This past wknd of October2nd and 3rd 2010 saw some beautiful fall conditions lining up. I love this time of the year, it gets cool the Sun comes out, the surf starts to ignite and get really good and the leaves fall and change color signifying yet another year of life coming to a close. McKenna is a full on little person now beaming w/life, exploration and animation. I know i'm doin sumpthin right when i spend time with her..she is absolutely radiant! I am so greatly edified by her, she is a very beautiful person w/such a great heart..I Love You too the max baby..You Rock!!
So this last surf trip was flat out unreal.. It started out w/ "the call" ya, you know the one where it's on..Oh sh*t this is real..saturday was a paddle day and i spent the early afternoon scanning and spot checkin figuring out where to go..so i wound up at agate, big sets were lining up but it was kinda just rollin thru not really breaking, i was optimistic since the tide was changing..i paddled out caught a few, but felt like iwas getting tickled w a feather much of the time since it still was mostly big and rolly, however i snagged the good ones that did come thru and the last ride connected all the way thru.. after i got out Keith arrived and said a few of them were paddling out @ Olivia beach..so i'm like ya~ya.. it was solid double over on the sets many of them washing thru and pounding closeouts but occasionally as always the one comes thru that is just macking and perfect..however elusive cause the paddle is brutal there as with most Oregon beach break..you work and get your ass kicked too get that magik one that cements your day as a wave-chaser..so its me, kg, aqua and a couple from cali.. so what a beating to get outside and stay within the channel and the impact zone w/o getting cleaned up, its all cool because its really just more training and preparation for waves that are even larger esp. when venturing to the outside reefs on the larger swells over 10' usually as example this swell coming Sunday is somewhere around 12-13' @ 15secs usually produces waves ranging on the face in the 18-20' realm withe the occasional 25-30 footer and usually a couple that are contestable as the swell pulses in the range of 40'. So back to the paddle finale. I finally got in the vain and had seen enough so it is now just waiting for that 1 good 1 that lines up. Keith was chasing the right that dumped into the channel. I had my eye on the bombing lefts that were swinging. As it happens there it is coming right at me, Ok here we go, so boom paddle stroke and to my feat, balanced and crouched for takeoff down the face all the way down the line big face and kicing out in the channel ya! what a beauty w/ sun the whole deal & only a couple of friends to witness and be stokked for me as i am for them when they stick the really sikk ones!
The next day brought the larger swell we were anticipating to paddle and tow the Reef.. The morning launch saw some fog in the morning.. Eric was concerned i assured him and felt confident that it was going to lift and the Sun was going to come out since it was already trying.. it was fuller water and the beach break was just going nuts some of those were easy 12-15'. So our plan was to paddle first me being the guy running interference and providing escort out to the break and green open water outside the brutal inside shore pound..these kinda conditions the drive out is hairball and really has all your radar and gauge on full alert.. so i've got agua on the ski and it is just not letting me out..I've already been out once getting the bouy set up and tow boards out and just assisting Keith and Eric, then i go back for Aqua who comes a bit later, so anyhow i get a bit impetuous on one that i thought i could get over.. we hit this thing and go completely vertical and weightless for what seems like a while and feels like time just stops everything is quiet what a trip O sh&t, keep in mind John is on the rescue sled lying on a 10' gun..anyhow after that he was done, so he didn't make it out to the reef..I felt kinda bad for a minute, but sometimes that's the way it goes..everyone in this sport has a incident to report for sure!! So we journey on.. so i head out solo and re-connect w/ kg and eric.. it is bombing and the condions are really good and the sun makes it even better, absolutely epic..3 guys a mile offshore doing there thing with no hassles or crowded lineups..pinch me this is sikk. I'm mainly capturing snaps and doing pickups. Keith is killing it and stuck a few really sikk ones, steep big drops! He said he got the paddle wave of his life this day.. He towed Eric into 30-35'tr that was gnarly..huge carves up a huge face- these guys are really dialed and i'm privileged to be hanging surfing and training w/ these guys.. what a day so now my turn comes to paddle..its me and keith w/ eric in the channel for safety..he didn't have his camera for the paddle session but he did witness my drop down a monster which i ended up getting annihilated but he said that was one of the heaviest things he saw, i was in disbelief by his compliments! Judging by the tow pics he did get i can only imagine what was behind me when i took off on that thing, my first thot when i was in the hook and seeing a wall of whitewater coming down on me was this is it.. i guess years off taking beating and paying dues have prepared me for this day..? i was really stokked. keith & eric were going nuts giving me props as i was for them wow what a day and experience, I'll let the pics tell the rest of the story*~* oh I have a 9'8" Gary Linden gun coming in a few days that i'm really excited about adding to my quiver..and a cool part is i'm able to trade in another board on it i didn't really ride much..woot-woot!
