Surfing Ruined My Life

April 2021 Surf Sessions

4-30-21 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Little Rincon 
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 74
Another fruitless car surf took place this morning.  Ventura Harbor might have been fun if the wind wasn’t already up out of the NW at 8:30 in the morning.  Headed up north along the the trail of tears checking everything to no avail. Hobson’s actually looked small but ok.  I wanted to do the Rincon loop just to see if either Little or Rincon had any wind swell to offer.  I saw some lines at Little’Con.  The funny thing my instincts wanted to check first this morning.  While I was changing into my suit my car almost got crushed by an 18 wheeler dump truck trying to make the turn to get to the fake oil island.  I had to move my car so the idiot could make the somewhat wide turn.  As far as the surf went it was a grovel though every now and then a decent set would roll through.  Still on the springtime grind and still not missed a day in 2021.

4-29-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood 
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 69
I got word from Angers that Harbor was chest high and clean.  He was on it.  Biz wanted to film so I woke him up and we cruised.  Though clean the shape at the Harbor as absolute trash and weak.  We watched Kevin struggle to catch two waves in fifteen minutes and decided that if he was struggling the wave catching machine that he is then it definitely wasn’t worth filming.  I had no reason to believe LA was going to be any better, especially after yesterday.  We headed back hoping for an Emma surf.  It was still very drained and a bit busy for what was out there. To kill some time we checked Pitas and Father Johns.  Both were less then desirable. Back to Emma we went, AJ met us and we paddled.  Biz was shooting water but didn’t last long cause it was freezing.  I managed a really good left followed by a really fun right then was constantly out of position for the good ones as can happen when Emma is shifty.  The rest of my day was spent fixing dings.  I wanted to let everyone know that I am excepting ding work again with a one week turn around on most repairs if not less. Hit me up if you need anything fixed. 

4-28-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 132
Angers had a look at the Harbor where it was once again windy and disappointing.  We decided to meet at his place and cruise to LA in the hopes of finding some decent south swell lines.  We checked everything to Zuma. Leo looked the best, but it was  lumber yard out there packed with twenty plus longboarders with three to a wave.  There was no way we were going to pick any waves off on our little Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Fish Fishes.  We resolved to just go back to Ventura and go surf Emma.  We stopped at County for one more look just to rule it out.  We saw a fun looking A-frame down by the south end of the beach.  This has always been a bit of a mirage for myself over the years.  I don’t know how many times I have paddled out there thinking I was going to get the best lefts of the day only to realize my eyes surfed faster then I could.  Today definitely fell into the mirage category.  It was way faster and dumpy then it looked from up on the cliffs.  Still we managed a few. About twenty minutes in the wind came up like a light switch out of the NW trashing it.  Somehow I managed a solid double up shore dump barrel I just snuck out of doggy door. That turned the session for me and I began negotiating my way into some junky waves and making it happen.  I wasn’t leaving till I got at least one sick stick and nailed a tweaked backside air to call it day.  I got to meet Angers’ new baby.  I had never seen a one week old baby ever before in my life.  I definitely don’t want one of my own, but I’m stoked for my boy. 

4-27-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood 
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
This springtime trash is really starting to wear thin on my patience.  Once again I had to drive my wife to work this morning thus not getting down to Ventura till after 9am.  I had a look at the Harbor.  It was a tad walled with corners.  The wind has just started coming up.  I could tell that had it been clean it could have been a pretty fun session.  Still it was borderline.  I knew if the wind came up any harder it would be trash.  I got word that Strand was fun early.  I met Angers at the Ship.  Smaller then Harbor it was waist to chest and clean.  The high tide had done a good job burying it.  There were a few that were temping.  Ultimately we ended up at Emma right as the wind got on it.  The surf was small weak and crowded making me believe I should have just surfed Harbor or even Strand for that matter.  I was out of time and had to paddle.   Usually Emma is better then it looks.  Today was not the case.  It was weak with the incredible shrinking shoulder and the pseudo air sections were almost to soft to do a proper boost.  I managed a few but also tweaked my bad knee funny while forcing a round house rebound on a weak one.  Good times.  At the very least when I got home Bizarro had the smoker going with yummy Asian BBQ glazed chicken drum sticks.  The rest of my day was spent hating life at the Post Office.

