Surfing Ruined My Life

August 2026 Surf Sessions

8-24-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Thornhill
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 26
I had to watch my kid today because my nanny got stuck in Indianapolis due to a cancellation of her flight home from dropping her son off at Notre Dame.  This left me a very limited window for surf.  AJ and I headed south and noticed that there was definitely some real potential at Thornhill but it was looking a bit stretched and dumpy.  I thought that County Line could have been better.  It was too high tide and crowded. Back to Thornhill was the call.  The coconut wireless was in full effect as there were about a dozen guys on it.  There were plenty of peaks and we found one to ourselves.  At first finding an open face was difficult but then perfect left and right crossed up corners started rolling in.  There were barrels, really hallow barrels.  I managed three solid tubes and a few head dips.  The session was without a doubt an inadvertent score.  The rest of my day was spent in the service of entertaining a very fussy one year old.  We had a blast playing together. 

8-23-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 41
Today was Sunday or as we like to call it family day.  It was a perfect beach day.  With the waves being piss poor here at home I loaded my wife and kid in the car and we cruised south to meet AJ at Thornhill.  It was mostly dumpy closed out corners with just a handful of guys spread out.  Thinking we might get another sneaker day at Zeros I decided to roll the dice.  The call was bad because the line up was packed.  I was out of surf checks.  My kid was over being in the car and my wife was getting frustrated.  Zeros was it and thus we put our battle armor on and dealt with the crowd.  Everyone out was pretty frothy making it a shit fight to get set waves.  AJ and I decided to just sit inside and scrap while being entertained by the carnage on the outside.  It was definitely comical.  My wife and baby were getting too hot on the beach so I came in and we headed home.  Our afternoon was super mellow with some kiddie pool time for Adagio followed by a nap.  

8-22-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 41
There’s no place like home and you know I really do love the surf territory I call my home.  My knowledge of all the breaks a fifty mile radius around my house runs deep.  Therefore if there is a ride-able wave to be surfed I know where to score it.  AJ came and snagged me and we headed south to try and capitalize on the fresh minor south swell filling in.  County was packed as was Leo.  Zeros had the best wave to crowd ratio even if the tide was a bit fat for it.  What started as a desperation paddled quickly became a rather fun surf.  I got home and spent a few hours with my family post surf. My evening was spent working a small anniversary party in Camarillo. 

8-21-26 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 32
I woke hoping to grab one last surf in Baja as this trip was definitely not a score wave wise.  There was a thick marine layer out front and from what I could tell the surf was even smaller than yesterday.  My wife was eager to get an early start crossing the border.  Rather than drive around hunting for sub par waves I agreed figuring we could probably sort something out in San Diego with the little bit of wind swell still in the water. We actually lucked out with a not too long wait getting to customs.  When we were asked if we were bringing back any food my wife said that we had a bag of oranges.  We bought these oranges in the States so we figured it wouldn’t be a problem.  We got sent to secondary where we lost two hours while our car was searched, we were scolded and our oranges confiscated.  I’m sure that customs agent is still enjoying those oranges right now.  From the boarder we headed straight to Mission beach.  I had my fingers crossed it would be at least as fun as when I surfed there on Tuesday.  Instead it was about waist plus with onshore wind, mushy and crowded.  I couldn’t find the motivation to paddle and I knew my wife really wanted to get back to see our son.  I threw in the towel and we went back to Chula Vista to hang out with Adagio before packing up and headed home to Oxnard after dinner.  Leave it to a surf trip to actually cause me to surf less than I do at home.  San Diego is one of the surf zones I understand the least about.  I’m sure somewhere was fun but I wouldn’t know where with my limited surf knowledge of the zone. Photo from a very sad small gutless mission beach.

