Surfing Ruined My Life

August 2020 Surf Session

8-31-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 66
After work the buoys had enough south on them to lead me to believe that it might be fun. The looked light enough too. I cruised south. Between the low tide and meager swell everything north of the Ventura beaches was tiny. Though some what light wind there was just enough chop to cut up the waist to stomach plus offerings at Fruits. I drove so I paddled. I was exhausted from working all day and highly unmotivated by the poor quality of the surf. I had a few but it was hardly worth effort I put in to get there.

8-30-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 94
With similar swell and conditions in the water Angers and I decided to head back to Hueneme in hopes of a repeat of yesterday.  Though very clean it was a tad smaller and more inconsistent then the previous day.  Ryan and Dave showed up which was fine cause out where we were there were plenty of peaks to be had.  I got on a tear and had a blast.  Everyone else was a bit less enthusiastic about it.  To their credit I was doing a lot of groveling on the inside.  The few sets that did manage to make their way in were pretty stretched.  When we first got there a flurry of sets cruised in making the first half hour rather fun.  Then it got very inconsistent and lully.  Right before the wind came up it got a bit better.  I was in the zone so it didn’t really matter what was on offer I was going to rip it.  Following the surf my wife and I tried out this new place in Oxnard off Victoria called The Raven Tavern.  Upon being seated with out a reservation!; It was 2:30 in the afternoon and the place as empty, yet the hostess asked if I had a reservation?  Then when seated we were instructed that we had a 90 minute time limit on our table so that we wouldn’t be over exposed to COVID 19!!!! I work in this industry and found that to be a bit absurd.  When we told the hostess that we had never heard of such a thing she claimed lots of places were doing it, NEWS TO ME!!!  Already they had two strikes against them for service in my book and a half a strike for being to unoriginal pseudo hipster.   The wine list was a very over priced for the bottles being offered.  The beers were standard. My wife tried their house IPA, which we found to be nothing spectacular.  As far as the menu went it had a weak version of the usual shit you can find at any other place of it’s type.  They did have some intriguing selection of pot pies that did spark our interest.  I had The Steak and mushroom, while my wife tried the appetizer portions of the Chicken and the Vegetable pies.   They were satisfactory, not earth shattering.  I wouldn’t seek them out for it.  The food menu was reasonably priced at the very least.  We had finished out meal and thought about getting dessert and maybe another round of drinks, but had already reached the 70 minute mark of our dinning experience and in fear of being kicked out before finishing we decided we better get on our way.  I give the place a two out of five, average food, below average service with an average at best atmosphere.  I won’t be going back.  There are better places to spend my money at.

8-29-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 94
Geez, another crowded Saturday.  There was a fair amount of combo SW, S and SE with some minor NW wind swell in the water.  Everywhere on the way down was absolutely packed.  I had a look at Fruits Stands and although not as crowded as last weekend  It was still rather busy for what was coming in.  Not to mention it is really hard to see that place become like every other surf spot.  I know I was part of the problem, but I guess I always believe that surfers will treat a surf spot with respect and not over crowd it or if it is already busy move on to another one.  I suppose I expect too much from people.  I have been hearing good things about Hueneme all season.  There is actually a lot of space out there.  If you are willing to walk a bit south from the main area there are plenty of empty peaks to be had.  I met Angers at his place and we cruised together.  Sure enough there was a fun wave there.  We walked as far as we needed to get our own peak.  Though a bit racy there were some fun corners to be and the occasional tube if your wave doubled up.  We surfed it till the tide got too low and the wind came up.  It was far from an epic surf, but lots of fun none the less.

8-28-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 44
Miles driven: 126
The wind was up once again and all the reports I got from south was not to bother.  There was some fresh SW swell on the buoys and the cam at Jalama looked clean enough.  It was Friday after all and I really wanted to surf and burn fifteen bucks in gasoline.  When I got to the camp ground the wind was definitely harder then I would have liked.  It looked managable.  I walked down to Cracks where there were two surfers out.  The waves were a bit smaller then I had hoped only about waist to stomach with the occasional chest high set.   The bar out there is really straight at the moment.  All the sand is on the beach.  Most of the waves were racy with just quick check turn sections and a close out end section.  All the warm water recently has reeked havoc on the kelp leaving lots of it washed up on the beach and tons of it on the inside.  It was so bad I had to surf with out a leash just to get through on some of my rides.  The other two people out bailed and I had the place to myself for an hour an half.  Normally for waves of the quality I was riding I would not have stayed out all that long.  After yesterday’s nightmare it was really nice to have an entire break and beach for that matter to myself.  I needed that.  At the moment I am really caught up in the rat race for a very small amount monetary compensation.  Overall as per usual it is just always nice to recharge my batteries with a little time at Jalama.  When I got home I had received a package form my old boss and mentor Chef Micheal Hutchings.  Apparently he has been killing on the mushroom hunting front over at his new home in South Carolina and was nice enough to send me a bunch of chanterelle mushrooms.  I cooked up a nice Linguine Alfredo with the chantrelles. pancetta, and artichoke hearts served up with a lovely bottle of chianti.  It was a very nice end to a not so great work week.  I really miss being a chef.

