Surgical Strike - Hazey Afternoon 030213

Surf: 3-5 feet faces, occasional 6 footer

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Sunny!

Winds: On shore

I took out my Ukulele and jammed on it while we watched the waves crash on the sand.  We brought out our little snacks and shared with everyone.  We started to kill beers in order to reduce the amount we take back home.  One of the worst things to do at a camp is to bring too much food and bring it back.  So, we did our best to eat all of our snacks and beers that we brought.

Rick and Jimmy B came back, saying their secret spot wasn’t so secret, and that it was mad crowded.  We told them that although it was crowded we were, we got ours.  I kept jamming on the Uke as we passed the time….

We had to clear out of camp by 12 noon since there was another camping party coming.  We showed the meaning of haste and cleaned up everything.  The non-military personnel parked up on the bluffs near the office and Matt walked up to help with any loose luggage.  We reconvened at Matt’s favorite Chruches Tree that he parks at every single time he is staycationing down at San Onofre.  Matt said to just chill and relax until we feel like surfing again. 

I watched the waves at Churches, and people were getting long rides!!  There were definite stand outs, but it didn’t take much skill to catch the waves.  And this was Churches!!  I couldn’t imagine what Middles was doing….

Bri was in and out of naps on the sand, reading the surf magazine Rick brought for us.  “You guys can just chill, and we can paddle out whenever,” Matt said. 

I couldn’t wait.  I said, “I’m not waiting, I have to paddle out now.”  GO FOR IT.  The light clouds made a grey haze on the horizon, but the sun still blazed through and baked us on the sand. 

Matt and Khang said they were going to have a beer as Dais and I stretched out for our next session.  However, there weren’t any more cups and on base, you can’t have an open container unless it is aluminum.  “Well, surf it is then!” Matt said.  “That was easy,” he added.  Indeed, it seemed like everything just fell into place this whole day. 

We took a group picture before we headed off.  Bri stayed behind to tan and rest and keep our smaller camping space hospitable. 

“Brah, imagine, it might be one of those sessions…!” I told Matt.  One of my best sessions here still was that day Dais, Matt and I went to a secret spot and got skunked, then came here, and absolutely scored uncrowded, pumping surf.  And the conditions at Churches resembled that one faithful day.  The clouds were rolling through, but the breeze was light.  I could only be patient as we walked down in anticipation to the Mons Pubis.

I always love the smell of Trestles.  Its unadulterated smell of nature fills my lungs and heart.  The faint hint of seaweed melds with the golden Ocean breeze.  Occasionally the sounds of waves crashing would be interrupted by the honk of the train. 

There was a group of surfers in the same spot as this morning, working a peak that broke both left and right.  The left seemed to be working nicer, but the lulls were long.  We would see the sun glistening on the Ocean surface as the surfers bobbed up and down.  Then, a set would break and surfers were getting some nice rides.  We opted to surf a bit north of them, just like the morning session.  There was no need to be packed up like sardines in a box. 

I think deep down, I knew it was going to be one of those memorable sessions.  But I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn’t jinx it.  I could feel it inside though… this was going to be a magical session. 

Dais, Khang, Hideki, Matt and I paddled out in the same spot and waited for the waves.  There were some longboarders waiting out the back, but we had our space.  Matt drew first blood again.  He got this nice left that swung wide from the pack, and he was able to take the wave far to shore. 

I caught a left that lined up perfectly for me.  However, after bottom turning, I blew the turn and got unstuck.  I should have cranked my whole body on the wave instead of just my lower body.  I got unstuck and flew out the back of the wave.  Although I was mad at myself about blowing the wave, I laughed it off.  The sun was out, the sky was blue, and it was beautiful out here. 

However once I was paddling back out on this wave, the ten wave set came out of no where.  Khang kept trucking through, and got out further quicker than me.  On about the fourth wave of the set, a nice right rolled by, right where he was.  He flipped around, and paddled for an empty gem.  It was probably the best ride that he got at Trestles in his whole life.  I didn’t get to see the whole wave since I had to duck dive a lot more waves after that, but he came back after a long time, and said “That was such a sick right!”

Hideki’s wave of the day came from this session.  He was on the inside, but he muscled his way in on a wave.  He snaked a guy, but the guy simply pumped around Hideki.  Hideki took off on the left and got a long ride to shore.  He came back with that ear-to-ear smile only surfers know.  

Khang paddled up to the peak where the longboarders were.  I lost sight of him for a while, but saw him catching some nice waves from the peak.  Matt was with him for a bit too, battling it out with the pack of longboarders. 

I sat on the inside, minding my own business.  Dais and I would hoot people into waves, and throw shakas to surfers if they got nice rides.  They would flash a huge smile back at us.  We brought the good Aloha energy to the line up.  Even the old salty dudes were super stoked when they got hooted in by two young guys. 

