Surfing Ruined My Life

December 2016 Surf Sessions

12-31-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I had work from 8am-11pm.  It was a New Years Eve wedding and a very high ticket one at that.  The wind was still south and stormy any way.  I got to the Wild Cat at 11:40, just enough time to make the bells.  After that I had to bail since I had to get up at 6 am to work the wedding brunch.

12-30-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
It was the day before a very important wedding and I had lots to do.  On top of that the wind was all south trashing everything.  Surfing was just not in the cards for me.

12-29-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
More of the same was in effect today.  I had lots of pain and was still not feeling well on top of another annoying work day.

12-28-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I woke up with a cold and some serious back and neck pain.  I once again anther busy day in the kitchen causing me to pass on a day of somewhat fun surf.

12-27-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 56
I should have just surfed Rincon.  Instead I cruised to Emma Wood, which sucked and by that time I had eaten up my surf window.  With a hard work day ahead of me I decided to just not bother.

12-26-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 64
My chick wanted to do a bit of after Christmas shopping as do most Americans the day after Christmas.  Since I had the day off and nothing to do anyway I decided to humor her whim.  Let’s face it I don’t mind a day of shopping myself.  With New Years approaching I was in desperate need of a solid outfit.  On the way down we had a look at Ventura Harbor.  The wind was super hard off shore and the waves about waist to chest.  The air and water were freezing and sets few and far between.  Over it I decided to let the shopping ensue.  We did a rather fruitless Oxnard thrift before moving on to the Camarillo outlets.  There we struck gold.  My girl scored a NYE dress, some boots and work clothes.  I scored a shiny Guess tuxedo jacket and a baller pair of Italian leather shoes.  After that we tried some Italian restaurant in Ventura Ryan recommended.  It was average at best.

12-25-16 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 44
I woke up on the couch at around 7 am feeling a bit out of sorts.  I think I had a little too many Christmas spirits the previous night.  Most of my day was spent dealing with my hang over.  Around 2 pm I mustered up enough strength to go for a surf.  Ryan and I met up at Rincon, but the crowd though not bad was still a bit on the heavy side for the amount of waves coming through.  Also I figured if Rincon was that empty on Christmas then a spot like Pitas might be completely empty.  Sure enough I was right.  There were about eight guys on top and another few spread out along Faria.  We paddled and though a few good tubes at the top it was mostly racy and closed out as per usual.  We drifted down to Faria which although a bit smaller and inconsistent was far longer and with way better shape.  I ended up snagging one fifty yard tube that I was riding the foam ball for the entire way.  My last wave went all the way to Mondos. The entire time it was just Ryan and I trading runners.  After that I enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner with my lady where I cooked up game hens and a cioppino.

12-24-16 PM Session: 4-6+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 6
Miles Driven: 22
The wind was up super hard out of the NW when I woke up and it was freezing out.  The morning tide was super deep.  Reports were calling for an increase in wind swell through the day.  I had no real obligations so decided to wait it out.  I had a look at Rincon round 3 pm and sure enough it was solid, head high over head.  Thanks to the holiday there may have been only around 75 guys spread among the entire point.  There were tons of waves due to the short swell period and with the drained tide the Cove was really doing it’s thing.  Stoked I jumped in up at the River Mouth and immediately became inundated in current and rouge sets.  Right off the bat I stroke into a well overhead bomb and weaved my way through a gnarly double up low River Mouth section into the Cove.  I got clipped after I making it to mid Cove.  From there I lucked into a sick double up and got tubed to the free way.  I had another four just like that.  Between the current and length of right six was all I got and all I needed. I must say it was the early Christmas present I needed.  I spent the rest of the night with my girl friends family celebrating the holiday.