8-27-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Sands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 28
There was an uptick in the wind swell when I got out of work. Unfortunately the wind was howling down south and all the reports I got were not very enthusiastic. Since I work just down the street from Sands now I figured I may as well give it a look. Through my binoculars look across from the estuary I definitely saw some sets and it was clean enough. I’m cheap and can’t justify spending ten bucks to park only still have to walk a decent distance to get to the beach. I parked over at Coal Oil Point and walked. When I to the bluff over looking Sands I couldn’t believe how crowded it was for such below average conditions and the fact that UCSB isn’t even in session on campus this semester. There had to 75 surfers spread out from the backside of the point to the Rivermouth. It was nauseating. I suited and paddled anyway cause I made the walk. I found a little zone to myself down the beach and even there kooks kept crowding me. I literally hit into some dude who was sitting so close behind me my nose caught his stupid soft top when I spun around to catch a wave. What a terrible surfing experience. It seems everywhere is just over run these days.

8-26-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
More hard winds and tiny conditions prevailed.  I couldn’t get  motivated to grovel and all the reports I got from down south were not any more encouraging.  Instead I went home and died a little more inside as a result of my shitty work situation.

8-25-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
It was windy, high tide and small when I got out of work. That trifecta was enough for me to throw in the towel. Instead I put a little time in with my garden and got some much needed chores done around my place. At work I can proudly say that I am now a certified fork lift and PIT and high lift operator. That is something I never thought I’d do in my life time. COVID19 threw me a curve ball and I’m doing my best to hit it out of the park.

8-24-20 PM Session: 1-2+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 56
Today marks my second week with the Postal Service. In all actuality I should have just surfed Emma Wood. Between the wind tearing it up and the crowd of groms, kooks and swimmers I couldn’t get into it. I had saw a few waves at Rincon on the way down and with the SE/Wind swell combo I figured I could make something happen on my fish. When I was checking maybe it was the tide change but there were lots of lines coming through up and down the point. Upon paddling out a Rivermouth I snagged three runners right off the bat. Then the wind chop got more annoying and the set consistency dropped. A real grovel ensued. I just surfed every ripple I could get up on and even on fun ankle high one on my belly to the beach at the end. It was just nice to get wet and wash off the bullshit of the work day.

8-23-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
Standing on the beach at Fruits with Pat this morning I almost wanted to cry.  The whole entire Ventura surf world was there.  It was like they took a field trip over from New Jetty.  I was upset to loose that spot, but to loose Fruits too?  All I saw was trainers, cameras, surf moms and dads, and all the entourage that goes with it.  I couldn’t hang and bailed.  It looked like there may have been enough NW that Strand might have been fun.  There was a little waist plus wave at the Ship.  Though it was a perfect waist high and empty I couldn’t in good conscience paddle out there knowing I could bet bigger waves a few miles north.  Ryan said he thought the sand at Shores might hold through high tide and met me there.  It was a little bit on the softer side then Fruits, but super rip-able.  The place was a chest plus skate park.  When I was checking at least the crowd wasn’t too bad.  From changing to paddling it easily doubled.  Thanks to the combo swell there was not any set take off spot.  Pretty much it was just fun A-frame peaks up and down the beach.  The majority of the crowd was rather kooky too.  I got into a froth.  The lefts were running from the bar all the way to beach, many of them giving me three to five good sections with a bonus shore break session.  The only thing was there were all these little kids playing on the inside and shore break.  I had my share of close calls.  As a matter of fact on my last wave I stuck a straight air pretty much on the sand and had to grab my leash and pull my board back to me as to not hit any of the children.  In the process I took the nose of my board to my knee.  No blood, but definitely a shiner.   After the surf my wife and I were enjoying a late lunch at the Habit near Winco when this bum started harassing us said we had a “green ring up our ass”. Then he threw a cup of ice water at the ladies doing nails on the side walk. At that point the Asian dude who owned the place whipped out one of those fold up clubs and chased after the guy.  it was pretty entertaining to say the least.  Burgers and a show!!!  Back on the Postal grind tomorrow.

