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#42-43: December Search

A good surf forecast was ruined by car problems. I missed two days of surfing, so Saturday, first thing in the morning I was on the island. Dawn patrol before sunrise. There was almost no wind, two windsurfers were not happy. It wasn’t as big as I hoped for, but it was still good size. After a good hour the wind came up, but it was still from south direction, so conditions stayed nice. Around 9:30 it turned west and pretty quickly waves turned to shit. Coming from two direction, creating huge pyramids of water breaking not along the reef in a point break style, but directly on the shore. Not really surfable.

Usual spot

But I had another plan for the day and an early session finish gave me plenty of time to carry it out. With wind turning into strong west I had my eyes on the west coast of the island. It was unusually warm for December, 18C and sunny, while almost all other parts of the coast and back home it was cloudy and raining. So I put on my boardshorts and tee shirt and went on a search. The problem with west coast is that there is only one road going through the center of the island high above the coast. To get to the sea, you have to hike down. Fortunately it is possible with a help of binoculars to check some of the coast from the road. I drove towards the end of the island stopping and checking the coast from up above. I even saw an interesting setup on the next island, but it would be a really long paddle to get there. So I opted for a bay I saw earlier from the road.

The view through binoculars.

I put my wetsuit into the DryTide 18L waterproof backpack, threw a boardbag over my shoulder and hit the trail towards the coast. I was the only person on this part of the island, it was super warm and the views and nature were amazing. Walking along old stone walls and under the pine trees, every now and then I could see the point where I saw the wave, but it was getting smaller and smaller. I looked like I would have to wait for the afternoon push of the waves. There was no wind and when I got down to the bay I could lay on the beach and get some tan if it was not the exact moment when the west wind came back.

Drying my wetsuit

I had a snack, prepared my surfboard and wetsuit, took some photos and I could see the waves getting bigger. I was 2pm and there were like 2,5h of light left so I suited up and went in. When I got the the point I saw that what looked like surfable from the shore was breaking straight on the rocks. Mason Ho would have loved it but not me haha. So I was sitting on a safe distance from the rocks trying to catch a wave but they were all just to fat and flat there. I was already thinking this will end in a huge paddle of shame and I won’t be surfing at all when the waves started to pick up. It also helped that I was angry because I didn’t catch a single wave in half an hour and I paddled straight to the rocks. I saw a big wall coming in, it was getting steeper and steeper and I realised I am too far inside. I started paddling out and just made it over the shoulder, the wave broke like 40cm to my left and I could stare into a green cavern lit by the late afternoon winter sun breaking on to the dry reef. I sat on my surfboard. This is the spot. The next one was even bigger and cleaner. I tuned around and paddled, this is it, I got it. It was a fun drop as long as I didn’t look at the rocks, then maybe one turn and then just going straight because the wave got flat and started to disappear further into the bay. After that first one, the spell of a new sketchy spot was broken. I got maybe 10 more waves and then, I’m not sure why, but the conditions got worse. The sun was also already really low and I still had to hike up the hill to the road, so I called it a day. I was half way up just when the sun disappeared into the sea. I took a few photos of the wave from above and that was it, an epic end to a sick day.

View from the mid way up II

Next day the wind was from the north. It didn’t look like much, but when we got to the spot, waves were solid! One of the biggest days in recent times. Every now and then the wind dropped and it was really good. I can remember the last time I sat so far outside, waiting for the big ones. Cold wind from the mountains meant I pulled out my 5/4 for the first time this season, but the sea was still pleasantly warm.

Got one

The island, 2.12.2023
20km spot, 3.12.2023

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