Surf: 7.6 ft at 9.1 s from the WNW at 302°. Incoming tide.
The swell finally came up and with it, the funk. The waves were crossed up and a little windblown, but it wasn’t impossible. We started out on the south end and got a few waves here and there before paddling north and trying that out. Both side of the beach were short rides and some weird sections. Still nice to get out, especially in this warm weather!
Surf: 5.9 ft at 9.1 s from the WNW at 303°. Onshore. Outgoing.
I’ll admit, I had some high hopes for this morning. I thought maybe with the storm coming that there’d be favorable winds, but sadly it was onshore and ragged. I’ve surfed worse, so I still had some fun.
Oh, and there was a photographer out. He got some nice ones of Chris and one or two of me.
Check out his site at:Â Stoney’s Photography
Surf: 5.9 ft at 13.8 s from the W at 265°. High and incoming tide. Side/onshore winds.
Since I snapped my leash last time, I borrowed one of the heavy duty leashes I bought for Chris afer he’d snapped two leashes in a row. Holy crap those things are SERIOUS. I can’t remember the brand off the top of my head. They’re solid. It felt like I was dragging a pile of kelp behind me, but hey, it didn’t break! I was explaining the situation of me buying Chris this leash after he’d snapped one to Don who said “Don’t ever send her out to buy you a gun, she’ll bring back a cannon.” I might’ve overdone it.
Heavy as it was, the leash didn’t slow me down too much. I got a few fun waves and Jeff got some photos of Chris and I from the beach. Fun stuff!
Check out Jeff’s photos on Instagram.
Surf: 4.3 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 288°. Low tide.
Two waves into my session, I snapped my leash. Drat. It was too closed out and crowded to go leashless so I hung out on the beach and watched Chris get some.
Surf was a little mixed up and closed out, but as usual, he was able to find some gems.
It’s entirely possible the snapped leash was one I bought back when I got my first board 8 years ago. I’d been wondering how long it’d last. 8 years a pretty long time! Nice work, little leash!
Surf: 4.6 ft at 17.4 s from the W at 273°. Outgoing tide. NE wind.
I’d said I wasn’t going to surf this week because I didn’t want to get sunburned or bruised up before the wedding, but I wound up with three really lovely sessions this week and only a little sunburn and a few small bruises.
Today’s session was a little closed out and occassionally sideshore, but wow, can’t beat that weather. To keep from getting roasted I slathered myself in thick hippie surf sunblock. It’s basically mud and zinc. I didn’t want to wear my normal sunblock because it causes my skin to break out, but the hippie sunblock has burned me before. My solution was to layer it on so thick I looked like a muddy ghost out in the water. I think it worked. I’m not any more sunburnt than yesterday.
The waves were tricky due to all the people, but we managed to make the most of it. I finally got one great ride in. It was a right whene verything had been going left and it gave me a nice long ride with plenty of time to try and walk up. I’d told Chris “one or two more” but after that one I thought “well, I’m not going to do better today.”
On the way back, there was a swarms of thousands of ladybugs. I’ve never seen that many, even having released them in my garden a few times. Crazy!
Surf: 3.3 ft at 11.4 s from the WNW at 283°.
I love love love my pre-storm surf sessions. It had rained a little already, but everything was still in the south winds, mellow waves part of the storm. I was happy to get out there while I could. Once it rains I’ll be out of the water for a while to avoid getting sick before the wedding.
The waves were small, but clean and fun.
Bring on the rain!
Surf: 5.3 ft at 10.0 s from the WNW at 292°.
Yesssss. It was much cleaner today. Sure, the size went down, but the shape was a lot better. We started out with a few small waves at the south end where we’d been the day before. Those really held up and I could work on a few steps. Sadly, it was pretty crowded and a little too much chaos.
Paddling north, the waves got larger. What I couldn’t see in the glare was the crowd was about the same size. Thankfully many people in that crowd were friends and people were sharing waves well. I got a few really fun fast ones. It was a blast.
Surf: 6.9 ft at 8.3 s from the WNW at 287°.
The surf looked less than great when I rolled up. It was ragged and a little jumbled. We made it work, though. There was a spot that somehow turned into a wave or two, but man, when it wasn’t it was funky, closed out, and not great.
The first wave I got, however, was a long, peppy right that let me walk up, cut back, and surf it like a real wave. Wow! I didn’t expect that at all. Things improved as the wind died down and the tide changed. Hoping it will be better tomorrow.
We took my car today as Chris’s was out of commission. Thankfully I’ve gotten the manual lock working more smoothly. Someday car manufacturers will figure out that surfers need to get in and out of their cars, too.
Surf: 5.9 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 292°. Outgoing tide. South Wind.
I had the chance to take out Chris’s 9’6 Bing Gold Standard.
The south winds were blowing and there were a few waves out there so it was worth paddling out into light rain showers.
I’ve ridden that Bing before, but I think this is the first time since I got my Ashley. It’s only an inch longer, but the thing is heavier than my Ashley and the rails are pretty different. I paired it in with an 11′ fin with very little rake. The first wave I caught I though “oh man, this beast isn’t going to turn for anything!” Thankfully after a few more waves, it started to feel a little more natural.
It still sort of felt like the first draw wall all the board, then once I was through the top turn, I could steer again. I got going pretty fast with all that weight and walked way up the board. Navigating the crowd was a challenge, but overall pretty fun. Lots of steely grey landscape to stare at waiting for waves. 🙂
Surf: 3.9 ft at 10.0 s from the WNW at 286°. High tide, outgoing.
The swell came down and the wind came up, but I wad looking for some exercise and figured I could make the most of it. Sure enough, there was a wave or two out there. I had at least one where I got way way up on the nose, despite the chop.
About halfway through the session, I hear someone yelling my name. It was Veronica! 😀 We haven’t surfed together since way back when I learned and I can’t remember the last time I saw here. It was really great to catch up and I’m so glad she’s still surfing.
