Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you are the bug. The upside of it was that I got a nice swim this morning. A big swell had rolled in this morning and for 17th street that means that there are about three areas that break and they break on different size swells meaning that they will break at different times. Paddling out in these conditions is one of the physical challenges of surfing. There have been times when I was paddling out and thought I just couldn't make it. That my arms would simply fail to move me forward because I had beat them to a pulp paddling through whitewater. Whitewater is aerated water, so it offers little resistance. This makes it difficult to generate any speed and causes you to sink more than you normally would. Usually when you are in a spot of whitewater, you simply wait for it to calm down a bit and then start paddling again. Some day, however, you simply cannot afford to wait. Today was one of those days. Another thing about paddling out on days like today is that timing is very important. If you can make it over the smaller inside break, you may just have enough time to get out far enough to beat the outside break. If you get hit by the inside break, you only get pushed a little, but your forward progress is slowed significantly and your chances of getting hit by the outside break go up dramatically.
This morning Travis and I got to the shore earlier than normal, it was only 6:20 when we stepped into the surf, and there was no-one in the water. Usually seeing other people out there gives you perspective about where the set waves break and how big it really is. You can wait around and watch to gather this information, but when you only have 30 minutes, you don't want to spend this time on the beach. So we started paddling out. The inside stuff was tougher than it had been recently, but it was not overly difficult. After a brief battle, Travis made it over a key inside wave and managed his way outside. I was just short of making it over the wave and got pushed back. I got back on my board and pressed on. Then the big outside set came. These were big. On a long board (I ride a 9'4") your only hope is to bail off the board and swim for the sand. Even with my face on the bottom, I could feel the wave grab me and pull me back and I could feel the board getting pulled as I got dragged by the leash. I came up, got back on the board and said, "Oh @#$%!" The second wave was bigger than the first. Again I dove for the sand and again I felt the force of the wave toss me around. This time, however, I only felt a brief tug on my ankle as my leash broke and my board was escorted to the shore without me. I stayed there for a moment considering my options. I looked out to sea, there was no third wave coming. If I had not lost my board, I was home free. I looked to shore, but could not see my board. I came to the sad realization that I was going to have to swim to shore. I looked at my watch. I had been paddling for 10 minutes and now had nothing to show for it but a bit of exercise. I swam to shore, where my board was waiting on the beach. After a brief attempt at reattaching the leash, I gave up and headed back to my car. At first I was depressed about the whole thing, then I realized that even though I didn't get a chance to catch any waves, I still got out in the ocean for an early morning swim, and that is definitely a good thing.
Today did not count, so I am 13 days behind the Master who has completed 88 days consecutively (75/88)
Monday, September 20, 2004
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1 comment:
Good thing you didn't paddle out at the cliffs. it's always a little bit bigger there.
Just to sooth you, here. There's no shame. When I finally did make it out there, I was COMPLETLY ALONE!!! And that was the first time I've ever been completly alone. It was 10 minuites before anyone else made it out through that crap. (it was pretty sharky. i actually thought about it. if a shark found me out here, I'd die trying to swim back in.)
And, I was was way more scared than you. I was out there, thinking about how to actuall surf one of those goddamn beasts. The spray off the top of some of those pitching things was crazy. Waves like that are for pors and magazines and movies, not kooks on funboards like myself.
I was REALLY happy to see Jeremy make it out there! In the face of a force of nature that's two times as tall as me, a quick wave and hello by a human being means a lot.
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