8-22-20 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 66
Thanks Covid, Surfline, and warm water for over populating the sport of surfing.  This was made quite apparent when I showed up at Fruit Stands and there were cars parked everywhere.  The majority were randoms I had never seen before. On top of that some of the top pros like the Coffin Bros and Dane have been heading out there as well.  It was only a matter of time I suppose.  I was already later then I wanted to be and rather then kill more time by checking I just suited up and ran to the beach.  Actually for how many guys were there everyone was rather spread out.  Ryan and I found a peak all to ourselves along with my friend Julien.  The waves were solid head plus with teeth on them.  I worked trying to make it out of a number of deep tubes.  All of which proved unsuccessful.  When I first paddled it was a bit too low and most of the sets were stretched and dumpy.  As the tide filled in I started finding some really long rights and some fun punchy lefts.  Julien managed the tube of the day.  Pat finally showed up late and lucked out cause he ended up getting the place empty the rest of the afternoon.  It was the best session I have had in a while.  Rest of the day was spent running all of the errands I didn’t get to do during the week.  On a side note the heat factor was gnarly yesterday.  91 in Santa Barbara.

8-21-20 PM Session:  3-4+ ft, Hollywood Beach
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 76
Finally Friday came.  I never really understood exactly what people were talking about when they would be screaming the acronym TGIF.  Acronyms just in case you were wondering run rampant around the Postal network.  They they have it for everything and anything.  I need a personal pocket short hand reference guide for all the acronyms and abbreviations.   What a soul sucking place the mail processing plant is to work.  I have been there a total of forty hours and I already want to hang myself.  It is no wonder the people who have been there for years look dead inside.  Hey, its a paying job in a time where there are not any.  I wanted to go to Jalama after work.  It looked clean and fun on the cam.  Then I realized I didn’t bring my 4/3 and I had no idea if the water had warmed up there like it has down south.  The wind looked light enough in Ventura and there was still plenty of combo swell at the beaches.  Headed Straight for Ventura harbor.  Though the wind was not hard the waves were all mixed up due to all the different swell combos.  I heard Shores was the same.  Considering the tide was a 1.5 low at 5 pm, the south wind and the swell angle I thought I would have a look over by Little Sunset at Hollywood.  It was nothing epic.  There were very consistent chest to head high peaks coming in up and down the beach.  Even though the waves had a bit of chop on them coming in the faces were rather clean.   My boy John was down by La Brea and decided to come over and meet me.  The waves were nothing to write home about.  We had about two hundred yards of beach all to ourselves.  That is a luxury lately with all the over crowding.  It was fun enough for sure with lefts and rights up and down the beach.  The current was terrible and after fighting it for a bit I decided to just surf in drifts and walk back up the beach when I was all the near the break wall. It reminded me of an east coast day.  John left and I had the place to myself  for a bout an hour.  The waves started to glass off as the wind came down.  Unfortunately the consistency dropped as well and all of a sudden the entire beach got mobbed by surfers.  When I got out there had to be thirty guys where I was all by myself minutes ago.  when I looked north up the beach all I could see was a line of surfers stretched out to Shores.

8-20-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas/Father Johns
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 44
I got word that it was all windy down south when I got off from an eight hour defensive driving course that is mandatory for my job. I headed to Sea Cliffs in search of a wave. There was a fair amount of combo in the water with the low tide I went straight to Pitas. The air was toxic, filled with smoke from all the fires around us at the moment. Pitas had a short wave at the top with one guy out. Not sold I walked over to Father Johns for a look. It actually looked waist to chest and kill-able. I was walking back to just give Pitas one more look when I ran into this dude Matt I know. We got to bull shitting and while standing there we saw enough to stoke us out on a paddle. It was pretty close to the rocks and short, the most I could bang out was two turns to a wave with odd ball three banger. It was crazy glassy and we had a blast. The tide started to get a little high. Matt wanted to shoot some photos of me so I suggested we walk over to Father Johns and try our luck. The lighting was all time between the sunset and the smoke refraction from it. Unfortunately as soon as I hit the water the sets decided to slow down and wall out. Still I made the most of them. I will be posting some of the session pictures he took on my Instagram this week.

