All those colors and arrows pointed right at
California. Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever, he can feel
it.
Surf is coming.
Surfline Man doesn’t really know where the waves come from — I
mean, really, who does — but he knows what the graphs and charts
tell him. Waves! Waves are coming.
An unsinkable optimism buoys him. He is certain that the
forecasts would never lie.
It’ll be a day like no other.
But first he has to get ready.
The first winter swell of the season is coming straight at him,
and he isn’t even prepared for it at all.
Surfline Man has so much to do!
To begin with, the Sprinter needs washing. There’s no way he can
drive to the first winter swell of the season in a dirty van. It
would be totally bad luck like breaking a mirror or some other bad
luck thing. Surfline Man is pretty sure he will never get a set
wave unless the Sprinter is sparkling clean.
When he wakes up on Monday, there’s no surf, which is sad. But
Surfline Man is not going to let this disappointment get him down.
Instead, he puts on his favorite Hurley boardies and spends Monday
morning washing the Sprinter from top to bottom. He even adds a
coat of wax for good measure.
The Sprinter shines so good he can see his face in it. The new
beard is looking super stylish, he feels. He will for sure get a
set wave now.
Puttering around in his garage, Surfline Man scans his tidy
stacks of surf wax. Horrified, he realizes that he has no cold
water wax at all. None! He can not surf the first winter swell of
the season on warm water wax. This would break all the most
important rules.
Surfline Man whips out his new iPhone 12 Max and adds “cold
water wax” to his shopping list. Better stop by REI and pick up
some fresh Mac and Cheese packets to stash in the Sprinter, too.
It’s good to be prepared.
Back inside, Surfline Man sits down his computer for some
serious analysis. Working the angles, scrutinizing the tides, you
know, surf forecasting stuff. Where should he go for the first
winter swell of the season? He has some hard decisions to make.
dude, where are you surfing next week, he texts his
best friend
idk, hadn’t thought about it
are there waves coming
yah brah solid northwest on the way
i think i’m going to rincon
surfline says it’ll be good
want to come with?
plenty of room i’m taking the sprinter
oh god i hate that place no way
it’ll be so fucking crowded man
probs just get some waves around here
Surfline Man can’t be bothered with this sort of defeatism.
Think positive! He’s pretty sure he saw that on the lululemon bag,
where his new clothes still sit, tags still affixed. Maybe it’s not
too late to return them.
Anyway, he has a turquoise CI midlength now, so he’s going to
get waves no matter what. Surfline Man knows he would so totally
get the worst FOMO ever if he didn’t go to Rincon.
The night before the first winter swell of the season arrives,
Surfline Man meticulously packs his boards in the Sprinter. He
wraps his sparkling midlength in a blanket. What if there’s a
pothole? What if his precious midlength gets a ding in it? He would
never be able to match the resin tint. It would be so totally
ruined.
Then he stacks a fish (6’0”) and three thrusters (6’0”, 6’ 2
1/2”, and 6’ 7”) on top. Fins. Leashes. Three wetsuits. Rinse kit.
Coffee grinder. Aeropress. Mac and Cheese. Microwave burritos.
Whiskey. Surfline Man firmly believes in covering all his
bases.
The van packed, Surfline Man returns to his computer.
Gotta check the forecast one last time. Maybe it’s changed!
But no, it’s all looking so good. All those colors and arrows
pointed right at California. Tomorrow is going to be the best day
ever, he can feel it.
Surfline Man can barely sleep. It’s like Christmas! The first
winter swell of the season! He can’t even wait.
(Part Two tomorrow!)