I haven't been out in so long -- been sick ... wasn't sure I'd find any surf today, or even if I'd be up to surfing. It has been windy, cloudy ... chilly. I watched Makapu'u in the late afternoon yesterday and the rain and wind coming down in sheets made it hard for me to want to go in, even though there was a nice swell.
Early afternoon I decided to go ahead and check out some spots. The first place looked a bit wind blown, but it was the most sheltered, so I went for it. Hardly anyone was out - only two other spongers. The swell was coming from a sharp south east - no surf report had mentioned this swell, so it was a real surprise. It took me a while to get used to this new wave direction.
At first I was surprised that the waves were looking so good and noone was on them. The tide was low, but because of the size of the swell the waves were breaking far enough out from the reef to seem safe. I caught a wave easily in the first few minutes. Felt so good. It has been a while.
I soon realized that the reason the others were letting waves go by was that there was just so much choice! The fun part was the bigger sets - some overhead plus ... occasionaly the cleanup set. I did my usual and set myself outside for those bigger ones.
After a while I found that I was alone, and then a longboarder paddled up. We were both marveling at how beautiful the sets were and how lucky we were that no one else was around. It gave me a chance to really work on my techniques on the bigger waves (I am best with shoulder high, max ... these weren't the power of n.shore, but the height was daunting - for me). I didn't have to think about dodging boards or jockeying for position ... just took my time and rode wave after wave.
I caught one that nearly took me crashing into the reef, but was able to swerve out just in time. I watched the longboarder get caught in the peak of a cleanup set and get tumbled roughly. Neither of these things fazed me - I felt so competent. Good to know I can handle myself at this level. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. I was fully sated. I hung around even after the late afternoon crowd showed up and the sets began to drop. Finally, after three hours I made my way in ... feeling my muscles aching the whole way. Stretching in the shallows helped some ... but ... it is going to be an ibuprofin nite...
... nice ...