8-19-20 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 72
Today was the final day of my orientation. I got word that the VTA beaches were still rather clean with solid sets. I also had to hear about how the morning was near epic at pretty much all the beaches. Ryan was at Shores and I met him there. I guess the wind came up during the hour and a half I fought rush hour traffic to get there. It was pretty torn up and poor quality. Over it I cruised to Fruits and just suited up and paddled. It looked really fun from the beach. Once I was out there the whole thing turned out to be a way different story. It was all over the place and way more dumpy then I had thought. Thanks to all the chop on the face the waves were even more difficult to surf. I took some real beatings. It started to glass off closer to dark. Pat came out along with ten other randoms. There was almost a half hour window where it got fun till the high tide killed it. When I got back to my car when it was dark mind you I had all these messages telling me Strand was overhead and bombing. Thanks for the heads up guys !!!

8-18-20 PM Session: 1-2+ ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 56
Another painstaking day in postal employee orientation left caught in the windy afternoon window. Thanks to the heat wave all the beaches were packed with guys surfing every type of craft imaginable everywhere. I had a look at Rincon. There was a wave at Indicator. The tide was still a bit inconsistent as were the waves and it was small and way too crowded for what was out there. I headed to Emma. It looked a scene out of a bad beach movie there were some many surfers, body boarders and swimmers out there. I saw a few waves at Father Johns when I passed on the way to Wood and went back there. From up on the break wall it looked super fun and peaky. When I got out there it turned out to be way smaller then I had hoped and more inconsistent. Still I groveled hard and had a good time. The water was warm, it was a nice evening and I had the place all to myself.

8-17-20 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 72
Today thus began my career as a postal employee for however long that maybe. Though I was hired for the evening shift for the next three weeks I am stuck on days for training. Relegated to the afternoon, my least favorite time to surf left me at the mercy of such crowds and wind. Being stuck in the middle of an obnoxious heat wave and the first run of swell in nearly a month the crowds were abound in great force. I had to meet a friend at shores to get a set of fins. There was size but between the onshore wind and combination of swells it was just a little too torn up for me to be stoked. I saw a few at Emma and paddled there since it was on the way home. It was surf-able at best and mostly a grovel. I made the most of it despite having a severe lack of motivation. The water was very warm, easily 70F.

8-16-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
The plan was to go surf something up north again since we were camping right there. Camping plus a little too much camp fire boozing kicked my ass. I was in some sorry shape. It was hot. I was hungover and my back was killing me from sleeping on the fucking ground. Yep, so glad I went camping. Instead I spent the day on my couch uncomfortable. I got mixed reports on quality ranging from flat to chest high spot and person dependent. It’s a bummer cause I wanted to surf and I start my new job at the post office tomorrow.

8-15-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surf Beach
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 128
My wife and I were going camping on her family’s ranch for the night up in that area. Jalama was really small and with light winds I decided why not look around the corner at Surf Beach which always gets more swell. Though far from epic there were some waist to chest high waves coming through on the middle bar. There were some inconsistent larger burgers on the outside but not worth anything. It was a little walled and hard to track a good one. Every now and then I was able to snag a kill able one. It was really glassy and usually the place is pretty wind riddled. I made the most of what was afforded to me and didn’t get eaten by a Shark. We had to go up to Orcutt for lunch cause all the power was out in Lompoc. After that I got to partake in one of my least favorite activities, camping.

8-14-20 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 126
It was glassy up there on the cam when I left.  Of course when I got there the wind was blowing SW at a steady fifteen knots.   At Jalama there is minimal kelp protection from south wind.  My only solace was that no one was out and every so often a stomach plus south set would roll through among the scrubby little wind swell.  Before I even got a chance to put my stuff down a four pack of teens appeared walking in the distance.  Then they were followed by two other dudes.  That made a total of seven guys including me in a line up with just about enough waves for two.  Nothing stokes me out more then driving sixty miles to surf small windy waves in a crowd.  The wind made a bit of a current and it got the best of the pack.  I had to take off my leash cause of all the seaweed on the inside that was constantly getting tangled in it after every ride.  It was pretty grovelly out there for sure.  I made the most of it.  After about an hour everyone left and I had the place to myself and actually got a handful of decent lefts.  There would have been some fun rights too, but the wind was blowing so hard it was just tattering the tiny faces.  Then another four pack showed up and at that point I was over it not ready to battle another group for meager at best scraps.  The highlight of the entire mission was watching some lady chase her umbrella that got blown from Cracks all the way to the start of the camp ground.  Good times in the dog days of summer.

