Surfing Ruined My Life

April 2022 Surf Sessions

4-30-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 2
I had work in Ojai in the afternoon for a wedding and Angers was having a yard sale and could only get away for a very short window. We woke up Biz and cruised out front to Hueneme. There was a chest plus wave on rockside with about twenty guys spread and a little wind on it. I actually like it when Hueneme has a light NW wind. It was a bit more weak and wonky then we had hoped. Angers and I are good grovelers and made the most of the whatever conditions. Unfortunately we got back a little late thus coming home to two angry wives. The rest of my night was spent working a wedding in the woods in Ojai fighting off mosquitoes. On another note today closed out a perfect month of surfing 30/30 days. It is the first perfect month I have achieved since surfing 365 days which successfully closed December 31st 2021. It got me thinking if I should give it another go. Then again I think my wife may divorce me if I try it again.

4-29-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 10
Man did Hueneme look just about all time this morning. Angers and I were standing on the pier watched peaks stand up, barrel and spit up and down rockside. We were stoked but by the time we parked and got our suits turned right side in the wind came up solid out of the south trashing the once perfect waves. I got word that the Ship also had waves earlier and considering the wind headed for a look. Sure enough there were chest to head plus peaks from the ship into the south bowl. We woke up Biz, geared up and paddled. Though there was plenty of size it was way weaker then it looked. Most waves either died out or closed out making it very frustrating. I managed a handful of runners and Angers connected with a few rights. Overall it was a bit of a throw away. I heard Malibu was popping all day. After the surf I had to cruise into Santa Barbara to work a charity event in town. Though a tad bit chaotic due to the size of the event, 320 heads it went off famously.

4-28-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 70
I was hoping to surf a beach break but the wind was up early forcing our had to head south towards Malibu. Our first stop was Leo where it was crowded, but also clean with chest plus sets. The crowd was pretty kooky and with the dropping tide we knew we would get waves. Angers and I paddle while Bizarro filmed from the beach. There were some really solid south sets with some scrubby west wind swell mixed in. This allowed lots of waves options among the crowd. I decided to play the outside zone off the rock and just wait for the bombs, while Angers worked the inside scrapping anything that moved. Usually at Leo I get really frustrated with the kook riddled crowd. Today I was in the zone and just went to absolute town out there. I can’t remember the last time I got so many set waves. I was on too. Later that night we had the Anger’s family over for a 12 hour smoked brisket and celebrated their daughter Savanna’s 1st birthday. Then she got cranky and went to sleep making it adult drinking time. I’d say it was a fun time had by all.

4-27-22 PM Session: 2-3+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 70
Today I decided to forgo the points and hang tight for Strand to get good on the dropping tide. Surfline did claim the winds to be just light onshore all day. They lied. I ended up checking the Ship three times before throwing in the towel. In the morning it was clean but too fat. Mid day it had potential but was windy, though the best window. Kevin Angers was on his way up from Palm Springs and would be in town by four. I decided to wait for him. We looked at Strand around 5pm but it was far too junky. Instead we bolted to Leo. It was crowded with the post work shift and inconsistent and the water was freezing. Sounds like a blast. Angers and I are scrappy and got our share while Biz sat in the channel filming. It was shaping up to be a banner session till some jack ass on a soft top ditched his board into Angers ending with the two of them all tangled up and my board which he was borrowing badly dinged. Just another day fighting the LA Kooks. Meanwhile I heard there was a decent mid-day window at Rincon, go figure.

4-26-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 52
Talk about blowing it on another morning of car surfing. I should have just paddled Rincon, where though nothing to get excited about it was the best option. Instead I checked a bunch of other spots and then decided to go back to Strand full on knowing that it was going to be too drained and windy cause I’m a surfing masochist. Biz and I ended up by tower one chasing a fast dumpy wind riddled left off an impossible rip. Did I mention we decided to shoot water to make it even more frustrating. Some days it’s fun to just completely sabotage yourself. It was a nightmare and both of us got beat up on the very shallow sand bar. Good times. I could really use a surf trip to some fun not crowded waves.

