8-5-10
Catching up now after a few days. Jonathan arrived the morning of the 2nd. Surf has been continuing to pour through until this afternoon. Now we just keep our fingers crossed it will come back up.
Our days have mostly consisted of the following: wake up 5:30, coffee, boat ride, surf, eat, nap, surf, drink, dinner, sleep then repeat.
The boat ride at 6 am is an interesting event all in itself. The boat driver surfs too but he too is either sleepy or hung over ( it is hard to tell) . We have just enough time to down some coffee or have a jelly sandwich from the “continental breakfast” before loading our boards and towels in the boat before launching. I have a dry bag! The launching process consists of pushing the old rusty trailer holding the boat with the bearings in the wheels totally gone so there is just a rusty axle and hub grinding against each other. This makes for very smooth rolling haha. The wheels wobble back and forth as we push this rig down the slopped beach toward the white water depending on where the tide has the ocean level. Thankfully we have been leaving at fairly high tide so the push is shorter. This is not the case when we return at low tide and repeat the process in reverse up the beach. Keep in mind we are backing the boat in far enough so the tires on the trailer are under water so the boat will float when the waves surge in. We push the 25 foot panga (with 130 hp Johnson) backwards into the surf and the waves are coming over the stern. Then once floating free of the trailer we spin the boat around so the bow is pointing into the surf. The captian is usually bailing water out of the stern so the back of the boat floats better .At this point things get easier and a little calmer for the moment while we all climb on board. At this time ( 6am) no one is dry by the way! I try doing this with my togo cup of coffee which is a challenge in itself. Have you tried salty coffee? Not bad!
Now the excitement begins!! Usually 1 or 2 local guys hold the bow into the waves of whitewater that are in a constant procession trying to turn the boat sideways and back to the beach. The “captain” starts the motor (the prop is all chewed up and I don’t know why!! ) and tells the guys in the water to let go when it looks like a break in the waves and we proceed our path out. Three things usually happen: 1- we slowly go over the waves and make it to the outside and calmer water. 2- we just keep the bow pointed into the oncoming waves (some of which come over the high flared bow and give us all another bath) and eventually the break comes and we make it out. 3- We have to circle between the oncoming white water lines to reposition pointing out if big sets keep coming. At some point the waves will let up enough to make a run for it. Number 3 was the case the other day when the surf was the best. Sometimes we get a little air coming off the back of the wave as we go over the crest. I saw another boat hover in the whitewater about 5 minutes one morning waiting for the chance to go for it. This is the way most boats, surf and local fishing boats launch every day down here in the area south of the good ole USA. There are no boat ramps or jetty protected inlets for most of the coastline. This is just a daily routine in quite a bit of the world.
The mornings are usually calm down this way so the actual boat ride is fairly nice once outside the breakers. I have videos to show the launch process if you want to see them. It sounds more dangerous than it really is, none the less you are fully awake once in the calm water 100 yards offshore. Arriving at the surf break is a frantic see who can be in the water first but is dictated by who’s board is on top of the stack. Little boards are on the top so guess who jumps overboard first. The boat is anchored after all passengers are off loaded and the fun begins or continues which ever way you look at it.
When returning back running through the surf to the beach is an easy process, just stay between two waves with no large set in sight and go till the water gets too shallow. Put the boat back on the submerged trailer then push it up the beach after surfing till exhaustion. The trailer moves very slowly!! Even with 10 people pushing!
The beach side shower is one of the best!! Huge amounts of water come out of the large shower head. Super refreshing, perfect temperature. The perfect way to start your day.