Surfing Ruined My Life

August 2021 Surf Session

8-31-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 72
The south swell seemed up a notch while the wind swell was down a notch. Jeffery was at Rivermouth. It looked a little too small for the bars that are currently in place out there. I cruised to Shores where there were waist to chest high peaks throwing up and down the beach. It was borderline too peaky. Conditions were as glassy as it gets and I didn’t want to risk losing the wind. I paddled and there were some ok ones though it was hard to be in the right position with how peaky it was. Between the glass and marine layer it was hard to even see the wave coming in as a result of the flat light. I got a few gems before the wind came up ever so light out of the NW but it was enough to completely change the swell from peaky to closed out. Guess I was stoked for what I got.

8-30-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
I didn’t know what to expect this morning. I was pulled out of bed at 7:30 by my wife in order to make her lunch for the day. It was an hour earlier then I usually care to get up when the waves are shit. There was some new sw on the buoys while the wind swell seemed to be trending down. I had a look at the Harbor where it was surprisingly tiny. Jeffery was at Hueneme not all that jazzed either. We met at the Ship which also was pretty lackluster, waist time occasional chest high shore break dumpers. Jermey was out and we decided join him. The water was freezing. I’m talking 58 F. There were less corners then yesterday with smaller waves making it less then ideal. Still I managed to link into a few runners and even found two left tubes that were stoke. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

8-29-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 78
It was another morning of wind, cold and fog. The past week has felt more like spring then fall. Between the fog and frigid water I am very confused. I got to the Harbor and there appeared to still be a fair amount of NW wind swell in the water. New Jetty was crowded and I wasn’t stoked on the junk coming in at knoll or mouth. I headed to Strand in the hopes of something more my speed. It was mostly closed out shore break with the occasional corner. No one was out and I was just about out of time thus paddled. The session was just as I just described. Luckily for me closed out shore dump is my brand of small wave fun and made the most of it. I even managed a head dip or two. There was a gnarly feeding frenzy out the back that was almost more entertaining to watch then the surf. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

8-28-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
I woke up at nine still drunk from last night. This didn’t bode well for my morning surf. Considering the state I was in I decided to call out of work and sober up the better part of the day. Around 4pm my wife and I decided to get some air and head down south for a few waves. To our surprise there was a decent amount of wind swell and south swell combo in the water. I saw some solid lines at. New Jetty with a light crowd and paddled. Though behind the eight ball a bit hungover I did manage to snag a few really fun rides. Maybe I made it look two fun cause by the end of an hour there easily ten guys on it. By that time I had already gotten my fill.

8-27-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 78
There was a bit of a rise in the wind swell. New Jetty was crowded and there was a very heavy fog that had just rolled in while checking it. I decided to roll back to Strand where I met up with Loren and Jeffery. There were a handful of guys out and it looked though a little on the soft side very rip-able. As it turned out the waves were way more weak then they looked and a bit closed out too. The water was absolutely freezing too adding to my growing disdain for what I thought was going to be a rip fest. After the surf I headed home to get ready for a wedding my wife and I were attending for her cousin. It was at my wife’s museum which was a hard pill for us to swallow considering that was where our grand wedding was supposed to be last year. We put on our game face, dressed to the nines and gave an amazing showing as usual. From the wedding we cruised into the Wild Cat. It was the first time I had been there since the spring time. I was stoked to see some of the old gang. Had a bit too much to drink and found myself eating shitty Taco Bell at 1:30am. Talk about revisiting another time in your life.