12-23-16 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Hobsons
Time in Water: 40 mins
Wave Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 72
I started at Rincon, which in all actuality is where I probably should have paddled.  Then Ryan sent me a video from a friend of his at the Shores where it appeared to be over head, off shore and barreling.  My time was limited, but for conditions like that exceptions can be made. I booked it to Oxnard only to get there and find that it was way more shifty, inconsistent and fat then one would enjoy.  There were some barrels out there, but whether or not you could be in position was another thing.  From there it was a mad dash back north for something to surf. At this point the wind was too south east for most of the points and Sea Cliff waves.  Finally out of time I grabbed my fish desperation paddled small, windy, weak Hobsons.  Considering how fast and hard the wind came up I think Rincon would have been a shit option anyway.

12-22-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 22
Oh Rincon, how much I have missed your elegance. The buoys had some real swell on them. Though a bit on the steep side I thought I should look at Rincon anyhow.  Turns out there was a waist to chest high wave coming through.  I really wanted to ride my short board today.  The solid sets were few and far between and the Cove looked so much better then the top.  On my short board I don’t stand a chance against the long boarders when it’s small.  Riding my fish it evens out the equation.  I started at River Mouth and worked my way to the Cove.  Once in there I had such a ball that was where I remained.  I have never owned a board that allowed me to ride small waves with such ease and precision.

12-21-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
The off shores decided to hand around this morning.  The crowd decided to show in full force as well.  My River Mouth bar was packed.  I would say there was easily 30 guys on a peak that could maybe hold seven.  Then there were little pockets of guys on the random sand bars up and down the beach as well.  The swell was pretty peaky, a nice combo of south and north west swell.  I decided to paddle the Knoll since there was only three guys on it and looked fun enough.  Turns out the peak on that bar was way more shifty and walled then I thought.  The water was freezing and so was the air.  I didn’t get one wave that was worth anything.  It was a little too fast and down the line for my fish, which I rode, but still too soft for my short board.  I should have just stayed in bed.  I ended up 15 minutes late to work cause my hands were so cold when I got out of the water it took me extra time to change then I had accounted for.

12-20-16 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Cstreet
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 72
Once again I woke up and checked the cams with more off shore winds in Ventura.  The buoys had a little more swell on them. Stoked I headed back to the Harbor in the hopes of finding more fun lefts at the River Mouth sand bar.  As soon as I got the there the wind began so shift on shore.  Besides that the swell seemed a bit walled.  Not trusting conditions to hold up I drove to Emma Wood.  The tide was already too drained for the lack of swell coming through to make it really all that worth while.  On a last ditch effort I decided to check the point, which I never surf.  It was super small, but there were a few lines coming through that I thought I could capitalize on with my fish.  Sure enough in conditions that the long boarders could barely get going on the fish shined.

12-19-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 64
After getting back from my north trip I wanted to keep some positive momentum.  Today was my only day off for the week and I really wanted to get a surf on.  The wind was also off shore.  I headed south to Ventura Harbor, where though small there were still some clean lines coming through.  There was a solid sand bar in front of the River Mouth that I was more then happy to take advantage of.  I opted for my fish since the solid sets were few and far between and most were on the mushy side with the incoming tide. I ended up having a ball and even scored a few barrels.  The best part was everyone got out as I showed up giving me the entire reef to myself.  Unfortunately the party was cut short by the wind.  Still I got mine.

12-18-16 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Moonstone Beach, Cambria
Time in water: 1 hr
Waves surfed: 13
Miles Driven: 14
I woke up and it was fucking freezing. I think it was 40 out.  The little heater in my shitty hotel room (Cambria Beach Lodge is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. Don’t stay there) barely brought the temp up to fifty.  There was a little wave with some off shore winds out front, but I was not about to get into the water for what was on offer.  Instead my girl and I got breakfast where I got to experience the magic of the olallieberry.  It wasn’t life changing, but if you are in Cambria I suppose its part of the deal.  After that we did some serious wine tasting, where I splurged and dropped over $300 in wine (Yeah I have a problem). After that it was back to Moonstone where with the dropping tide there were some waist to chest high peaks coming through.  It was a bit inconsistent.  I found a few terrible ones and overall I should have just called it a day and went home, but hey at least I surfed or froze.  Seriously I thought I was going to die while changing out of my wet suit.  Good times.

