Big Day with Doyle

Here’s a special memory I have of suring with Mike.

Back in 1995, I was camping on what we used to call “The Knob” in Mexico at a favorite spot of mine.

I had rolled over the evening before from the Pacific side and awoke to perfectly groomed lines wrapping into the bay. It was light offshore and a beauty of a morning. I was camping solo, as I like to do quite often. Sunrise over the Sea of Cortez is always an enjoyable experience for me and this morning did not disappoint. The colors were off the charts by pre-sunrise.

As I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I looked over and saw Doyle and King in Mike’s suburban on the beach. They arrived at dawn and were looking at the lineup. We hooted back and forth at each other. “This is going to be a memorable day.” I thought to myself.

Doyle and Jeff were on it! They both had beautifully handcrafted, “big guns” from their good friend, Steve Clark under their arms and were on their way out in two shakes.

On my way out to the lineup “Jefe” (as usual) swung and went on a beauty right away. He disappeared into the bay and came back out beaming from ear to ear. “Did you see my bottom turn? That was an unbelievably perfect wave all the way down the line! Did you see that first turn off the bottom?!” He yelled from the channel as he paddled back out to where we were sitting outside.

The next set came and began to pick up the outer reef and Doyle was sitting deep. He wheeled his 11’6” around and went on the next big set wave. I watched “The Champ” as he paddled over the ledge and drove straight down the face to the bottom and then laid out a long, carving bottom turn and was “off to the races” down the line and gone all the way into the bay, carving big powerful turns up and down the face into all the way. He was flat out and flying on that big sleek “Clark” gun. It was absolute poetry in motion.

Next set came and there I was in the spot, poised and ready. As I turned to paddle, I saw Doyle also paddling and ready to drop in a few meters over from me. I hooted and he looked at me and pulled back as I went over the edge and down the face of one of the most beautiful waves I have ever surfed in my life. It was a perfectly tapered 12’-15’ face with a nice meaty boil to pull into and carve down the line. I rode that wave all the way to the beach that morning. On my way back out I remember being so stoked that Doyle pulled back and gave me that wave. He usually got what ever wave he wanted but had decided to let me go on that one. I thanked him when I got back outside and we spent the next two hours surfing our brains out.

That day, was also the day I had to make my way to the airport, get a last minute flight and go north for an emergency. You see, I had received notice the evening before that my father just had a stroke on Vancouver Island. I packed up my truck and split for the airport to catch the 10:30am flight out that morning.

I will never forget that wave Mike. It was a bittersweet day for me but that wave and the others I caught that day with you and Jeff were as good as they get. The joy I experienced that morning in the water somehow helped better prepare me for the task at hand later that day.

My father recovered from his stroke and lived another 22 years until last December when he passed away with his three kids by his side at his home in Newport Beach.

Thanks for making my day out there at the point Mike Doyle. I’ll never forget it.
Meisy
(Steve Meisinger)