Surfing Ruined My Life

February 2021 Surf Sessions

2-28-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
Ventura was graced with offshores this morning albeit a bit too hard. It came with another six foot high tide at 9:30 AM keeping everything pretty fat. Harbor has the best high tide sand right now but after two days of swimming in that gross water my sinuses needed a break. I headed to Strand which had the tide been lower it would have been super fun. Between the hard winds and high tide it was surf-able at best. The water freezing definitely in the high forties. With that and the wind I was cold and miserable. By 11:30 the surf had not gotten any better and rather then force out another half hour in the cold I threw in the towel. I did manage one or town head dips. Then it was breakfast with my wife and to the post office for another fun filled day at the plant.

2-27-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 56
A return to the jumbled up funk conditons was in full force this morning with the wind direction changing every few miles up and down the coast. It also didn’t help that there were four short to mid period swells in the water, 2 steep NW’s, a WNW and a SW. Between that and the wind the ocean didn’t know what to do. I headed to Emma my default spot for high tide and mixed up conditions. Unfortunately there was an NSSA contest at Gold Coast just up the beach and Emma was definitely catching the over spill. I saw a few solid double ups from my car that looked fun enough. The current looked good and strong which always helps control the crowd. Lakey and Caroline Marks were getting out as I was paddling. If they were out it must have been the best wave around. I got in and man finding a good wave that didn’t either die out or close out was difficult to say the least. As I was suiting up I ran into my friend Norman and he actually said it perfectly “just paddle for everything and hope one turns out”. That’s exactly how my session went. Prior to paddling out I got approached by some dude who reads this blog and thanked me for getting him stoked on surfing again. It always fills me with stoke to know my little daily surfing misadventures help keep people frothy. Towards the end of my surf it got gnarly crowded as throngs of groms showed up in eight packs from the comp. That was my cue to leave. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office doing whatever it is I do there or lack there of.

2-26-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
There was some rather steep swell on tbe buoy. I got word from Jeffrey that he was paddling harbor and that it looked the best he saw on the way down. I was about an hour behind him. While passing Rincon I saw a few lines at Indicator and considered turning around. It was still a bit small. Worst case if the wind was bad at Harbor when I got there I could just run back up. The wind was light. Jeffrey was surfing the Knoll right in front of where the dredge pipe was spitting nasty black sand and water. It stunk and I had no desire to paddle that. Truth be told I had a bit of a sinus headache last night from yesterday’s disgusting debacle. New Jetty had a wave. Since it was on the other side of the current flow looked a little cleaner (not that it’s saying a lot). The crowd was light too so I paddled. Overall it was pretty closed out and wonky with the occasional odd ball corner and racy left. I made the most out of it and must have made it look too much fun cause toward the middle of my session it got somewhat crowded. It was nothing more then lousy New Jetty but I made the most out of it. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

2-25-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 66
Back to six foot morning fat tides and ofcourse it came with a good beach break combo swell and off shore winds. We had epic conditions and nothing to surf cause the tide was damn high. Angers and I made a desperation check at Fruit Stands cause the water at the Harbor is a cesspool right now with great dredging project. Though still very fat we decided to jump in and hope that the tide dropping would help out. Bizarro showed up as did Loren and Matt with his drone. We had the makings of the team shoot I was hoping for. As soon as I jumped on the water the wind switched from NE to NW instantly. There was no glassy grace period it was just hard offshore to hard onshore absolutely trashing it. We fought the good fight for an hour making the most out of the now drifty bumpy conditions. Oh, and the water was just as toxic as harbor. Not satisfied with that surf Matt claimed that he saw some fun ones at Pitas on the way down. All of us booked it up there. There may have been a window an hour before we got there. At that present moment the place was completely drained out and tiny. Angers, Loren and I had a Zoom audition for this game show “Common Knowledge” on the “Game Show Network” at 3pm. How I made that happen don’t even ask. Apparently I filled out an application months ago when I was unemployed due to Covid. We figured why not give it a shot. The audition was fun and I think we have a good chance of getting on the actual show. I’ll let you guys know more as it all unfolds. The rest of my afternoon was spent doing ding repair. My evening finally ended with a nice dinner with my wife. Remember the picture below is not what a surfed but how it looked prior to paddling.