4-25-22 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 52
I had to work up in the Santa Ynez Valley at 3pm, a mistake I won’t be making again anytime soon. It’s just too much travel hassle for the money. Valley gigs were always a pain in the ass when I lived in Santa Barbara. Now that I live in Hueneme it’s an extra hour to get up there. You live you learn. There was a bit of WNW swell still running so I decided to cruise up to Rincon mid morning and surf before the gig. It was average ‘Con and little more broken up at the River Mouth and Indicator then I like. I did manage to luck into a screamer chest high one in the Cove that really stoked me out. From there I cruised up to the gig, a Monday wedding at Zaca Mesa Vineyard. I guess the wedding season this year is so insane as a result of the pandemic that all the weekend dates are booked so people are branching out to the week days too. The event was a tad under staffed which translates to it being a bit more hectic. The kitchen staff was tight, but the front of house was definitely lacking. We got through it and the guest were never suspicious that we were struggling. I’d say mission accomplished. On the way home my gps lead me on a wild goose chase through some crazy winding country roads in the pitch black on my way to the 101 south. Like I said NO MORE VALLEY WEDDINGS.

4-24-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 26
The wind surprised us by turning stiff offshore by mid morning. This took my sights off of the points and onto the beaches. Only problem was with out a sufficient south swell in the water it was pretty walled everywhere. I saw a few mysto corners at the Hotel with no one out. You know me, if there is even a chance of getting barreled and making it with offshores then I’m on it. You can take the surfer out of Jersey but not the Jersey out of the surfer. I paddled and managed a few in and outs, and a head dip or two. Overall it was pretty closed out. I saw a few cherry drainers that were always just out of my reach. I stayed out till I got one of those even if I had to shoulder hop my way into it. The rest of my day was spent outlet shopping in Camarillo with with my wife so she could get herself a new work wardrobe.

4-23-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 52
Talk about a morning of wasting time, gas and cash car surfing. My first and last stop was Strand and I had a feeling I should have just paddled the Ship at 9:30am this morning on my first check. It wasn’t that crowded, but then again it wasn’t that good either. Hoping to find some point surf I decided to do the Rincon loop, only to find that Rincon was stupid crowded and not that great. No surprise there. Little ‘Con looked ok at best but had thirty plus guys on it with nothing that was stoking me out. Pitas was more crowded and all broken up and dumpy. I cruised back to the Ship, where it had gotten windy in my absence. I still saw a few decent lefts, plus there were only five guys out. I paddled and Biz decided to shoot water. As it turned out I lucked into one of those magic Strand windows. As soon as I paddled out solid head high plus sets began rolling through and the wind slackened up enough for it to be pretty darn rip-able. This lasted for about an hour then the WNW wind turned on like a light switch and it was over. It worked out since I had to work a wedding at some private estate in Camarillo at 2pm.

4-22-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, El Capitan
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 120
I had to be in Santa Barbara to work an event at the Mission. After last night’s front that actually brought a bit of rain (unfortunately the Santa Clara River Mouth didn’t open) the wind picked up super hard out of the WNW. There was a bit of west swell mixed with short period wind swell. I headed north with my first stop at Rincon. There were definitely waves, but it was also very messy. The wind had too much west in it and was just tearing through the point. The lower Cove was clean, but the current gnarly making it very tough to hold position. On top of that there were like fifty guys on it. Usually when it’s like that you’re lucky to surf with fifteen or twenty not that the crowd was really factor on a day like today. It’s more luck and your ability hold position more then anything. I saw some guys walking back from half way down to La Conchita. I decided to gamble and run up to EL Capitan. I figured worse case scenario I could just surf Rincon later on the way home from my job. I got to the Capitan and there were plenty of cars parked to warrant just to run down with my gear and paddle. My time was limited. When I came out of the trail it was way smaller then I would have hoped and way more crowded too. There was easily forty guys on it for in my opinion below average El Cap. I saw a few spots that I could possibly pick a few off the crowd. One thing about El Cap there are some sections that are just beastly to attempt to drop in on. I can usually finagle a couple that way. That was my strategy and I got some decent ones down the point. I even managed a few little tubes. Fact of the matter is El Cap is pretty much a perfect wave and therefore fun at any size. I got a fun hour in and then it was off to work. Other then the annoyance of the intense wind the event went to off famously. My evening was spent cooking for my in-laws who don’t speak a lick of English. Good times.

