- Location
- San Diego
So here goes, it’s been quite a while I should have posted here but I think I’ve been in denial since I lost my baby…
So, it was a Friday and I was trying to go shred after work (duh). At that time there were some big waves here in San Diego. Big waves. So obviously I was going to try and go get my fill…I’m heading west trying to figure out which bay I'm going to shred. San Diego Bay for the possibility of big wake with people around for safety or the mouth of Mission Bay for 12 foot waves…I don’t know what happened but I drove straight to Mission Bay while I was thinking about playing it safe in SD…I get down to Dana Landing, gear up and head out about a quarter mile or so towards the channel. When I get to the channel there are surfers maybe 150 yards inside the jetty surfing probably 8 to 10 foot waves inside the bay. Hell yeah! So I go out past that break and away from the surfers and get to doing my thing. I usually decide to go skiing on the fly and don’t really have wingman for the super gnar. And sometimes it’s hard to find somebody who’s down for retarded stuff. Especially when it’s 58*…Right after I passed the surfers there were lifeguards coming in that were out running practice rescues in the horrible conditions. They looked like they were glad to be inside the bay as they passed me.
I’m going for an hour or so on these monster waves that are hitting about 12 feet when they break. I was going nuts having the time of my life shredding up down and across. It was getting late, sunset was in about half an hour and I was low on gas so I was heading in past the surfers.
Water got flat enough for me to feel that I probably had almost a gallon of gas left. Time to turn around and burn all of it! I mean how often do you get to ride 12 foot waves?
So I go ripping back out there to about 50 yards inside the point of Mission Bay jetty where the big ones are starting to curl. I’m getting enough speed to just come off the top of the wave before it curls and fall like 25 feet into the trough of the next wave. I do that a few times then that fourth wave in that set was a monster. 16 foot face. (Second story roof-as high as a freeway sign) As I’m going up the face I realize I’m not gonna make it before this thing curls. Now I’m doing an upside down superman when my ski gets ripped out of my hands as I roll in white water for probably five seconds solid. (I’m wearing a lifevest so how in the hell am I under water for so long I was thinking) I come up alive and look for my ski for about half a second until the next wave crashes right on me (waves were at about 8sec).
My ski wasn’t important anymore as i kick off my booties and try to swim 2/3 of the way across Mission Bay channel in those conditions. There were people watching the surfers, even a lifeguard or two but swell is so big and I was out past them far enough for no one to see me apparently. And to top it all off it’s outgoing tide so that’s on my mind…There was a brief time when I was wondering How many bodies have washed up on dog beach which is just south of MB. Do you just say f it and breathe water? I kept paddling. It seemed like I was paddling for 10 minutes and gaining no ground but I kept going starting to think about climbing up on those rocks with no booties, rubber legs and those waves (crashing over the top of the jetty). I’m getting goosebumps now thinking about it…
By the time I got it within 20 feet or so of the jetty the swell was big but not monstrous so I had to put the pedal to the metal without taking any break at all. I’ll tell you right now it’s a miracle that I was able to scramble up those rocks and stagger 100 yards down the jetty to safety. I caught my breath, took my helmet off and told a lifeguard there what had happened. Him and a couple bystanders were blown away but said that they had not seen my bright green green ski at all. The lifeguard radioed and told others to look out for my Ski then when his shift was over he gave me a ride back around the bay to my bus where after a good cry I pulled my empty trailer home. I was devastated. Still am.
I didn’t sleep well that night even though I was totally drained from all that. The next day I drove straight back down to the jetty spoke to a lifeguard then headed down towards dog Beach where apparently the transom of my jet ski had washed up. So the best part of all this is I got my pump, hooker
), drive shaft and foot straps back. Bad news is, there’s one lass x2. Worse news is there’s one less FPP mod pipe around.
I guess I should be lucky to be alive but whenever I think of that I just miss my ski.
So, it was a Friday and I was trying to go shred after work (duh). At that time there were some big waves here in San Diego. Big waves. So obviously I was going to try and go get my fill…I’m heading west trying to figure out which bay I'm going to shred. San Diego Bay for the possibility of big wake with people around for safety or the mouth of Mission Bay for 12 foot waves…I don’t know what happened but I drove straight to Mission Bay while I was thinking about playing it safe in SD…I get down to Dana Landing, gear up and head out about a quarter mile or so towards the channel. When I get to the channel there are surfers maybe 150 yards inside the jetty surfing probably 8 to 10 foot waves inside the bay. Hell yeah! So I go out past that break and away from the surfers and get to doing my thing. I usually decide to go skiing on the fly and don’t really have wingman for the super gnar. And sometimes it’s hard to find somebody who’s down for retarded stuff. Especially when it’s 58*…Right after I passed the surfers there were lifeguards coming in that were out running practice rescues in the horrible conditions. They looked like they were glad to be inside the bay as they passed me.
I’m going for an hour or so on these monster waves that are hitting about 12 feet when they break. I was going nuts having the time of my life shredding up down and across. It was getting late, sunset was in about half an hour and I was low on gas so I was heading in past the surfers.
Water got flat enough for me to feel that I probably had almost a gallon of gas left. Time to turn around and burn all of it! I mean how often do you get to ride 12 foot waves?
So I go ripping back out there to about 50 yards inside the point of Mission Bay jetty where the big ones are starting to curl. I’m getting enough speed to just come off the top of the wave before it curls and fall like 25 feet into the trough of the next wave. I do that a few times then that fourth wave in that set was a monster. 16 foot face. (Second story roof-as high as a freeway sign) As I’m going up the face I realize I’m not gonna make it before this thing curls. Now I’m doing an upside down superman when my ski gets ripped out of my hands as I roll in white water for probably five seconds solid. (I’m wearing a lifevest so how in the hell am I under water for so long I was thinking) I come up alive and look for my ski for about half a second until the next wave crashes right on me (waves were at about 8sec).
My ski wasn’t important anymore as i kick off my booties and try to swim 2/3 of the way across Mission Bay channel in those conditions. There were people watching the surfers, even a lifeguard or two but swell is so big and I was out past them far enough for no one to see me apparently. And to top it all off it’s outgoing tide so that’s on my mind…There was a brief time when I was wondering How many bodies have washed up on dog beach which is just south of MB. Do you just say f it and breathe water? I kept paddling. It seemed like I was paddling for 10 minutes and gaining no ground but I kept going starting to think about climbing up on those rocks with no booties, rubber legs and those waves (crashing over the top of the jetty). I’m getting goosebumps now thinking about it…
By the time I got it within 20 feet or so of the jetty the swell was big but not monstrous so I had to put the pedal to the metal without taking any break at all. I’ll tell you right now it’s a miracle that I was able to scramble up those rocks and stagger 100 yards down the jetty to safety. I caught my breath, took my helmet off and told a lifeguard there what had happened. Him and a couple bystanders were blown away but said that they had not seen my bright green green ski at all. The lifeguard radioed and told others to look out for my Ski then when his shift was over he gave me a ride back around the bay to my bus where after a good cry I pulled my empty trailer home. I was devastated. Still am.
I didn’t sleep well that night even though I was totally drained from all that. The next day I drove straight back down to the jetty spoke to a lifeguard then headed down towards dog Beach where apparently the transom of my jet ski had washed up. So the best part of all this is I got my pump, hooker
), drive shaft and foot straps back. Bad news is, there’s one lass x2. Worse news is there’s one less FPP mod pipe around.I guess I should be lucky to be alive but whenever I think of that I just miss my ski.
