Surfing Ruined My Life

December 2020 Surf Sessions

12-31-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 41
My wife and I enjoyed a past time of staying up late drinking champagne and watching old movies. Considering the surf wasn’t going to offer much it was no problem sleeping in till past eleven. I seem to always jump gun and party before the real party, NYE. Though this year we had no plans, no party, no anything. It was not for lack of trying either. Short of driving to Las Vegas or Mexico it wasn’t going to happen. Instead we had invited my mother in law over for a seafood cioppino dinner. Before that I cooked us a very lovely Italian omelet with homemade ricotta cheese and home fries. I had to go pick up a batch of Clarks Surfboards from Ventura and my wife decided to come along. The wind was hard WNW and the plan was to sort out a point on the way home. The top of Pitas was some what organized and even fun looking with a very light crowd. I jumped in and got a handful of decent runners. I must have made it look too much fun cause another eight guys decided to paddled out. I had great momentum going till I got into a bomb late and got absolutely destroyed. After that between the crowd and the wind I found myself hard pressed to pick off a good one. Luckily I smashed a decent two turn combo on my last wave to close out 2020. Dinner went off with out a hitch and then it was the most boring New Years Eve ever sitting on the couch all dressed up waiting for midnight. At the very least I wore my tuxedo and we made the most of what little we could. Happy New Year. May 2021 be a little bit brighter.

12-30-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 56
My lady and I slept in till past ten. With the morning king tide there was no reason to rush. The plan was to get some surf then go drive as far east as we had to till we found some snow to play in. All the points were fat and junky and the wind onshore and crap for the beaches. Instead of going for snow we headed to Lake Casitas to see if we could check out the Eagles nest and maybe see one if we got lucky. The nest was huge, but no Eagle. I guess they were out hunting. My wife and I did see lots of raptors, some water foul and lots of back trail birds. On the way home we cruised back through the points. Rincon was the best of the worst. It was about waist to chest, a bit broken up and the angle was a bit steep forcing the waves to bend back toward the point rather than break parallel to it. The Cove had some runners but also had a few too many long boarders for me to deal with. I found a fun racy little section to rip at Lower Rivermouth and just about had it to myself less a few kooks who didn’t even know where to sit. I worked my way back through the Cove, where I lucked into a killer little set wave only to burned by this grom. The kid rode in front of me a early the entire ride even though was nipping at his heels the entire time. When I was his age I would never have challenged a surfer like me. What has the surf world come to?

12-29-20 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Naples
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 36
My wife and I woke up and it was ten in the morning meaning we had over slept by two hours. Rather then rush around we both decided to call in a sick day and enjoy a beautiful day at one of my favorite beaches in the whole world, Naples. The waves were far from epic and rather inconsistent. The crowd was light and beach completely empty. The weather was crisp, yet warm and the birds were out in full force to the pleasure of my wife. I found a low tide corner on the reef all to myself and began picking a part right after right with the occasional sneaker left. It felt incredible to enjoy a few waves completely to myself. It’s been so stupid crowded lately I really needed this to clear my head. Ryan and his kids found there own fun peak just south of mine and had a great time too. We hung out till dark then cruised over to my wife’s mother’s place for an early supper. The night was concluded with a lovely bottle of Chianti. As Ferris Bueller says “life moves pretty fast, sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses”.

12-28-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Sand Spit
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 2
The first real weather of the season showed up in full force with rain, wind, hail and snow. The tide was pretty high early and winds all over the place. All the reports I got from people was it was a mess everywhere. I had some things to do. Normally I’d shine the surf on a day like today, but I’m so close to a perfect month. I had my eye on the Sand Spit cam on and off all morning. It appeared to be some what clean there and though not big by any means definitely surf-able. I suited up and headed down the break wall in the pouring rain. Just as my luck always has it right as I was getting to the end of the break water the wind went hard SW trashing the fun little lines I was after. Fuck it, I jumped in anyway and made the most of what was on offer. There were three other intrepid souls up for the challenge as well. The water was about as disgusting as it gets, with every kind of harbor, ocean and street trash imaginable. There logs, sharp palm husks, oil cans, leaves, mud, etc. I put in an hour before calling it quits. Then went home and scrubbed my self off before work. As soon as I got to work I was send out on a Covid19 clean up at one of the SB offices. I guess it was just a full day of playing with bacteria.

