Monday Monday

How do I describe my first day on the Vaqueros de las Olas? Do I start with the first wave I paddled into, where I belly-flopped when the board tilted unpredictably as I tried to pop up? Nah.

Let's start with the next wave, where I made the drop, banked off the bottom and hooked into the high line of a screaming left. I was so intensely focused on the feeling that I saw little more than the lip feathering above my head and the nose of the board sailing along the steep face. I couldn't even really figure out how long the wave was when I turned to paddle back out. It seemed like a long way. When I got back out a kneeboarder paddled over to me and said he had an amazing view of my wave, and had the lip thrown more I would have been barreled. Then he just said, "You were goin' so fast!"

My next wave was even better.

I can only describe the ride of the Andreini as surfing with the wave versus against it. The paddle-in was a little slower than I imagined a 7' board would be, but once it got up to speed, the thing just glided. I felt like I was coaxing the board to go where I wanted, rather than forcing it around the face of the wave. At the risk of sounding new-agey, it was a zen-like experience, following the fall line of the wave and letting the board do the work. Something tells me this board would just naturally go as fast as the wave goes. Slow peeler? Cadillac. Racetrack? Lamborghini. On the flipside, if you tried to do anything drastic, like crank a hard bottom turn or cutback from the tail, you'd fall. At least I would, anyway.

Those first couple good waves weren't a fluke. With each left I caught, I got more comfortable, taking off deeper and crouching lower in the pocket. My final ride was the best: Drop in, turn with my hand dragging in the face, rise up to the pocket where the wave was almost vertical, crouch super low and just hold that stance. I seriously didn't have to move at all for probably 100 yards. When the wave would flatten, I'd assess my situation and see a section way ahead and just park myself in the groove as the wave stood up again. It was crazy. Mind boggling, really.

And I hear those full-rail cutbacks are even more intense.

This cowboy can't wait to ride again.

Hump Day

Wednesday seems like a long time ago now. Rye and I spent most of the day driving up the north coast in my jalopy until we decided on this beach break, which was pretty near its max-out point. That paddle-out was a grandmother, but when you finally made it outside, some nice humps were rolling through. Sets were averaging head high, but it's always hard to see the size without something for perspective: blow up the first pic and you can get an idea from the seagull. In the third picture above, there's a guy paddling out on the right side of the frame.

I got a few really nice ones then convinced Rye to paddle back out with me after taking a wave all the way in. He'd been struggling to punch through the middle and was catching his breath on a log. He didn't realize that the rip was working a little bit and you had to paddle almost all the way to the farthest boulder outside to be safe. Once we made it out the second time, he immediately spun for a set wave and caught it. He disappeared behind the shoulder only to emerge about a hundred yards up the beach. Not skunked after all!

Surfing good waves with just a friend and a sea lion is one of life's rare treats.

Now it's pissing rain and blowing hard. Doesn't look like surf will even be an option until the weekend (at least). Oregon. Winter. Welcome back.

Oyster Waves

Kuma Sutra.
Kumamoto oysters.
Small, hollow, and sweet.
The trick is getting inside.
I'm still picking bits of shell from my teeth.

A flat tire on the way out gave us time to crack into the 24 oysters we bought in Tillamook. When we finally reached the beach, the waves looked choice. Shoulder-high negative-tide dredgers. It only lasted an hour or so until the tide filled in. On the way home we explored such topics as: teaching yoga to inmates, killing animals with your bare hands, karma, the new T.Moe movie, the new Animal Collective, art, and if it's possible to get a "happy ending" via reiki massage.

One Wave

It only takes one wave
For a whole session
To be saved.

Click-Turn-Click-Click

Standing in the same spot, with the same set rolling through, I snapped three shots from the north to the south. Wednesday was pretty fun.

Land O' Lefts

Back on my Manny again Thursday night. Bolted from work a little early to get some 8' at 10 seconds goodness. There's a spot where a stiff northwest wind blows offshore and 8 feet is more like 4-5. Shorties: A place people love to hate. For whatever reason. And the water is cold again. I hope I don't have start wearing gloves this month.

