[Paddlewise] Day #29, La Jolla Surf Shindig

3/28/08

Friday I drove down to San Diego for the Southwest Symposium and after
dropping my camping stuff off at Campland headed to the Marine Room at La
Jolla for a surf class with Sean Morley and Nigel Foster. There were about
10 of us in the class including Chuck Freedman, Patric Martin, Mike Bode. I
was also happy to meet for the first time the builder of my Delfin kayak,
Rafael Mier and his son Gustavo who were up from Mexico to attend the
symposium. Everyone seemed competent kayakers with various levels of
experience in the surf.

We spent a bit of time talking in the sand and then headed out for the hands
on training. I paddled out alongside Patrick who expressed some apprehension
about his twitchy new boat, but looked like an old pro heading out through
the surf. The waves had seemed a bit small when we had arrived, but picked
up a bit and there were some challenging conditions for us novices. I think
I caught the first wave of the group and had a nice ride to shore, but the
paddle back out did not bode well for the day. A large wave broke in front
of me and knocked me over backwards. A bit winded already I didn't even try
for a roll and was probably the first in the group to swim as well. As
someone who loves puching his sea kayak through incoming waves, I'm a bit
embarrassed that punching through them in my surf boat is my major cause of
carnage. Back on land for a bit, I got a tip from Sean on how to bunny hop
over the soup and tried to put that to good use.

A few of us moved a bit north of the Marine Room and while the waves were of
a good size, they were rather closed out and after a couple rides we mingled
back with the rest of the folk. Conditions seemed to get a lot better with
some green water on our sides to push our rides a bit. Every time I'd
paddled out I'd see Patrick out there with a big smile on his face till I
decided he must have carved it into his beard!! We were a bit crowded and I
had a couple near misses with Patrick that had his eyes widening a bit! Mike
and I shared a wave on one ride and both of us zigged when we should have
zagged for a bit of a collision, but we both stayed upright and Mike
professed to be fine later.

For the rest of the three hours, I just tried to sqeeze in as many rides as
I could. Gustavo, only 16, seemed relentless and indefatigable playing in
the surf that he said was bigger than what he was used to. The bunny hop
served me in good stead and I found myself getting through waves that I felt
sure would swamp me. A one point heading out one of the big ones loomed in
front of me and I was sure of another swim. Next to me, Nigel was also
paddling out and I hoped that before I found myself upside down, I'd be able
to at least see how an expert would handle it, but what do you know, we both
made it over! My bunny hop maneuver alone was worth the price of admission!

I got some great rides and one of the best found me riding the shoulder deep
into the reef area we were supposed to avoid. In trying to pull out of the
wave, I got hit by another angling wave and found myself upside down for
only the second time on the day. With a bit more air in my lungs, I took
some time to compose myself and pulled out my first honest to goodness
combat roll to add to the day's success. Still I was in some rough water and
at Seans behest surfed some white water to a safer area.

There were nothing but smiles on the faces of all the students for the day
and I don't doubt on Sean's or Nigel's either. I've stopped trying to rate
my latest surfing sessions because it just doesn't seem possible that each
on seems to be better than the last. But a handy tip and my first combat
roll makes this one I'll remember.

Mark Sanders

 www.sandmarks.net
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