Christening My New Surfboard (Rachel's Point)

I'm not sure if the break I surfed this afternoon truly deserves the protection of a pseudonym. "Rachel's Point" is certainly known, but it feels like a secret spot: off the beaten path, reached by a sketchy scramble down the face of a sizable cliff, offering empty waves on a weekend afternoon. The clincher is that it's a left point break in a land of rights, so I'm guarding it with goofy-foot jealousy. I should also mention that there are a lot of submerged rocks, and that the place has a rep as sharky.

Even with the buoy reading only 5 feet, there were head-high+ set waves rolling though. But they were mostly mushy, slow and unscary, and there was a nice safe channel for a dry-hair paddle out on my new 8'3" hybrid surfboard, Arrow's clone of Beth's Petty. Luke and I had the spot to ourselves until his friend Peter showed up to make a crowd of three.

The waves were a bit hard to get into; you had to be right on the peak, or catch the whitewater into a reform. It took me a little time to find a good position, but then I caught a few nice rides on the new board. One was exceptionally sweet: the wave jacked up as I popped up, and I thought, "crap, I'm going to eat it now," but like magic the board turned onto the unbroken face and I rode in the pocket until the wave fizzled out over deeper water. Woo hoo!

If I thought it was tricky coming down the cliff, it was physically challenging to get back up while carrying a longboard. Fortunately I'd brought a new white boardbag to protect the new surfboard on the climb. The bag's not white anymore; both it and my wetsuit were muddy by the time we reached the top. But I would have gladly rolled in the mud for that fine surf session. My new surfboard is Magic! So stoked!!