I dropped in on a guy by accident.  Well, it wasn’t on accident.  I wasn’t going to back down on the set.  But the guy was super fast, and by the time I got to my feet, I saw him pumping down the line from the corner of my eyes.  I thought to myself, “I have to kick out!” but when I thought that, I fell on my ass.  In a last attempt to save myself, I pulled on my leash so the board wouldn’t shoot out into his line.  Khang said that EVERYONE saw me snake that guy.  I felt horrible for snaking him, but I never saw him after that.  I’m sure he was in the water, and I wanted to apologize to him, but oh well.

I wanted to get the sets, but the peak was infested with longboarders.  So, I sat on the Mons Pubis, and I kept my eyes on the horizon.  I would see these two longboarders bob up and down, and used them as buoys to indicate when a wave would come.  The sky turned to a grey haze, and the blinding reflection on the water made it hard to tell which waves were sets and which waves were duds.  The grey line up melded with the sky, and the only indicators of waves were the bobbing surfers on the horizon.  I had to let go of all my thoughts and just let the waves speak to me. 

The session seemed to just go by in a drunken haze.  I remember that I was surfing, trying to correct my stance, my positioning, and my turns.  I’m not sure how many waves I caught this session, but it was one of my highest wave counts.  I would catch a wave, and feel I was surfing too much on my front foot.  So, I would correct that on the next wave.  Then, I would feel that I wasn’t carving deep enough, so I would draw out longer lines on the next wave.  I kept trying to improve on each wave, and went for each set wave that swung my way.  The Mons Pubis was pumping!!!! 

“Man, you’re a machine!” Hideki said.  His arms were treading water, while I paddled back from another wave. 

“Just keep laughing, and you’ll get more energy,” I told him.  “Right Dais?”

Dais smiled back.

My new remedy for muscle cramps or overall lethargy is to laugh.  Just laugh out loud.  No matter what.  You might sound psychotic, but hey, if you’re not laughing, then you’re taking surfing way too seriously.  And strangely enough, when you laugh, you feel energized.  Just try it. 

More outside sets would break, cleaning up the line up.  “Small price to pay for these conditions,” I thought to myself.  Just a few duck dives and I was back in a peaceful state. 

Matt and Khang got tired of battling it out with longboarders, and started sticking to the inside.  That proved successful since they got a lot of rides on the inside.  I saw Matt and Khang going for lefts.  Matt and Khang were both killing it again on their shred sticks.  It really made me think that I want a board just like theirs.  They are taking their game to a whole ‘nother level. 

Another outside set would break and clean up the line up.  Some lucky longboarder would get the outside sets all the time.  The lulls were long, but the sets lined up perfectly. We all hooted them onto the sets as we duck-dived out of their way.  It was a line-up full of aloha spirit.

I saw Dais catching a lot of waves working the inside next to me.  I’m not sure how many waves he caught, but they were more than I could count on two hands.  He sat further down towards Churches away from the crowds, and scored a lot of waves on his own. 

My session culminated in this one insider.  I saw the three longboarders out on the peak bob up, and knew that the wave was going to break for me.  I paddled, thinking to myself, “Meet and greet, ride and slide.” – it was a lesson Fransauce taught me.  If you want the wave, you’ve got to meet and greet it.  Then you can ride and slide on her.  The peak was all mine, and I paddled hard for it.  I’m not sure what I did on the wave.  I wish I did.  All da boys called it “The Right.”  They said I did two turns on it, but I barely remember that.  I was caught up in the moment so much that by the time the wave was done, I was pumping on the flats, and looking back at the wave, thinking to myself, “Was I just riding that thing?”  I knew it was a good ride because of how I felt but I didn’t remember anything that happened. 

Hideki paddles back and yells, “Masanobu!  That was a nice ride!!” 

Khang, Dais and Matt give me props too.  Getting a great wave is great, but getting a great wave and having all da boys see it?  Just PERFECT. 

I definitely burned out all of my dopamine and serotonin in this whole day.  I couldn’t believe how my body was operating after four hours of sleep still.  I took a close out to end the session.  This day will forever be in our memories as the best day we’ve had at Trestles.  Despite the crowds, everyone got theirs.  The waves just kept coming… and coming… and coming. 

And to think, I was going to drive down here by myself and leave early!  What a bad decision that would have been.  None of these memories filled with happiness would have been possible without da boys.  I am forever grateful to be surrounded with such great people with so much aloha spirit. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!!  Mahalos to all da boys who made this trip possible, and oh-so-memorable.  I wish I had better memory to recall everything, but you know what?  It’s all about the feeling that we shared that day.  And this one day… has got to be the best!  It will be hard to top this surgical strike.  We were efficient.  We came, we saw, we conquered.  Vini vidi vici. 

Just GO FOR IT!!!!

Surgical Strike - Morning at Trestles 030213

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Surf Report: 2-4 foot with the occasional 5

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Sunny!

