Surfing Ruined My Life

January 2025 Surf Sessions

1-31-25 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 0
Today was as flat as flat gets.  I mean it wasn’t even surf-able.  Like the previous days CC and I did our walk.  Then I enjoyed brunch with my wife.  The afternoon was spent boxing and shipping a box of Clarks Surfboards to Texas followed by some office work. It definitely wasn’t one of my more exciting. Photo from the Ventura Point cam.

1-30-25 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 0
Once again today was another flat day.  I didn’t even bother checking it as both the buoys and cams were non-existent.  CC and I took our usual flat day walk around Hueneme.  In the afternoon I had a tee time over at Camarillo Springs with my brother-in-law at 2pm to play 18 holes.  I rarely get the opportunity or time play more than 9 holes and have never played the back 9 there.  Besides being a little chilly the course was empty and we had a fine time:  I shot a 64 on the front 9 and a 56 on the back 9 totaling 119.  There is nothing better than an afternoon round of golf.  Maybe only if I had surfed in the morning would it have been an all time day, but I’ll take it.

1-29-25 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 22
Wow, for the first time since maybe July the waves were borderline not surf-able.  I had a look at Hueneme and Strand.  Strand was almost do-able but it was freezing out and barely knee high.  Over it I went home and met up with CC for a walk up to the pier and back.  I did a bit of ding repair.  Just before dark I had another look at the Strand but it was still tiny and had wind on it.  I guess surfing wasn’t in the cards. Don’t let the photo fool you that wave was knee high and they were few and far between.

1-28-25 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 12
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any smaller I was shocked to see the subpar conditions.  The Ship was still funneling in a ride-able knee to maybe thigh high wave.  With the forecast looking very bleak Jeffery and I decided to paddle as it may be the last chance we would have to surf for a number of days.  The conditions were definitely a real grovel but once again my Clarks Surfboards Bizzle Model cut through the weak little waves like butter.  Towards the end of my session my knees were definitely feeling a bit sore from all the extra stress of such meager waves.  My afternoon was once again consumed with ding repair.

1-27-25 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 12
Today was about as small as small gets around here.  The buoys weren’t showing much more than some tiny local wind swell.  The Ship was somehow allowing for a knee to waist high wave albeit a little weak but surf-able.  I paddled with Jeffery and we got busy on the micro yet very rip-able surf.  The current Clarks Surfboards Bizzle Model I made myself is by far the best groveler short board I have ever rode.  I’m constantly amazed at the level it has allowed me to rip tiny, tiny waves.  The session was good for an hour work out.  This was just what I needed to get me ready for a long afternoon of ding repair. Looks like the rest of the week is looking pretty grim.

1-26-25 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 10
One thing nice about getting away is having the luxury of sleeping in.  My wife and I took full advantage staying in bed till after ten.  We did brunch at this cute little cafe in Los Alamos, though that’s about all it was worth cause the food was terrible.  After eating we walked across the street to an art gallery and found a piece that we decided to add to our collection.  Our new thing is to start acquiring art for our walls.  We don’t want meaningless art just pieces that we both absolutely love.  We considered going back to Jalama but were too lazy to make the effort.  Instead we headed home.  My wife wanted to take the route 154 for the scenery.  On the way we noticed there was some snow in the mountains.  One thing we love to do is chase snow at least one a year.  I changed our course east up Figoroa Mountain near Los Olivos.  I was skeptical of us being able to really get to any real accumulation.  Sure enough we got to high enough elevation that there wasn’t just snow but it was actually snowing rather hard with about an inch or two on the ground.  We stopped and enjoyed the winter wonderland, threw some snow balls and made a snow man.  There’s a reel on my Instagram from the trip if you want photos.  We got back to Oxnard around 4pm.  The wind was offshore and my wife encouraged me to have a quick Look at the Ship.  To my surprise there were perfect tiny waist plus waves breaking up and down the beach.  The scene was set for a beautiful sunset provoking me to paddle.  As it turned out I had a blast.  Talk about the California dream.  Snow in the morning and surfing in the afternoon.  What a weekend.  I think my wife and I did more in twenty four than most people do in a month.

