me, and CC hooted me into it.  I could hear her “WHOOOOOOOO~!!” as I popped up.  I pumped, and then did a quick cut back.  Then I redirected and kept going until I bogged out and lost my board.  I swam in for one last time and looked back at the line up.  The sun was now out and the line up looked even further away.  I couldn’t even see the people bobbing up and down in the line up.  I guess the waves were still hard to read, but it seemed to have gotten better since the early morning session. 

Overall, it was a great day to surf.  I had a lot of fun surfing with my friends and all the local gang.  I was bummed Matt didn’t make it, but he texted me in the morning and told me that his throat has gotten worse.  He was being bothered by it since Thursday, and even yesterday he seemed to be pushing it, but today was just the boiling point.  He stayed home and mellowed out.  Heal soon bruh!! 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!