8-26-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr 30mins
Waves Surfed: 35
Miles Driven: 78
I met Jeffery at the Harbor where we were faced with more tin weak waves. Not feeling it we decided to head to Hueneme with hopes that the small background south would be more surf-able there. On the way I decided to just have a quick look at the Strand since there was some minor small wind swell on the buoys as well. The surf was mostly knee to waist high shore break with the very occasional plus set. I saw some kill-able wedges while waiting for the Hueneme report from Jeffery, which was not any good. He came and met at Strand. I ran into John while I was changing and talked him into having a paddle as well. The three of us did our best to surf the scrubby little shore dump. I got on a tear and frothed a bit. It was far from fun, but I made the most of it. The rest of my day was committed to ding repair. A customer has been trying to get me to tighten up an old log of his. We have just not been able to coordinate schedules. He said it wasn’t that bad so I had him leave it with Biz while I was at work. When I got home and had a look the nose was partially broken off and their were dings all over the board. To make matters more annoying it is an EPS board. If I had seen the board prior to it being left at my place I definitely would have turned away the work. Guess I’m on the ding grind for a little while.

8-25-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1hr 30mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 64
Things were looking rather dismal in terms of surfing. All that was coming in was some very tiny very weak south background swell. New Jetty had a trickle of a wave that looked surf-able. No one was out so I decided to paddle. Of course in classic New Jetty fashion five more guys showed up paddled before I even got me suit on. Matt and Jeffery met me there totally the crowd to seven with hardly enough waves for four. The water was freezing and all I had was my 3/2 adding injury to insult. I went through the motions and got my surf in. At the very least it was nice to catch up with Matt since I hadn’t seen him in nearly two months with his crazy travel schedule. The rest of my day was spent grinding away at some ding repair.

8-24-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
It was another day of just some minor south background swell. I headed to the Harbor where there were definitely some kill-able peaks from Knoll to River Mouth. It was a hair smaller and less consistent then yesterday. Considering how fast the tide turned it off yesterday I was not too eager to put myself in that situation. Jeffery was paddling Hueneme and I had a good mind to go there. I decided to just have a quick look at New Jetty. There was a small waist to chest high inconsistent peaky wave from the Jetty through the middle of the beach. For whatever reason the crowd was really light with only a handful of groms off the rocks and a few other randoms in the middle. I jumped in and was for the moment the heavy guy out there and had my pick of waves. Once again a real rarity out there these days. The groms that were out there, surf it all the time and they didn’t recognize me cause I seldom surf there. I used to surf there nearly everyday for years and know the wave in all its moods and today was no exception. I got in a tear and had a blast for about an hour. Then a fresh crew of groms and their trainers showed up along with Sage and a few others. That was my cue to bail. The water was a wee bit chilly in my 3/2. I need my 4/3 to dry so I can fix it. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where I had to move a bunch a stacks of pallets around with the forklift. Fun times!!!

8-23-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
I got word from Jeffery that it was looking pretty bad this morning. There has been solid waves for over a week so “bad” is a relative term. I got there and it was definitely slow with some light onshore wind on it. Still when a south set did come the lines were long and there were still six to ten waves in a set. Unfortunately it was sets or nothing making positioning very tricky. My time was short and rather then waste more of it looking for a similarly junky option I decided to paddle. Of course as I was pulling on my 4/3 Body Glove, which is six months old since I haven’t been able to get a suit since last fall thanks to Covid, the crotch seam came undone leaving me balls out. Luckily I had my back up 3/2 in my car. The water has been a little chilly and with the marine layer I knew I was going to be cold. I ran down to the Mouth and got a few ok ones. With the fat tide it was pretty mushy. Most waves were work-able all the way to the inside thanks to my trusty Huntington hop. It’s actually really good exercise and practice to surf in such conditions. The tide got higher and the wind more stiff. I ground out my twenty waves and called it a day. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

