It is never an easy task scoring giant and perfect Cortez Bank on any given day or year. In fact, there have only been a handful of documented and recorded days in the past 10 years that have had successful outcomes. Swell size, wind direction and the effort of getting there are all elements facing any committed and experienced crew of big wave chargers that inspire to get to this secluded location which lies 100 miles off the California coast.
Needless to say, even if you are watching the charts and the perfect storm scenario, all of the elements that were in your favor can go to havoc in a matter of moments. Most of the time there is only a very small window of opportunity. For those that are on top of their weather game and are willing to take the chance, the rewards can be huge!
The crew had been monitoring a massive west swell which hit Hawaii on Christmas Day delivering waves in the range of 50' plus on the face and bigger at Pe'ahi, aka: JAWS. Knowing that giant west swells from Hawaii take two days to hit California they knew it was going to be big along the California coast and its outer waters but did not make the call on where to go until the very last minute. In fact the call was made at midnight.
It is always a gamble when planning a last minute sea odyssey to Cortes but for a few lucky souls that set sail in the early hours on December 27, 2009 and without notice to any living soul, it turned out to be a paddle and SUP (stand up paddle) session that will be remembered for the rest of their lives. Tim Ditty, Chuck Patterson, Eric Akiskalian, T.J. Saeman and Bryce Saeman went to Cortez with the intent to tow some legitimate monster size waves but when they got there it was far from monster size and they decided to take advantage of a great opportunity and paddle/SUP the Cortez Bank for the very first time.
It was a solid 12'-15' with a couple of larger sets but very inconsistent through out the day.There were long lulls, thick annoying kelp, three different peeks with a west bowl that swung super wide making it difficult to line up and lots of current to work with. Big wave charger and towsurfer Chuck Patterson became the first SUP surfer to take on the challenge of negotiating all the elements that were handed to him and managed to get some great waves. For the Saeman Brothers it was a paddle experience they will never forget and both are stoked to have made the decision to paddle. Eric also captured the moment of his friends in the water as a photographer and did PWC assists when anyone went down.
It was a perfect day, with clean conditions and everyone came home with plenty of stoke and great memories of the session. The entire voyage was made possible from their good friend Tim Ditty who is the owner of the vessel named 'Chula' and it was he along with his crew A.J. the Captain and Nick the First Mate that safely and comfortably made this stealth mission a huge success.
Tow Surfer.com - http://www.towsurfer.com/
TJ & Bryce Saeman Blog - http://tsaeman.wordpress.com/
Chuck Patterson Blog -http://chuckpattersonsports.wordpress.com/
Join Hobie Stand Up Paddleboards on Face Book - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Hobie-Stand-Up-Paddleboards/44977062854?ref=nf