1-25-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 102
First off I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife. Thanks to the extra construction work I was able to get my wife and I a hotel room for the night at the Sky View Hotel in Los Alamos.  She had expressed an interest in wanted to go to Jalama and then head up to the Santa Ynez Valley after.  I thought she would be stoked to stay the night and not have to drive home.  Of course it decided to rain on the one special weekend we were hoping to have.  There has been not a drop of rain in nearly six months.  That’s classic Lisanti Luck.  One thing about my wife and I, we have never let a little thing like weather ever stand in our way of having a good time. We went up to Jalama anyway and though cloudy and cold we lucked into a window where the rain had cleared and it turned out to be somewhat ok.  As for the surf it was chest to head with the occasional plus set, a bit too all over the place for Tarantellas.  Cracks had a very palatable wave with only three guys on it.  Luckily the twenty something crowd that was out there when we first arrived bailed.  To my wife and I surprise the majority of the surfers walking back were all of the female persuasion.  It had to be a 3:1 ratio.  I remember the days where one lady in the water was a stretch. How the sport has changed.  Also the majority of surfers out were on fishes, longboards and mid-lengths.  Then people wonder why I gave the place up when I moved to Hueneme.  The Jalama I used know and love doesn’t exist anymore.  That’s the case for a lot of my favorite places these days.  I’m beginning to understand why Greg Knoll quit surfing in the height of his prime.  I paddled the side shore/offshore conditions which by this time had actually went more offshore and got on a real froth.  Though a little soft the wave was super rip-able offering fun lefts and rights.  I seriously went to town. After an hour or so the wind started to go more onshore and a handful of randoms on alternative equipment came out mostly getting in the way. This was my cue to leave but not before taking a fifteen wave clean up set on the head.  To my utter entertainment after the set I was left out the back all by myself for the ocean sent the non-committed back to the beach. I caught a few more then headed in.  It was a good thing I did too because on the walk back it started to rain.  Post surf we treated ourselves to the world famous Jalama burger then headed into the Valley to our hotel.  The new owners did a remarkable job of fixing up the once run down motor in that used to be a “no tell motel” if you get my drift.  The newly renovated Sky View hotel is situated a top a hill just off the 101 near Los Alamos.  The property has a 360 degree view of the entire valley.  No detail has been spared or overlooked from the pool, to the restaurant, to the bar to the rooms.  The place was redone in a kitschy late 60’s era fashion.  Our room was one of the deluxe ones which included an in door fire place, and out door private patio with a private fire pit.  It goes without saying we were completely satisfied.  For dinner I took my wife to the recently reopened and renovated Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos.  My wife had actually been involved in the coordinating of some historical artwork for the space.  We were hoping the restaurant would have been done up in an old time feel of 1800’s but instead the décor was apropos to the standard LA hipster style fine dining restaurant.  We were sorely let down.  Then we got our meal which was also a bit to be desired. The menu itself was a bit uninspiring so I wasn’t expecting much.  The highlight of the evening was after dinner when my wife gave the staff an impromptu history lesson on the property and all its art work and photos.   It was a very action packed day of awesomeness.

1-24-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 10
It looked like yet another tiny day of surf. I rarely miss two days in a row if I can help it. North Strand still had waist to chest high wave coming in that looked do-able.  I ended up getting a few fun little rights and lefts off the Jetty Bowl.  It didn’t take long for a few more guys to get on it and with the inconsistency of sets this posed to be more annoying than I’d like.  Add to that the dropping tide, plus the wind turning south west and my session was over.  Zach came over to paint his board, while Bizarro and I packed up a few Clarks Surfboards headed to Texas.  

1-23-25 AM Session No Surfing: 1-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 18
There were some small leftovers to be had with another round of hard Santa Ana winds to contend with.  My wife’s birthday was coming up over the weekend and I wanted to make it as very special weekend.  A friend of mine recently bought a house at Shores and reached out to me to see if I could help him out with sanding down a number of wood panels and doors to get them ready to be painted.  That extra cash would come in handy for the weekend thus I took the labor intensive back breaking work.  I finished around three and had a look around.  The only place that looked remotely worth a paddle was New Jetty and it was still only about waist high and had about a dozen guys to contend with for those waves.  I decided to  just head home and get some office work done.  Don’t let this photo fool you it was the only wave I saw like it and I watched for over twenty minutes.