Winds: Off shore

If you haven’t heard yet, I didn’t pass my CPA exam on Audit that I took at the end of January.  I found out Monday morning and I felt pretty devastated.  I received a 72, and I needed a 75 to pass.  The test is based on a nation-wide curve, so I was right under the curve of “pass.”  Basically, it was a “Fuck You” from the CPA profession.  When I checked my score that morning, I saw a “NO CREDIT” on my summary, and saw my score after clicking the link.  I was upset.  I sat on my floor, Indian style, and closed my eyes… I thought about what I just saw, and comprehended that I haven’t passed yet.  I’m not gonna lie, my closed eyes were getting ready to gush some waterworks.  I was upset for a bit, closing my eyes, imagining all the things I had wanted to do when I passed, such as texting my friends that I finally did it, telling my parents I’ve achieved my goal (for the time being), or hugging my boss and telling him “Thank you” a million times and telling him that I passed, and then I let it go.  I had to get over it.  I’m not going to have that same reaction I did last time in November.  I had to dress right to make me feel better.  I wore one of my favorite blue pin stripe shirts with the white collars and my favorite blue tie that I bought in Venezia, Italy.  I always believe that if you look good, you feel good.

When I told my boss that I didn’t pass, he told me to not worry about it for a week.  Just focus on working, relaxing, and enjoying myself.  After one week, I should start studying hardcore again.  It was just three fucking points after all.  I’ll pass next time.  Half an hour later, he calls me into his office and tells me that I should research more classes I could take, more study material I could utilize, and contacting more people in order to pass.

“Start looking for them NOW,” he said.

“Wait, didn’t you just say to take a week off?” I thought in my head.  I know why he was saying two different things to me; he just wanted me to pass.  He just wants me to be a friggin CPA.  So I nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll do that.”

I didn’t feel any worse than I did that morning when I closed my eyes and meditated.  I was glad that was the “low” point for this test.  As always, I had my close friends and family send me texts or calls for support, saying that I’ll get it next time and other positive messages.  The upset feeling wasn’t so bad!  Seriously, I felt like last time’s pain was much worse than what I experienced that morning.  I was upset, and then I wasn’t.  Plain and simple. 

Matt, aka Donny Duckbutter, posts on our facebook page that he’s organizing a surgical strike to Trestles.  It’s our first trip to Trestles in 2013.  I personally haven’t gone to Trestles since 2011.  Hard to believe… the crown jewel of Southern California, and I haven’t been back in over a year. 

At the time Matt posted this on facebook, I had been working 55+ hours per week, and I already hit my quota for the week before Wednesday.  My head was spinning with everything, and at first I thought I shouldn’t go.  No, I shouldn’t go since I need to work.  But then I thought, no, I should just go… at least for the morning.  Maybe you can drive yourself in the morning and head back so you can work in the afternoon.  No, you should head over Friday night, so you can surf early in the morning and then head to work.  Yea, that’s kinda tough, but I’ll do that…

So, I RSVP’d saying that I will head out.  No MAYBE’s, just a firm YES, I WILL FUCKING BE THERE.  I needed to get away for a bit. 

Then, Dais messaged me that Khang and him were getting off work around 10 PM, so they can swoop me up after work and we could head out straight from my house.  I told him I was planning on driving out by myself, and he simply replied, “Why?” 

So I asked myself, yes, why?  Why drive by yourself, and head back to LA yourself?  What is the fucking rush?  Why can’t you wait thirty minutes for them to get off work, and then head out with them?  You know what, just don’t go to work.  That way, you don’t have to go back to LA so early.  Just unplug yourself, and GO FOR IT.  And so I took their carpool. 

Friday night, we stop by Little Saigon and eat some bomb ass Pork Chops with steamed rice and pickles with fish sauce.  Fuck, it must have been one of the best pork chops I’ve had.  On top of that, they had a cup of Pho broth on the side, and that tasted amazing too.  If the Pho broth itself is amazing, that means the Pho must be fucking astronomically amazing. 

After filling up on that, we kept driving down South.  Khang didn’t have his license because he lost his wallet, had me drive into Camp Pendleton.  I, being the genius, drove to the stop sign, and asked, “Straight?”

“Uhh, yea, straight,” said Khang.  And by straight, he meant straight to the left.

I went straight, and went right back onto the 5 freeway. 

After a good 15 minute drive on the 5-freeway-which-has-no-exits, we made a U-Turn, and headed back to base.  Finally, at 1:00 AM, we were at the campsite.  We slept in the van, in anticipation of the next day.  It took me until 2:00 AM to fall asleep, but alas, we were camping.  I just wish I had brought a blanket. 

6:00 AM, I was wide awake. The sun was up and it was cold on my face.  I saw Matt scurry around our van, and I tapped the window for him to open the door (Khang’s sliding doors don’t open from the inside.)  I greeted Matt with a hug and greeted Rick also.  Jimmy B was on deck for this surgical strike too, and Hideki was still knocked out in his car. 