8-22-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
I had a later start then I would have liked thanks to pure exhaustion from days of hard surfing. After bribing my wife with a McDonald’s stop if she came film we were on our way. Loren met us at the Harbor. It was very crowded with easily seventy guys from knoll past the mouth, but more guys were leaving then were coming and there were plenty of peaks going by empty. We suited and headed towards the Mouth. There were still the occasional head high south sets but it was evident the swell was waning. The first half hour though a little slow cooked with long screaming lefts and short boost-able rights. Then as the high tide came up it began to get soft and very inconsistent. Then a bit of wind got in it too adding way more mush then one would like. For a moment we had a few peaks to ourselves. Then Robbie showed up with the late morning shift and it got a bit busy. At that point I had already got my fill. There was no sense in making my wife upset by forcing out another half hour in junk. It was breakfast time. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office. It’s official as of Friday I have been here one full year. One full year grinding away for peanuts at this horrible job. At the very least I have a job. Looks like it’s going to be a bit smaller this week but still plenty of south pulse and a NW wind swell too.

8-21-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 72
My wife was up early eager to shoot some decent surfing as opposed to all the junk we have been filming the majority of the summer. Don’t believe my IG pictures cause those are the absolute highlights. Loren and Jeffery hit me up. They both looked at Harbor and gave it less then stellar reviews and it was packed. I cruised to Shores where it wasn’t anything special either. Let me put it into perspective the past four days have been solid. Had I seen what was in front of me last week I would have ran back to my car and tore on my suit. The chest to head high inconsistent soft peaks with a steadily rising tide and a solid crowd didn’t particularly stoke me out. Loren missed yesterday and imparted his stoke on me and we paddled. Jeffery wasn’t feeling it and decided to cruise to Hueneme. My wife as a little bummed that she missed out on all the really good days and stuck with just left overs. I got in a rhythm and just began annihilate every damn wave that came my wish. I wish I had gotten into such a groove yesterday. Just my luck to peak two days before and the day after the epic day. Loren took out my Pop Fizz and got some decent ones too. Looks like it’s going to get pretty grovelly the next few days or so. Hope everyone got their fill this week. It certainly was crowded enough that I hope everyone for some.

8-20-21 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 72
I woke up to a text from Pat with a video of Shores absolutely going off. I fell back asleep being half asleep at the time thinking I dreamed it. I woke up again at 7:30 and sure enough it was real. I jumped out of bed, woke up Bizarro and we hurried out of the house. We got to Shores and though the tide had gotten a bit high there were well over head peaks up and down the beach and still some barrels. I didn’t want to waste the wind looking around and paddled. It was crowded though spread out. Sets were a little inconsistent. There were at least eight to twelve waves in set making plenty for everyone. Right off the bat I picked off five decent waves and a barrel. Then as we approached high tide the surf really began to slow down. Finding a good one with a wall was also difficult. I fought the good fight till the wind came up and definitely got my share. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office absolutely exhausted from a week of very decent surf, rarity around these parts. I hope you all scored too.

8-19-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 74
Last night I had a rough sleep. I don’t know if it was something I ate at Chili’s coming back to haunt me but man did I have some terrible heart burn. It kept me up most of the night. Needless to say I ended up sleeping in later then I would have liked not getting down to Ventura till 10:30. By the then the wind had come up out of the WSW and the high tide was taking its toll. Still there were plenty of over head bombs coming through and the wind had scared off the majority of the crowds. I ended up back at the Hotel. It was a little soft but there were bombing lefts and rights rolling through and it looked the cleanest out of anywhere I had looked. Loren met me and we had another solo session. It was way more inconsistent than yesterday and as the tide dropped instead of it getting more top to bottom it got more cottony as the sets were mushing on the outer bar then dumping on the inner bar. The rights were way better then the lefts and that was where I got the majority of my best waves. There were probably some better options to be had if I was on my game, but the lack of sleep took a toll on me. After the surf I headed home and relaxed on the couch and popped The North Shore into my DVD player and took it easy. Cooked up some tasty stuffed zucchini and summer squash for dinner.

