Sixth Sense

We know. Somehow we know when there's a shark around. It's a kind of sixth sense. I don't think we'll ever be able to document what it is exactly, but if you have it while you're surfing, I'd pay attention to it.

-Peter Pyle, lecture to Surfrider members, San Francisco Chapter, June 10, 2003

With the left side of my face still swollen and painful to the touch, and the southwest groundswell no longer lighting up the reef break beside a calm channel, I'm out of the water, not fit to crash through windswell at the beach. It's given me a chance to finish reading a book by Susan Casey that I picked up as research for the young adult fantasy novel I'm writing (working title: Marinea and the Fountains of the Farallones). The whole of The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks has been interesting to read. But the quote above from the Epilogue really struck me. I've had that feeling before, and blogged about it in An Absence of Dolphins. There's no way to know of course, but I still remember that sense of being watched by something malevolent. I'm both fascinated and viscerally repelled by the Landlords, and hope never to encounter one who's looking to collect the rent.

The Most Dangerous Thing in Surfing

... is your surfboard.

A fine-looking shoulder-highish set rolled through as I stepped around a sleeping homeless man on the top of the bluff and walked carefully down the steep dirt path. No one else was out yet, and I was anticipating having free choice of those fun waves for a little while. Then I took off in the short space between two sections and had one of those what-the-hell-just-happened wipeouts. I think I'd started to pop up when suddenly I was falling and tumbling and whack! Rocket clocked me on my left check near my eye but I was still rolling underwater and wondering which way was up until the wave finally let me go. I could tell right away that I was bleeding. Crap, how bad? Gently I touched my fingers to my lower eyelid and they came away stained red.

I hadn't even ridden a single one of those nice waves.

My face hurt but I wasn't bleeding that much. When Teresa paddled out with Tim, I asked her how bad it looked, if she thought I needed to go in. "Well, you're bleeding," she said. "It'll probably be worse later so your call if you want to go through that out here or at home."

So not that bad, then.

I just couldn't paddle straight in, not when the waves looked so fun. Maybe just one and done. I caught a nice left and was enjoying multiple turns on the face when Tim came up from behind, out of the whitewater and angling to get onto the peak. He's done that several times in the last few sessions, and it's really annoying. The first time he called me off when I tried to cut back, because he was right there, in my way, and I pulled out while he continued on the wave. The second time (no way, dude!) I stayed in the pocket until he got off. This time (aww, c'mon!) I had to continue down the line instead of cutting back for more power, but I didn't yield.

After he'd slightly ruined it, that couldn't be my last and only wave.

The pain started to intensify but I paddled back out. I needed a good wave and it came to me, with Trailer Tim nowhere near. I took off at the peak, early-morning green-gray water rising beside me as I rode left. I cut back toward the whitewater and swished the tail around to travel left again, up near the top of the wave and down as it steepened while crossing shallower reef, repeating several times until the cobblestone beach neared. Yes!

So fun. I almost paddled back out again, but the throbbing in my cheek and pain of the cuts under my eye insisted that an ice pack be applied post haste. Even so, I'm going to have quite a shiner. Three hours later, it looks like I dipped my finger in ruddy purple paint and smeared it under my eye, like a drunken soldier sloppily applying war paint.

It's been quite a while since I've had a surfing injury worse than a bruise or a small cut, so I guess I was about due. Kind of like we're about due for an earthquake.

And now, a cute kitten to end this post on a cheery note.

This is our 5yo cat Zoe's new kitten, Kaylee (in keeping with the Firefly theme)

Woot!

We've been in the surf doldrums for too long, which made today's southwest swell extra fun at my local reef break. I rode my last wave all the way in to the cobblestone beach. Woo hoo!

Surfing with Sharks

Last night, after I'd loaded my Mazda 3 for an early departure to (almost) dawn patrol at San Onofre with Tracey and Chris, I saw this on my Twitter feed:

JonXtensen: In the water at San-o w/ @traceykthompson and @greacen and a helicopter flies over and on the loud speaker: "MULTIPLE GREAT WHITE SHARKS" 

youlooksofine: @JonXtensen @traceykthompson @greacen Everyone safe on dry land??? not to imply dry land is actually safer

JonXtensen: @traceykthompson @greacen yeah. I caught a wave out immediately while they risked life and limb another 5 minutes. 

traceykthompson: @JonXtensen @youlooksofine @greacen a piece of kelp bumped my leg and I totally screamed ;) 

So I said:

surfergrrrl: @traceykthompson @JonXtensen @youlooksofine @greacen I'm sure they'll all be gone by the time I get there tomorrow. 

traceykthompson: @surfergrrrl @JonXtensen @youlooksofine @greacen I bet the helicopter scared them off 

surfergrrrl: @traceykthompson Or your scream.

