Tag: bolinas

Surf: Knee-Chest high, a little bit of texture.

Yay! Andrew’s got a surfboard!

A few weeks ago I found a 9’4 on craigslist almost identical to mine. With a little repairwork, we got it ready for the water.

It’s been pretty big locally so we hit Bolinas and spent the day on the inside catching whitewater to help Acb get used to the board.

Conditions were lovely in the middle of the day, then winds came up quite strong from the south. Andrew got plenty of good starting rides in and I goofed around. Not bad.

Surf: Knee-Waist high. Little bit textured. BE-UUU-Tiful weather.

Yay for van trips up to Bo!

Sure the surf was a little inconsistent, crowded, and less than epic, but you can’t beat the weather or the views along the trip. Wow.

We took some backroads instead of the usual route and were treated to a ridgeline surfcheck that was just amazing.

I had plenty of fun mellow waves on the 9’4 and did a little paddle practice on Beamer’s 5’6. I got a few belly rides and plenty of duckdiving practice. I would have been soooo stoked if I’d gotten a wave on it, but I’m not quite up to a board that small yet.

Still a beautiful day, CA adventure van style. 😀

Surf: Thigh high and a little ragged.

I haven’t been getting that much weekday time in. Too many morning meetings, too little motivation, and well, kinda junky surf.

Andrew decided it was time for his quarterly surf session so we headed to Bolinas. Ran into quite a few people in the lot. Waves were small and a little rough, but rideable and good for catching white water. You can’t really argue with sunshine.

Photo by Blam.

Surf: Ankle to Thigh High. Warm, sunny, calm.

Beach days are beautiful.

With the fog and the often cold mornings where I rush off to work after surfing, beach days often get overlooked. Today was a pretty brilliant beach day.

Blam and I headed up to Bolinas early. While we missed the Bolinas/Stinson Beach tug of war, we were there just in time for the parade. The whole town was out dancing and strolling about. I got a carrot from the vegetable stand boat. Yum.

Temperatures in the 90’s at the beach is pretty uncommon but welcome. We built a lovely beach hut and went out for a small wave surf. Lots of little fun splashing around but not too much in the way of surfing.

After a little while, more folks showed up and the beach hut got bigger and everyone busted out their snacks. Taka and Toshi brought some rice rolls. Robert and Vi had cheeses and fruit salad.

The weather was so beautifully warm that Stefan and I paddled out without wetsuits to meet up with Blam and Beamer. I haven’t actually surfed in a bikini before, even in Mexico. The water was a little brisk, but I managed to get a few fun rides out of the little waves. Bikini and sunglasses both stayed put.

On the way home, Blam and I got a little lost. There’s only one fork in the road and we took the wrong one. There was a beautiful lake along the way.

Came home to fireworks, sunburn, and a whole lot of stoke.

Beach days are, well, beautiful. They are pretty much everything I could ever ask for and I’m happy to have been able to enjoy this one.

Surf: Knee to Waist High, Junky.

Mixed up junky day in Bolinas. Met up with quite a few folks up there and got a few fun little waves. Andrew was able to get a few stable rides in. It’s always fun to watch friends who are learning to get waves.

Surf: Knee high waves, occasional waist high set. Warm water!

Aaron, Ralph, Pierce and I hit up Bolinas to take advantage of the nice warm water and get Ralph’s board out of his buddy’s garage.

Waves were small, but fun enough. Got in plenty of sectiony little rides and got to goof off in the sunshine. More barefoot surfing.

The changing tide made for an exciting moment when I mis-calculated a belly ride in and found myself being swept into the lagoon. Wheeeeee. Nice practice for learning how to safely remove oneself from a rip current.

Surf: 1-4ft. Blown out, closing out. Warm sun but too windy and small for most people.
Gear: 9’4

Aside from the screaming winds, it was a warm, beautiful day up in Bo. The 9’4 was back from the shop and I was more than happy to get it back in the water.

Bo was small, choppy, and being ravaged by the winds, but still catchable with the 9’4. Anything smaller, thinner, or with a steep rocker would have had a hard time picking anything off to call a ride, but the 9’4 took on anything coming in. I got a handful of long rides in.

The first few I out and out pearled the board after standing up. It took a few tries to recenter myself after being out on the 9 for a few weeks. After that it was back to business as usual. The new center fin didn’t feel much different, but all that float felt pretty good in the water.

On the way back I realized I forgot to snap a pic so the pic above is from highway 1 on the way back to the city. The California coast is one of the best places to drive/bike/hike. Every turn is another amazing view.