Surfing Ruined My Life

August 2022 Surf Sessions

8-9-22 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 2
If there ever was a day to skip today was it. The waves were by far the smallest I have seen in a while. I saw a few lines on Rockside that looked fun for my fish. As it turned out the waves were way more weak then I had thought and could barely push me on my fish. The water was still cold and I was feeling rather drained. After the surf I was very weak. So much so that I had to come home and lay down the rest of the day. By the afternoon I had come down with a fever and was forced to cancel a private pizza party I was catering in Montecito. Luckily another chef friend of mine was able to cover. I was very nervous that Covid might have decided to pay me another visit.

8-8-22 AM Session: 1-2+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 2
The flat spell continued this morning with more meager surf and cold water. South side of the pier had a little bump and I decided to revisit the SPF fish from Clarks Surfboards this time in the closed out wedgey beach break of Hueneme. It worked rather well all things considered though I am beginning to think that I made the board just a hair too small. Might make another one in 5’3. It was a solid grovel for sure. The rest of my day was spent shaping.

8-7-22 AM Session: 1-2+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 2
Today the surf was god awful. It was barely waist high, the wind was already on it, the waves were gutless and the water was freezing. I only paddled cause my wife was being annoying and decided I’d punish her by making her sit there and film my pathetic ass pumping and forcing half turns on my fish. The waves were definitely as bad as they looked. That being said I set up my Clarks Surfboards Mr. Pocket Model as a Tri fin and managed a few fun ones. My knee was still bothering me from yesterdays little arial mishap. After the surf we got some brunch then spent the afternoon exploring the Channel Islands Maritime Museum at Hollywood Beach. It’s a fun little museum totally worth a visit.

8-6-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
I got a call from Pat that he was paddling in front of my house and it looked the best out of anyplace in Ventura. One rule I always have is that if one of my boys is surfing my beach then Im for sure paddling. He was out on the north side of the Pier. The wind was up but it was still more side shore then on shore and very peaky. The water was absolutely freezing. I’m talking upper 50’s. I tweaked my knee attempting to land an air on my second wave and my back foot fell off the tail of my board. This always a very dangerous way to fall and the cause of some of the worst surf injuries. I took it easy for the remainder of the session. The rest of my day was spent in the shaping room mowing some foam.

8-5-22 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 38
Considering the smaller swell I had high hopes for the VTA beaches. The had another plan for me, which decided to come up by early in the morning. I grabbed Bizarro and we headed to Leo to get some clips of me riding the new Clark’s Surfboards SPF Fish performance twin fin. I have been messing around with this model for over a year now and finally have it to the point where I’m ready to officially sell it as a model, though I have built quite a few for customers already that have requested it. It’s a really fun board to ride. The crowd was busy for what it was though somewhat accessible. I got into my LA savage mode and found a bunch of fun. The surf was a bit on the weaker side. Thanks the the SPF Fish I had no issue. After the surf I headed up to SB with my wife to attend the Santa Barbara Fiesta Rodeo. I had never been to a rodeo before and was quite interested in the experience. What an experience it was too. I don’t know if I found the events or the crowd more entertaining. My favorite was the Mutton Busters. They put these tiny children on the backs of sheep and the kids hold on for dear life while the sheep runs along the arena. It was fun stuff. I’m not sure I’ll ever go to another rodeo but it was fun and definitely worth a visit if you have never been to one.

8-4-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 70
It was to quite the busy day. I wanted to score some south well left overs, my had to find a dress for the Santa Barbara Zoo’s Fiesta Party and we had to attend said party later that evening. Of course Ventura was windy as it’s been this entire swell. My wife likes to shop at the Thousand Oaks Mall thus I used that opportunity to have her come down to Malibu with me and then hit up the mall after. Bu was on with solid head plus surf, glassy and pretty consistent for waves to crowd ratio. That being said there were still around a hundred or so guys out. As usual in an LA crowd I go into what I like call savage mode where I just paddle for anything and everything and at times burn guys who most likely wouldn’t have made it. Kook entitlement doesn’t fly with me. When it’s firing and crowded you have to earn your spot in the line-up. Shelling out $900 for a Pyzel or Channel Islands after barely surfing two years isn’t going to get you a set wave. Maybe if you bought a Clarks Surfboard it might, just kidding, you still have to earn that spot. I managed a bunch of fun ones and surfed well for a change. From the surf we headed to the mall and found the perfect dress for my wife at the second store we went to in under two hours. I’d say that was a success. As for Zoo party that was a whole shit show in itself. First off post pandemic the crowd was the largest I had ever seen there and it was my fifth party there. It was also the first year they served hard liquor which translated to lots of sloppy people all night long. Did I mention it was an open bar. Kudos to the Rosewood Miramar for having the best food. Though all the vendors really did go above and beyond this year. I’d say it was the best opening Fiesta party I have attended.