4-26-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
Finally the period dropped on the swell to 15 seconds which is preferred for Ventura. The fat morning tide coupled with on shore wind made these conditions less then desirable. I checked Indicator but it was windy and small. On the upside I did see a whale. From there I had a look at Father Johns. It was also small. While checking it there I saw three whales. Finally I ended up at the Harbor where though mixed up the wind was light WSW. No one was out and I saw a few corners up and down the beach. Besides I was out of options and paddled. Though bad I made the most of it. The water warmed up quite a bit and with the sun out it was almost a pleasant experience. Out the back I saw another two whales and a bunch or grebes and surf scooters. The rest of my day was spent at the Post office.

4-25-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 64
It was yet again another south swell let down this morning. It didn’t help that I was stuck with high and shitty morning winds for my window. There I found myself on the dunes overlooking Rivermouth staring at below average surf with about fifty guys spread out from Knoll past the Mouth and a contest at New Jetty. Boy do I love the weekends! I saw a few corners and decided to paddle. What I didn’t take into consideration was for all those guys out while I was watching it I didn’t see to many decent waves ridden. Once out there I realized between the backwash, high tide, inconsistent sets and crowd it was very difficult to get a good one and even harder to be in the right spot thanks to a stiff drift north. I did manage a few, but man was it a rough session. Apparently my wife had it out with some dude on the beach cause his dog came up and licked her. I guess good times were had by all this morning. I spent the rest of the day at the Post Office contemplating the many ways to kill myself while on the job. I think I’ll stick with my standard one over the years: jumping into the dumpster and letting it compact me to death. Don’t let the photo fool you cause it fooled me.

4-24-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 56
I was back on the grind today. Thanks to Surfline hyping up the swell it was packed everywhere. The wind was on the Ventura beaches early. I perused around sea cliffs for something to surf ultimately settling on Emma Wood, which to its credit had some of the best shape I have seen out there on a south swell in years. It also has forty guys on it with only around three to five waves a set. I got in the mix and scrapped out a few runners. More times then not I found myself having to slalom around all the people when on a wave rather then actually ripping it. I had one straight air I suppose was worth it. The water was freezing at Emma too. I guess it followed me home. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office reminding me how much I hate it there. That’s the problem with vacations when you come back you hate your job twice as much. It’s like you get a couple of awesome days that remind you how your life used to be only to get slapped with a cold harsh dose of reality as soon as you walk in the door.

4-23-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Moonstone Beach
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 18 (from Cambria)
Today was suppose to be the best day of surf for the trip and it did not let me down. There was a solid fresh south swell in the water with clean glassy lines. The only downside being it was the best waves around those parts in a week it was crowded everywhere. Moonstone was looking a little fat and backwashy with the tide so I decided to head to Pico for a look. There were some fun peaks to be had. The tide was draining fast and all the best peaks had a handful of guys on it. I headed back to Moonstone which at the time I initially checked it was relatively empty. By the time I got back there were around twenty guys on it and really only one section of the beach worth anything. I was out of options and paddled. Luckily I got it in between shifts and got about a half hour with only one other guy out. I took a really heavy wipe out on my second wave mistiming a hit with the back wash. I was sent six feet in the air above a head high lip and then was thrown into knee deep water. As soon as I hit all the air got knocked out of me and then the lip slammed down on me as well. It’s been a while since I have been hit that hard. It sort of took wind out of my sails for the rest of my surf. I got a few decent ones but you know how it is when you get shaken up. After the surf we got some lunch, did a little shopping and headed back to Santa Barbara. It was a fun little getaway. Cambria is always a good idea.

