Surf: Glassed off. Getting smaller.
It’s been plenty windy during the day, but it still cleans up around sunset. I took the 7’0 for a few waves. I got a nice late drop and surfed till sundown.
Mexicooooooo! :D
Surf: Head High+ and windy.
Back in Mexico!!! YAAAAY!!
We rolled up in the early evening, surfboards in tow. Warm water, warm air, and big whomping surf. Yiiiii.
Ed said it’d been flat for weeks before this swell moved in. We hugged our hellos and unpacked the gear for an evening surf.
Now I’d brought my 7’0 with the expectation of soft mellow waves to practice on, not steep waves to practice ducking under. I stood on the beach a while, board in hand, heart in throat, trying to get myself prepped to paddle out. I’m not confident on that board and almost left it on the beach in favor of one of the house longboards. Watching Ed, Beamer, and Aaron paddle away I thought: “Well, I came here to learn this board. Time to go learn.”
Sure, the first two duckdive attempts didn’t exactly go so well, but I got into the swing of things, made it out, and got some fuuuuunnnn waves. The lefts were fast so I mostly just held on. Woooohooo. Love that warm water.
Sunset Soup
Surf: Waist-Shoulder high. Sloppy.
I said I wasn’t going to surf today. I’m tired. I was settled in to my day nicely when Blam and Emily said they were heading out.
Well if they were heading out, I guess I should to?
I got down there a little late. It was a mess. Crumbling, closing out. Not pretty. I was really hoping Emily wasn’t out in this slop. I did managed to get one good ride out of it all. That made the paddle out worth it.
Afterwards we had a nice dinner at Blam’s. Got to meet a few new folks including a couple from San Diego who were in the water while I was out. They commented on my no-booties/no-hood style. 😀 I like being able to pretend I’m hard core but it’s summer! Summer is a good time to go without booties!
Dinner was great, fun day.
Bodysurf!
Surf: Crumbly, disorganized, but it’s always overhead when you’re on your belly.
Did some ding repair during the day with Blam. My 9′ is now back in action after a few weeks drying out some minor dings. I glassed over a large section of the nose that wasn’t water tight. It’s not pretty but it’s not a terrible job.
After a few hours of that, we checked out the beach. It looked ragged and I figured it was a good time to start bodysurfing.
Swimming with a handplane is a little awkward but I was stoked to catch two waves and be able to swim the whole time. I’m not the best swimmer (not awful either) and was expecting to wear out pretty fast. It certainly is hard and I was wiped out later, but happy to have hung in there as long as I did. Yay.
What they say about bodysurfing is true, sand EVERYWHERE. Full suit + hood and I still had sand in my ears.
Saturday in Mexico – Late afternoon/sunset
Surf: waist high close outs, waist-shoulder high
Started as a blown out desperado session of waist high closeouts after many tecates. Despite strong offshore winds the heat lured me in. When Ed arrived the wind started to mellow and we hit Burros.
I blew my first five waves. Sigh. Too much tecate.
The waves and I both shaped up and I got some great rides in. It was a little crowded (can a single break really hold SIX stand up paddle boards?) but still lots of fun.
Got in another sunset before heading back to the house. They had made the most amazing feast of fish, octopus, veggies and rice. Just when I couldn’t possibly eat any more: ice cream. Amazing!
Friday in Mexico – Sunset: Stoked!
Surf: waist-head high, glassy with a little chop, long lulls.
Brilliant surf today. Wow. Between La Lancha and my first paddle out at Burros proper, I am completely stoked. Super stoked!
I got so many swooping big rights, it was awesome. Swoop swoop swoop, pumping down the face for loooooong rights. Beaut. Plenty of time to walk all over that big board.
I finally stayed out for a real sunset session. As amazing as dinner always is, I wanted those waves that much more. Brian, Robert and I stayed out well past the crowd and paddled in just after the sun disappeared behind the cliff.
Ed hung out for dinner and drinks. Louis made a bonfire. What a perfect day.
Playa Grande
Surf: Knee-Waist High. Light offshore winds. Warm! Sunny!
Yaaaay! Family vacation to Costa Rica! 😀
We haven’t taken a family trip since 2005. This year for Christmas we spent the Holiday in Costa Rica. I’ve been looking for a good excuse to get my family involved in my surf life so I arrange for some classes in Playa Grande from Point Break Surf. They set us up with surfboards (softies for Dad and Wes and a proper board for me) and made arrangements for a van to pick us up.
The road out to Playa Grande was rough. Three water crossings, steep gravel hills. We got to see a lot of nature, but wow…we were pretty relieved to be out of the van and on the HUGE beach.
At low tide the beach is massive.
Grande indeed.
While waiting for the tide to come in, we body surfed for a while in the warm water. Got a few fun rides and a few beatings. One of those beatings took my wallet which, for no logical reason, was in my board shorts. Oh well!
Once the tides were right and the instructor had pulled up with with the boards, we hit the surf. Lots of great little waves for Wes and Dad to learn on. Dad got lots of long rides on his knees and a few stand up rides. Everyone cheered for him. Wes got some nice ones in too and is getting better at turning. The instructors were great, they kept everyone motivated, safe, and happy.
Mom braved the hot sun to take pictures of us.
I had fun picking off little corners. I got a few tips from the instructor and helped push some little groms into waves.
It was a lot of fun watching the little fish scatter as I swooped in on my bottom turn. Wheeee.
All around great day.
Bolinas Birthday
Surf: Waist High with some Chest high waves. Lots of wind and plenty of sun. 5.5ft @ 17s from W at 272°
In honor of Chris’s birthday, we snuck out to Bolinas for a few waves.
I spent most of the time fighting the wind. Chris got plenty of nice waves while I was flipping over in the sideshores. I got a few decent ones in the Channel, but mostly enjoyed the nice weather and the birthday picnic his family was kind enough to bring (and endure the wind to have).
Pink!
Surf: Waist high with some Shoulder High standouts. Crowded.
Ready for some more sheltered shot surfing, I picked up an afternoon surf. Unfortunately the rest of the beach was closed out and ALL the afternoon traffic was bunched up in this one spot. Quite a few exciting (chaotic) takeoffs, but some decent rides.
Watched a little gal of about 9 years old get some great rides in after a push from dad. She’ll be tearing it up in no time!
Fog!
Surf: Foggy 2-3ft waves. Very soft and inconsistent. Somewhat clean.
Back to Linda Mar…I think. The fog was so thick we could have been anywhere. The tide was high, things were a bit swamped and small, but we managed to make it work. Chris scored some ridiculously long rides. Wow.
After he left, I floated around with Daniel waiting for the waves to turn back on. They eventually did, with almost no visibility to see them coming. I got some nice long rides standing on my logo, trying to cheat a 5 out of the sleepy waves.
Red tide. Yiiick.