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| Mailbox at Teslas |
Ever the optimist, I put on sunscreen before I left the house this morning - and was rewarded with sunshine burning off the fog by the time I reached the beach. I checked Kelly first, but the closeouts looking whomping and the shoulders few. The closeouts at Dunes were smaller and more manageable, but I had a feeling the two guys out might soon depart, leaving me uncomfortably alone at a deserted spot in the state park. Too bad none of my buddies could join me at the Church of Surf this morning. The Jetty was smaller still and breaking close to shore. As I pulled my surfboard out of the car I reconsidered; if I don't push my limits, I'll never push past them. The Jetty felt safe and familiar, but I wouldn't find much of a challenge in those tiny waves. And I didn't want to fight the pack at Linda Mar for scraps again. Linda Mar isn't crowded because the waves are better. I turned the car around and headed back towards Dunes, checking a couple spots along the way. The dolphins at "
Teslas" lured me into the water there, though I didn't see them again.
Although no one was surfing at Teslas, it's in a residential area so there were frequently people walking and biking past, enough to make me feel comfortable paddling out alone. Since I'd parked in front of Kyle's house, I texted him in case he wanted to come out and play in the waves.
The waist- to chest-high waves were mostly closing out, as everywhere in Half Moon Bay, with a few short-lived shoulders popping up here and there. It was a good opportunity to practice wave judgment and positioning. And I couldn't cheat off of other surfers because there were none. I started slow but got better as the session went on, riding a bunch of those quick shoulders toward the end, both lefts and rights.
It was a glorious warm sunny morning and I could think of no better place to be than in the glassy ocean catching waves. Stoked!
Surfline: Mid-period NW-WNW (280-300+) swell on tap this morning along with small-scale SSW energy for 3-4'+ surf. Top breaks get sets around shoulder-head high. Light wind. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 4.9 ft at 9.1 s NW 80 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 3.8 s W / WVHT: 4.9 ft / APD: 7.0 s / MWD: 308° (Met) WSPD: 2 kts / GST: 4 kts / WVHT: 4.9 ft / DPD: 9.0 s / WDIR: 130° / ATMP: 58.3° F / WTMP: 58.3° F. Tide: 3' rising slightly.
Sounds like you made a great choice. Sometimes you just have to push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to really get stoked and it sounds like you did. Always worth going in the uncrowded spots if they're free and as you say, so long as there's someone beach side you're usually fairly safe. I always think so long as someone on shore has a view of the beach they'll be aware of that lone surfer because people are always just staring out to sea even if you can't see them. Well that's what I tell myself anyway. Invariably it's true.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I tell myself too. And it's not like I expect someone on the beach to rush out and save me, but at least it's less likely I could just disappear without someone noticing.
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