This morning I was flipping and flopping more than John Kerry, but it was about whether to go surf. Around 6:45, I made up my mind to shoot up there and boy am I glad I did. I didn't expect much as I knew the onshore was in effect. I was hoping that this wouldn't be the case in Oceanside, but when I saw the Scuba flag just south of Ocean's 11 pointing towards Escondido, I knew that I would be surfing choppy stuff.
I checked Oside Blvd and it wasn't great, but there was rideable surf. The pier looked ok as well, but Wisconsin definitely had some steeps showing. For some reason, I started frothing as I was changing and couldn't wait to hit the water. I put on my leash and ran and jumped over the shorebreak. I caught a wave and couldn't get much speed on it, it seemed a bit fat from the increasing tide. I set up a little farther south and some decent ones started coming through.
It was an interesting feeling going from surfing Lowers to surfing empty (one other guy on the peak, not catching anything) Oside. I was able to catch every wave I wanted, except one where the guy who paddled out went over the falls. I caught my first wave and did a cutback and hit the foam low and did not recover. Anyone can do a cutback, really, but to do it in one fluid motion is trickier and to do it at speed is what makes a good surfer great. I did it in one fluid motion but didn't have the wherewithal to harness the speed pocket of this fat-ish wave and I couldn't recover.
I caught another wave and went straight down to get as much speed as possible while using as much of the wave as possible. I swooped up off the trough as hard as I could and did a little snap, recovered, pumped and did another roundhouse cutty attempt. I did a little better this time, with more speed but still couldn't bring it all the way around.
A right came my way and I was paddling for it and having trouble. I finally got enough speed and grabbed my rail, kneeboard style. A split second after the lip went over my head, a little bit of it hit me in the head, obscuring my tube vision. I kept driving and marveling at how square that thing was and it freight trained beyond the point of making it. I kept going until the wave did its best Roberto Duran and told me, "No mas".
I caught another right and got into a pigdog stance, which is rare for me. The wave didn't barrel, but I got up and did an accidental pump which put me in an awkward position at the top of the wave, just below doing a floater. I recovered, did a cutdown, and smashed the lip as hard as I could. I kicked out and paddled back out.
I caught another left which closed out, but I was able to get a top of the trough pumps in and I could feel the speed. This isn't a move I've done before but I am picking up a lot from my out-of-the-water research. I wish I'd thought to do a foam climb, but I just jumped over the wash and that was that.
The wind got stronger and really put a bump on things, so I was out of there.
Goal Update: I still have not landed a roundhouse cutty, but I am getting close...! No 360 attempts and no notable speed reo attempts...
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