12-27-20 AM Session: 7-9+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 83
There was plenty of swell, plenty of crowds and I was left completely indecisive on where to go. It also didn’t help that I was lazy and slept in an extra hour limiting my time window. Considering the buoys I thought Sharks might be fun. It was small with easily ten guys on it. After two Montecito loops I headed south. Rincon was solid but stupid crowded. No surprise there. Little Rincon was the same with shitty east winds on it. At this point I rolled the dice and headed straight to Hollywood. When I pulled up I could see white water from the street. It has to massive cause the beach is quite long and impossible to see breaking waves without walking at least half way out. The surf was solid and easily pushing double overhead on the sets. There was enough time between sets to allow for a not so taxing paddle out. The corners looked good too. I was out of time and paddled out. Of course I left my Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw SU step up at home leaving nothing but my trusty 5’10 Hacksaw. Once in the water I realized it was way heavier then it looked. My first right was a bomb, heart in my mouth the entire drop. I had to be choosy, but the ones I got were all quality and huge. It was so big and perfect I had decided to keep surfing and go into work late. Just under an hour in the wind switched hard south trashing a once glorious line up. I got a few, but I should have got there earlier. The rest of my day was spent hating my life at the Post Office where I felt as it for overhead fluorescent lights were just sucking my soul out of my body.

12-26-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 41
It was a nice three day break from my regularly scheduled Hell on earth, the post office. I got up and with a slight up tick in the WNW swell headed to the points. Rincon was packed and pretty average looking. Little ‘Con was empty. Though a little fat the tide was dropping fast and I saw enough come through that it was worth a paddle for my window. Three other dudes decided to do the same. With in the first fifteen minutes an ugly south east wind came in and added just enough bump and crumble to make things annoying. That side shore wind under my board really fucks with my ability to generate the proper speed it takes to link the sections out there. As the tide got lower people kept coming out. Sometimes the wind would slacken and there would be moments of fun. Then two dick heads paddled out and constantly pushed the pack always too deep as they were constantly trying to paddle around or press the peak. I hate when that happens cause it corrals everyone into a tight lineup making it difficult to set up a wave when it’s your turn. That being said I still managed my share. Overall it was a poor session and I should have just either booked down to Strand or surfed the left at Hobson’s. Fuck my job.

12-25-20 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 85
It was Christmas morning and as per my seemingly Christmas Eve tradition now four years running I got trashed with my wife’s Dad and her sister. I was highly unmotivated to wake up early and grovel the Harbor. Instead I found myself staring at blown out waist high Surfers Knoll. Over it I started heading home with the intention of sorting out something to grovel on the way back to SB. As I was pulling off near Emma I get a text from Ryan that North Strand had chest plus sets. Back I went and sure enough there were solid chest to even head high sets. Of course it was a bit inconsistent, bumpy and crowded for what was on offer. I ran into Angers in the lot suiting up. Thanks for the call bud!?!? We jumped in and got to work. I hate the North Strand. I never know where to sit there always an abundance of annoying kooks out there. The only time I surf there is when no better option presents itself. I managed a few Christmas waves to stoke me out. After the surf My wife and I high tailed it back to SB for we were cooking a five course meal for six people (her mother and sisters). First course was Butternut Squash soup with pancetta and brounette fried potatoes. Second course was New England style crab stuffed Maine lobster tails in a lemon garlic butter, third course was a mixed green salad with homemade ricotta salatta, pomegranate, cucumbers and heirloom cherry tomatoes in a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The fourth course was beef tenderloin with mash potatoes and steamed vegetables in a port reduction veal jus. The final course was homemade Cannolis. The meal went down with out a hitch. It felt good to cook a gourmet meal again after being on the bench thanks the Covid19 the past nine months.

12-24-20 PM Session: 1-3 ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Pretty much all that was left in the water was a small long period south swell just barely on the buoys. My hope was to head down Ventura for incoming tide in the afternoon, that the south would fill in some more and the hard Santa Anna winds would calm down. None of that happened. Kevin Angers, who was super frothy after not surfing in a few days due to a new work schedule and I had a G. I. Joe close out barrel session at Rivermouth. It was absolutely freezing and terrible though I did manage one decent left tube on my last wave that made it all worth it. Later that night my wife and I headed to her parents homes for Christmas Eve festivities that included a fun filled game of white elephant, a big pot of Pasole soup and Tamales.

