Maybe this post should be titled “Surviving Linda Mar” as we had a rough day out on the break. The day started off awesome with sunny weather and the start of a nice WNW/NW swell mix with a swell period of 13.5 sec. Lots of surfers were showing up for the predicted afternoon swell so it was starting to get fairly crowded by the time we hit the water.

We both walked out until it was waste deep, and then started paddling to the outside which looked pretty awesome. When I got out there I paddled into my first wave and got pushed right off my board. When I came up I notice a lot of short boarders around me who all seemed to be catching waves, so I paddled back to the outside. I sat out there for a few minutes watching the waves and other surfers, and then I saw one coming up that looked big and it was going left. I paddled into it and right as I felt it caught me I started to pop up. Then my board got pushed out of my hands and I did a head first dive with my arms behind me straight into 4 feet of water from about 7 feet up. Needles to say I hit the bottom head first and hard. My head hurt a little but not so bad that I didn’t what to go back out. So, I got back on my board and paddled back to the outside.

Then I started looking for Emily to see how she was doing. I looked in every direction and could not spot her. At that point I started paddling to shore for a better look. I walked up and down the beach a few times and couldn’t see her anywhere. Just as I was about to drop my board and start running up and down the beach, I saw her walking down from the parking lot with an ice pack on her face. When we got to each other she said that her board had hit her in the face. When she pulled the ice pack off I saw she had a swollen spot on her face next to her left eye the size of a half a walnut. Her eye was already starting to blacken. She also had tried to catch a wave and got thrown off and came up with her board behind her. As soon as she surfaced the next wave was right there and sent her board right into her face. She was hurt, but lucky the injury wasn’t worse. We sat in the sand for a while so she could ice her face and stared at each other and the ocean. Five hours later my head still hurts and her eye / cheek are still swollen and black & blue.

Lessons learned… when the sets are possibly head high be careful and wear your helmet. And, always check the current surf forecast, and judge each wave for what it is.

Surfline surf report for this afternoon – WNW/NW swell mix is on the rise this afternoon as old SW swell lingers. Better exposures have shoulder-head high+ surf, while standout spots are pulling in some occasional overhead+ sets at times. Conditions remain fairly jumbled and bumpy however, with only occasional semi-rideable corners on offer at most spot

[gmap]

#26

---