Endless Session, Day 127: Be careful what you wish for
Morgan Sliff, stormy surf. Photo by Mike Siordia
Be careful what you wish for.
The last week I’ve been praying for surf, and today I got exactly that. The only drawback was I forgot to mention — with my serving of waves, please hold the wind. Because the extra breezy day today gave me quite a run for my money, especially with a 9’6 longboard and no leash.
I met Mike Siordia, legendary logger and my surf new coach, at Sapphire St. in Redondo Beach at 7 a.m., cup of Brothers Burritos coffee in hand. I remember being a teenager and watching Mike surf the Hermosa pier thinking to myself about how he didn’t just ride on a wave, he rode with it, and painted a beautiful representation of the soul and complete purity in surfing with every noseride, cutback, and cross step.
At Doheny. Photographer unknown (random parking lot surfer assistance)
We muscled through the wind to the top of the steps and talked a bit of shop while looking at the ominous waves roll in and flood the beach, accompanied by a nearly seven foot high tide. I geared up, faced the gusts and started my paddle out, only to be smashed into the beach by a vicious breaker just a few minutes into my session, the wind being so powerful that it lifted me and my longboard out of the water when I tried to sweep over the wave. As I got up with a face, wetsuit, and hairful of sand to cheerfully see that my most prized possession (my hand shaped Jose Barahona longboard) was intact, I trudged back up the stairs feeling defeated and decided to wait for the tide to drop.
A hearty breakfast at Brother’s with Mike and an increase in the onshore flow prompted me to say sayonara to the South Bay for the morning and hit the road for Doheney (my favorite surf spot) where I knew I would be sheltered from the breeze. My lonely car ride was made more interesting with the solo dance parties to catchy reggae and shedding of an occasional tear when a song came on that made me reminisce of mine and my ex’s surf trips.
Doheney provided. I caught a few dreamy little rights and headed back to the reality of the exposed Beach Cities, thinking about what I could learn from today and feeling excited about my new board being shaped by Jose for situations like this.
And for the forecasted big surf, coming soon.
Day 48. Photo by BumpSetServe.com