12-23-20 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 78
Another hate session at the strand. That’s two in a row. It had all the makings of a fun surf. There were chest to head high waves, the wind of offshore and the crowd wasn’t stupid considering it was pretty much a holiday. The bars on south end are just not the best right now. It feels like there are lots of holes. The water was freezing and with the stiff offshore winds so was the air. Though off shore it wasn’t as hallow as usual. I had a few alright tubes right off the bad then the wind went a bit more south east and I was just constantly out of position. Then I kept getting caught in rips. When a good one did come through it always seemed like some random dude was deeper. It was rather inconsistent too. I got cold and frustrated and left. The rest of the day was spent shopping for Christmas for my wife’s family and doing some last minute panic Christmas shopping. Later that night my wife, Bizarro and I celebrated Festivus and ended the night with a screening of Die Hard since it’s the best Christmas movie ever made. We tried to Time it so Hans Grubber fell of the Nakotomi Plaza right at midnight but didn’t succeed.

12-22-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Some days I should just have stayed in bed with the covers pulled over my head. Today was one of those days where nothing went my way. I woke up and my 19 year old cat Alfie found a way to pee all over the floor under three layers of training pads. I got to Strand and when I checked it I watched some guy get barreled, come out and destroy the lip. I saw a handful of other fun ones too. In the time I changed into my suit and walked up the beach the waves got all wonky, mixed up, backwashy and rip tide riddled. Basically with the exception of a head dip and a frontside hit or two I had a hate session. Then I got stuck in a hour worth of traffic on my way home thanks to a lane closure in Carpinteria. This took away all of the time I had set aside to eat a leisurely lunch. Instead I had to basically unhinge my jaw and stuff as many calories as I could down my throat in fifteen minutes before running out the door to work. If it wasn’t for a chill tune from Esperanza Spaulding on the radio I may have drove my car into oncoming traffic and called it a day. I got to work and was stuck with the bathroom route. On my last clean of the night one of the toilets was clogged. I thought the flusher was stuck and flushed twice and moved onto the next stall. Then I noticed a growing puddle of water around my feet. The toilet not only was clogged but the flusher got stuck. The floater that some very considerate person left behind was now on the floor as well. What a wonderful mess that was to clean up. Thank Covid19 for making my life awesome. Last year on this night I was cooking for O’Reilly Auto parts family at there 50 billion dollar Montecito estate getting paid more that night then I make here at the post office in a week. AWESOME!!!

12-21-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 78
The swell was on the decline and with light morning winds I headed to the beach breaks. I got word early that Ventura Harbor was walled. I figured I would just head to Strand and work my way backwards if it sucked. It was definitely smaller then yesterday there and had about twenty five surfers spread between tower 5 & 4. The pack was rather kooky too , plenty of soft tops to go around. I saw a few runners coming just a hundred yards or so off the ship with no one one it. My time was limited and it looked fun enough so I paddled. Besides being a little wonky with backwash from the incoming tide and small I made the most of it and had a good time. I even found two little head dips that stoked me out. The rest of my day was spent at the post office where I once again had to back to the Simi Valley post office for yet another Covid clean up. That’s the second time in less then a week. At this point I should look into starting my own hazmat cleaning business with home often I have been doing it.

12-20-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 78
With a slight drop in swell and favorable morning winds I had beach breaks on my mind. I have been surfing points just about ninety percent of the time these days. It would be nice to get to go left. Sure enough the only point worth surfing was Rincon and I was not in the mood for a Sunday crowd. I cruised to Ventura Harbor. There were some head high sets, but the bars are still junk so the wave had no shape. I saw lots of cars at Fruit Stands, but considering the bars at Rivermouth I couldn’t believe it could possibly be any better there. Despite negative reports of heavy over crowding for sub par conditions I found myself at the Strand. There were a handful of peaks in the Ship side of the bowl with a spread out crowd. I saw enough empty waves go by that I was stoked to give it a paddle. For sure it was the best is the worst. Of course as soon as I put my suit on I felt the first rustle of onshore wind on my face. I jumped in and found a decent little peak to myself and got a few fun lefts. I guess I made it look a little too much fun cause ten guys showed up and crowded it. Then the wind got harder and the tide higher ultimately leaving a cut up wonky rendering of the fun clean bowls I initially paddled out for. After that my wife and I went to the Santa Barbara Modern Art Museum for the Christmas art sale. With sweat shirts and t shirts going for $250-$1000 we had a look and bailed. At those prices I don’t feel bad charging fifty bucks for a Clarks Surfboards hoodie. After that it was off to the post office where I managed to sneak the last few heats of the Pipe Masters. Once again the WSL succeeded in presenting another lackluster event with shitty waves.

