December Wrap-Up

Spot of the month honors go to Tyson Street with two sessions. Congrats to all the nominees, here is the sesh-per-sesh breakdown:

Tyson or Tyson-adjacent: 3
Oceanside Harbor: 1
20th St Del Mar: 1
15th St Del Mar: 1
North Tamarack: 1

This month wasn't my most prolific. The cold climate makes one ratchet up the threshold at which one paddles out. If it's summer and you can trunk it, you won't be too bummed it's 2 foot and mush, but it's too much of a production in 40-degree air.

With this in mind, I had four no-go's, leaving me with 63.33% for the month.

Wave of the month: 12.11 almost vertical lip bash
Bail of the month: ?

10.14.2011 Mo' Shorebreak, Mo' Problems!

I took my in-laws to the airport this morning and after I was done, I was able to get some waves still untouched by the sun! I checked the waves and it looked promising, so I went for it. On the way down, I saw a dependable left, but on the other side, I saw very little. I was about to solidify the left as my spot for the day but I saw a guy get a SICK barrel way down the beach. This led me to literally sprint down towards him to see if I could steal some of his magic.

I paddled out and my arm was feeling good. As soon as I sat on my board, the guy whom I'd seen pitted out of his mind gives me his report, unprompted, "It's pretty inconsistent, set waves are where it's at".

Well, none came. The waves were being huge teases in that we'd see a bump and get in position, only to have the waves not break until close-out detonation on the inside.

I took a left late and took it all the way to the bottom, starting with the nose of my board. I had pearled.

I regrouped. I caught a right and tried to get in the barrel. My decision to take a high line on this small, barely barreling wave and the stiff offshore created disaster. I went over the falls and I BOUNCED OFF THE WATER at the bottom, like a skipping stone. The wave then lovingly pounce upon me. I felt like a mouse that the wave was toying with as I gently bounced off the bottom, chest first.

My arm started sending pain signals to my brain, but nothing too bad. It wasn't an impact pain, just a muscle stress pain.

I caught what seemed to be a nice left but got hung up on the lip for too long. I made it down and just in time (read: WAY late) to line up for the barrel as it pitched over me. The heaving lip was so far ahead of me that I instinctively shot my board out ahead and away from me. I did those so quickly that my knees painfully knocked together. OUCH.

Things turned a bit when I caught a right in a good spot, found my rhythm on the wave and pumped up and down. I had a lot of speed on a diminishing wave. I tested a little cut down but the now mini-wave was so steep I felt only a different angle of attack would save me from face-planting into the foot of water. I did a flying kickout (an air over the back of the wave; not nearly as cool as it seems) and paddled back out.

I paddled out and saw an amazing set wave left roll through, perfect for off-the-tops. I was left lusting, as no others came.

I was getting sick of these waves and my arm was beginning to scream for relief from paddling and duckdiving. I took what seemed like a left but turned into a closeout. I got hung up on the lip yet again, this time on takeoff. I popped up despite the wave not being worth the risk and air-dropped tail-first. I think it's the only air drop I've had all year. I landed and rode away clean, became prone and bailed.

*Happy Birthday to my goddaughter, Emma, who turned twelve today!*

10.13.2011 Shorebreak, Shuffle, Lame Arm Continues...

This morning I was up and at 'em early. The "forecast" said it would be 3-4'+. I checked Del Mar, but it was closing out and topping out at 2'. I checked the secret spot (not breaking), checked N. Torrey Pines and that wasn't going either. I was over Black's after yesterday's session so I doubled back around.

Seaside looked good, but I kept driving. Something about Seaside has never left me satisfied. I checked 85-60's, which wasn't breaking BUT a peak north looked awesome (I happened to catch the last of a set). There were at least fifteen heads out there, so I was over it. I made a pact with myself that if my shorebreak spot wasn't working, I would not surf today.

Well, it was working! The waves were fast and shifty, but they were there. And so was I. I had my 3/2 on me because of how hot it'd been. I was expecting to surf Del Mar, and figured the sun wouldn't be obstructed for long upon first light.

I had to wade through the peanut gallery, but bounded down the steps while keeping my eye on the waves. I had Nicki Minaj's "Right Thru Me" (don't laugh) in my head.

First light had happened, but the sun hadn't cleared the bluff yet. As you can imagine it was pretty cold in my 3/2. Upon paddling out, I felt my right forearm start snarling at me as it hadn't yet properly healed. I sat for about ten minutes before a rideable wave came by.

A left came and, since I was in the shorebreak, I had to act fast. I dropped in late as the section detonated just behind me and just to my left. I hooked a bottom turn around it and did a snap-stall a split second before the lip enveloped me. Being true to my latest bad habit, I set my line too high and all I got for my efforts was a nice view of a very makeable barrel... *Sigh*

A right came not too long after I made it back. I caught it late and did my kneeboard barrel stance and went pretty far through the unmakeable tube.

The guy nearest to me was tearing it up out there, so that got me motivated to do some turns.

About twenty minutes passed of me paddling around to latest peak, only to miss it. Picture a three-year-old playing Whack-A-Mole and getting there too late on each thwack of the hammer. My forearm was killing me so I made a mental note to make this a short session.

A left came by and I caught it a little late, pumped upon takeoff and around the first section. I was going a little slow for how vertical the section was, but I smacked it and splayed out on to my back. My front foot slid back towards my back foot and I tried my damnedest to recover by putting all of my stress on my abs. Just as I'm about to stand up, the wave crashes onto my board and I lose it. Bummer!

Another right came and it was almost exactly like the first right I caught, just a tad shorter in the barrel.

A third right came and I pumped like crazy and without thinking, tried my beast Archy-lean-forward-facing-up-backside-tube. I got in there, but my hand whiffed my rail and I was done.

Yet another right (NW swells tend to favor rights) came and I tried to pigdog it. Because I'm so used to having one knee on the deck and the back leg splayed out, my orientation was funky. I ended up sliding the fins out just as the wave barreled over me and my board flipped and smacked into the back of my left knee.

I bailed after that wave, hoping my forearm would recover in time for a meatier part of the swell tomorrow...