8-13-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 66
I wanted to go to Jalama today.  I had to go down to Ventura to borrow a tent from Ryan for this bullshit camping thing I have to do with my wife on Saturday on her family’s ranch up in the Santa Rita Hills.  If you are an avid reader or just one of my close friends then you know the disdain I have for camping.  The Holiday Inn is roughing it for me.  Yeah, I’m a prissy dude.  I was also coaxed by the lie that there might be a little bit of SE in the water.  Out of any south direction these are the ones that really make the Ventura beaches come alive.  I got down there and I was faced with waist plus very broken up south/NW wind swell lines.  Gordo and I saw a decent set while we were checking it that we hoped meant it was going to get better.  It didn’t.  At the very least it was clean for the majority of the session.  Ryan and Angers also paddled.  I had to catch at least 33 waves to make up for yesterdays shitty deficit.  Actually though small I got into a good little grove and managed a few fun little runners and even got shacked on one.  Then the wind came up and completely trashed it.  I was stoked for the meager bread crumbs I was handed.  And the beat goes on.  Looks like it is my last few days of freedom since I start my job as a custodian at the Goleta postal processing plant Monday.  It’s not glamorous like the celebrity chef thing I had going on, but for the moment I suppose it will have to do till the world gets back on track.

8-12-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 66
Upon waking up the cams down south looked clean.  I was whipped from yesterday thus not looking forward to doing Jalama again. Angers hit me up and we have not had a surf in quite some time.  When I got on the road it was white out fog conditions that didn’t let up when I got to the Ventura beaches.  I was all the way at the water’s edge at Fruits and still couldn’t make out what the conditions were like.  Angers and I decided to suit up and hope for the best.  As soon as we paddled out there we could see it was absolutely terrible.  Dumpy, choppy, rip tide riddled, mixed up wind swell/ south swell combo mess.  We are decent enough surfers and the two of us couldn’t find a good ride to save out lives.  The water was freezing coupled with the fog and onshore wind just made for terrible surfing.  I literally had to paddled in cause it was impossible to get a last wave through the rip.  I desperately checked everything on the way home to no avail.  File today under a loss.

8-11-20 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 3 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 126
All reports from Ventura were shit wind and crap conditions.  The LA cams looked like a zoo.  I knew Jalama was going to be a zoo too, but went anyway.  Sure enough when I got there I could see at least forty five heads from the cliff at Cracks and another twenty at the River Mouth.  Surfers were everywhere.  I ran into some friends leaving as I was walking towards Cracks and they said there were sixty plus guys out at eight in the morning.  Gnarly.  I got to Cracks around 11:30 and it was still busy, though with the wind just coming up people were beginning to leave.  I hung out on the beach a bit.  The crowd dropped to around twenty five provoking me to paddle.  The sets were very inconsistent and most just weren’t hitting the sand bar (or lack there of) very well.  Every now and then a really decent wave would come through.  It would hit anywhere in the line up making it a luck game.  There actually were some decent rights to be had.  It was some of the largest surf I had paddled in weeks.   To my credit I felt pretty good out in the water as well.  I forgot to bring any food out to Cracks with me or I would have stayed and surfed an evening session.  As I was leaving the signs of a glass off were evident.  Whatever the case I got mine.  I will say this, lately I have been picking up an absurd amount of trash on the walk back to the parking lot from Cracks.  This time I filled my back pack up.  Jalama is a special place and I am stoked for everyone who wants to come and experience it.  Please take your trash with you when you leave.

