Surfing with the WHC

It’s not easy being a surfer girl. There are very few of us out there. The most important part about surfing for me is to have fun, but on top of having fun it’s important to show you got the stuff. Today I was surfed at Rosecrans in Manhattan Beach with my boyfriend’s surfing buddies. They’re all about my dad’s age and totally treat me like a daughter, which means they push me. It’s not a bad thing, but let’s faces it these guys make a crappy day look like an exceptional day while I struggle. We paddled out this morning at first light. The waves were two to three feet and sectioned. There was an occasional shoulder, but mostly close outs. Rick paddled back up to the lineup. “Dave I just got three turns off the lip.”

No freakin way. Of course he did, Rick is a wave magnet. I go for the next wave and all I can do is get three pumps down the line before it closed. Dave went for a set wave. It’s big and held shape. He throws a bucket of water out the back. “Heat winner,” Russell said.

“Where’s you dad?”

“He’s on the beach taking pictures.”

I looked back at Gary on the sand. “Jimmy was here. But he didn’t want to paddle out,” Russ said.

These guys are going to give him so much shit later, for not paddling out. These are the same guys that run heats on crappy days. Sorry Jimmy you don’t get a pass, not in the WHC.

Gary pointed towards an area he thinks is better. Dave and Russ get out and walk on the beach, while Rick and I paddle. My boyfriend Matt would be proud. He doesn’t believe in getting out of the water. One day at Huntington Beach, the current was so impossibly strong, Matt and I paddle out with our crew the DRC. Everyone had to get out and walk on the sand. We were riding a damn carousel. But Matt refused to get out. He continually paddled in one spot, catching waves in between paddling. I know, right, he’s insane.

The waves aren’t really much better. I go for a close out and purl over my board. Rick and Russ catch waves in, while Dave and I drift back where we started. I saw Dave get another good left. I go for another wave and purled it. I get caught up in the white was, and what do you know I lose another pair of Matt’s ear plugs. Opps. I catch a wave in on my stomach. While I’m trying to change at my car some guy in a suit and tie asks me how the surf was. I look up. He looks like a gym buff. “It was kind of walled up,” I said. Please go away.

“We’ve been getting good swell for summer,” he said.

“Yeah usually you have to drive down south.” How do I tell him I have a boyfriend?

“Where do you travel down south?” he said.

“Trestles, Huntington Beach, just recently I went north to Jalama.” Jalama was amazing. If I could describe a perfect day it would be Jalama. We scored it breaking five to six feet. It is just a big wave with perfect shape. it breaks in four spots. The spot we surfed was Tarantulas. Imagine three peaks that A frame, that is Tarantulas. Amazing!

“I’m originally from Huntington. I just recently went to Bali and it was amazing,” he said.

“My boyfriend loves Bali,” I said.

“Yeah it’s really fun.”

“Well, have a good day.” Yes I’m taken, I’m taken, taken, taken. Thank you very much.

After my millionth encounter with a guy trying to talk to me while I’m changing, I walk down to Rick and Gary to say goodbye. Rick isn’t done with socializing this morning so we go to Blue Butterfly and split a bagel. I swear it’s almost like sitting with my dad having breakfast. I really miss my dad. He’s still in Oregon with the rest of my family.

PV second surf sesh alone. Total Barney Ville

I paddled out at PV in the early afternoon. The tide was low and the waves were one to three feet. I find myself coming to PV even when its not working the best because there is less of a crowd here. I like that I can always find parking and its not as competitive as Porto. The waves today are glassy. Even in the late afternoon the cove is protected form the wind giving me all the clean rights I could ask for. There was no one out here, but it was the middle of the day during a work week. It's awesome having a job that makes you work night shifts because I can surf when everyone else is at work.

When I catch my first wave its a long right. I pop up with ease gliding down the smooth line. My pop up has been getting easier recently. I think it's because I've been more consistent and I also lost a lot of weight. It's easier to lift your body up when your lighter. The waves are so long that I try turning on the face, but I end up loosing the wave. I'm not as experienced turning. I've been surfing for a year and going straight was perfectly fin with me before, but now it seems boring. If I don't get down the line sometimes I find myself ditching the wave because who wants to ride straight when you could be getting a lot more out the wave. I know this is a mentality that my Matt has passed on to me, and I think about him a lot when I'm surfing. He has become the voice in my head and when I surf I think about everything he has taught me.

I see another three foot bump coming and I paddle for it. I pop up fast and am down the line. I don't want to risk loosing this wave so I start to walk the board instead. I try to get to the end of my board because I really want to hang ten. I'm a little unbalanced and I move back on my board. I slide back and forth trying to feel the motions of the board until the wave fades out. It was a nice ride.

While I'm surfing a guy on a long board paddles out. He tries to sit on his board and falls off. When a wave comes his way he ditches the board and ducks under. I'm thinking to myself what is this guy doing. A small bump not even a wave comes his wave and he turns around to paddle for it. When he doesn't get it he slaps the water. I wonder if I looked that silly in the beginning?

