Surfing by Moonlight

Well another big NW ground swell moved into NORCAL this am, and boy was I on it. First in and first to be skunked, or for that matter, SLAMMED! Surfline had the conditions at chest-high for the morning, with it moving towards double-overhead by the afternoon (all with 15 sec intervals), so I figured I would get myself some fun morning swell-time to myself before it got too crowded and too big.

The pic above shows you what I was faced with upon my arrival...clear skies, beautiful full moon, and slow moving waves with nice big long lines to carve upon. I quickly suited up while others began arriving. As I hurried myself down to the water, I gave a shout out for being first in, paddling out and setting myself up for some serious fun. However, I soon discovered that the swell size was not as small as I thought, as one double-overhead set rolled through the spot, catching me off-guard and forcing me to ride some re-form to just save my ass from getting pummeled!

"Fuck this!"...I thought, as I decided to roll on out to the far outside and try and catch one of those behemoths, only to be skunked again by the rising tide and clashing swell directions. I carefully adjusted my line and tentatively paddled further in, as there was too much water in front of the big ones to really catch them way outside. Big mistake...I caught a nice shoulder high wave, but as I pulled off of it and turned to paddle back outside, my eyes fell upon an on-coming set, double-overhead and closing-out.

After taking two on the head, I decided that I would rather ride the next one in than stay out there. I turned my board and pointed it towards shore, bracing myself for the impending impact of the double-overhead foam. Thank god for my ability to maintain a "death-grip" on my board, because the full force of that wave, tossed me around like a rag doll! As the white liquid pounded around me, I suddenly felt free of the water, having been spit out of its relentless assault to the beach and having now to direct my board away from the oncoming shore rocks. I had made it, but barely.

Now, as I slowly gathered myself on the shore, I gazed out again at the other surfers who had survived that set and decided that I wanted more.

I walked back to the entry point, and paddled back out to catch a few more before calling it because I noticed that I had somehow cut my finger. "Better leave now, before the Man in the Greysuit shows up, sniffing around"...I thought. I then proceeded to catch a foam bubble home.

The first return of the big NW ground swell always generates a nerverous antcipation for catching some 10 foot wall of water and riding it all the way down the line. I have had the immense joy of being one of the lucky few to experience such a trip...once was good enough to get me hooked! Now, with the ground swell's return, we begin the dance anew, re-training the mind for that inevitable wipe-out, or developing the body and arms for that rouge set coming at you, as you struggle to scratch over its cresting top. Yep, great days ahead...scary as they may be up close, catching one of those walls of water is pure joy and the reason why I live up here...I WILL CATCH ONE, it's only a matter of time and nerves of steel!

Here be some pics before and after the session: