Winter OB fun 12/1/04

I had the afternoon off today after a 3 hour work luncheon (with open bar).

New NW was hitting OB so I hit it up from 3-dark. Drove by the sandbar across from Beach Chalet / Windmills and saw sickness in the form of 6-8 foot clean sets firing in both directions. Crossed up swell from the North and South made for interesting conditions

Scramble into my wettie and paddle out. The 50 degree water and churning impact zone made me wish I hadn't eaten those two lobsters, a 20 ounce steak and two dozen oysters, washed down by Courvoisier and Blue label Johnny.

The paddleout was a fucking bitch. Just when you think you're out the back the clean up sets arrived. Cool thing about it was that it served as a natural crowd control.

Again, I'm undergunned. Other guys were on their 7'+ guns and I'm putzing around on my shortboard, knowing that every take off will be late.

The first set arrived. I paddle over and swing around as the lip is feathering. Couple of strokes and I'm looking down the face, into the belly of the beast. Freefall takeoff as the wave jacks up and bottom drops out from underneath me... board reconnects....crank a bottom turn then set up for a long left racing the translucent emerald wall, punctuated by reos and lip-bashes all the way to the closeout section. WOOOOOOOH!!!!!

Then I'm back outside again. The next group of sets were from the North. Some longboarder takes off on the first one and eats fucking shit as the thick lip slaps him like a bitch. The crowd scrambles for the next couple of sets, fnally the last one is heading my way.....fuck...too deep....I'm paddling across trying to get as much lateral speed to race the closeout section... couple of strokes and as soon as I'm on my feet the lip pitches over me and I'm in the wonderful slow-motion world inside the barrel. The light at the end shrinks...All along I'm looking around at the surreal liquid spinning vortex. I shift my weight forward and start pumping the board to maximize speed. Afterburners are on, and the exit is moving closer....suddenly I see daylight again, and ride the rest of the wave to the channel. YYYYEEEAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Now I'm getting cocky. The next sets from the South was a little maxed out I greedily paddle for the first wave. I get to my feet at the last second, then my board becomes a high diving board, as I freefell from the lip and hit the flats. The lip comes crashing down and beats me like a redheaded stepchild. The rest of the set pummels me like a liquid avie....I surface about 20 seconds later dazed, expecting my board to be in two pieces. Nope! Back out for some more.

For about 30 minutes the right hand sandbar turns fucking ON!!!!! Each wave was like a pointbreak, late take-off, crank a bottom turn, then a long, fast, racy wall for smacking lips, long carving cutties, and random barrel sections.

Then all of a sudden, somebody flicked a switch. The rip ruined the rights hitting the sandbar, crowds started to paddle out, and the sets started closing out. Caught my last wave at sunset, and ejaculated all over the inside of my 4/3.

(Edit: typos)