12-19-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 41
I got word North Strand was ok and tbe rest of the beaches ok at best. Rather then waste gas or time I had a look around the points and Sea Cliffs. It was rather busy every where and pretty average at best. I think Rincon was the best bet up top again. With Saturday crowds I wasn’t about to go there. Pitas had a couple of deep high tide wonky walls that were hugging the sea wall just enough to allow for a quick hit or two before having to kick out or face a face full of rocks. Overall the wave kind of sucked but I got a kick out of playing chicken with the break wall. I definitely took some asinine risks for no good reason. I guess one of the only ways to beat the crowd on a Saturday is to surf bad waves that could be possibly life threatening. Good times. Rest is my day was spent at the post office where we only have a couple of more days of mad house working conditions till things calm down a bit. At the moment it’s like a nightmare version of Santa’s work shop filled with retarded and disgruntled elves.

12-18-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 30
Strand was the place to be this morning thanks to a healthy dose of steep wind swell and off shore winds. Of course last night my wife and I decided to indulge in two bottles of wine and stayed up late watching Irvin Berlin’s “White Christmas”. It’s a classic and if you haven’t seen the film it’s available on Netflix’s. I highly recommend a view. It was a much needed night together. My schedule is so busy lately, working two jobs, running Clarks Surfboards and surfing everyday the two of us rarely get to spend quality time together. I don’t regret sleeping in a tad this morning thus not having enough time to go surf Strand. Instead I “settled” for chest plus fat tide Rincon up between Indicator and River Mouth. I put quotations around settled cause what I call whatever Rincon would stoke out most surfers. It was a tad inconsistent and soft thus I took out my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and trucked through some what would have been flat impossible sections. The crowd was a bit heavy for what was on offer and as it has been lately a little cut throat. I did my usual floating around the inside and wide corners and got my share. The rest is my day was spent at the Post Office. My evening was going just fine until fifteen minutes before I had to leave when some idiot mail handler decided to dump over a ten gallon bin of water all over the priority mail sorting belt. It was all hands on deck to clean up that mess causing me to have fifteen minutes of unwanted over time.

12-17-20 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 41
The last day of my corporate catering gig finally was upon me. Everything went smoothly making it another successful endeavor. A NW gale picked up tattering just about ever wave around except for Rincon and even the queen had a fair bit of chop on her too. I saw a bomb set through the Cove while I was checking it that stoked me out. Between that set and the strong winds I decided to grab my short board. Once in the line up those sets were few and far between. I did what I always do on days when Rincon has hard wind and the subsequent drift to go with it. Rather then just fight the current in the Cove, I start up at the Rivermouth and catch as many waves as I can till I get back to the freeway. Usually I get lucky and find a handful of gems in this process. Today I was just out of sync with the good ones. That being said I still got plenty of fun ones. Even a bad day at Rincon is worlds better then a good day at most other breaks

12-16-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 9
Miles Driven: 41
I only had to work in the morning today leaving me a bit of time to surf in the afternoon. My boy Matt wanted to get his drone out and film. Biz wanted to swim. I had quite the production to coordinate. There was a new WNW swell on the rise. Unfortunately it came in a tad bit too steep for all the town and Gaviota spots which I was hoping to surf. This us on the hunt south with limited day light and options. Rincon was the best bet, but the crowd was insane. Pitas though far from exciting was the call. I started up top. Between the wind, crowd and drained tide I wasn’t feeling it. I floated down to Faria. It was a bit cleaner and more rip-able though a bit less consistent. The sunset was one of the best I have seen in very long time. Filled with reds, yellows, orange and a bit of magenta, coupled with a crescent moon and a few planets a momentary celestial paradise was created. That’s what life is really about at the end of the day, the pure beauty of our surroundings. It’s been hard the past eight months with Covid and all the absolute absurdity that came along with it. These days life’s uncertain. I can’t predict tomorrow, but I can make the most of right now. That is a lesson I think we all must think about.

