Surfing Ruined My Life

February 2025 Surf Sessions

2-28-25 No Surfing: 4-6+ ft
I hate being on the injury list especially when there is solid swell in the water.  I woke up and my eye though not as bad as yesterday was still burning and very inflamed.  It was also extremely sensitive to light exposure.  I had to wear my eye patch all day and was continually hydrating it with drops.  For me it was a day on the couch as my vision was highly obstructed from the patch and I had a headache from the pain.  Hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow.  Photo from Ventura Point cam.

2-27-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 46
The surf gods have definitely been against me this week.  CC called me from County Line absolutely claiming it.  I grabbed Bizarro and we cruised.  When we left the cam was sunny with amazing conditions to film.  As soon as we pulled up a shroud of fog eclipsed the line up making it not film-able.  The waves looked fun enough but with no signs of the fog lifting we decided to head back to Oxnard where the Santa Ana winds had just come up.  Zach was at the Ship and we joined him. It was chest plus and a little bit on the soft side and crowded but rip-able.  Over the search I paddled and immediately got on an absolute froth.  Then the wind went more south and the majority of the line up bailed  leaving Zach and I on our own peak in front of Tower 5.  We went nuts for an hour stacking clips till the tide got too low and the waves got weird.  Somehow I twisted my knee on my third to last wave landing a floater wrong.  Nothing serious just annoying.   I got home and began working on some ding repair.  Somehow while stirring a batch of epoxy resin I splashed a drop of catalyst in my eye.  This is a harmful corrosive chemical that should never get in one’s eye. I ran into my house and began flushing it with water.  Then ran back out to my shop and read the label which said to continue flushing for fifteen minutes.  I didn’t want to loose the batch so I quickly fixed the dings I had laid out then ran into my shower where I flushed my eye for the requisite 15 minutes.  My eye burned like hell all night.  My wife got me some drops and an eye patch which definitely helped.  Hopefully I won’t lose vision in my eye.

2-26-25 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 62
Today was supposed to be the day of the big swell.  Of course it was also coupled with south devil winds.  I grabbed Bizarro and we headed to the north points.  Rincon was solid but packed beyond capacity with both lots full and all of Bates parked out.  There was still a healthy amount of south wind on it too.  Little Rincon was solid but also had more south wind than I’d like.  Also it was very crowded for what was on offer.  Bizarro and I both agreed that we would be hard pressed to get any worth while clips.  We started home on the 101.  As we were driving past Pitas I noticed that the wind had died enough to where the ocean almost looked glassy.  There was still a fair amount of chop and wonk on the faces but it seemed surf-able enough.  After driving around in circles for two hours both of us just wanted to get some work done.  I paddled down the point and just like every place else it was still way more crowded than the conditions warranted.  The waves were very hard to connect with strange flat sections and long dumpy sections on top of the annoying south wind chop.  As the session wore on the crowd began to dissipate and conditions glassed off.  At this point I managed a handful of decent rides.  After two hours I was completely gassed and called it a day.  Bizarro and I found some decent sea glass scores on the walk back.  My afternoon was spent running errands to keep my house hold running.

2-25-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
I hate beating a dead horse and today was definitely one of those sessions.  The Ship didn’t look great with weird backwash and stretchy sets.  But I thought I saw a few runners off the actual Ship and paddled.  My first wave was good for three turns which I had hoped would set the pace for the entire surf.  That didn’t happen and for an hour it was wonky close out after wonky close out. The water was freezing and I definitely left the beach with less stoke then when I paddled.  I had a massive catering gig in Santa Barbara in the evening.  A huge corporate thing I work every year.  This year I’d say we did it the best we ever have. 

2-24-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 52
I must admit I haven’t spent very much time with my queen this season.  These days she’s always so crowded it’s hard for me to want to surf her.  There have been the off days where I’ve snuck in a few sessions and today was one of those days.  Zach and I were at Strand not impressed.  I had gotten word that the points had waves.  Since we had time Zach and I loaded into my car and cruised up to the north points.  Rincon looked the best though a little weaker and plagued with a bit of south wind chop then I would have like.  For whatever reasons my beautiful Queen decided to shine her light on me and somehow for the entire session I lucked into decent rides on every section of the point. I did three laps from top to bottom.  There were two head high runners I caught in the Cove that reminded me why Rincon is the Queen of the Coast.  Each was good for over nine turns.  My average waves all session had at the very least five.  I was stoked to have made the drive.  After the surf Zach came over and picked up his sweet new Clarks Surfboards SPF Fish Model.  I spent the remainder of the afternoon shopping for a few last minute items for my Florida trip coming this week. 

