r32 story time.
On a spot mentioned above (I won't say which one), I was checking it one day leaning against my vehicle and staring into the wintery abyss. Nobody was around and it was huge. Big WNW swell around 12' @ 20" was bringing in 15' monsterous caverns, light offshore and consistent as all fvck. Every other wave was blowing out big spit. The far reef and near reef were breaking big and on larger clean up sets the waves would connect and close out as one giant 20' wall. Anyone who has surfed this spot knows pound-for-pound it could give OBSF a run for it's money and it's also just as sharky. Nobody is out and highway 1 is void of traffic.
Suddenly I hear a truck coming down the road. Two guys pull up in a beat up Taco. I could tell right away they weren't from around here and most likely drove up from LA. They tried to play the cool surfer bro brah local status card. They both got out and were immediately like 'fook yah bro we're out there!' They kept looking my direction. They could see boards stuffed inside my SUV. They start gathering their gear as monster lefts continued pouring into the cove. Finally one of them sort of walks towards me and the first thing he says is 'We're from Cambria, where you are from?'
Excuse me? GTF outta here with your bullshit local status. Haha. I called them on it. "Oh really? Where do you guys work at?"
Slight hesitation to think about what to say "We work on a ranch."
Me: "Oh cool. Which one? I know all the ranchers in this area. Do you work at Hearst."
"Uh, its a private ranch. Hey, you going out?" They were hesitant as fook to talk local when I called them on it.
Me: "Oh yah, for sure bro. It looks pretty epic today."
"So epic man! Can I ask what size board you going to use?"
Both these guys didn't have anything bigger than a 6-6. I could see the boards in the back of their truck and they were way undergunned by a few feet. Keep in mind this is one of those spots that looks doable from the road, and when you get on the beach, you immediately realize the waves are 2x bigger than you thought.
Me: "I'll probably paddle my 7-10".
No response. Just kind of nods his head like, oh sh!t, this guy is paddling out on a mini gun. They stop gathering their stuff and keep watching the waves roll in. At this point I can see doubt entering their mind.
Me: "You guys going to get out there or what? Better get on it before the wind shifts."
"Yah we're going! Are you going out?" They start waxing up their ridiculously small shortboards, staring intently at the massive walls of white water rolling in. I act like I'm getting my gear together.
Finally they start to walk down the trail. About halfway down, they stop. They are in awe of the raw power sitting in front of them. Monster sets continue to pour in, with Puerto-like monster barrels ledging up on the outer reef and throwing heaving lips into the flats, creating cavernous spitting barrels. I can see the doubt washing over them.
Me: I yelled down to them. "What are you waiting for?! Get on it!"
For five minutes, they stood there, having walked about half way down the trail. Finally one of the guys starts walking further down, while his buddy remains motionless. The guy gets down the beach and stops again. He looks up at his friend and raises his hands as if "come on man, what are you waiting for?" His buddy still halfway up the trail looks hesitant as fvck. The guy on the beach starts changing into his wetsuit. He gets his wetsuit half way on and stops to watch the waves again. At this point, the other guy on the trail comes back towards me. He gets close enough to chat.
"Where do you think we should paddle out at?" This guy was scared as fook.
Internally, I'm laughing my ass off as these kooks.
Me: "I'm going to hit the south peak."
He looks at me and again had no response. He turns back to stare at the surf,. I can see his buddy finally has his wetsuit on, board in hand. The guy on the beach stands there bewildered. After a few minutes, he finally picks up all his stuff and starts coming back up the trail.
Both of them are now standing in front of me, staring at the surf. Finally the guy with his wetsuit on turns to me.
"Are you going out right now?"
Me: "Nah. I decided to stay up here so I can call the coast guard to retrieve your bodies, when the current sweeps you into the rocks."
The look on their faces was fvcking priceless.
"You think it's too big?"
Me: "Are you fvcking kidding? There entire cove is closing out with 20' sets and you guys are paddling out on those tiny boards? You wouldn't get past the first wall of white water before you started drowning. And if the waves don't get you, the sharks will. See those elephant seals on the beach? That's food."
I got in my vehicle without saying another word and drove away.
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