Surf Spots 2 and 3: Tourmaline and Oceanside

I often wonder how people who don’t surf perceive surfing.  What are their thoughts on the people out in the cold water, suited up and dropping into wave after wave?  Do they get excited when they see someone rip? Surfing is a sport but also a feeling.  There is a lifestyle component to it, however, for me at least, it is more related to the emotional side of being in the water then anything else.  When you are out there sitting on your board waiting for the next chance to ride you have a lot of time to think.  The wheels in my head turn at a fever pitch and my thoughts run from God to cleaning my house.  Though with every session I am simply grateful for having the opportunity to participate in something so impressive and commanding, to be at peace with the world and myself. 

The physical side of surfing is the most challenging.  I was in a boot with a torn ligament for 12 weeks.  Those three months I watched people surf as I sat in the bar drinking a beer and getting weak.  My shoulders and arms lost their power to get past the breaks. My belly got soft from the fine selection of craft beers San Diego has to offer.  Paddling out is now major work for me.  On Saturday Paul, two of his friends and I were out at Tourmaline at 6:00 am.  That was after Friday night first visiting my friends new restaurant and having a couple glasses of wine then watching a Led Zeppelin tribute band and rocking until midnight (beers included). The day proved to be exceptional, come 6:30 both Paul and I were commenting on how hot it was in our wetsuits and how awesome that the water temp is getting warmer.  Though I was struggling. Partly because of the night before but also because I had to come to terms with my body not being as strong as it should be.  My thinking time was spent being mad at myself how I couldn’t keep up with all the other surfers.  When I paddled in I was disappointed with myself and vowed to get into better shape and to get out in the waves until I was back. It definitely was drilled in when I stopped of to watch my friend Eli surf in Mission Beach.  He was ripping it and I was stoked to watch him even if it reminding me how much work I have ahead of me to even think about surfing with him. 

Today Paul and I drove up to Camp Pendleton.  The waves were non-existent.  It was low tide, so the potential for rock damage to our boards and fins was pretty high.  We decided to drive down to Oceanside.  We cruised a couple of spots and ended up at the north side pier.  Paddling out I told myself today I was going to catch some waves and make my body work for the gift of waves.  Wave 1,2,3,4,5,6……13, booyah, I kept catching one after another.  Granted I wasn’t shredding but I was feeling good.  Green Pin in the map # 3 was definitely a good day.

The details:

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Name of Spot: Tourmaline

Date / Time: March 8, 2014: 6:00 am

City: Pacific Beach

Board: Kimberli – “Betsie” – 10’, Paul - “Mitchell” 9’

Wave quality	Frequency	Break Type	Bottom
Decent, some glass but on average fair	4 to 6 min	Reef – Rocky - Beach	Sandy w/rocks
Wave Direction	Power	Tide	Swell
Left and Right	Average, decent strength but not overpowering	Low	2 – 4
Wind	Crowd Size	Crowd Type	Dangers
Very light	Medium	Fun, Friendly	Rocks

Sunday, March, 9, 2014

Name of Spot: Oceanside Pier, North Side

Date / Time: March 9, 2014: 10:00 am

City: Oceanside

Board: Kimberli – “Betsie” – 10’, Paul - “Holden” 10’

Wave quality	Frequency	Break Type	Bottom
Choppy but working	3 to 5 min	Sandy - Beach	Sandy
Wave Direction	Power	Tide	Swell
Left and Right, mostly left	Excellent	Med	2 – 4, occasional 5’
Wind	Crowd Size	Crowd Type	Dangers
6 knots, blustery	Low	Decent, friendly	Rip tide at pier

MY FIRST GREEN PIN – WOO HOO! Escondidos and Traps in Encinitas.

As I was paddling out this morning I thought about my mom.  She was the original Gidget, surfing in Huntington Beach in the early 60’s before there were girl surfers.  She is the one who gave me the surfing bug and I will be forever grateful to her for that.

5:00 am this morning my alarm went off and I shot out of bed like a rocket.  I had a particular spring in my step and huge smile on my face.  I got my gear, put my surfboard on my car, got gas, grabbed Starbucks and headed over to Paul’s for a 6:15 am pick up.  He was ready but I don’t think he was excited as me. I put on Los Cadillacs “Cavilcade” for some motivation and we set out to go to Encinitas. Originally we were going to go to Pipes but we ended up at Escondido’s. 

I had to make sure I knew what spot I was in because this one is the first green pin and well, I am not ultra familiar with North County. I spoke to one of the locals and he helped me lay out a map of the spots in the area.  I quickly noted the local spots as you see because my detailed map clearly shows that from the parking lot you take the stairs down and the four spots are: Turtles, Escondido’s, Traps and Pipes.

The paddle out was tough!!!!  Paul managed quite well which really annoys me because I have arms like flower stems and I couldn’t get past the breaks as easily as he did.  Once I managed to find a channel I got out there.  Post surf synopsis we realized that Paul went left to Escondidos and I went right to Traps.  I sat in the lineup for awhile because I was exhausted and I didn’t want to try and catch the first wave until I got a feel for it.  I attempted to catch a couple waves with no luck.  The first one I got was an epic fail.  I started to pop up but lost my grip, I recovered then was up and just as quickly I was closed out on; full air and face crash.  As I resurfaced I had sand in my mouth.  What the heck?  How did that happen.  I tried to get a few more like the little engine that could.  Some were to mooshy, some I didn't have the speed, others I didn't get there fast enough and some lucky surfer who was better then me got the wave.  When I finally got my second wave (approximately 25 min later)  I popped up and rode it all the way into shore.  Yeah, how pathetic, only two waves on the first day of my quest.  Oh well, I got two and the quest has begun!

Paul and I at Garbage in OB checking out the surf

Paul and I then drove down the coast checking out the other spots from Encinitas to all the way to Garbage in OB. He originally wanted to go there this morning but I wanted something new for my first pin.  It was kind of a bummer because Garbage was looking good.  I even saw one guy get a small barrel ride.  He might have been right on this one but everyone gets lucky every once in awhile.  J

The details:

The Forecast    

Name of Spot: San Elijo - Escondidos

Date / Time: March 7, 2014: 7:00 am

City: Encinitas

Board: Kimberli – “The Mexican” – 9’2”, Paul - “Mitchell” 9’

Wave quality	Frequency	Break Type	Bottom
Nice wave on the inside, but closed out quickly	3 to 4 min	Reef – Rocky	Sandy w/rocks
Wave Direction	Power	Tide	Swell
Left and Right	Med to Strong	Low	2 – 4 with occasional 5’
Wind	Crowd Size	Crowd Type	Dangers
Light	Medium	SUPER Friendly	Rocks