Surf: 4.3 ft at 12.9 s from the W 261°. Incoming Tide. Light local winds, 15kt+ at the buoys.
I’ve been dying to take my Vaquero out. I keep saying “I’ll get in a few sessions, get back in shape, THEN I’ll take it out.” And instead, my schedule earts up my mornings or it rains and I’m back to being out of shape. Today I said “To heck with waiting” and took it out anyway.
The surf was pretty funky, much more challenging than either of the previous days. I knew right away I’d be missing my longboard’s ability to cruise over all the junk. I paddled out with a group of the usual morning crew. Unfortunately this spot had a lot of people on it and I was a wobbly mess on my 6’10. I got one wave on my knees and another that staggered around before petering out.
I tried the next peak over. Still crowded. I’m not all that comfortable sitting inside when I don’t feel like I can proficiently paddle out of everyone’s way. I paddled around in circles before heading for the next peak.
In between peaks, I found a wave. It was my best wave all day. I did everything competently! Popped up, right in the pocket, swooshed, kicked out. Oh man, I was so happy to finally get something. The only problem was this wasn’t a peak. I paddled back out hoping for another wave and…nothing. Eventually I reluctantly moved on. I got a few more inside waves after lots of work. I hope I get a chance to take this board out again before I forget everything I re-learned.