4-21-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 16
There was a tad more NW wind swell in the water coupled with the pseudo south swell that has been running the past few days. I started at Strand. It was tiny. Jeffery was at Harbor where it was closed out. We met at Fruits hoping the bars would have more definition there. The wind was about 5-10 mph out of the SW adding a bit of chop on it though manageable. We saw a few lefts that looked doable and considering we were basically out of options we paddled. It was actually way more walled then we had anticipated. To make matters worse there was a terrible drift north plus a bunch of pesky rips to contend with. This made for a session full of paddling to literally get nowhere. I managed a few ok ones but overall it was a whole lot of work for very little reward. Like I said there weren’t too many viable options out there.

4-20-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 18
I woke up expecting there to be some solid wind swell. Upon checking the cams and buoys I was less then stoked with what I saw. I had a look out front first. The Pier was tiny with onshore wind. From there I had a look at Strand where it was also tiny with junky shape. Jeffery was at the harbor where he was less then enthusiastic, but at the very least he saw a few chest plus sets. I cruised over. The wind was south, which blows side shore there and at times it even looked borderline offshore. I saw a left down by the River Mouth that appeared to be peeling off the edge of a rip. It looked hit or miss, but I figured worse case scenario I could just float to the Knoll and New jetty if need be. I ran into Jeffery on the beach. He had broken his second leash in less then a week. We walked down to the Mouth peak and gave it a go. Between the rip and the current coupled with then decent sets on the inconsistent side it was a lot harder to line up a good wave then I had originally thought. I got caught in a shitty rip and spent the first fifteen minutes of the surf just paddling. Then I got into a groove and began figuring out where to sit and which waves to pick. Jeffery on the other hand got into a funk and decided to bail. This left me out the back all by myself. The water was cold and the waves hardly worth the effort. I did my hour and called it a day.

4-19-22 PM Session: 3-4+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 20
My morning had me driving around checking every spot from Hueneme to Ventura Harbor. It was absolutely terrible everywhere. Even though I was working on a perfect month I couldn’t bring myself to paddle the terrible waves a foot. Instead I went home and handled a bunch of house chores. I got caught up in one of these tasks and had lost track of time. Bizarro wanted to go film so we headed out to look in front at Hueneme. The wind had been blowing hard out of the NW all day and sometimes Hueneme will pick up a bit of wind swell when this happens. I wasn’t expecting much thus I just packed my grovel boards. Considering the hard wind we looked at Rock Side first. Sure enough there was plenty of chest to head high wind swell lines coming in. It was a little disorganized considering the extremely short period of the swell and the side shore winds. There were some solid corners to be had out of the long sweeping lines down the beach. It reminded me of something I would have surfed back on the east coast. I jumped in and right away the current picked me up and swept me down the beach forcing Biz to run down the shoreline with his tripod to catch up. There were some really decent waves out there, but it was also a lot of work. The waves were not coming in real sets but just endless pulses of wind swell driven lines to contend with translating to constant nonstop duck diving to get out. The water was freezing too. After a few head dips the ice cream headaches ensued. Then once in the line up it was a constant paddle just to hold position and even at that I was getting drifted south. After an hour of such a high level of physical intensity I had enough. That being said I got a few sick ones and it’s always stoke when you end up getting a few waves on a day that was a complete write off.

