I can feel my seat jiggle , a vibration coming from beneath the sand spreads through to my bones . It feels like an earth quake . It is the raw power from waves crunching a small 25 meter area just in front of a rock groyne ……. The Wedge , one of California’s most notorious waves .
“Cmon babe , you should take the boys to the Wedge , it’s probably your turn “, suggests Emma .Ive watched a tone of footage on the Wedge . I’ve seen Jamie O’Brien and a host of pros charge impossible shore breakers . Shit , I’ve gotta check this out for myself . I creep into the kitchen , start the kettle and wake up the boys at 530 am . I stuff the 5 surf boards and one boogie board into the back of Black Betty ( my 2006 Nissan Pathfinder ) . Texs mates Griffin and Dom are squeezed in underneath the collection . Tex then informs me that we are to pick up Shane as well . “ You are kidding me aren’t you ? “ I ask Tex. We stop out the front of Best Donuts where I rearrange the now six boards and extra fold out seat for Shane . The kids (15-16 year olds ) have their faces stuffed up against the windows , perfect . Dom asks Tex what our wifi is in the car. I snigger to myself when Tex replies that there isn’t any . To add insult to injury the radio doesn’t work either , courtesy of Tex blowing it up when he blasted his rap crap through it in a heavy low base. Karmas a bitch . I think it might be the 1st time these boys have ever ridden in a 14 year old car before . We hit the road in the dark , the quiet and the sound of google maps sending me directions in an Australian accent , beautiful . It’s not long before Black Betty is purring along at 80 mile per hour in the carpool lane of the 405 ( LAs big arse freeway ) . It’s not all smooth sailing . A 100% concentration is needed when the freeways are unlit and at times the oncoming headlights from cars on the opposite side of the freeway enter your vision . As I’ve said and you’ve probably heard , the freeways suck in LA especially in the dark .
After 50 minutes we cruise into Balboa island , Newport . I’m surprised at how manicured , clean and wealthy it is down here . “ The Wedge is here ? “ I ask Tex . “ Yeah ,where else would it be ? “ , he replies . I envisaged it to be grimier , more industrial , a dirty parking lot , but no , it was perfect . This is Trump territory , in fact he was here on Saturday at a private fundraising event .
The Wedge is an amphitheater . The steep coarse sand descending into the water , the imposing rock groyne and the waves jacking up like anvils close to shore .
It’s quiet this morning, only the 4 boys on their boards , a handful of boogie boarders and skim boarders . A metallic grey horizon is broken up by intermittent swell that rolls in every 3 minutes or so . What initially looks an unremarkable swell line warps into a large wedging chunk that pulverises the yellow coarse sand . I did some research , the last person to die here was in 2009 ( a boogie boarder ) . I consider my age , the fact that my body doesn’t fold in half like it used to , my weight and think ..” shit I can handle this “ …and then I remind myself it’s 2020 , what could go wrong ? Nah I’ll sit it out .
Professional photographers set up along the high point of the squashed up foreshore . I watch with contentment as the boys catch waves and then unceremoniously get hammered , time and time again . I wonder over to the groyne for a look , on the way back I notice Tex in the unenviable position of being the only one furthest out as an approaching 6 foot plus we’ve looms . The few people that watch scream at him to go ….and go he does like a jockstrap in a dry cleaner. He cart wheels through the roof and gets near evaporated meters from shore . Shit , I better go over there and see if he’s alright . When he looks up stunned , but smiling I laugh my head off . Better off you than me Tex
The Wedge , ticked that box
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