8-18-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 39
Miles Driven: 76
There was a bit of car surfing this morning. I started at the Harbor where it was solid though a bit crowded and somewhat closed out and drifty. It started rain a bit and the wind came up hard out of the SW while checking it. Bizarro and I had met up with YouTube sensation and Clarks Surfboards team rider, Loren Bird to do a bit of filming. With Kevin Angers in Florida we needed someone to fill his giant shoes. If anyone is interested we are currently looking for team riders, must be able to surf at least as good as I do and have a sizable social media following. Message me for details. Since we couldn’t film in the rain and Harbor wasn’t stoking me out we cruised over to Shores for a look and checked both the north and south side. There was plenty of swell but lots of wind and stretched on most waves. We decided to have a look at Little Sunset to see if any swell was getting in there. It was perfectly clean and set up but only about two foot. Looking further up the beach at Hollywood we saw plenty of peaks and it was definitely cleaner then any place else so far. La Brea was larger but still looking sluggish. We had a look at the Hotel. It was solid head to even overhead on set. The current definitely looked rough. Most of the waves weren’t stretched. No one was out. We paddled and just did the drift and walk thing getting as many waves in front of the camera as we could. I ended up having a blast and even managed a few tubes. After two hours of that kind of surf Loren and I were exhausted. Biz was getting pretty wrecked by the sun as well. I called it a day while Loren went to Ventura Point and scored some bombs later that evening. I had to be back in SB by six to meet wife. My car needed servicing and we decided to go to dinner at Chili’s (my junk food guilty pleasure) while we waited.

8-17-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 64
Every dog has his day and today was finally mine. After the summer of let downs and so, so sessions I will say that this morning at Mouth was a complete score. I headed down to Ventura early cause I had to meet a customer for a board pick up. This put me at the Harbor just before nine. The place was packed, cars parked everywhere though still not as crowded as it was yesterday. I had a look and there were easily 75 plus guys from Knoll to the Mouth. There were also throwing, peaky, spitting barrels up and down the beach as far as the eye could see. That was enough for me to paddle. I just figured I would keep walking south till I found a peak to myself. Jeffery showed up and we did just that. About four hundred yards past the mouth almost to McGrath we found a series of peaks that were to our liking and what ensued was a full on barrel fest. I got more tubes in the first hour then I got all summer long and I am constantly looking for the barrel. There were decent sections to hit and boost too. I caught thirty two waves and I got shacked on twenty eight of those and made twenty five out of that twenty eight. When I left at 11:30 it was still clean and hallow. If I didn’t have work I would have surfed another two hours for sure. The Post Office needed me to do nothing for six out of the eight hours I work there. Sorry about yesterday’s unfinished blog post. I had started writing it before work and thought I saved the draft. Instead I published it by accident. The correct version has been live on the site since last night. Feel free to check it out.

8-16-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 72
Nothing frustrates me more then when Surfline over hypes a swell and causes every idiot and their brother, sister, mother etc to come to the beach and surf. Besides the fact that the waves were not nearly as good as I had hoped the crowds were stupid large. I heard the Harbor was fun and started there. I must have missed the window cause lots of guys were bailing and a stiff south wind was on it. Still there were peaks up and down the beach though it was mostly walled. I watched Ethan Osborn throw a couple of close out fly aways into the flats before I decided to have a look at the Shores. Considering that there was a bit more swell in the water I thought I’d scope out the north side of the Shores first. There were peaks but it was pretty weak. The bars still have a bit to go or we need a big swell for it to cook. There is definitely potential. Then I headed back to the south end where I have been surfing regularly as of late. It looked terrible, very walled with very few decent ones. By this point I had car surfed the bulk of my time away. I thought I saw a few at Emma driving down and figured with the incoming tide I might have a shot of getting some fun ones. It wasn’t happening there and apparently a bunch of guys had the same idea cause it was very crowded. Out of time I rolled the dice and kept heading north. I gave Pitas a Hail Mary check but it was small and too close the rocks. Finally I found myself at Father Johns, pretty much the end of the line except for Indicator and that would be a really big gamble. I threw a classic Lisanti surf tantrum up on the bluffs, kicked some rocks, punched the guard rail a few times then suited up and paddled the clean but meager waist plus south swell/ NW windswell combo. Actually when I first paddled out there were some decent south sets coming off the end of the rock wall of the Camp Ground at Faria. I even managed to get a proper left tube. That window only lasted about a half hour before the tide shut it down. I paddled up the beach to get a few more off the sand bars there before calling it. Truth be told I probably had more fun out there today then I did all weekend long. I got home and there was a plumber ripping up my walls and floor to replace the pipe that burst open yesterday. Turns out the pipe was there since 1966. He had to replace all of it. What a mess. At the very least we should be able to shower tomorrow morning. I kept the pipe just in case my dick head slum lord tries to charge me for the plumbing work. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

