Back to the Holy City

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R—--r. I went back to the holy place for the first time since TPC took me there this summer in August. I knew Wednesday was going to be a good day for it and sure enough it was. Josh was there, suiting up too, which was hysterical and we were the first people in the water. Made it just in time for low tide, though not pre-low. Josh said he’d never seen it set up this way and he thought the rio must have busted through differently in some way.

What I found, and what I didn’t remember from the only other time going, was that the wave is much zippier, much faster than the waves I’ve been on all summer, esp. LS. LS I can literally skip the last paddle and dopily get to my feet and usually make it—it’s leisurely, like walking the grounds of an old Irish castle. The R—--r, meanwhile, you’ve got to be up and going. You’ve got to be committed and surefooted from the start.

There’s something about that spot. The light was magical, the shape of the waves is just beyond. I got a couple really nice rides—it started picking up a half hour or so after getting there. There was no wind. It was such a gift of a day.

Per J, the wave never breaks sooner than the rocks on the left if you’re facing the shore, so good to know. It was also nice that paddling in, the bay is protected so you can paddle in chill.

I didn’t realize just how close it is to me, only ten minutes north. I want to take full advantage of living here right now and so every chance I get, I’ll be there. Lovelovelove.

DP and South of R's

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DP, LS, far north.

I’d really been banging myself up about sleeping in. Right now I work remotely, and it’s technically really easy for me to get out for dawn patrol. This week I really committed to starting to wake up in the wee hours so I can drink my coffee slowly, which is a must for me, and be in my car by first light. I got rewarded for that on Friday with this beautiful sunrise:

Northern side, LS. (C) Sara Dyer

Northern side, LS. (C) Sara Dyer

The tide was filling in really fast and it was small, ankle biters, but it’s always fun and I was so happy about that light. Nubble looked so beautiful and the colors were just like the sky was on fire. Everyone on the sidewalk was beside themselves with how beautiful it was.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went out just south of R’s. It was just me for an hour or so, then a longboarder rolled out. It was tough for me to catch anything at first but an hour or two later, it got more surfable and cleaned up. I met a guy name JP from Quebec who told me H——--s is best right before or after HT. He also said I gotta try to surf leashless, or at the very least start grabbing my board or wedging it back over the wave. He vocalized what I’ve been really trying to work on and I need to get better. Really need to have more control of the board. Fairly certain I understand why I jacked up my shoulder and it’s from the way I’ve been grabbing my board at the end of the ride. Gotta fix that because I do NOT want that to be getting in my way

Went to the Halloween paddle out with SPC from Peirce Island. All the folks were super nice and there were some hilarious costumes. The current was so strong we turned back after a really quick lap.

I think I’m leaning toward building a log, 9’0? Single fin (do you even ride a log with more than that?). I’m clearly at the very beginning of the process. But, I do have two thoughts 1) I should learn the generally held rules so that I know when I want to break them for building surfboards 2) I’d prefer to go the long way / do whatever I need to have a fairly in-depth understanding of the process, rather than taking lots of short cuts. We’ll see what these decisions translate into. Maddie and I are going to check out Dale’s scene, and get a little intel about building our boards soon—I’m pumped.