I was hoping for a nice early morning sunrise, but was met by an eerie-looking beach instead. All foggy, absolutely zero visibility out into the ocean to check conditions.
Got in the water about 40 minutes before low tide. Plus or minus 30 around low tide is the sweet spot in Nahant, if you ask me.
Paddled into the fog. Out there, at the typical lineup, I discovered others. It was busy inside the fog!
Other than the fog, it was perfect. Glassy, no wind, and thigh-high sets rolling through. I had about an hour before getting back to my regular day and caught a few nice ones. One in particular stuck with me. A left, I trimmed up and down a little, and again tried to get to the nose. More stable and in control with every attempt. Progress is such a good feeling!
Another one was interesting too: a right, or at least I took it as a right. It started breaking and I was trying to get out of the whitewash, having a hard time getting enough speed to carve further right, only to discover the left was clean and wide open. Doh! Should’ve peeked to my left at some point. Will remember that one too.
I ended up at the far side of the beach, with everybody else. I guess I had no idea where I was with the fog. No points to orient myself or adjust. It was weird, but on the other hand we were all moving perfectly with the breaks. That was the only reference point we had. Maybe that’s the secret. Or one of the secrets: ignore everything else, move with the tide. And stay away from rocks, possibly.
Sun came out eventually, but I had to leave.
