Two words- reef break.
Ok it was also a great family vacation to boot, we had a gas with the kids going to sea world, the wild animal park, and board surfing at Ocean Beach.
The hardest part about being in San Diego was watching other people catch great waves while I was boogie boarding. I was having a gas, but secretly twinging and pining to catch some waves in a surf kayak.
I rolled out of bed at 5:00 am and drove to Jeff Laxier’s house to get outfitted for the Mega UFO. I have a boogie here at home, but was excited to try out the UFO. The UFO is really a sweet surf boat for catching ocean waves. Much much edgier than the boogie. Which makes getting stuck in on the face easier, but when you’re spinning to catch a wave you better be flat, or expect to get capsized. Jeff drove with his guard dog bear down to a series of surf spots, he narrated the pros and cons of each. I was happy to have a guide because I would never have found the reef break we surfed near Scripps called Bird Rock. Jeff and I launched off of a small sandy spot in a rocky little cove in a rising tide.
I warmed up surfing some smaller reef break about 3-4 foot stuff. It was a challenging break in that to really get a good ride, you had to ride between a rocky ledge and some submerged rocks. I took some pointers from Jeff and managed to avoid the rocks. I did whack my head on a few, (thank god for helmets).
Once I got used to the kayak, Jeff and I ventured out to the bigger reef break. We shared it with a few boardies, but pretty quickly we were swapping rides back and forth. I was trying to stay closer to the shoulder in order to break off the back in the event I got to close to the rocks. But my first ride was the sweetest slice down a glassy face I’ve ever had. It was pure greenwater all the way down. I had a perfect takeoff with a quick paddle and then I flew straight down like roller skate on a hill. I began low brace ruddering straight into the face and carving something fierce. I was woohooing all the way down. The wave started to peel my way like it was going to close out, and it seemed to happen in slow motion compared to my Great Lakes Experience, so I spun and shot off the back of the wave.
We caught a few more good rides like this and then the tide came in and closed out that outerbreak. We moved over a bit to a more steep and smaller set of waves.
By Noon with no real breakfast I was exhausted.
But I have to say for those that hear me say Lake Michigan this, and Lake Michigan that, all I could think after this was Lake Michigan why?….
Now I’ve got some San Diego in my eye and I can’t get it out, no…I’ll be fine.
If you’re going to San Diego to paddle look up Jeff Laxier at “Liquid Fusion Kayaks”:http://liquidfusionkayaks.com