8-20-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, La Salina, Baja California
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 16 (from K55)
All that was showing was local wind swell leaving just the beach breaks as options this morning. The failed harbor project at La Salina was producing a strange but wedgey left off of the north Jetty.  I had gotten this wave really fun about five years ago and since that time I had checked it on just about every trip down here but the spot wasn’t able to produce a decent wave.  I was stoked to get to revisit the wave.  In five years the mouth of the Harbor has completely filled up with sand making it impassable for marine craft and the Jetty has begun to fall apart as well.  The left off the knuckle of the jetty was solid chest to head plus but definitely more closed out and dumpy they one would like.  The rip current out there was gnarly.   I was constantly being forced outside and into rocks and on the inside I was being forced into the beach which made paddling back out a real struggle.  That being said there were some tubes to be had, excellent air sections and the occasional left hand runner.  I had the place all to myself.  After the surf we stuffed our faces with lobster at Puerto Nuevo. My wife and I decided we wanted to play a round of golf at Baja Mar.  We didn’t have any golf attire and cruised to the Walmart in Rosarito.  If you have never been to a Mexican Walmart it’s quite the experience.  The place was packed and to get in the parking lot you have to take a ticket from a kiosk sort of thing.  We found some ghetto golf clothes that were definitely way cheaper than it would have been if we were to buy them in the pro shop.  I got out of there with pants and a polo for under $400 pesos ($20) and some fun Mexican candy that caught my eye on the check out line.  When we tried to leave the lot we ran into a bit of difficulty.  Apparently we were supposed to pay for the parking in the store.  Of course we didn’t find this out till we were at the exit kiosk.  This caused quite the back up and commotion in the lot that luckily a kind hearted parking attendant was able to rectify for us.  Maybe the hassle wasn’t worth the savings?  After all that we finally got to play golf.  These days I get so little time on the links that I cherish every moment. The golf course itself was rather well kept and the cliff side ocean views were incredible.  As far as play was concerned in my opinion it was a rather easy playing par 4.  We enjoyed really enjoyed it.  Our evening was spent with a nice glass of wine and a pleasant sunset.  There’s nothing like a quick Baja vacation to recharge the soul.

8-19-26 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 50 (from K55)
Leave it to a surf trip to ruin a three month run of surfing everyday.  My wife and I got a later start than I would have liked but we had terrible night of sleep thanks to the heat and rock hard guest bed at my sister in law’s.  Even Adagio was uncomfortable and that kid will sleep anywhere.  By the time we crossed the boarder it was noon and the wind already up. There was a minor south swell/ wind swell mix in the water.  I probably should have just paddled K38.  My wife was with me and I wanted to film which you really can’t do from that spot thanks to the giant condo on the cliff.  The surf was trash at K55 where we were staying. I decided to roll the dice and head to San Miguel hoping the wind swell would be surf-able there.  Unfortunately I didn’t take into account the high tide which rendered the spot un-surf-able breaking right on the rocks.  The call was to go hang out in Ensenada for a few hours to kill some time and allow for the tide to drop.  There were a few museums my wife wanted to check out.  Our first stop was an art museum.  They were in the middle of an installation so only one gallery was open.  Across the street there was a science museum that had real human bodies on display.  I’m not talking just skeletons.  There were bodies with the skin peeled off and you could see all the muscles and insides.  Organs were on display.  It was gnarly.  My wife couldn’t handle it and left.  I must say that even for me it was a little bit off putting.  The rest of the museum was pretty much a natural history museum.  Around 4 pm we headed back to San Miguel and though the tide was lower the waves were still breaking really close to the rocks.  We hung round there till about five to see if the waves would turn the corner but they never did.  We bailed and headed back to K55 which had a small wave at the point that wasn’t very enticing and a closed out dumpy chest high wave on the beach break.  I threw in towel and enjoyed the sunset from the balcony of our rental with my wife. Tomorrow is another day. Below is a photo of the weak beach break I decided to not surf.

8-18-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Mission Beach, San Diego
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 32 (from Chula Vista)
We drove down to San Diego at around 8ish last night not getting there til around 11:30.  This strategy works best with Adagio cause he ends up sleeping the majority of the ride making it easy for us.  The only downside is that my late night stamina isn’t what it used to be so the drive takes a lot out of me.  Normally we spend one day in SD so my wife can catch up with her mom.  Meanwhile I usually cruise out to blacks and surf all day.  This morning my wife and I had an 8am appointment near the border to get our Sentri Passes.  We figured since we spent so much time in Baja why not make our lives easier and stop wasting three plus hours in the borderline.  The interview was easy and hopefully we will be cleared to get our passes.  After which we decided to collect Adagio and my mother in law and all head down to the beach.  I wanted to go surf Imperial beach but everyone objected due to the questionable water quality.  We settled on Mission Beach instead.  I had actually never surfed there but I know Angers does regularly when he is in town.  Down by the Jetty there were some dumpy bowly left and right corners to be had thanks to the short period wind swell.  It was glassy and the crowd was right.  I paddled while Adagio frolicked on the beach and in the water.  At first it was a little tricky figuring out where the surf-able face on the wave was with all the short period swell.  Then I started figuring it out and the place became a skate park. I’d say it was a pretty fun family beach day.  Then we went back to Chula Vista and kicked at my sister in law’s house the rest of the day.  I’m definitely looking forward to Baja tomorrow.