12-15-20 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Deveroux
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 9
Miles Driven: 28
Once angain I did the mad dash to Deveroux/Sands to do another smash and grab session. Although a tad more surf-able at Sands it still seemed a bit drained and closed out for my liking. There were some corners, but I didn’t have the time or interest in that kind of beating. Dev had some nice clean lines wrapping just inside of the outer reef that everyone had over looked. I just paddled out and sat right under that reef and took whatever missed it or broke and then reformed. It amazes me the number of people that are just fine with kooking it on a soft top. It’s one thing when the waves are absolutely terrible, but when it’s totally kill-able on a shortboard why soft top? Has everyone giving up on trying? One of the reason I avoid the UCSB waves at all costs is due to the annoyance of the crowd. I don’t just mean this in magnitude. Every facet of the crowd pisses me off. None the less I was able to snag a few fun waves in between my two jobs. When I got to the post office I was sent out on yet another bull shit Covid clean up. This one was all the way out in Simi Valley.

12-14-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Deveroux
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 5
Miles Driven: 28
Talk about a week from hell. Im stuck on double duty with catering every morning through Thursday from 8am-1pm and my regular post office hours. Staying a float has gotten way more strenuous then previous years. Thank you Covid for completely fucking with my life. I had an hour and a half between jobs. There was a solid WNW mid period swell in the water and a rather strong NW gale blowing down the coast as well. I had to choose between Campus Point and Deveroux since they were the closest waves for me to get to smash and grab a few waves and get to the Goleta postal processing plant. I did my usual park, pay $3 for thirty minutes of surfing, run up the trail towards the point. I had a look at Sands. It has plenty of size, well overhead on set. It was also very closed out and cut up between the dropping tide and on shore wind. I saw a few runners at Deveroux and jumped in. In the little time afforded to me I was able to get two runners down the point one over 175 yards and the other just over 200 yards. It was full beast mode to paddle all the way back to the peak and get a second long one in my limited time window. Then I bolted back to my car just in time too cause my parking voucher had just expired and the meter maid was next to my car. Luckily he was chill, unlike this bitch a few years ago who wrote me a ticket at Sand Spit cause my 90 minutes had expired while I was changing out of my suit. I got to the post office a few minutes late and began the next leg of my ridiculous journey . My life is exhausting. I don’t know how I do it. One of these days I’m just going to drop dead cause I plain just ran out of gas. Till then it’s full throttle as usual.

12-13-20 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 64
Just like the past fee Sundays today didn’t fail in being one of the worst days I have surfed in a while. There was a very limited amount of swell in water. Just some minor SW/WNW mix. The winds were light off shore in Ventura so I figured I’d head to the Harbor and hope for the best with the dropping tide. The bars at the moment are even worse then they were the last time I surfed there. There are huge uneven holes up and down the banks. With no place else to go I settled on a set of peaks in front of the Knoll. It was way worse and weaker then it looked. The wind switched onshore about forty minutes in and completely trashed it. Ultimately I fought the good fight and came up wanting. The rest of my day was spent at work.

12-12-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 30
I was hoping to get some fun Ventura beach break action in. When woke up the wind was wailing out of the NW. Taking the fat morning tide into consideration I decided to sleep in with my wife. The plan was to try and find something to surf at either Sand Bar or Rincon. Sand Bar was tiny thus ‘Con was the call. My wife and I got there around 11am, though on the small side there was enough wind swell wrapping into the Cove for me to get a few on my Clarks Pop Fizz. The current pushing down the point was intense forcing me to have to paddle the entire session to stay in one spot. Normally on days like that I just surf to the bottom of the Cove and then walk back a few times till I get my count. Due to the small size and wind swell nature of the waves I did lots of paddling only making two drifts. It was a grovel for sure. Thanks to my Fizz I made the most of it. What a week. I went from surfing gnarly overhead bombs on Tuesday to a full on grovel today. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

12-11-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 12
Upon checking the buoys I noticed a fresh mid period WNW swell. Figuring Friday crowds would be at their finest I thought I would have a look in town first. Hammonds was on my radar. It was a bit inconsistent. After watching it for about fifteen minutes I saw a few chest high plus sets that were worthy. The crowd was light. I paddled and Bizarro showed up to shoot some more water. The waves were far from what I could ever call good Hammonds. For the time I had allotted to me it was good enough. The only thing I hadn’t taken into consideration was the fact that it was a six foot tide swing and at the rate it went out I found my self constantly hitting rocks and scrapping fins on the reef. We did manage a few decent photos from the session. Following my surf I had to do a bit is Christmas Shopping before work where I came to the realization that I’m not going to pity anyone who doesn’t have a job. Every place I went had help wanted signs as do we here at the post office. You may not be able to work in your field for your desired pay at the moment, but if you need to make money there is work. I did it.

