SURFIN' SAFARI SUMMER - DAY ONE - June 10, 2019

  That's "The Gun," my go-to board (I only have two), and my soggy, new Rip Curl wetsuit apparently designed by Harry Houdini. This is the beach at Marina del Rey. It is right in the middle of the city and perpetually empty. You can park at the edge of the sand. Surfers used to call it "Shitpipe" because the sewage outfall was there back in the '60s. Now it is three miles further into the sea. When you are a surfer you come to grips with the fact the ocean is humanity's toilet bowl. The Marina is my home court. Not the best wave in Southern California, but I have been surfing it so long, I know most of the shapes. I sharpen up there before joining the lineup of aggressive loonies at places like Topanga. Surfed for two hours today and caught nice mid-sized waves to my heart's contentment.

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