Surf: 5.3 ft at 9.1 s from the NW at 319°. Windy. Outgoing tide.
It’s been so warm we took advantage of the weather for a beach day. The surf was pretty terrible and my shoulder was acting up again so I traded the board for fins. While I mostly just got drug around by the current, there were some fun little corners and lots and lots of By-the-wind Sailors coming ashore.
After an ice-cream pit stop at Polly Ann’s, I stopped by the north end of the beach to say hi to some friends.
Surf: 3.9 ft at 7.1 s from the WNW at 290° and building.
It’s been a pretty lousy week. I’ve been running around for work that has been less than rewarding. So, with nothing on the schedule for Thursday, I jetted off to see if I could find some surf. It started out flat and grey, but kinda workable, but by the end, there were waves and there was plenty of sun. I got sunburnt for sure. Oww. Overall, not bad. Worked on some quick turns.
Water is SO warm. They’re saying it’s a record high maybe 65°, hasn’t been this warm since the 80’s. I was roasting. Beautiful weather.
Surf: 4.9 ft at 9.1 s from the NW at 312°, low tide.
I’ve been out of practice getting up and getting moving in the morning. The guys were headed to Santa Cruz for a pre-meeting surf and I rolled on to the usual spots. The tide was so low there was barely any water to surf and hardly any waves to chase down. Thankfully all I need is a little bit of room to work on my one step. Step, splash, step, splash. Now if I can just make getting up a habit again, I should be all set.
Surf: 5.9 ft at 9.1 s from the NW at 310°. Low tide.
A little unexpected to be back so soon. The guys had another meeting. Smaller today and I wow was my neck hurting, but still rideable and still kinda fun. I had a little moment of surf etiquette to debate. My friend lives down in SC and was leaving the state soon for grad school. I’d told him we were surfing yesterday, but wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to call him at 4am, when I found out we were headed back, or even 6 am when we were suiting up. Around 7:30 I saw him giving me the “huh?” shrug from the cliffs. Thankfully he wasn’t mad I didn’t give him the heads up. We got a few waves and all was well. After that: breakfast!
Surf: 6.2 ft at 9.1 s from the WNW at 303°
After a solid breakfast an a tour of my friend’s place in Santa Cruz, I headed back out for a few waves more. Sunnier and a little more crowded, but still fun. Since I got so many waves in the morning I opted to work on my steps. I managed to do a full step over step over step cross step all the way to about 5 inches or so from the nose. YESSSSS. Once I get a little more confidence, maybe I can cheat a five or something. Rounded off the wave walking back for a little move, too. Starting to get somewhere! I just need more surf days and more smooth waves 😀
Surf: 5.9 ft at 9.1 s from the WNW at 298°
Taking my new board out in Santa Cruz has been high on my list of summer goals. Today was a good morning for it. Small, clean, super chill. That board is so buttery! It swoops. I got in a few steps, too. Loving the new style. I’m going to have to work pretty hard to catch up with what the board can do, but I’m looking forward to trying. 🙂
Surf: 2.6 ft at 13.8 s from the S at 184°
Took the new board out at the home break today. 😀
Surf was pretty sloppy and a little mushy, but still plenty fun. I surfed for a while while Chris took the handplane. We swapped after a few waves. I was hoping to get another opinion on my board. So far, so good. I got some great rides on the handplane, too. Pretty good end to the holiday weekend!
Neoprene Jacket and Shorts:
I wanted to do a review of my Seea neorpene after the Hawaii trip last fall, but unfortunately didn’t have any photos of me sporting the goods. Super glad I packed my jacket and shorts for this trip, the water was in the 70’s in southern California and the neoprene was perfect for morning and sunset surfs.
First up on these: the fit.
I’m a large and the jacket fit perfectly. The sleeves fell right at the wrists, even with my long arms. The shorts are high waisted, which was very comfortable (no sunburned lower back, no water flushing down my shorts.) I did wear bikini bottoms under them. My legs might be a little bigger than the intended fit and the cuffs rolled up a bit my first paddle out. It wasn’t immodest or anything, but I thought I’d feel a bit more comfortable with bottoms under, just in case. I do this with the surf-suits, too. It’s just more comfortable for me. Doing so also makes it so I could take the shorts off for the hike back up the cliff once the sun had warmed things up.
People in the water usually ask about the zipper. It’s padded enough by the cut of the neoprene that I don’t feel it paddling. I can unzip it to about the middle of my upper chest before the zipper clacks on the board. I tried it unzipped all the way and it was fine but caught a little extra water. The zipper feels pretty sturdy and is easy to zip even with cold or sunblock covered hands.
Durability:
So far it’s held up to hikes down cliffs (in CA and HI,) it’s held up to drying over the side mirror on the van, it’s even lasted through a really long (sad) six months put away between trips.
Looks:
Love it! It’s pretty classic, not too girly, and not too dude-ish. I’ll admit, my roommate burst out laughing seeing the shorts out of context, but thought it looked super cute all together.
It’s also easy to mix and match the shorts and jacket with other stuff. I wore the jacket with my palm-tree leggings and the shorts with my rashguards no problem. It was especially helpful in Hawaii where the water was so warm I mostly ended up wearing the shorts and a rashie in the morning.
Surf Leggings:
In other gear news: I finally got to try out my surf leggings! Yay!
I got these for Mexico trips and hadn’t gotten a chance to try them out until now. These are GREAT. No sunburn, no board rash, no hiking up or slipping down. I got the Pacifica ones which are very lightweight. It should be perfect for Mexico so I can keep covered without getting overheated.
Fit:
They came to about mid-calf on me which is either because I’m tall or is the older style of cut. The ones on the site now look like they are closer to ankle.
Durability:
They got the same treatment as the neoprene, but with the added challenge of having to charge through brush coming up and down the cliff. No snags!
Definitely getting a pair of the Calaifa leggings when they’re in stock again.
