Anyway, no complaints. It was totally worth it... because before it happened I caught four waves like these...
The toughest part was the drop: because of the offshore wind, you could only catch a wave when it was steep... really steep. But once caught, the same offshore wind kept the face pretty open.
This is a local guy that lives in my neighborhood. Great surfer and nice guy...
When I first saw this photo, I thought:"No way! This guy took off switched stance... no way! Who the hell is he, Jamie O'Brien?". Then I saw more photos of him, and he always has the leash on the front foot. So, my guess is that he had a bad cut or something on the back ankle and prefered to wear the leash on the front foot...
Smoked too much in the parking before getting in the water, is another guess... ;-)
And this is the last section where on some waves you could get barreled.
And that's how I got hurt. I saw that section walling up in front of me and I thought about going for it. But at the very last moment I figured that it would have not been big enough for me to squeeze in and I cut towards the beach (that'll be the rocks). Big mistake: I was caught by the heavy free falling lip (felt like a ton a water) and in the wipeout I cut my foot with a fin. Next time, I'll have to go for it, no matter if I make it or not. That's what all the more experienced surfers I asked told me. I can't wait to try next time on a wave like that again...
Surfing, simply the best thing on earth.
2 comments:
I think of Jamie O'Brien switching his stance in mid-tube at Pipe, when I think of switch stance surfers...
Pictures look nice, reminds me how cold the water has been here in Northern California this year. Had what I thought was going to be a crap-tastic windswell day, but turned out to be super fun with some friends and good attitude out in the lineup. What a difference an hour and a little tide change can make!
Aloha,
~James
Ops! In fact I totally wanted to mean Jamie O'Brien (who just won the trials at Teahupoo), not Sterling. James, thanks for the catch, I corrected the original post.
Everytime I surf Manahattan beach in LA with my friend Gianfranco on my way to Italy, I'm always impressed by the influence of a tide change on a beach break.
Here in Maui, the tide change rarely exceeds two feet and it's mostly reef breaks. Still, the tide can make a big change, specially on small swells...
But wind is a bigger factor over here.
Meaning: even if the perfect tide for a spot would be a 11am, you may end up going surfing at 7am with a not so perfect tide, but trying to get there before the wind picks up.
Every spot is different, though. And that's where the local knowledge comes into play.
Predicting how the wind is going to be in the differents spots (specially on the south shore) ain't an easy game over here.
Also, as you point out, the energy in the water makes a huge difference. It only takes a few bad individuals to ruin it. I always try to contribute to a good energy by smiling, saying "hi" to everyone and sticking to the priority rules, of course...
AND, let's not forget the most important factor: number of bikinis in the water... oh sorry, not many of those in northern cal, uh? ;-)
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