2-23-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 52
There was a bit more swell in water but the swell was a little too west for the beaches.  Hollywood was almost do-able but I didn’t trust it with the steadily dropping tide.  Instead my wife and I headed up to the points.  Pitas looked good from the freeway but I knew it would be difficult to film.  Rincon looked solid but was packed to capacity for the amount of waves on offer.  Every wave that came through had at least five guys scraping for it. Little Rincon thanks to its racy and dumpy nature was more manageable.  I jumped in and decided to just manhandle the crowd taking whatever I wanted.  For a brief moment I got in the zone and stacked a handful of A clips.  After the surf my wife and I drove up to Carpinteria to brunch at Hugo’s one of our favorite luncheonettes that we don’t get to frequent enough now that we live down south.  The owners are this cute Asian couple who we have gotten to know quite well over the years.  They both freaked when they saw my wife’s pregnant belly.  My afternoon was spent sanding the last board in the most recent Clark’s Surfboards batch. Now on to the next one. While I have your attention if you’re thinking of getting a board please reach out.  Business has been very slow and I could really use the work or at the very least bring over some ding work.  Help me survive life.  If you built surfboards I would order a custom from you. 

2-22-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 10
The swell had dropped dramatically from the past few days but was still in the chest high range.  My window was short as I needed to be in Carpinteria to work a celebration of life ceremony at noon.  I probably should have just headed up that way and surfed something there since the angle was still pretty west.  The Ship had a clean somewhat rip-able wave coming through.  The crowd wasn’t bad.  I took the bird in the hand and paddled.  As soon as I hit the water the wind went SW and the crowd doubled.  Courtesy of the draining tide the waves got rather stretched and dumpy.  I paddled around the lineup getting frustrated for an hour just going through the motions and not really surfing anything worthwhile.  At least I got wet.  On the way up to work the points definitely looked more fun and I probably should have just surfed up there.  The gig was super easy, celebrations of life usually are.  New swell must have filled in because on the drive home Rincon looked good.  I was spent plus my wife was expecting me home and didn’t paddle.

2-21-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
The amount of south wind that has presented itself the past few weeks is uncanny.  There were some rip-able crossed up chest plus peaks on the Ship side, albeit a little on the stretched and dumpy side.  The water was freezing and good waves few and far between.  I did manage one really nice tube that made the whole ordeal worth it.  After the surf I had just a short day at the glass shop as I’m getting close to finishing off another batch. 

2-20-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 10
Some days you just sell yourself on a lie.  Salar and I were watching the Ship.  The wind was already onshore and the chest plus surf looked tricky.  Occasionally we saw a really good set peel off the actual Ship.  Lately there have been so few days where that actually happens.  Despite going against my better judgement and driving up to the points we paddled.  My first three waves were really decent, three to four turns on them.  The thing about the Ship side of the Strand is that once the wind starts to blow the chop on the face gets exponentially worse till it becomes just about not surf-able.  The window before that comes to pass is only about twenty minutes or so.  I got stuck out there grasping at straws to find another decent wave.  The water was freezing.  I was stoked on the couple I did catch.  The rest of my day was spent sanding surfboards. 

2-19-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 58
The same mid period WNW swell was running from yesterday but maybe a touch on the smaller side.  There already was onshore wind at Strand with way more guys out for what it was.  I got word from my wife that all the points still had waves and were clean which encouraged me to make the trek.  Rincon looked alright but not worth the amount of guys on it.  Little Rincon was less crowded but a bit on the stretched and dumpy side.  It looked like Pitas was fun from the freeway so gave it a look.  The incoming tide seemed to have already taken its toll there.  I went back to Little Rincon and paddled.  There was only myself and three other guys out and plenty of waves for all of us to get some.  Like I said the shape was a little on the stretched and dumpy side making really good rides hard to come by. Every so often a wave would run the reef and be good for three to five turns.  Mostly I got a lot of two turners or one big close out hit.  It was definitely better than anyplace else I looked.  The rest my day was spent sanding surfboards.

