After three no-go's, I was getting antsy. The forecasts were saying there would be a combo swell in the water starting Thursday afternoon and I was salivating over a Friday mish up to Oside.
I couldn't convince anyone to go with me, unfortunately.
My first glimpse of the waves muted my expectations. You could say I went from having a semi- to a blue-ball tinge in my loins.
I checked S. Oside all the way to pier and Wisconsin looked ever-so-slightly better than anywhere else. I parked the car and watched, trying to convince myself to paddle out. I had my GuyPod cranked and eventually, I made myself suit up and paddle out.
I decided to paddle out just south of Wisconsin Street. Everywhere else looked junky. I couldn't understand it, we had swell, the tide was about right, the conditions were excellent but the waves SUCKED.
It took me a good ten minutes before I caught my first wave. It was a right that I caught late. While setting my feet, I panicked. I had almost lifted my back hip up to allow me to plant my foot down, but I went for the knee instead. The lip went over me and I was deep, but I was almost out when I did my usual hug-the-wave-so-close-you-become-one-with-it. I barrel-rolled into oblivion and that was that. No footy of this one, as I didn't have enough time to depress the button.
Well, ok, not a bad start, it's better than it looks!
About five minutes after that, a nice, lined-up left came. I didn't realize it at the time, but it would have a barrel for me. Once I dropped in, my mission became clear...
I set my line and ducked down hard, being careful not to be too far out on the flats. If you watch the video below, you can see me put all of my weight on my back foot (watch my front foot), then back on the front foot hoping to get out.
Alas, it was not to be, as I got clipped, slammed, taken over-the-falls and ended up shoulder-checking the sand. *WIPE-OUT OF THE MONTH FRONTRUNNER*
I also caught a nice right that I was able to hit well and retain my speed.
I caught two waves that were eerily similar. Lefts that started off well, but they devolved into mush without enough push to get me to connect with the juicy but fleeting shorebreak section.
More waves like these kept coming and I quickly got over it. I went in and hoped the weekend would have something nice in store...
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