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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

4.10.18 SlumpBustin' at Panga Drops

Before this last sabbatical I was averaging a session per day for the month.  Then I got busy, the surf shrank, and I got sick (again).

Today the stars aligned and I paddled out.  I spent ten minutes or so this morning bodysurfing and getting thwomped in unmakeable barrels.

I really thought with the swell filling in there would be some decent ones at Playa Colorado but when I walked over there it was laughably unmakeable.  I solemnly turned right and walked to Panga Drops, thinking of all of the money these poor souls spent on likely their only surf vacation of the year.  They could have waited a few months and gotten better waves at Zuma than today 😔.

I eventually made it over to the sandspit and paddled out.  Surprisingly, there was no one out and it was overhead.  The tide was almost at its abyss, but the sets were rolling in somewhat.

I pretty quickly caught a left and did a styley-feeling cutty after a late drop.  I ended the cutty halfway up the face to give myself some slope and mitigate my chances of getting blown off the back of the wave.  I semi-succeeded, for about five seconds.

I took a beating from about five waves then made it back out.  I decided to try the rights as they seemed a lot better so I paddled towards them.

Within ten minutes, I had a look at a good-sized right.  My body was saying let's go, but my heart was saying no.  It looked unmakeable as there was a big section in front that was threatening to fold over.  I felt the wave lift me up and I hooted myself into jumping up.

Another late drop and sure enough, the section imploded.  There was no way out and I was rapidly losing position and in danger of being caught inside by its younger siblings.  I jumped off and  literally skipped across the surface of the water before the wave entombed me.

I surfaced and yep.  I was screwed.  I was caught inside by a nine-plus wave set and before long I was over it.

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