Its a numbers game
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This story is for CraigG
Its all about the numbers3 to 5 at 16 seconds with the off shore bouys at 16' to 20' . Sets are 11 minutes apart with 6 waves per set. The second wave of the set is generally the one I am looking for before the reef is loaded with too much water. High to a draining minus low tide is generally optimum for the barrel. However when the swell is building a low to high tide push is always a option. I like 0 wind. oil glass. But the stiff 10 mph off shore breeze is always a plus. This is when the wind blows directly from the land out to the sea. making the wave hollow. I started at age 10 I have been a surfer for 34 years.
Water temps
here.
Winter high 40's worst case. This means a 4/3 full. You battle the elements at times.
Summer 74-76 max ahhh. trunks.Summer its all about the south swell. Hurricanes off the coast of Central America blowing at 130 mph moving North West at 170 to 190 heading.
Winter its the North/West swells out of the Alaskan Alutians. New Zealand and Antarctica south swells. The swells that travel the longest distance are long interval 3-5 days well organized more powerful from the inertia of their journey. In fact the wave I crave is the end of their short life. Kind of like a monarch butterflies story and journeyAt my breaks
Winter is all about the rights.
Summer I look for the lefts.As a regular foot I surf with my left foot forward. So on the rights I am facing the wall on the lefts I am back to the wall. Most surfers prefer facing the wall. Goofy foots have their right foot fwd. Goofy or regular foot has nothing to do with left or right handed. I think that for whatever reason their are more regular foots.
My stock go to board of choice is a 6'10" 19-1/4 wide pulled in at the nose with a little more rocker curve than most. a little wider at the tail than most. I own perhaps 6 boards. I go through maybe 2-3 boards a year. Most of them are red white & green the Mexican flag colors, my favorite wave hunting grounds. Locals get a kick out of it I get more waves because of it and speaking spanish does not hurt. The magic boards are highly guarded never loaned and used sparingly. Every once in a while you get one that is just got that zip. My everyday board has changed little the past few years but I always try little tweaks. I have used the same shaper for the stock boards for years. 1994? Although I get a board or 2 a year from shapers who have made a board I have seen that fits my eye. If I get one that does not feel right it is in the shop on the rack and I get another brought in.
Cost
$350-$500 US A deal when you think about the complexity of the foil and thought, If you would hire a craftsman to build you one who had never seen one it would cost you thousands. And it would not work at all. The waves are free. It is priceless.The Home Breaks
The names I cannot say.
Winter
Low tide is shallow 3' Rock shelf with Thor and son of Thor (exposed rocks) on the inside to keep you honest. More than anything these 2 are crowd control.
On the best days its a right barrel that has a you looking at boils or disturbances of the surface caused by the water draining off the rock shelf. Just a 7-9 second ride that has the chance of all 7 seconds to be in the dry barrel.
Summer is the left spot that gets cleaner and cleaner the bigger it is Not known to have a barrel but a down the line wall that will send you to mach 2 gouge a turn on your buddy drive into the face and shower the next guy down the line.The rules Too complex to name but you follow them or you will leave. Non verbally you will get the horns. This dynamic is un-explainable. and assumed to be known by all. Only coming to you from time spent
The paddle out.
Your body weight at the fulcrum atop the board. When under paddle power board is 1/2 submerged with just the tip of the nose exposed. For the beginner paddling technique is the difference between those who will never catch a wave and those who have a chance one day but rarely in the first month or so. To learn means a year of dedication to the sport in all weather and wave conditions. Paddle outs can be seconds to 45 minutes. Most who are in shape will die until the muscle memory is tuned to paddling. You spend about 50% of your time paddling, 45% positioning yourself on the line up, & 5% actually riding.
The wave Moves at @ 20 MPH shoreward you are going parallel to the shore driving. Speed I would say range from near 0 at take off to 30+ at times.
The paddle out. Inside is the death zone. Wave after wave that you and your board must punch through.
(the duck dive) A skill that is essential, where you must submerge you and your board below a 10 tall wall of white water that has just unloaded in front of you. Time after time digging, hoping that the next one is more manageable than the last. You cant see the next one by the way because you are only 10" above the surface. A surface that by the way is below actual sea level. A duck dive done well is you submerging just in front of the pit board going at a 45 deg angle then it passes over you at that moment you weight your tail and now you and your board are accelerating to the surface at the top its right back into dig dig. "Must- get- out- of- here""No-more-o -the-head" I have been white water rafting and I can tell you that class 5 rapids are NOTHING. I mean not close.
Then you are out. Just sitting on the board is impossible to the layman.
**Sets[b] Break farther out than the field waves. when you are in the line up you may be thinking you are safe from the death zone? Wrong. Sneakers
pop up where you need to instantly paddle for the horizon. Survival mode again.Its like no other sport, not like a race, there is no score, no team, no fantasy players, no judges, no pit stops, no rule book, little media coverage, everything is second to it. I can think of no sport that compares.
[b]The take off.** You scan the surface looking for swell focusing on your basic position. This one will swing wide that one will jack up quick. Paddle that guy deep. Sit tight. Positioning is everything. The spot you want is that wedge where the wave crests and meets the bluegreen wave face.
The HOP to the feet. For me its 3 strokes. with your back to the cresting wave pitching out at you at 20 mph. Think about that for a moment???? you start in relatively flat water. Turn your back to a freight train dig 3-5 powerful strokes. Drop over a ledge 15+ feet above sea level head down with all your body weight fully committed pushing you over a vertical ledge . looking down it s a crystal clear bottom below you. rocks, fish kelp the guy paddling out duck diving below you.
Wave heights are judged subjectivly from the back if the wave. So if it is a 8' to 10' wave it will have a face of 15 to 20 feet. These are the dream for me. Heavy, but manageable. It weeds the men from the boys. The unskilled guy will NOT go on these even though he has made it out of the death zone.
