Month: October 2012

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Closeouts

Surf: 3.9 ft at 10.8 s from WNW at 288°. Incoming tide.

I’m sooo out of practice for closeouts. Given that closeouts are often the only thing Linda Mar has to offer, I’m usually fine to throw myself into them for a while. It’s a game of chicken with gravity that sometimes has hilarious results.

This summer was pretty mellow so I didn’t spend the whole thing groveling in the wash like I normally do. As a result, I’m skittish. I don’t want to paddle for a wave about to slam shut.

After passing on wave after wave, I finally got a few little corners to ride including a really fun ankle slapper of a wave in for the day. Guess closeout jumping is something else I’ll need to work on.

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Shallow

Surf: 2.6 ft at 5.3 s from WNW at 306° Low Tide. Junky.

Attempted to sneak in a few waves before needing to be responsible. The tide was super low and the junky waves were dumping into just inches of water.

I took out my 7’4 as the 6’10 was at the office and I was too lazy to pick it up. Got one ride that seemed fairly legit. Everyone around me was on a soft top so I got a few hoots from people for my waist high sand bomber. The rest of the rides were short, ending with my fins catching in the sand and me trying not to faceplant. At least it was sunny?

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Friday

Surf: 3.6 ft at 8.3 s from WNW at 299°

Sometimes it feels like all there is to surf is junky windswell. Fought quite a bit to get into anything, but still made the most of it.

Looked like there was a class about to paddle out, turned out to be a memorial. If anyone’s interested, the family is taking donations for Baykeeper.

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Offshore, crowded

Surf: 6.9 ft at 12.1 s from WNW at 298° Offshore blustery winds

Waist high and blustery with low water visibility and high crowds. Struggled quite a bit, but got something. Sitting on the inside is a challenge, especially at this particular spot. I feel like I’m infront of a firing squad and spend more time getting out of the way than surfing. It is an interesting perspective tho. I can see what people are up to a little easier. Watched a dude with a go pro drop in on everyone, absolutely everyone. Wow. Nice to have a warm wind.

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Cold water carpool

Surf: 7.9 ft at 12.1 s from WNW at 287°

Yay cold water! Yay carpooling!

My car spent my mexico trip camping out in a safe place while I was off getting melted in the sun.

While the waves were just okay at best, it was really nice to be back in cold water. Sure 90° water SOUNDS nice, but in the hot Mexico sun, it’s brutal. 55° water is just what I needed to recover.

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Finally!

Surf: Chest to Head high. Clean.

After yesterday’s timid approach, I wanted to spend my last morning in Mexico giving my favorite spot my all.

I paddled out, I went for a wave, I almost didn’t make the wave and opted for my patented Linda Mar mush move: jump on the nose and get in a good two handed paddle to push you over the edge. It worked.

Keep in mind, I had not yet actually ridden my Vaquero on a wave over waist high. And now, I’m standing on the nose on a head high wave realizing that these boards go really REALLY fast.

Holycrap.

I stepped back mid way through the drop and laid on the rail trying to make the bottom turn. I don’t think I’ve ever leaned so far into a wave without falling over. I made it. SWOOOOSH.

Top turn SWOOOOSH.

Rocks OHNO.

Kickout! WHEW.

I finally got a real wave! Yesssss.

Alan, a regular I’ve seen on our last few trips down, yelled “Nice one, Barbie Doll!” and laughed. “Oh, you got a little board now! Yeah? You gonna get all the waves now!” Ha.

I got another fun swooping wave at the main peak, then headed over to where Aaron was picking off lefts.

I struggled a little bit there for a while. We didn’t have a ton of time. We had to get back, pack up, and hit the airport.

After a few failed attempts to get into something, I got set up perfectly for a nice long steep wave. I got in and the board was off like a rocket. I was barely holding on. I saw Alan on the shoulder. He threw me a shaka and pretended to snap a pic. I hear Aaron on the inside cheering. So, so stoked.

