Surf Query: Does It Count If It's Just the Head?

A droplet on the lens obscures the key pixels in this masterpiece of surf cinematography. To wit, Spat Out in Glory takes off, makes the bottom turn, lines it up, then shoots for the barrel.

By way of full disclosure, we use the term "barrel" in its most limited sense here. Total diameter: 18 inches. Duration: .75 seconds. But for a moment, the cranium was in the air pocket. It sounded like a seashell clamped around the entire head. ...

Spat Out in Glory's Southern California location shoot has lacked swell. But Santa Claus Lane made up for a week of tiny Devereaux in one hour. Driving south on the 101, a look left. Two guys out. The beach break seems to be working. Huh.

Next exit, circle back, then the suit up and paddle out. Now it's just one other guy in the water. Chest-high sets. Glassy. Tranquil. Porpoises. A bull sea lion alternates between wave riding and testing our notions of personal space. His girlfriend shows up. Are they agro in April?

Dave, the other guy out there, is popping up fast on his Yater, trying to find a shoulder amid the beach breaks.

Spat Out in Glory takes off on likely little wave and makes the drop. It starts off doggy, then finds the sand bar and stands up. The Tyler finds a line and moves under the lip. A heroic craning of the neck places the head in the tubelet.

The rest of the session alternates between one-turn wonders and trips over the falls.

A digression: A rereading of this account brings to mind the phrase "grasping at straws." Two nights ago, an old surfing friend, Jim, proffered his analysis of my failure to progress as a surfer. His quote: "That's just sad." Fortunately, the negative data points don't find traction. The Camera Monkey put it best during the nadir of our surfing frustration in Nicaragua. "There's something broken in your head," she said.

So the day at Santa Claus Lane unfolded, Dave and I trading waves and chatting, getting ice-cream headaches from the cold after wipeouts.

Driving south afterward, no swell showed at Rincon, the Ventura County beaches, or Malibu. It was just Santa Claus Lane. That *never* happens.

Santa Claus Lane: Watch the First Ride...