Hadn't surfed in 8 days, checked the cams on a whim after work, saw semi-clean, burgery but well-overhead to 2x surf with no one out. Asked the wife for a pass. Got it.
Brought the 7'2 Hess cuz it looked like a lot of work getting out to the outer bars. Classic OB abuse. 25 minutes of paddling through foam and swirling water. A lot of whitewaters rolling through the trough between bars. Finally got a lull and sneaked out between sets just to the north and south of me.
Hard to position with the current whisking me quickly north. Caught inside the third wave of a set. One of those paralyzing situations where you're not sure if you can sneak under the lip or if paddling will just put you right in the impact zone. Ended up holding my ground and letting the wave break a few yards in front of me. Went for the duck dive instead of ditching and barely held on to my board. Out the back again and more of the same for the next 45 minutes before I grabbed closeout. Kinda treacherous getting in through the inside bar. Good adversity training, I guess.