Redondo Beach Boogie

This morning, I was surprised to see relatively large surf after a few days of flat or blown out conditions.  I decided I would do some pre-breakfast boogie boarding.

Before heading out the door, I heard a teaser on the news about a California man being attacked by a great white shark, but I figured it must not be around our place, since I saw nothing about it in this morning's Daily Breeze.

I put on my long sleeved rash guard to go with my trunks and flip flops, and then stopped at the Jeep to grab my boogie board on my way out.  I usually go to the other side of the jetty to get to better waves, but this morning there was great surf right in front of our condo.

It was brisk, and sitting down on my towel to get warmed by the bright morning sun wasn't having the desired warming effect, so I decided to head out into the ocean.  The water wasn't as cold as I feared, but I still had to tell myself that I would catch fifteen waves in order to convince myself to stay out there after the first time I dove under a wave.

Following a couple of fun rides, a huge set came in and pummeled me as I tried to get out.  Wave after wave broke almost on top of me, and eventually one took my boogie board to shore when the velcro of the strap wouldn't hold.  Maybe ten rides, I thought, but after catching a few of the bigger ones, I was having a lot of fun. 

Fighting the current and then riding the waves is good exercise, and being in the ocean feels therapeutic.  It's one of the reasons I've enjoyed living in Redondo Beach so much.  But after the twelfth ride (and many more crunches), I was getting a little tired and cold.  I turned to head back out for another ride and saw an enormous dorsal fin about 20 yards away from me in the surf.

I've enjoyed several encounters with dolphin, and I was relatively sure this was just an unusually big dolphin, but the news teaser flashed in my mind, so I decided to head to shore.

Standing in the sand, I saw a dophin surface, and then another. A whole school of dolphin was playing in the surf. I thought about going back out, but I recalled Ben Franklin's Virtue of Moderation, and remembered that I don't have unlimited time for being a beach bum. I have obligations that must be handled, and I had already expended the time alloted for a morning workout. However, after washing in the condo's cold beach outdoor shower, I decided to indulge in a quick stop at the community hot tub.


(This video is from the day before when surf was flat, but the skies were just as clear and sunny both days. And as long as I'm making disclosures about videos, the waves weren't nearly as big as in the first video (which I obviously did not make) for "Surfing In A Hurricane," but they felt plenty strong to me.)