Birthday at the Beach

The girls asked me where I wanted to go on my 39th Birthday. To that I said, "somewhere surfy, of course." So we made plans for Crescent Beach. For a week, the forecast was so-so, a 10 ft NW swell, and the weather was looking like a cold one. Nevertheless, we left the house this morning (a half-hour late, because I had to open my birthday presents -- a new kayak helmet and the Wolf Mother CD) and headed to the North Coast. Our van has been in the shop for some repairs after it was backed into by a big pick-up with a trailer hitch, so we didn't have the roof rack for my boat. We have a Dodge Caravan for a rental, and we managed to fit my kayak, Ryleigh's surfboard, and Zoe's boogie board in the back.

Our arrival at Crescent was pretty disappointing, the wind was up and created a chop that sometimes seemed bigger than the little wavelets hitting the beach. So further west to Twin River. Twin wasn't any better, so we headed back to Crescent and suited up for what we thought would be a quick session. A couple people were there as we pulled up and I made a connection with someone I've been communicating with via Boater Talk for a few months. Hamp had his daughter with him, so we both went out for surf lesson before we got out past the break. Ryleigh caught some great little waves and had a great time while Laurie and Zoe set up camp on the rocks and took pictures from shore. Although it was windy, the sun kept everyone fairly warm.

After a while, Ryleigh decided to get out and grab a snack while I fought my way into the on-shore wind and the chop. There was a nice little rip along side the island which brought me out past the break. Hamp was already out there and we took turns catching sloppy waves. Except for a couple of board surfers, we had the place to ourselves. Hamp's Cyclone was a great boat for the conditions and he caught wave after wave. After a nice session, I headed back in to drain the boat and let Ryleigh paddle up Salt Creek a few hundred yards. Hamp headed in for the day, but we made plans to connect at the Hobuck Hoedown Festival on Memorial Day weekend. Soon after, Gary and Rob showed up in their hand-made Freerider kayaks. So it was back out for another session. The ebb-tide seemed to hold the waves up a bit and they gained some size. I managed to catch a few more before I got tired out. I chatted with Rob and Gary a little bit, then headed in. We loaded up and hit the road, stopping for coffee in Port Angeles and tried to make it to the Sequim Game Farm. By the time we got there it was closed, so we made the trip home, stopping by to pick up some Thai Food on the way.

Not a bad day for my (first) 39th birthday.