8-10-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 96
The plan was to head down south grab a morning surf then wait for a possible base session at dusk taking advantage of the new south in the water.  Of course everything was shit early.  I was really hoping to go back to Rincon and in hindsight that is where I should have paddled.  It was smaller and three times as crowded, plus the surf camp.  I just couldn’t get into it.  I heard that Strand had a few and went there.  When I walked up the beach I saw a sick set of lefts rock the ship that sent me stoked back to my car.  Right when I paddled out I snagged three good ones off the bat.  Then a bad combination of NW wind and a rising tide just turned the place off.  It basically got un-surf-able.  I failed around the rest of the surf in a weak ass attempt at putting together a fun ride that never happened.  The water was freezing too.  I stuck a backside end section forced stab through the lip and called it.  That afternoon my girl wanted to rent a boat and cruise around Channel Islands Harbor.  We wanted to get one of those chill electric ones, but the cheap ones were all booked and we didn’t want to shell out $200 for what was available.  Instead we settled for a peddle boat, which ended up being fun, but way more work then we bargained for.  Its a bit scary out there peddling around on this glorified raft while big motor boats are cruising right by you.  There were with out a doubt a few close calls.  At five we met up with Dave for a look at Base.  It was very fat when we got there.  I saw enough potential to deem it worth waiting out the tide a bit.  Ultimately it never really materialized.  Though there were a few tasty looking ones it was just a bit too small and throwing to be surf-able.  It was fun to watch the spongers do their thing.  You can’t win them all, but you definitely won’t score if you don’t go look.

8-9-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 78
The plan was to take advantage of the south swell front runners at Point Mugu in the evening. As I was driving into Ventura I noticed an absurd amount of NW wind swell in the water.  This makes for poor Base conditions.  Emma look fun, but was super packed.  Hoping that the Ship would have a wave I went to Strand.  There was a little something getting in, but between the wind and the tide I wasn’t stoked.  I headed back to Emma, but on a second look it was just crowded and not good.  Most likely I missed the window as Emma can be very fickle.  My friends and I used to joke about the Emma Wood 25 minutes of perfection.  Over it I headed north hoping there would be just enough wind swell for me to grovel my fish at Rincon.  While I was checking it up near the River Mouth I got bit by a dog.  I was standing on a rock looking at the surf with my back to the beach when this boxer/lab mix type mut came running up to me and bit my foot knocking me down.  When I got up the fucking thing was gone.  The thing didn’t break my skin, though it did put a whole in my shoe and my big toe was definitely swollen.   In the time it took me to regain my composure I did manage to see a few decent sets.  It was solid chest plus with nice lines from Indicator to the top of the River Mouth.  I couldn’t believe my eyes and thought maybe I was hallucinating from the dog bite.  I was on it.  While I was at my car changing I witnessed a dude dump over on his motorcycle on the 101 and nearly get run over.  What a gnarly way to start a surf.  I grabbed my fish thinking it was going to be pretty weak.  As it turned out the sets kept getting better.  I was getting between four to eight turns per wave.  My last wave was a head high bomb that I managed to hit seven times and then nailed a big bash off the close out.  It was almost dark and I had a very good surf and decided to quit while I was ahead.  Rincon in early August.  It kind of feels like summer never happened and we just got an extended spring this year with all the wind swells.  Whatever, I am not complaining.

8-8-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 126
This morning was completely a leap of faith on where to go surfing.  Part me even considered driving all the way up to Morro Rock, which appeared to be getting the most swell with in a “reasonable” driving distance from my home.  I wasn’t that pumped on making a two hour drive for a wave that even when it is somewhat decent I am not a fan of let alone chasing some weak wind swell.  There were little waves on the Jalama cam with light winds predicted.  I took a gamble and went up hoping with the small south in the water coupled with the wind swell and tide push it might just be surf-able.  That was pretty much what I got.  Man, were the conditions perfect.  I am talking not cloud in the sky sunny, with oil glass.  Not a drop of water was out of place minus the fact that it was waist to stomach plus and very inconsistent at that.  The camp ground and river mouth were packed with thirty or so surfers.  I walked to Cracks were there was still around fifteen guys out.  They came in large groups and must have been on it petty early cause a pack of four left and then another four pack right after, followed by a three pack.  Now it was time for me to paddle.  There actually was some swell in the water.  Had the bars been better it could have been a really fun small wave sess.  They are still a bit straight and the flat certainly has not helped to groom them any.  Add the NW wind swell, which always comes in a bit walled and it was mostly closed out.  The swells would come in looking solid, but then get cut in half when then hit the sand bar.   The rights were certainly better then the lefts.  Overall it was surf-able, but more then anything it was just a nice day to be in the water, which was freezing.  Looks like some south swell for early this week.

