A River Moment
This website has made some friends over the years, and Bob Drury is one of the finest.
He never ceases to amaze us with his stories of the Gaviota Coast from back in the day,
before it was called “The Gaviota Coast”.
He randomly sent us this little tale from nowadays and we felt it was worth sharing.
Look for a Bob Drury page soon……we hope.
I paddled out at 4:40. Still dark. Glossy-smooth black sea surface, with a wavering light
reflection winding all the way out to the oil island. Just enough ambient light from the
cloud-obscured moon and city/harbor lights to make out what appeared to be too-fast walls
alternating with barely-makeable spinners. “Pick your wave carefully,” I told myself. For the
next 20 minutes, I made misjudgment after misjudgment. Too far in. Too far out. Too far
over. I passed on some good ones and took some wrong ones, laboriously paddling back out
through lines of white water as the next machine-perfect set reeled through. After 20
minutes of increasing frustration, I told myself: “Relax Professor, at least you’re out here –
and by yourself – on a rare, plate-glass morning, complete with warm water. Just
witnessing these beauties is enough.”
So I calmed down and was rewarded with a set wave that had a nice
line – just as the light was coming up enough to see properly.
Shoulder high (which can seem pretty big when the tide is minus) and a long, clean wall
stretching out ahead of me. I rode the wave almost reverently – just a little climb and
drop from the middle of the board. It was a 20 to 25 second ride I would guess – though
time seemed to be standing still. Towards the end I did a little nose- ride for my victory
lap, then stepped back for a leisurely glide pull out – scanning the beach for witnesses as
I did so. (The Professor is not immune to ego-gratification.) No one to be seen . . .
but I was w- a-a-y past the lifeguard tower.
As I paddled back out I saw the sister of the wave I had just ridden, peeling from middles.
As it got closer I saw there were three dolphins surfing the curl towards me. At that
moment I also noticed that I was in the midst of a boil of panicked bait fish – hitting my
hands as I paddled through them. As I went over the top of wave, the dolphins shot past
me at high speed. I could almost have reached out and touched a dorsal fin. I was even
lightly buffeted by their wakes. I’ve been close to dolphins on many occasions but never
quite like this. I wasn’t scared – just awestruck.
I got a second good wave then felt a breath of wind. Almost immediately it hit with force
– and it was back to ugly eddy conditions as it has been for much of the past week. The
fleeting moment was gone but I won’t forget it anytime soon.
Words by Bob Drury
Photos by Brandon DiPierri
See more of his photos HERE.