The morning seemed to pass slowly, but perhaps it was because I was taking in everything moment by moment.  Rick would take the pot of boiled eggs off the burner and put on a teapot.  Matt was light on his feet opening bags of food and fresh fruits and preparing hot water for us.  We slowly got assimilated around the camp site, watching more and more people fill into the parking lot and walk off to Trestles and Old Man’s. 

Rick and Jimmy B would opt to surf a secret spot further south, but we six, Matt, Brianna, Dais, Hideki, Khang, and I, stayed here.  The waves looked good from where we were, and we definitely knew that it would be good here no matter what.  The only factor: Crowds

"Dude, I think we're gonna have one of those sessions," I told Matt.  I didn't want to psyche us out, but I felt that it was going to be a classic Trestles day.  The kind of day you write home to your parents, saying how you scored, and boast to all your peers on what great waves you had, and how you spend the whole day at the beach because it's just that good.  

We all walked down to Middles near Battle Positions.  It didn’t seem like it was breaking towards BP’s but where we were near the Mons Pubis, it seemed like there were waves coming through, and there wasn’t a surfer in the area.  There were surfers south of us, but they were working a left that filtered through that spot.  We all stretched, some more than others, and hit the water. 

I think Matt drew first blood this morning session.  However, the waves were working so well at our spot that soon, everyone had a wave under their belt. 

Brianna caught two good rights (I think.)  One was easily four foot on the face, and she was in perfect position.  There was a guy on her inside, but he backed out for her.  I was on the outside of him, and I backed out too.  Brianna took off in all our envy as I hooted.  She probably had a good ride on the face, trimming down the line.  I couldn’t watch since there was another set wave on the horizon.

Some of these sets were just massive close outs.  There was no where to go but straight down if you were to ride them.  These sets would clear up the line up from time to time.

We must have sold the spot since more people started to paddle out where we were.  At first, I was like, “Oh, ok coo, just one other dude.” But that quickly changed when there were ten other dudes. 

Hideki got a left where he took off on the inside where the wave became steep, and made it to the face.  He took too much of a high line and accidently kicked out though.  He said he was bottom turning and then just lost all his speed at the top. 

Khang was killing it on the lefts!  His backside definitely has more oomph on the turns.  I remember seeing a wave from the inside where he got a solid turn off, then went down the line.  On another left, Dais and I saw him pump down the line, then initiate his cut back from behind, complete it, then pump down the line and bank off the close out section.  We both threw him double shaka’s and splashed the water to show him how much spray we saw. 

Seeing Dais at this spot is surreal.  I’ve had all of my best sessions at Trestles with Dais and Matt.  So, to see him surfing here and see his evolution makes me speechless.  But hey, I’m a blogger, so let’s put it in words!  Dais stuck to his guns, playing the inside game.  I remember seeing this one right where he just casually paddled into it, popped up, and took off down the face.  I could see him go up and down the face from behind.  I was just like WHOA, and had to laugh.  He’s improved so much so quickly, it’s kinda scary. 

Dais took off on a close out wave with me, and we got pretty close.  It was a near collision, but Dais stayed cool, calm, and collected, and steered his board away in the white water.  If this was a year ago, he would have panicked, fell off his board, and I would have to either dodge his board with Ninja awesomeness or catch his board with even greater Ninja awesomeness.  But he didn’t, and that was impressive to me.

Matt was the heat winner today.  From the get go, he was just unleashing his Motor Boat Too on these waves.  As Dais put it, “Matt really upped his game on that board.”  He had a lot of stand out waves for the day, going front side and backside, but to me the best wave he had was mid-way through our session.  He caught this one left behind the peak and started pumping on the wave.  He made two guys back out, and climbed the face for a quick check turn.  Then he pumped further down, and then fucking unleashed a nasty roundhouse cutback on his front side.  Then he just kept pumping down the line until the wave closed out. 

I remember a gnarly outside set peaking its ugly head out of no where approaching us.  Bri and I were on the outside, but we were in trouble nevertheless.  I saw Bri go over the first wave, and I had to duck dive.  Then, I saw a second set, and Bri was in bad position.  If she was able to duck dive her tanker, she would have been ok, but that board is too thick.  I hoped that she would just make it over, but she didn’t.  I was right behind her, so I took an early duck dive.  She started about ten yards ahead of me, but ended up fifteen yards behind me.  She said she passed over me and got dragged in the white water. 

There was a longboarder taking off on a set that swung wide of Lowers and was tearing it apart.  But, there was also another dude in front of him who snaked who was tearing it up too.  They were both pumping up and down continuously, synchronizing, doing pumps and carves like a DNA double helix.  Finally, the guy who got snaked got off towards shore, and the snake got off eventually.  I thought they were both friends, but they weren’t.  The guy who got snaked waited for the other surfer to paddle back, and I pointed him to get out of the water. 

“Hey, it’s 9:08, and I think I’m gonna head out at 9:30.  But you guys take your time,” Matt said.