4-22-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Moonstone Beach
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 1 (from Cambria)
Finally I woke up to a glassy morning. Moonstone looked fun. I’m always driving so much to find surf that for me to get to surf right out in front where I am staying is a real treat. There were a handful of guys surfing in front of the parking lot. I saw some peaks to the most southern end of the beach with no one on it and paddled. There was a really wedgy fast left breaking off the rocks then running down the beach. It looked playful enough so I grabbed my trusty Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Groveler. Between the backwash and the fact that the wave was coming out of deep water and then hitting the shallow bar and folding over I found myself a bit under gunned. To make matters worse the water dropped like ten degrees from yesterday and I was freezing. Being cold and under gunned is a bad combination. I managed a few screamers but ultimately due to poor equipment choice in wetsuit and board I was unable to fully utilize the sick waves that were afforded to me. After the surf we got breakfast at the Cambria Cafe this little Mexican California cuisine spot on the east end of town. I had never been there but we had both read great reviews. I must say the food was absolutely delicious. It’s a luncheonette and only open till three. I highly recommend if you are in Cambria to stop in for breakfast or lunch. You won’t be disappointed. We spent the rest of the day hiking on the outskirts of town. We capped off the night with a little dip in the hot tub and a nice dinner at Madeleines my favorite restaurant in Cambria.

4-21-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Cayucos Pier
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 130 (from Cambria)
My wife and I got up around nine and had a look at Moonstone out front. It was looking rather ugly with some light onshore winds. Wanted to take a drive up the coast we headed north into Big Sur and checked my usual suspects. There was just a bit too much mix of swells and everything was a bit churned up with limited to potential. That’s fine we were just stoked on the nice drive. Upon getting back into town we had another look at Moonstone. It was still looking less than fun though surf-able. Hoping for some more boost-able sections I headed back to Cayucos Pier. It was a lot cleaner then any place else I had checked, it was also a tad smaller and more closed out then yesterday. I saw a couple of right wedges off the south side of the Pier that looked worthy and paddled. It was way more dumpy and closed out then it looked and corners were few and far between. I ended up just trolling around the line up getting frustrated. I did manage a few ok rights. In hindsight I should have just paddled Moonstone.

4-20-21 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Cayucos Pier
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 28 (from Cambria)
First off let me extend a cangradulations to Kevin and Vanessa Angers who brought their first child into the world last night, a healthy girl named Savanna. As for my wife and I we decided to head up to Cambria for a little one year anniversary trip. It crazy that it’s been a year already. I had two Clarks Surfboards drops to make up in SLO on the way. We got to Cambria in the afternoon and since the wind was already on it (I probably should’ve surfed Pismo Pier) we decided to get lunch and check into our hotel. Bring it was an anniversary trip we decided to splurge and get a nice room at the Hotel Colibri just outside of town on Moonstone. It was a lovely establishment and if you have some coin, rooms from $170-300 on weekdays and more on weekends, it’s totally worth the money. Considering the wind and the fact that there was some NW swell in the water I had a look at Cayucos Pier in the late afternoon. It was t anything special but there were some boost-able crossed up close outs on the south side of the pier that got me going. With my knee feeling good I frothed and put in a bit of an air show. The water was surprisingly warm for the area too. Being that the waves were not particularly epic and the fact that I was on a romantic trip with my wife I just surfed a quickie. Tired from the travel we kept it a mellow night with some BBQ from the Main st. Grill in Cambria (food was average BBQ at best) and a nice bottle of wine back at the hotel.

4-19-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Last night I had a terrible nights sleep. Maybe it was because of my mortification of some of the judging calls by the WSL judges at Narrabeen, mainly Italo’s 1.8. As I result instead of getting up at 7:30 I slept in till past eight thus not getting down to the VTA beaches till almost ten and at that point the wind was already on it. I headed back to North Strand hoping for similar conditions as yesterday minus the crowd. It was clean and lined up, but way smaller and weaker then Sunday’s surf. Out of time and options Jeffry and I paddled it. I took out my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and made the most out of the meager offerings. My lethargy coupled with the gutless corners made it less then a stellar surf. I did manage to stick a really cool frontside blow tail reverse. My knee felt decent out there and I didn’t even tape it up. Hopefully I’m out of the woods and on the mend. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching each of my sure thing picks on my Fantasy team get knocked out to upsets. At least Medina, and Marks took the finals. Still I took a beating this event. Tomorrow my wife and I are heading up to Cambria through Friday for a little one year anniversary getaway. Looks like there should be some decent waves on tap.

