Friday was an amazing day! Super fun, clean lefts that just went and went... Great vibe in the water with everyone getting amped for the swell to arrive on Saturday.
Saturday morning the swell was rising, with conditions that weren't as organized as Friday. With a window for surf that was closing, I didn't have much time to wait for a ride out through the shore break. A thought began to work into my brain as I stood around watching waves roll in. I wanted to see if I could make it out before heading for home.
It took about 35 minutes of paddling before I made it out. ...or so I thought. The shore break was pounding 30 yards inside of me, so I figured I was out far enough, until about 8 minutes later. The cleanup set rolled through and broke about 20 yards out from me. I jumped off the board and dove under the first wave. I got tossed around pretty good and had to climb the leash to surface. With the longer period swell I had a long few seconds to get my bearings and a couple breaths before the next wave rolled through. I got tossed around a bit again this time wrapping the leash pretty tightly around my legs. While under for the next wave I was able to get untangled. I surfaced to find that my board hadn't faired the tumble very well.
I undid the leash, swam to shore, picked up the surfboard pieces, and headed home. No waves, but a good workout.