2-18-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 34
There was a solid uptick in the west swell.  All the points had waves and heavy crowds.  I got word that County was solid head high plus, grabbed Bizarro to film and CC met us there.  The place was solid but a bit stretched and broken up.  Most waves didn’t run the length of the reef. It was pretty crowded too. The majority people weren’t catching waves but were constantly in the way. The first half of the session was plagued with south winds adding a bit of side chop to the wave face.  I got on a real froth and put down five “A” clips.  Then conditions began to glass off but the sets became super inconsistent as well.  The last half of the surf I was hard pressed get any waves worth while. The rest of my afternoon was spent glassing. 

2-17-25 AM Session: 2-3 ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 34
I was expecting another fun morning at the Ship but the channel was a complete mess.  There must have been hard outer winds cause there was absolutely calm winds on the beach.  I got word that County Line had a wave and was clean albeit on the small side.  Had I not missed the last three days in a row I probably would have just shined the surf altogether.  I ran home to grab my groveler. My wife was awake and decided to join me on the excursion down the PCH.  Though small, waist to a very occasional chest high, there were some palatable lines coming through on the reef.  Zach came out as did CC.  It was a bit more grovely than I had hoped and got very crowded for what was on offer.  I went through the motions, caught a handful of waves and left.  It was time for brunch followed by an afternoon round of golf.  I shot a 73 thanks to another weekend of wet conditions and some really careless play.  My wife being pregnant didn’t play all the holes thus couldn’t turn in a score.  I will say that the holes she did play she played phenomenally.  I think she’s playing a better game 24 weeks pregnant than she ever did before.

2-16-25 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 10
Talk about a beautiful mountain morning.  The air was in the sixties and sunny making me regret not bringing clubs.  It would have been splendid round of golf on the course a front the cabin.  We packed up our stuff and this Airbnb host had the nerve to make us do a bit of cleaning chores.  We did them but I think they had a lot of nerve asking.  For the price we paid a night I could have gotten a VIP sweet at any five star hotel and wouldn’t have to clean anything.  What was the point of the extra $250 cleaning fee they tack on?  We ate breakfast in the town of Frazier Park at this wonderful little luncheonette called Big Johns.  Not only was the food amazing but the portions huge and menu quite extensive.   The place was so good I’d make a trip there just to eat the food. We got back to Oxnard around 4ish and there was no wind, a rarity.  Once I got my wife home and situated I grabbed a board and cruised over to the Strand.  Ship had a clean glassy chest plus wave with only a few heads on it.  The shape was a little drained with the tide but rip-able.  I managed a tube or two. Overall it was a splendid weekend and just what my wife and I needed.  

2-15-25 No Surfing: 4-6+ ft
From the looks of the cams and the fact that they ran the Rincon Classic there was some solid swell in the water.  It didn’t do me any good considering I woke up in a cabin in the middle of the woods two hours inland.  That was fine. I welcomed a lazy morning off in bed with my wife.  The reason we picked the location of the cabin was that there was absolutely no cell phone service.  It was kind of nice being cut off for the weekend.  Unfortunately it was 50F when we woke up and any snow that might have accumulated around there cabin had melted.  All the surrounding mountains were still snow covered making for a pretty view.  When we got in last night it was already dark but as it turned out the cabin was on a golf course.  Guess we should have brought our clubs.  We had lunch at the club house of the course, then went of a short little hike where we did find just a touch of snow. Considering my wife is 23 weeks pregnant we couldn’t get as high as it would have taken to get to real snow, but I’d say it was a commendable effort.  After the hike we headed back to the cabin, built a fire and relaxed the rest of the afternoon/evening.  For dinner I served up handmade gnocchi with pancetta in a brown butter.  This getaway was just what we needed.  Photo from cstreet.

