Danny...

Danny is no Bill, but he still slapped me to the bottom of the ocean floor a few times on Thursday. Yesterday, I was ready to go before daybreak, but the wind was onshore so I passed on a dawn patrol session. Andy skipped work, on the chance it would clean up, and was rewarded with a great session behind his house with Mark. I, meanwhile, was at work, doomed to watch on the computer as mid-day lit up. With light winds and the sun coming out, they had a blast with seas at eight feet at eleven seconds. By the time I got off work, Karen said it had gone to crap, that you couldn't pay her to go out, so I resigned myself to getting everything done so I would have an open slate for today.

Andy called first thing, and I said I was headed to the pier. He said behind his house it was clean, and fun-looking, but we would meet up and decide where to go. I arrived first, just in time to meet up with a guy that used to come in the shop long ago. He rushed to me and hugged me, and at first it seemed cool to have this good-looking guy so happy to see me. He gave me a compliment, something about me looking as good as the day he met me, which I could easily detect on the BS Flirt meter, even though I am rusty with all that. I instantly said I had to go meet my friends. I couldn't remember his name, but I vaguely recognized him as someone who had a past that was not pleasant. He wasn't done with me, yet. He had to get in one more tidbit about how he had been in prison for the past ten months, and how his ex and her boyfriend had ganged up on him. He proceeded to show me the scar on his head (baseball bat), and scar on his leg (bullet). GOTTA GO! As I drove away it hit me. He had threatened to beat up Dave once when Dave had gone to get a surfboard the guy had never finished paying for. Lesson #1 from surfshop 101.

Andy and I met on the south side of the pier as the sun sat on the horizon, an orange ball, and glassy walls rolled in about head high. We decided just to go out there, since it looked pretty fun, hardly anyone was out, and Karen had to be at work and was on her way there.

The water has become warm again, and green, and it felt so good to paddle out, even though it looked smaller than the last two days. Danny is drifting at 9mph to the north, sitting 300 miles south of Cape Hatteras now. Every few minutes a really good one wave would A-frame and roll through, head high, some overhead. They just lacked the punch of last weekend's swell.

Did we forget to notice that these two swells have been timed to hit on the weekends? No, we have not! Thank you God of waves!

Andy and I said we would surf until the crowd hit, and then head for his beach. It never really happened. People would edge close then drift back, and we had the spot to ourselves, pretty much. Mark came out, said Bruce and Karen were down the beach a bit, and John Blackford and Chuck Tinlin paddled over. It was pretty gorgeous out there today, green, sunny, and warm.

Eventually the crowd grew, and we headed for Andy's beach. By then the tide had bottomed out, and the swell was beginning to fade. Andy took out the eleven footer and had a blast. Mark and I had a couple good ones before the wind suddenly turned onshore, and we all went in together. If only the swell will hold for tomorrow... maybe, just maybe, we will ride the bikes in early to the point?