So Many Walls!

I felt good enough today to paddle out. However, I stayed far away from Sunset. I was at my home break. Once again, I had to be persuaded to paddle out. All I saw from the shore were walls of water—big, thick, furious walls of water. That's when staying on dry land seems like a wonderful plan. Then, of course, all it takes is one person saying, "I was out this morning. It was fine. You'll have fun." That's usually enough for me. So I took the plunge. The initial paddle out was easy. I didn't even have to race to get past any closeouts. I had timed everything perfectly. Of course, once I was out there, I was having trouble finding a shoulder. I'd paddle for something only to have it jack up. Or I'd paddle for something only to have it melt away and disappear before it got to me. Finally, I caught a left, a nice long left. That one ride made the whole session. I made that wave and then managed to make the section. So I ended up going all the way to shore. Beautiful!! Or so I thought. Then the walls came, and they came hard. "Why would anyone put that many quarters in the wave machine?" I wondered. I think it was a good 10 minutes before a lull came and I was able to paddle back out. Once I was out there, I once again had trouble finding a wave to take in. It seemed like every wave was walled. I only had a limited amount of time to surf today. There would be none of this "one last wave that takes 40 minutes because it's too flat or I'm too greedy for another last wave and won't get out of the water" stuff. I had to go. Finally, a little tweener came through and I took it. As I caught it, I realized it was more than a tweener. I still got it, but I also managed to get worked once it was over. Nevertheless, it was a good session in conditions that were less than favorable.