Didn't have time after I got back from Huttoft to post this:

Sat 20th September: Earlier in the week the chance of some swell on the east coast this weekend had slowly subsided; the general thought being it'd occur early next week instead. So it was a bit of a surprise to see ceefax had Cayton at 2-4' and increasing tomorrow [Sunday]. Seemed too good an opportunity to miss so I texted Naips and prepared to set off after a quick bite.

Arrived about half an hour before HT [due 13.45] and decided to observe first before committing to the car park and just see if any of the others were there yet. They weren't, but there did appear to be sufficient waves to have some fun with; maybe 1-2' and clean, but no more as HT does often flatten things off on this stretch of coast. Throw in some late summery weather and it would have been difficult to not have got suited up and gone in.

There was only one other in as I did my pre-surf stretching, so I chose to go a bit futher north along the beach to try my luck there. For half an hour or so, I struggled to get into any kind of peak or rythmn and caught nothing. A southerly breeze was also gusting at times and messing it up some, and I was beginning to get the old feelings of frustration about this place, just as Naips and Russ turned up. I paddled over to where they had got in and almost immediately got into my first ride of the day. Weird but welcome.

From that point it was like getting back on to the proverbial bike, and plenty more waves came my way in the next couple of hours. Not classic but still fun and rewarding after a three week plus absence from the sea. During this spell, Rob eventually turned up just after 3, and conditions did temporarily deteriorate and become a bit choppier for a while before it settled down a bit when the breeze dropped. Around 4.30 I began to think about getting out as the waves did seem to drop right off, before a suprise extra pulse began to kick in which re-livened things up some. Before I knew it, I'd been in for just over 4 hours and now it really was time to catch one final ride, this time in.
posted by wollocks at 4:02 PM