4-18-22 AM Session: 1-2+ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 18
Talk about some absolutely terrible waves. I have not seen the surf as bad as today in quite a while and that is saying a lot since the surf has been pretty shit as of late. Ventura Harbor was the only game in town. I went back and surfed the same peak just south of New Jetty that I had surfed yesterday. It was weak and mushy. The tide push helped things along a little bit though over all it was a real grovel out there. My afternoon was spent obliging a former Clarks customer an interview for a documentary project he was working on. The ordeal ended with a shaping demo. I’m excited to see how the whole thing plays out.

4-17-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 18
I had a look at Hueneme first. It was super tiny and terrible. There was a bit of fresh WNW wind-swell in the water leading me to the Harbor. Sure enough there were solid chest to head high waves coming in. It was a bit walled as is expected of that spot. The wind was light south and I saw enough corners to warrant a paddle. New Jetty was packed as usual. I found myself a peak just on the south side of New Jetty where every now and then a decent left rolled through. Unfortunately I managed to crease my board after landing flat on my board bringing an air down in the flats. It was an older board but regrettably a favorite. After the surf I cooked my wife and I breakfast following an afternoon of miniature golf and a beach walk. We ended our anniversary weekend with an Easter prime rib dinner and a home made cake from Bizzaro. He actually bought us our first wedding cake two years ago and has gotten us a cake each year on our anniversary ever since. I’d say we made the most of our two year anniversary.

4-16-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 68
After yesterday’s piss poor surf I really needed a few alright waves. The swell was looking pretty grim less some weak NW wind swell and a slowly dying south swell. Hueneme was tiny and I got word that the Harbor was fat with the high tide and weak. I saw a few sets on the Malibu cams and decided to head south. On the way down I had a look at County, which was pathetic, Leo was stupid crowded and slow, and Zeros just wasn’t doing it. To second peak my wife and I cruised. I pulled up the same time as C.C. who was definitely surprised to see me since I had sworn that I wasn’t going to travel that far for surf being it was my wife and my anniversary weekend. After all she did give me the green light to go. The surf was small and inconsistent. There was a solid crowd at Third so I drifted down to Second and did my own thing. The lines were a bit broken up due to the mixing in wind swell, but that just made for some interesting sections to hit. I put in a solid hour before throwing in the towel. It was our anniversary and I didn’t want to waste the day away for below average Malibu. We cruised home, got some lunch and then geared up for an evening of boating on the Channel Island Harbor canals. There is a place call Holler Boat Rentals on the Strand side of the Harbor that rent these adorable electric boats by the hour. My wife has always wanted to go on one. Every time we try and make an appointment it’s always booked. This time I made the reservation a week ahead of time to ensure getting a boat. We had quite the time traversing the Venice like canals in our little boat. We ended the evening with dinner at Little Tony’s Italian restaurant in Port Hueneme.

4-15-22 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 4
My wife took decided to work the morning at home today so we could spend the afternoon together. It’s our two year wedding anniversary on Sunday and we decided to make an entire weekend out of it. I didn’t want to waste my entire day searching for surf. I checked the pier first. It had potential but was just a bit too high tide. I had some errands to run and decided to knock them out then look again. Upon a second look an hour or so later the surf was still a bit to be desired. I’m working on a perfect month, the first since I surfed the 365 run. I paddled the south side of the pier. All that was on offer was the south swell and it was very inconsistent and when it did come it was way more mushy then I had initially intended. It was pretty rough out there. After the surf my wife and I went to lunch followed by romp in the Ventura Botanical Gardens. I hadn’t been there since it burned in the fires a few years back. All I can say is that they have done an amazing job on the place. It’s totally worth a visit if you’re in the area and it’s free on Fridays. Funny story, we got there around 3pm and the gardens close at 5pm. We had hiked a little too far up the hill outside of the garden. As a result we were a bit late coming back down the trail. As it turns out they lock the final pathway down to the parking lot at 5pm. This left us having to basically bush wack our own trail down the hill back to the lot. It was definitely a bit of an ordeal but we came out alright in the end. If anything it was a classic Lisanti Land misadventure.

