Thursday, August 18, 2005 @ 12:00 PM
Horseshoe Trip Day 3
Woke up early again but the tide wasn't right so we waited for it to fill in. Had some eggs and beans and burritos and fueled up. Headed out after that and the swell was still nice, it hadn't dropped that much overnight. Chest to head high with some overhead sets every now and then. Started up at the main peak but after watching the barrell fest last night at the box I really had to get down there. The main peak wasn't crowded much though so I vowed to stay there until I wasn't getting as many waves. Got quite a few at first, a fun left off the bat was a good way to start.
Then the it got a little more crowded so I went to the box with Mank and there was a half a dozen guys out. Our addition to the lineup did not go unnoticed and we caused a 20 minute lull. I caught a few small inside waves thinking that was all that was to be had. Got a mini-cover up and had some great turns. Mank then left cause it wasn't working and after that one of the bigger sets I'd seen came in. The first guys in the lineup took off on the first few waves, about head high, but then behind those two waves was some well overhead waves that were cracking way outside. I got stuck inside from chasing the first waves of the set and took a beating. There was a mini-lull and then a few more. I paddled for two of them but got denied from wind from dropping in. My cred as an a clutch wave getter was removed from the lineup. After that I took chest high scraps on the shoulder, and got a really nice cover up on the inside reef on one of them. Then there were only 4 of us and another lull. A few small ones then it got crowded again, my arms were falling off and Mank was walking back so I headed in.
Lunch with beer, a short nap, a game of horseshoes, and then we contemplated exploring elsewhere. The wind in this spot picks up around 10 or 12 and goes until sunset. It's offshore, which is good, but it drives you crazy when you aren't surfing. Not a very relaxing rest in between sessions. We opted to instead explore the low tide and buy some langosta from the local fishermen and amp up for the evening session. By this time most everyone was taking off, so we moved campsites to one that was more sheltered.
We headed out again around 5:00 or so. Only 4 guys out, 2 gringos and 2 mexicanos, we surfed the main peak that was shifty. The gringos left, and soon after that so did the mexicanos, so it was just us. My shoulders and elbows screamed for mercy, but it was just us in head high surf with blowing offshores as the sun was setting so I had to stay out. Was getting some real fun rights, the lefts were closing out on me. Tried to tuck in a few times, and made my biggest turns of the trip. The wind and the setting sun made for a cold session for me at least. Getting caught inside was not good news, my arms were so sore I couldn't get enough power to duck dive very deep and was getting swept in. So I headed in to get camp ready for dinner while Justin and his more in shape arms stayed out a little longer.
Back at camp we had the lobsters along with beer and a nice fire as the wind died down and Mank fell asleep in his camp chair for the 2nd night in a row.