By Tim Armstrong, Groovy Reflections Team Member
This is part 2. For part 1, click here.
I groggily awoke the next morning to the wonderful smell of the sea and to the even more wonderful smell of coffee brewing on our camp stove.
Then it was time to grab the boards. We trekked down to the beach and checked out the waves. Not much of a swell going on but we decided to paddle out anyway and just enjoy the drifting. We tried a couple of swells, but nothing gave us a good ride so we just stayed out there, eventually falling asleep.
Something in the water bumped my friend Steve’s leg, then my friend Greg’s. We thought… SHARK!!! It turned out to be a seal, but we paddled to catch any swell we could to get back to shore. We hadn’t realized how long we had been out there, and, during that time, the tide was receding. As we reached the shore break, we discovered something else – we had to carry our boards across about 75 feet of slippery, rocky beach to get to the sand! Finally, with foot pain from cuts and bruising, we reached the sand and just collapsed on the beach.
The next day the surf was too rough. As we were waxing down our boards, one dude walked past us carrying the two pieces left of his board after his venture out! The following day, however, proved to be perfect. I was excited! This was my big chance to finally surf on a board! After some final pointers from my friend Steve, I paddled out feeling a huge adrenaline rush.
On my fourth try to catch a wave, I DID! I didn’t realize how hard it would be to stand up on a board, but my friend Steve had given me good pointers and I jumped right up. I was in a big wave that was moving fast, and as I raced down the face of it just at the curl the peaceful sound of the wave, the air rushing past and the intoxicating smell of the ocean mesmerized me. Then I realized that if I didn’t cut back soon I was going to plow into another group of surfers!
I tried to remember how to cut back and eventually made a hard left into the developing face of the wave. Before I knew it, I was flying back up over the top of the wave; only a “leash” now tethered the board and me. With big splashes, we both hit the water. I retrieved the board, got back on and headed to shore.
I had done it! I had caught a wave! Just like the Beach Boys song, I was sitting on top of the world!
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| Source: Eil.com |
I caught three more decent waves that day and many more in the years to follow; but that trip, that day and that wave will forever define for me my perfect Endless Summer! Cowabunga!
For part 1, click here. Visit us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, or G+ and GRoove on!
By Tim Armstrong, Groovy Reflections Team Member
This time of year always brings back fond memories of camping trips and family vacations for me, but my fondest memory of summer is one particular year, 1976, just after my junior year in high school.
I had lived all my life in Los Angeles and so obviously had been to the beach a zillion times. Most of my beach experiences were good and I loved the smell of the sea. I had cousins (10 years older than I) that lived directly across Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu beach. There we would have beach cookouts and my cousins would teach my brother and me the fun and exciting world of body surfing in some pretty big swells and waves.
There is nothing quite as exhilarating as flying through the surf toward shore in a giant tube of powerful seawater! My cousins also introduced us early on to all the newest Beach Boys album releases, my favorite being “Pet Sounds”. Our visits there always ended up with me taking home a Beach Boys album or two that I would listen to for hours on my portable turntable at home.
Fast forward to the summer of 1976. Shortly after their graduation, my surfing friends invited me to go camping with them at Leo Carrillo State Beach, north of Malibu. This was to be a “Surfing Safari” camping trip four days at the beach, with boards and all. I had never surfed on a board before, but my friend Steve said, “It’s a breeze”. I was psyched up for this!
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| Leo Carrillo State Beach |
However, I had to run it by my parents. It took two weeks of pleading, begging and endless chores before they relented and allowed me my dream! Now I was super psyched!!! I played all my Beach Boys LP’s nonstop as I prepared for this trip, still a little nervous about not having surfed on a board – I didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of all my friends!
The day came, and so did my friends with surfboards and camping gear piled high onto an old Oldsmobile. I added mine and off we were on our Surfing Safari!
At the campsite (actually two together), we built a bonfire, set up our tents and enjoyed the fresh beach air. Sometime later and somehow, beer arrived. With it came a friend with a guitar and we spent the whole night singing Beach Boys tunes.
Hearing the waves crash onto the shore that night, I was reminded that the next day was going to be my first chance to surf on a board, and was I nervous! Would I wipe out? Would I get hurt, or worse, would I drown?
For part 2, click here. Visit us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, or G+ and GRoove on!