2-14-25 No Surfing: 4-6+ ft
Today followed suit with yesterday except instead of hard WSW winds we had a hard WNW coastal gale blow in.  There was plenty of swell in the water but also plenty of gnar.  Besides way inside the Cove at Rincon or El Capitan there wasn’t many options.  I had more glass work to do trumping my need to chase down victory at sea style conditions that may have a flash on the pan moment.   My wife and I booked a quaint little cabin out in Frazier Park for the weekend sort of a Valentine’s Day/babymoon thing.  Let’s face it once our son is born we are not going to have the freedom we once had.  Surfing definitely wasn’t the main priority on my mind.  I finished up at the glass shop around 1pm and my wife and I set out around 3pm.  When we got to the higher elevation of the Frazier area we were greeted by a huge beautiful rainbow followed by a sleet/snow storm.  Luckily my instincts from years of living in the North East were still sharp and I got us to our cabin safely.  It was freezing just hovering above 30F.  The inside of the cabin wasn’t much warmer.  Luckily the Airbnb host left us some dry wood inside and I got to building a fire.  Soon we were toasty in the cutest chalet style cabin.  I cooked us up Coho Salmon with asparagus and fingerling potatoes.   We enjoyed a romantic evening snuggled up in front of the fire with hopes of waking up to some snow in the morning. No photo cause I didn’t get a chance to take or screen shot one so here is picture from my trip.

2-13-25 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 10
As clean as it was yesterday that was how messy it was today. The entire day was plagued with hard WSW winds and not a ton of swell.  Considering the high tide and the weather I decided to head into the glass shop and get as much done as I could.  The thing about glassing is sometimes you just hit a wall where all the boards you’re working on need to dry and there’s nothing left you can do.  That happened to me around 4pm at which point I cleaned up and headed to Strand for a look.  It was cold, rainy, windy and way smaller than I would have liked, maybe chest high on set at best.  The shape sucked too.  I wasn’t frothing and decided to go home and get some office work done.  Photo from Ventura Harbor.

2-12-25 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 18
Off shore wind and rain coupled with some mid period west swell makes a combination too good to pass up.  The morning started out with a six foot high tide prompting me to go into the glass shop early and laminate a few boards.  Zach hit me up around noon that he was heading my way to surf.  We met at Ventura Harbor which had the most swell out of any place in the area. The water wasn’t brown.  As far as the surf went it was a little stretched but there was a bar just south of the parking lot at the Knoll that appeared to have a mysto left breaking off a rip.  These types of waves at the Harbor are always more work than they are worth which this bar was no exception of.  I got lucky and found a handful of decent lefts and two really good rights.  I even made two barrels.  The tide drained out super fast making it completely walled.  That was fine since I had to get back to the glass shop.  I sort of wished I had gotten there an hour earlier.  

2-11-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 12
There was a rise in wind swell but also a rise in the wind.  My time was limited as I was faced with another full day of glass work.  The Ship has a couple of chest plus sloppy but surf-able waves to be had. With the wind forecast to come up at gale forces as the day wore on I paddled. The first half of my session I surprisingly caught a few really fun rides. As the wind got more intense the surf got junky.  That was fine cause I didn’t feel bad leaving to go to work. 

2-10-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 12
There was just some minor NW wind swell in the water this morning and a pretty fat high tide.  I was greeted by a very large dead sea lion rolling around in the shore break by the ship, just looking to attract the wrong kind of wildlife’s attention.  The tide was going out and my hope was that it would eventually get stuck high enough up the berm to stay on the beach. This did happen while I was watching it.  Though nothing fabulous it was perfectly clean, small and rip-able with no one out.  I took my grovel board and made the most of what was out there.  It was definitely worth an hour of exercise before slaving away in the glass shop for the rest of the afternoon. 

2-9-25 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 2
I had my first official catering gig of the year, a Super Bowl party at one of the homes on the ocean, near Hobson’s beach.  Due to the time constraints of the event I only had enough time to run out front for a quick surf.  There was a small but rip-able A-frame just off the south side of the Pier.  I gave the waist to stomach high wave an hour of my time.  After I surfed I found out that there was an 80,000 gallon sewage spill just a half mile down the beach at the treatment plant at the most southern border of Hueneme.  At least the currents predominantly flow south and the water didn’t feel all that gross.  As far as the job went it was as easy as easy gets.  Besides setting up one of my famous Chucuterie tables and cooking some pasta the client had made the majority of the food.  Nothing like an easy cash grab and it was just the money I needed to make this upcoming Valentine’s Day special for my wife. 

