Sunday morning was the kind of day I dream about. Oh sure, living in sunny Southern California we get more then our fair share of warm sunny days. But this morning actually started on the chilly side. Being the middle of winter means that the crowds at the beach have diminished to just the hard core local types. But it wasn't the lighter crowds or even the availability of parking spaces that made this day great. What made Sunday special can be summed up in two words - SURF'S UP! I had heard a swell was coming in for the weekend so I tried to cut myself free for Saturday. Unfortunately I had other plans which, no matter how I tried to twist it, I just couldn't get out of -- at least not with a clear conscience. So I set my sights on Sunday instead. I still had plans for Sunday, a family birthday party later in the afternoon, but the way I figured it that still left Sunday morning free. This could even work out for the better as the swell was expected to build through Sunday and Monday. So bright and early Sunday morning I hit the road and drove the twenty minutes to my usual surfing beach at San Onofre. I pulled into the surf beach at a little after six o'clock in the morning, paid my five dollars to enter the State Park, and head down to the parking lot which parallels the shore. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky and illuminate the throngs of board surfers that were already out on the water. No matter, paddle craft get the South end, and not too many board surfers bother to compete with us. As I reached the paddle craft area I was amazed to see that there was no one out! "Cool," I thought to myself. "Its all mine!" There were several wave ski guys on the beach, but they seemed to be waiting for things to warm up some. I found a place to park and began unloading my trusty old Perception Sabre, when one of the wave ski guys worked up his courage and launched. "It's still a lot of water for two guys," I thought to myself. As I threw together my gear I was acutely aware of the fact that this day marked the official end of my holiday inactivity and pig fest. I was out of shape and really beginning to feel my age. For a second I even considered putting on my pfd for the mornings surfing. But I quickly regained my senses and launched from the beach with my pfd still tucked safely away in my car. The surf was running a solid and consistent six to seven feet. At San Onofre the surf breaks quite a ways out which actually makes a pretty perfect break for paddle craft. But that also means you have got a lot of whitewater to punch through to get to it. As I fought my way out I was feeling every piece of fruit cake I had eaten over the last couple of months. "I really need to get into some kind of exercise program," I kept muttering to myself as I was becoming increasingly winded. Once I got beyond the surf I paused to try to catch my breath. "Man, the air sure seems to be a lot thinner at the beach these days," I tried to convince myself. But I wasn't really buying it. After several minutes I decided I had lingered long enough and it was time to catch some waves! I paddled forward as a good sized swell approached. Just as I was about to drop over the lip I realized that this wall was going to close out so I pulled back out of the wave. The next one had much better shape so I committed to it and dropped down it's face. These waves were clean and well formed and seemed to go on for miles. I was able to cut left climbing into the break and then crank a hard right and build speed in the pocket while dropping down the face and regaining the green water. As much as I love to do stunts in the surf these waves called out for a more traditional ride. Drop into the wave, climb up the power pocket and then drop back down again while building more and more speed. I was squeezing all the performance I could get out of my old antiquated Sabre in what seemed to be an almost endless series of ups and downs and lefts and rights. The wave ski guys were going to have a blast when they finally got out on the water. After each ride I had to punch back out through the wash to get to a place where I could once again rest and catch my breath before taking on another wave. I seem to go through this every year. This day that for me marks the end of the holidays and the beginning of my yearly quest to achieve some semblance of health and fitness. Every year it seems to get a little harder, and take a little bit more effort and time to regain the endurance which will ultimately allow me to remain in the surf for up to eight hours a day. Today, however, I came back into the beach after a paltry two hours - I was exhausted. I planned to rest for a bit and go back out later. But as I sat on the beach the wave ski guys apparently decided it was warm enough to go out, and go out they did, in one big swarm. As they were launching, others were arriving in their cars to quickly join their brethren on the water. It was like they all knew just what time was appropriate for them to launch. Heck, maybe this was all arranged ahead of time. I guess I'm just not part of that loop -- pity. Eventually the sun came out, and the water became crowded with paddle craft surfers. The waves were still good, but were getting a little mushy with the dropping tide. I decided to cut my losses while I was still ahead. I had had a great day on the water, albeit a short one. This was the start of a new year, and I decided to end it on an upbeat. There would be plenty more opportunities in the future to take advantage of, and hopefully I will be in better shape by then. Besides, I had another party to go to. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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