1-22-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 10
With the dropping swell options were getting pretty slim.  I saw a few decent waves at North Strand and gave it a paddle.  I hate driving around all morning for subpar surf. Actually, I had a rather fun time considering I had to subject myself to the agony that is North Jetty.  The right was actually almost doing its thing as was the left going back into the rocks. I got on an absolute tear smashing whatever came my way.  Zach paddled towards the end of my session.  I got home and was washing my suit when I saw a giant cloud of ominous black smoke head west towards Hueneme from the Santa Clarita area.  Twenty minutes later we were completely engulfed in smoke and raining ash.  The air quality got pretty poor.  This fire was named the Hughes Fire.  I covered my fish pond and battened down all the windows and doors.  Since the air was crap anyway I decided to put my respirator on and do some shaping.

1-21-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 22
It was an another morning of Santa Ana’s though not as strong as yesterday which was nice cause it makes the waves more manageable. Unfortunately everywhere was very stretched or too small.  After driving around for an hour checking spot to spot from Hueneme to Ventura Harbor.  Nothing was looking all that enticing.  I got a call from Ryan that he was at the Hotel and it looked do-able.  I showed up and there was actually a bar that seemed to have a little bit of shape on what was a very stretched swell.  No one was out and we decided to paddle.  When we walked up the beach there were two guys who must have floated down from Hollywood sitting on the bar we scouted.  I hate sitting on other guys, but as we stretched and got ready to paddled I watched them blow one set and then completely miss another.  As far as I’m concerned when something like that goes down it’s open season on the spot.  We paddled and sat just a little inside of them in order to give the respect of first rights.  One of the dudes paddled up to me and started getting on my case about paddling their peak.  I’m not going to sugar coat my reaction, fact of the matter is I’ve been on edge for quite awhile now and I completely lost it on the guy.  I went bat shit crazy yelling, so much so that both dudes bailed on their next waves.  This Ryan and I out the back for a solid hour of racy but very kill-able lefts, rights and even some decent tubes.  The tide window for the bar was short and with just a half a foot rise in water level the waves started to get soft.  We were contemplating walking up to the beach to Hollywood where it appeared there was better high tide sand.  In the midst of our decision process the wind turned onshore ending the session.  The rest of my afternoon was spent shaping.

1-20-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
The wind was supposed to be offshore but as Mino and were standing on the beach at Hollywood we were getting hit with light onshore winds.  It looked fun enough so we paddled the waist to chest high offerings.  Once we came up the beach ready to paddled wind went atomic offshore, easily twenty five miles per hour with stronger gusts.  It was borderline too hard for the tiny conditions.  That being said there were some fun little barrels to be had.  We frothed till we were too cold to surf anymore but definitely left wholly satisfied.  I came back up the beach just in time to watch the garbage truck smash my car driver side mirror off.  I attempted to run after him but dude took off.  He didn’t even continue picking up trash. The mirror was completely destroyed.  At the very least the body of my car wasn’t damaged.  Still it’s going to be a pain in the ass replacing the part and matching the paint.  Being the prepared guy that I am I pulled a roll of duct tape out of my trunk and re-attached what was left of that sucker.  It looked almost as good as one you could buy in the store. Post surf we dined at this new hipster Mexican joint Kalaveras that replaced the Red Lobster out in Oxnard by the 101.  My wife has been dying to go there and since Mino and Gianni were leaving it made sense to go someplace easy for them to get on the road. It wasn’t my type of place and the food in my opinion was a bit to be desired.  The rest of my party enjoyed it. From what I’m told they turn the spot into a hoping dance floor on the weekends.

