Summer is Here
Well, maybe not the warm waters or the sunny skies, but the home break is getting crowded. The bathrooms are thrashed, too. What's the deal with that? It's not that there aren't enough waves to share, like at a point break, but at the same time, how about a little courtesy? There are snakes all over the home break. One large group of girls were not snakes at all. They showed up in a group of 10 or so towards peak high tide when all the best waves have already been ridden or have dissipated onto the shore and paddle out in a troupe. It was a posse of women. I thought, "Why bother showing up when the tide is going to kill everything?" After 10 minutes of paddling around them cause they were drifting off to the next beach, I notice that they paddle for some waves, but they are mostly there to chit chat. Not that socializing is a bad thing, but I would think it would be far more comfortable doing that at the local Starbuck's rather than bobbing in 60 degree water that is somewhat questionable. They weren't snakes, just more of a sewing circle. I wasn't peeved, just intrigued.
Water quality on Saturday was mostly green. Still a bit cloudy, but the water is warming up. The gloom has set in, so the sun is not breaking out for any dawn patrol people. The waves were kind of small, but they were still fun. I caught a bunch of waves. My nose was still plugged up from the week before. I tried not to let my nose drip after my surf session after the debacle previously. The sinus was just about to clear up before I subjected it to the questionable waters again on Saturday. This led to me sounding like I have a cold and to my middle of the night, interrupt in sleep due to the fact I could no longer breathe through either nostril. I tried blowing it out, to no avail. (Too much information?) I resorted to Sudafed at 3am and thus, making me a bit drowsy for the Sunday morning session.
I wake up only cause my friend called wondering where I was. Good thing, too cause even though I set the alarm clock, I never actually turned it on. I roll out of bed, grab a towel, load up the car, drive off in a haze to the home break.
When I get there, I see the Jetty isn't breaking much. I didn't think it was going to be as big as it was. It wasn't humongous by any means, but the waves were a good shoulder high and just rolling in consistently. There's a crowd, but not as thick as it was on Saturday. The water was clear and green. I could see my own feet when just waiting out there in the water.
I surfed for a few hours the day before and my shoulders were sore. I don't have the endurance like I did a few years ago when I was surfing 4 days out of the week, but not now, when I'm a surf bum with little money to spend on the rising price of gas. Fate was not kind enough to bless me with the means to live right next to a good break so that I can surf all day long. But, I digress.
It took me 10-15 minutes to get to the outside. Just getting pounded over and over again in the crash zone. I finally get out there and the sets keep rolling in only I'm too tired to paddle for anything. I do my impression of a buoy for a good 10 minutes before trying anything. A set starts up, the people around me catch the first few waves and clear out the line up for me. I turn, start paddling for a wave, the board catches, I'm about to pop up, but I didn't get enough speed to really get into the wave cause of my dead arms, and instead of popping up smoothly at the right time, I'm at the top of the lip starting to plummet downwards. I start to get up, right hand slips and I kook it and slide off the side. Not my most manly of memories. I go in the wash, tumbling around.
Next wave, my arms are still tired, I try again for a shoulder high wave, get up this time, but i'm still at the very top of the lip with just enough speed to have caught the wave, but not enough to get into the wave effectively, pop up and since my 7'11 doesn't have a lot of rocker to it, I went pearl diving. Once again, into the wash, cause I got sucked back up to the top. Shoulder high waves with just enough juice to make a wipe out feel bigger than it was.
That's when the waves stop rolling in every minute and the lulls start to get longer. The waves drop in size as well. I start picking off waves, but i'm dead tired from the Sudafed and the paddling. If you have ever taken Sudafed, it's something you take at night that makes you drowsy with its main purpose of clearing up the sinuses. Sinuses: cleared. Drowsiness: in full effect! I catch a few more waves on the smaller sets and get hammered by a few more cliean-ups that were a good head high and twenty yards outside of where everyone was. I did catch one in.
One other thing about the home break, there's a pretty strong current most days. You're always paddling, whether to go out, to catch a wave or to not get washed into the next city north or south of the break. You'll feel like salmon at some point. It's good to get your endurance up, but on days when you just want to save your energy for catching the waves, it's not so good.