First Solo Sesh

My boyfriend just recently left for a surf trip in Indonesia. I wasn't able to go on this trip which kind of bummed me out, but to be honest being left here was probably the best thing for me. I had never surfed on my own. The first time I ever went surfing was my first date with Donny Duckbutter, and every time after was with him too. I knew that this time would come and that it would be my true test as a surfer. Because I have been with Donny, I haven't really been able to discover myself in surfing. Sometimes I've even questioned if I go surfing because I want to or because Donny wants to. I have had surf sessions where I was stoked to go and I have had others particularly the one's where Donny wakes me up at 5 am where I am not as enthused.
I drove down to PV for my first solo sesh. It's the spot I am most familiar with and the waves break nice and easy. I'm really stoked for two reasons. One this is the first time I am surfing alone and I can't wait to do whatever I want out of Donny's watchful eye. Two my car had broken down the other day, and this is also the first time I've ever driven Donny's car.
I suite up and hit the trail down to the cove. When I come around to a point I can see that no one is in the water. This should be a sign of bad surf, but when I look out there are 2-3 feet waves breaking, mostly rights. My stoke is enhanced because not only is this my first solo sesh, but I am truly going to surf alone. In Southern California this is rare, almost impossible. At the bottom of the cove I strapped my leash to my ankle and paddled out. Donny has already taught me all the tricks of the cove. He has become the voice in my head when it comes to surfing " follow the trail in, paddle out at an angle."
It's a long paddle out, but I make it. The wave over here are a long boarders best friend, they break slow and soft. Sometimes I think about surfing in terms of sex. Sometimes it's fun to go on fast pounding waves, but there's nothing like being made love to by the ocean.
I go for my first wave. It's a small 2 foot bump, but I'm eager for my first wave. I paddle hard. I hear Donny in my ear "head down." The wave is under my board and I popup. I draw a line going right. The wave is long, but the face doesn't have the size to turn. I take a step forward and try to walk the board. I remember how much I loved watching the long boarding videos collecting dust in Donny's apartment. I reach the edge curling the toes on my left foot over before my nose sink, I loose my balance, and pearl. I'm not much of a vocal person, but I come out of the water shouting "Woo," to claim the wave.
I paddled back for more. Wave after wave, they are all mine. I can't believe that no one is out here and I feel so blessed to have all these waves to myself. There's such a buffet of waves for me. I start goofing around spinning in circle on my board. I event sat down on my but and leaned back like I was on a bob sled. For the first time in my life I have surfed alone and I can truly say without a doubt I am surf stoked.

The Fear of the Drop

It was 7:30 in the morning at 26th street Manhattan Beach. The sun was slowly rising from behind the tall narrow homes. The beach was not the complete chaos that the later day crowds brought but the beach was full of joggers, dog walkers, bicyclists, and surfers. I clung to my longboard as I paddled out to the line. The waves were small but dumpy. It was the type of wave that looked like an easy ride because it was small, but the trough was low and the crest quickly peaked and dropped, slamming down anything in the wave. The only way two avoid getting eaten up by the wave was to angle the board into the drop. This is easy for an experienced surfer, but for a beginner like me it is a challenge.
I was sitting in the lineup with my boyfriend and his friends. They call themselves the Dump Rider Crew because they will pretty much go for anything and don’t mind taking a beating. Today was my day to join them in paying my dues to surfing and getting thrown by the waves. A small two foot bump was coming towards me, it looked small. I turned my board towards the shore and paddle slowly inching my board forward. I felt the wave coming behind me and paddle harder. The wave pushed past me and my weak arms could not keep up. I fell back, and the wave broke leaving me behind. I paddled back out to the lineup. “Don’t worry you’ll get the next wave,” my boyfriend said. Little did he know I was glad not to get the first one on account that I knew that the wave would have pushed the nose of my board down because of the quick paced vertical drop, and I would have rolled around in the wave scraping the bottom of the ocean floor. This was always my fear when I paddled out.
I didn’t know my boyfriend’s friends very well yet. While the Dump Rider Crew was catching up I was sitting off to the side staring at the horizon. A three foot bump rolled forward. I turned my board again paddling towards the shore. “Paddle, paddle!” I heard to my right. I looked over to see a little girl about eight or nine years old being pushed into a wave by her father.
She was clinging to a blue Costco foam longboard.  Her little hands did not move, but gripped the edges of the board tightly. Her eyes were wide with her mouth agape. She looked how I felt inside. The wave began pushing my board. I angled it down the line and pushed myself to my feet. My cheeks pushed up and I felt my lips peal back allowing my teeth to show. My heart raced in excitement as I rode the wave. This is why surfers take so many beatings in the water because finally standing up and riding the wave, as simple a task as it sounds, feels like such a great accomplishment. When the wave turned to white wash I plopped down on my board and paddled out. Another wave came, but I was too tired from paddling to catch it. “Paddle, paddle!” The little girl was being pushed into another wave by her father.
She clung to the board with that wide eyed blank expression as the wave passed her by. “Are you even paddling?” her father said.
“Yes,” she answered and then looked at me, for I knew the truth.