| Pacifica | Linda Mar - out front of the Pump House |
| 8:30 am to 9:15 am | 4' to 5', sets overhead |
| Mid upcoming tide | Offshore breeze to stiff NW cross wind |
| Patchy sun with a fog bank on the horizon | Frustrating session |
My frustration was mounting and I was determined to catch one of the big ones this morning. A large set wave with a definite right angle was cresting in front of me. I turned and dug hard to catch it but didn't quite get into it. I felt the wave pick me up, I looked over the edge and the nose of my board was out of the water hanging at the top of the wave, when suddenly out of no whereas my son Kevin came across the wave under me. I was hanging at top a good two feet above him as he shot by me. He sailed on for several yards locked in the curl of a fast breaking wave. It was a beautiful sight looking down on Kevin as he sailed by with the bright sun reflecting off the water and spray from an offshore breeze blowing into my face.
Watching Kevin on that wave was the highlight of this morning's frustrating session. We were at Linda Mar in front of the Pump House for a brief before work session. The tide was still on the low side, the waves were a consistent four to five feet with sets overhead (6' to 8') and walled. In the forty-five minutes we were out there I only caught three waves. I dropped down a head-head left, hung on as it broke in front of me, tried to push back into the swell as the wave began to reform, but it quickly died in the deep water channel north of the Pump House. I stroked into a big right wave, dropped down the face, briefly hung in the curl as the wave closed out in front of me. After paddling around for a long time trying to position for a rideable wave, I stroked into a big wall, jumped up in time for the vertical, straight-down elevator ride to the bottom. I bounced around as I rode out the white water to the shore.
After the practice sessions I had recently and riding the rough waves during the Kahuna Kupuna contest, I thought I was ready to handle the big Linda Mar walls. I certainly have the skill to catch them, drop down the face and to straighten out. This session was going to be my morning to conquer the big walls. But it didn't happen. Seeing those huge walls of water that stretched for one end of the beach to the other, I just couldn't do it. I froze. Call it age, call it caution or call it plain old fear, I couldn't muster the courage to throw myself into those waves. I spent most of my session scratching over the outside sets and then moving back in to connect with the smaller waves. One of these days, maybe when conditions are better, I'm going to drop down those big Linda Mar walls.
Despite our frustrations, Kevin and I were glad we went out and planned to meet here again next Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment