Surfing Ruined My Life

January 2026 Surf Sessions

1-23-26 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 2
My time was limited as it was my parents last day in town.  It felt a little selfish if I were to waste half the day chasing waves.  The south side of the Pier was small but rip-able, clean and empty.  I got my small wave grovel on while my wife filmed.  After a nice repast we took my folks to the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks.  Bizarro and I served up the last diner my parents were to enjoy with us.   Finally I drove them to LAX, and we said our good byes.  It was a very nice visit.  I know it meant a lot to them to enjoy all that time with Adagio.  In the same respect I think it meant a lot to Adagio too.

1-22-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 26
There was still enough NW swell to allow the bar at the top of the point to be fun.  Biz came to film.  CC showed up and frothed more than me, which is a rarity.  Ryan paddled and got a few runners.  In general the crew out there was stoked and mellow making it a really fun time.  I definitely got on a tear and put down some clips.  Towards the end of the session the waves got a tad funky.  Following the surf I ate lunch with parents at the Roxbury Deli and was pleasantly surprised with the food. They have definitely stepped up their game from when they first re-opened. I take back my initial poor review and implore you to give the place a visit.  After lunch we took a walk along the canal at bubbling springs park.

1-21-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 26
Though there was plenty of swell in the water the ocean was all mixed up at the beaches.  CC and I headed back to the Ventura Point yet again.  Unfortunately it was plagued by south wind adding that bump and crumble I hate on the points.  The swell was really west which made the bar tricky to line up.  I didn’t get a great nights sleep leaving me behind the eight ball the entire session.  Ryan was out.  I haven’t surfed with him in weeks and it was nice to catch up.  To my credit I did put together a few rides. CC as always managed to get the wave of the day. My parents came over in the afternoon and we just relaxed and played with Adagio.

1-20-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 26
There was a bit of an uptick in the swell this morning.  Back to Ventura Point CC and I went.  The bar was solid albeit a bit inconsistent, but the shape was super lined up with offshore winds. I got the best left I have a gotten out there with three big turns and a few phenomenal right runners.  This dude Bill was filming for his surfing YouTube Channel “The Ventura Water District”.  He’s on IG too under the same name.  He films everyone out there and posts all the clips from each session. Definitely check out his stuff.  After the surf I met up with my parents and went over to Ventura Harbor to hang out.

1-19-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 26
Considering the high tide and a lack of waves at Hueneme CC and I headed back to the bar at top of Ventura Point that has been servicing us rather well the past few days.  With the six foot high tide there were some interesting lefts breaking into the river to go along with the usual right hander.  The crowd was very light at first making it super fun.  After about an hour the bank started getting busy which was our cue to leave.  In the afternoon we Took Adagio and my parents up to the Ventura Botanical gardens to enjoy the golden hour vistas. 

1-18-26 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
There was an atrocious six foot morning high tide which limited my options.  I also had my wife and baby along to take advantage of the lovely unseasonably warm weather we have been graced with this week.  I saw a few chest high sets roll into the Pie provoking AJ, CC and I to give it a paddle.  The hope was that a window might materialized as the tide dropped.  That never happened.  At the very least it was a nice day at the beach.  In the afternoon my wife, my parents and I took Adagio to Underwood Farms in Moore Park.  He likes seeing all of the animals.  We took him down a slide for the first time and we was enthralled.  My wife picked up a rogue chicken that had escaped its enclosure and put it back in the cage.  You can take the girl out of the ranch but you can’t take the ranch out of the girl.  I’d say it may have been the best day of Adagio’s life yet.

1-17-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 26
I had a celebration of life to work in Santa Barbara that filled up that the bulk of my day.  It was quite the affair involving pets and some professional tango dancing.  The gig finished around 4pm which left me just enough light to pick one spot and paddle. Considering the swell and tide I ran up to the top of Ventura Point and made the most of the windy chest high right hand runners.  Somehow I even managed a left tube just before dark.  For dinner I met up with my folks and wife at Cafe Fiore in Downtown Ventura.  I must say I thought they did a great job of creating tasty Italian cuisine.  I highly recommend the place if you’re in the area. 

1-16-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 22
The morning high tide coupled with funky south wind encouraged me to wait till the afternoon, though I did still check both Hueneme and Hollywood to get a scope on what was going on with the swell. Instead I  got some surfboard work done and grabbed brunch with my parents and wife.  The plan was to head up to the point and get another crack at that sand bar.  As we were leaving to go surf the wind came up stiff offshore.  With that in play CC and I headed to Hollywood.  Little Sunset looked good and only had two guys on it.  We walked up and not wanted to crowd the guys who had already been out we paddled just up the beach and figured we’d slowly drift over.  In that time another five guys paddled on the peak we were aiming to surf. Since there would have barely been enough waves to be ridden by the four of us we gave up our intentions to surf it and  moved even further up the beach.   Unfortunately in that zone the waves were mostly closed out.  I did manage a tube or two.  It seems everywhere that is remotely decent these days is just too crowded.    Surfing has really fallen victim to “tragedy of the commons” logic.  Such is the life we lead in the age of the kook.

1-15-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 26
My time was limited today as I had a catering job in Santa Barbara in the evening and I wanted to at the very least get lunch with my parents before hand.  CC and I paddled the top of point which was clean but inconsistent.  When sets did come in it was clean with solid head plus sets.  There were definitely some good ones to be had.  The crowd got a bit intense and very competitive. For whatever reason I couldn’t seem to get into the rotation.  CC only caught two waves but they probably were the best two waves of the day.  I had three fun ones  that stoked me out.

1-14-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 26
I burnt out the the clutch on car yesterday on the way back from surfing. Considering I have 190 thousand miles on my Honda Civic Si I’d say I did pretty well.  Now I have to shop around to get it repaired reasonably.  Luckily CC was around and when I told him about the bar I have been surfing he jumped at the opportunity to take me surfing.  We decided to check the “Star Bar” at Ventura harbor River Mouth.  It is the best bar I have seen out there since 2004.  Unlike back then the crowd and hype around the spot today is ridiculous. I’m talking anywhere from 50-100 guys at any given time of the day on any swell.  That just doesn’t seem fun, especially since it’s one peak and the majority of the crowd are over aggressive rippers.  We passed on it and headed up to the point. Though a tad smaller than yesterday it was still super rip-able and the crowd was mellow.  We had a blast.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards followed by dinner with my parents.

1-13-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 26
After yesterday’s pleasant surprise I didn’t hesitate to go back to the top of the point to get another piece of that bar.  With more swell in the water I took bizarro along to film.  The bar was solid chest to head plus and super rip-able I had some phenomenal rides.  We definitely put down a few “A” clips.  I would have surfed longer but I had to pick up my parents from LAX at 3:30.   They were coming out to visit and get some quality time with Adagio.  Despite the regular traffic there were no major issues and my folks had no issues on their end.  We all enjoyed a splendid repast back at my house.

1-12-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 26
There was some new long period swell on the buoys.  For whatever reason it was completely missing the Oxnard beaches and County Line despite the nice offshore winds.  I guess it was one of those really selective swells.  Santa Clara River Mouth was like double overhead abs all time but the crowd was around 100 angry locals, pros, groms, visitors and everyone else whom decided to jump on the internet band wagon.  The sad part is I used to surf that spot pretty much by myself for the past twenty years.  Even when there was a good bar the crowd would be forty guys max.  What a circus it has become.  It saddens me the current state of surfing in Ventura county and has me wondering if it’s time to move on. I ended up desperation paddling Ventura point and was actually pleasantly surprised by a mysto sand bar up at hobos that must have been formed when the Rivermouth broke through for the last rains.  I had a blast.  There was about thirty guys on it but everyone was stoked taking turns, no back paddling just a bunch of stoked surfers: My afternoon was spent glassing. 

1-11-26 no surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 12
I checked Shores but the offshore wind had turned onshore and waves were barely breaking on the bars.  I could have groveled Ventura Point.  My one buddy offered me a longboard to ride but I wasn’t feeling it.  Instead I went to brunch with wife, her aunt and her cousin, and of course little Adagio. My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards.

1-10-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 10
Today was another day where the surf could’ve been super fun but instead was barely palatable due to the swell direction, sand bars and the fact that the few decent spots were absolutely shit house packed.  I wasn’t super motivated by what was in front of me.  I really wanted to go surf the Rivermouth cause the bar there is probably the best one since 2006. The crowd has been insanely dumb some day with as many as 100 guys and ten cameras on the beach.  I did see a few out on the Hollywood banks and paddled.  The hard offshore winds would have been great if it were overhead but unfortunately it was a bit too strong for the weak chest plus peaks on offer.  I did manage one fun left tube and a miraculous head high right that I got eight turns on then it reformed left and I got two more.  It would have easily scored an eight. By the time my friends Duane and Chin paddled out the extreme low tide and increase in wind turned it off.  I borderline had to paddle in.  I spent my afternoon was spent building a pos cabinet from China for all my son’s stuff.  Believe it or not it was quite the difficult build.  My wife bought on Amazon and it came completely disassembled with a 23 page instruction booklet.  “Some assembly required” my ass!

1-9-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 14
A steadily rising morning high tide and inconsistent swell put a a real damper on the perfect offshore chest plus conditions .  CC and I checked everything from Hueneme to shores ultimately settling on Hollywood.  Though there were some really decent waves the sets were so few and far between that it was nearly impossible to be in position for a good one.  I lucked into a couple but it was definitely a bit of a bummer.  The air was cold with the offshore winds.  I had an inkling to possibly go to County Line but then didn’t because I thought it would be too small only to find out later it was fun there. Oh well can’t be on point all the time.  My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards. 

1-8-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 74
A strong coastal gale took CC and I on the hunt with an idiot mission down to Malibu. Our friend Dakota came along only for the three of us to get completely skunked.  After solemnly arriving to the sight of perfectly clean yet barely knee high little runners up at third we had to do the walk of shame back.  In the end we paddled County Line which was borderline victory at sea.  Once out there CC and I both managed some decent rides.  Some of the the waves were well overhead on set.  On the upside no one was out.  These days it seems like the only time you can get waves to yourself is when it’s all fucked up to the point that you’d have to be a little crazy to paddle.  Even then sometimes there will still be a crowd on it.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards.