1-19-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 3
Miles Driven: 18
Some days you just make the absolute wrong decision.  I always preach on here that one should trust his instincts first and foremost.  This morning that is what I should have done.  I looked at Hollywood first and there were some chest to head high waves breaking on the outside bar.  With the impending tide coming up I decided to look at Strand though not much better I have been finding high tide more surf-able in the bowl than other spots.  Somehow I decided to just go back and paddle Hollywood and of course as soon as I hit the water the tide completely killed the outer bar leaving me S.O.L. attempting to tide dumpy shore break.  It was clearly evident that if I were to continue my session in said conditions I was either going to break my board, get hurt or both.  None of those options were appealing and the water was freezing.  I threw the towel in.  You can’t win them all.  Later that afternoon we met up with Mino and Gianni and the four of us cruised to Ojai.  My wife and I were hoping to buy this painting we had seen in a gallery on the main drag but to our dismay it had been purchased.  We learned an important lesson that you have to strike while the iron is hot.  Our group did the requisite window shopping and trinket buying that is indicative to any Ojai excursion.  Mino wanted to check out this Indian Fusion place for dinner called the Dutchess.  I’m not particularly a fan of this style of cuisine but I am never one to not oblige a guest.  I will say that the flavors were good but portions, especially the amount of meat per dish was very skimpy. I wouldn’t recommend giving them your patronage for the money you can definitely eat better. We ended the night with a game of billiards in the bar area of the Dutchess.  Pool for Mino and I is a nostalgic past time to our post high school days living in Manasquan NJ.  My friend Rajan had a billiards table and we’d spend many a night there shooting pool.  Looks like the Santa Ana winds are back tomorrow. The photo below is what I could have been surfing had I gotten there an hour prior.

1-18-25 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 16
The tide was too high for just about everything from Hollywood to Strand.  Hueneme had a clean perfect albeit tiny rip-able right coming off the south side of the Pier with Dave the body boarder on it.  My old friend Mino was actually in town for the weekend with his new girlfriend.  I hadn’t seen him in almost fifteen years.  His last visit was because he was doing a training exercise at the Hueneme Naval Base and ironically the first time I had ever surfed Hueneme was with him.  When he told me he was coming for a visit I jumped at the chance to see him.  We paddled the Pier and it was definitely smaller than I had hoped.  That was fine cause it gave Mino and I plenty of time to catch up.  CC in his classic M.O. came out towards the end of our surf which forced me to stay out a little longer.  Cory Pierce came up from the ‘bu just in time to trade places with us and give CC someone to surf with.  After the surf my wife and I met up with Mino and his girlfriend Gianni for brunch at the Golden Egg on Victoria followed by a stroll along the canals.  We ended the day with a scrumptious Italian repast at my home of sweet Italian sausage and vegetables over rotelle pasta in a diced tomato pan sauce with garlic bread.  Bizarro made lemon bars for dessert.  Just like that we went from not entertaining since AJ was here in the spring to having two separate set of guests in the same week. 

1-17-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 14
It was our last shot to get footage with Angers before he headed off to Palm Springs followed by a stint in San Diego.  Unfortunately the mid period WNW swell that had provided surf for the past few days was on its way out.  The early morning high tide wasn’t helping our case.  We should have just paddled the Hotel, our first check, but instead decided to give the Bowl our business between towers two and three. The tide killed it pretty fast and what was on offer didn’t lend to spectacular surfing.  We probably scored a few B clips between the two of us.  I enjoyed lunch with my wife after. My day was concluded putting the finishing sanding on a batch of Clarks Surfboards to stoke out my customers.

1-16-25 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 26
The wind was onshore and coupled with the negative low tide all the beaches were looking less than appealing. Angers really wanted to surf Ventura Point and it’s Bizarro’s favorite place to film.  Out numbered I found myself walking up the point behind Angers with Biz in tow.  The place was definitely a bit overwhelming crowd wise and waves as usual were underwhelming aside from a rip-able wave up at Pipes.  Of course, every pro, ripper, hot grom and everyone in between from Santa Barbara and Ventura were out making it very cutthroat.  I was lucky to get a handful of waves and Kevin didn’t get anything.  We should have just taken our chances with the close outs in the bowl at Strand.  It just reinforced why I never surf there. Up until today it had been eight months since my last endeavor at the Point which also had left me wanting.  Back at my house I served up my famous pizza night and after a few slices the horror of this evening’s  terrible session was left behind us.

1-16-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 12
This morning one of the nicer winter mornings we’ve had around these parts.  Warm air, light wind, blue skies and some clean chest plus lines running through at Hollywood.  No one was around and it looked a little racy but pretty damn fun.  We had Bizarro filming and our wives and Angers’ daughter hanging on the beach. What ensued was a straight up rip fest of epic proportions.  Whenever Kevin and I get together we absolutely wreak havoc on what ever waves dare to cross our paths.  After the surf we enjoyed lunch at Los Cabo’s in Oxnard one of all of our favorite Mexican restaurants. This repast was much needed so we could get charged up for another session.