12-17-16 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Willow Creek, Big Sur
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 76 (round trip from Cambria)
My girl and I had a rather uneventful trip up minus an interesting gas pit stop in Guadeloupe that could have gotten out of hand, but luckily didn’t.  On the way up we stopped in for dinner at La Botte my favorite Italian restaurant in all of Santa Barbara County, maybe even California.  The food was great as always.  The next morning we got some “continental” breakfast at our hotel, though it was more like bread and water.  Not even a fucking bagel, muffin or cereal? WTF!  I have stayed in Hampton Inns that supplied a better complimentary breakfast.  The surf was pretty tiny and weak at Moonstone.  Since my girl had never been in the area we headed north in search of surf, sites and adventure.  Our first stop was at the San Simeon seal rookery where we enjoyed watching the elephant seals do their thing and even got to see a few babies.  From there we cruised into Big Sur.  Willow Creek was the first real surf-able spot we came across.  I have never surfed the place, checked it lots.  It never really has looked that great to me for all the rock hazards.  Today was no exception.  I was over driving around and I had the feeling my chick wasn’t going to tolerate too much more hunt.  I paddled.  There were two other intrepid souls out.  The water was fucking freezing.  I got out there no problem.  The surf was definitely very wind swelly. I found a few lefts and rights and learned the hard way how shallow the bottom actually was getting bounced off it more then once.  Since it was nothing spectacular I decided to keep my girl happy and come in after my 20 quota.  From there I took her to Phieffer State Park to look at the classic Big Sur water fall running into the ocean everyone goes and looks at.  Then we headed down to Sand Dollar beach to hunt for some Jade.  We capped the night off with a very nice meal at Madelines back in Cambria.

12-16-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I thought I was going to be graced with the day off.   Then one of my brides decided she wanted to do a small soup tasting.  I had to make four gluten free and dairy free soups for her.  Yah!  Who wants soup at a wedding.  Though it is a January wedding so at least it is soup season.  There was a small jump in the surf with the passing front.  The front also came with lots and lots of winds.  The morning was freezing, high tide and most spots looked like trash.  Some meager wind swell filled in to Santa Barbara for the afternoon.  I watched way too many guys fight over knee high waves at Sand Spit to temp me.  Rincon might have had a little more happening, but I was not really interested.  I had to pack and get ready to get on the road.

12-15-16 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
More ripples made for another down day.  I had a tasting and a pack out at work to keep me busy, plus I decided to take my girl on a spur of the moment trip up the coast to Cambria for the weekend.

12-14-16 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Smack in the middle of a winter flat spell (that almost sound like an oxymoron) I feel as if maybe I was tad bit too picky not surfing on Monday.   Mother nature must be punishing me for shitting on her offerings.  I am sure I could have found a fishy grovel session, but I had work and it wasn’t worth rushing around for.

12-13-16 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
I had to work and the buoys, cams and reports were about the smallest I have seen in two months.  I decided to save my gas and wait for better days.

12-12-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 78
As surfers we life by two very contradictory mantras “You don’t know unless you go” and “a bird in the hand is better then two in the bush”.  Today I should have followed the latter. The surf was down forcing me once again to make the trek down south. It was fine cause I had some errands to run anyway.  I pulled up at the Harbor and it was a tad windy out of the SW though not destroying conditions.  New Jetty had a fun looking right going back toward the jetty with three guys on it.  There were still some stretched sets coming through and with that as an indicator Ryan and I decided to check Strand.  Besides some gnarly police action in the Ship parking lot there was little to nothing happening there.  We cruised back to New Jetty.  By this time the wind had gotten harder and the tide more drained.  Still I was about to desperation paddle, though Ryan was over it.  Then six more guys paddled on the one peak that was coming through .  There were only two to three waves to a set making a a combination for ultimate surf frustration. I decided since nothing really phenomenal was coming through rather then deal with the crowd I would run my errands and by the time I finished the guys out would have been over it.  That part of the plan worked perfectly.  What didn’t cooperate was the tide. It was way too drained to be any fun.  I noticed a few tiny sets up at Rincon on the way down and figured I could always take the fish out there.  ‘Con was clean, but only about knee to thigh and very inconsistent. I could have found a few, but was not quite that frothy.  Instead I went for a sea glass walk that was most productive.  I filled all my pockets.

