Surfing Ruined My Life

July 2016 Surf Sessions

7-31-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I could  have grabbed a surf in the morning since I had no contractual obligations till around 2 pm.  Last night my girl and I and my crew all raged pretty hard at the Wild Cat. Leaving me a tad lethargic early.  Also because I have literally put in over 60 hours in the past eight days I have not had the opportunity to spend any quality time with my lady.  Instead of squeezing in a surf I cooked us some breakfast and we kicked it mellow style.  I heard from Ryan that Ventura Harbor got pretty good in the afternoon as a new south filled in.   I also heard from another friend of mine that Jalama was solid as well.  You win some you lose some.

7-30-16 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
I had to be at work by 7am after getting off at 9pm the previous night.  I had no real opportunities to surf even if I wanted to. Luckily for me there was very little swell in the water.  These days my cash in take is a bit volatile so when cash is available I have to take it whether it allows me to have time to surf or not.

7-29-16 No Surfing: 2-3ft
What can I say more average conditions and lots of work responsibility kept me out of the water. From what I heard the harbor was average at best and crowded. I also wanted to note that my spirits were burdened when I went into subway to buy my favorite $5 sub only to find out that the raises the price to $6 and changed the features subs. I guess I’m done with that place.  I now demand a Subway boycott from every sandwich enthusiast out there.

7-28-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
There were probably some terrible waves to surf some place.  After two days of losing I decided to win by staying in bed and watching the pros suffer in the shit at the US Open.  California rules!!!

7-27-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 52
Another failed mission down south in the hopes of finding fun surf left me once again frustrated.  I only had time to get to Emma.  Of course the dropping tide fucked me again.  The best I saw was the Gold Coast and the pain in my back was not about to encourage me to paddle.  Once again I wasted about ten bucks in gas to check the surf and go home.  Fuck you summer!!!

7-26-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 52
I had catering prep all day.  Afterwards it appeared there was some new SE tropical swell in the water and the winds were light so I decided to cruise for a sunset session.  What I failed to take into account was the steadily dropping tide and the fact that the wind decided to pick up three fold in Ventura.  I got to Emma Wood, which was god awful.  Over it I turned around and drove home.

7-25-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I woke up and was highly unmotivated to surf. Not to mention I had a shit load of random chores to handle that I have been putting off in pursuit of chest high and below waves with average conditions.   Can you see that we have reached the point in summer where I am fed up with shitty surf?  My girl decided to take the day off so we kicked it all day.  I heard Ventura Harbor though crowded had a few.

7-24-16 PM Session: 1-2 ft, Refugio State Beach
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 44
My girlfriend’s family was having a little beach bbq over out at Refugio and I came along.  It was a lovely day at the beach with amazing company.  Refugio is just one of those Santa Barbara gems and always one of my favorites to just hang out.  There was a little wave coming in off the point.  I brought this little 5’2 fish with me and toward the evening decided to give it a paddle.  Though really small with the right attitude and equipment I managed a few rides.

7-23-16 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 52
Trevor hit me up wanted to surf and with a slight bump up in the NW swell Emma was the call again.  Though a bit crowded there were plenty of peaks coming in and plenty of swell.  I paddled but found that the new board was really holding me back.  What should have been a really fun surf ended up being a bit more frustrating then I would have liked.  I think I am going to have to put that board out to pasture.

7-22-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 35
Miles Driven:52
There was some solid NW wind swell in the water and Emma Wood was the call.  It was with out a doubt some of the better Emma Wood I have surfed in quite some time.  Combo Swell rising tide Emma is always a good call.  I gave that board from yesterday another shot, but it still wasn’t really working for me.  Ryan and is family were hanging on the beach.  Every local pro was on it including Connor and Parker Coffin and Killian.  I guess everyone was in town warming up for the US Open.  I had a few fun ones and two really nice frontside tubes.  unfortunately between my back and my board it was less then an amazing surf.

7-21-16 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Leo Carrillo, Malibu
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 134
After cooking for a corporate party Trevor, Bizarro and I headed south for a surf. Ventura was all blown out and small thus we headed to Malibu.  With the wind and low tide there were not too many options down there either.  We car surfed all the way to Point Dume before settling on Leo.  Though a bit on the drained side the crowd was light and it was certainly the best of the worst.  We paddled and right off the bat Trevor burned some sponger and the two of them got into it.  I thought they were going to to take it to the beach.  Then the after work crowd showed up and clogged it.  Still I did my best crowd finagling to get waves.  The water was freezing and all I brought was my 2mm.  My back was killing me on top of the fact that I was trying to learn a new stick.  Put all these factors together and it was with out a doubt a less then stellar session.