8-7-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 38
Miles Driven: 78
Just like how Covid19 is slowly deteriorating our society that is exactly what has slowly become of this unprecedented August NW wind swell event.  Honestly I came down with full on expectations of riding my fish in some really terrible grovel conditions.  The weak, wonky waist to stomach plus conditions I found myself in were quite refreshing.  That being said it was still  rather hard grovel and my Filipe Toledo fins didn’t help either.  My final say on the fins is that they do seem to work well in good drivey conditions and they really hold on hard turns.  In the mush and less then powerful surf the fins are absolutely trash.  They actually seem to slow me down do to having way too much grab on the drop.  The fins don’t slid at all.  The fins are not worth the $125 price tag that is for sure.  After three weeks of riding them in all types of conditions I am done with them.  Don’t waste your money.  On the other hand if any out there wants the ones I have I will gladly sell my set to you for $80.  These are Air core fins, size Medium, no damage.  Hit me up if you are interested.  For a $100 I will throw in on of my personal Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw Models in very good shape, 5’10 x 18 3/16 x 2 1/8.  Back to the surf log now the shameless promotion is over.  I had a few fun waves out there, but overall it was a bit on the frustrating side and not really worth the gas money.  That being said the sun was out and it was a wonderful summer beach day.  Oh and the water is still absolutely freezing.

8-6-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 78
There was a lot less swell on the buoys this morning.  All reports I got was that it was junky every where.  I had a thing or two I needed to handle down south and figured I would just head to the Ship and hope for the best.  It was definitely on the junky side in the waist to chest range with some wind on it.  There were about ten guys spread out and most of the waves were just short corners or boost-able close outs.  I saw a few that sparked my interest so I paddled.  It was way slower out there then yesterday with sets few and far between.  When a wave did come it was tricky to ride thanks to the mix of very short period wind swells.  I actually surfed decent enough today to stoke me out.  Water is still freezing as well.  Rest of my day was spent running errands.

8-5-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 78
I got all sorts of differing reports this morning, everything from knee high to head high.  With that vast range I was left with no choice but to get on the hunt myself.  There was still some NW wind swell left on the buoys so I decided to start at Strand and work my way back north.  Luckily my first stop was adequate enough.  Though a bit all over the place and some what disorganized there were a pretty consistent flow of chest plus sets out there.  The crowd was a little heavy for what was on offer, but not long after I paddled the bulk had left.  Once again I found myself in a bit of a slump out there.  I was surfing better then yesterday.  I just couldn’t get into a decent rhythm.  I brought down a pretty hefty ally-oop that might have been the highlight of the session. Towards the end of my surf these clueless teens I didn’t recognize showed up in a four back all surfing kooky fun shapes and mid lengths and sat right on me.  There were decent peaks up and down the beach.  I didn’t care all that much.  I was just about done out there anyway looking for a good wave to end on.  I finally stroked into a left that lined up with a money air section at the end.  I loaded up.  When I dropped in I noticed one of these kids on the inside.  I figured he would get out of the way before I got to the ramp.  I boosted the air.  Mid rotation I hit something hard with the tail of my board.  Turns out I beamed the kid hard.  It had to be hard cause it pulled the left fin completely out of my board.  I felt a little bad for the guy.  He had no business still being on the inside.  It was small and the water two feet deep leaving him plenty of time to get the fuck out of the way.  Then when I saw I lost one of my Julian Wilson FCS 2 fins I lost it on the dude.  Fuck that is a 120 dollar fin set down the drain.  At least my boxes didn’t get damaged.  There are miles of beach break from Hollywood to McGrath where kooks can go and do whatever it is they do when they surf.  Why come to the ship and clog it when you can get the same shitty surfing experience someplace else and be out of my way.  When I see a bunch of guys ripping on a peak I don’t go sit out with them.  I find my own little area to rip.  If you are reading this bud I am sorry I hit you.  I wasn’t planing on it and didn’t even see you when I boosted the air.  Hope you didn’t get too fucked up.  If I ever see you again I am coming at you for the fin money…fucking kook!!!

8-4-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 78
I woke up to text messages that Strand was fun and solid wind swell on the buoys to back those reports up.  It was also obnoxiously crowded for what was coming through.  There had to be easily thirty guys on it for sloppy wind swell.  It has been flat for weeks so everyone is very hungry.  I saw three really good sets while I was checking it.  Of course as soon as I hit the water it completely turned off.  I am talking twenty minute lulls between sets and nothing but weird shore dump in between.  It didn’t help that there was a 4.5 ft high tide at 11:30, which ran right through the middle of my session.  On the bright side the crowd left.  I stupidly grabbed my short board when my small wave board would have more then accommodated me especially in the fast cornered shore break.  I floated around way longer then I should have in the hopes that with the dropping tide it would get better.  Instead the wind came up and it got worse.  Then I had a forty minute case of last wave syndrome to add injury to insult.  I guess the early bird got the worm today.  Spent the rest of the day playing more catch up.