I headed in, happy to have finally got a few good waves in Mexico. 😀

Additional note. If you step on like, a dozen sea urchins on your way in, def get those spines out before sitting on an airplane for several hours. All the spines I got right away: fine. The one I didn’t get around to until after I landed in SF still hurts almost two months later.

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Familiar breaks

Surf: Waist to Head high. Little windy.

Ahh. Finally away from Sayulita to our old familiar break and some surf time with Ed.

He’d been out a while when Aaron and I hiked in (we had some logistical trouble with the truck) but we showed up just in time to see Ed getting a fun looking wave.

I still struggled a little bit, including nearly taking out Ed in a duck dive gone wrong, but did manage to finally get something fun. Aaron got a really nice one too. I saw him zipping by on his fish.

Mostly I spent the whole time being a scaredy cat. Worrying about duck diving. Fussing about bigger waves. I’m still a little traumatized by last winter. This break is soooo forgiving, there’s no reason for me to treat it like Pleasure Point or Ocean Beach. Sigh.

Ed went on and I got a couple more over at one of the lefts. The last one in, I went to get out at a spot I’ve gotten out at a million times. I waited for the water to get still and saw it was all sea urchins. The whole rock shelf was just black. I shuffled out through a little trench, happy to still have all my toes intact.

We hit up the Oxxo for some Electrolit. Mexico’s adult version of Pedialyte. After frying myself this whole trip, I knocked back a coconut electrolit and ice cream so fast. I’m def getting overheated out here.

We ran into Steve and Jesse who’d just finished surfing La Lancha. They were headed off to look at a boat slip in the harbor. We grabbed some beer and headed back to the house for pool time and dinner. The lightning over the sea looked really beautiful and the tuna steak dinner was, of course, lovely.

Sure, I didn’t get any really substantial waves. Surfing with good people in a spot you love (plus electrolit!) does wonders for a grumpy mood.

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Getting Frustrated

Surf: Knee-Shoulder high. Glassy.

Pout snarl growl snarl. Okay okay, taking a new board on a trip might not have been the best idea. I’m really struggling to get into waves and having a hard time with the crowds a Sayulita. Yeah, I know it sucks when you’re break is overrun by tourists, but man, between the kids and the tourists, sitting inside was getting scary. Sitting further outside I plain wasn’t getting in to anything.

I don’t think I’m paddling properly. I feel like I’m getting close to getting into the wave and just not making it. There’s a lot of timing work I need to do and being on a new board and an unfamiliar break is not the place to do it. I’m also getting cooked in this heat. Even early in the morning I’m roasting. It’s not helping me keep things in perspective.

Leaving the beach, I was waiting for Aaron to buy some pastries when I felt a weird tug on my board. I look back to see a street dog gumming away at my tail. I stared at it, and it quit with no damage to the board, but that was just enough to put me over the edge to really grumpy.

Time to surf somewhere else.

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Crowded.

Surf: Waist to Shoulder High.

By evening, the surf had come up and so had the attitude.

Lots of people in the water including local boys who were shoving each other off waves, dropping in on everyone and their brother, and generally being cocky teenage boys.

I got into a few waves, but had to either swing left to avoid the fray, or kick out. Left was shallow and rough. I skinned my knee pretty good on the coral. Yeoow.

A storm started to roll in and we headed up the beach for drink’s at a friend of Johan’s. I showed up bloody and full of sea urchin spines. Johan’s friend grabbed me a first aid kit and a beer. Patched back up in no time and got to watch the lightning over the sea from a lovely porch on the beach.

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Not as easy

Surf: Knee to Chest high. Glassy.

Aaron and I got up early to Hit Sayulita again. The sun doesn’t come up till 8am, so “dawn” patrol is pretty relative.

There was a fleet of French women out, swooping in on all the waves. I snuck in a few as ALL of the women would take the same wave at the same time so I could pretty much pick up the next wave.

I was still struggling tho.

The first day had been so easy. Now I couldn’t get into anything. I was paddling so hard and getting nothing. I don’t know what happened. :\