8-17-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 41
The fun little run of south swell we had experienced over the weekend was on the way down but there was a minor short period NW wind swell on the rise.  This would have made for fun Oxnard or Ventura beach break conditions except that the onshore NW wind was already on it by 8am.   Rather than waste anytime on our zone AJ and I cruised south down the PCH hoping for something fun.  County and Leo were packed and whatever.  Zeros was also nothing too exciting but at the very least the crowd was lighter than any place else.  I figured with high tide coming and adverse wind the crowd would only get more mellow.  Zach showed up and we all paddled.  I was wrong about the crowd which tripled in about the first twenty minutes we were there.  It was an annoying crowd where guys were constantly getting in the way.  The wind swell was breaking up the south swell too much creating weird sections.  The onshore wind made the place more mushy than usual.  I was having a hate session.  If not for my last few waves I would have walked away a little frustrated.  The rest of my day was spent getting myself squared away for my Baja trip tomorrow.  A few days in northern Baja always does me a great deal of good though as of press time it doesn’t look like there will be anything more than some wind swell. 

8-16-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
What a  fun playful south swell this has been and it came along with clean conditions here in Oxnard.  We were greeted with chest to head high plus peaky, glassy waves and some barrels.  Hollywood was way more busy than usual.  I kind of expected that because a few guys had reached out to me saying they heard Hollywood was good yesterday.  When word gets out it gets out. Surfers sadly are mostly just a bunch of sheep.  It’s a big beach and everyone was spread out on their own peaks.  AJ, Bryce and I also found our own peak as well.  My friend Bryce has a daughter just one month older than Adagio so we decided to do a group family beach day and let the kids meet.  They had a blast, as did we on the super fun surf.  I had a couple of really fun throaty tubes.  AJ was frothing. I don’t think I have ever seen him catch so many waves . Bryce got the best backside tube of his life as he put it.  Everyone was having a blast.  If you looked up and down the beach all you saw were surfers getting fun waves.  The only down side was the water had gotten a tad chiller than it has been.  It was still very warm for us but people who chose to go bare back or in a shorty were definitely cold.  Towards the end off my surf our good vibes were tarnished by this supposed Silver Strand local whom I’ve maybe see out there and in Oxnard a handful of times at best, paddled out and blatantly burned me on a really good one.  Dude looked back at me and maliciously went.  I looked at him when he kicked out and threw my arms up in the “wtf” fashion.  Then he starts barking at me about the whole Strand incident that happened at the Ship last October when I yelled at a couple upper teens for back paddling and the situation got completely blown out of proportion.  My family’s safety was threatened, sides were drawn and rather than letting things escalate further I just decided to not surf out at Strand for the rest of the winter.  I don’t give a damn about myself.  I’m always ready to throw down if need be.  Violence should always be a last resort but unfortunately we live in a violent society and at times it’s a necessary evil.  My family are just innocent bystanders to all this surf macho nonsense that I’m also commonly guilty of.  I gave up the Ship for the safety of my wife and son.  This morning we were at Hollywood and no one has the right to regulate two spots.  I’m tired of this bs.  I have been dealing with it for almost a year.  I had some words dude said he should “slap the shit out of me”.  To that I responded let’s take it to the beach and as usually that’s when he backed off.  The whole incident ruined the rest of my day.  To be honest I’m still pretty bummed about it. I’m coming back to the Ship this season and I’m ready to face whomever wants to come at me. The rest of my afternoon I played with my son in the yard. I only hope I can raise him to be a better man than myself and these other clowns. 

8-15-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
Fresh long period south swell had moved in over night gracing us with chest plus sets and glassy conditions.  Though a little bit stretched and backwashy with the higher tide there were still some really quality corners to track down.  There were also barrels. My first two waves were absolute drainers.  Then I got out of sync and seemed to be only getting close outs.  I got seriously worked on a throaty set wave trying to hit the end section.  The wave bottomed out on my re-entry and I fell six feet over the falls then got axed by the cascading lip.   The wind got knocked out of me on impact.  Then I swallowed a bunch of water.  My lungs hurt for the rest of the session and the wipeout for sure reeled in my charge.  The tide started to get pretty high but there were still good ones to be had.  AJ and I caught a few more and went in.  The rest of my day was spent working a wedding for 150 people with eleven passed appetizers.  It was also a plated affair.  As usual we pulled it off without a hitch.

