ricki
02-20-2007, 01:24 PM
“….Drink the water drink it down
This time I know I'm bound, to spit it back up
I didn't want this, salty substitute, just not going to do………
I need some air, if I'm going to live through this experience…..” Jack Johnson
My heart is still pounding fast with adrenaline at this time of the day…….following yesterday’s epic experience on the California coast……
It was windy yesterday all over the North CA coast, and the surf was booming. The last reading I saw before entering the water was 14.4 feet at 13 seconds. This was the HMB buoy, where the wind was 24 gusting to 32. The ocean has a lot of energy and it looked alive. For those who don’t play in the ocean frequently, swells that are over 12 feet, when they hit sand/reef usually jack up to at least double over head. Sometimes higher.
These waves were big. This was a ground swell which came from the Alaska direction. The location where I choose to ride, the wave were breaking VERY far outside, and when a wave was coming it, at times it felt like the entire section of the beach from the top of the reef all the way down the beach was vertical. The conditions were intense, and for those that have paid dues and like excitement, this was a good day…….
After rigging my 9m Rebel, I took a few extra minutes to stretch and watch how the waves were breaking, when a good time to get out is, where the trouble areas happen to be. Big days require a bit more due diligence, the currents are different, waves break much further, and closer then you expect……….; you can’t just rush out in the normal frenzy that most of us feel before a session…...
Getting out on the first reach was flipping intense. The adrenaline in my blood was pumping hard, the heart was racing, my muscles were all ready for action……out in the big water past the surf, I worked on slowing down my breathing and relaxing……..reading the swells, looking for where the sweet spot is, where does the wave start to break, where is there a clean section to ride bottom turn…….Go out not too far, on days like this, if you have to swim, you don’t want it to be from far away…
…….As I was plunty powered, getting upwind was no problem……..jibe on a big freight train, glide down it to pick up some speed and head back upwind to the break…………..
Point that sweet Amundson Directional North as much as possible, head upwind to were the waves are breaking…..read the swells and respect………slow down the breathing, relax……..feet tight in the straps, cause the next few bottom turns are going to have some speed……you see when you drop down a fatty, you accelerate, no matter what your kite is doing……….
Ok, here we go……..here is a good set…..let the first two go by, the third wave looks well formed and big enough to me……..pinch a bit more into the critical section, in the smooth water after the first two waves, wait for the wave to jack up just a bit more, whip that kite, bend z knees hard, drive the rail of the board deep, drag right hand in the water, yeah, scoop the leaves out that gutter sucker…….keep flowing with speed up the face of the fatty……..
…..”holly macro, this wave is big!!!!”…….like really big, as I’m riding straight up for a lot longer then is “normal”…..at the top, smack that face as hard as possible, cut back, and steer the kite in the right direction…….get the kite low, set up, and repeat…..and repeat…..respect the big white water, jibe and get out………watch for other riders who are having epic rides…..respect the big white water and get out……..”go dog go”…..get over the big fatties jacking up…….”go dog go”….don’t get too late or lazy…..you don’t want to go over the falls of a 20+ foot face attached to a kite…..you really don’t need that excitement……riding them is enough, at least of this old dude……..
This wild roller coaster ride was repeated for several hours, as long as the body could handle all that intense feeling coursing through my veins……
Towards the end of the session I wanted to go for 1 more to end the day……I was headed back out, past where the waves broke. All relaxed and breathing calm……then out of nowhere, a big/giant/humongous/really big wave is coming at me, looking very vertical and ready to break…….I think “what the hell, this far out past the white water it’s jacking up????”…….just made it over the lip as the wave was starting to break….wheh…..that was close………..holly shite…….the next one is bigger and more vertical, closer to breaking…….not good…….wave higher then my kite when I’m at the bottom……..only 1 thing to do to survive, send it…….thank god for plenty of power and the fact that I’m used to how this Rebel jumps.
I clear the frothing 20+ angry lip with inches to spare…..the spray from the braking wave covers everything, including my kite. Wow that was big and close……….The 3rd wave is even bigger, ohhh my god……..it’s coming at me like a freight train….it looks insanely big and very ready to break……..I try to sweep the kite to get going again….after you jump, due to current, you frequently loose your planning speed, even on directional board……definitely no time to chicken jibe…..….c’mon, c’mon kite, get my ass going……pleeeeeaaaaasseeeeee……………I start planning up a bit too late……I start to ride up the VERY VERY VERY big swell……….it’s starting to crest up above where my kite is sweeping frantically……….
