Back at the reef

This is from last weekend. A shot of the 50% of the reason I arrived to the beach late. Also can be seen is the Velzy V-fin on the Vernor Tree Hugger. It fits this week because I went to the same spot, same board, same fin. This weekend the swell was a bit bigger and the tide was lower, I arrived at first light, and I twisted JB's arm into coming down to the reef with me. It was touch and go for a bit there because as we were taking the walk down the beach there were several good waves hitting two distinct peaks along the sand. Both peaks had good waves both left and right, but I persisted. I really wanted to see this spot at the very low tide we had at dawn.

I'm glad we persisted because my suspicions were confirmed about the quality of the break at the low tide. There wasn't much swell, but a bit more than last weekend. I got more good waves than last weekend and was stoked to see JB get good ones too. We surfed just the two of us for a few hours when we spotted another surfer walking our way.

He ended up being friendly enough, sitting off the main peak, smiling and chatting with us. However, my body was starting to complain and the magic of the morning had faded. JB and I agreed to take one in and also take a second look at the sand on the way back.

The sand didn't look as good as on the first walk past, but there were guys surfing and getting decent rides. We stopped to watch and saw good waves go unridden, some good rides, and then nothing as the set ended and a long wait before another set. I clocked out but JB waited longer wanting to extend his session.

I think if I'm faced with the same conditions again, I will opt for the waves at the sand and wait for more swell to work with before choosing the reef. The reef is exciting, but at that size it was mostly racing the wave without much room for cutbacks or top turns.

About the V-fin: I think it works. It felt better than the mixed tri-fin setups I had been using. I started with it all the way at the front of the box and it felt good. Then the waves got juicier and it felt too squirrely. I moved it back an inch and regained control, but it was overly stiff. Forward a half inch and it felt good in the "powerful" waves. My next step will be to try the board with the plain jane 8" single fin. I think that will provide a neutral point from which to judge the board and other fin options.