[Paddlewise] X-mas Eve in the Surf

Duane said:
<<Things have been a little slow lately, so I thought I'd let you know
what's
going on in So Cal.  I almost did a post last weekend about sweating
while
paddling in a T-shirt while at the same time most of the nation was
freezing,
but I thought I'd spare most of you.  Anyhow, with a forecast of 4-6
foot
surf, today was a surf day.>>

Duane, I thought I heard on the news that there were surf advisories up
for your area, and that indeed a couple of unlucky souls had been
plucked off the rocks and or beaches by rogue waves. Our surf has been a
bit inconsistent - mostly local high wind with low swell. It appears
that the jet stream is on Viagra this winter, veering down south, and
clearly raising havoc as far away as Texas.

<<>Scott joined me in the surf today, and being that we trust each other
to be
able to control our boats (WW), we shared some waves.  On one 6 foot
face we
shared, he had the inside, and I was laughing as I watched him get
buried in
whitewash, pop back out, and continue riding.>>>

I try to do as much surfing as I can during "storm-season" up here. I
try to purposely get thrashed as much as possible. Consistently getting
"maytagged" in steep and "thick" surf in one's sea kayak, is a good
training regime for developing the ability to hold one's breath.
Combined with good cross-training and over-all good health, I find the
ability to hold one's breath a crucial factor for hardcore sea kayaking.
I get scolded back at shore for incompetence, until I explain that I
purposely go over and stay over for a bit, as I just like doing it
upside-down. Some of the best extreme WW guys can hold underwater for
three minutes. I'd need gills to do that.

<<<After a couple of hours, we went in, and I saw a couple (man and
woman)
getting ready to launch sea kayaks. <snip>  Like vultures, Scott and I,
and a
couple other friends, Joe and Tom, watched for carnage.>>> <snip>

You old vultures you; you just "eat it up" don't you? :-) Whether it's
people landing in surf or launching, or even messing up in the surf, you
do seem to get a good feeding down there! I was out on the west coast of
VI one year with a couple of buddies. We were having a hard time finding
a suitable landing spot. They agreed to let me go in first. I was the
youngest, so was elected as "probe unit". We had done the classic
avoidance technique of paddling in behind a hook of land, into the lee
of a peninsula (now, let me see...that would be the non-leeward side --
I think:-) ), where the surf was minimized. It looked a bit "iffy" but
assurances were given that I knew what I was doing. So in I go, not
allowing time for proper assessment. The surf was dumping on a steep
pebble beach, and due to the catch-all nature of the small inlet, heavy
and copious amounts of seaweed suddenly manifested  in the steep wall of
water. I went over sideways, alighted partially with one leg only,
whereupon the wave sucked the boat back out as I fell over. I had my
handy bow-line quick release, and caught the boat going out. I was left,
as was the boat, covered completely in thick, slimy seaweed. Not an
inspiring sight. It was the abominable seaweed man of native lore,
incarnate. And certainly, I did not inspire the other two guys with my
prowess as a savvy surf experienced sea kayaker. They mostly scowled at
me with loud vocalizations of scorn and laughter. Definitely a
sub-species of vulture-like sea kayakers -- those two guys :-)

To all the paddlers out there providing such fine fodder for the
easily-amused, I wish you "good tidings"  this Christmas season, and a
reminder:  "he who laughs last, laughs best."

DL


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