A surf trip in three parts, Baja sandwiched by a session at Secos and a session at Blacks. My first surf trip down without a sponge under my arm.
Secos, First ImpressionsHit Sequit on a waist-head high southwest groundswell. Amazingly uncrowded. I don't usually surf Leo sincethe longboarders rule the outside takeoff zone and it only takes about 3 guys sitting right on the rock to totally dominate the spot. In luck this time; only 8 guys out as I walked out to the lineup past a horde of kindergarteners looking up at me like I was a rubberized god. Got two inside waves and then nestled up against the rock like I'd seen the local shortboarders do it before. The takeoff isn't nearly as rock-infested as it looks, although the wave can jack a bit unexpectedly. Lots of rides connecting far down the beach into knee deep water.
Pumpkins
Camping trip downgraded into a day trip nearly down-graded into a beer drinking session. Drove a little looking for something not too blown out and settled on this spot, named "Pumpkins" by Justin for reasons that became apparent. Strictly a day-trip milk-run expedition out of La Jolla, the kind of trip that feels hardcore to the first time Baja traveller but is soon revealed by experience as routine and generally avoided on deeper expeditions.
Heard the inevitable "you shoulda been here yesterday" from a fellow w/ beer in hand in the lot. Lots of talk on the walk out about "pumpkin rocks" on the bottom and "you'd never surf here if you saw it at low tide". Yeah...
Killer right-hand beach/rockreef break, shoulder high to overhead and half again on the sets. Windblown and choppy but still plenty steep and hollow, not that pulling in was a good idea. Brian was the first to go, doing just that, and came up talking about how it wasn't a good idea. Large man sized rocks on the inside for you if you wipe, aye. Had to see it for myself and turned on a set wave that Brian paddled over. Hit bottom and my board with my leg. Big rocks with knobby protuberances on them. Like falling in a Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch on an icy winter morning. Don't do that again! But it's not a trip until you wipe out. Justin went third, deep and late and we didn't see him for a half minute.
Most of the rest of the session stayed pretty conservative, not pulling in again and doing the escape over the top of closeouts instead of going for the floater attempt. Except Justin... thriving on going after even the more hideous closeout sets, and scoring on a few head-high plus mackers. Definitely earned some respect from me as well as some of the locals.
The wind really picked up halfway through the session, chilling things out a bunch and whipping up some foam like in The Endless Summer II. Pretty weird and spooky. A lot of the guys paddled back in, and I was having thoughts of the same.
The biggest set of the day came just after. Went for the second wave of the set, and was too far over on the shoulder. One of the locals swore as he didn't make the wave either, then swore again as he looked back outside. It looked about overhead and a half from my inside location but Justin called it double. At any rate, it pounded me and everyone else.
Pretty soon after that the head-high plus sets started coming in on a regular basis, and lining up very well, nearly to the cobbly beach. Steep, rippable, and just fun. The lineup cleared as everyone took their last waves in and soon it was just we three. We went in after a few more, getting surfed out too soon.
Dinner was lobster and tortillas in Puerto Nuevo and a $5 mariachi serenade Justin bought for the "golden hottie" at another table. Then sleep...
Blacks
First time ever surfing Blacks. A long walk from the house but worth it. Lined-up lefts and closeout rights. A large crew on the two main peaks, but still got plenty of waves in the shoulder-high to overhead range.
Dolphins came through the lineup several times, much closer than they ever do at Rincon. I could see them cruising beneath my board. They even surfed a wave all the way across both peaks then swam back out in a pod. The whole lineup was hooting.
Greg was providing amusement for everyone by pretending to be sleepy, kneeboarding and pearling and getting to his feet like a bear just stirred from hibernation. Every so often he'd sneak a wave away from the pack and surf it right, hoping nobody saw him (I caught him once).
Many challenging drops and steep faces to play with. One of the best beachbreaks I've ever surfed, and apparently it wasn't that great of a day.
An excellent trip with the beachbreak/cobble reef surf emphasis an eye opening change for this point-break trained regular foot. Take a cue from this trip: whereever you are, pull up roots and go sample the variety of surf spots and types that Huey has made available. You won't be disappointed, though you may get skunked.