7-20-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Traveled: 26
I had a catering thing at 11am and wanted to get a surf.  There was some SE swell along with a SSW and NW wind swell in the water.  I knew with my limited window Rincon was my only option.  Indicator had waves though nothing phenomenal and it had a hearty crowd as well.  Considering how average at best it was the crowd was surprising.  I paddled and found a few.  I didn’t get anything life changing, but it was good to get wet.

7-19-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Traveled: 112
Surfline was calling for 3-4+ waves for Ventura and Malibu. Stoked I got an earlier start only to find that it was all lies and the waves were barely waist high at best.  The wind came up super early ruining the meager waves on offer.  Angers was rolling down to County Line and I decided to follow suit and meet him there.  County Line being a summer wave magnet was barely chest high, windy, weak and crowded as usual.  Let with no other real option I paddled.  I started on the reef where the crowd was lightest and managed a few slow but kill-able rights.  Towards the end of my surf I moved to the beach break where I found some really fun boost-able shore break peaks.  It was far from good and definitely not worth the ten bucks I burnt in gas, but Im glad I surfed.

7-18-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Traveled: 70
Ryan hit me up early claiming New Jetty was fun.  My back was feeling really sore from the weekend.  I decided to sleep in a bit. My chick was gifted the day off and since she had errands to run down in VTA I decided to roll with and bring a board.  Despite multiple checks I couldn’t find anything that i was really motivated to bother with.  Instead we took a fun little walk over at Rincon on the way home.

7-17-16 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama Beach
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Traveled: 126
Gabe, Bizarro, my girl and I rolled out pretty hard last night in celebration of my success and just because it was a perfectly good Saturday night and there is little excuse not to party on a Saturday night.  Two after parties later I was not about to be super frothy for the meager south swell on offer.  Ryan got on the base and said it was alright.  Gabe had to head back home in the evening so my lady and I decided to follow him up and all of us could hit Jalama.  The wind was a bit on it though not so terrible that it was ruining things.  The camp ground has the better sand at the moment, but the wind was tearing it up worse then over at Cracks.  We paddled hoping for either a glass off or off shores.  It finally did glass off about thirty minutes before dark and the wind did go off shore right when it got dark.  Between the tide, early wind and lack of swell it was far from great Jalama.

7-16-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I ran my first wedding as executive chef.  Though a tad bit stressful due to lack of organization on the part of my superiors  I would say I did the best I possibly could considering the circumstances. I was pretty much locked in from about 10 am till 8pm leaving me no time to grab a session.  I heard Emma Wood was fun.

7-15-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
I had a little cooking thing at 11 am and the reports looked less then stellar. They may have been calling 2-3 in the numbers, but the written reports were far from inviting and neither were the cams.  Instead I just slept in.

7-14-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 126
I had a potential business opportunity to check out up in Shell Beach so I decided considering the conditions I would stop off at Jalama for a few waves on the way up.  Bizarro decided to join me and we cruised.  Conditions were clean unfortunately the waves were a tad on the small side and wind swelly.  I paddled at Cracks and found a few kill-able ones int he first half of the session.  As the tide dropped the waves got bit more inconsistent and weaker.  I made the most out of the lack luster conditions and judging from the reports it was definitely the best of the worst.  Later after my appointment Bizarro and I met up with Gabe at Shell Beach and enjoyed a repast of beef stew before heading home for a night out at the Wild Cat.

7-13-16 AM Session: 2-3 ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
I got up earlier then usual and its a good thing I did because the wind decided to come up earlier then it did yesterday.  I noticed there was still some minor sw/nw mix in the water and figured the Harbor would be the best bet if any.  Though small there were surf-able peaks up and down the beach.  New Jetty appeared the most organized though it had about a dozen or so guys on it.  I paddled and managed a few.  It was a tad weak and the wind really did trash things with in the first half hour.  At the moment my standards are pretty low coming off my little east coast jaunt.

7-12-16 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 
Waves Surfed: 24
 Miles Traveled: 64
I really wanted to surf this morning.  Unfortunately I dilly dallied a bit not making it down till after ten. By then the wind had come up quite a bit thrashing the weak wind swell that was coming through.  I had a look around before just making a desperation play for Emma Wood.  It was about as bad as it looked.  Glad the shit Jersey conditions followed me home to California.