12-10-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Mesa Lane
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 4
The Lane is a wave I used to be quite fond of and an easy way to get in a quick second surf before dark or a fast surf if I was stuck in town due to work. The past few years the crowd has gotten so intense that I haven’t been all that motivated as of late to go surf it. I had promised Bizarro I would film a water session with him in the afternoon and considering the swell and the kind of shots we were after I figured it was our best bet. Sure enough there was easily thirty five guys clogging the two main peaks riding soft tops, logs and pretty much anything else that floats. Dorky’s left to the East end of the beach was sort of doing its thing. It’s basically a boost-able close out over shallow rocks. That was exactly the shots we were after. I got on my usual Mesa Lane froth and caught any ripple that came my way. Our labor did not go in vain cause we got some decent shots. You can check my Instagram in the coming days for some of those shots. Here is a teaser for you below. For dinner I made Parmesan meat ball soup.

12-10-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood Beach
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 76
I was planning on surfing one of the points. When I got to Rincon there was a fair amount of ESE wind chip on it. Considering I had the day off and got word that Hollywood had some fun peaks down by Little Sunset I ventured down to Oxnard. Though not exceptional there were very rip-able bowly peaks up and down the beach. I hate to use this term but it was like a skate park out there. I wish I could have utilized what was on off we more, but my body was exhausted from all the surfing I did yesterday. That being said I still had a blast. After the surf I had countless errands to run before heading back to SB.

12-9-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 12
After one of the fastest ding repair jobs I have ever done we loaded up and headed to Hammonds for the last hour of light. With limited time it was a no check make it or break it affair. When I got to e beach I almost vomited when I saw how crowded it was. There had to be nearly fifty guys clogging the reef at Hammonds with another thirty guys up at the Coral. I jumped in by the condos and got a few lefts since it is a shorter ride and finished over dry reef. The was were way low quality to warrant such a crowd as well. It was chest plus and all cut up with WNW wind. I tried taking a right but got burned by three guys. Biz swam out towards channel so I decided to sit on the very end section of the reef and grab whatever was left to ride after the wave was basically over. Since the period was so long there were some close outs that left a boost-able corner for me to attack. Despite the crowd factor we managed to get a few sick sunset shots.

12-9-20 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Naples
Time in Water: 3 hr
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 36
Today was one of those days where just about every spot in the 805 was about as good as it gets or pretty darn close to it. I got word early that Naples was solid. With a mid tide scenario all day one couldn’t go wrong. Bizarro and I loaded up and headed out. Angers called out of work and made the trek from Oxnard and Ryan waited for his kid to get off from school and came for the afternoon. When we got to the bluff there were solid overhead sets with nice clean lines. The Crack peak looked a little wonky and all over the place. Seals was fast but lining up nicely over the reef. Considering I didn’t get one decent day out there last year I was amped. Unfortunately when I pulled my board out of its bag I had apparently creased it through the bottom at Little Rincon yesterday. Lucky for me I brought a spare just in case. Since it was my only board I had down there at the beach I had to try and surf a little more conservative then normal. I got out to seals and the first forty minutes I just couldn’t rustle up a good one. Then I snagged a bomb and knocked the top off it six times to put me in a solid groove for the rest of the surf. Angers showed up as the it began to get a bit more inconsistent yet still it was very fun. As the tide came up the surf-able wave face was so kelp riddled it was hard to get good rides. I wanted to get out eat a snack and rub up top and keep surfing. Angers had dinged his board thus we decided to run back to my house for some quick ding repair and surf someplace in town before dark.

