Monday, March 13, 2006

Open Wide


So at the end of the day, after everybody had written the surf off as "too mushy" and "blown out," five friends pulled on their slimy wetsuits and got back into the water. Within minutes, the rip along the cape deposited them in a neat row in the line-up. Once there, they found themselves in the most perfect waves they had ever experienced on the Oregon coast. The 6-foot peelers wrapped around the rocks and gave them a taste of point break surfing - a rarity in this land of whitewater walls and shifty beach breaks. This wave glowed aqua under the setting sun. It came in a long line before standing too tall and folding over neatly from the right, a friendly foamball punctuating the end of a smooth green slope. The break was so precise that it was actually difficult to get caught inside. It was overhead, but the drop was easy. After that, it was up to the rider to write his little story/song on the face to the best of his ability. For our group, that usually meant drop in, bottom turn, find pocket, stay in sweet spot and "go, go, go!" We all hooted until we were hoarse.

There was another guy out there with us; a skilled longboarder who must have been Hawaiian (judging by his dark complexion, tough demeanor, Excel wetsuit, and board with "Kahlua" emblazoned on the deck). I'll never forget one of his rides. It's like a David Pu'u surf photo in my mind. There he was, riding in the classic knock-kneed style, backlit with the lip throwing right over his head. Was he going to pull in? He was standing too tall. Did he get tubed? The last thing I remember before he was obscured by the passing swell were his gleaming white teeth blasting from the silhouette of his head. When he paddled back out next to me, we both had to scratch hard to get outside another wave rifling down the line toward us, bigger than the one he had just ridden. He howled as we barely made it over the top, "Open wide!"

Animal Collective "Did You See the Words"



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahh man, I'm glad I was there because on this particular day on this particular go-out, we did have the blast of our lives.

Chum said...

Bernie,

Thanks for the comment. It was really a magic session.

G-man,

Next time hopefully we'll have enough juice left in the tanks to make the most of it! Viva Mexico!

Foul Pete said...

Sick! We had it pretty good early Am but then, yeah we dismissed it and had to head back to PDX to get a hippy to work.

Chum said...

Damn those hippies! The quick shift in conditions made me wonder how often I walk away from a spot only to have it change an hour later. Of course, the evening glass-off always helps smooth out the rough spots.

I forgot to mention that I saw two snapped leashes that day. One belonged to our boy G, who now has to have a new plug put into his board. G-Unplugged.

Nash said...

Really happy I was there too. After my second great one my left hammy balled up and I took one too many on the head trying to stretch. The best waves I've had, even the couple in gas chambers early were good. Lets all knock on wood and keep up the vibe so we can get another one this weekend.

-Nash

May said...

Lv the self portrait Chum,

Anonymous said...

Chum,
Looks like another awesome go out. Your always a great vibe catcher.

Music—The American Anaolg Set—Cool Kids Keep

Diane said...

How beautiful to read about something you love so much and that you can write about so elegantly!