Freddy's return
Well, you'll be happy to know we finally got back out in the water again. Yes, it was only one day off but the last time was a brief debacle in the choppy sloppy mess that Turtle Bay becomes when the surf is way up. The head wound that I received has healed up nicely - I wish I could say the same for the ding that the board recieived.
I drove on down the road to the Lopes Surfing Center, parked the Explorer in front of headquarters and walked to the beach to get a look at the action. Backyards actually looks surfable - for a short board. Looking east down the beach, I could see surfers in the water at Freddy's. It looks similar to the last time I was out, just a bit smaller.
Go back to the vehicle, grab the board, lock it up, hide the key and then I am off on my mission to catch some waves of significance. As I get back on the beach again, I watch a set or two come in at Backyards. It looks almost tempting. There's a left that waves invitingly at me and there are no surfers out there. My feeling is that Freddy's will be crowded although it is tough to tell from this distance. I convince myself to walk down the beach to Freddy's after considering the shallow reef that Backyards is known for. Don't need to bust the giant 9 footer in half.
I paddle out and across, letting the current help me out. When I arrive at the scene, I am 50 to 100 yards further out than anyone else. Initially, there's about 15 of us out there on one side and 20 or so on the other side. Before I finish, there will be at least 25 to 30 on our side and more on the othere side.
Several jet skis could be seen towing servers in to the bigger waves crashing on the outer reef. I watched as one of the tow in surfers caught a nice wave and pulled out just about 30 yards from me.
After my previous string of mishaps, I was wearing a cautious hat, watching everything closely and choosing my waves with discernment. I managed to catch a ride right away, nothing spectacular, just a way to get my feet wet. The best method for me was to sit outside, wait for a big one on the second reef to propel me along with some whitewater, standup and watch as it reformed in front of me. I caught about 3 or 4 waves this way and had some great rides. The best wave gave me an awesome drop of at least 10-12 feet and I still remember the rush when the bottom dropped out and the abyss welcomed my efforts to carve down the side.
I drove on down the road to the Lopes Surfing Center, parked the Explorer in front of headquarters and walked to the beach to get a look at the action. Backyards actually looks surfable - for a short board. Looking east down the beach, I could see surfers in the water at Freddy's. It looks similar to the last time I was out, just a bit smaller.
Go back to the vehicle, grab the board, lock it up, hide the key and then I am off on my mission to catch some waves of significance. As I get back on the beach again, I watch a set or two come in at Backyards. It looks almost tempting. There's a left that waves invitingly at me and there are no surfers out there. My feeling is that Freddy's will be crowded although it is tough to tell from this distance. I convince myself to walk down the beach to Freddy's after considering the shallow reef that Backyards is known for. Don't need to bust the giant 9 footer in half.
I paddle out and across, letting the current help me out. When I arrive at the scene, I am 50 to 100 yards further out than anyone else. Initially, there's about 15 of us out there on one side and 20 or so on the other side. Before I finish, there will be at least 25 to 30 on our side and more on the othere side.
Several jet skis could be seen towing servers in to the bigger waves crashing on the outer reef. I watched as one of the tow in surfers caught a nice wave and pulled out just about 30 yards from me.
After my previous string of mishaps, I was wearing a cautious hat, watching everything closely and choosing my waves with discernment. I managed to catch a ride right away, nothing spectacular, just a way to get my feet wet. The best method for me was to sit outside, wait for a big one on the second reef to propel me along with some whitewater, standup and watch as it reformed in front of me. I caught about 3 or 4 waves this way and had some great rides. The best wave gave me an awesome drop of at least 10-12 feet and I still remember the rush when the bottom dropped out and the abyss welcomed my efforts to carve down the side.
posted by Dij at 8:03 PM
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