I went to visit my favorite lover of all time yesterday afternoon... the ocean. Mother nature threw me a bone from the south... a nice, strong south swell on the same day that I would be at a meeting nearby the most consistent southerly-exposed break. Following the meeting, I raced to Santa Cruz, and drove up to the break in a near-frenzy of excitement.
Big surf coupled with ditching work in the middle of the day made this adventure all the more intense. As I drove up to the break, my heart sank into my stomach, looking out at fields of kelp beds floating over calm water... the whole bay looked completely flat until I got out to the point. The few surfers out were little reassurance in light of seemingly flat conditions, and within moments, a set came rolling in. That's when I knew my trip was not in vain.
It was plenty big out there, with lots of waves coming in, and the bigger sets reaching well overhead. I caught a wave while paddling out, and felt like it was a good day to get a bunch of rides... to my dismay, catching a wave out there was a lot more trouble than I expected. For every wave breaking out there, there was a guy deep outside, hugging the rock wall, and dropping in consistently without getting closed out.
I was trying to ride the shoulder and take the opportunity if somebody got closed out, and I was getting shit for it from other surfers... so instead, I planted myself in the danger zone. Behind me, a rock wall that needed to be avoided at all costs. In front of me, walls of water pitching steep and sometimes unpredictably. I haven't surfed Santa Cruz enough to get comfortable with this wave, but I can see that it is a lot more predictable than I think. Anyway, I did catch one huge fucking wave, and it was quite the rush.
My surfing detour took about 3 hours, and to my relief, no one mentioned anything to me about being gone for most of the day. For all I know, they just assume that I was doing work related to that morning's meeting. Anyway, I went out with a friend for a drink last night, and to my surprise, we crossed paths with a guy that I haven't seen for months... someone who has been on my mind since we met a while ago. He was entertaining his brother and friends while they were visiting from out of town. Anyway, it was great to hang out with him, and we talked about getting together again soon. I'm stoked, and it makes me feel good to know that this situation has worked itself out over time, and that I haven't lost the opportunity to make a great friend.
Big surf coupled with ditching work in the middle of the day made this adventure all the more intense. As I drove up to the break, my heart sank into my stomach, looking out at fields of kelp beds floating over calm water... the whole bay looked completely flat until I got out to the point. The few surfers out were little reassurance in light of seemingly flat conditions, and within moments, a set came rolling in. That's when I knew my trip was not in vain.
It was plenty big out there, with lots of waves coming in, and the bigger sets reaching well overhead. I caught a wave while paddling out, and felt like it was a good day to get a bunch of rides... to my dismay, catching a wave out there was a lot more trouble than I expected. For every wave breaking out there, there was a guy deep outside, hugging the rock wall, and dropping in consistently without getting closed out.
I was trying to ride the shoulder and take the opportunity if somebody got closed out, and I was getting shit for it from other surfers... so instead, I planted myself in the danger zone. Behind me, a rock wall that needed to be avoided at all costs. In front of me, walls of water pitching steep and sometimes unpredictably. I haven't surfed Santa Cruz enough to get comfortable with this wave, but I can see that it is a lot more predictable than I think. Anyway, I did catch one huge fucking wave, and it was quite the rush.
My surfing detour took about 3 hours, and to my relief, no one mentioned anything to me about being gone for most of the day. For all I know, they just assume that I was doing work related to that morning's meeting. Anyway, I went out with a friend for a drink last night, and to my surprise, we crossed paths with a guy that I haven't seen for months... someone who has been on my mind since we met a while ago. He was entertaining his brother and friends while they were visiting from out of town. Anyway, it was great to hang out with him, and we talked about getting together again soon. I'm stoked, and it makes me feel good to know that this situation has worked itself out over time, and that I haven't lost the opportunity to make a great friend.
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