Had an amazing session at my favorite right hand sand bar two evenings ago. Well, mostly amazing. I went mountain biking for the first time in a while, waiting for the tide to drop. Got side tracked by a big patch of King Bolete mushrooms and ended up crawling around the spruce forest for longer than I had planned. When I got back to my truck I had texts from my buddies like hey dude it's firing. Scarfed some protein bars and jerky as I blasted out to the coast. I was feeling dehydrated even though I'd been drinking water steadily.
My first impression when I pulled up to the spot was that it was definitely working. Clean, well overhead. Maybe DOH. At least two swells running so pretty much non-stop energy pouring through. Counted half a dozen guys but could see that most of them were struggling to hold position in the current. Waxed up the 6-10 Rusty for her maiden voyage and went for it.
The paddle out sucked. Almost got denied but finally after getting swept almost all the way down to the inside closeout section there was a little opening and I managed to scramble out to deeper water. I was definitely feeling the 10 odd day surf streak as well as the afternoon bike ride. The current was brutal and it took me a long time to make it to the top of the sand bar and past a few guys on small boards to where a good friend of mine was holding it down on his 7-6. So, how about this current, eh? A set came and he stroked into the first one. The second one was wide and I barely scratched over the shoulder. The third wave had that look, a good one but shifting a bit deeper. I paddled hard to get into position, spun and then right as I could feel the ocean lift me I started to kick and both of my thighs cramped up. Like full on seized. I pulled back and thankfully there wasn't another wave behind me. I paddled wide and laid there on my board trying to relax. It took a few minutes before the cramps started to subside and I could move my legs again. My first inclination was to go in but I couldn't bear the thought of not even getting a single wave. I drank a few sips of sea water, hoping the salt would help and whether it was coincidence or what, the legs started to relax.
I had drifted well off the peak and it took me a while to get back just slowly paddling and trying to relax. It had probably been 45 minutes since I entered the water and I hadn't caught a wave. A mid sizer came and I took it, figuring if I couldn't surf it I would just go in. It wasn't a great one but I was able to carve around a bit and get a little feel for the board before I kicked out. Kept taking little sips of water as I paddled back out and by the time I got back to the peak the legs were feeling alright. A wide set came and my buddy was too deep so he shouted to go and I did. The thing was a beaut and I got a clean entry from behind a long section. Got a high pump, drove around the section then pushed through two open face turns. Opted to kick out rather than fit in one more and risk getting stuck inside. Almost got cleaned up anyways by an errant peak that shifted to the inside, just barely scratching under the pitching lip and praying there wasn't a bigger one behind. There wasn't. Took ages to get back to the take off but once there I didn't have to wait long for another great wave. The board was feeling amazing, plenty of glide and stability but on a bigger, powerful wave it didn't feel like overkill at all and I pushed through my turns a bit harder on this one.
Paddling back out a huge set came through and cleaned everyone up but I was still a bit wider and got to the shoulder in time. The sun was melting into the low cloud bank on the horizon. I looked back to shore and there, way inside the last two surfers were leaving the water. I got two more waves, my last one being the best of the session, kind of a slower paced one that rolled way down the beach and allowed me to surf more top to bottom in the pocket. Finished it off and bellied the whitewater to the beach. My whole body was done and my legs especially felt wobbly walking the long, flat beach back to the trail.
Shared war stories with the boys in the field above the break as we watched the setting sun turn the clouds pink.