07 February 2015

Take Me to Church

Every now and then a song will get stuck in my head while I'm surfing. Often it's the last one that played in the car on the way to the beach, but sometimes it's sparked by the moment. Before lunch today I surfed at Church, with the chorus of Hozier's hit on a loop.

Caution: The video below is disturbing. For a more pleasant one with great dancing, watch this.
The San Diego Surfrider leadership retreat was held at a cottage on the base of Camp Pendleton, with the mushy right Trestles break practically in the backyard. Having an ex-military Chair has its benefits.

After driving around a bit trying to find my way onto the base, I located the entrance, reached by cutting in front of the waiting lot at San Onofre State beach.
Church, viewed from the cottage 
Military perks - our tax dollars at work
Since I had some time before my committee was due to report, after I parked in view of the ocean, I changed into my wetsuit and walked a few minutes up the beach to Church. A pair of dolphins passed by as I paddled out to join the crowd. It was a challenge to find a wave that wasn't too soft on the high tide, or already occupied by a darn longboarder. After riding a few short and meh inside rights, I decided to paddle north and try for less popular lefts. They were short - sectioned pretty quickly - and steep, but I picked off a couple. The downside was that there was no channel for the return, so it was good exercise busting through the whitewater to get back out.

The other Rise Above Plastics Committee co-chair, Jason, joined me for a bit on his newly-repaired longboard, and I saw Executive Committee member Randy in the water as well.
My best wave was a shoulder-high right that I caught just broken, behind a longboarder. I made it out of the whitewater and onto the face, and he kicked out, letting me run almost all the way to the inside before the wave sectioned. Woot!

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