What, already?  I can’t believe it’s been two hours surfing already.  I felt like the time just flew by.  I was in the moment so much that I lost track of time.  There were a lot of waves I caught despite the crowds, and so I didn’t mind getting out at this time.  On top of that, I felt my legs starting to cramp up.  Ok, next wave I see, I’m GOING FOR IT, and I’m gonna put everything I have in it.  All my energy is going to this one last wave. 

I see a set swinging wide right, and there are two guys going for it.  One is way behind the peak, and the second guy is sorta behind the peak.  But I wasn’t going to just let his opportunity.  Dais was next to me, but he backed out as I popped up. I pumped and carved, and did a small check turn.  I kept pumping and finished with a semi-hack off the top, and stuck the maneuver on the white water.  I hopped off and felt my shin muscle on my left leg cramp up. Well, what a great way to get out.

I left the water and stretched on the sand.  Hideki rode in and we talked over the morning on how fun it was.  Matt was south of us and watched Khang and Dais ride in eventually.  We all congregated together, giving props to Matt for his heat-winning day.  That second turn on that wave!! So sick. 

We took a hot shower with a cold beer in hand and just chilled out for the morning. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!!  Can’t wait to write part two of this…

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!! 

Paddle Out for Pabs 021613 at Bolsa

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Surf: 1-3 feet

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Sunny!

Winds: Light off shore

Today was our “Paddle Out for Pabs” day.  Pabs was a fellow blogger who passed away recently.  Surfing Grandma of the OC aka Michelle organized a day for all of us bloggers to get together and to do a paddle out for Pabs.  The event was an open invitation to anyone who could show up. 

Matt and I planned to go down to Bolsa Chica’s Tower 27 together in the  morning.  We were going to leave at 7:00 AM, but those plans were quickly thwarted by my gurgling stomach.  As soon as I woke up, I had explosive diarrhea.  After my first round, I had to call Matt to tell him I would be late.  “No worries man, no rush,” he told me.

Just then, the second wave gurgled from my behind.  “Ok, I gotta go, I’ll call you soon.”

The second wave was followed by a third wave in the same sitting.  Phew, got that over with at least.  Hideki had texted me that he was paddling out soon at tower 27.  It was barely 7:00 AM and he was almost there.  Crazy guy.  Love it. 

I picked up some flowers from Ralphs, and headed to Matt’s.  He picked up some donuts and we were off to Bolsa.  On the way over, we talk about what’s been going on lately with our lives and the drive down flies with the wind.  We get to Bolsa right before 9:00 AM and find Michelle and Valerie, aka Surf Mama of Mere-Made Surfboards.  We greet each other with hugs, and chit chat.  More people that I have always read about but haven’t met show up, including Cynthia, Irma, Surf Sista, Lauri, Goofy Kook, and Michelle’s hubby, Brian aka Brownie.  We all look over the pile of donuts that have accumulated, and talk over warm coffee and goof vibes.

Hideki comes out dripping wet, and he helps himself to some water and a tangerine from Michelle and Brian’s place.  Brownie recruits a kid to get a donut since we have so many of them.  It was definitely a fun morning to start off with. 

Yesterday, I had gone to a funeral ceremony for a client who’s son passed away.  I think the greatest pain for any parent is to out-live their own child.  Our client and friend is a super nice, amazing human being and is always a cheerful man.  However when he lost his son, he understandably went into a funk.  I hope the ceremony helped him, his wife, and his daughter cope with the loss of their beloved son and brother.  The ceremony was amazing, with nearly 100 people showing up for his son.  They read passages, sang songs, and gave moving speeches.  At the end of it all, my boss and I were drained, emotionally and physically.  I was feeling kinda down, and to have two ceremonies seemed to be a bit much for me.

However, this paddle out seemed to help with the heavy feeling.  Michelle gave a nice speech before our paddle, citing Pab’s blog writings in her speech.  “Pabs would want us all to be stoked and having fun,” she said, and so “We should all feel that stoke that he was always chasing after.” 

The emotional up and down wasn’t so bad after this.  I just felt pure joy holding hands in the line up with flowers clenched in my teeth.  We splashed water for Pabs as we threw our flowers in to the circle of friends.  Just imagine, a man that I never even met has connected me with all these lovely people. 

I talk with Michelle in the line-up.  “I wonder who’s gonna draw first blood?” I asked her, with a smile. 

“Oh, I know!  I wonder who it will be,” she said.

Just then Matt catches a wave on the inside.  He pumped on the inside to milk it for everything it’s got.  And then he comes back out, only to catch another insider left.

“Guess Matt draws first blood!” I said.

“Oh, what a show off!” Michelle teased.

The sun was shining, and the water was cool.  The winds were slightly off shore, and I just felt some joy in my heart to be a part of this surf community.  And right on queue, Pabs sends me a wave.  It was a small right, but it was good enough to pump on the face and go down the line.  I had a smile from ear to ear, baby. 

