Tuesday, March 30, 2021

A not gentle reminder

It's been a long time since I've surfed OBSF. Last weekend I had a narrow window to surf, and the surf looked small and junky, but with no wind. I figured it was as good a time as any to give OBSF a try. I wanted to feel the longboard again, and had it in the car with the TH. I met JB pre-dawn and we looked around. It wasn't great, and really wasn't even good, but we had agreed to make the most of it. We went out near the north end where the mess of waves was smaller and hopefully more manageable. It was a good reminder of why I stopped surfing OB.

1) It was silly how many people opted for the not-great conditions first thing in the morning.

2) We decided to walk down the beach to get away from people. The ever-present currents at OB quickly moved us back to the crowd.

3) The waves were all over with no organization that I could make sense of. No line-up, just drift and hope for the best.

4) The few waves I paddled for were close-outs. I only rode one or two and those were brief.

5) I found myself in a rip, which seems to happen at least once per session at OB. Of course I wanted to be on the far side of the rip, but experience has taught me it's often not worth the effort.

And that was it. About one hour of kooking around in the ocean with some exercise and no fun. The day was not all bad because JZ met us on the sand and we all hung around catching up with each other. And, I have a reminder fresh in my head why I drive the miles to get away from OB and get the better waves at the reefs. 

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