Our last sesh of the week in Seal Beach turned out to be the perfect end to the trip. It was beautiful: a light marine layer, fun-size swell and perfect glassy, non-stop waves peeling into perfect lefts and rights. All morning I kept soaking in the breathtaking calmness of this perfect spot where we were lucky enough to enjoy literally every wave that came in.
There were only a handful of us out surfing. Closer to the pier was Bill (Dave’s twin brother from yesterday) and another surfer who knew Michael. In our group was a young dad and two boys from Utah out for their first lesson, Don (wearing the Eddie Would Go shirt) and Joe (rasta board and an impressive 81 years old). There wasn’t anyone else out along the entire beach other than the surf-loving sea lion. Michael was in the water full of his usual cheer and giving us instruction. I worked on my timing for waves as well as my new favorite – being in position to paddle fast once or twice, popup and turn right or left exactly at the peak. On the smaller waves, I got some good practice being farther forward on my board to catch it on my 9′. On one left, I did some smooth turns on the face to keep the ride going all the way to the beach. And I finally remembered to reach out my right hand and touch the wave during a sweet chest-high right. Always wanted to do that! I was happy Max’s shoulder was well enough to surf today. We both got so many good rides. We’re still stoke-smiling now twelve hours later.
Mike Jr. left Sunday night for his family vacation to Puerto Rico so we’ve been surfing with Michael Sr. the past two sessions. I’m really glad I’ve had the chance to learn from both of them. As father and son, they have a lot of of similarities (stoked, great heart, caring and kind, sense of humour, depth of surfing knowledge) but their styles and personalities are completely unique. I feel lucky to know both of them and to have learned so much from them in such a short amount of time. I love those guys.
#134 / 9am
[REGIONAL SUMMARY: Small NW and SSW swell mix holding up knee-waist-chest zone waves. However, conditions are clean and there are some rideable waves out there. Tide tops out around 2pm so if winds stay down there could be a slight improvement later this afternoon as the tide drops out.]