September 10, 2009 Thursday

Montara	In front of the old Chart House restaurant
9:40 am to 10:50 am	3' to 6'
Low tide - 2.8 ft	Slight onshore breeze
Thin fog - limited visibility	Fun session

Son Kevin and I entered the water at the south end of Montara in front of the old Chart House restaurant. We were going for the lefts coming from the peak formed by an outcropping of large boulders. Kevin jumped in, pushed through some white water and stroked cleanly to the outside. I stood there waiting for a lull in the shore break. I waited and waited, but the waves didn’t let up. Montara consists of soft coarse sand and a steep beach that drops into deep water, which creates a fierce backwash. Big shore break waves crash shooting water up the steep berm that comes roaring back as the next one sucks up the water of the previous wave. I slowly inched myself further out to waist depth. My feet sank into loose sand up to my ankles. A big shore pounder crashed, sent water up the steep bank and a river of current came rolling back down. I stood there board in hand and the current knocked my down.

I instantly remembered that horrible drowning that occurred at this very spot at the end of June. Now I know how and why it happened. I had read about it in the paper and knew that Montara was a steep beach with a strong backwash. Montara is not a good swimming beach for little kids.

This poor mother came to Montara to enjoy the beach with her two daughters and three nieces. Two of the nieces wore wetsuits and were boogie boarding. The mother stood at the water’s edge with her daughters, ages five and nine. The nine year old got in trouble in the shore break. Holding the hand of the five year old the mother reached for the nine year old, but the backwash wept all three of them out into the impact zone. A moment of panic and a poor decision on the mother’s part and in an instant they were drowning. The nine year old made it back in but the mother and five year old didn’t. They yelled for help. A teenage boogie boarder tried to rescue them. The mother and child grasped the boogie board when the next set of waves hit. The teenage boogie boarder barely made it back in, but the mother and her daughter were swept back out. Rescuers found the mother, applied CPR but were too late. Thirty minutes later lifeguards in a rescue boat found the body of the five year old beyond the boulders of the south point.

On this cheery note I launched myself into the shore break, went through the white water of three waves and made it outside. Montara was the best break this morning. Kevin and I drove by Ocean Beach but the fog prevented us from seeing the waves. We parked at Sloat Ave and walked to the water’s edge to view the surf: small bumpy waves. We drove to Linda Mar and again walked to the water’s edge: small walls, the tide was too low. Montara had rideable waves, but the water was rough and bumpy with a lot of current. A strong backwash sent small one-foot waves back out into the impact zone.

Within a few minutes Kevin dropped into a head-high right wave, which quickly died after the initial drop. We moved around looking for the best take off point. We tried for several waves but didn’t catch them. We were too far out. The waves were deceptive, wind swells on top of ground swells. The wind swells would jump up looking like they were about to break, but they didn’t. We had to move in and concentrate on the ground swell portion of the waves.

I finally caught one, which was my best ride of the morning. I had missed a couple which put me on the inside. I turned to paddle back out and a five-foot peak was cresting in front of me. I turned and went for it. The wave jumped up and I dropped. My board went vertical, I stood on the tip of the tail block and thought the board would knife into the water and send me flying. It didn’t. The nose touched the water at the base of the wave, sent spray flying, bounced up and I made the drop. I turned, hit a bump of the backwash, I stumbled but remained standing. I looked down a well-formed line of water setting up to peel left. I positioned mid-swell, screamed down a head-high wave, cut back into the breaking part of the wave letting the shore break to form, turned left again, leaned into it and shot through the inside section. It was a great ride.

Kevin and I kept moving around and dropping into sizeable peaks. Some were lightning fast and others died after the initial drop. After an hour Kevin reminded me that he had to work today. Thus we played the “just one more” game. Then Kevin connected with his best ride. He stroked into a five-foot wall as I paddled over it. I looked back to see his head disappear as the wave broke. Three seconds later I saw his head pop out in front of the breaking curl. He cut back, maneuvered into shore break and drove his board right up to the edge of the steep berm of the shore. I caught a small one and also rode it up to the sand. We congratulated ourselves on having chosen Montara. It was a good session.

“Coming Soon – La Costanera, Peruvian Cuisine” read the sign on the window of the vacate restaurant. Two gentlemen were inside inspecting things. They emerged and were parked next to us. I inquired if they owned the restaurant. They did and commented that they planned to open in two weeks. This building was originally a Chart House and like all Chart Houses, it has a fabulous view of the ocean. Kevin and I vowed to return soon. Imagine surfing Montara in the morning on a classic big surf day and having a great Peruvian lunch sitting at a front window booth watching the beautiful scenery of the surf, ocean, cliffs, pelicans and boats. We have to do it.