8-14-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 18
Today was finally a glassy morning in Ventura with some waves.  AJ and I decided to roll the dice and headed over to Ventura Harbor to try our luck at the River Mouth.  Though a bit fat with the tide there were some very rip-able waist to chest high waves to be had with only a handful of guys out.  From what I gathered in the parking lot everyone was spooked by a few adolescent great white sharks lurking just past the line up.  I have been surfing out at the River Mouth for the past twenty years.  I have seen plenty of sharks out there and wasn’t about to let it ruin my morning surf.  While out there AJ and I did see a few six foot sharks breaching about 100 yards outside of us.  All I can say is thanks for the crowd control boys, keep up the good work.  My bid Steven paddles out and I hadn’t seen in months.  I got on a real heater and dismantled every wave that came my way.  Towards the end of the session the high tide had really began to turn it off, add a bit of onshore wind and I was over it.   The rest of my afternoon was spent painting a board for a customer.

8-13-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 41
The minor south swell that we have been taking advantage of (by that I mean actually being able to grovel something) went more south in angle.  I had hoped this might make for a better day of surfing but instead it just seemed to be more inconsistent.  County and Zeros were packed with very few waves coming through.  Believe it or not Leo was actually the best option for wave to crowd ration.  Also if I have to sit in a crowd anywhere I’ll usually pick Leo because there is only one real take off zone so if you sit deep and wait your turn no one is going to back paddle or burn you 90% of the time.  If I’m going to wait in a crowd for a wave it may as well be a long wave I can average five plus turns on.  On higher tides which this morning was, a 4.5 ft at 11am, the small ones can be super fun runners on the inside.  I spent my session grabbing an outside set wave.  Then I would sit on the inside and froth a couple of small ones before going back outside and repeating the cycle.  I was feeling pretty tired from last night’s catering gig.  When my last wave took me all the way to the inside I decided to call it a day.  My afternoon was spent glassing and sanding surfboards.  

8-12-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 40
I had a very short window to surf this morning.  My son had a doctor’s appointment in Santa Barbara at 1pm.  AJ and I just paddled County Line where there  was a surprisingly fun amount south swell lines coming in thanks to the tide push.  I sat on the reef and was enjoying having the place basically to myself.  I was definitely getting some fun ones.  It didn’t take long til I got mobbed by twenty guys.  These surfers didn’t really impede my wave count as I was still better in tune with the ocean and picked off whatever I wanted.  The problem was all these clueless randoms were constantly getting in my way.  I got over it and paddled to the beach break for a few more before leaving.  I’d say it might have been the best waves I’ve seen yet this week.  I got home with just enough time to grab some lunch with my wife, after which we loaded up Adagio and headed to Santa Barbara.  When we got to the doctor office it turns out our appointment was rescheduled to next week.  It was pretty annoying considering all the coordination it takes to actual get there.  I had to work an event in Goleta at 5pm so we decided to go up to Goleta Beach and salvage the afternoon with some beach fun in the sun and surf.  We had a splendid time. My gig that evening was a piece of cake.  Since we served cake for dessert one could say it was one of the few times where I had my cake and ate it too.

8-11-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zuma
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 54
More high tide and small waves had AJ and I basically desperation paddle Zuma.  Conditions were very glassy with the occasional three wave chest high set.  Unfortunately the waves were very stretched with little to no corners.  The first forty minutes of the session I basically caught nothing worth anything and was getting rather frustrated.  Then as the tide began to drop there was about a thirty minute window where I was able to rustle up some corners and even pulled into and came out of a little tube.  This cute grom about eleven or twelve years old paddled out and was super respectful and he surfed well.  It’s nice to see some younger kids lately who still understand the etiquette and respect that surfing entails.  My afternoon was spent glassing Surfboards. 

