Tag: linda mar

Surf: 5.9 ft at 12.9 s from WNW at 298°

Back from the Great Lakes, back from Santa Cruz, ready to face the reality of cold dawn patrols.

My car’s been acting up. I’m not sure if it’s from the cold, the early mornings, the rain, or what. It rumbled and grumbled on startup, but made it to the beach like a champ.

The waves looked like nothing from the lot. Maybe knee high. From the water, they were actually looking pretty fun! Nice, peeling waves, a few in the chest+ range. I would have loved to have had my longboard for a day like this, but still picked up a few fun ones on the hull.

Surf: 6.9 ft at 10.8 s from NW at 305°. Low Tide.

I probably should have quit while I was ahead, but of course I went for another surf before the Holiday. Today was a mix of long lulls and some stomping closeouts. Uff.

I got plenty clobbered almost right off the bat. Was in the wrong place looking at a close out folding over and no were to go. I tried using some of my free diving course techniques. I got a big breath. I tried not to blow out any air while tumbling around. I kept telling myself: “I’ve got at least two minutes. I’ll be okay.” But in the whipping around and, what I’m pretty sure was me getting sucked backwards over the falls, I was still pretty scared. Coming up, I couldn’t really get a breath. It felt like there was a big bubble in my gut and I couldn’t get much in. The second wave, I wasn’t feeling as confident. The third, even less. I belled in, hacked for a while, then headed back out.

Once back out, I didn’t make much of myself. I missed a lot of waves.

I dunno. I’ve been having a ton of trouble. I’m pulling out of waves too early, thinking I’m getting into them too late. I think I’m just scared about getting stomped. I don’t really know what to do about it.

But I managed one decent wave in, so that’s something!

Surf: 5.3 ft at 14.8 s from the W at 265°. High tide. REALLY high tide.

Happy to have taken my own advice and gone for something a little easier.

Rolling up to the lot, there was only one peak working in the high tide. By time I’d suited up, there must have been 50 people camped on it. The first wave I got was fun, but heart attack inducing as I swooped around people on a nice long right. There were people nearly standing on the sand trying to catch the shorebreak. Yiiiii.

I paddled north to find something a little less crowded. It was bigger (though all of chest high) and either closed out or shorbreak, but I did manage to get something worthwhile.

I walked back to the lot to find that crowded peak was finally reasonable. While approaching 9am, I figured it was worth getting a few more. Happy I paddled back out. I managed to get a couple right and one great little left zipping me all the way to the sand and off to work. Yay.

Surf: 3.6 ft at 9.1 s from the W at 270°. Low tide.

After last week’s pint sized glass fest, I was really hoping for perfect little cruising waves. Sadly no, it was mostly closeouts. I got one or two decent, real rides and then a lot of drop and wash.

Funny moment of the day, Brien dropped in going left, Beamer going right. Beamer cannonballed over Brien. >_< Whew. That's some small wave acrobatics.

Surf: 8.5 ft at 10.8 s from WNW at 293°

I spent some time watching the storm surf over the weekend. Saturday was almost tempting (although huge and crowded, it was smooth and looked great) but Sunday had that mixed up brown sludge look that made me question the sanity (and sanitation) of a Monday surf.

Thankfully, low expectations were exceeded. I had some fun rides and a little bit of improvement. This morning’s session included a few little cutbacks (getting quicker on these) and got in to plenty of waves. It’s getting much easier, especially at our little pointish left. Still having some trouble in the beach break, especially with closeouts. On the log you can get in early and squeak out a little bit of wave in a closeout. Sitting further inside feels more like I’m going to get whalloped than I’m going to squeak out a ride. Since some days closeouts are all there is, I’m still working on it.

Surf: 2.6 ft at 11.4 s from NW at 305°. Incoming tide.

Nice clean little waves. Andrew said something along the lines of “This is the kind of stuff this beach actually does well.” That might not be what he said, with ear plugs and a hood I can’t hear anything, but if it was, he’s pretty spot on.

Sure, when it’s small there are only a few working peaks and it favors a board with more foam, but… it stays open. Long waves, no closeouts.

Before things got overcrowded, I got a few fun swooping ones. I blew a really nice one that I’d love to blame on Chris being in my way, but it was more that I fell into old habits and grabbed rail when I should have just popped up. Crashed right back into the wave.

Lots of fun. I like nice clean days where I feel like I know what I’m doing. 🙂

Oh and cookies. Brought some of my mom’s peanut butter and hershey kiss cookies to share in the lot. Yum.

Surf: 6.2 ft at 12.9 s from NW at 308°. Incoming tide.

Weeyeeeew. Nice long wave to make my morning!

What looked a little uninspiring from the lot, turned out to be a little bit of fun in the water. I got one really nice long swooping right. I looked back to see Chris on the wave behind it, also swooshing along. Fun fun fun.

Overall a little inconsistent. There were some big ole closeouts and some mixed up mush. A few good waves (and some compliments in the lineup) made things just fine.

Nice fog bank around the cove to keep things moody.

Surf: 7.6 ft at 13.8 s from WNW at 292°

Wow, that was some unsafe surf this morning. Waves weren’t big, current wasn’t strong, but there were quite a few people in the lineup who weren’t paying attention or just plain didn’t know how to surf. I had some very close calls with a gal who would look me straight in the eye as I was up and keep paddling, once I got close, she couldn’t pull out of the wave in time and went crashing over. Yikes. More than one person paddled ONTO Chris’s board, including that gal.

For a moment I thought about calling a time out and explaining to a few of these folks about right or way and about how to pull out of a wave without going over the edge. I dunno, it seems a little too bossy. I’ve been in their shoes. That gal had some serious attitude (which I hope I never did when I was a kook.) Those folks were really dangerous though. I hope they figure things out before they hurt somebody.

We paddled more north and away from the fray. I didn’t get much. My cough is back and I was starting to feel plain miserable. Headed in to work.

Surf: 5.3 ft at 10.0 s from the NW at 310° High to outgoing tide. No wind.

I had one of those surf bigger better waves vs acknowledge I’m tired and surf smaller waves mornings. Smaller waves won, but smaller waves delivered. Clean, nicely shaped chest high waves and plenty of sunshine. Got into a few fun ones even with the high tide. On the days when I”m actually making progress with the little board, it’s super fun. I got some fast rides, practiced my cutbacks, and zipped all around. Towards the end of the session (as the crowd filled in and my arms got tired,) I was more frustrated and missing waves, but otherwise fun.

This board’s really made me realize that 90% of the time I’m surfing a left, with the exception of Santa Cruz, everywhere I go I’m going left. I’d tried to shift spots to get a right, but once I got over there everything set up to go left again. I’m hoping when the sandbars form in the next rainstorm or two, they’ll give me a little peak to practice my displacement hull slide on. 🙂

Surf: 4.9 ft at 10.8 s from WNW at 282° Outgoing tide, calm winds and fog.

It wouldn’t be Linda Mar if you’re weren’t up one day and facing beach long closeouts the next.

Camped out a weird slightly choppy corner with lots of familiar folks. I managed to pick out a few waist-chest high zipping rides that didn’t immediately end in closeout. All the rest was paddling and faceplanting into waves as the slammed shut. It’s another one of those days where the wave breaks in the rip rather than next to it (go figure.) Kinda fun to see Andrew cruising around on a traditional thruster. Lots of pelicans swooping just above the water looking for fish.

Not bad.