C36 wrote:Udder: “Wow!”
Michael wrote:I'll say, those waves look sick!! Jealous I missed out on that!! Sure beats the hell out of wakesurfing. Glad to hear Johnny scored as well. Hope you get some more nice days out there with Ethan!
Two more sessions with Ethan (wish it had been more).
VI 12 – Long Beach - SUP (2018 July 25)Bombs. Foggy morning session. Denied entry at tinnies so headed up to the cove to sneak out in the corner (it worked). Caught a few ‘warm-up’ waves that were well overhead high and flirted with almost coming in too far. Was working my way back out and saw Ethan drop into one that looked double overhead high and watched him rip left on a towering wall of water and really hoped he was going to outrun the pending explosion (and he did). We kept working south and rode a few off Incinerator Rock. I followed one soft right in a few hits too many and paid the price when the marching band of tall walls followed me in. I drove into the face of one slab that I thought was going to break my board (thankfully it didn’t). Bigger than yesterday and a day to choose your battles. Ethan spotted the Pacific dolphin I had seen the day before. Really impressed with how much Ethan has stepped it up this year (he is really going for it). Fog cleared just in time for sunny picnic lunch on the beach before departure. Nice!
Steve Smith pump track bike park in Nanaimo, Ethan on the ferry, lake-side sunset dinner at Cameron Lake and back to Tofino campsite by 11:30 pm (day of driving and sessions like the south Oregon Coast).
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SlideshowVI 13 – Long Beach - SUP (2018 July 25)Demi-fog. BWD, Udder, Jake, Shaggy (surf), and myself all headed out into the demi-fog. Tough to make it out until windows provided by the lulls. The wave count was tied for a while – at zeros as it was a little hard to catch them at first. Then we headed up to the crab trap and BWD said, “Looks like we found the spot”. Smooth rights for all and at least one left for Shaggy. Demi-fog lingered and Shaggy and I guessed at where we were (two different spots) before exited and it turned out we were just south of Incinerator. You could see two Parks Canada trucks on the beach down at the cove and Cindy said a Pacific dolphin washed up on shore (cut and bruised, likely bashed into a rock outcropping in the large swell). They had returned it to the water and were supporting it hoping it would revive. A little spooky on the water, but more relaxing than yesterday somehow.
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SlideshowVI 14 – Long Beach - SUP (2018 July 26) Channel. Strange set-up – still XXL down at Lufkin and up at tinnies but there was an almost open channel out in front of Incinerator beconing us out for the evening glass off and we took full advantage – dry trip to the outside – woohoo! Paddled up to tinnies with BWD and Shaggy, but Udder hung out at middles (too ‘crowded’ up at tinnies). Really felt like a massive point break at times (peeling rights and the channel). Party waves shared with shortboard surfer and Udder (me at tinnies and Udder at middles). Took leave after more than a few memorable rides on what seemed to be a kinder gentler version of the XXL swell to shot some pictures in the twilight and the ‘judges’ atop the main rock said the guy in the helmet caught a few solid rides early on at the peak of the waves on the slack tide (fun). This one was one of my favourites for sure!
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