- Date/Time:
- Friday, April 25th, 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm
- Location:
- Rincon Point
- Weather:
- Sunny and warm with building onshore breezes and icy water.
- Conditions:
- Fair to poor, lots of lump and bump from the channel. The winds built and retreated several times during the day.
- Swell:
- Strong combination wind/ground swell, the gales have backed off leaving fun lines. Drops up to overhead with fading shoulders in the belly to chest high range.
- Comments:
- The air still has that nice smell; the dust and urban detritus having been carried away by a solid week of winds exceeding gale-force at times. Now there's just fresh air off the sea.
Drove past the point at 8:00 am... had business to take care of but had the foresight to bring the board just in case. Jumped at the sight of rippable swell lines wrapping into the cove, and rushed everything to get back before noon.
Suited up quick without even checking it and came down the stairs just as a couple of goateed fellows came charging up the stairs, rushing past an elderly couple and a fellow with an old orange single-fin. The single-finner says something, like
"Hey, chill out..."... which immediately sparks a conflict from the goatees. "Chill out what, man? What's your problem? What's up with that board, kook? Who are you, Rick Kane?"And so forth, with the couple who nearly got bowled over before now shrinking past them in an effort to get up the stairs before fists start flying. None did, and the single-finner continued down the stairs just laughing. How can anyone leave a decent shoulder-high day at Rincon, dripping wet, with that much of a chip on their shoulder.
After talking fin design with one of the local kneelos and checking the sets, paddled out with a dry head and proceeded to struggle in the backing-off windswelly waves. Poor conditions required perfect placement, and most of the shoulders died quickly. I was still stoked to be out in the water after what was essentially a one-month hiatus.
The single-finner proved to be quite an adept surfer, his style flashing me back to footage from "5 Summer Stories". The real standout was a red-headed kneelo whom I'd never seen before, totally ripping and shredding, even pulling a floater on a head-high bowl in the rivermouth. The guy had knees of rubber and leg muscles of steel.
Eventually got one from the rivermouth to the cove, and then a few fun ones through the cove to the freeway. Wished I had my camera when Kim Mearig pulled a off-the-lip a scant two board lengths away from me as I hooted from the shoulder, full-rail bottom turn into a blast of spray and all three fins out.
I'm going to be missing this place for the next six months...