8-15-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 72
I guess that Friday the 13th bad luck streak continued right through the weekend for me. I was stoked when I woke up and saw that the wind was actually light and conditions glassy. I cruised to the Harbor. I don’t know if it was the tide being too low or the swell all mixed up, maybe a combination of both but it was just a mess at the Harbor. Crowded too. I watched it for twenty minutes, didn’t see anyone out of the forty plus guys out get one worthy wave and didn’t even see anything worth a paddle. I couldn’t even get a good picture on my phone and this is always my criteria to paddle a spot. Can I get a few good wave shots on my phone? Cause let’s face it the surf always looks better in a photo so if you can’t manage to take at least three good wave shots when checking it then it must really suck. I decided to head to Shores again, not that it was any good out there yesterday. Shores had slightly more shape with way less people. By then I was out of time and had to paddle no matter what. First wave I paddled into jacked up on the sand bar and I pulled in to a fun little tube. As I was coming out I got hit with some heavy backwash and fell. Upon coming up I noticed I had creased my board. This was a stringerless EPS board that I have been surfing off and on for over a year hard. I’m actually shocked it survived this long. Still it was one of my favorite boards and it’s always sad to loose a trusty member of the quiver…… (Moment of Silence)….. I didn’t want to break my momentum and paddled back out for a few more on the board. As long as I didn’t put my foot directly on the crease I could still surf the board alright. This lasted for six more waves including two barrels before it folded up on me landing a floater. I ran back to my car where all I had left was my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Model or Hacksaw Model. It was still about chest high and on the dumpy side so I went with the Hacksaw. Of course when I pulled it out of my bag all the wax had melted off the deck cause it’s been sitting in my car nearly every session for the last three weeks due to the tiny surf. It also had no fins in it. I had to do a full on pit crew speed set up before getting back out there. The board fiasco left me a tad bit winded and definitely broke my momentum. The wind coming up didn’t help either. In honesty I should have just quit when I creased my board cause nothing good came out of the back half of the session. Then my wife and I headed to the Golden Egg in Oxnard off Victoria, one of my favorite breakfast spots. They were slammed but were able to get us a two top outside. Usually the service is great but today they took forever and ate up the better part of my morning. An hour and half later it was one and I had to be back in SB for work at 2:30 but still needed to stop at my shop to pick up a board for a customer. When I got to the shop, my wife and I took her Jeep to fit the extra boards in, I left my keys in my car. Damn waste of time. Traffic was heavier then usual. I got home already late to work. Bizarro comes out to greet me with the news that a pipe bursted in the shower and his room was getting flooded with sewerage every time the people upstairs took a shower. Oh and yes I was fifteen minutes late to work. It’s a good thing I was going to the post Office to do nothing for eight hours. I hope that’s it for the gnarly devil Friday the 13th fun.