By the time I reach the apex of the wave, it’s already heaving in downward direction…….I just barely see the other side of the wave, as all the energy of the wave throws me 20+ down in the direction the wave is traveling, which is right towards my kite………as I am flying through the air towards the ocean, my body starts to do a forward roll……the lines are completely slack…..I hit the water pretty hard, and get pummeled by the water coming down on top of me…..I continue rolling forward a few more times…….I release the kite from the chicken loop as I’m getting pushed down further and further…..it gets dark………..I’m starting to want some fresh air, but the wave is pushing me…..water is powerful…….very powerful……thank god I’m not closer to shore, as I would be in the sand/reef, and that could be really ugly………
As I start to get really short on air, the kite pulls on me, still attached by safety line…..it got hammered by the same white water which was pushing me down……the kite pulls my struggling ass up to the surface of the water, and I release the last attachment I had to the kite……take a quick breath only to see another monster headed right towards me……..not good……….I dive as deep as I can to avoid impact…….the pressure gets intense, I’m held down way too long……need some air really bad now……..come up for breath and a short break in sets…….wow, things can really turn from bliss to danger pretty quick.
Oh well, no time to reflect in big fishy water. Time to swim back to shore……a few more words from the surfer turned musician Jack Johnson........
“Be careful what you ride
You just might find
That you're out of time
To swim ashore”
After an incredibly long swim, very happy I swam competitively, as this was key in helping me relax and hold my breath and swim in cold water, I stumbled out of the shore break, which pummeled me for a few minutes…….really glad I wear an impact vest and helmet….without that gear, the waves may have held me under a bit too long….who knows……..the floatation of the impact vest was very helpful for relaxing and for coming to the surface faster for that kind O2……..
…..came onto the beach dizzy, short of breath, never been so happy to touch sand………..lay in the sand for a few minutes to catch my breath……wait for the earth under me to stop moving……wait for my head to stop swimming……
……found my gear…..was pretty close to me, took it longer to get in due to current, and the gear was not doing freestyle to get in…….the kite has some damage……..the board is ok, lines ok. Body not hurt……the mind is a little twisted….a little more then before.
I have always held the ocean with a large a amount of respect. The power is incredible, beautiful, and can turn from epic fun to danger in a flash of a second. My lesson from this experience is to NEVER stop being alert for where the waves can break….my long session lulled me into a sense of comfort when I was past the white water, and there is no room for this complacency when riding the ocean.
It took me until this morning to catch my breath……..that oxygen sure tastes sweet!!!!
Can’t wait till next time………..
Good wind + waves, Zeev.
Reposted from Kiteforum.com
This time I know I'm bound, to spit it back up
I didn't want this, salty substitute, just not going to do………
I need some air, if I'm going to live through this experience…..” Jack Johnson
My heart is still pounding fast with adrenaline at this time of the day…….following yesterday’s epic experience on the California coast……
It was windy yesterday all over the North CA coast, and the surf was booming. The last reading I saw before entering the water was 14.4 feet at 13 seconds. This was the HMB buoy, where the wind was 24 gusting to 32. The ocean has a lot of energy and it looked alive. For those who don’t play in the ocean frequently, swells that are over 12 feet, when they hit sand/reef usually jack up to at least double over head. Sometimes higher.
These waves were big. This was a ground swell which came from the Alaska direction. The location where I choose to ride, the wave were breaking VERY far outside, and when a wave was coming it, at times it felt like the entire section of the beach from the top of the reef all the way down the beach was vertical. The conditions were intense, and for those that have paid dues and like excitement, this was a good day…….
After rigging my 9m Rebel, I took a few extra minutes to stretch and watch how the waves were breaking, when a good time to get out is, where the trouble areas happen to be. Big days require a bit more due diligence, the currents are different, waves break much further, and closer then you expect……….; you can’t just rush out in the normal frenzy that most of us feel before a session…...
Getting out on the first reach was flipping intense. The adrenaline in my blood was pumping hard, the heart was racing, my muscles were all ready for action……out in the big water past the surf, I worked on slowing down my breathing and relaxing……..reading the swells, looking for where the sweet spot is, where does the wave start to break, where is there a clean section to ride bottom turn…….Go out not too far, on days like this, if you have to swim, you don’t want it to be from far away…
…….As I was plunty powered, getting upwind was no problem……..jibe on a big freight train, glide down it to pick up some speed and head back upwind to the break…………..
Point that sweet Amundson Directional North as much as possible, head upwind to were the waves are breaking…..read the swells and respect………slow down the breathing, relax……..feet tight in the straps, cause the next few bottom turns are going to have some speed……you see when you drop down a fatty, you accelerate, no matter what your kite is doing……….
Ok, here we go……..here is a good set…..let the first two go by, the third wave looks well formed and big enough to me……..pinch a bit more into the critical section, in the smooth water after the first two waves, wait for the wave to jack up just a bit more, whip that kite, bend z knees hard, drive the rail of the board deep, drag right hand in the water, yeah, scoop the leaves out that gutter sucker…….keep flowing with speed up the face of the fatty……..
