I rather fancied that forecast…north easterly, blowing hard and ramping up the waves. Hmm. The best time would be about 06:30 for an hour or two, after that the water level would drop and the swell would be absorbed by the banks. The trouble was, I wasn’t due to finish work until 8…
I managed to leave ever so slightly early and went home, greeting the family briefly before deciding against my wetsuit and clambering into the drysuit to save time and give me a bit more comfort (even though it’s harder to perform in it). I untied my RRRapido, rigged up my replacement ATC9K onto the bow for filming and then wandered down the beach with it over my shoulder on a thigh strap.
I recognised the van in the cul-de-sac, recognised the two people looking at the waves. I was surprised that they weren’t in the water; I was surprised that no-one was even though it was messy – messy, but big and rideable. I couldn’t waste time and in I went, paddling up the length of the groyne.
I moved out past the end, the wind holding me against the current and waited all of a minute before paddling for shore in front of a wave that had ramped up nicely to around 4ft; I was away…15mph, 15 seconds of down and along and then I cut back and over. Sweet!
I paddled back out, getting to my start position, paddled, leaned badly and was in, grabbing the thigh strap just before the first wave broke on me, propelling me into shore. I bobbed over the second and, as the third broke got set and threw myself back aboard as it passed.
The next ride was going beautifully until I got cocky and tried for a 180, 8 seconds in. I swung her around but leaned badly while still at an angle, dug the arse in as the nose got foamed and went over. Never mind, I’ll get there when the waves are cleaner; I want to do it on camera though, having managed it a few times on smaller waves and I want to make it around to the full 360 but I need these surf days to happen! I am so out of practice it’s untrue, the RRRapido having cursed the swells here.
Well, I was back out once more and here came a beauty…it’d make 5-6ft and I ran ahead, as it caught me up, still on the rise. Down the face, into a turn and I’m skimming along at 16.77mph; the crest is about to crumble and I shoot upwards, catch some clean water and run down again, impressing myself, and keep going before the waves breaks apart and I slide in towards the beach sideways in a pile of foam. Twenty seconds of a fantastic ride and then, as the bubbles dissipate beneath me I roll over in the shallows unable to get back from my leaning brace.
I paddle back out. It’s getting messier now, some larger waves are coming through but most are getting smashed before they arrive with most of the rideable stuff closer in than I can be bothered with. I‘m flagging now though, after forty minutes of battling wind and waves to hold position and I start screwing up. I’m catching waves late and pearling, I’m leaning wrong and rolling, I’m all over the place and I’ve got an audience. I get the odd wave and ride it a bit before being flicked over. There’s water in the hull now too, not a lot but enough to affect my stability; worst of all it’s a battle to get out and three or four times I get almost to my start point when a biggie rolls in, breaks and trashes me, washing me backwards. I’m swearing.
I get out again and see a beauty lining up, the biggest of the day, this will make 8ft…that’s very, very good for here and it’s nicely shaped too. The trouble is I’m too close in for it now, waiting for the sixes, and if I try to ride it I’m going to get trashed; I won’t get enough speed up, it’ll be a late drop in and it’ll take me too vertical. I’ll pearl and get hammered worse than the last wave that held me, with buoyancy aid and drysuit, under the water for a couple of seconds, tumbling. I have no choice but to bottle it and try to haul myself over it in time…I make it and regret it for the rest of the day.
I catch a couple more that don’t throw me in and then have a bad run. I decide on one more good, long run and make my way out as a couple of boardies pitch up and paddle out. I chat briefly with one and head for my take-off spot, ignoring one wave because number 2 is paddling out and will be in my way. In fact, both of them are on my line for the next quarter of an hour and I have to ignore most of my waves, choosing lesser ones that have me in when the run is clear. Damn damn damn…just one more! I swim a couple of times and then, a smaller one of 4ft or so comes in, nice and wide and I decide what the hell and take it, scooting in past the boardies for a decent run, turn side-on and shoot up to the beach in the foam. That’s it, I’m knackered now and the best of the day has passed.
Tomorrow’s looking even better…
I moved out past the end, the wind holding me against the current and waited all of a minute before paddling for shore in front of a wave that had ramped up nicely to around 4ft; I was away…15mph, 15 seconds of down and along and then I cut back and over. Sweet!
I paddled back out, getting to my start position, paddled, leaned badly and was in, grabbing the thigh strap just before the first wave broke on me, propelling me into shore. I bobbed over the second and, as the third broke got set and threw myself back aboard as it passed.
The next ride was going beautifully until I got cocky and tried for a 180, 8 seconds in. I swung her around but leaned badly while still at an angle, dug the arse in as the nose got foamed and went over. Never mind, I’ll get there when the waves are cleaner; I want to do it on camera though, having managed it a few times on smaller waves and I want to make it around to the full 360 but I need these surf days to happen! I am so out of practice it’s untrue, the RRRapido having cursed the swells here.
Well, I was back out once more and here came a beauty…it’d make 5-6ft and I ran ahead, as it caught me up, still on the rise. Down the face, into a turn and I’m skimming along at 16.77mph; the crest is about to crumble and I shoot upwards, catch some clean water and run down again, impressing myself, and keep going before the waves breaks apart and I slide in towards the beach sideways in a pile of foam. Twenty seconds of a fantastic ride and then, as the bubbles dissipate beneath me I roll over in the shallows unable to get back from my leaning brace.
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