That moment When you know you have it or you know you are back in survival mode is now. The wave picks you up and your speed is just at this moment faster than you can paddle. Acceleration is instant. Lock your elbows. Pause that split second get the board on plane and on rail then its BANG up to your feet that can best be described as a burpie from PE class. This is impossible to grasp in the short term surfer.
The stance
My back foot is 7" up from the tail right above between the 2 side fins below. Front foot is just fwd. of mid point. A fulcrum, remember?
The wetted surface of the board is only about 25% of the total board area. The contour of the bottom of the board is evolved much over the past 20 years to react to the slightest input. Your fins (3) hum. You feel the chatter of water as you cut through the face of the wave. Sailors can relate to this surfing down swell.
The drop in. 45 deg to way over vertical left shoulder for me begins the bottom turn driving for the open face.
The face. The water is rushing up the face of the wave. You climb up this wall of moving water onto the vertical lip looking for the section where it transitions from bluewater to white water. Bam.
the pocket where you can excellerate and lay into another rail turn or stall and wait for.
The barrel RARE. That is 3 to four breaths under the curtain where time literally stops. Your senses are keyed into the fact that all your time spent in this pursuit is all now being paid off. If I had to describe it in 20 words. It is a vacuum sound is pressure. Speed is the water moving below your feet not you moving on top of the water. A tread mill on 11 and you with graphite & teflon on your shoes. What you see is a opening in front of your with a spinning vortex of water around you. You learn to pick up that a slab of water is going to pitch. 3 options Take lumps, Straighten out shoreward. Pull in,
1 second is an eternity in surfing.The Crowd
Cutting my teeth in the crowded close out barrels of Newport Beach Ca. My motto is "I don't mind crowds Crowds mind me" Sound familiar?
You are either going to go or you aint. You call me off one and miss it or fall. The next 2 are mine and you know it. Best not to sit on my shoulder is my non verbal vibe to the guy I have not seen. In the water when it is on, you rarely speak. even to those you have known your whole life. In fact it is silent. So scanning the sea is reflective. Out of the water it us all about the comradery (sp) Always, I am looking out for the safty of myself and others. I have made rescues.The sights
You see only the curvature of the earth, your inner self and the swell. To describe it, it is like a tuning fork you want to get your self into the rythum of the sea. Sounds corny but when you hit a note in tune it just feels right. Surfing is not about riding the waves it is about mastering the elements. water, waves, power, nature, beauty.
Dolphins are very common. When it is big they often surf right below your feet. Pelicans also, are good surfers. Seals, otters and sea lions are out at some spots. You encounter Turtles in spots, see whales at times and can hear them under water.Sharks
Whitey lives here as also in Aust. & South Africa, I have not seen him. I look for him but he will not keep me out of the water unless I know he is right there. The adolesent 12-15 footers are the ones you want to stay away from. Just as in humans? Makos are also deadly. Tigers in Hawaii & Mexico. Hammerheads in Costa Rica. Fiji & Indo are benign I am thinking? Just White tips and are very skittish & shy I have seen these guys often. Lets just say that I consider anything below the surface as non-friendly. In fact rocks, drowning from being tagged knocked cold by my buddys board has a better chance of getting me than a shark. If I meet one I am planning on fighting him rather than running I am thinking? Like a big cat they are chasers and the master of the silent sneak attack. Most attacks happen in waist deep water. The death zone I have been stung by stingrays walking in the death zone (your day is done) Also, in Chile I was pinched by a crab on the back of my ankle. It was like 500 volts. And it would not let go. Scared the fuck out of me, had no idea what it was? Later I learned that crabs are territorial. I can dig that. I though it was going to end my trip. A Jelly fish raking you is like glass in your skin. Sea urchins have needles that break off in your feet that will not come out. If you piss on your feet they say it festers faster. easier to get them out? I just use a needle. Coral will light your skin in fire. Most fatalities, shark attacks and serious injuries happen in the death zone. (close to shore) Sharks aint shit if you look at it in these terms. On a trips I have given myself stitches with dental floss & a sewing needle. Separated a shoulder. Knocked out my front teeth with my own knee. (now capped) Had to paddle into a churning hellacious beach with rocks, cracks, etc... I thought I was going to die for sure. Drowning has crossed my mind many times. The key as in life is to stay calm.Most days are just a couple of waves looking for the Gem. Getting wet and clearing out your head. The sport is absolutely the hardest to learn bar none. NOTHING comes close to these dynamics. This is why we are the way we are because we search out the things that are only be seen by the very few. mastering it never really happens. and will be with me for the rest of my days. I remember every wave I have ever caught and I have caught thousands. It has taken me all over the world in search of the lost island of Santoosha. Some of my best surfing trips have been just camping trips. In fact at the home breaks there are perhaps 10 to 20 good days a year. Of those perhaps 3-5 epic days if you are lucky. It is a fickle sport maximizing your odds is the numbers game.
The surfers credo.
If you don't surf.
Don't start. If you do? Never quit!Jimmy
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just to make it easier for Craig.
wont do it more if you dont like
thanks. -
I also thought Craig would chime in on this. "Goon" gave an excellent description of what its like to ride the ocean.
I totally love it too. I hope to get back in to it when I get a chance. Though, I've never been much of a risk taker myself. I don't need the big overhead waves. Just ankle biters are good for me. Or the long rollers down Old man's (San Onofre, CA). Ahh yes, that is where its at!
Chris
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i have not read it all yet
sort of leaving it to the final track, never_ever wanted
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but shshshshshshshshs
craig may get in - -
last chance for you to replay or say thankyou Craig
otherwise from now on we´ll force Jimmy to play that number´s game without you
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