4-14-22 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 56
There was still a healthy amount of south on the buoys with a bit of short period NW. The tide was a five and a half foot high at eight. For me all signs pointed to Hueneme. The south side of the pier had a bowl. It was pretty closed out, but there appeared to be some boost-able corners. I was about to paddle when I realized I had forgot my suit at home. When you live a few blocks away that’s no big deal. Since I was at home I decided to wake up Bizarro to come shoot some water. As I was waiting for Biz to get his gear together I fielded a call from C.C. that he was stuck a Deer Creek with a flat tire . Apparently AAA wouldn’t put his doughnut spare on the car because it was over three years old. Biz and I threw the jack in the cat and came to the rescue. Since we were already in LA we cruised to Leo. It was packed and very inconsistent. We had a look at Zeros, which was also crowded but looked alright with the cross up from the combo swell. On whim we gambled on Dume and after seeing a decent set we made the hike down. Somehow the stairs were still not finished after a year of working on them? When we got down to beach level we realized the inconsistent swell and the dropping tide had worked against thus we hiked out without a paddle. The wind was still light so we hightailed it back to Zeros. Currently there is way too much sand out there making it either mushy or dumpy with very little edge way in between. I stuck a decent ally-oop that I almost killed Biz on when I landed. Besides that the water was still freezing and waves a tad more frustrating then fun. At the very least I got wet. Tomorrow is another day.

4-13-22 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 68
I got text from C.C. That Malibu was offshore with head high south sets and that Hueneme was looking like a smaller version of yesterday. I wasn’t feeling that at all. The water was still freezing and point surf with offshore winds seemed very inviting. I jumped in the car with him and we cruised. We pulled up to the point just in time to watch the wind turn hard NW. Its a right point so the wind blows a little side shore thus we paddled. There is nothing more disheartening then watching the wind change prior to paddling. It’s a feeling I know all too well mainly cause I’m lazy and hate waking up before eight in the morning. We had hoped the water would be a bit warmer further south, but it was still freezing cold. Then it was a bit crowded for what was on offer and the good sets were twenty minutes apart. The majority of sets were focused up at third peak with the crowd. I floated down to second and connected with a couple. The swell angle was causing the sets to stretch through second. I did manage to get one all the way to first peak and if it had not been for a rock in my path I might have connected it all the way through to the pier. That was the highlight of the surf for me. After an hour and change we were frozen and thus ended another Malibu adventure.

4-12-22 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 2
My plan was to head to County Line, which looked pretty decent on the cam garnishing chest plus surf with offshore winds. Then I got a call from C.C. that out front looked solid. I met him over on rock side and there was definitely a lot of swell. The right hand lines were sweeping down the beach fast. There was the occasional left corner as well. The wind was light offshore and it looked tricky but do-able. It looked like there was at the very least a tube or two. I waited till my reports came from the Rincon and the other points. Word was it was small. C.C. was chomping at the bit to paddle and I was on the same page. I’m never a big fan of Country Line anyway and it looked like there could be some really decent walls to be had. I called Bizarro to show up and paddled. As soon as I jumped in the water the frigid cold hit me like a ton of bricks. All that wind last night really chilled down the water. I am saying high forties. It was so cold I could barely hold onto the rails of my board while popping up causing me to be late on many a drop. I managed a few but took way more beatings then success. C.C. Had limited success as well. Jeffery came out and broke his leash on his first wave, which set the tone for his surf. The MVP of the session were the dolphins. There was this pod of around eight or so that were just ripping the waves, jumping out of the water and racing around the line up. I must thank them cause they actually pulled me into my best wave, a two turn right that bowled up on the outside and I only saw it cause three dolphins were gliding down the face. By the end of the surf I was too cold to even concentrate. Talk about being brutal out there.

