Ever put time into polishing something up to publish then somehow deleting it? Yeah, we all have. That was my story Sunday after writing up my blog entry. And that's my excuse today for late posting and abbreviated entry. The original was good...
Inland air temperatures hitting triple digit. Water temperature over 70 degrees. Long period, deep south swell sweeping through So Cal. July? August? Nope! October. Really. One departure from what otherwise was a perfect masquerade of a summer day at the Park was that it was completely devoid of the usual concentration of surfers at the Main Peak. On arrival, absolutely no one was out.
It wasn't until I got home and was looking at the photo above full screen that I realized the stark contrast at Cotton's Point in the background. Here's a zoom in on the same shot:
Perhaps more obvious if you click on it for a full rez version, but each one of those little dots is a surfer. I guess chased by the fact that the Park generally struggles with a high tide (over 5' at 7:45), the pack went south. Nonetheless, there were shoulder-, chin-, and even some head-high sets rolling in, thick with the long interval and often hollow,
and not right on shore:
Some were combed by a mild off-shore breeze, but for the most part, it was smooth and glassy.
By the time I got in, there were two surfers out, down by the Rocks, and I had the Main Peak to myself. Mark Ghattas eventually joined me, and for two hours a stick or two would come or go, but throughout, any wave was there for the taking. Some hollow, sometimes a bit mushy. Lefts came in looking like closeouts, but would open up on drop in. Mellow vibe in the water as all enjoyed the clean conditions, warm water and total lack of crowding.
I slipped the GoPro on before swimming out but didn't feel like sacrificing wave time for shooting. At one point, I regretted that, we watched one of the longest rides I've seen at the park. Taking off 50 yards south of the Rocks, the surfer dropped in on a nearly head-high left, then set a high fast line as he traversed all the way to the Rocks, over them, then continued on another 50 yards to the north side of Main Peak before the final inside close out on the sand.
I did take a few, though. Enjoy!
1 comment:
Always love reading these, Hank. When my Hermosa in the Summer group finally packs it in for the season (though I hope these conditions never end), I look forward to a few sessions with you in San Clemente.
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