Water quality on Saturday was mostly green. Still a bit cloudy, but the water is warming up. The gloom has set in, so the sun is not breaking out for any dawn patrol people. The waves were kind of small, but they were still fun. I caught a bunch of waves. My nose was still plugged up from the week before. I tried not to let my nose drip after my surf session after the debacle previously. The sinus was just about to clear up before I subjected it to the questionable waters again on Saturday. This led to me sounding like I have a cold and to my middle of the night, interrupt in sleep due to the fact I could no longer breathe through either nostril. I tried blowing it out, to no avail. (Too much information?) I resorted to Sudafed at 3am and thus, making me a bit drowsy for the Sunday morning session.
I wake up only cause my friend called wondering where I was. Good thing, too cause even though I set the alarm clock, I never actually turned it on. I roll out of bed, grab a towel, load up the car, drive off in a haze to the home break.
When I get there, I see the Jetty isn't breaking much. I didn't think it was going to be as big as it was. It wasn't humongous by any means, but the waves were a good shoulder high and just rolling in consistently. There's a crowd, but not as thick as it was on Saturday. The water was clear and green. I could see my own feet when just waiting out there in the water.
I surfed for a few hours the day before and my shoulders were sore. I don't have the endurance like I did a few years ago when I was surfing 4 days out of the week, but not now, when I'm a surf bum with little money to spend on the rising price of gas. Fate was not kind enough to bless me with the means to live right next to a good break so that I can surf all day long. But, I digress.
It took me 10-15 minutes to get to the outside. Just getting pounded over and over again in the crash zone. I finally get out there and the sets keep rolling in only I'm too tired to paddle for anything. I do my impression of a buoy for a good 10 minutes before trying anything. A set starts up, the people around me catch the first few waves and clear out the line up for me. I turn, start paddling for a wave, the board catches, I'm about to pop up, but I didn't get enough speed to really get into the wave cause of my dead arms, and instead of popping up smoothly at the right time, I'm at the top of the lip starting to plummet downwards. I start to get up, right hand slips and I kook it and slide off the side. Not my most manly of memories. I go in the wash, tumbling around.
Next wave, my arms are still tired, I try again for a shoulder high wave, get up this time, but i'm still at the very top of the lip with just enough speed to have caught the wave, but not enough to get into the wave effectively, pop up and since my 7'11 doesn't have a lot of rocker to it, I went pearl diving. Once again, into the wash, cause I got sucked back up to the top. Shoulder high waves with just enough juice to make a wipe out feel bigger than it was.
That's when the waves stop rolling in every minute and the lulls start to get longer. The waves drop in size as well. I start picking off waves, but i'm dead tired from the Sudafed and the paddling. If you have ever taken Sudafed, it's something you take at night that makes you drowsy with its main purpose of clearing up the sinuses. Sinuses: cleared. Drowsiness: in full effect! I catch a few more waves on the smaller sets and get hammered by a few more cliean-ups that were a good head high and twenty yards outside of where everyone was. I did catch one in.
One other thing about the home break, there's a pretty strong current most days. You're always paddling, whether to go out, to catch a wave or to not get washed into the next city north or south of the break. You'll feel like salmon at some point. It's good to get your endurance up, but on days when you just want to save your energy for catching the waves, it's not so good.
posted by Dan at 2:51 PM
5 Comments:
Ahh... the sore arm paddle in. lol. I hate that! I got tossed over the falls recently because of a seriously strong offshore that held me on the lip and wouldnt let me enter the wave. Surfing can be such a pain sometimes!
Your are Nice. And so is your site! Maybe you need some more pictures. Will return in the near future.
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Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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Thanks everyone for commenting. I'll try to be a bit more consistent. Look! I can get my desired degree by calling this 24/7 number. I think I need to add a PhD to the end of my namne and perhaps get my JD.
Man I ate it so hard yesterday. The board hit me in the wrist, how retarded is that? Same garbage... too tired, too lazy to stand up on a steep face. Its so kooky but it happens to everyone.
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