2-24-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 41
Things are beginning to get a little repetative here. The goal was to try and get the whole Clarks team together and do a little filming. That went awry when my sinks decided to fill up with raw sewage cause of a drain blockage on the main line. Bizarro had to stay home and wait for the plumber instead of coming along to film. With the higher tide I had a look at Indicator first. It was surf-able though a little fat and wobbly and bit busy for what was on offer. I headed to Little ‘Con. The tide was still pretty high leaving me squinting to imagine how much better it would get with less tide. I saw enough to lead me to believe it might get fun. Angers showed up and we paddled. There was one guy out off the rock and few spread out down the beach. Lots of guys were checking it. Surfline had blown up today to be the best day of the week. We knew we were making it look way too much fun to keep the crowd down. Luckily it was pretty consistent and the majority of guys were sitting too deep. I sat just inside the rock and picked off every close out tube guys off the pier couldn’t make. I was definitely on a froth and had a blast. As the tide got lower the sets began to Svengali and close out more. More guys showed up as well. Some random needed help with a broken leash tie. Feeling benevolent I offer to help him with a new one. We went in and after assisting this wayward soul I had another look at the now crowded line up and decided that I had my fill. Rest of my day was spent running errands.

2-23-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 40
Miles Driven: 41
I got a report from Jeffrey that Little Rincon was fun and he was on it. I was about a half hour behind him cause last night was another late one at work. It was still a bit high when I got there with him plus three other guys two of which were a long boarder and a guy on a soft top. I hate soft tops especially when people ride them at real waves. I also hate when long boarders come and surf a wave like little ‘Con. The wave is clearly more suited for smaller boards. It’s especially infuriating when there are tons of great long board waves all around the area. I was going to go look around some more when I saw a really decent three wave set come in and peel down the beach. I figured worse case scenario Jeffrey and I could team surf the peak on the other guys. As soon as I got to the waters edge the other three guys bailed leaving just Jeffrey and I out there. Bizarro showed up with his water housing and a full on rip fest ensued. Yesterday I had a conversation with an older friend of mine about how you should always surf as many waves as your age at least once a year. He is 63. Considering my wave count was already at 33 I decided to stay till I got the 40. Talk about a super session. I was completely exhausted at work the rest of the day. Lucky for me it’s my Friday!!!

2-22-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
All signs pointed to Strand being good again. I was so convinced that it was going to be a barrel fest that I even woke up Bizarro and dragged him down to the beach with me. I got to the ship and it was more crowded, about two feet smaller, mushy or closed out and almost double the crowd from yesterday. I was still going to paddle and hope for the best when Biz chimed in that between the weak ass waves, crowd and hard offshore winds we were going to get nothing worth using. He has been filming me for years. Plus we saw plenty of waves that looked fun at every point we passed on the way down. Running low on time I did the Rincon loop checking everything as best I could from the 101. There were waves everywhere. Film wise I always seem to get the best bang for my buck at Little Rincon and I have been on a role there on these small swell the past two weeks. I jumped in. The crowd was light to medium with about six to eight people at the worst. AJ showed up and it was with out a doubt a rip fest. I was in the zone for a change. With any luck the footage proves it true and that it wasn’t just in my head. Anyone who films a bunch knows that sometimes when you thing you’re ripping the footage sucks and visa versa. The rest of my day was spent at the post office where we were short handed again leaving me all by myself.

2-21-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 78
I woke up to multiple messages that the wind was off shore and Strand was solid but very crowded. It was another slow morning for me thanks to yet another ten hour shift at the Post Office. Around nine I got my tired ass out of bed and headed down for the Oxnard beaches. In an attempt to circumvent the crowd I had a look at Shores. It was too walled to be worth anything. The bars are just too far off the beach too. I headed to the Ship and surprisingly there was a fair amount of guys leaving and I got a decent space. I guess between the cold water, and hard off shore winds plus the fact that there were still a lot of close outs didn’t really keep people stoked. I got frothy and ran back to my and tore on my suit. It was some of the best waves I had seen in over a month or so. Once out there it was way more tricky then it looked to get a good one. I was constantly out of position or ended up stroking into close outs. As a matter of fact the only really sick one that did come to me Ryan blatantly burned me on riding his soft top. I got so upset that I have basically written off our friendship. Lately all he rides is that damn soft top and is rude as heck on it constantly paddling around everyone and sitting way out the back and stealing all the good ones then kooking it cause his board is a pool toy to the dismay of the entire line up. I’m over it. Luckily I did manage one really good left tube and decided to quit on that high note and head to work. If I didn’t have to work I would have stayed out till the wind switched or I couldn’t paddle any more. Rest of my day was spent at the Post Office trying not to dose off from how tired I was.