…..”holly macro, this wave is big!!!!”…….like really big, as I’m riding straight up for a lot longer then is “normal”…..at the top, smack that face as hard as possible, cut back, and steer the kite in the right direction…….get the kite low, set up, and repeat…..and repeat…..respect the big white water, jibe and get out………watch for other riders who are having epic rides…..respect the big white water and get out……..”go dog go”…..get over the big fatties jacking up…….”go dog go”….don’t get too late or lazy…..you don’t want to go over the falls of a 20+ foot face attached to a kite…..you really don’t need that excitement……riding them is enough, at least of this old dude……..
This wild roller coaster ride was repeated for several hours, as long as the body could handle all that intense feeling coursing through my veins……
Towards the end of the session I wanted to go for 1 more to end the day……I was headed back out, past where the waves broke. All relaxed and breathing calm……then out of nowhere, a big/giant/humongous/really big wave is coming at me, looking very vertical and ready to break…….I think “what the hell, this far out past the white water it’s jacking up????”…….just made it over the lip as the wave was starting to break….wheh…..that was close………..holly shite…….the next one is bigger and more vertical, closer to breaking…….not good…….wave higher then my kite when I’m at the bottom……..only 1 thing to do to survive, send it…….thank god for plenty of power and the fact that I’m used to how this Rebel jumps.
I clear the frothing 20+ angry lip with inches to spare…..the spray from the braking wave covers everything, including my kite. Wow that was big and close……….The 3rd wave is even bigger, ohhh my god……..it’s coming at me like a freight train….it looks insanely big and very ready to break……..I try to sweep the kite to get going again….after you jump, due to current, you frequently loose your planning speed, even on directional board……definitely no time to chicken jibe…..….c’mon, c’mon kite, get my ass going……pleeeeeaaaaasseeeeee……………I start planning up a bit too late……I start to ride up the VERY VERY VERY big swell……….it’s starting to crest up above where my kite is sweeping frantically……….
By the time I reach the apex of the wave, it’s already heaving in downward direction…….I just barely see the other side of the wave, as all the energy of the wave throws me 20+ down in the direction the wave is traveling, which is right towards my kite………as I am flying through the air towards the ocean, my body starts to do a forward roll……the lines are completely slack…..I hit the water pretty hard, and get pummeled by the water coming down on top of me…..I continue rolling forward a few more times…….I release the kite from the chicken loop as I’m getting pushed down further and further…..it gets dark………..I’m starting to want some fresh air, but the wave is pushing me…..water is powerful…….very powerful……thank god I’m not closer to shore, as I would be in the sand/reef, and that could be really ugly………
As I start to get really short on air, the kite pulls on me, still attached by safety line…..it got hammered by the same white water which was pushing me down……the kite pulls my struggling ass up to the surface of the water, and I release the last attachment I had to the kite……take a quick breath only to see another monster headed right towards me……..not good……….I dive as deep as I can to avoid impact…….the pressure gets intense, I’m held down way too long……need some air really bad now……..come up for breath and a short break in sets…….wow, things can really turn from bliss to danger pretty quick.
Oh well, no time to reflect in big fishy water. Time to swim back to shore……a few more words from the surfer turned musician Jack Johnson........
“Be careful what you ride
You just might find
That you're out of time
To swim ashore”
After an incredibly long swim, very happy I swam competitively, as this was key in helping me relax and hold my breath and swim in cold water, I stumbled out of the shore break, which pummeled me for a few minutes…….really glad I wear an impact vest and helmet….without that gear, the waves may have held me under a bit too long….who knows……..the floatation of the impact vest was very helpful for relaxing and for coming to the surface faster for that kind O2……..
…..came onto the beach dizzy, short of breath, never been so happy to touch sand………..lay in the sand for a few minutes to catch my breath……wait for the earth under me to stop moving……wait for my head to stop swimming……
……found my gear…..was pretty close to me, took it longer to get in due to current, and the gear was not doing freestyle to get in…….the kite has some damage……..the board is ok, lines ok. Body not hurt……the mind is a little twisted….a little more then before.
I have always held the ocean with a large a amount of respect. The power is incredible, beautiful, and can turn from epic fun to danger in a flash of a second. My lesson from this experience is to NEVER stop being alert for where the waves can break….my long session lulled me into a sense of comfort when I was past the white water, and there is no room for this complacency when riding the ocean.
It took me until this morning to catch my breath……..that oxygen sure tastes sweet!!!!
Can’t wait till next time………..
Good wind + waves, Zeev.
Reposted from Kiteforum.com