4-18-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Nothing pisses me off more then getting to the beach at 9am only to have the wind already on it. Fuck, I could have slept in another hour and surfed in the wind. I pulled the plug on the Shores and headed to Strand. There was a tad more wind swell in the water making me believe it might be fun. Though small it was clean and slightly bigger then yesterday. Once again it was stupid crowded with longboards, fun shapes, soft tops and even SUPs. I was out of options and paddled. Just like yesterday I ended up having way more fu then I thought. I got on a grovelly tear. Making lemonade out of lemons every day. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching the Narrabeen comp.

4-17-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 78
I started at Fifth Street at the Shores since I got word Harbor was drained. It was small and the wind was already on it. Not too stoked I decided to have a look at North Strand based on a report I got earlier. There were waves there but it was just weak wind swell and a bit crowded with soft tops and long boards for my liking. Had it been empty I probably would have paddled out. It was my one year wedding anniversary and my wife and I had brunch reservations at the Cliff House restaurant at Mussel Shoals at noon before I had to go to work. Basically out of time I drove over to the Hotel and paddled a peak just north of the lot. It looked terrible from the beach and I figured I was just going to go through the motions. So sure that it was crap I didn’t even bother taping up my knee to not waist an expensive piece of KT Tape. Once out there I got on a froth and though a bit on the weak side it was surprisingly peaky and rip-able thanks to the combo swell. I may have pushed my knee a bit too hard with out the tape. Brunch was good though as I always say about the Cliff House, go for the view and not the food. It’s all edible but for the money you can definitely find better culinary endeavors. The rest of my day was spent doing as little as possible at the Post Office since I am paid as little as possible. When I got home Bizarro surprised my wife and I with an anniversary cake.

4-16-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 65
Not wanting to get skunked like yesterday morning I got up and out of the house an hour earlier. Word was it was smaller then yesterday. Angers looked at the Shores and said it was a no go. We met at the Harbor where it was pretty drained, dumpy and poor shape overall. Out of time and options we saw a few corners off this rip down by the River Mouth and paddled. Unfortunately today was as bad as it looked if not worse. The rip was super hard to fight in order to keep position and sets were inconsistent and mostly closed out. I did manage a few little tubes and a couple of strange corners that ran down the rip, though in the whole it was pretty poor and the wind came up forty five minutes after I paddled. On a cool note there was this adolescent great white shark that kept swimming through the rip till this huge pod of what had to be easily twenty dolphins showed up, chased it away and then circled the area for about ten minutes. The rest of my day was spent back at the Post Office watching round one of the Narrabeen Comp.

4-15-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 72
I got sent a photo early of Shores doing its thing. Immediately I got up, some Biz and mobilized. Of course the problem with living in Santa Barbara is by the time you get down to the Oxnard beaches, check and paddle it’s more then an hour later. This time lapse can and usually is the difference between scoring and getting skunked. More times then not I get there just in time to see awesome conditions only for it to blow out or tide kill it as soon as I get in the water. Today both the latter happened. Angers, Jeffrey and I all saw some sick sets. I even snagged a draining barrel on my first left. Then the wind came up out of the WSW adding a bit of crumble. Coupled with the steadily rising tide and the fact that the good sets were really inconsistent in classic south swell fashion we found ourselves floating around constantly out of position and disappointed with the ones we did catch. At least I got that first tube. The rest of my day was spent fixing dings. If anyone is in need of surfboard repairs I am taking ding work again.