1-15-25 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 18
Kevin got into town around 3:30. To save time Bizarro and I met him, his wife and daughter over at Hollywood Beach where we found some drained out dumpy peaks on the negative low tide.  The wind was blowing hard offshore still with just a little bit of sideshore twang which was creating a few corners.  Most of the waves were still pretty stretched.  We both found some caverns.  Angers and I were surfing all by ourselves minding our own business when this older guy I see surfing all over Oxnard paddled out and got super agro with me for filming.  Seriously, are we still doing this at spots that aren’t secret spots.  Fact of the matter is I’m sure Strand and a handful of other places were way better this afternoon.  The only reason it was empty out there was because it wasn’t that good.  We had a fun heated argument that ended in let’s agree to disagree.  I don’t think I’m single handedly ruining surfing in Ventura.  I’m just doing my thing and I’ll never let these shallow minded bigots stop me from being me.  We surfed till dark then went back to my house and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner. It always a treat to surf with Kevin.

1-15-25 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 18
Today was just another day of extremely hard offshore Santa Ana winds.  It’s funny to say that, but at this point it’s been nearly two weeks of straight offshore winds.  I had a look at Hollywood but the tide was too high.  After missing out on yesterday I decided to drive over to look at Ventura Harbor.  There were some solid overhead sets but it looked very challenging and stretched not to mention there were easily two dozen guys on the only decent peak.  The wind kept swirling around from offshore to onshore as well. Zack and I opted out and headed to Strand.  The Bowl has been somewhat decent on these mid period WNW swells. We found a fun looking peak between towers 2 and 3 that looked fun chest to head high.  I carelessly grabbed my 5’7 thinking the surf was more playful than it was.  Once out there I realized between the wind and intensity of the actual swell plus the occasional overhead set that I was pretty under gunned.  Most of the waves were rather stretched and riddled with backwash.  I managed two barrels and a few turns.  Ultimately between being under gunned and the fact that the water was freezing I decided to keep it a short one.  Also Angers was getting into town in the afternoon and I knew he was going to want to surf.  I wanted to save a little something for the second session.  As I was leaving I saw Zack rip a very decent left on a Clarks Surfboards Bizzle Model I shaped for him. Nothing stokes me out more than watching a friend of mine get a sick wave on one of my hand shaped boards.

1-14-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 10
The tide was high early and with the hard Santa Ana winds I decided to roll the dice and get some office work done.  Jeffery was paddling the Knoll and from what I later learned was actually a score.  I got some office work done, made some board files and ate a quick bite.  Around noon I cruised to Strand.  The Ship was tiny but there were some solid waves from Tower 3 to North Jetty.  As I was standing on the beach wind switched onshore despite the fact that it was predicted to stay offshore all day.  As per usual I got the short end of the forecast stick.  I really wanted to surf thus I ran over to North Jetty where there actually was a chest plus wave that looked rip-able even with the adverse wind.  I paddled and smashed a few good one.  Unfortunately the dropping tide completely turned the place off and it became crowded prompting me to call it a day.  That was fine with me since I had plenty of surfboard glassing to finish.

1-13-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 18
The Santa Anna winds were at gale force last night and this morning.  Another fire broke out last night in the Santa Clara River bed out in Oxnard by the River Ridge Golf Course.  Luckily they got it out before any structures were damaged.  The wind was way too hard offshore to surf the high tide waves on offer.  I decided to head into the glass shop early to get the jump on a few hot coats.  Around 1pm I couldn’t do anything else cause I had to wait for the boards to dry.  I cruised to the Harbor where there were some very stretched chest to head high plus walls coming in.  I thought I saw a bar out by the River Mouth but once in front it was just as closed out as the rest of the beach. I paddled anyway and actually got a few screamer rights and plus made two doggy door left tubes.  The current must have been pushing south cause when I got out of the water I was all the down by Mc Grath state beach making for quite the long cold walk back in the hard winds.  After the surf I popped back over to the glass shop for another few hours.   