8-10-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 38
Small and crowded was pretty much all that was on offer at County Line this morning.  I started over on the beach break but with the higher tide the waves were mostly just dumpy shore break with little scoring potential.  After a few waves I had noticed an occasional right breaking up on the reef.  I paddled up there to suss it out.  Every fifteen minutes or so a one wave chest high set would come through and run down the reef.  It was moving fast and breaking over very shallow water but I was able to keep pace with it and blast the occasional lip.  I also bounced off the rocks more than once.  At the very least I didn’t ding my board.  The water was crazy clear.  I felt like I was in an aquarium or snorkeling.  I could see all of the reef, sea weed and lots of colorful fish of all sizes.   I guess all that warm water has caused more tropical fish to come out to this area.  It was really cool and made the session worth while.  My afternoon was spent sanding and glassing surfboards.

8-9-26 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 10
Today was a most excellent surprise of waist to chest high glassy south swell/ NW wind swell crossed up peaks.  Hollywood was almost too peaky.  Being that it was a nice hot sunny morning I decided to wear my short sleeve 2mm full suit.  As soon as I jumped in the water I was in for a rude awakening.  The wind swell must have brought in some cold water cause I was freezing.  I caught as many waves as I possibly could in order to stay warm.  This accounts for my higher than usual wave count.  I had a blast just surfing with AJ with not another surfer in sight.  I like the consistency, conditions and spots off the PCH down in LA but the crowd really starts to wear on my soul.  Sessions like this morning recharge my surf stoke.   The rest of my day was spent with my family.  Adagio had a swim in his kiddie pool followed by a romp at the local play ground. 

8-8-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 41
There was a slight bump up in the south swell this morning though I must emphasize the word slight.  My time window was short due to having to work a wedding in Santa Barbara later on.  After helping pack up my wife and Adagio for the Santa Barbara Children’s Fiesta Parade I needed to get going as well.  With limited time County Line was the call.  AJ and I saw this guy on a log ride a chest high wave all the way in and paddled.  Those waves were few and far between and I don’t think I ever saw one quite like the one that provoked us to paddle in the first place.  At the very least we got wet and are still able to keep our summer surf streak in tact.  Bizarro and I had to be in Santa Barbara by 1pm which is no easy feat during the Saturday of Fiesta weekend.  Somehow we lucked out and it only took us just under an hour and a half to get there.  The event was a very easy menu for sixty two guests and went off with out hitch though it was at Elings Park.  I hate the venue cause they always set up our triage kitchen on the side of a hill forcing me to work on a fifteen percent grade.  Tomorrow my back, ankles and knees will hurt.  I got home and had to stay up with Adagio most of the night because my wife was feeling rather ill. 

8-7-26 AM Session: 1-3 ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 41
Summer conditions have finally crept back up on us leaving nothing more in the water than a little bit of trace south swell.  We had a look at Hueneme but the tide was too low.  Hoping to get lucky like the past few days we headed south.  Even all the PCH spots were looking meager.  Zeros wasn’t even breaking.  Ultimately we desperation paddled County Line which was mostly just shore break.  Every now and then a south set would roll in with a section to hit.  I got home and had to help my wife build this float she had been working on for the Santa Barbara Fiesta kids parade.   We furnished it out of one of those little tyke push carts and added a rocking horse with wheels on it attached to the front.  Then she decorated it with fake flowers.  It looked pretty good for what it was.  There was still just enough time before having to cook dinner to shape myself a new Clarks Surfboards Bizzle Model. Just another full day in Lisanti Land.

8-6-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 43
Today had to be smallest day of surf I have seen this entire summer by the numbers.  I’ve been on over a two month run of consistently surfing everyday and it feels amazing.  Rather than break the streak AJ and I set out with very low expectations and our grovel boards. Hueneme was our usual dark horse and once again we were left wanting.  We headed south on a wing and a prayer.  I figured worst case we could always surf Zuma.  County was pathetic.  Zeros though small had few weak runners coming through with two guys out. Once again it’s these small days that really make it happen for me.  No crowds and waves to ride that’s worth more than an epic day that’s mobbed.  This week it’s Fiesta in Santa Barbara.  Though we live down south now my wife and I still make an effort to partake in at least a few of the festivities.  This year all I had time to attend with her was the annual Digs event held at the Santa Barbara Zoo.  We have attended this for easily eight years now.  These days being parents it’s also one of the few date nights we get to dress up to the nines and go out.  To put our life into perspective for you folks the last time we got out dressed up was for NYE.  Usually the food and wine at this shindig is top notch.  This year with the exception of Brander and Beckmans we were hard pressed to find anything worth drinking.  I will make a special mention to Sabian wines, whom I had never heard of but was thoroughly impressed by. As for the food out of the many vendors it seemed nearly everyone was only doing tacos or crevice.  Maybe next year they should control who can make what so that there isn’t so many redundancies.  Nonetheless we had a blast.