12-11-16 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 78
My girl friend really wanted to come down south with me to do a bit of Christmas decoration shopping.  Shopping in Ventura is about 25% cheaper then in Santa Barbara.  Since the swell was complete shit I decided I would pack a board and my fish and hope for the best.  Sure enough New Jetty looked fun. Yet again the contest was still going on.  On a gamble I went back to Strand.  It was small though there was the occasion stomach to chest high one in the bowl.  It was rather clean with a light SW wind on it, crowd was light and the sun beginning to break through the crowds.  A very nice beach day was to ensue. I took the fish rather then struggle on my short board.  Pat was out and I gave him a few waves on the fish making him a believer in the power of the 5’2″.  It was fun till the tide dropped out, but by then I was over it anyway.

12-10-16 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 3 hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 78
I got up and really wanted to find something to surf.  There was a slight up tick in the swell so I headed south.  The points were all small and the wind off shore in Ventura.  I knew there had to be something at the beach breaks.  New Jetty looked some what fun, but there was some bull shit WSA contest keeping the line up clear.  There was some pick and choose corners at the River Mouth though nothing all that appealing.  I decided to have a look at the Shores, but there was no sand there at all.  On a last ditch effort I headed to the Strand if for no other reason then to rule it out.  Turns out there was a solid chest to head high wave coming through with lots of peaks from the Ship through the bowl.  Stoked I paddled,  Ryan was not that far behind. I was feeling good in both my back and neck thus I was surfing good.  Later on that night I found myself at the first annual Old Town Goleta Christmas parade, which was quite the spectacle in itself.

12-9-16 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
I had to work both prep and the gig causing me to have a solid 12 hour day and therefore no time to surf.  There was some minor NW swell that was suppose to creep in through out the day and I am sure that before dark there may have been a small wave at Rincon.  I heard Strand was fun.  As for the even I suppose it went well enough.

12-8-16 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
I had some work at the end of this week, a rather big cocktail party to be exact. The reports were grim and I had to work at the ungodly hour of 8 am.  I could have surfed after but the surf was even worse and I had to help in the purchasing of wine for the party.  My day was capped off with finding a spot for this obnoxiously large armoire I bought.

12-7-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 78
The swell had dropped more and got even more steep.  I had a look at Rincon, but it was tiny.  The winds were off shore in Ventura so I headed to the Harbor to see if any of the new sand from the River Mouth opening up had come to formidable sand bar. It did not.  New Jetty had an ok wave, but about seven guys on the only surf-able peak.  I was going to take my chances with the River Mouth bars when Ryan called and said Strand looked fun. It was about chest to head and very bowly.  Conditions were clean and the crowd was light.  I paddled with both Ryan and Gordo.  Phil showed up as well.  I was actually in the zone and got a few really good rides and made two small back door barrels. It was refreshing to go left for a change.  Later on that night I bought this baller armoire. Unfortunately I miss measured it and the piece was too big to fit in my bedroom door.  Now its in my living room.  Epic fail as the youth of today would exclaim.  To add injury to insult there is no passage to Narnia through the back wall either.

12-6-16 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 3 hrs
Waves Surfed: 42
Miles Driven: 22
The swell had steepened up on the buoy and after yesterday I was really leaning towards the beach breaks. I was thinking Strand, but with a lack of reports I decided to start at Rincon and work my way south accordingly.  Sure enough though smaller there were still a decent amount of left overs getting in.  Mostly short period/ wind swell combo there were plenty of peaks up and down the point.  Ryan confirmed that down south wasn’t the call and met me at Rincon.  I paddled the River Mouth on my fish since the good sets were few and far between and mostly what was coming through were weak broken up lines.  That board owns that type of surf.  I did four laps from River Mouth through the Cove to the Freeway.  The crowd was light making it rather refreshing after the previous day.  Last night I took my girl to go buy a Christmas tree.  It is the first one that has been in this apartment in three years and the first real tree I have ever had here as well.