1-12-25 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 12
There was a solid spike in the swell this morning and I guess it came up a bit before dark yesterday as well. I got a call from Jeffrey that Hollywood was solid overhead with no one out.  The tide was pretty high but over by Little Sunset there was a decent enough bar.  I thought it was only about head high or so from the beach but once out there we realized the waves were way overhead. My first wave was a borderline double overhead right.  While I was paddling back out I saw Jeffrey pull into an easily double overhead tube. For an hour it was just the two of us trading off bombs.  Then as the tide dropped the waves became more walled and dumpy.  By this point people started getting on it as well.  I caught a few more and headed home to enjoy brunch with my wife before spending my  afternoon over at the glass shop. 

1-11-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 10
There was some very short period windswell in the water coupled with yet another very selective mid period WNW swell.   The few spots that were breaking were packed, especially with the PCH closed in LA due to the fires, making Ventura one of the few places accessible for the LA guys.  The ship actually had some very short period waist to chest high waves breaking somewhat consistently with light offshore winds.  I jumped in and picked off a couple of pretty fun waves from the Ship to Tower 5.  It didn’t take long for it to get busy out there. As the tide dropped the waves became less and less consistent and by the time my friend Tony paddled out the wind switched onshore making it borderline not surf-able.  The rest of my day was spent glassing surfboards.

1-10-25 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 10
There was a very light Santa Ana wind blowing but only from Silver Strand and south.  I saw what looked like a solid barreling wave in the bowl around Tower 3 and decided to paddle.  As soon as I hit the water I lucked into an overhead runner that spit me out of a fifty yard tube.  Then I had two more head dips of little consequence.  After that the wind turned onshore.  Angry, I decided to paddle all the way to North Jetty to calm my rage.  This is not an easy feat paddling against both the current and the wind.  At least on that end of the beach it takes the NW onshore winds better than most spots.  There were some chest to head high kill-able lefts to be had.  The crowd was completely annoying with people back paddling, taking off too deep and getting in my way.  It didn’t take long for me to get frustrated and bail.  The rest of my day was spent glassing surfboards, shaving years off my life for very little pay.  

1-9-25 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 14
It was supposed to be another full day of Santa Ana winds today but instead of a straight steady flow the wind kept switching from NE to NW leaving the beach breaks a bit of a mess.  I found myself hanging out on the dunes of South Shores with Ryan waiting for the wind to stay offshore and the ocean to clean up. We gave it about an hour till Ryan had to throw in the towel and go to an appointment. I decided to see if Hollywood was anymore organized and it was.  Still the wind wasn’t quit blowing the right direction.  I was just about ready to walk on it when the wind finally went hard NE.  Stoked I paddled.  The tide was dropping fast making for some very heavy tubes.  I caught some really deep barrels and was also handed some shitty beatings.  Bizarro and CC both showed up right when the wind went back onshore.  There was about an hour window where the surf was pretty special.  Once again I wasn’t complaining.  By this point the LA fires had claimed close to twenty thousand structures and burned the entire PCH from Will Roger’s State Beach to Topanga.  They did manage to save the Getty Villa.  As for me it was another busy afternoon sanding and glassing surf boards.

1-8-25 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 14
There was a significant drop in the swell size from yesterday and the Santa Ana winds were howling offshore with gusts up to fifty miles per hour. This was definitely not helping the fires in LA and apparently another fire broke out in Westlake.  A fire even broke out in the Santa Clara River Slough by Ventura Harbor cutting off my ability to get to that zone. My wife had to go all the way around to Victoria to get on the 101 for her commute to SB.  Most likely the fire was caused by the homeless encampment down there. It ended up burning 23 acres with no structures damaged or people hurt.  As for me I ended up paddling in front of the dunes on the south end of the Shores.  There was a chest to head high wave to be had though a little stretched I found my way out of a few pits.  Ryan paddled just before the wind switched onshore.  It wasn’t epic but any day I can pick off a handful of draining tubes is a good day in my book. The rest of my day was spent in the glass shop. 