4-14-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 78
Expecting another Pitas session and getting less then enthusiastic reports I headed straight there. When I got out on the rocks at the head of the point it was tiny. I bailed and headed to the beaches. Angers was at Strand and said it was do-able. I met him at the Ship, which looked like if we had gotten there an hour earlier it may have been fun. We saw some bumps at North Jetty and headed there. Sure enough there were some whack-able peaks coming through. I wasn’t all that jazzed about it, but it was definitely the best of the worst. Angers and I jumped in and although a bit wonky, closed out and shifty we both got on a full on tear. It was a rip fest out there. I used KT tape on my knee and was very pleased with the results. I had almost 75% ability level back. After the surf I stopped by the Dollar Tree in Oxnard. As I was coming out there were a bunch of cops with guns drawn all over the parking lot pointed at some perpetrators. Not looked to get shot in a potential cross fire I ducked into Big Lots. Turns out that had a decent sale on bubbly water (a recent addiction of mine). Had it not been for that police activity out in the lot I may have missed out on the whole thing. Of course on the down side I got stuck in the lot for almost 45 minutes while the cops were busting the bad guys. The rest of my day was spent running errands.

4-13-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 56
Pitas has become like a bad habit. I’m not even sure if it’s any good there or I’m just surfing it out of pure repetition. Jeffrey and I looked around everywhere and were going to just surf bad Emma Wood when we decided to just take a look at Pitas. The tide was pretty higher and it was only getting higher but we saw a few lines come through. With lowered expectations we paddled and made the most of it. At the very least it more fun then what we surfed yesterday. My knee was still pretty tender so once again I had to take it easy out there. It definitely felt a little better then yesterday. I have KT Tape coming in the mail so I can tape it up and get back to a bit of performance. Rest of my day was robbed by the Post Office.

4-12-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Sharks Cove
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 41
Today was about the closest thing I am going to get to a day off this year. Currently I’m at 102 days of consecutive surf sessions leaving 263 days to go. Let me tell you surfing every day non stop is absolutely daunting. I am physically and mentally exhausted. Between the effort of actually chasing down and finding surf, surfing and dealing with injuries, plus completely scheduling my life around surfing one can definitely get rather overwhelmed. If you have been following along in these daily surf adventures you know it’s been one injury after the next the past few months. At the moment I’m nursing a MCL issue I have been dealing with since my early twenties. Since the waves were pretty crappy everywhere I kind of just wanted to find an easy wave I could just cruise on. I found myself at Rincon less then inspired after checking Little Rincon as well. This morning high tide has not been a good combination with the wind swell. Jeffrey hit me up that he saw a bump at Sharks and was going to check it. He said it was waist high but some little runners. That’s about all I was looking my for. When we first got out there it was clean and though small you could get three plus turns down the top of the point. The wind came up rather stiff out of the WNW tearing it up. It wasn’t long before we were just riding broken wind chop down the point. At the very least it was a good recovery work out.

4-11-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 60
Considering the buoy readings I really thought it was going to be Strand day till I got word it was tiny and fat. Angers had a look at the Harbor and was over it. I knew my only options lay from Rincon to Emma. There was a stiff south wind from Pitas to Rincon and then NW wind from Pitas to Oxnard. Emma was the best of the worst with sloppy all over the place peaks and about 30 guys out. Everyone was huddled together on the toll booth peak. I found a decent wave just in front of the life guard tower and had it basically to myself. My knee was really bothering me the entire session limiting my performance. After the surf my wife and I headed to IHOP for their awesome break burrito special they are running. I’m talking full loaded burritos the size of a small child ranging from $5.99-8.99!!!! Definitely worth a stop. Finally the rest of my day was lost like some many others to my personal hell on Earth, the Post Office.

4-10-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 44
I caved after months of waiting on a wetsuit hook up I reached deep into my pockets, and I am talking deep and bought a new Vissla 4/3 North Seas. It was the first time I have paid retail for a wetsuit in twenty years. Shame on you surf industry for leaving the hard core guys literally out in the cold. I will say this it was nice to be toasty out there. Look for a review on the Vissla soon. I had a look at Rincon where it was fat but surf-able. After conferring with Jeffrey we decided that Pitas was the best of the worst yet again, six straight days now and paddled. It was very bumpy with lots of water moving around so I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw model. I was stoked I did cause once out there it was a bit larger then it looked. Solid over head with bomb sets. I took a few beatings, got some runners and ultimately fell victim to the stiff current ending up down at Mondos . Unfortunately it was borderline victory at sea unruly between all the water moving around and swirling onshore wind. It felt more like I was surfing bad Sunset Beach then Pitas. We were stoked to get some size for a change though ultimately I’d say to was more work then fun. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