8-14-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 72
I think the cosmic calendar vs our actual calendar was a bit off and today actually was Friday the 13th either that or the bad luck hit me a day later. I got stuck working over time till 1am all weekend cause someone on the graveyard shift called out sick. This caused me to over sleep. Not that it mattered cause there was junk wind on it from early yet again today. Also there was a surf contest at Ventura harbor only adding to the annoying weekend crowds that usual clog that place. The kicker was waking up to a flat tire on my ride when I was already behind schedule. Some idiot broke a bunch of glass in the street In front of my building a few days ago. I assumed that Friday street sweeping would have taken care of it except another moron parked his car on the wrong side of the street rendering him a ticket but also not allowing the street sweeper to clean up the glass. I’m not blaming this on my flat 100%. The tire that went flat was also rather bald. My current shitty Covid economic state has not allowed me to be able to pamper my Civic Si the way I once was able too. To add injury to insult I literally just canceled my roadside assistance service a week ago when I was changing insurance policies. They raised the price making AAA the cheaper option and of course my AAA doesn’t kick in till next week. I don’t have a spare tire cause it’s a sports car and don’t want that extra weight. I was fucked all around. Luckily the only the thing that did go my way was that my neighbor was nice enough to allow me to use her account to tow my car to the tire place. By the time I got all this sorted out it was nearly ten. I raced down Oxnard Shores cause I had to meet a customer at my shop at noon to pick up board. By the time I got to the beach the wind had already trashed what could have been a pretty fun morning of surf with the still running south swell combo. Instead I surfed absolute wind blown crap. The only redeeming quality was the fact that no one was out as a result of how terrible the conditions were. I forced out 30 minutes to get credit for the day then handled my business. Now I’m sitting at the Post Office wondering if my cell phone charger cord is strong enough to hang myself with from the over head rafters. there is this ladder that goes up to a loft storage place that would be perfect for a hanging. If the cable breaks I will probably end up just breaking both my legs on impact with the concrete floor. The only thing that can make me more depressed at the moment would be failing at suicide and I’m also too lazy to climb the ladder. I suppose it will have to wait for another day. Awesome times here in Lisanti Land!!!

8-13-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 72
There was a bit more swell in the water then yesterday, a long period south and a short period tropical south east swell. Hoping it was going to cook somewhere I headed down south. I peeped Emma but there was some junky wind on it messing up what would have had potential. There was a fair amount of wind at the Harbor so I bypassed it and went straight to Shores where the wind wasn’t as bad. There was definitely a bit of swell out there in the chest plus range. Most of the sets were pretty stretched. Basically the wave was a race track that you may or may not have been able to fit in a decent close out maneuver. Then the tide filled in and it got backwash riddled. The wind also began to lay down right as I had to leave to go to work. On the way home Emma looked really fun as did Indicator. Oh well, at least I got a few. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office. Just in case you were wondering Bizarro was doing just fine with minimal discomfort from yesterday’s surgery today.

8-12-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 40
Miles Driven: 82
Bizarro had to get his wisdom teeth out at 8am and then needed someone to stay with him after to make sure he was alright after the surgery. I was stuck in SB till noon, which was fine since the waves were shitty anyway and I got to watch more of the Comp which was rather exciting thanks to all the upsets. At noon my neighbor showed up to hang with Biz so I could get my surf in. Jeffery had surfed Hueneme earlier and said it was worth a paddle if I couldn’t find anything better. I stopped and looked at Emma and New Jetty. Both were small and weak thus I cruised to Hueneme which was a carbon copy of yesterday except a little bigger on the sets. I ran down by the rocks again and had a peak all to myself where I got on a froth and tore up forty waves. Needless to say was I was exhausted and decided to head home to watch comp highlights instead of doing a bit of shaping. All I had to shape were my own personal boards anyway.

8-11-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 82
The wind was on it early. I had a look at New Jetty and it very crowded for how small it was, heck it was crowded in general. Emma was small and the point looked weak. I cruised to Hueneme on a Hail Mary. Though only waist to chest the wind was side shore/offshore and it was peaky. I ran down by the Jetty and basically pin balled between the right and left peak that were running into each other. Jeffery showed up and we enjoyed the bowly little wedges to ourselves. After that I cruised home to watch the Mexico comp.

