After not having surfed for some time, I was getting jonesy. I decided the night before to practically guarantee I would paddle out the next morning by suiting up before I left the house.
My knee and shoulder were all healed up thanks to some rest and chiropractor session so I had no excuses. I suited up at home and got in my car.
There was a S in the water, so Oceanside was the obvious call. Cassidy revealed small and slow waves which then would QUICKLY turn into shorebreak screamers. Not too amped on my first impression of the day's talent...
The pier was slightly better, and I did see one solid (~2.5') right come in. That got my attention. The tide was at a 6' high an hour preceding my arrival. I didn't think Harbor would be much better, but deep down I wanted to buy more time for the tide to drop so the waves would show more.
I circled back just south of the pier, grabbed my gear and locked up the ride. I RAN down the stairs and sprinted as quickly as I could towards the pier for comical effect. I was probably the only surfer running towards the water that quickly that morning.
I paddled out and caught my first wave within ten minutes. It was a slow one. I did a good job of staying with it and pumping in the very narrow "speed" pocket, but by the time I had achieved a decent amount of speed, the wave was over.
My second wave was another slow one. In fact, for the rest of this entry, assume every wave is slow. I pumped a few times, keeping pace with the wave and hoping to link up to the steeper inside section. Once I got close, I saw the right coming towards me, but it was in front of the main wave. I changed my plan of attack on it. I hit it and something happened that I still can't pinpoint. Either my different arc on the top of the wave caused me to snap late and break the fins out (unlikely) or I hit an aerated lip which caused my fins to disengage. I landed awkwardly and fell off the back.
I caught a similar wave and stuck with it, hoping to make that inside connection. The wave took its time doing so, but it quickly bared its teeth. I did two quick micro-pumps and smacked it well. I threw a good amount of spray but failed to put enough weight on my toes. As a result, I didn't stay over my board and splayed off the back, as I am known to do.
I went in and walked south, after seeing some relatively sweet ones. Unfortunately, the logger I walked a ways to get around paddled towards me. I guess the good news is it didn't matter, as no waves came for twenty minutes.
Overall, I was out for an hour and caught four waves. No one kept me from catching a wave, it was just that slow and inconsistent out there. I'm hoping to get out there tomorrow morn.
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