1-7-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 38
If Hueneme would have been two feet bigger it would have been on.  That wasn’t in the cards.  On a whim I drove down to County Line where I surfed super fun glassy chest high perfectly lined up rights up on the reef by myself.  I got on a real froth and surfed better than I have in an awhile. It just goes to show you that perfection is much more important than size sometimes when it comes to waves.  Unfortunately the wind came up onshore 45 minutes into my surf and trashed it.  I had more than gotten my fill plus I had a full afternoon of surfboard work ahead of me including glassing, sanding and fixing dings.

1-6-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zuma
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 56
High tide and some combo swell had me hoping that Hueneme would be fun.  Though perfect shape and clean offshore wind it was barely waist high.  I went and picked up CC and we cruised south to Zuma which ended up being very peaky and fun.  The south wind creeped up on us towards the half way point of our surf but it was still very kill-able.  As usual CC got the best left and best right I saw all session.  Turns out there was an active shooter on base causing a complete lock down.  As a result traffic near my house was crazy.  I don’t know what happened or how the situation was resolved but I did hear the “all clear” announcement while I was washing my wetsuit.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards.

1-5-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 2
Today was a classic Hueneme rip fest courtesy of some short period wind swell.  After an amazing fall out here good days have web few and far between lately. The north side of the Pier was doing its thing with no one out and offshore winds. I didn’t hesitate to paddle. Bizarro showed up to film and I went to town on the skate park like conditions.  Zach and CC were supposed to show up but neither made it both missing out on some really fun waves.  My afternoon was spent fixing dings.

1-4-26 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 42
Shitty WSW wind fucked everything in my zone.   County line looked clean on the cam so I once again headed south.  The place was solid overhead but an absolute zoo.  Where all these random guys come from always amazes me.  Then I saw George Clout suiting up.  If he was there then his Instagram post would have definitely preceded him by at least thirty minutes.  The insta crowd that follows from the instagram is exponential.  But hey, I have certainly showed up down south because of his posts.  What goes around comes around.  I checked Leo and though way less crowded it wasn’t really happening.  I conceded to just paddling the crowded reef at county.  It was very tricky with lots of bomb close outs and the crowd didn’t help as far as trying to line up a good wave.  I did manage three really decent ones.  CC came out and got the wave of the day as usual.  Zach showed up just as the place was completely shutting down and as a result I got stuck out there for an extra thirty minutes trying to rustle up a wave in.  Thanks to that I came home to a somewhat angry wife.  The remainder of my day was spent the with my wife and son.

1-3-26 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 54
It was another stormy day with heavy rains and shitty south wind.  There was a faint hope of east winds thus I stayed vigilant through out the day.  My first check was Hueneme early but the wind was south making it too messy.  It rained super hard all day which caused terrible flooding in Goleta closing the Santa Barbara airport and route 101 in Gaviota.  Around two I had a look at Hollywood.  There was side shore wind and though surf-able it was still pretty messy.  I attempted to check shores but was too flooded.  It appeared the wind was more east down south so CC and I cruised the PCH ultimately surfing zeros which was the cleanest wave I had seen all day.  Once out there it was very tricky to get a good one as there was a lot of water moving around and the waves were so peaky with soft shoulders it was tough to connect a good ride.  That being said we both got a few. 

1-2-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 2
I wish Hueneme had decent waves everyday but unfortunately fun days are few and far between.  When it’s on it’s on.  I suppose it’s a feast or famine kind of spot.  Today we feasted with chest high super peaky, super consistent and super rip-able surf.  The place was like a skate park.  One dude out there likened it to being at Waco.  I had a blast til the tide got too low and killed it.  In the afternoon I had to take my car over to Ventura to get my rear breaks fixed among other things.  On the way there Bizarro got pulled over by a cop on some BS “unsafe lane change” charge.  Bizarro is the most cautious driver I know. We are going to go fight it in court.  Once home my wife and I took down all the Christmas decorations.  It’s nice to get the house back to normal.  These days I’ve been feeling like more of a Scrooge.  I guess I’m resorting back to my old self. 

1-1-26 PM Session: 1-2+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 44
My wife and I woke up to a well deserved childless morning.  Now that is starting the New Year out right.  We enjoyed a leisurely morning in bed followed by a relaxing breakfast.  Then we went home to Adagio who was very happy to see us.  There was a hair more swell in the water thus I decided to go try and get some waves.  Hueneme would have been fun but the tide had already gotten too low.  There was WNW wind already coming up.  The LA cams were still pretty glassy.  CC and I headed south, where we ultimately paddled Zeros.  There were small but rip-able waist high left hand runners that under normal circumstances we would have put our nose up to, but considering how flat it has been we were out there.  I always like to begin the year with a surf.  I was still bummed I couldn’t end 2025 with a surf. Though minuscule it was beautiful warm afternoon, the water was oil glass making it a perfect time to be in the ocean.  I’ll take it.