Yesterday was flat, flat, flat. I thought today would be the same so my plan was to put in at Platty's and paddle east, turning around whenever. I thought it would be glassy and smooth. Wrong on all counts.
When I arrived at the beach break there was a brisk east wind blowing. The sea surface was a washboard and there were two foot waves breaking. Plan B. I paddled down to a peak further east and rode the peaks out from Hidden Beach. No one out except me, the seals and dolphins and grebes. The fog was blowing in on the east wind.
I SUPed for an hour and a half in difficult conditions for me. Always working, I paddled and rode waves (lefts and rights) and paddled back through whitewater and uneven bumps of ocean and waves. I took numerous dunkings, tried to switch foot and use my paddle to turn and kick out on the lefts (a real fiasco) and got some pretty good rights and recoveries on kickouts and immediate incoming whitewater punch-throughs.
I took a beating from my paddle by falling on it too many times. I smacked my ankles and feet. I crushed my fingers between paddle and board. I've got bruises. Surfing reefs and point breaks is so much easier. But surfing the beaches is where you get good faster. (I gotta learn to get rid of that @#&* paddle on wipeouts. But at 300 bucks a copy I usually have something of a death grip on it when I fall.)
I tried practicing some rapid turn-arounds or quick turns by stepping back on the same side I'm paddling on thus turning to the opposite side. (Paddle left side, step back with left foot, turn right and vice versa.) It's hard to do and in the choppy seas I couldn't do it without falling off. So I gave up. I'll try again when fresh and in calmer seas. After the fog blew in the wind settled. It was considerably more glassy when I got out than when I went in.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's session. Maybe the Point will be breaking!
October 29, 2007 (M)
In: 0735
1st Wave: 0745
Out: 0855
Wave count: 10+
AT=54
WT=60
Wx: High clouds with incoming fog
Tide: 3.26 Falling to 2.9
Wind: Brisk from the east to calm
Sea Surface: Bumpy.
Buoy: NWS
0700: 3.3 @ 12.1 WNW
0800: 3.6 @ 11.4 WNW
0900: 3.3 @ 11.4 WNW
1000: 3.6 @ 11.4 WNW
10'4" Angulo SUP
Beach break
Waves: 2' @ 11.9 (approx. ave.) Storm Surf Buoy Model
(All pics with Olympus 790SW)
Holy Guacamole! This is a great blog- just tonight Mash (my brother) keyed me into what you've been doing up there and I'm stoked. Worthwhile reading for at least a month to get caught up- and great photos.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things I really liked:
1. "Grand theft surf" you nailed it, only a SUPer knows the feeling.
2. You write of paddling injuries- smashed fingers etc. Agreed, they bite- here in town we've had one broken ankle (jumping off in water that's too shallow) and a torn pectoral tendon(ligament?) from a 12'er whacking its owners chest at head high Sloughs.
3. Seems like you know my buddy T.Stamps- one of the greatest, underated shapers (and rippers) out there.
4. I can tell you're crazy messed up on the vida loca we call stand up surfing...
Carry on brother and don't stop writing or snapping those photos- I'm digging it!