4-9-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 44
This might be the longest Pitas run I have ever been on. Not even the tide being high has stopped it. Truth be told it’s been so shitty everywhere else that Pitas has just been the best of the worst. After exhausted all other options Jeffrey and I braved the fat tide. There was a bit of south chop up the face but besides that the lines were rather clean and long. I was averaging 3-5 turns a wave and even a kill-able left or two. Bizarro showed up with his new 200x lenses and shot a few from the rocks. I got on a solid tear out there and felt good though my right knee has been a little bit tender as of late. All in all I’d say it was a pretty fun surf. It actually got rather crowded with eight guys on it when I left. I managed to smash my toe on the rocks coming in. The rest of my day was wasted at the Post Office. Although I did manage to sneak the semis and finals of both the men and women at New Castle. The comp kind of sucked all event but finals day did not disappoint with waves and sick performances. Cant wait for Narrabeen.

4-8-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 44
Talk about a surfing Ground Hog Day! Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Though a bit high and stronger south winds there was a tad more swell in the water and the potential for it to get better. Jeffrey was already out there. Angers and I hung out on the rocks a bit to wait out the tide and attempt to get a hold of Bizarro to come film. We jumped in and it was a bit bumpy with the south wind up the face and a little flat with the tide. I caught a few up top then lucked into a runner that took me around the corner, where I caught another runner and next thing you know I was surfing Faria. The wave was standing up a tad better down there and thus was where I surfed out the remainder of my session. Just like yesterday as soon as the tide got too low all the swell just got sucked right out of there. Of course Bizarro decided to show up right when it got terrible. He made it just in time for the sea glass hunt and we cleaned house. We got so much we filled an entire pocket on his backpack. I wanted to be productive and get some ding work done but once again I lost my entire day to the comp.

4-7-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 44
This week is getting spot repetitive fast. I needed to get a new tire on my car and Angers was nice enough to pick me up and take me surfing while my car was being attended to. Considering that there was wind and wonk at all the VTA beaches and the fact that I have had surf-able luck out a Pitas the past two days we decided to give it a look. Though on the smaller side, waist to chest it was way more clean then the past two days, borderline glassy even. We were out there and Jeffrey not far behind. The three of us got into a full on rip fest till the tide got too low and completely turned it off. By then we had all gotten our share. The rest of my day was spent running errands finally ending my evening watching the New Castle comp and cooking up a splendid chicken parmigiana for dinner.

4-6-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 44
Today was definitely a day left wanting in the surf arena. Jeffrey and I got on the hunt only to end up back at Pitas, where it was a tad smaller, weaker and junkier then yesterday’s surprisingly fun surf. I got my twenty waves in and managed to smash a few sections in the process. There isn’t much more I can say about another springtime grind surf. Fingers crossed tomorrow will be a better day. The rest of my day was spent doing whatever it is I pretend to do at the Post Office, which is why they pretend to pay me.

4-5-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 44
It was yet another morning stuck in this relentless pattern of jumbled up conditions. Initially I was up at 7am hoping for some solid beach break combo fun. Upon checking the cams the wind was stiff south, that coupled with word from Angers that it was trash sent me back to bed for another hour or so. The hunt resumed at 8:30 with my sights set on something along Sea Cliffs. Jeffrey was ahead of me and at Emma, less then thrilled. I decided to have a look at Pitas as a totally long shot. Though bad, bout waist to chest with a stiff south wind Chop on the face it was better then anything else on offer. I have mentioned before how important it has been this season to luck into a good window. That is exactly what happened to us. We first got out there and it was pretty beat up and soft. As the tide dropped and wind began to lighten all of a sudden there was this hour and change window that became a full in rip fest, stoking out myself and the three other guys out there. Then it completely turned off. Towards the end of our session this fifteen year old from paddled out. There were three of us, all competent surfers on the peak. This kid has the nerve to paddle out straight to the peak and snag the only decent wave that had come in for about ten minutes or so. I let it go till he paddle back out and then preceded to paddle around me. At this point I let him have it. Told him to get to the end of the line and wait his turn. You should have seen the appalled look in his eye, as if no one ever told him to have manners and be respectful. At the very least he knew his place in the lineup for the rest of my time out there, which didn’t last long cause the window was up and it was literally unsurf-able when I left. If it had looked that way when I had checked it I totally wouldn’t have paddled out. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