2-20-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 52
I got stuck working till one last night thus I slept in. By the time I got on the road it was 9:30. The wind was all over the place and seemed every few miles of down the coast it was blowing from a different direction. This caused quite the jumble at most spots. Some how at Little Rincon and La Conchita the wind was straight off shore. Not questioning why I jumped in and had the place with one other dude for about twenty minutes. Loren showed up and two groms after him. There were plenty of waves thanks to the wind swell and everyone was getting their share of both good ones and beatings alike. I took a couple triple up doozies in front of the rock that definitely woke me up. It may have been small but man did I have fun. The rest of my day was spent at the post office for another ten hour day, but not before cooking up a yummy batch of waffles.

2-19-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 52
Though small the buoys reading very west. I got word that the Ventura beaches were blah, that Rincon was small but perfect and the Base was solid and heavy. At the moment I don’t have a base hook up so that was out. I headed to Rincon and did the 101 loop twice settling on Little ‘Con where I saw some perfect little waist to chest plus runners with only three guys out completely sitting out of position. My bud Chris showed up whom I hadn’t seen in over a month and we paddled, immediately taking over the peak. The water was still freezing despite some dude who actually managed a solid half hour bare backing it. I managed a few little in and outs, couple views, an air or two and gave the lip my share of bashings. Mostly it was just nice to have clean fun waves basically all to myself and two friends. These days it’s so crowded when the waves are good about the only time one can have fun is when the reports are small. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where I was on a ten hour grind.

2-18-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 78
Finally some offshore winds down south. I had a look at Shores first and though there were some solid sets the bars were all way outside and only breaking the largest waves decent. It looked like one of those days where it would be very difficult to be in the right position. I met Angers over at the Ship. It was small waist to chest with the very odd ball plus set. The lines looked better then Shores and it was the cleanest surf I had seen since Mexico. We paddled and the water was freezing. It had to be in the high 40’s cause it was ice cream head aches every duck dive and my 4/3 felt like a 3/2. Over all it was a bit grovelly with the hard off shore wind. I did manage one legit left barrel off the Ship that I suppose made it all worth it. As the tide filled in the waves began to shrink to the point where I practically had to paddle in. On my way home the wind had switched NW and Rincon looked pretty fun. I really wanted to surf again. The responsible guy in me headed home to do more ding work. Always hustling trying to make that dollar out of fifteen cents.

2-17-21 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
Another day of completely wonky, junbled up conditions. All the reports I got first thing were not enthusiastic. I had ding repair to get done and decided to make an early day of it and hope things smoothen out later. All we needed was for the wind to blow NW and the points would be alright. That never happened. I car surfed everything down to Emma with nothing stoking me out. Sharks appeared to have a wave on the drive by, but I didn’t loop around for a second look. Angers hit me up from North Strand claiming it looked fun. When I got there all I saw were big disorganized bowls up and down the beach with all sorts of rip tides and chunk. Classic Angers favorite conditions. Out of time and options we paddled it. Besides being lots of work there were some real gems out there if you managed to line one up. I lucked into several that stoked me out. It was far from what I’d call good. Definitely surf-able.

2-16-21 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Sand Spit
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 12
I was not shocked when I woke up and the wind was blowing stiff out of the NW at my place, yet blowing SW down in Ventura once again cause wonk everywhere. I got word Rincon to Emma was worse then yesterday. I decided to look at Hammonds, which was also all jumbled up. Rather then burn up more gas and waste time I just ran down to Sand Spit where though micro it was at least clean with runners. Even at knee high that wave can be a lot of fun. I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and jumped off the break wall. That boards eats small point surf like a monster. Of course as my luck would have it fifteen minutes in the wind went hard SW absolutely trashing it. I hung around another fifteen hoping it might switch back or even die. That didn’t happen and now that I’m on this surf everyday in 2021 kick there was no way I was going to force a long surf in such terrible waves. Tomorrow is another day.

