Endless Session, Day 298: Bittersweet and a Little Bewilderment
Flying into a heat at the South bay Boardriders surf contest. Photo by www.bumpsetsurf.com
There was excitement and heartache in the heavy air of 5:30am. The list for the morning – a few springsuits, a damp towel, a couple sandy bikinis, hairbrush, surfboard and sunscreen – all for the long day ahead. I of course, forgot the sunscreen.
The South Bay Boardriders, the ultimate contest series for those living in and out of Santa Monica Bay, put on yet another jam-packed memorable event full of frothing groms such as ripper Cody Purcell along with legends Mike Purpus and Joey Lombardo, to name a few. The cold, empty early morning streets of Manhattan livened as soon as pavement was left behind, the beach a flutter with eager contestants checking the posted heat sheets every few minutes, even though their names weren’t going anywhere.
Open longboard was the first round of heats up, and with no time to jump in for a warmup before being in the first heat for a 7 a.m. start, I grabbed my jersey from check-in and sat next to Dave Schaefer, Tom Horton, and a few other loggers ready to take on the left sandbar starting to pump just south of the Manhattan pier. The deafening airhorn almost grounded us before we bolted in Pacific, all paddling with deep, forceful strokes. “Sets coming out the back guys, look alive!” said Dave, cross-stepping down a set of his own with his powerful footwork, snapping off the lip with whippy bottom turns and rushing up to the nose in the speedy sections. Grabbing 2nd in the heat following Dave, I bolted from Manhattan to Redondo, making it just in time for the memorial paddle out for recently passed surfer, waterman, and free-diver Taras Poznik.
Photo by www.bumpsetsurf.com
With maybe a hundred plus people in the water and even more watching from a few massive vessels, the celebration of Taras’s life could be felt well through the coastline. The clan of his friends, family, and acquaintances listened intently when his daughter Desiree spoke from the boat, and flung up splashes of sea in his honor. The somber celebration of his life lasted a stretch in the water, and the group paddled in, many of us stopping in the lineup to catch a few rides at the playful, glassy peaks of Sapphire or the other side of the rocks at Topaz, Taras’s frequented spot.
Back to the boardriders, and I was nervous for my stacked heat of talented guys, set for 3 p.m. I managed to snag a big tear in my wetsuit on the beach, and rolled the legs up for a quick practice sesh on the North side amongst some hungry youngsters, who politely traded waves with each other, only to blast into the section when it was their turn on the bowling right that was coming in towards the pier. Burning in the arms from the already long day and a few successful slides, I found myself in a blue jersey, to match my blue board and blue sunglasses, and sat next to co-competitors and buddies Troy Campbell and Fernando Ovando, watching the peaks come in and plotting our course of action.
Down the line on day 298. Photo by www.bumpsetsurf.com
In former contests, my plan has usually been zero plan. But I set my line for the consistent left, and lost myself in the surf (occasionally garnering a laugh at the now up to my knee tear in my aging long john). I felt myself gliding down a few, but didn’t see anyone else, and just pretended I was surfing with 5 of my friends, not paying attention to the airhorn or onlookers. I thought there was absolutely no way I did better than the guy rippers I was up against, which is why I didn’t try to switch my afternoon shift at work, which my semi-final was already making me an hour late for.
To my utter bewilderment, I won my repercharge heat. And in my bewildered state had to jet off to work, missing my final. This new board – my new bff, confidant, and soulmate, is giving me some serious water wings.
