This weekend I broke the rules and interacted with someone from Craigslist to pick up a 6'10" Vernor Tree Hugger. There was a small swell in the water, so I decided I needed to again break the rules and go into the ocean to give it a try. Where I ended up is, even in this information age, still not on the radar of most surfers, so I'm going to try to describe my experience without giving away details that could ID the spot. I'd learned about it 10 years ago, made my way to check it out only a handful of times, and never before surfed it. I didn't even know anyone who had, at least not that was willing to talk to me about it.
But this weekend was different. I pulled up to the spot to check the wave and it looked like there were waves that could be ridden out there. As I was trying to decide if I was going to go surf it for the first time I ever had, two guys paddled out. They didn't look like they were great surfers, but they got a wave or two. That was all I needed and I pulled my gear together.
The first challenge is getting to the beach. I didn't know the best way to get there, but I knew I was going to be hiking. I put my wetsuit and towel into my drybag back-pack and started figuring out what fins to put on the new board. I wanted to try the Tree Hugger because it's a mid-length/funboard shape, but also because it has boxes for quad fins AND a single fin center box. I had an 8" single fin, but opted for a 6" with 3.75" side bites.
I should have put on sunscreen. I ended up hiking almost 2 miles to get to where I paddled out. I was wearing a beanie, but the sun came out and I was sweating so it came off and I slowly started to burn. Once I got in the water, the wave itself still takes awhile to get to. The two guys who were out earlier had left in the time it took me to get to the beach, so I paddled out through the rocks, boils, seals, and kelp all alone. Once I got out to the wave I was cautious, but still got some waves. The wave was doing a few different things with some swinging wide and bowling up, some foam-balling, and sometimes the two swell directions combined into what was the best wave to ride. The new board took some getting used to. It catches waves great, and I only blew it on one drop all day, but it took a few waves to dial in the sweet spot for a bottom turn. I rode a few until I found the sweet spot, then moved the center fin forward a little to see what it would do. When I moved the fin forward it tightened up the board, opposite of what I expected, but it was probably due to the three fins being too much in-line and starting to act as one huge fin. I slipped the center fin all the way back and the board felt good again. After about 45-min solo surfing, a could guys paddled out. Plenty of waves, no problem. They were on small boards and were riding the foam ball and I could see how the medium sized ones would reform mid-way and give a wall that had room for a smack or wrap-around, etc. A few more guys came out, this time on longer boards, and competed with me where I was riding the wide swinging waves. Still plenty of waves to share. A few more guys came out and things started to feel a bit crowded. I overhead them chatting about how good the waves were, so I got the sense that I had picked a really good day to give it a try. I was still getting waves, but had been in the water for 90 minutes (plus an hour hike to get down) and decided I needed to head back before I exhausted myself.
On the hike back I tried for a shortcut I had seen from the water. It ended up being so steep and so difficult that my already tired body screamed for a break every 5-10 steps. I was hiking up a cliff that was like climbing a ladder, but with blackberry and poison oak along the way. I eventually made it to the top of the cliff and finished the hike back to the car along the relatively flat trail.
Follow up edit on fins: The fin cluster I chose for the first time on the board was admittedly weird and uninformed. Of course a big part of choosing the Tree Hugger was to experiment with fins and get first hand experience with different options. My plan is to take the fins out of the board after every session to avoid “inertial” fin selection. This also requires me to bring options with me. I’d like to track down some sub-three inch side fins to imitate a widowmaker arrangement, but for now I have plenty to try with the fins I already have on hand.
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