12-8-20 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 88
I hate these early season big long period NW swells. They are usually too big for the beaches and very crowded and inconsistent at the points. This swell came along with crazy hard Santa Anna winds that just tore up all the points. After doing a full loop from Hammonds to Hobson’s and back again I settled on just paddling Little Rincon cause the the wind was sort of offshore. Angers showed up and we were stoked. In the time it took to put on my suit the wind went way more east and twice as hard making it a nightmare to paddle into and ride the waves. Then it got crowded with a bunch of idiots who were not even close to the skill level needed to surf but all wanted to be hero’s and constantly keep paddling the peak, eating shit and getting in my way. I took my share of beatings trying the get down the face backside blinded by the wind and negotiating mega side chop. I did manage three that went to the hotel. Those rides were mostly all survival. Another bull shit session.

12-7-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 82
The Santa Anna’s were up and with a new WNW swell in the water I headed to the beaches. My first stop was Strand. Though there was plenty of swell it was all wonky, backwash riddled, stretched on most sets and overall weird. There were over thirty guys out and no one was getting good rides. Hoping for better I cruised to Shores. It was just all mushy on the outer bar and dumping on the inside. Out of time I bolted back to Strand and paddled the Ship side of the bowl. It was tough out there. There was a right tube near tower four that looked sick. After taking five shitty beatings in an attempt to make one I decided to paddle more towards the Ship and focus on lefts. As soon as I moved over there I managed to get two decent left tubes. Then it got way more crowded and the good ones became few and far between, while the backwash got worse. I fought the good fight for a sick last wave. In the end I had to quit on a wonky right I forced a shitty hit to floater combo on. It just wasn’t my day today. Rest of my time was spent at the post office.

12-6-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 68
Its only fitting that this disappointing over hyped sorry excuse for a swell ended in yet the fourth Sunday in a row of atrocious surf. It’s a fact I have groveled barely surf-able Emma the last three Sunday’s. Hoping for some lay day beach break action I headed to the Harbor. When I got there the waves had little to no shape, the sets were walled and the onshore wind was already adding a fair amount of texture. The only positive thing going was that it was empty. I got word from Ryan that Shores wasn’t much better and that Strand was slightly better but stupid crowded with long boards and fun shapes. I saw a few at Emma when I was driving and figured with the tide there was bound to be a kill-able wave. It was maybe two foot and weak. Hoping that Father John’s would be better I cruised up there. In hindsight I probably should have just paddled there cause Emma wasn’t any better nor did it get any better. I put in a valiant grovel effort on my Fly Guy Model. When all was said and done maybe taking my chance at Harbor was the call. At least there were a few chest high waves there. To make a bad day worse I got to work and was conscripted into going out to one of the Santa Barbara post offices for a Covid19 clean up since a case was just reported there earlier today. If I end up with Covid it won’t be hard for a tracer to figure that one out. Honestly I welcome it. Between the illness and subsequent quarantine time I stand to get a month paid time off from work. The irony is they forced me to have to contract it.

12-5-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 41
This may go down as the most crowded swell in the history of the 805. Every morning I have to look into my crystal ball (my cell phone) and carefully choice when and where to surf in order to bear the crowd. Usual how it works is I pick a wave that’s very difficult for the average surfer to surf. Then go on the worst possible tide with the worst possible wind. Of course there was no wind today. Crowds were obnoxious everywhere. I was t surprised. It was a Saturday of an over hyped swell. If I’m going to sit in a crowd then at the very least it better be for a half way decent wave. I wanted to try and film so I picked Little ‘Con and went into full battle mode mindset. I hate being a dick but I had only about an hour before work and if I didn’t recognize you then I was burning you. It was high tide very inconsistent and there was about twenty five guys out. This being said I did let a good number of waves go by and the guys I did go on weren’t going to make it anyway. I managed a handful of solid ones. I could have surfed longer but the crowd just kept on growing till it was easily forty strong and stupid for the lack of surf-able waves on hand. I decided to quit while I was ahead. From there my wife and I went home where I cooked her up an excellent breakfast before taking a trip to hell on earth, the Post Office for the next eight hours. I really wish this place would burn down so I don’t have to go anymore.