8-3-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 38
With Frank winding down and the long period south still showing I was in high hopes that the beaches might be the ticket. There was a funk on it and the waves were still coming in stretched on the Nard and VTA beaches. I got word the Sea Cliffs zone was significantly smaller. The 2nd Peak cam looked decent enough so I cruised to LA. The wind had turned stiff south when I got to Leo and the Malibu cam wasn’t looking so great. I had noticed that the backside of County Line was trying to do it’s left point break imitation. I cruised back for a look and the wave was clean and peeling left albeit a little fast. There were only a few guys on it thus I paddled. As it turned out it was one of those rare times where that wave was very fun. I got on a tear. Towards the end of my surf this dude burned me on a decent one and proceeded to keep cruising. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction and decided to just stay right under him so he was unable to get anything off. Then he has the nerve of accusing me of back paddling. I told him he could either cry about it or meet me on the beach. Instead he just paddled away. I surfed a little longer till the incoming tide killed it. The rest of my day was spent running errands. I had a look at Hueneme again in the evening. There was wind on it and the waves were still a bit too stretched. Maybe tomorrow morning the beaches will be fun.

8-2-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 38
Day 2 of the Tropical Storm Frank swell was once again disappointing. Bizarro and I started out checking Hueneme. It was macking, maybe some of the biggest Hueneme I had ever seen. The waves were all over the place, current gnarly and there were lots of close outs. There were two challengers on it and I did see one get shacked completely off his ass. I just didn’t have it in me to take that kind of punishment to maybe get one or two if I was lucky. Instead we cruised north. Shores was fat and junky. The wind was on it at the Harbor. I got a call from Ryan that he saw some alright waves along Sea Cliffs with light crowds. After looking around Father Johns on the backside of Pitas proved to be the best wave I had seen all morning. To its credit it was about as good as it gets at that spot on a south swell. There was a little bit of a WNW cross wind on it. I had feeling it would hold down for at least and hour. Ryan, his son Evan and I paddled while Biz filmed. The waves were pretty fast and down the line. When I did connect with a runner there were some sections to be had. Ryan and Even bailed after a few waves for Hobson’s. I was getting on a roll and surfed another hour and change. I just got in the zone and brought down a few different technical airs. More the. Anything it just felt good to not be sitting in a stupid crowd, although still with only a handful of guys out there were a couple of kooks who still managed to blow a few waves on me. Later that evening I met up with Dave and we cruised to the Base. It was solid but the tide just a little too high. There were a few and in hindsight I should have given it a paddle, but between the backwash and weird wonk I think it would have been more trouble then it was worth thus we opted not to paddle.

8-1-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 56
The tropical swell from Frank final got here this morning. Of course it was also a let down. In Ventura the wind was on it by 9am and the swell was smaller then hoped and stretched at most of the beaches. Over that Bizarro and I cruised to LA hoping to find something to film that wasn’t stupid crowded. That wasn’t a possibility as all the decent spots were packed. Had it not been for an epic overhead six wave set I witnessed at Zeros I may not have even surfed. By this point in the morning my frustration levels were pretty high. But this particular set had me frothing. Zeros actually looked like a left point. I tore on my suit and was out there. That set never came again. Instead I was battling a cut throat kooky crowd for stretched close outs, mushy lefts and wonky insiders. I only rode three waves that I wasn’t burned on and that was because I picked those off so far on the inside no one could get them. On wave I burned some dude and then three other guys burned us. At first I was rather pissed off. Then I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and began just doing stupid things behind the guys that were in front of me. The highlights were an ally-oop, a big carving 360, a blow tail and an air reverse that got away from me with end result being my board completely took out the guy in front. After an hour the wind had began to get on it. Dealing with the crowd was one thing. Dealing with the wind and the crowd, forget it. I threw in the towel. Biz and I picked up some ribs and threw them in the smoker. At the very least we can eat well. I spent my afternoon tinkering around in my shaping room.