Month: November 2010

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Mavericks Opening Ceremonies

Today was the opening ceremony for the Jay at Mavericks. Thomas was so kind as to bring me along on a coastal flight to check out the scene. We spent some time on the ground watching the surfers prepare to paddle out, then cruised around over the water.

Fun day. I’m excited to see how the new Mav’s organizers run the show. Change isn’t easy and they’ve certainly got their work cut out for them. Hopefully the beautiful clear weather today is a sign of good things to come.

More pics available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracey_t/sets/72157625376358945/

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Lazy SC Sunday

Surf: Thigh-Chest high. Inconsistent. Little Texture.

YAWN. After a busy week I >wanted< to surf but I didn't want to get up early, drive, or get worked up about the surf. Lucky me! Aaron was also lazily contemplating some surf and offered to drive. Sure, we were there over high tide, not ideal, but there was still plenty of fun to be had. It was a little crowded at the main peak so we snuck off one peak over and picked up mellow waves. I had a few super long rides including a sweet little stall to keep a wave while avoiding someone who looked determined to drop in. Afterwards, Five Guys. Nice.

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Thanksgiving

Surf: 2-3ft. Clean. Cold.

I’ve had a lot to be thankful for this year. Thigh/Waist high lovely little lined up waves were a lovely added bonus.

I’m thankful for a more stable year than the last. I’m thankful to have been able to be there for my family when they needed me. I’m thankful for the many wonderful years I had with my grandmother who passed away this year. I’m thankful that I have a place to live. I’m thankful for the adventures I’ve had.

I’m also thankful for all of the great people I’ve met through surfing. These folks have kept me sane, kept me employed, and kept me stoked.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life. Many happy years and many happy waves to you.

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Frosty

Surf: Knee-Waist High. Racy and clean.

Brrr rrrrr. Woke up early to thick frost on my car. Back in the days of winterization and 4 wheel drive I wouldn’t have flinched. My little civic has worn out summer wipers so at 5:30something am I had a board in on hand and a scraper in the other.

At only around 37F at the beach, it was certainly what I’d call chilly. My fingertips were numb before I even got down to the water.

Thankfully the cold kept most people away and we had fun zippy small waves to ourselves. The sun kept me just warm enough. After a few hours I was happy if not a little but frozen around the edges. Yay.

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Racy lines

Surf: 3-4ft. Fast! 310º Northwest 8.5 ft @ 12.1 sec

I forgot my glasses. I was running a little late so I just went without them. My eyes aren’t that bad, but I like having them to drive and to give the waves a good staredown from the lot.

I missed the staredown. Chris and Daniel were already suited up and heading in. I have a half stare and though “looks small but clean, I’ll take it!”

Around the time I was paddling out I realized it was racy with some oomph! Not small at all. Not huge sure, but looked niiiiice.

My first wave was super fun. Really fast and held up. There were a few sections I thought were going to break right on top of me but I zipped around. Weeeeee. So fun!

After that I kinda floundered around. I’m still really tired from Wednesday and couldn’t quite ooomph it up. Every time I’d sit inside, a cleanup set would come. I got a few okayish moments in, but nothing like the first ride. Still plenty fun to hoot it up for everyone else. Lots of great rides this morning. Everyone was getting a little something special.

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Day Off!

Surf: 2-3ft, mellow with long lulls. Clean.

Work has been pretty stressful and pretty frustrating for months now. MONTHS. Every week I’d tell myself “If I can just get through this next thing, next week I’ll take a day and drive down to Santa Cruz.” Every week I’d get through the next thing only to find a large pile of thing after that. Sigh. With much of the project now at the printer, I found myself with some warm weather and a day where no one really needed me to do anything. It was soooo on.

I was taking a little bit of a gamble with a small wave forecast, but figured at the least I’d get some sun, some water and a milkshake. Things were in fact small. I spent a bit of time waffling between two spots before deciding. It was plenty mellow and I chased down a lot of waves that didn’t turn into anything, but I got some really nice ones as well.

Lots of waist high rights I spent wiggling down the line, connecting on all the way into the shore. A few solid smooth longboardy lefts. I spent some quality time up on my logo working on a nose ride I just didn’t quite make. It’s funny, I feel like I surf completely different depending on which direction I’m going. Left is more stand tall longboard, few turns, lots of rail. Right is more dips, turns, and the occasional mini-floater. No idea what it is. Seem like today I had to navigate more sections (and kelp) on the right, but I’ve noticed this trend elsewhere. HMMM.

Crowd was pretty friendly too. I got a few compliments on my rides and a big thank you from a guy I called into a wave. Everyone was really stoked to be enjoying some warm sun with their little waves.

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Itty Bitty Jetty

Surf: Knee high on a good wave. Closed out. Beautiful weather.

Yay! A whole weekend without work!

I kicked around going to Bolinas, but waited a little too long and the declining swell made it not worth the haul. After checking Linda Mar (jumbled up, crowded, closed out mess) I met Tom down at the Jetty. It was small. So very, very small. Barely breaking, small.

Not a bad day to sit around in the water though. I managed to squeeze a few fun little rides. Lots of crouching and holding the rail, hoping to bust through a closeout. All the floating around worked up an appetite for Underdogs. Mmmmm tacos.

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Mellow Jetty

Surf: Waist high. Still a bit mixed up.

Headed south to escape the jumbled up, junky stuff blowing around in the usual places. Cleaner, knee to waist high waves. Still plenty of texture and plenty of jumble. Not awful, but lots of closed out, doublestacked waves with a sideways wave in the middle. I got one real nice one, then a lot of short closed out rides. Hardly anyone out and another lovely sunrise.

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Ehhh, screw it. Going surfing.

Surf: Waist high, inconsistent.

I spent almost 40 minutes waiting for a client late to a meeting before assuming everyone else must be taking Friday off and running out to surf. J-Bird and Darren met me down at Linda Mar. The surf wasn’t stellar, but better than working 🙂

I got a few fun short rides including a technical head dip thing around mid beach. Took a drop that closed out on my head, but managed to get up and hold the line. After closeout after closeout, switched to the left and caught a few longer rides. Took a few late drops and caught a few standout waves. Not a bad alternative to waiting by the phone.

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Hoping for lemons

Surf: Thigh to Head high. Inconsistent. Warm offshore breeze.

Lots of hemming and hawing in the parking lot this morning. While tamer than the previous days, things were inconsistent. Some folks opted not to paddle out, we paddle out looking for something fun.

The first spot we tried was mushy and barely breaking. The next spot we tried up on the larger side was a lot more fun. Waves were still a bit funky, but fun. I got a few fun rides. I also dropped in on a dude. Dang. I didn’t see him on the inside of me in the sun. Luckily it was a pretty mellow morning and I could atone with lagging back on a few waves and steering clear for a while.

Fun moment when Daniel and I were on the inside of a cleanup set. He cheered for the oncoming beatdown. I was laughing so hard I almost didn’t get in a good breath before the wash cycle. I fought back out to get one to ride in. Nearly stomped myself in the shorebreak too. Gotta love a day that swings wildly from thigh high to head high from wave to wave.

Warm offshore sure was nice.