I'm loving my Manny more and more in these waves. Wedgey beachbreak seems to be the perfect playground for the 2+1. I have very little problem getting in early--you know the kinds of casual drop-ins where you have a few seconds to look down the line, get your bearings, and decide whether or not it's going to close out. The board has no problem riding really high on steep faces. One wave in particular I thought I'd get pitched, but I just kept flirting with the feathering lip and it stayed true and stable. So much speed, with spray blowing high into the air off my rail.

Confession: I unapologetically dropped in on someone on my first wave of the day. First time I'd ever done that, actually. This guy who'd just caught a wave paddled inside of me where I had been waiting for 15 minutes to catch my first. The peak was fickle, but I knew that if I waited it out, instead of chasing ghosts like the rest of the pack, it would pay off. Sure enough, the dude paddled up 10 feet to my left and was still on his stomach when the set I was waiting for arrived. He just turned around and started stroking for it and I thought, "Oh no he dii-in't!" and went for it. It was a stellar left that set the tone for the the rest of the session, which was a blast. I don't think he made the section anyway.

Does that make me a monster?


Nick Lowe - So It Goes

New Board New Spot

Wednesday's session was started out pretty bleak:

1. Drove to the beach and hiked down the trail, waxed up the new board, only to find that the screw to attach my fin was missing.

2. Looked for a longboarder to borrow a screw from. No dice.

3. Waves seemed to be improving.

4. Turned around and found out that two crows had eaten half my sandwich.

5. Realizing I was literally screwed, hiked 20 minutes back up the trail, and burned rubber back to Cannon Beach before the surf shop closed.

6. As I'm screwing in the fin at the surfshop, the owner looks at my finbox and says, "I don't like the way your shaper did this. The fin won't slide all the way back in the box because of the knot from the leash being in there - it's going to create some kind of vortex, being that far forward." Manny warned me that people would look at the board funny, though.

7. Jumped back in the car and headed south.

And this is where I have to edit the story to protect the spot where I surfed (I'm no pimp). It was a new place. Let's leave it at that. I did want to review my new Manny 2+1, which I'm very happy to pimp.

The first thing I noticed about the board is that it got into waves really easy. The thing is greased lightening. I think the entry speed is as good as my quad. It was slightly harder to duckdive because it's 3 inches longer than the quad, but that's to be expected. I could still get it through some big whitewater. Finally, the board turned in a completely different way than the quad. It really did seem to "swivel" more off the back foot - which is exactly what I expected it to do. On the bottom turns, it seemed to be more stable, with more smooth flow. So that's really about it. I caught maybe 10 or so waves and was really impressed. I didn't notice anything weird about the fins dragging or interfering with water flow, but I'm no George Greenough either...

I'm really looking forward to riding it again tomorrow.

Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You in the End
(If you haven't seen the Devil in Daniel Johnston, rent it now! Anyone with any sort of creative compulsion will relate).

Worth It

Last week I snuck out to the beach after putting in a long day of writing. I knew I'd be leaving town for a dry weekend, so I had to make the most of the smallish conditions. One peak was overrun with 10 or so surfers, so I paddled out at the second creek, opting for a steady flow of tiny waves all to myself. It was glassy and fun and I ran into Slim (right upper corner), who was putting his new Art Colyer-shaped "speed dialer" through its paces. Looking forward to blowing off more steam when the waves pick up a little this week!

The National - Daughters of the Soho Riots

Rite (Left) of Passage

I did something today that I've wanted to do since I started this blog. Sorry, no photos this time...

New Order - Vanishing Point

Short Sands Magic

Always great to sneak out on a Friday and get some waves. Hadn't been to Shorties in a while, and it was nice to get it on a day when it could be surfed again. The sun was shining, the sets were aplenty (and peaky up and down the beach). Ebb and I exchanged waves for three hours. Cha-ching!

I guess you could say today was a good day. See you Sunday...

Boy Least Likely To - Paper Cuts