2-8-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 64
Today was exciting. My wife was actually down to come along with me to the beach.  Before she was pregnant she used to come a handful of times a month.  These days understandably it’s a rarity.  She really wanted to head down south on the PCH.  There was plenty of WNW/SW combo swell running leading me to believe we would find something palatable.  Sure enough I was correct as there were chest to head high waves up and down that coast line.  County Line looked the best but it was shit show crowded.  I could get into it despite the fact that both CC and Zach were out.  Zeros has solid size but the shape was a bit to be desired and Leo was packed.  I checked the Malibu cam and the place was empty.  Granted that was for good reason.  Since the all the fires and the recent rains as of yesterday even, all that fire run off was nasty, maybe even toxic depending on who you asked. Being a person who treads the fine line between absolute stupidity and brilliance I rolled the dice and steered my car to the ‘bu.  Once there I was pleasantly surprised with chest to head high rights peeling from each spot, first, second and third.  There was only ten guys out at First, two at Second and four at Third.  That is on heard of for a Saturday with waves at malibu.  Second looked the most rip-able so that’s where I paddled.  The water was definitely dirty but I wouldn’t say toxic.  There was a slight oder of soot.  I’ve surfed in dirtier water up at El Capitan.  I had second peak all to myself for about an hour before being joined by my friend Jonas and then the two of us traded off 3-7 turn runners for another half hour.  Want blast and we probably got about a dozen A clips out of it.  After the surf we ate at Malibu Seafood which is always usually too packed to bother with in a weekend but due to the fires and closure of the PCH we had no problem.  The food was excellent and we were happy to support the business in these tough times. We ended the day with a round of at the base.  Due to the wet grass I put up a whopper of a 71 and my wife an 82.

2-7-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Point Mugu
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 20
People often ask me how it is I manage to always find waves in even the most inhospitable conditions.  The answer is having the knowledge and the determination to think outside of the box.  Most people look at the reports and weather and write off the day based upon that information.  Some check a handful of their regular spots and if not appealing call it a day.  I draw a 75 mile radius around my home and consider all the spots north and south of me in that radius. With the help of buoy readings, wind, weather and surf reports I formulate a plan of action to still try and get wet.  Today the wind was howling enraptured in a NW coastal gale whipping down the coast from SLO to SD.  Every place was trash and the south facing points were tiny there only being just a small amount of NW/SW combo in the water.  I reached out to a friend of mine who has base access knowing that there was probably a good chance we could get some fun waves there.  Luckily he is as surf crazed as me if not more.  The mid day negative low tide was perfect for the strike mission.  We got there and though a little stretched Point Side had some chest plus barreling bowls to be had.  Upon paddling we realized it was throwing a little too square for the size making the surf more suited for the body boarders.  They were reveling in it. With some patients I was able to sift  through and pick out a few gems.  I had two left hand tubes that were particularly decent. As tide bottomed out it the waves  more difficult to make.  By that point we had gotten our share and called it a day.  Base is always a treat when I can get on.  The rest of my day was spent fixing dings.

2-6-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 18
The swell was down a bit from yesterday leaving Ventura Harbor the only place surf-able.  It was about chest plus with junky shape and more guys out then needed to be for the junky surf. I wanted to surf thus forced the paddle.  Being aloof I forgot my wetsuit at home.  I had to use this older 4/3 comp suit I leave in my car just for such an occasion.  The water was cold and so was air causing me to be freezing in the spare suit.  On my third wave I got hit in the face with the nose of my board trying over push an end section hit.  Of course I got cut just above my right eye.  It was a bleeder but my friend Kevin who is a fireman deemed it not serious so I continued to surf.  A little lower and I could have lost my eye.  It’s always the shitty days when I get hurt. After the surf I had to go up to Santa Barbara with my wife for her 20 week sonogram.  Our baby to be and her are doing very well.  I don’t know why I waste my time with these sonograms.  All it looks like to me is a bunch of blobs while the doctor points out what I’m supposed to be seeing.  It’s like those paintings they used to sell in the 90’s that were scrambled and if you stared at it enough you were supposed to see a picture.  I never saw a damn thing.  Just like these bullshit sonograms.  I will write a blog about this whole baby thing when I get a chance.  The official announcement was made a few weeks ago on my Instagram if you care to look.