Coincidentally, I'd made another infrequent perusal of Pacific Coast Shark News earlier in the day and it seems the Men in Gray Suits like to hang out near Trail #1 at San O. But my friends from NorCal, who I hadn't seen in a few years, were camping near Trail #6. And anyway, there are always sharks in the ocean, right? Besides, I'd already packed the car.

After driving nearly an hour north, I paid $15 (!) to park at the campground in a day use lot that was deserted – except for a bunny!

I hadn't seen a bush rabbit in a while either. It made me miss surfing at the state beaches in Half Moon Bay, especially Dunes, which I'd nicknamed Bunnies.

Chris filled me in on the shark story. Yesterday afternoon at "shark o'clock" several surfers reported seeing fins in the water – although he noted there were a lot of dolphins around – and then the helicopter spotted them too. We decided to say no more about that, picked up our boards and hiked down the goat trail to the beach.

I'd never surfed Trails before and was surprised that the break was uncrowded, almost completely empty, on a summer weekend. The waves were closing out a fair bit on the very low tide, but they were bigger and better that the past week at my home break. It was nice to catch up with my friends as we waited for sets. Although Tracey and Chris caught more waves on their longboards than I did on my 6'2", I rode a bunch of fun and long chest-high rights and lefts. Woot!

Between sets, I caught a whiff of the gist of a conversation between Chris and one of the few other guys near us, sensed it had something to do with sharks, and deliberately tuned them out.

After almost two hours, Tracey rode a wave in, soon followed by Chris, and I made sure I wasn't far behind. I didn't want to be the straggler that got culled from the herd. Back on the beach, Chris related that the other guy had seen a fin heading quickly out to sea. Yeah, for sure I did not want to know that.

Post-surf Twitter convo:

@surfergrrrl: Fun surf with @traceykthompson and @greacen. And no one got eaten! #sharks #SanO 

@traceykthompson: Down to one fin sighting per session! :) 

#ISD2015

Happy International Surfing Day! Caught a few fun little waves in Pacific Beach well south of the pier, then watched a bit of the US Open of Flowboarding at the Wavehouse in Belmont Park. 

So glad the sunshine is back.

Review: The 5-in-1 Chawel

When the company sent me a Chawel Sport HD to review, I wondered if the product tried to do too much. It's a changing room! It's a towel! It's a neck pillow and a blanket and a sleeping bag!

My primary uses would be only as a towel and as a changing room. Could it perform those functions well enough, or did it sacrifice utility in order to provide additional features? Here's my take after using it half a dozen times post-surf.

The Chawel is the smallest and lightest changing towel I've ever used. As a towel, it works better than expected. The fabric is fairly thin, not the usual fluffy towel material, but it is absorbent. It also dries quickly, unlike similar products such as the Roomel.

While the Chawel arrived without armholes, the instructions said they could be created by sniping the single-stitch seam on the upper sides. I initially used the Chawel without armholes and quickly realized I needed them. It was easy enough to modify as directed.

With the hood and a small neck opening, there's no good way to slip out of a bikini top and put on a shirt while wearing the Chawel. For changing from a bikini bottom to pants, it works well – no chance of a wardrobe malfunction. I didn't miss pockets with through-slits, since the fabric is thin enough to manipulate clothing from the outside. On chilly mornings, I was glad of the attached hood, which provides a little warmth and wind protection for a wet head.

The Chawel has an attached elastic strap to secure it in a tidy bundle before it's stowed in the included carry bag. I was never able to re-wrap it as neatly as it arrived, but then I don't have the patience to fold my sheets either, preferring to wad them up in a pillow case. It's also easier to just stuff the unfolded Chawel into its stretchy bag.

On the second use, the pull tab on the carry bag fell off and the bag could no longer be closed with the drawstring, but this was no big loss. I do wonder why the company didn't make the Chawel's zippered pocket a little bigger so it could stow inside that instead of needing a separate bag.

While I didn't test the travel features, I think the Chawel would make a nice liner if you were sleeping in your board bag or at a hostel. It would only be useful as a blanket in a warm climate and won't cover a taller person fully, but would be fine to sit on at the beach. As a neck pillow – well, it takes patience to fold and roll it so it isn't too lumpy, but if I was stuck on a plane with plenty of time, I'm sure I'd manage it.

Bottom line, if you're traveling light or just don't have much room in your gear bag, the Chawel offers a nice 5-in-1 package. It does nothing perfectly, but it handles its multiple functions well with exceptional portability.