1-7-25 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 12
I woke up to the pleasant sight of Santa Ana winds.  With a healthy dose of west and north west combo swell in the water and a favorable mid low tide early I knew it was going to be a special day.  Hueneme was too windy and too small.  Biz and I headed to Hollywood where there were solid overhead to double overhead bombs breaking a little wild and all over the place.  It almost looked like a scene from the East Coast. I was on the fence about paddling there or heading to Strand.  Jeffery showed up and was super pumped on it.  Then my friend George confirmed that Strand was crowded and only about head high.  We decided to paddle.  Zack came up and him, myself and Jeffery were sharing two to three peaks.  Waves were coming in from everywhere making it borderline scary.  Jeffery was absolutely charging.  I was impressed on Zack’s ability to hold his own in the very critical and intimidating conditions.  To my credit I had a few really proper tubes and caught a few bombs.  We got two solid hours before the wind switched and blew it out.  I’d say it was a borderline super session.  While we were surfing a massive fire broke out in the Pacific Palisades and from what was on the news people were literally fleeing for their lives. As for me the rest of my day was spent glassing surfboards.

1-6-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
I had a busy day in the glass shop and didn’t want to waste too much time looking around.  The Pier had some peaky chest high surf with no one out.  CC and I went to town on the crossed up rights and lefts till the tide got too low.   Then it was off to my glass shop where I put in a full afternoon of laminating.  Doing my own glassing is really starting to stoke me out. I have so much more quality control. 

1-5-25 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 14
The wind was light offshore provoking me to check both Strand and Shores. Neither was all that enticing.  I got word from CC that the Hueneme Pier looked fun enough.  I met him and Zach at the south side and we paddled.  For about an hour the pier was in rare form.  Super fun chest plus glassy rights were peeling off the pier bowl.  A rip fest ensued till the tide got too low and completely turned it off.  It was a splendid time while it lasted.  The rest of my afternoon was spent glassing.

1-4-25 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 2
The Pier was doing its thing this morning with combo NW, SW and WNW in the water.  CC was frothing on it.  We paddled the north side but it was a little too walled for my liking and after a few waves I paddled over to the south side, which although more crowded was way more fun.  I definitely got on an absolute tear.  Bizarro showed up with his water housing all ready to go in but then got scared off by the intensity and kooky level of the crowd. As he put it with all the wipe outs and kamikaze idiots he would have surely been killed sitting in the impact zone in an attempt to film.  That’s constantly the case these days.  The amount of guys out there that are completely clueless make up the majority of the lineup leaving the rest of us frustrated. It’s too bad he didn’t film cause I was actually putting down some solid airs.  After the surf my wife surprisingly was up for a game of golf.  We were definitely off our game.  I shot 74 while she shot a 78. 

1-3-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
The swell was still down.  I had few more dings to finish and didn’t want to eat up my time running all over the place trying to find better bad waves.  The pier looked surf-able enough thus I paddled.  I was enjoying the south side bowl to myself when two random long boarders came and crowded me.  I kept priority.  Overall sets were pretty inconsistent but I got mine.  After the surf my wife and I got lunch.  The remainder of my day was spent finishing my ding cue from the long run of Holiday swells.   

1-2-25 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zuma
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 54
Today was the smallest day of surf we had seen in these parts in almost three weeks.  I wanted to surf as did CC.  With the high tide and lack of surf Zuma was the best option.  We got there and fat high tide peaks were rolling in up and down the beach.  It was glassy albeit a bit on the inconsistent side.  CC and I found a peak to ourselves and went to town on whatever came our way.  I actually had a terrible first half of my session then somehow locked in with a bunch of decent waves toward the end.  Overall it was just a beautiful day at the beach, 75F sunny, dolphins frolicking.  I’ll take it.  The rest of my afternoon was spent fixing dings.

1-1-25 PM Session: 1-3 ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 10
Happy New Year,welcome 2025.  Believe or not this morning was the first New Years Day I’ve woken up not hung over in maybe fifteen years.  I checked all the cams and nothing looked worth rushing out of our hotel in Simi Valley for.  With holiday crowds at a maximum I decided to enjoy a lazy morning with my wife.  While in Simi we took a repast at this splendid little breakfast joint called the Egg House.  As you know nobody loves a good Luncheonette more than myself.  Everything this place did was great and I highly recommend it if you’re ever in that zone.  After breakfast we headed home and it was a beautiful sunny day in Port Hueneme.  My wife felt like playing a round of golf.  The last month or so the weather has been so cold that we haven’t played at all.  Stoked I jumped at the chance.  We played the Seabee course on base.  I shot a 70 while my wife beat me with a 66.  There was still about an hour of light left and I always like to start the year off with a surf.  I ran to Strand and paddled some really tiny but rip-able Ship.  At very least it was a nice sunset.