12-5-16 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 22
I really thought I was going to get a mellow high tide week day Rincon surf.  When I got there the lot was rather full for a Monday with a less then stellar report and poor conditions.  There were some solid lines coming through unfortunately plagued by an ugly south west chop.  This caused many waves to be sectiony making it very do-able despite the crowd.  I was going to start up top and work my way down till I ran into a friend of mine changing on the rocks who said to not bother wasting my time up there.  The Cove it was and I did agree that it certainly looked to be the better of the two options.  The top gets really torn up on such winds.  The water was freezing and with the wind chill I had a hard time getting acclimated.  The first half of my session I was being way too nice and not nearly aggressive enough.  After watching one too many kooks, annoying old guys on long boards and randoms get their share of the good ones I finally got my ass into gear and began challenging the pack for some set waves.  Of course being a goofy foot at Rincon isn’t easy to begin with and when you add the side chop of a south wind it makes it that much more difficult.  It also allows regular foots an even better chance to burn us and not get caught. Don’t goofy foot rides matter too?  I did manage a few, but it was far from the existential surfing experience I was hoping for.

12-4-16 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 44
There was some new swell in the water.  According to all of the reports the surf was suppose to build all day and with an afternoon low tide I decided to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely morning with my lady.  I cruised to surf around 2pm and there was plenty of swell in the water.  Rincon was crowded and I was really hoping to get some down the point Pitas.  It was nothing phenomenal.  I was out of time and the crowd was rather light so I paddled with the hopes that the dropping tide would pick things up.  It didn’t and actually the opposite happened. A weird side chopped formed making it even more terrible.  I caught a few.  The morning was with out a doubt the session I should have opted to have.

12-3-16 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
Ryan hit me up that Strand looked good and the wind was off shore.  I had promised my girl friend I would take to this Christmas festival in downtown Ventura.  She came along with me. Sure enough upon checking the surf it was solid with not a bad crowd considering that it was the weekend.  As my luck seems to always have it as soon as I put my suit on the wind came up out of the NW.  It was somewhat light and at that point there was not any place else to really go anyhow. Since the wind came up at least the crowd would come down. Between the wind, the high tide and back wash it was very hard to get a good one.  I did manage a few, but ultimately it was pretty terrible out there.  I did end up running into this kid I used to surf with back east a lot, Lief he was still killing it as always.  It is always random when I run into an east coast surfer from my past.  My girl enjoyed the fair and managed to get all her Christmas shopping done.  Then we high tailed it up to Solvang for dinner with her dad at Cecco where I lucked into meeting to owner of Stolpman wines and enjoyed quite the evening.

12-2-16 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 22
I have been blessed lately with fun session after fun session.  This morning it looked like I was about to have another score.  As soon as I jumped in I stroked into an over head bomb racing through the River Mouth.  I got into it a little bit late found myself going right over the handle bars.  Of course the entire kick on my tail pad ripped right off when I dropped in most likely causing me to eat it.  I didn’t have enough time to run back to my car for a board change.  Not that it mattered since all I had was the fish and it was far too big for that.  Basically I was completely out of sync for the rest of the surf.  I don’t think I found one fun wave. Can’t win them all.  Then I had a very hectic ten hour work day to follow.  After that I had to make an appearance downtown for a friend’s birthday.  It was a full day to say the least.

12-1-16 AM Session: 2-4+ ft. Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 22
There was still enough swell on the buoy to warrant another session at Rincon and although a tad more wind swelly there were still plenty of runners up top and once again a rather light crowd.  Stoked I did most of my work between high River Mouth and River Mouth.  The tide was a bit high.  Besides that it was a very fun pre-work session.