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Thursday Morning: C Street

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Surf: 2.0 ft at 18.2 s from the S at 186°. Low tide and incoming. Glassy.

I was slow to get moving this morning, but tried my best to rally as we were meeting Derek at C Street at 6:30.

Pulling up, the surf looked so fun. Super smooth and much better shape from the evening before. Oh man it was nice. Sure, some waves took some paddling to chance down, but overall it was a perfect june gloomy surfy morning.

It was great to catch up with Derek. We got a couple fun party waves in plus plenty of nice ones for both him and Chris.

After Derek headed off to work, we hit up Pete’s Breakfast House. I wolfed down a waffle, potatoes, eggs, and sausage like it was nothing. What a solid post-surf “Yes I’m going to eat all of this so double the bacon” spot.

We hit up County Line after. That place was big. The swell was cutting in just right that it was well overhead and just slamming shut on the inside. Between the whomp and the food coma, I decided to just watch. People were tearing it up out there. Yew.

I bet it’s already huge down in San O and only getting bigger. 😮

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Wednesday Evening: C Street

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Surf: 2.0 ft at 20.0 s from the S at 182°. High tide. Windy.

We packed up the van this morning and headed south.The new van handles pretty well and was a snap to load up. We made pretty good time, hitting Paso Robles for a delicious lunch and C Street for a sunset surf.

The wind was on it when we rolled up, but it was nice to get in and get wet after all that heat coming down the 101. While a little rough aroudn the edges, the surf was pretty fun! There was enough shape to keep us paddling back out and enough close outs to keep us on our toes.

Hit up a Himalayan place for dinner and made it to the campsite just in time to set up as the sun was going down. It wouldn’t be a surfcamp trip if we didn’t set up at least one campsite in the dark! Luckily the van was a breeze to convert to sleeping mode. Ther first night wasn’t without it’s tossing and turning, but it was really comfortable in there. Chris did a fantastic job outfitting this thing. So stoked to finally be on our trip!
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Father’s Day at Cowells

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Surf: 3.9 ft at 14.8 s from the SSW at 199°.

Today was a test of the van’s ability to haul lots of us around. 3 adults, 3 kids, sufboards, boogie boards, snacks and beach gear from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. There was plenty of room in for everyone and all the gear. It was a great ride and what a day.

The surf was small, warm, and great for pushing kids into waves. Chris and I paddled out and got some fun long ones. The girls mostly wanted to stay near shore, but one of them was interested in catching a few so Chris pushed her into some waves. She did so well! It was awesome to see her go flying by.

Sure, it was crowded and all the usual Cowell’s snags, plus one unusual snag of a possible shark sighting the day before, but all around it was a pretty fun beach sunday.

 

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Whales!

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Surf: 5.3 ft at 8.3 s from the WNW at 296°. Incoming tide.

Last week was so busy. I didn’t get out to surf at all. I was hoping for a few waves today to even thing out, but pulling up I saw some ragged, closed out, meh looking waves. What I also saw were humpback whales all over the place. There were a couple groups catching their fill of fish. It was SO COOL.

Thankfully the rest of the session was much better than it looked. I got a few waves here and there (after a lousy paddle out) and got lots of great views of the whales doing their thing. Below is a video from someone on the beach. How cool is that. 😀

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Beach Day

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Surf: 4.6 ft at 12.1 s from the W at 260°. Incoming.

Headed up to Bolinas for a coworker’s birthday. The weather was amazing. The waves were small, but with the right trimming, there were long rides to be found. I had a lot of fun paddling around and did a little bit of cross stepping. A gal paddled over and asked how I “do that thing where you’re way up on the front.” I told her the back rail had to be really in the wave and that even if it’s not, I just go for it and fall on my face a lot. I’m not sure it’s the most helpful advice, but she was catching waves pretty well so hopefully she’ll be there in no time. A day like this is a great day to practice!

 

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Chilly bodysurf sesh

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Surf: 4.3 ft at 17.4 s from the SSW at 195°. Outgoing.

The surf was small and basically shorebreak today. I decided to bodysurf rather than go risk my fin in the shallows. Wouldn’t you know it, the day people in the lot are giving me shit about the holes in my wetsuit is also the day the water is FREEEEEZING cold? I said nah, it’s fine, I can hold out till November and get another suit in the fall. Then, about chest deep in the water I though, hmm, maybe this suit is a little too chilly for comfort.

I got a comple fun waves. Sure enough, it looked better as I was about to leave. By then I was too frozen to grab the board and catch a few more.

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Memorial Day Weekend Monday

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Surf: 5.6 ft at 8.3 s from the NW at 309°.

Finally managed to get up and get doing at a decent hour this weekend. With the holiday, it was crowded, but it was still pretty fun. There were some lefts and some rights working. It was still a funky mix of closeouts and waves that didn’t break, but the weather was amazing and every now and then a wave would work.

Thank you, Coast Guard for your service.

 

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Memorial Day Weekend Sunday

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Surf: 6.2 ft at 8.3 s from the NW at 314°.

Had brunch with Wes and Kate before they headed up to wine country, and then promptly fell asleep. Eventually I woke up and got my butt down to the beach. The surf was still funky and it was cold and windy, but eventually it shaped up to somethign really fun. There was one spot that was peeling just enough and the beach cleared out as it got colder. Not bad.

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Memorial Day Weekend Saturday

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Surf: 4.9 ft at 9.1 s from the NW at 309°.

Wes and Kate are in town for the weekend! Being a fantastic host, I left them on beach while I went surfing. They hiked up the hill to get a good view of all the whales. I couldn’t see from the water (it was a little too rough) but apparently there were whales all over the place. What a treat!

The surf was funky, but a few waves worked out. I found a right that let me zip on through before letting me out without slamming shut. We kept it brief so as to not be comepletely rude, then followed up with a walk along Devil’s Slide to see if we could spot more whales.

 

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Sunday with Meghan

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Surf: 4.3 ft at 11.4 s from the NW  at 312°.

Meghan and I paddled out this morning for the second voyage of her Cheesepuff Wavestorm. It was small, not TOO chrowded (but Sunday so it was crowded), and there was warm sunshine. That’s a pretty good recipie for a fun beginner day.

I took out my 7′ quad, which I haven’t taken out in ages. It’s still fun! I thought it might help me sit further inside so I could help Meghan find a good spot. We never found the right spot for her, but we got close. 🙂

I totally spaced on logistics, otherwise I would have stuck around to surf with Chris a little. Seems like the rest of the morning was pretty dang pleasant, too.