4-11-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 52
The wind was already on it by 9am this morning down my way. My wife gave me a report on her way to work that Rincon was similar to yesterday with a tad bit more swell. I didn’t hesitate to head up that way. On the drive Pitas looked beat up. Little Rincon looked like it might have had a line too. My first stop was Rincon. The Cove was small and bumpy, the whole point was for that matter was pretty torn up. It wasn’t even that windy, but the channel on the whole was just an absolute mess with three NW wind swells and a SW swell and a local west wind swell. It looked like a flushing toilet out there. The top had a consistent broken up chest high wave with only a few guys out. Jeffery was on his way down and I waited to get a Little Rincon and Pitas report from him. Both came up short so I paddle Rincon. I went up top and right away began picking apart the broken up choppy peaks. On days like this you have to approach the ‘Con more like a beach break then a point. To my credit I got on a tear and even got a few lefts. I found my best waves in the mid River Mouth section before floating down to the Cove. The Cove was small and had lots of bump on it. Every so often a solid line would roll through. I saw a few friends I haven’t surfed with in a while and hung around for a few waves before bailing. The rest of my day was spent watching the Bells comp. The wind swell is supposed to build even more tomorrow.

4-10-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 52
Talk about an unprecedented run of nonstop wind swell. It hasn’t been particularly good but at the very least it’s been consistent and palatable. I got to a slow start being that I was a bit tired from two days of catering in a row. I started at Strand where it almost had me sold. If the tide was coming in rather then draining out I probably would have paddled. As it was Strand has seemed to be worse on the lower tides thus I passed and cruised back to Rincon. The swell angle had gotten steeper than yesterday making the waves a bit more straight to the point and more walled. On top of that it was very broken up with the shorter period. Ryan and his kid showed up and we paddled the Cove where we had seen an alright line. The tide kept draining sucking most of the swell up top. I should have moved up to Indicator and salvaged my surf instead I attempted to stick it out in the Cove where it had gotten smaller, less consistent, more crowded. I sat that getting shitty rides while watching guys getting good ones up top. Then I go frustrated, couldn’t get out of my head and basically ruined the duration of my session. That junk surf put me in sort of a less then stellar mood that I wasn’t able to shake off. It was off cause I haven’t let a bad surf get me down in some time. I guess I’ll have to shake it off and look to tomorrow. There have been a lot of waves this spring but the windows have been short and winds funky. How have you folks been making out?

4-9-22 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 52
I had work in Santa Barbara cooking for some random fundraiser at 3pm. Covid is over and catering is back. Unfortunately due to things being a bit slow in the surf board business I have had to take on more catering work then I initially had intended. If you need a surf board I’m building sick customs for $550 out the door with a 4-6 week turnaround. Reach out, mention this blog and I’ll knock $50 off. Anyhow once again Strand was pretty unruly with a bit of junk wind on it. There were a few corners but they were very difficult to track down. I got word Rincon was chest plus albeit a little sloppy. I decided to just head up around noon and jump in for an hour. The Cove had some broken up chest high waves on offer with only a handful of guys out. It was a tad larger up top, but also more sloppy. The Cove was messy enough as it was. I got into a good rhythm. The current was brutal so my strategy was to catch whatever I could till I got to the bottom of the point then walk back up and do it again. I did four drifts and managed a handful of really fun waves for what it was. Then it was up to Santa Barbara to work the event. Due to a lack of leadership the gig was a bit more chaotic then I would have liked. Nether the less we pulled it off.

4-8-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 68
All there was left on the buoys when I woke up this morning was just a little bit of left over wind swell and a fresh south. There was no wind and I was in my garage packing up to head over to the Harbor when I got a message from C.C. that he was heading to 2nd peak. I’ll take point surf over junky beach break any day and jumped in the car with him. There was enough south in the water at county to warrant the mission. It wasn’t big by any means but there was a clean inconsistent waist to chest high south set running down the rocks. More then anything the place was empty so whatever did come in we ours. I’d say it was a worthy endeavor. Heck I had more fun then I did chasing down close outs yesterday. I spent the rest of the day finishing up the floors in my house. After a three months I am finally finished. Now I can move on the landscaping of the yard.