8-5-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 41
To our surprise Zeros actually had a waist to chest high wave coming in with three guys out.  Lately it’s been so stupid crowded that we were stoked to get it alone. These days with crowds being as obnoxious as they are my favorite days are the down days to surf.  Sure it’s smaller but it’s empty and that allows me to have a moment to breathe.  Surfing used to be an escape for me but lately it just feels part of the rat race because the rat race has become surfers and they brought that Starbuck drive thru, rush hour traffic mentality with them.  This is especially prevalent when I surf down in LA.  AJ and I had blast and both went home grinning ear to ear.  The rest of my day was spent glassing surfboards.

8-4-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 41
Today revealed yet another let down from Hueneme.  I left the choice up to AJ to go south down the PCH or over to Ventura Harbor. He picked south.  After checking everything to Zeros, County appeared to have to most waves coming through.  The beach break was actually peaky and rip-able.  I was surprised how fun it was for such a dismal swell day on the forecasts.  There were these three brothers ages 11-13 or so out on boogie boards just amping on their rides.  That stoke I think ruminated throughout the line up reminding everyone just why we got into the sport in the first place.  Surfing is such a magical experience and a lot of times because of the rampant crowds and the state of embarrassment that modern surf culture has become I often find myself feeling completely bummed and disgusted.  Between these kids today and the two groms from yesterday it really grounded me and helped recover a bit of my inner childhood stoke.  One thing I will say I am happy to still be pumped on surfing junk waves that I was surfing when I started at ten years old 35 years ago.  My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards. 

8-3-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Zuma
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 66
There was lots of wind swell in the water but unfortunately the wind was bad for Oxnard where the wind swell was really focusing.  AJ and I decided to check Hueneme but on the way up to the beach there was a gnarly accident at the corner of Pleasant Valley Road and Ventura Road.  I swear there must be at least two accidents a month at that intersection.  We lost fifteen minutes while emergency crew got themselves situated.  The tide was just a hair too low and waves still too dumpy for Hueneme to be worth anything.  Just like we have been doing all summer long we headed south.  Upon checking County Line, Leo Carrillo and Zeros with the little swell and a rising tide all of them seemed fruitless.  In pure desperation we paddled at Zuma around Tower 16.  There were stretchy waist to stomach high corners with some backwash  so pretty standard Zuma fair.  Luckily the wind stayed down for the entire surf. These two pre-teen groms kept shadowing me the entire session.  They didn’t get in the way but just kept studying everything I was doing.  I remember when I was there age I used to eat it up when a guy paddled out near me and was ripping.  I fed off there stoke and it turned what should have been just a getting a work out session into something a bit more fun.  My afternoon was spent shaping.  It was nice to get to build some of my own surfboards after spending the past ten days or so just fixing other shapers boards.  I think I fixed twenty boards in the past week and I have more stacking up.

8-2-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 10
Short period wind swell minor south swell and some tropical leftovers made for some crazy consistent and peaky conditions albeit a tad on the smaller side.  Hollywood looked like an epic day of surfing in Florida and definitely fun enough for AJ and I to paddle.  My wife and Adagio came along for the Sunday family funday.  I was a bit out of sync and fell on most of my turns though I did manage to put down few clips.  After the surf my wife and I took Adagio to the Ventura County Fair where he got a kick out of seeing all the animals.  My wife fell in love with a Netherland Dwarf Rabbit.  I decided to make homemade pizzas for dinner.

8-1-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 43
The surf was back to being marginal again.  AJ and I looked at Hueneme and although it did appear that some new sand bars are starting to form over all it was pretty walled and dumpy out there. We headed south and being it was a Saturday, the water extremely warm and still plenty of hype around the swell it was crazy packed everywhere.  Crowded Zeros was the call because there were some rip-able insiders that no one was looking at, which I decided to capitalize on.  Looks like our epic run of swell is temporarily on hold for a bit .  Hopefully it will at the very least there will still be grovel surf out there. My afternoon was spent fixing dings while my wife and Adagio went up to Santa Barbara to a family party.