Michelle’s hubby Brian, aka Brownie, got a nice right that I hooted him into.  He seemed pretty stoked on it.  The wave peeled perfectly from the outside to right where he was, and he popped up right to his feet and took the right as far as the wave carried him. 

Goofy Kook had a high wave count today.  He caught a lot of nice rides on his board, and always came back with a huge smile on his face.  One wave had some backwash on it, but he somehow muscled his way into the wave and took the wave all the way to shore.  On more than one occasion, I would see him paddle back out from a long ride to shore.  I think he had the highest wave count out of all of us. 

Michelle got some nice waves.  She was going for the bigger ones, which is a “new” thing she’s been trying to do.  I feel like Pabs was sending her some extra oomph on the waves for her though.  She would get some rides all the way to shore too.

Hideki was going for it on his yellow board.  However, he was already double seshing it and so his arms weren’t able to muscle in to the waves.  He did catch this nice left that peeled perfectly for him.  He popped up perfectly and did one pump on the face before bogging out. 

Laurie had a gnarly wipe out for the day.  She went for a close out that engulfed her right in front of me.  But, like a champ, she came up and paddled right back out. 

Cynthia went for this wave, and as the board picked up, she hesitated, and put her legs in the water, immediately pulling the e-brake on her board.  The wave passed her up, and I gave out a long, drawn out “Awwwww” for the missed wave.  She said she didn’t think she had it, but I told her that she did. 

“Next one, next one,” I told her.  And just like that Pabs sent another wave for her.  This one, she didn’t pull back on, and popped up perfectly on the shoulder.  She glided down the face all the way to shore on a right. 

Valerie surfed with style, going both left and right.  When she took off on a left, she would grab rail and direct her board down the line, let the rail go and just glide down the face. 

Matt got a lot of waves going both right and left.  I’m not sure what was cooler, him going for the waves, or him doing the 360 twirl at the nose of his board.  Even Goofy Kook was laughing about that one.  And I think that was what today was all about, laughing and spreading the joy and aloha. 

The “heat winner” was clearly Surf Sista.  From the get-go, she was just killllllllin’ it.  Her first wave was a right, and once she set her line, she walked up towards the nose, flipped the switch and went switch foot, walked another step and came back to her regular stance, and walked up more. 

“It’s so fun going switch foot!” she said.

She also went for lefts that she was able to pump and walk casually to the nose and back.  And the best part?  Her smile that was bright as the sun today. 

Everyone was just so stoked today.  Although it was a somber gathering, I think it was undeniable that the spirit of Pabs was around us and inside of us.  We can all feel the stoke and pure joy that Pabs always wrote about. 

My last ride was definitely my longest ride, and I felt that Pabs had sent me just one last wave before getting out of the water.  It was a right, and the peak formed just for me.  I paddled and popped up, and started to pump down the line.  I saw Goofy Kook paddle for it, but he backed out for me as I kept pumping down the line.  It was a perfect way to end the session. 

Back at the lot, we all hovered over the mountain of donuts we had accumulated, and tried to recruit the people biking or jogging or walking to have a donut.  Some obliged, most denied their inner fatties.  They all wanted to eat a donut, but they shut out that little kid inside of us like a smelly wet dog on a rainy day. 

Overall, this day was just perfect.  I was really glad that I got to see everyone.  I was really stoked to have shared in the vibe.  I was simply STOKED.  Surfing is such a funny sport.  We are all united with this one silly activity of riding a wave that formed thousands of miles away on these planks for just a few seconds at a time, and keep coming back for more.  I would never had met any of these people if I hadn’t surfed, and if I hadn’t written a blog. 

I am so grateful that I was part of this Paddle Out for Pabs today.  Mahalos to Michelle for organizing this.  Mahalos to all of those who came out today.  Without having a group of stoked surfers, the Paddle Out for Pabs wouldn’t have been so joyous!  Mahalos to Mother Ocean for bring us some great weather.  And Mahalos and Aloha to Pabs for being there with us today.  We know you sent us those waves to us.  We’ll be surfing with you always!!!  

::Post Script:: 

An entry from Pabs (one of my favorite entries written by him, and also read by Surfing Grandma before our paddle out):

"But think about it...that's what makes it so rewarding for me: You're no longer in TOTAL CONTROL.

Moreover, when you surf, you're entering a realm that humans have no control over. An environment that can kill you at any time.

Though we would like to think we know what we're doing when immersed within the stoke-zone, we are in fact mere passengers upon a liquid carpet that can either unfold in glorious beauty, or be pulled out from under you in a surprisingly and humbling wipe-out.

Giving up and allowing yourself to abandon all control, including all of the life shit that we carry into water...is what makes it such a spiritual experience for many of us stoke seekers.

You have to simply allow yourself to "BE" in the moment...that also includes those times when mother water forces us into "going deep"...a metaphor for reaching into ourselves and finding our soul."