4-7-22 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 21
I was really expecting the VTA beaches to go off today thus was rather let down when I got to looking about this morning. Strand was tiny and weak, Hollywood and Shores were walled with mysto corners and Ventura Harbor was closed out and dumpy. As a matter of fact the only redeemable quality the beaches did have going for them was the fact that the wind was offshore. I got word the north points had waist to chest high waves. The buoys were not stoking me out and coupled with a dropping tide and swell I just couldn’t bring myself to make the drive. Instead I paddled the north end of the Shores where I thought I saw a few corners among the rampant barrage of never ending close out sets. Once out in the line up I realized it was way more fast from the water then the beach. I had Bizarro on the beach filming and wanted to at least get a few clips. I did manage a really decent left tube and right tube. Besides that I pulled into lots of closeout views, got a few hits and a few in and out doggy door things. The best strategy out there was to just stay put and wait for a corner to come to you. Looks like that is it for this long run of wind swell that was almost good. Looks like some smaller south and north west background swell for the next few days. Happy hunting.

4-6-22 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 52
Once again Strand was big and unruly. There were corners to be had but you were going to take a lot of punishment trying to get them. I heard Rincon had waves again and headed that way. Sure enough it was a bit larger then yesterday and more lined up. It was also about three times as crowded with close to a hundred guys on the whole point at its height. People came from LA and Orange County for an average day at Rincon. I guess word got out. Heck I wrote about it. C.C. and I paddled out up at the River Mouth since the Cove was way too crowded despite the fact that it looked pretty darn fun. I got two really decent ones right off the bat. Low tide lulls must have set in cause I literally didn’t catch another wave for nearly thirty minutes. Finally I paddled all the way up to upper Indicator, where I don’t really like to sit just so I could get a few waves. For whatever reason the sets completely stoped wrapping into the River Mouth section. It was stupid crowded up at Indy and I found myself jockeying for position against long boarders, old guys on massive short boards, frothy chicks and a group of college guys that didn’t know where to sit but managed to get in my way and even burn me on a few while “ripping” badly, though in their minds they were tour ready. After two hours of that I began surfing my way down the point where I am aged to get three decent ones in the River Mouth before getting stuck in the Cove for a half hour fighting long-boarders for waist high waves. If this isn’t the quintessential Rincon experience I don’t know what is.

4-5-22 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 52
I got word that Strand and the rest of the beaches were all mixed up with wind on them. I took my time leaving to house in order to let the tide fill in a bit then headed straight to Rincon. It was about chest plus out there with some south wind on it. My body was still hurting from yesterday’s mishap. May I say that every time I get hurt at one of the points it’s on one of these south wind days. I paddled the Cove so I could take it easy even though it was a bit larger up top where both Jeffery and C.C. were. There was a rather stiff crowd and decent runners were hard to come by. I managed a few decent rides to the freeway. Overall I just was happy to paddle around and slowly get my body back into action. I always find for me healing is easier if I can surf through an injury.