2-15-21 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 92
Wow talk about a complete waste of a paid holiday off. I pretty much spent the entire day with my wife in tow car surfing. As a matter of fact the I think the only productivity that came out of it was I managed to pick up a nee pair of bullshit Levi’s sneakers from Ross for $20. I got six months out of my last pair so I really don’t have any complaints. Being it was a bonus day off my wife and I hung out in bed till ten before starting the hunt for terrible waves. I pretty much checked everything all the way down to Port Hueneme and came up short. Strand may have been the best of the worst in the morning window though that wasn’t saying much cause it was still pretty darn terrible. We decided to take a well deserved brunch break. Let me tell you, there is no charm in our door winter dining when it’s fifty, cloudy and icy wind. I never ate so fast so I could go warm up. My wife kept giving me shit about how messy my car was. I made her eat her words making a trip to the car wash where the two of us completely detailed my ride (after checking Emma Wood later that afternoon the car was already cover in dust). After the wash it was around one or so. Still in Oxnard I had one more look at Strand. It still was awful. From there I headed towards Sea Cliffs. It appeared that I may have just missed a magic window at Emma, but was too low when I got there. If only I hadn’t stopped at Ross for the kicks. Pitas was beat with lots of funky cross chop. Hobson’s had some potential, but the line up was all over the place. My wife wanted to shoot and it’s a horrible location for any kind of decent land footage. Then I did the Rincon loop three times before settling on really strange, wonky, dumpy little ‘Con where I almost didn’t make the paddle out from La Conchita! Not cause it was big. The tide was draining so low I couldn’t duck dive and kept getting pushed closer to the rocks. Luckily I just snuck out in time to pull into a gnarly close out off the rock. From there I had a handful of ok rides, yelled at some kook from Santa Cruz on a fun shape for almost running me over. The guy had no business being out there at his diminutive skill level. I was struggling. I suppose I was stoked I surfed. Good times. Back to work tomorrow.

2-14-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 56
First of all Happy Valentines Day hope you’re making the most of it no matter what your situation is. It can be quite the frustrating and depressing day. Remember it’s a pretty bull shit commercialized holiday and should be taken with a grain of salt. If you have found yourself alone today then do something extraordinary for you. Last night I had these grandiose ideas that the Ship was going to be super fun. This was until I woke up at seven and the wind was blowing rather good out of the NW at my apartment. I got word Rincon was small but surf-able, Strand was a mess but surf-able at North Jetty. I basically desperation paddled Emma Wood after exhausting any better options. It was bad out there. Between the high tide and all the mix of wind swell plus the wind constantly swirling between SW and NW it was like surfing in a bucket that constantly had the sides being beaten on. That being said I tend to surf absolutely shit surf well and certainly made the most out of any odd section that was thrown at me. After the surf I enjoyed a Valentine Breakfast with my wife since I was to be stuck at work the rest of the day. Check out my Instagram for a very funny V-day post.

2-13-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 56
I wasn’t sure what to expect this morning. The buoys showed a bit of wind swell. Once again I was fighting against a six foot high tide at ten. I got word that the Ship had a wave though hardly worth the drive especially with the impending tide and the fact that the wind was already blowing pretty stiff at my house NW. I headed back to Emma with Indicator as my fall back. Emma Wood was surprisingly good. It almost looked like it used when I surfed there nearly everyday years ago. There were about fifteen guys on it but spread out over a handful of peaks. I jumped in and played the left just lined up with the Lifeguard Tower. Pretty much where I always like to sit if this peak is working, especially on a high tide. I shared it with about four other guys till this six pack riding everything from short boards to mid length decided to sit right on me and proceeded to basically just get in the way essentially clogging what was once a fun peak. Over it I paddled to the right handed near the entrance only to be followed by this group over there. The rest of my surf was spent basically paddling the opposite way this menagerie of kooks decided to drift. Of course as soon as I got out to go to work they bailed too. Thanks for making my surf extra annoying kooks. That being said I did have a half decent time except for the fact that the water was freezing. It’s definitely going to be tough learning to deal with the crowds again after surfing basically by myself in Mexico and during the flat spell that just seemed to pass. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

2-12-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 56
This surfing 365 days is really a drag when its a six foot high tide, small waves and the wind is blowing 20 mph NW. Taking the tide into consideration I got some errands done before heading south to find something to grovel before work. Jeffrey was already on the hunt and was coming up empty. I met him at Solimar where I thought it was the most surf-able. He thought Emma was better and thus we went back and paddled pseudo victory at sea conditions. In classic Emma fashion it ended up being way more fun then it looked. The only annoyance was that the current on the inside was rather stiff. My tail bone was acting up a bit too causing me to have a less then stellar time as a result of pain. Killian paddle most likely cause he saw us getting some good ones. The rest of my day was spent at the post office on my first day back after nine marvelous days off.

