It's been weeks since the waves were any good here in Paradise Cove. You'll see the surfers on the beach and on the bluff, facing west, faces bleak, flat water all the way to the horizon. Boards stay put in corners. Wetsuits hang on railings, bone dry. A few days ago, though, things began to stir. A wave here, a curl there, a nicely shaped set in the distance. They're smiling again, these surfers, clustered in knots in the morning, parsing the water, choosing a board and then quickly paddling out.