4-4-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 72
There is nothing more annoying then watching good swell get wrecked by a drained tide, shitty short period NW wind swell crossing up what should be nice clean lines and early on shore winds. All of this just leads to junky, wonky very difficult to surf conditions. Oh, I went and fought the good fight once again today. Basically after looking around I gave south Shores a go where there was what appeared to be some semblance of shape. I grabbed my groveler short board and found myself a tad under gunned as when a solid south set came through there were some head high plus waves. Add all the chop and gnar and positioning was hard enough let alone on a small board. I managed a few interesting rides but took way more shitty cold water beatings. I need a new wetsuit really bad at the moment it’s impossible to get any deals and my poor ass can’t afford to spend $400 plus on a decent one. After the surf my wife and I cruised to Lalos Mexican restaurant off Ventura Avenue a place I once loved. I have to say that these days they quality of the food has been slipping. This is the second time in a row in the last few months that we were disappointed with our order. I think my days eating there are done. I guess it’s the end of an era. The rest of my day was spend not enjoying my Easter at the Post Office. At the very least I’m getting Holiday pay and Sunday pay so I got that going for me.

4-3-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 66
One of the issues with early south swells at the VTA beaches is that the sand bars are not yet in any shape to handle such long lines, especially after a winter with so little rain. At the moment all the bars are pretty straight or way outside and cloud breaky and not in a good way. The past few days I was off and able to go find waves at the LA reefs and points. Back on my horrid work grind I was stuck surfing some very terrible Fruit Stands that in hindsight was way worse then the dumpy close outs I saw at the Harbor. Of course it didn’t help that the wind was on it at 9:30 yet again this morning. Keeping with my surf everyday mantra I went out there and did what I could. It was about as terrible as terrible gets. The goal of 365 is still alive! The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching my life and time waste away.

4-2-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 66
It would have been another decent day down in LA. Back at work I didnt have that luxury. I met Pat down at Fruit Stands around 9:30. The wind was already on it and a nasty marine layer was moving in fast. With the morning low tide I wasn’t left with too many options. Completely fogged in I decided to just desperation paddle New Jetty. I figured between the wind and the fog it would at the very least keep the crowds down. When I paddled out the fog was hiding about fifteen guys spread out. Then a group of eight kooky twenty year olds paddled out on long boards, fun shapes and fishes complete clogging the line up and getting in the way. I don’t understand why people who are novices come and surf the Harbor. C-Street is just north of there with fun easy waves to ride for surfers of lower skill levels. There was a deep hole off the Jetty forcing this weird riptide riddled left to double up on the inside sand bar and basically just dump. That being said every now and then a decent runner would come through worthy of a few decent turns. I made the most of what I caught. Between the crowd and the inconsistency of sets my wave count was rather low. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

4-1-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 120
There was a slight up tick in the south swell. Of course the wind was up in Ventura by nine yet again. I met up when Angers and his wife and we cruised back to LA yet again. After checking everything to Zeros we decided that County Line was the best option for our window. To its credit the place actually has some fun looking south peaks up and down the beach with an occasional set on the reef as well. The crowd as a bit stupid as per usual out there. I went sat my usual left that runs into the close out coming off the reef. That end section as far as I’m concerned is the gem of County Line. Angers and I both got on a froth and ripped the shit out of just about any wave that came our way. I’d say it was a decent two days off of surfing in LA.