12-4-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 10
I was sent an image of Strand early so crowded I didnt know if I should laugh or cry. All reports I got was that every wave was packed from CStreet to Rincon. Even though the period was long there was enough swell that the most exposed spots in town were seeing a chest high wave though rather inconsistent and of poor quality. I headed to Hammonds for mere convenience. When I got there I noticed that the town had made the majority of the parking in the area 2 hour parking. Talk about a load of bullshit. I checked it and after watching for close to twenty minutes I saw enough bad waves that with my fish I could have an alright time. I moved my car since I had already eaten up of a third of my time on the two hours. As soon as I got to the beach the wind went onshore tearing up the already shirt surf. This sucked as far as wave quality went but it also provoked the handful of guys out to leave. By myself I was able to pick the best waves plus my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish can cut through just about any level of trash out there. I was having an alright time even with the junk conditions. I guess I made it look too much fun cause four surfers showed up, sat right on me then proceeded to back paddle for everything. I was astounded. Luckily I had already had my fill and wasn’t in the mood to start anything. The rest of my day was spent back at my favorite place in the whole world!!! You guessed it…THE POST OFFICE. Yes that’s sarcasm if you couldn’t tell.

12-3-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hobsons
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 41
Despite off shore winds at the south beaches I decided to shine the morning. Truthfully all the reports I got were not appealing. I had some ding repair to do that I have been putting off and it was a perfect morning weather wise for just that. While I was working my wife called and said she could knock off early a cruise to the beach with me. Around 2:30pm we headed south. I knew it was going to be crowded but I was not prepared for the obnoxious amount of surfers in, out and checking the surf. It was as if all of California descended upon our quaint little coast. It also didn’t help that there was a terrible cross chop on all of the points because of the strong Santa Anna’s down south. Believe it or not Hobson’s looked the best and I managed to luck into one of the few day use spots available. There were only about a dozen or so guys out and all of them were sitting on the right. I like the left better anyway and got to work. I got a few right off the bat. The sets though fifteen waves strong, chest to head high when they came were easily fifteen minutes apart. Steadily people kept coming till there was easily seventy five surfers out riding every thing from soft tops, to rafts, to SUPs, to logs, to fun shapes, body boards and short boards, not to mention a pack of grommets on the inside who were constantly in the way. I got pretty salty and decided to get one in a quit before I killed someone. After the surf (if you can call it that) my wife and I went and picked up our Christmas tree. I must say $108.00 later, about two and a half days pay for me it was a fine little tree.

12-2-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 41
The plan was to film some surfing then head down to the surfboard shoo to film some new boards. Also wanted to shoot some promo stuff off the new Clarks Surfboards Clothing line. Biz and I started at Rincon but it was very fat, wonky, underwhelming and a bit crowded for what was on offer. Rather then struggle to get clips in sub par surf we shot some of the clothing pictures then went to the shop to do the surfboard thing. After that I had to deliver a board to my friend Andy. Finally it was time to surf. We cruised back up towards SB in search of waves. Little Rincon looked like the most bang for our buck and potential for the beat clips. I was riding a new Fly Guy that I had pulled the tail in a bit. No one was out, it was about chest plus and though not the best it could be with the dropping tide I was hopeful. Three guys were suiting up and a few others were checking it. I jumped in and began getting my share doing what I do. It was a little sectiony and racy making it tough to connect backside. There were some tubes but though I pulled into a few promising ones I just couldn’t thread the needle. Backside tube riding is tricky out there when it’s perfect let alone when it’s not. That being said we made the most of it. Despite Bizarro falling off the rocks and missing my best wave I’d say it was a productive day. For dinner I cooked up stuffed shells with fresh homemade ricotta. Yummy.

12-1-20 Am Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 30
When I went to sleep last night I could hear waves crashing on the beach at Leadbetter down below. This usually means that there is some swell showing. Sure enough when I woke up we had a healthy dose of NW swell on the buoys. Unfortunately we also had a six and half foot king tide at nine am. I don’t know why they call them king tides they should really be called murder tides because they murder any chance of getting fun surf. It’s too fat on the high tide, all mixed up on the steady change and then way too drained out on the low. Like I said, MURDER TIDES. Anyhow, I cruised to Rincon. A wonky back washed riddled wave can usually be found at Indicator. There was a bumpy waist to chest wave coming through. Being that the swell was a little steep for Rincon the waves were almost bending 180 degrees into the point making it faster then usual and a bit more broken up. That being said there were still plenty of leg burners to be had. To be honest I had the most fun on the high tide. As the tide got lower it got way more inconsistent and the crowd tripled. I had already got mine by then anyway. The water was freezing. If this keeps up I may need to get a hooded 5/4. I made it home in time to enjoy lunch with my wife whom came home on her lunch break and set up my new Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy model for tomorrow. The rest of my day was spent at the post office, but it’s Friday for me today so it was all good.