8-10-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
Maybe complaining about yesterday’s waves was a bad idea. Though it was more peaky this morning and less stretched it was also way more inconsistent and weak. Word must have got out too cause it was three time as crowded as yesterday. I walked way down past the mouth again and did my best to make the most of what was coming in. I definitely got into a rhythm today and actually stuck a fair amount of maneuvers for how weak it was. I was feeling good out there till Ryan showed up and decided to attempt to burn me on a wave I was twenty yards deeper then him on, then proceeded to hassle me for the shitty peak I had been surfing by myself all morning. I don’t know what that dudes problem is. It was a good reminder why I stopped surfing with him. I just paddled to another peak and still proceeded to get better waves then him. I just hope this doesn’t become a common occurrence. Surf and let surf is how I have been trying to live since the Covid crowds took over. The tide began to turn it off and it was close to when I had to bail for work anyway. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office. Can’t wait to go home and watch the comp highlights from Barra.

8-9-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 64
I’m plan was to go to Shores first and figure it out from there. Then I got a call from Jeffrey that Shores was just about not surf-able and he was paddling Rivermouth. Only a half hour ahead of me I decided to heed his advice and paddled mouth. There were some ok south sets every twenty minutes or so though a bit stretched with small in betweeners to keep you busy. When a actual set came through it was about chest plus. The better sand was focused almost on the other side of the Mouth. I did two drifts starting far south and surfing my way just to the top of Knoll. It was still a bit grindy out there and as the tide filled in things began to turn off. Considering the garbage I have been surfing the past few days I had an ok time. The crowd was on the lighter side too and the wind stayed down. Looks like more small south swells for the week. Rest of my day was spent at the Post Office. Just another day in the life.

8-8-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 72
I had slightly higher expectations for the surf this morning causing my to have less motivation when staring at the once again barely surf-able weak knee to waist high crumblers coming through. My Lisanti 365 campaign must continue despite the ocean’s reluctance to cooperate. The Shores was a bit cleaner then Harbor though maybe a tad smaller thus I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and jammed out there. I met up this dude Shane, a fellow blog reader and all around chill dude. He had hit me up a week ago or so wanting to get a surf with me and I’m always stoked to oblige when asked. Too bad we couldn’t have gotten better surf. That being said it was actually more then I had expected. After the surf my wife and hit up Hugo’s in Carpinteria for breakfast. It has fast risen to the top of my favorite luncheonette. I highly recommend checking it out. The rest of my day was spent watching my life slip away from me on the government’s nickel at the Post Office.

8-7-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 64
My expectations for this morning absolutely zero. I was pleasantly surprised that the wind stayed down for a change. It would have been nice if the conditions had coincided with one of the better days of surf this week, but that’s how it goes. I pulled up to Ventura Harbor and Robbie was suiting up. It was definitely just some tiny trace south crumblers and the tide was on the rise. I hadn’t surf with Robbie in a bit and didn’t want to waste the clean wind looking around so I paddled. It was way more weak then it looked. I should have rode my fish yet opted for my grovel short board. It also very inconsistent and the water was still chilly. For the most part it was just a surf to catch up with my boy, besides that it was laughable at best just like the majority of the summer. I finally finished the YouTube edit from my Mexico trip. Check it out on the Clarks Surfboards YouTube Channel.

8-6-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
I thought the wind was going to stay down today. Then a fog bank rolled in along with hard onshore wind at the beaches. New Jetty was surf-able though crowded for what was out there. I headed back to Emma which was also crowded but seemed like it was the best bet. It was way more weak then it looked and the crowded doubled when I paddled out with really on one peak happening. Then after about forty minutes it completely turned off leaving everyone fighting for deplorable scraps. Biz showed up to film right as it turned off thus I doubt we got anything worth while. The rest of my day was spent back hating my life at the Post Office.

