Back from the East Coast

2017-LM-01-31

Surf: 4.3 ft at 13.8 s from the WNW at 282°.

Whew. I had a whirlwind weekend! My little brother had a baby and I zipped out to meet him. It was fun but I was beat. I got a little sleep in and tried to fit a little surf in before the rains moved on in again.

The waves were a little funky and the only spot that was really working called for a behind-the peak take off that was tough given the crowd, but I’ll take what I can get.

Around the end of the session a guy paddled over and said “You’re getting some good ones! I’m copying your style. Not sure it’s working for me…” then a little while later I saw him get a nice one. “It’s working, it’s working!” It seems like folks were in good spirits today. I’m glad to be back.

2017

2017-LM-01-02

Surf: 6.6 ft at 16.0 s from the WNW at 302°

The new year is off to a plenty busy start. In order to get it all one, I had to take advantage of New Year’s Day observed. Got a quick, chilly, kinda funky, overly occupied surf in. Things were a little seasick from yesterday’s winds and occassionally whomping with the incoming swell. I got a wave or two that almost worked, then headed off to do errands and get all my new year planning in before starting work tomorrow. Whew.

 

Beach to SFO

2016-LM-12-19a

2016-LM-12-19b

Surf: 4.9 ft at 21.1 s from the W at 268°. Outgoing. Light offshore.

Still brisk out there, but not as cold. This morning I wanted to get one more surf in before heading east for the holidays. I’m so glad I did.

The buoys were suggesting swell might show, but with the exception of a cleanup wave or two, things were smaller than yesterday. Same swift current, but same punchy little left, too but with a few less people than Sunday. I got in some fun ones.

The suit kept me warm enough and, when combines with some toasty warm wool socks, I was able to go straight from the beach to SFO. Well, not straight. We stopped for donuts. But within a few hours, I’d traded cold beach for snow and weather in the teens. Glad I had these couple of surf sessions to practice being chilly.

Happy Holidays, all!

Brrr

2016-lm-12-07

Surf: 5.6 ft at 12.1 s from the WNW at 289°. Outgoing. Offshore.

Yeeeehew that was brisk. Offshire winds ahead of a big rainstorm + a cold spell + lots of waiting + a wetsuit with a few dozen holes = chilly chilly chilly. The wavecount today was pretty low and I was paddling and paddling to stay in place, but there were some fun ones out there. Wish I’d have gotten it on a better tide, but got at least a wave or two I thought was pretty punchy and good for zipping through the crowd.

Thanksgiving

2016-lm-11-24a

Surf: 10.2 ft at 12.9 s from the W at 281°. Outgoing. Variable winds.

I got sick right after surfing last time and was down for a full week. Ugh. I almost didn’t paddle out today as there was some size and I wasn’t sure I was totally recovered. Thankfully things looked fine enough from the beach.

The long lulls gave me plenty of time to rest, but meant a low number of waves. Thankfully they were all fun, punchy waves with lots of room to sneak up on the board.

A little crowded, but not too bad!

Emily snapped a shot of Chris and I. So nice running into you and Max!

2016-lm-11-24b

Veterans Day

2016-lm-11-11

Surf: 8.2 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 297°

This week has been a bit busy, and a bit too big and wild to surf. After the election and work, it was nice to have a medium sized surf session. It was crowded and closed out, but there were still plenty of fun waves. I felt like I was surfing sloppily, but somehow making it work. Lots of wobbling into a wave, lots of having to cut back for the closeout. It was a nice day. I hope we have some more nice days in between the big, threatening swells.

More reasonable

2016-lm-11-07

Surf: 6.9 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 287°

Today was better. Still large, but not quite as beefy. There was a bit more beach open to surf, so we surfed it. Nice to see folks out.

 

Too big, too rough

2016-lm-11-06a

Surf: 11.5 ft at 16.0 s from the W at 276°

Today was a bit more what I was expecting to see yesterday. Large sets, churning foam, and poor visibility. My shoulder’s been hurting so I opeted to paint on the beach while Chris went out. He had fun. Got whomped plenty, too. I just wasn’t up for it. But there was hardly any wind and it was remarkably warm. Perfect conditions for sitting on the beach with my sketchbook.

2016-lm-11-06b

2016-lm-11-06c

 

 

Winter Swell

2016-lm-11-05

Surf: 9.8 ft at 13.8 s from the WNW at 290°

The forecast was stacked with big swell after big swell. I wanted to get out, have been worried it’d be too big. Today looked a little rough and a little thumping, but turned out to be nice enough. Lots of chop. Plenty of waves. The heart is back on the hillside, which is nice. That with some warm air made for a nice late afternoon surf.

 

Favorite Winds

2016-lm-10-24

Surf: 4.9 ft at 12.1 s from the W at 281°. Incoming. Winds out of the S.

Yeeeew that was fun. If there’s only one thing this beach does well, it’s these conditions.

I brought a board and an extra suit for Boris. We got down to the lot before the sun was even up. I’m always nervous taking friends who don’t surf around here. I want it to be fun and easy. I knew the winds would be blowing, but it was hard to tell if the suf would be big and closed out, or fun. I could see the little peelers even in the dark. YESSSSS.

I found myself a nice right and surfed and surfed and surfed. I snapped my leash string, I surfed to hard. As I was threading a new one, waves were just rolling in. Oh man, it was hard to be patient and get the new string in when all I wanted to do was get back out there.

Once I had my leash back on, I paddled out again. It was a beast to stay in place and totally worth the paddle. Oh man was that right fun. It had some steep drops but the wind keep things open and all I had to do was hold on and trim. It was a blast. Great for walking up, great for swooping along. Yeeeeee.

Boris had a good time, too! He and Chris wound up all the way at the north end and it sounded like there were plenty of waves up there.

It sounds like we’ll have a pretty active storm season this winter. I hope we get more days like this.