Wind Plays Nice (Mostly)

For the last few days, the surf's been suffering ill effects of southerly wind. SSW groundswell and now WNW windswell are providing waves, but they're choppy at best, and hacked up and blown out at worst. On top of that, the tide's been drained out in the morning when winds are most likely to be lightest. So when I woke at dawn and saw only a whispering breeze, I ate a bowl of oatmeal in a hurry and got to the beach before the tide bottomed out.

The warm sun broke through clouds to softly warm my back as the ocean lapped at my ankles. I used my toes to feel along the edge of a sandbar, shuffling to notify any nearby stingrays of my approach. When I stepped into slightly deeper water, my foot came down on something slimy that swiftly slithered away. Toes up! Onto the board now.

One thing I like about surfing at Tourmaline is that most everyone is so gosh-darn friendly, always ready with a smile and a little chit-chat. When I returned to the parking lot, I had to agree with the dude changing out of his wetsuit two cars over: "Pretty fun, huh? But a lot of work getting back out."