2-11-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
There was a bit more swell in the water as was there a six foot high tide. I met Jeffrey at the knoll where we basically talked ourselves into paddling a windy, fat, wonky left coming off the same bar as yesterday. Though bigger the angle was a little too west making it very hard to line up. There was so much resistance from the rip off that bar you almost feel as though you’re river surfing. While we were out there the army corp of engineers began dredging the Harbor. It didn’t take long for the water to start stinking and turn black. That was my cue to leave. Rest of my day was spent fixing dings.

2-10-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Back on the California grind where I was welcomed with barely ride-able surf. If I wasn’t trying to surf everyday in 2021 I for sure wouldn’t have even bothered looking around for surf. I got to the Harbor and it was tiny barely pushing waist high. Knoll had this alright looking left hand sand bar. My buddy Jeffrey was on it groveling hard. I paddled as he was leaving. Despite the wind and small waves I got a handful of rides off it. The only bummer was the rip was very hard forcing me to constantly paddle to keep position and I definitely missed my share of set waves because I was sneakily pulled out of position by the rip. I gave it a solid hour before getting on with a day full of errands. That night we had a belated birthday celebration for Bizarro with a piñata brought back from Mexico.

2-9-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Blacks Beach, San Diego
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 66
The plan was to head north and see if Baja Malibu had anything to offer. Before I get to that I must go back to the very start of our trip. Just before leaving SD it became apparent that I had forgot my passport back in SB. We hatched plenty of schemes to get down to me. Finally I decided to throw caution to the wind and just go for it and see what happens. A classic Lisanti thing to do. Glad to see at 40 I’m still as much an ignoramus as I was at 20. Also I didn’t even have a valid photo ID cause I never replaced my license when it got stolen from me at Zeros in Malibu way back in the fall. Anyhow there was the off chance I might not get back into the US. Baja Malibu was junky thus we headed to the border. Luckily we only had to wait about two and a half hours to get to the check point. Though a bit dumbfounded how anyone could be so stupid as to enter a foreign country with no identification my wife and I were admitted back into the US. I still needed to get my surf in. We grabbed lunch with my wife’s sister then headed to Blacks. This was my spot back when I lived in San Diego nearly twenty years ago. Every so often when I’m in SD I like to revisit the old stomping ground. The tide was super drained and there was some wsw wind on it. The shape was pretty poor but every so often a chest to head high set would roll down the canyon. There were only a handful of guys out. I jumped in and had a terrible time finding the good ones, not that there were a ton of them. I did manage an alright left tube and a few three hit rights. At the very least it was nice to surf out there if not for any other reason the for the sake of nostalgia. Thus concluded a very splendid Mexico vacation.

2-8-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, La Salina Harbor, Baja Mexico
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 33
It was the last full day of my trip. Though I hadn’t scored what most surfers consider to be good Baja I did manage to surf chest to head high fun waves basically to myself. With more small wind swell on tap we headed back to the Harbor. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it after all. The Jetty was doing its thing yet again. After last nights point session I was feeling rather spry. I was in an air mood and went to town boosting an array of everything in my repertoire. This was until I landed too flat trying to pull an inverted full rotation frontside air reverse and smashed my hand into the nose of my board. I lucked out and didn’t get cut but my hand was pretty well bruised. Welcome to being 40 I suppose. Everything seems to come with stiffer consequences. I surfed a handful more waves before moving to the inside nub jetty where I snagged a few rights before coming in for a well earned lunch at our little cantina. After lunch we said our goodbyes and thanked Ben for hooking up the best session of the trip last night. Since it was out last night we decided to go out to dinner to this somewhat upscale place called Rubens, just sour of Los Gaviotas. I must say for $45 dollars including tip we enjoyed two entrees, salad and a nice bottle of wine. If you’re in the area and are looking for a decent meal I highly recommend Rubens Sports Bar.