8-3-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 78
Home sweet home and with the NW wind swell that followed me down the coast.  I got word that Strand had a few little waves.  Strand in August?  I wasn’t about to miss that.  It was on the smaller side for sure only about waist to stomach, with the very occasional plus set.  It was also very clean and nice shape.  I paddled with my boy John and this other grom who always surfs there.  Maybe I was stoked to be home cause I got on a full on tear.  I hate when I have a super session when the waves suck.  Now I am bound to kook it if it starts to cook the next few days.  The rest of my day was spent on catch up on everything that took place while I was away.  This is one of things I had about vacation, you have to work twice as hard before you leave and then the same after to catch up on what you missed.  I made this bomb ass noodle cake for dinner.  Check my @chefchrisLisanti instagram for the goods on that one.

8-2-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Willow Creek
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 68 (From Monterey)
My wife and I decided to get up early with hopes that Willow Creek would get some of the wind swell.  I had gotten a text from Pat that he got skunked there the previous day.  There was a pretty heavy fog covering for the majority of the Big Sur drive.  Willow was a bit fat with the high tide.  The waves definitely had potential.  We hung out by the river watching baby trout, catfish, and all sorts of back trail birds do their thing waiting to see if a little less tide would make a difference.  I didn’t want it to get too low and then be scrapping rock the entire ride since it was a little smaller then I like for that boulder filled reef.  All the way to the north side of the cove there was this crazy left sand bar that I have never seen on that end of the beach before.  Maybe it is because I usually only got there when there is solid swell and it breaks way further out then that inside bar.  With the smaller conditions it was grooming this bowly little left point like ride.  That was all I had to see to get stoked.  Two guys were on it while I was checking.  By the time I put on my suit they were gone.  I ended up having the whole place to myself, which is a rarity for that spot, or any for that matter these days.  A rip fest ensued.  It was the first time I have ever gotten to surf Willow and not had to worry about gnarly rocks on the inside.  This wave was sand bottom the whole ride.  What a treat and the water wasn’t as cold as usual either.  The only complaint I had was the fog kept rolling in and out making shitty lighting to film.  On the way home we stopped in Cambria at Black Hand Winery to pick up our club shipment and do a tasting.  If you have not had Black Hand Wines then you are really missing out.  I must say it is some of the best the area has to offer and one of my all time California favorites.  The owner Tom personally pours each glass.  Stop in and tell him I sent you.  We got home just around eight ending another awesome north excursion.  Maybe my lazy ass will write a detailed blog about it soon considering I was exploring new territory.  Inspire me in the comments if you want to read it.

8-1-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Asilomar, Monterey
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17 
Miles Driven: 210 (From Fort Ross, Sonoma)
I had hoped if the conditions were right to head back up north and revisit a few set ups I thought may have had potential with the new windswell.  The wind was on it from first light just making another day of blown out conditions. The plan was to back down the the coast to Monterey where we were going to stay the night.  Some how I made a wrong turn just south of Bodega Bay, ending up in the town of Petaluma this chill dairy town that a good friend of my wife actually grew up in.  We decided to stop for breakfast at this excellent little place called Hollies Cafe.  If you are ever in that town it is totally worth a stop.  Luckily for us the 101 goes right past the town leaving us not off track at all.  We decided to catch the route 1 again at Moss Landing.  Traffic was terrible and the place was the most crowded I have ever seen it.  The wind swell was getting in, but it was all over the place and in my opinion not worth the potential shark attack.  We tried to rent a kayak but they were all booked up so on to Monterey we went.  Not before I got stuck in a sand bank on the way into the Moss Landing beach park.  A little bit of pushing and we were on our way.  My plan was to get some waves at Asilomar in the evening.  It was solid chest to head high wind swell.  It was also all over the place and totally unfocused burgers up and down the beach with lots of currents and rips.  I got a few, though overall it was just lots of work for a way limited reward.  My wife and I wanted to get a nice dinner out for our last night.  Between the thick almost rain like marine layer and the light onshore wind it was way too cold to be comfortable dining outside.  Instead we stopped at a Safeway and got some fried chicken and salad.  You don’t realize how much you miss something as simple as a nice meal all dressed up at a restaurant till it is gone.   I do however enjoy the savings.