Summer in the Wings

Forecast was questionable today, but as I approached the tracks I was greeted by a pleasant surprise:

Clearly, there was a bit of swell in the water, and no crowd at Main Peak.  As we walked down the beach, though, Main Peak was looking inconsistent, with a narrow take-off zone, and there were a handful of regulars out working it.  Meanwhile, further South, the area between LG 1, below the Park, and the rocks appeared to be more consistent and empty.  So Mark "Sailfish" Ghattas and I continued a bit further and swam out there.

The water is warming - 67 degrees comfortable in my spring shortie - though a heavy overcast made it seem cool.  Mark only had a short time, but in the 45 minutes he was in the water, we were catching waves at a pace of one every two minutes.  And they were fun!  Chest and shoulder high, fast and hollow, and rarely closed out.  For the first hour, no more than three sticks were surfing to the south of us, so we had our pick of waves.

After Mark left, I worked the LG1 area, as it gradually filled in with surfers.  The life guards were putting up the Surf/Swim signs but making no move to enforce them, so I worked my way back north in the water.  By the time I passed the rocks, the Main Peak zone was nearly deserted, so I worked that a while.  However, sometimes I seem a magnet for the surfers and within 15-20 minutes, it seemed that most had followed me.

After two hours in the water, the waves were getting pretty inconsistent, and there was too much fiberglass in the water.  I used the last 30 minutes of a 2-1/2 hour session to continue to work north to the steps, then wove through the summer crowd, just filling in with the late morning burn off.

So often, the Park exceeds expectations.  I guess that's why I keep going back.