SECRET SPOT... A tale from the trail.
Story by Harry Pothead
SHOT
1
Last week all of California was blessed with the best South swell in a long time, and Northern California was no different. Trekking way off the beaten path, I dodged agitated locals, poison oak, and possibly being attacked by a Mountain Lion to surf a rare secret spot way up north of the Golden Gate bridge. When I got there, I didn't see any locals, but I did find waves that were more intimidating than any local. No one was out, but Santa Cruz surfer Wayne Kelly was there at the end of the trail trying to talk an unidentified surfer into paddling out. Wayne didnt seem too concerned about locals... he deals with plenty of deviance working as a Bouncer at a nightclub in Santa Cruz.
HOW PERFECT WAS THIS DAY? WELL... PERFECT IS PERFECT.
The waves looked 6 feet, until Wayne had his way and the two paddled out. When they got to the peak, I could see that I seriously underestimated the wave size. The wave was wrapping around the jagged reef, and with the water color and power, it almost resembled a 48 degree version of Pipeline. Wayne paddled out to the inside reef and immediately caught a few really good waves.
The
unidentified
surfer
wanted
nothing
to
do
with
it.
Sets
were
pouring
in.
I
could
see
Wayne
bolting
outside
to
the
second
reef.
A
few
minutes
later
I
watched
him
ride
the
biggest
wave
I
had
seen
from
the
outside
and
right
over
the
cauldron
of
the
inside
bowl.
When
it
hit
the
inside,
the
wave
doubled
up
so
hard,
I
could
barey
stop
shaking.
This
spot
was
way
more
than
I
bargained
for.
I
was
happy
just
to
witness
this
secret
spot
in
its
glory.
The
beauty
of
it
was
I
now
believed
the
hype,
and
I
was
not
intimidated
by
the
trail,
the
travel
to
get
there,
or
the
horror
stories,
but
by
the
wave
itself.
That
perfect
wave
you
dream
about
may
be
more
real
than
you
think.
Take
it
from
me,
when
you
travel
for
surf...
be
careful
for
what
you
wish.
You
might
get
more
than
you
bargained
for.
WAYNE HOOKING A BEAUTIFUL GEM OVER THE INSIDE REEF.
JUNGLE BARRELS WAY UP NORTH.... RUGGED CALIFORNIA.
WAVE OF THE YEAR AT A SPOT THAT RESEMBLES PIPELINE AT FULL SIZE.
YES... IT WAS THAT GOOD.
MORNING
TIME.
ACID DROP. WK freefalls over boils in the bottom left corner. Yes, he stuck it.
THE
WAY
INSIDE
BOWL.
DIFFERENT
ANGLE.
Pipe
influence.