Tag: california

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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.

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Angry angry oceans

Surf: Yick.

BIG swell came in on Tuesday. Large swells, windy, mixed up. Linda Mar was plenty closed out so we went south hoping for something better. Not better. Chris made it out for a wave or two, I sloshed around for a while before being set down on the beach by a somewhat kindly wave. I went and got a bear claw instead.

Fancy faux Polaroid edition:

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Surfing with Wes

Surf: Chest high, clean, peeling, lovely.

My brother came to visit for the weekend! 😀

After a fun weekend watching the world series and going to Halloween parties, I took him out for an early AM surf. Surfing California is a lot different than Hawaii, so I did my best to prepare him for cold water, less than clear conditions, and less than mellow waves. I’ll admit, they were probably a little too big and a little too challenging for his third time ever surfing.

He did a great job padding out, keeping control of the board, and avoiding the bigger waves. Even better than that, he’s a great wavespotter. Wes was able to spot incoming sets and pick out the best waves consistently. He called me in to a few great waves, a couple that I got some compliments on. Yeah!

Wes didn’t really get a solid ride in, many good attempts but the waves were a little too steep for a clean ride. Next time I think we’ll hit Bolinas or mosey down to Cowells with a couple of soft tops. I’m glad he got to see how I spend my mornings. Hopefully next time I can call him into a few nice gentle rollers and find him some waves where he can have a little more fun.

Bonus: The Giants won the World Series! What a great weekend to be in town. 😀

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Blind Offshores

Surf: Waist high, little inconsistent. Howling offshore winds. 8.5ft @ 12.12 from the WNW at 287°

It’s been a while since the winds have blown offshore. They decided to make up for their absence with strong offshore gusts. Waves took some serious paddling and some crossed fingers to get down. More than a few riders were hucked back up the wave by the wind.

Chris provided some navigation duty, shouting to folks when they were almost there. A few folks got some nice ones.

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Size or Shape

Surf: Head High closeouts or waist high peelers. Not much in between.

Managed to pick up a little bit of face time at the bigger end. Not pretty, mostly drop, run, wash. I looked over my shoulder to see a sizeable closeout gnawing away at itself. Whew, glad to have outrun it. A few exploding unhappy waves later, we went on a paddling tour or the beach to snag some slow small waves. Caught a few fun little rolling waves. Better than getting whomped on. 🙂

Finally got to see the bioluminescent closeouts before the sun came up.

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Sun-scattered Clouds

Surf: Waist to Chest high, cleanish.

Man, what a sunrise and what a sky. Beautiful morning out there. Somewhat inconsistent waves. A few whomping closeouts but all around good time. Nice fun day back in the water after a week off.

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Difference a Day Makes

Surf: Waist-Shoulder, clean.

😀

I managed to pull off a lovely little surf before flying home to Indiana. Thanks to Chris’s carpooling, board babysitting assistance I was able to go right from the water to the airport. Wet wetsuit and all.

The waves cooperated nicely. Rather than suiting up to the sound of detonating closeouts, the surf was clean and beaut. I got plenty of nice rides in, including a right with a nice little stall on a slow rolling wave to sneak one in to the beach. Plenty of blind takeoffs into the sun. Plenty of friendly folks hooting.

The new gear bag worked out great. There was a little condensation on the outside of the bag from the temperature change in the baggage hold, but the bag didn’t leak and my suitcase arrived on the Third Coast smelling just fine.

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Desayuno con los desesperados!

Surf: Large and closed out for most of the beach. Waist-Shoulder, soft in the lefties.

Even with the later and later sunrise, it’s pretty easy to see a half beach long closeout. I made a lot of skeptical faces in the parking lot. Stomp stomp stomp in the dark. Paddling out, still skeptical. Sitting in the lineup, skeptical. Few waves later, little less skeptical. I’m trying to get the hang of this whole paddling out when it looks rough and wild in order to find the spot that’s working. Not perfect, but fun after chasing a few sections down.

I got a new gear bag to replace my slowly disintegrating reused plastic pillow cover. It’s a Dakine wetsuit bag. So far it fits my wetsuit, booties, rashguard and swimsuit. It fits in my backpack, it seems sturdy enough, and the lining turns inside out to dry.