Tag: indicators

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Mellow Westside

Surf: Mellow, inconsistent. Knee to Thigh high at Cowells. Waist-Chest at Indicators.

Crossed our fingers hoping there’d be some waves after a very mellow, barely breaking week down south. With the low low tide there was a little something happening. Got some looooooong rides over at cowells. Not too much uumph but I did get to work on a few tiny style points.

Headed over towards the Lane to try a longboardy peak thataways for a while. Some big drops and short rides. I got one nice top turn/cutback move to stay in the pocket. Nice to feel occasionally competent!

Chris shot some video. Yay!

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South Swell, Whales, and Hot Chocolate


Photo by Chris

Surf: Waist-Chest high. Peeling. Long lulls but lots of energy.

Nice south swell rolled in this week. Cowells was breaking sooo nicely. It was crowded for sure, but plenty fun. Got some nice long waves that really zipped on the outside and held up all the way through. Plenty of otters chilling in the lineup and a whale splashing around outside the kelp. Grabbed some hot chocolate, a pastry, and cruised on in to work.

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Board Meeting

Surf: 1-2ft and 2-4ft. Mellow SW swell. Light Winds.

One of the projects I’m on involves frequent trips south of San Francisco and another needed me to swing by Palo Alto today. It’s been a negative low tide and nearly flat locally the last few days, time for some pre-work team surf in SC. 😀

Nicole, Chris and I paddled out at the Cowells side of indicators where Darren had already been catching a few of the small slow waves occasionally rolling in.

I got some nice long ones on the super mellow little waves, but the crowd was growing and the guys had their eye on some waves further west.

Paddled over to find the break to be still mellow, but bigger and with a punch at the end. I got a few really fun drops and enjoyed the sun.

Pastries, then off to client meetings. Excellent team work.

Meeting summary: Fun, chill waves were ridden.
Next steps: schedule more team board meetings.

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Indicators and Steamer Lane

Surf: This morning’s dawn patrol: Mainly knee-waist high with some inconsistent + sets. Conditions are clean and glassy, but expect a solid wait between waves. Less tide helps.
Gear: 9’0

Yup, small and inconsistent in Santa Cruz. With warm sun, temperatures in the 80’s and almost no one out, I really wasn’t complaining about the long wait in between sets. I’d have probably been better off with the 9’4, but after seeing the rocks I’d have to scramble up and down, I’m glad I had the 9. Slippery rocks, cliff faces, and delicate surfboards don’t mix well.

Stop by some of the west breaks on the way home to gawk at the sunshine and waves. Gotta love California.

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Shifting Sands at Cowells


Photo by Cynthia

SURF: 1-3ft. Light winds. Warm and sunny.
Gear: 9’4 Stewart, 8’3 Petty

The winter has done some strange things here in Norther California.

A giant chunk of Sloat is missing and a new beach seems to have appeared smack in the middle of Cowells. The spot where I picked off wave after wave back in November is now occupied by families grilling up burgers and lounging in the sun.

The waves were still mellow, but the crowd is a bit more compact. I was unable to navigate 20+ people got get down the line and get the long rides of last November. But the sun was warm and it was a good day out overall.

I spent a little time picking off waves at Indicators before heading back to the pack at Cowells. Had a minor tangle up with Cynthia on a wave resulting in a broken rail on my board. She uses Protek fins so the damage was minor. I ran up the cliff, grabbed the 8’3 and went back out for a few more waves.

One highlight for the day: spotted a sea otter at Indicators. I hadn’t seen one in the wild before. They are really dang cute.