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San
Onofre is a deeply symbolic surfing break in California’s colourful
beach culture, famous for its smooth peeling waves and beach fires set
against the sandstone cliffs and scattered palms. This is one of the
most important waves in the early development of Californian surfing,
along with Wind and Sea and Malibu. The moment I arrived this morning I
was reminded of San O’s rich waveriding heritage. The atmosphere is
perfect. It was calm and welcoming as a foggy sky hung over a small
north swell and slow waves kissed the cobbles on the shore.
I paddled out with newly crowned ISA World Longboard Champion and Oxbow
teamrider Matthew Moir from South Africa and greeted a host of
international  competitors and friends outback. Longboarders from
France, Brazil, California and Hawaii brought some flavour to the day,
and the likes of Duane Desoto, Noah Shimabukuro and Taylor Jenson lit
up the place with a content smile and some silky surfing. As the
weather cleared and the infamous west coast sun poked through, the
action came alive in the water. The poor 2-3 feet swell had not
attracted many locals, but keen to gel with the wave before the WLT
event begins tomorrow, Harley Ingelby (current ASP WLT leader) and Kai
Sallas painted the crumbly faces with fast carving roundhouse cutbacks.
Then a few pelicans taught us all a lesson in grace and style as they
glided across the back draft of a small set. The surf was poor, but San
O has a habit of maintaining a mellow, positive atmosphere in the
lineup.
San O is a special place in my personal surf history because I scored
one of the most memorable waves of my early surfing days here when I
was aged 9. I paddled in, locked in trim, the face mirrored back a
searing sun, and the wave unrivalled further than I could imagine. Ever
since, San O has been a powerful place for  me (and many thousands of
other surfers) to visit. The wave quality is not the highest in
Southern California, but it’s ideal for longboards and the atmosphere
is unrivalled. This is one of the main reasons Oxbow has chosen to host
the final event of the WLT right here. I have been looking forward to
competing at San O for months, so my first session was a pleasure.
After the surf I talked with Nat Young in the carpark and local super
stars Colin McPhillips, Taylor Jenson and Josh Baxter. Then I returned
back to our apartment in San Clemente with Oxbow team manager Lucas
Levazac and British competitor Ben Skinner. We caught up with Kai Lenny
and his father Martin from Maui. 16 year old Kai has just joined the
Oxbow team and has the talent to become an iconic waterman in the Dave
Kalama/Laird Hamilton mould. Kai already excels in all the water, wave
and wind disciplines and will no doubt be excited to put his stamp on
international longboarding.
I paddled out for an evening session as the tide was low and the waves
glassed off, surfing until the sun tipped whole into the Pacific. It
has been a beautiful first day in California. Roll on the WLT tomorrow
morning.
Sam Bleakley
About Sam Bleakley
Sam Bleakley is a pro longboarder, travel writer and Cambridge graduate from Sennen Cove, Cornwall, UK.
A multiple European and British Longboard Champion, Sam focuses
primarily on exploration photo projects to remote coastlines. Recent
groundbreaking trips have been to Mauritania, Haiti, Liberia, Kenya,
Oman, the Maluku Islands, South Korea and China, to name a few places
where Sam has been the first longboarder to be photographed riding
waves.
Despite the traveling, Sam claims, “there is nothing more special in
surfing than being a local. I love returning to West Cornwall – the
vaulting granite cliffs, a skirt of quartz sand, and the anticipation
of the changing season. This is where I grew up and live with my wife
Sandy and baby daughter Lola. Home is where the heart is.” (Source: Surfer's Path )
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