Miyuki, Toshi and Riku
Same + Romaniac
After buying a wet suit on friday, I was really excited to try it out this sunday as we prepared to go surfing with my roomate Miyuki and her friends, Toshi and Riku. To start off an xtreme day, we woke up xtremely early (ok, I'll stop doing the xtreme thing now!), at 4 am. By 5:00 we were already rolling on the highway, heading east towards Chiba prefecture, where so many famous Japanese surf spots are located. The weather was nasty the entire drive, going back and forth between light and heavy rain. My friends informed me that it would probably be bad all day long, possibly getting worst as a typhoon was on the way from southern Japan. Luckily, there are no such pollution problems in the water as in So Cal when it rains over here.
When we arrived at the first spot, Toyomi, a little before 7 am, we were greeted by a freezing wind, in top of the ever present rain. The surf, predictably, looked terrible: chest to shoulder high, but very choppy and crumbly, no clear break line in view, just waves breaking in every direction... oh ya, and did I mention the bone chilling wind?
So we got back in the car and drove off to the next spot... and then the next one, and so on until we arrived at Yoshizakihama, about 10 miles north of Toyomi. The conditions were the same everywhere: strong winds, nothing rideable in sight and rain. So we decided to just get in the water and try it out anyway.
Less than ideal conditions, to say the least...
As I was putting on my wet suit (a 3/2mm with short sleeves), I started feeling uneasy seeing my three friends change into some really thick equipment. To my surprise, they said they all wore 5/5mm! However, they explained that Japanese people in general feel the cold differently, ie. they are much more sensitive than Caucasians, therefore they need thicker suits. I remained doubtful until I jumped in the water for a quick test swim and felt perfectly comfortable with the temperature.
As we headed in on the right side of a jetty, I started paddling really hard to get past the many breaking waves. Now, this was my first time on a 5'10 shortboard (I usually ride a 6'5 fishy hybrid) so the paddling proved challenging, but I somehow managed to get to the outside. And here's where trouble started for me... As I was sitting on the board, trying to catch my breath, Toshi came up to me and told me to paddle away from the jetty. That's when I realized that I had drifted directly in front of the rocks because of a very strong current. Fair enough I said to him, as I started paddling, and paddling... and paddling some more. Yet, as I looked back towards the rocks, it seemed like I didn't move an inch! I just kept paddling as hard as I could, yet I could not make any progress. Even worst, every time a bigger wave came, it would push me closer to the jetty. I didn't start to panic yet, but I was getting tired. Resting though was not an option, as the strong current gave me no respite.
The famous jetty...
Then Toshi came back, urging me once again to paddle away from the rocks. This time I knew the situation was critical because I felt too tired to be able to fight the current long enough in order to get out of the danger zone. We tried switching boards, as his thicker, longer board would be easier to paddle, but the result was the same. Now we were both stuck directly in front of the jetty, paddling continuously but with the result being only a waste of energy. I never felt so powerless in the water before. In desperation, I asked him if he thought we could land on the jetty and climb up on it. Of course, I already knew the answer to that: way too dangerous considering the force of the waves.
Finally, as I was reaching the point of exhaustion after almost an hour and a half of non-stop paddling, we decided to try the only other option left: to use the current to go around the jetty, and reach the beach safely. Certainly it was a risky move, as we would have to cross the whole length of the jetty without getting caught by a wave, which would surely wash us onto the rocks.
I was lucky to catch a wave right away and go all the way across the rocks, back into open water. One more wave and I was back to shore, with Toshi right behind me. I was exhausted, still a little scared but oh, so happy!
After that we stayed for a while more on the left side of the jetty, but the conditions being so terrible, we finally decided to call it a day.
All's well that ends well!
This fisherman did not seem bothered by the brutal conditions