2-7-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, K55 1/2, Baja Mexico
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 33
I woke up to fog and stiff NW winds. knowing all the beaches were going to be trash my wife and I decided to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely continental breakfast on our patio. The fog cleared by mid day while the wind continued to blow. My wife had to go into Rosarito to get some things for her family back in the states. We cruised and did a little shopping and other oddities before heading back for a look at K38. The tide was super low. There was a mushy wave running down the reef. Not frothy on it we decided to get some lunch and then regroup. Not stoked on what was on offer at K38 or Los Gaviotas I decided to head back to La Salina in the hopes that I could maybe find some protection from the wind on the other side of the harbor jetty. The only access was to paddle across the inlet. Feeling beaten I was about to drive away when the parking lot attendant Ben, where we have been eating lunch told us that if I wanted to surf K55 1/2 he knew the the guy at the gate of one of the communities that was about a half km walk from the wave. He gave us the guys name and information on how to get in. K55 1/2 is a decent right hand reef/point break that I had wanted to surf since we showed up. Stoked I jumped at the chance. Sure enough we got in with no issue thanks to Ben. Stoked my wife and I made the walk and were greeted with a Leo Carrillo type wave. It was chest plus with four guys out and still enough room for me. Knowing that it was a private wave I sat on the inside picking off scraps for the first half hour. Then two guys left and I worked my way into the lineup. Shortly after those two left as well. I had the entire line up to myself. I frothed pretty hard. If not for the long walk back I definitely would have surfed till dark. Rather then risk anything bad happening to my wife and I, the session was cut a little short. No worries I definitely got mine. Best session of the trip so far.

2-6-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, La Salina Harbor, Baja Mexico
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 33
With even less swell out there we headed straight for La Salina Harbor with fingers crossed there would be something to surf. Though small there was a chest plus wave wedging off the Jetty that looked fun enough. There was a little south west texture on it though still very fun. I got in the zone and tore the shit out of whatever came my way. Sets were a tad bit inconsistent leaving me out the back waiting in what felt like somewhat sharky waters. My bruised tail bone was acting up a bit too. Rather then push the envelope I quit at twenty two waves even though it was still very clean. Once again we ate our lunch at the cantina that allowed us to park . My wife decided to go ham on the trampoline they had back there. It was a most entertaining surprise. After lunch we headed into the Guadalupe Valley to do some wine tasting. We were in for quite the shock. Even though this valley looks ghetto the vineyards charge very high tasting fees for average at best wines. After one four bottle tasting of hardly palatable wine which we were charged $25 a person for we left angry and disenchanted. Those ill feelings were soon left behind us after enjoying some good wine I brought from home while watching the sunset over the ocean from our rooftop deck. All I can say is if you’re into wine don’t waste your time or money on the Guadeloupe Valley.

2-5-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, La Salina Harbor, Baja Mexico
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 84
The surf was substancially smaller today. Hoping to still be able to find a few fun ones we headed to San Miguel. It was small and crowded with long boards. I decided to have a look at the Ensenada beach breaks. Though clean they were still rather small. I saw some waves back north near La Salina. Of course access was restricted at all the places to park. Luckily for me my wife, being part Mexican speaks the language and was able to get us access through a small bar/hotel. If we ate at the restaurant we could park and surf. There was a solid left coming in off the Harbor Jetty that kind of resembled the Ship at Silver Strand. If you read this blog regularly then you I have quite the affinity for that wave. It was chest to head plus abs wedgy. No one was out or even in sight. Stoked I suited up and paddled. It took a few to get it wired and there were a bit of close outs to deal with, when I connected with a good one it was intense. I had the place all to myself till this Dude paddled out from one of the high rise condos on the beach. He was a chill regular foot from San Diego who splits his time between there and Mex. The two of us traded off fun lefts till the wind came up onshore and ruined it. Still it was fun while it lasted. After that it was tacos and beer at the cantina and then home for some relaxation on our top deck. One day in and I am already stress free.