2-5-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood Beach
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 44
Miles Driven: 10
The wind was straight offshore but the swell was definitely down a peg from yesterday.  There was some SE wind swell getting in around chest high.  Such conditions can be pretty fun.  The period was around six seconds making it more like something you’d see in Florida.  As a result the waves were very weak.  Luckily for me my groveler is dialed thanks to the Clarks Surfboards Bizzle Model.  I actually had a blast ripping the smaller waves.  Ryan and Jeffery paddled as well.  On or around my Birthday I always surf my age in waves, a feat which is getting more difficult as I age.  Today thanks to the consistency I managed to catch 44 waves.  It was exhausting yet rewarding at the same time.  CC in his usual fashion showed up just as the waves completely turned off.  Between the dropping tide and the fact that the wind swell completely dropped out it became borderline not surf-able.  My afternoon was spent fixing dings.  Later that night My wife and I took Bizarro out to this Japanese spot near our home he has been wanting to try.  It was his fortieth birthday.

2-4-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood Beach
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 10
Happy 44th Birthday to me.  Yeah, I’m getting old.  That being the case I still am giving it my all.  This old man will not go quietly into the night.  There was a bit of WNW swell in the water coupled with SE-S winds.  Hollywood was looking pretty fun.  I heard Rincon and all the points for that matter were pretty good early but the south wind would have killed it by the time I got there.  No bother, Hollywood was chest plus and as rip-able as rip-able gets with playful A-frame peaks up and down the beach.  Ryan and CC showed up to partake in my Birthday surf score and Bizarro came and filmed.  I don’t think I could ask for more than super fun waves with just my friends out and my best friend filming.  We surfed till the tide and wind killed it.  After the surf I decided to go home and shape myself a new Fly Guy Model. I had never actually shaped myself a surfboard on my birthday.  Then I waited for my wife to come home so we could go out to Ox and Ocean, the fine dining restaurant in the Zachari Dunes Hotel on the beach at Oxnard Shores.  I had heard good things and was eager to give the place a try.  Once again I was completely let down by the food and decor.  First off the chairs were big easy chairs making it very difficult to eat with any kind of posture.  Imagine trying to eat dinner in a suit sinking into your seat.  The floors were wood and the ceiling was raised and all wood making the place very echo full and uncomfortably load. The menu was all small plates.   What is the deal with every place doing small shared plates. I one and entree, a starch and a vegetable. My stomach never feels right after I eat a little bit of all different foods.  The menu was so atrocious that both my wife and I ordered Cesar salads, an order of crab cakes and an order of papas brave.  The Papas were about the best of the meal.  What a let down. If you don’t got you don’t know and I’m an especially hard critic when it comes to fine dining cuisine.  My birthday was great none the less.

2-3-25 No Surfing: 1-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 12
So much for the swell picking up.  There were some surf-able waves to be had at Strand but the Ship was windy and the North End although perfectly clean was weak and barely knee high.  Jeffery surfed the Harbor but it was also windy and junky there.  Instead I went for a walk with CC.  My afternoon was committed to ding repair.  Looks like more rain this week and hopefully more swell for my birthday Tomorrow.  I have always scored surf on my birthday ever since I was a teenager. The photo is from the North Jetty at Strand and that wave is like knee high at best.

2-2-25 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 10
Had it not been flat for the past week I probably would have walked on the meager waist plus waves that were a front at the Ship.  Especially since there were about fifteen guys on it. At the very least they were all regulars.   Everyone was sitting from Tower 5 north.  No one was south of the tower and I saw a few micro kill-able ones.  I paddled and made the most out of the meager offerings. I wasn’t really into it and felt more like I was just going through the motions.  My wife was feeling a bit under the weather leaving the afternoon to be at my disposal. I went for a drive and before I knew it I was in Simi Valley.  Somehow I stumbled upon this cute little historical park that was free and had some older buildings from the 1800’s being preserved and old farm equipment and the like.  The place is nothing spectacular but if you happen to be in the area it’s worth a stop. Looks like there should be a rise in swell for this week, which is great since it’s my birthday week

2-1-25 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 0
I guess surfing is a thing of the past here in the 805.  It’s been four days on flatness and a week of tiny surf before that.  The forecast for the next two weeks looks a bit underwhelming as well.  Winter must be on a break.  My wife and I decided to sleep in, luxury we rarely get at home due to the cats and responsibilities and will be a non point soon enough.  We enjoyed a nice brunch.  The day was concluded with a round of golf at the Sea Bee Golf Course on base.  Unfortunately we had a very slow group three guys in front of us who played worse than us and were sharing a bag.  They wouldn’t let us pass and ultimately we had to rudely just play through.  I ended up shooting at 62 and my wife a 69. Photo from Ventura Harbor cam.