Yesterday was a good surf day.
Allow me to explain. It didn’t start out so well at first. That infernal wind that has not stopped blowing was cranking out of the WSW early on, blowing the swell into bits. It was cloudy. Rainy. At about 2:00 I went to look at Sagg Main, and it was really thumping hard on the sandbar. People were getting barrels but they weren’t really coming out that much. It was looking really walled up and difficult. I haven’t surfed that much in the past few weeks due to this horrible fall surf season, so I wasn’t feeling very confident. I didn’t feel like getting drilled into the sandbar or getting a facefull of fiberglass like one unfortunate kid did – resulting in a split lip.
I got word from Meghan at Ditch that it was looking good, and the sun was just about to poke out, so I decided to head to Montauk. It can be a bit windier out there, but the waves can also be bigger. The thing about Montauk is that depending on where you are, the waves can be a bit slower – not as fast and steep as a beachbreak but still enough oomph behind them to be fun.
When I got to Ditch it looked less than stellar. Ditch has been really weird this year with some funky sandbars on the indside causing it to wall up and break heavier. It was just all over the place when I got there, and I was not feeling very inspired, so I drove out to Camp Hero to check the coves.
When I parked and got out to take a look from the bluffs, I saw Happy Dave and Claire. Claire had just gotten out of the water and had been surfing with Andrea and Bettina. Dave was his usual happy self and that helped me snap out of the grumpy mood I had been in. He lent me his binoculars and told me to check out the 
right at R——. Through the binocs I could see a small group of 6 or 7 surfers on what looked to be shoulder high, somewhat mushy rights. R—— is a right point break that sits just under the stoic and somewhat creepy Camp Hero radar tower. Camp Hero is steeped in legends and conspiracy theories about the shady past of the now derelict airbase.
Whether or not there have been shady happenings there, it’s a beautiful place to surf. The view from the water is one of sheer brown cliffs, rocky beaches, and the stark white of the Montauk Point lighthouse to the east.
I’ve only surfed the coves a handful of times. T——- was amazing when I surfed it last November, glassy and head high, with only 6 people out – and all of them Southampton folks. D——–’s is a left point by the pillbox, and I surfed that on the fluke swell after the Danny swell peaked. Glassy and blue water, foot overhead and some fun drops. Claire, Andrea and Janet Boyd were out that day, and we were having a blast. Ate it bad on my first wave – over the falls on my head – and came up smiling. You always have to come up smiling or you’ll psyche yourself out.
Anyway, back to my story. The fall days are getting shorter now, so I knew time was of the essence. The north wind was blowing the swell out quickly, and I all but ran down the rocky path to the pillbox. Now, I’ve never surfed this particular break before, but having surfed D——’s earlier this season I knew I could do it. The waves were no more than head high anyway. Paddling out there is a bit of a trick, but it’s easier than getting in. You have to time it right, and make sure you don’t get caught standing in the shorepound by a breaking wave that will throw some fist sized rocks right onto your toes. I started hesitating – I was nervous. There were people out but I didn’t know who was out there or if I would know them. Finally I said screw it, I gotta go. Plus there was a guy sitting up on the shore watching. I wasn’t going to turn tail this time.
It was a dry haired paddleout, hugging the huge boulders that form the point and stick out of the water for 30 yards until they disappear under the murky sea. That’s the advantage of surfing a point break – it’s easy to get out. But my heart was racing anyway – I’m not the bravest surfer and the rocky coves generally make most people nervous their first few times out there. There’s just an aura around them that’s a bit different than your standard break on Long Island. In my mind you’ve gotta be at a certain ability level to surf there. Sure, you get the occasional kook who has wandered astray, but that’s not the usual case.
My first wave was a quick one, but my form was good and I realized I felt good and not off balance like I sometimes feel after a long dry spell. Eventually after catching a few waves my heartrate slowed and I began to enjoy myself. The adrenaline rush of paddling out to the unknown was ebbing and now the endorphines were setting in, leaving me smiling at nothing in particular.
My best wave was an amazing peak that I was in the perfect spot for. Head high and fast, I positioned myself right in the curl, and I felt it breaking over my back shoulder. At one point the wave started to break a little in front of me but I steered forward and around the cascading lip, evading it and rising back onto the wall and into the sweet spot again. The best part of the wave was the sunlight behind me, lighting my way, and illuminating the faces of everyone on the inside watching. I have to admit, if I’m on a good wave it’s kinda cool to have an audience. I rode it for a good 50 yards before cleanly kicking out and coming back down ready to paddle out once again.
I’m still stoked on that wave, still stoked on that session. Even writing about it right now is giving me another shot of stoke. You need all you can get out here, since right now the swells are so few and far between.