Lessons Learned 021013

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Surf: 2-3 feet, with the occasional 6 footer

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Sunny

Winds: Offshore, not as strong as yesterday

Four times the amount of people, and half the size.  I remember this session being fun, but the crowd factor was getting to me.  Luckily, Dais showed up.

The session started off slow, because I was running late.  I was out until 11 something the previous night because it was my homegirl Lydia’s birthday party.  We went to a “meh” Italian place, and then to a bar called Villains Tavern.  That place was fun, and there was a live band playing, which we couldn’t see since the place was packed to capacity.  I cut out early since my body was tired and I was feeling a sore throat coming on all night.  The waves weren’t as big, and there were already a lot of people in the line-up by the time I arrived.  I guess that’s what happens when you sleep in for a few minutes more. 

There were a lot of the locals out today.  Davey paddled up and sardonically said, “Where were all of them yesterday??”

“Well, when it becomes half the size, they come out to play,” I said, matter-of-factly. 

This session I kept telling myself GO FOR IT.  Go for it.  Go for it.  Go for it.  It was a really fun session, but I wished that one of my homies was out.  It’s great surfing with the locals at 26^th Street, but it isn’t the same without surfing with one of your mates. 

And as if on queue, Dais showed up.  And as soon as Dais showed up, the waves started to pump like yesterday. 

Dais was riding his Rocket too, but his is the twin-fin.  His board was the original Rocket that made me decide to get a Rocket shaped by Don Kadowaki.  He took a right that set up perfectly for him to pump front side.  He also got this left that I hooted him into, and at first, I thought he ate it, but he made the wave all the way onto the inside.  I was super stoked seeing this.  I haven’t surfed with Dais in a while, but seeing this means he is still paddling out and is getting better.  It’s always cool to see your friends getting good, fun rides. 

I don’t really remember too many rides for myself for this session.  I just remember Dais’s two really good waves that he caught right near me. 

Actually, I remember one wave.  It was a set wave, and I paddled hard for it.  I was on the peak.  It was my wave.  Dais was on my inside, and so was Oscar.  I can hear the wave start to lift and feather in the wind.  My board was picking up speed and I felt my heart race faster and faster.  “Go!! GOOOO!!” Oscar shouted.  And then, I backed out.  UGH!!!!!!!! What the fuck man!!?? What are you doing?? I asked myself.  Why didn’t you go for it??? I couldn’t believe myself. 

In the parking lot, there is a man and his wife, who have two dogs named Orca and Princess.  Orca is a beautiful Alaskan Husky, and Princess is a precious mix-breed (?) of some sort.  I love petting these dogs, and they love the attention.  The man, Al, said that he used to ski, and even taught skiing in his younger days.  He was saying how the double black diamond runs he used to go on used to scare the shit out of him, but not as much as a wave has ever scared him.  He used to scuba dive, and tried to body board in California but got worked and never tried it again.  He said that on the double black diamond runs, you can see just a steep drop, and you just HAVE TO GO.  There’s no half way in on these runs.  If you do the double black diamond run, you do the whole thing with all your guts and glory. 

“If you fell,” he said, drawing out the last word, “then you just get dragged down a few hundred feet.” 

He smiled.  “Hopefully there aren’t any rocks in your way when you’re falling down the cliff side,” he laughed.  “But, I always remember you just had to GO FOR IT, and then you’ll see if you can ride the double black diamond runs.” 

He also said while teaching skiing, when a kid fell and started to cry, he would distract them or divert their attention away from whatever was making them cry.  He would compliment a girl’s cool jacket, or a point out a tree fallen down sideways to a boy.  

And so, there you go.  I learned two lessons in one talk. 

CC showed up as Dias and I were getting changed.  She told me how she went to see the Lunar New Year with Khang and DK the previous night, and how she was talking with her Aussie boy in the morning.  She was about to paddle out, so I wished her good luck and gave her a hug. 

I hung around the parking lot a little while longer, just relaxing and talking with the people who came around.  It was definitely a good day. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!

Go For It 020913

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Surf: 4-6 feet, with the occasional 8 footer marching through

Water: Cold

Atmosphere: Sunny

Winds: Strong off-shore

I’ve been lagging on my blog posts, so here we go…

I remember this day to be an awesome and challenging day.  The day was awesome because there were only three guys out for the majority of the session.  The day was challenging because there were only three guys out for the majority of the session.

The few days before, it had rained lightly over the skies of Los Angeles.  I knew Matt was at National Guard duty, Khang was still nursing his neck, and the rest of the crew… no idea, really.  I just knew that I will be surfing on Saturday.

I got to the parking lot and the lot is one-third full.  Ross was getting changed.  He seemed pretty psyched about surfing.  There was still no one out in the line up at 6:40.  I scratched my head in confusion.

Then a set rolled in, creating hurdles of white water on the inside.  A lot of the locals looked at this, shook their head, and mumbled amongst themselves.  Ross changed his mind and said he was headed to the Avenues in Torrance. 

“Is it any better there, than here?” I asked him.

