A Tale of Two Tails

My oldest surf chum, Ebb and I got together yesterday for a hooky session. The conditions looked pretty good from all reports, but when we finally got to Seaside where we were sure that the swell would be protected from southern winds, we found that the break was also protected from the slightly southern swell. Even longboarders were struggling to get into the mushy (albeit very clean) waves. So we headed south to Shorties. Deja vous all over again. The waves were bigger, but the paddle out was a frickin' joke!

How could I have made the same mistake twice? On two consecutive trips?

After an hour (during which we actually made it outside twice), we decided to head back north to try and salvage our day at the North Coast's version of Waikiki. Wearing our dripping wetsuits for the 20 mile drive, we got back to Seaside and found one longboarder in the water. He seemed to be tapping into a decent peak though, right in the middle of the cove.

Screw it. We pulled our boards off the roof and charged. Ebb was on a new stick: a 6'0 Cole Firefly quad, with a pretty cool bat tail. I had my taped up (still) KG quad.

Surprise, surprise...

We soon realized that the left side of the peak was walling up nicely; It had been sort of obstructed from our perspective in the parking lot. Also, it seemed like with an outgoing tide and the evening approaching, a little more swell had started to show. Ebb was throwing a little spray off the backs of waves even. I snagged a left and pumped, pumped, pumped down the line, clearing sections and bottom turning around another longboarder (who was not Doc). Almost instantly, there were six loggers next to us. Where'd they come from?

After about two hours, when our arms were wet noodles, Ebb and I switched boards. I was pretty skeptical about riding the more "performance" quad, especially with my aching shoulders. As expected, Ebb immediately snagged a wave on my flat Plantain. I battled to get into a few, but failed (flailed) miserably. Finally a set wave approached, I spun and paddled like hell. I made the drop, pumped once, and the board just seemed to stick right in the pocket. I just stood there and noticed how the more curved board conformed to the shape of the wave. Green wall. Lip near my head. Wave of the day. On another dude's board.

Would that be considered infidelity?

Matt Sweeny & Bonnie Prince Billy - My Home Is the Sea