8-5-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 82
The wind was howling early trashing all the beach breaks. Emma was packed yet again. I heard Hueneme was fun yesterday and thought I’d have a look. I had to shape down in Ventura anyway. I had a look down by the rocks with my binoculars and saw a dude drop into a head high plus wedge. It was enough to stoke me out for a paddle. I got out to the Jetty and I find out the dude I saw was a four foot tall grom making the a bit smaller then I had hoped. Still it was kill-able chest plus left and right wedges coming through. In classic Hueneme fashion there were way more close outs then it let on. After about 30 minutes a crew of guys on longboards and soft tops came out and hogged just about every wave or got in the of every wave that came through forcing me down the beach a bit where there was less wind protection and even more close outs. I guess I should have just fought the crowd at Emma. The rest of my afternoon was spent shaping. I had to quite early cause my wife snagged us two free tickets the the Fiesta party at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The last time we went was in 2019 and it was a wild time. Thanks to Covid making a serious comeback according to the News an event that usually hosts over 300 people was lucky to get over fifty. On the bright side the lines for food and drink were short. I have never eaten so much food at that event. We were stoked to be a part of one of the few remaining events that wasn’t canceled this year.

8-4-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 64
Two days in a row at New Jetty! I must be desperate. Once again Emma was packed with the majority of the guys that surf New Jetty leading me to believe I might be able to get it fairly manageable crowd wise. It was about chest plus and windy though the lines had enough definition to surf. There were only about ten guys out, no one of any consequence. I paddled while Biz filmed. It was pretty inconsistent and the only waves worth anything were the sets. I pulled a size-able gap air that made the session worth it. I heard Base was solid not that it did me any good.

8-3-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 64
Another day of shitty on shore wind and an under performing south swell. From SB to Emma it looked like there was more wind swell in the water then anything else. I swung around and had a look at Emma. It was still tiny and weak. The six guys out definitely were not selling it. Despite the wind I headed to the Harbor. River Mouth and Knoll were all torn up. New Jetty has a terrible waist plus left coming in and was not too crowded for that spot. There was only about ten guys or so out. I was out of time and options and decided to give it a paddle. Actually right off the bat I snagged four decent waves. Then more guys showed up and the waves completely turned off as low tide set in. I did my best to scrap out a few more but the good ones were few and far between plus were hitting all over the place. I’m off tomorrow and am determined to get fun surf some place. The rest of my day was spent wasted for dollars at the Post Office.

8-2-21 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 72
There was a slight rise in the south swell this morning leaving me with a shred of hope that I might find something fun to surf. Of course the wind was on it trashing all the Ventura beaches. I headed back to Emma where I saw at least one south set when I had drove by earlier. What ever I thought I saw wasn’t. I headed over to Father Johns, another spot that always seems to look better then it is from the freeway. It was mostly small junky local wind swell with the occasional south pulse. Out of time I had to paddle. As usual it was way worse then it looked out there, a common Johns occurrence. I did manage to smash a few lefts before throwing in the towel. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

8-1-21 AM Session: 0-1 ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 72
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse then what I surfed yesterday the ocean manage to top itself for some of the worst conditions I have ever surfed any place. Today was Kevin and Vanessa Angers last day living in California as of 11pm tonight they will be on a plane to begin a new chapter of their life as Floridians. I’m bummed to be losing my favorite surf buddy but at the same time stoked to get a foot in the door of the North Florida surfboard market. Look out Atlantic Beach Clarks Surfboards is coming to town. My wife and I decided to buy their Jeep Patriot from them. My wife needed a fresh ride and it’s a great vehicle to transport boards and blanks with. After we said our good byes we headed back to the Shores where the waves were absolutely pathetic and it was windy. I had a hard time discerning what was wind chop and tiny south pulses. I fought the good fight on my Pop Fizz and managed a couple of turns before throwing in the towel and heading to Carpinteria for lunch at my new favorite luncheonette, Hugos. I’m telling you it’s a must stop for breakfast or lunch. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.