“No, but it will be closer to where I live.  Go Klaude, GO!”

Well if Ross told me to go, then I have to go.  I marched down to the sand and watched Calvin and Davey paddle out.

The paddle out wasn’t so bad, just a few sets on the head, and I was ducking them all with ease.  I got out to an empty line up, and stared at the horizon.  When a surfer is out alone in the big empty Ocean, it gets a bit lonely. 

Calvin waved me down and said, “Man, I’m glad you came out,” as if he shared the loneliness in the line up. 

Davey paddled towards us from South of the tower, and we three bobbed up and down together. 

Davey got a nice right to start off.  He hacked the first turn and made a sweeping cut back on the second before kicking out. 

Calvin was further North of us, and took a nice, long left.  He snapped three turns off before reaching the inside. 

Then came my turn… a nice set right.  I paddled and gunned for it.  This wave was all mine.  I felt the board flutter and feather from the wind rushing up the face of the wave.  The sun was in my eyes, the spray was covering my face, and I popped up.  I start pumping long lines on the face.  I never felt so fast on my Kadowaki Rocket shape.  Before I knew it, the wave mushed out from the tide, and I had to kick out. 

Davey was the clear cut stand out performer of the day.  He was going both left and right on his tiny board.  He always rides boards around 5’5” or smaller, and tears shit up!!!  He has the overall greatest skill set of 26^th Street.  He was taking off deep on the rights and making almost every drop.  He would kick out on a lot of the rights because they mushed up so much though.  The lefts were definitely where the open faces were, and since Davey is goofy footed, he took full advantage.

Some of the real sets of the day bludgeoned me.  They made me realize that I needed a bigger board for these sets.  On two occasions, I had to ditch my board in an effort to save myself.  These rogue sets were solid four foot Hawaiian scale, with eight foot faces.  The set that clobbered me first was a behemoth that boiled from the outside.  The peak was beginning to spike up as I saw and paddled furiously to the outside.  The crest of the wave broke right where I wanted to be, and so I ditched my board at the last second and plunged into the dark, sandy bottom.  I felt the lip pushed me down, and so I protected my head with my arms and balled up my legs.  The wave washed me around and around, and then picked me up once more.  The same wave washed me up, and pounded me all the way down.  I felt my right leg being tugged by my leash.  “I’m probably tomb-stoning,” I thought to myself.  As bad as this was, I didn’t feel any panic.  I knew I could hold my breath, so I just waited until the wave let me go.  Once she let me go, I paddled back up, and laughed.  I smiled all the way back to the line-up. 

“Yo, I saw your board tomb-stoning,” Davey told me.  “I was wondering if you were gonna be ok, but you came up and laughed so I figured you were ok.”

“Yea, that was heavy, but it wasn’t that bad.  I felt my leash tugging on me, so I figured the board was tomb-stoning,” I told him. 

After I got a small left, I got caught inside.  I drifted passed the lifeguard tower, and so I got out, ran around, and waited to paddle back out.  Orlando called me over to say hi, and we both waited for the sets to die down.  And then we see Davey, paddle for an outside set – the bomb for the day.  He took off at the perfect spot, and tagged the lip once.  Then he pumped a few times, and did a sweeping carve.  Then he pumped a few more times and hacked the lip for a third turn.  Oh, but he wasn’t finished yet!  The section ahead of him started to break, so he put the pedal to the metal, and bolted off to the races.  He made it around the first section, then around the second section, and finally came to the inside.  He then tucked in, and disappeared from our view.  The wave was sandy and brown-white from the inside froth and then the exit started to close.  At the last second Davey gets shot out of the closing barrel and exits through the doggy door.  Elvis has left the building!!

Orlando and I hoot and holler like little groms at Davey.  He gives a wide grin at us and acknowledges us.  Then, he paddles out for more. 

The second paddle out was definitely gnarly.  I thought I waited long enough, but I was wrong, getting caught on the inside.  Water started to shoot down my suit and I thought to myself how in the world did I get out so easily earlier? 

The rest of the session is a blur, except for the fact that I got worked on the inside a few more times.  I had a few waves but they weren’t as good as the first ones I got.  And now, the line-up was crowded.  Well, crowded was a relative term for a day like this.  We went from three people in the line-up to about eighteen.  Still a 500% increase in the crowd is a lot.  

The session was awesome because of the lack of a crowd.  The lack of a crowd allowed for me to pick and choose which waves I could go for.  The session was challening because of the lack of a crowd.  The lack of a crowd meant that I had to go for waves I might normally not go for, and I felt that I backed out on a lot of waves even if I was in position.  I am kicking myself in the ass for that.  Today, I learned that I need to GO FOR IT.  I really felt like I could have pushed a little harder than I did today.  I could have gone for bigger waves, I could have put more oomph on my turns, and I could have done better.  I need to go for it.  For anything in life.  Go for it.  Go for it.  Go for it!!!!

Mahalos Mother Ocean.