4-4-22 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 52
It was back to Rincon this morning after a brief surf check at the Ship, which to its credited was absolutely bombing with perfect conditions except for the fact that it was either walled or a burger, and crowded. Biz and I cruised to Rincon to hopefully get some good footage. It was hard to drive away from Strand, but I wasn’t in the mood to take a bunch of punishment to maybe get one or two good waves if I was lucky. Rincon was chest to head plus, though a bit broken up with the short period wind swell. There was also a bit south wind on it adding some unwanted bump and crumble. That being said there were some good ones to be had. I paddled up at the Indicator and as soon as I got out there everyone left. It was myself and two other guys for almost an hour. After about fifteen minutes in the wind backed off and it completely glassed off. Im talking so glassy one could hardly make out the waves till they stood up in front of you. Between the glass and the suns reflection off the light marine layer it was a sight to behold. It almost felt out of this world. I was feeling pretty stoked. Towards the end of my surf the wind came back up and it started getting a little crowded. There were still plenty of waves to go around except the crowd was super frothy and everyone was jockeying for position making it a bit frustrating. I stroked into a double did a turn and then went for critical end section hit that the south wind forced me to free fall to the flats. Normally I would have thrown it away. We were filming and I wanted to get the ride out clip. I landed flat feeling the impact through my entire body. All my speed was lost leaving my S.O.L. as the thick heavy lip landed square on my neck and shoulders. It took me down and I definitely felt a little messed up. Rather then come in I decided to surf it off. After a few waves I was getting very stiff and even paddling was becoming painful and a chore. I got one in and had a bit of an uncomfortable walk back to my car. The drive home wasn’t much better. I took a very hot shower to loosen up my muscles, but I definitely strained something. What was I saying in just the last post about not pushing it too hard and knowing my age limitations…oh well.

4-3-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 2
My wife and I decided to have a lazy morning in bed. The wind was already up at first light and there wasn’t enough swell for the points. Around ten we took a ride up the street. The pier had a little wave off the south side with two guys on it. It was far from good, but I saw enough to jump in and get the surfing portion of the day over with. It was about as bad as it looked. I had a few decent turns at the very least. The rest of the day my wife and I just decided to relax around the house.

4-2-22 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 10
There was still a solid amount of wind-swell on the buoys and it was coming in much more steep then yesterday. I decided to have a look at Strand after getting a less then enthusiastic report from Rincon and the points. I wasn’t expecting it to be any good given it’s track record this entire season. When I walked up the beach I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Ship was solid and rather fun looking despite the five foot high tide. Everyone was leaving too. I didn’t hesitate to paddle. For about an hour it was just myself and three other guys trading off bombing overhead lefts. It may have been some of the most fun I have had out there since the off shore days in February. I would have surfed longer but my wife was on the beach filming and it was absolutely freezing. I had got a bunch of good ones and there was no need to get greedy. If there one thing that my forties are teaching me is to surf smarter and part of that is knowing when to throw in the towel so I can surf another day. After the surf my wife and I headed out to Lake Casitas to see the bald eagles. Rumor had it some of the Eggs had hatched keeping the parents close to the nest. Last year they lost their offspring early and I never got to see them. I had never seen a bald eagle in the wild before so it was a wonderful experience. We lucked out cause both parents were visible from the viewing area. If you haven’t checked them out I highly recommend it. It’s ten bucks to get in the park and then a short hike up to the nest area. Bring binoculars or a good telephoto lens cause it’s a distance from the viewing area to the nest and they look like blurry specs from that distance with the naked eye. From there we cruised down to the lake where some idiot drove his expensive jacked up pick up truck into the lake and there was a whole scene trying to get it out. It was still stuck when we left. I’d say it was a pretty fun day to say the least.

4-1-22 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2hrs 15mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 52
Another wind swell day was a front. Ship had solid size but junky shape. I got word Rincon was chest to head and decent. C.C., Biz and I cruised up. The reports were accurate and then some. Rincon was on. It was borderline winter good. As a result it was a bit crowded with maybe seventy five guys from the freeway to Indicator. The tide was high and the River Mouth section was very appealing to me. We paddled, but as it turned out due to the short period nature of the swell it was tricky to be in the right spot. I felt like I was constantly too deep or too wide. Then there was the crowd factor as always. That being said I managed a number of really decent waves. As I was leaving the Cove was starting to turn on with the dropping tide. I was out of gas after a two plus hour surf. Part of me wanting to grab food and go back out. At my age double sessions need to be chosen wisely. I decided to go home and save my body for tomorrow. Can’t complain about late season firing Rincon cause even though it’s crowded it’s all locals. Spring is always when we get our just share of the points when the rest of California has moved on from our shores to other greener surf pastures.