2-4-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Los Gaviotas, Baja Mexico
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 72 (from Chula Vista, SD)
After a quick stop to the super market we headed south to the border getting a crowds with out any trouble at all. The house we rented for the week was not ready till four. Since it was the only day I were going to see any decent swell at all it was decided that we would strike out to San Miguel and get a few at the point. Unfortunately the lot was closed because of Covid and the only parking was a bit far away in a sketchy area. Considering all of our stuff was in the car I was not about to leave it unattended and go surf. We back tracked a ways to some other spots I knew of. As it turned out surf spots that were easily accessible three years ago were all now behind gated communities or condominiums with no public access. Frustrated we got some lunch and then headed to our gated community, Las Gaviotas. Though not epic there were waves at a few of the reefs. At the most southern end of the complex there was this Jetty that had a left coming back at it that would meet up with a right creating a pretty insane air section. I set my wife up on the Jetty with the camera and our angle was sick. It wasn’t the best wave we could have found that day, but I had fun. Some how I seem to always travel hundreds of miles just to find a wedgy close out I could have surfed at home. For dinner we gouged ourselves with lobsters while taking in the beautiful ocean view on the deck of our baller house.

2-3-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
The surf was down today, way down for the first time in weeks. Im on this surf everday in 2021 kick even with a trip to Baja just a day away I had to find surf. I heard Strand was bad. There was some south swell in the water so I headed to the Ventura Harbor. It was windy and the shape was poor not to mention crowded for what was on offer. From there I drove over to Dredge where it was slightly better though far from worthy. Still I was going to paddle it when I got word from Lorin that Indicator had a chest high wave. I cruised, grab my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and paddle. Man it was far from good Rincon but I got in the zone and was picking off pretty much every decent wave that came through the lower Indicator/Rivermouth sections. What a fun surf. I even managed to stick a full rotation air reverse. Rest of my day was spent getting everything in order for my Birthday trip to Baja tomorrow. My wife and I decided to leave in evening and spent the night at ner sister’s place in Chula Vista this way we could get to the border early. When we got there it was the turn of my 40th birthday and we celebrated with a handful of pasteries from Little Italy.

2-2-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 30
The plan was to head to Rincon to grab a surf with my newest Clarks Surfboards team rider Loren Bird. He runs a pretty cool YouTube channel https://youtube.com/c/LorenBird . I was rather unimpressed by what was on offer. I probably would have had a look around further south but there was a terrible back up on the 101 going north bound and I didn’t want to risk being stuck in any more traffic in my back to SB. Especially since I had work. There were enough chest high runners to make it worth a surf despite the shitty south funk that was on it. As I was walking up to paddle the Rivermouth I ran into the queen of New Jersey’s Ocean Hut Surf Shop, Mary Beth. Her and Tony G were in town on their annual Rincon getaway. G-man and his son James were already in the water. I jumped and considering how bad the surf was ended up getting a few sick ones. Then I got a screamer through the lower Rivermouth section and boosted an air landing in dry reef, a common problem there when the wind is south. Though I stuck the air I was thrown butt first into a Boulder and as of press time can confirm that I definitely bruised my tail bone. On a positive note my watch logged in my highest water speed yet, 27mph. I kept surfing and still snagged a bunch a fun ones. Sometimes it’s the days you least expect that can be the most fun. The rest of my day was spent at the Post office nursing my injury. Shitty timing too cause I’m going to to Baja tomorrow for a week for my birthday.

2-1-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 64
I haven’t surfed New Jetty in nearly a year. This used to be my bread and butter wave for close to ten years. The past three years or so the popularity of the wave with the youths, rippers and pros plus subsequent groupie and social media hyped crowd had let me to go elsewhere. In a way it has been a little bit sad cause I really did like surfing there. Chalk it up to another wave most to “tragedy of the commons”. Today with an obnoxious six foot high tide, onshore winds and backwashy mush burger shore break I had the whole place to myself. Ever so often a wedge little thing came in worthy of a turn or two. I guess that is what it comes down to these days to get a wave to yourself at a popular spot: surf it on the absolute worst conditions you can find. Did I mention the air and water were cold and miserable as well. It was good times all around. The rest of my day was spent at the Post office where we lost all the toilet pressure for every bathroom in the building. My usual day of sitting in my ass and occasionally pretending to work was interrupted by the catastrophe. Between setting up porta potties and closing down and cleaning the mess of thirty six clog toilets one could say I did finally earn my keep today.