7-11-12 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
It was my final day in New Jersey and it couldn’t have come any sooner.  I must say it was a very nice trip, but there is no place like home and for me California is it.  The surf was small and I had to be en route to the airport by noon.  I had a few last minute errands to run including introducing my girlfriend to a Jersey staple, the pork roll egg and cheese.  All this left little time for groveling.  By the time I got back to California it was too late to get a surf.  I heard though that there was some fun wind swell on offer.

7-10-12 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Alright I really didn’t have any excuse why I didn’t surf today besides laziness and frugality.  Lets face the facts My girl and I were at a wedding with an open bar meaning I was with out a doubt not feeling in the best shape when I woke up.  The wind was off shore and I think it was probably the best morning of the trip.  In New Jersey the beach is only free before nine and after five.  Also between this time the majority of the beaches are black balled and the only surfing areas that do exist get very crowded, especially on the weekends.  Also I promised my girl I would take her into the city since she had never been to New York before.  I let surfing go for a greater cause.  Instead we took a quick ride in the Manasquan River on my parents boat.  Then we went to the city, grabbed a meal at one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Tri Colori followed by attendance of the Broadway musical “Beautiful”, the story of Carol Kind.  I must say it was a splendid evening in the City.

7-9-16 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
I got up early hoping to capitalize on the wind swell kicked up by the passing front the night before.  I looked out the window and it was all windy and rainy.  The report looked far from inviting while the comfort of my bed offered everything one could possibly want and more. Since I had a wedding to leave for by noon I was not about to make my day more hectic by forcing a grovel on a piece of shit board in shit conditions.  Then as I was getting ready for the wedding I realized I forgot my studs for my tuxedo shirt at home in Santa Barbara.  Luckily for me Starlight Cleaners and Tuxedo in Spring Lake Heights had studs and were even nice enough to lend them to me for no cost.  If you happen to be in the area and need quality dry cleaning or tuxedo and formal wear rental or purchase they have my official seal of approval.  As far as the wedding goes it was a great time.  I am pretty sure I out dressed everyone there and so did my girl.

7-8-16 PM Session: 2-3 ft, The Pipe, Spring Lake, NJ
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Traveled: 3
Another day in the torment of my childhood.  One goes through great lengths and distances to separate himself from a time one would wish to leave behind and then just like that in a snap of a finger one is transported back home like nothing ever changed.  The phrase “you can’t go home again” is one I cannot express with any more understanding. Each time I come out here I have less and less desire to come again.  Its just not my home anymore. I took my girl on more site seeing excursions including, Point Pleasant Beach so she could see “The Jersey Shore” in all is tacky splendor.  We even played a few games of skeeball.  After that I took by my childhood home followed by a visit to Monmouth University my old alma mater before making our way down the coast back to Manasquan.  The wind had been blowing all day as a front was passing through and I decided to have a look to see if anything had kicked up.  Sure enough there was a small waist to chest high wind wave coming through that although messy looked fun enough. I paddled as it began to storm and got to experience a bit of thunder and lightning to further remind me of the joys of my past.  I rode the 5’6 and despite looking like the worst piece of trash I ever saw it went rather decent considering. I had a few fun ones and even pulled into a little tube I didn’t get out of.

7-7-16 PM Session: 1-2 ft, The Pipe, Spring Lake, NJ
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Traveled: 2,866
I finally made it to New Jersey today after a someone trouble free journey.  Of course as per my usual luck the waves were tiny and the weather hot and humid.  I took my girlfriend around the area a bit to show her around.  My usual surf partner in crime when I come home Nick the Kook happened to be leaving for Chile the same night I was arrived. Luckily for me he was nice enough to leave a board behind for me.  An interesting board it was, 5’6 x18 1/8 x 2 1/4 sort of a dumpster diver rip of shaped by one of this area’s local guys.  I forgot how terrible the NJ board building scene is. Whatever it beat no board at all.  I decided to hit Kooky kyle up as well to see what he might have for me.  He had a 5’11 performance Coil that was a bit more appealing.  We paddled out just south of the Pipe where there was some knee to thigh high wind swell dumpers.  I managed a few, though the board was a bit stiff for the meager conditions.  Overall I had more fun watching my girl friend float around attempting to catch waves on a body board then I did actually surfing.  It’s always fun to get wet and it was nice to actually not have travel more then a few minutes to get down to the beach.  Oh and the water was freezing and I didn’t bother to bring a suit since the water is usually rather warm by this time of year.

7-6-16 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
I had an early flight back to the East Coast for a few days.  My Cousin is getting married on Saturday and I am attending.  I am also bringing my girl friend with me.  She will be the first woman I have ever taken home from California to meet my family.

7-5-16 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Traveled: 79
Gabe and I cruised south since the cam showed plenty of swell still rolling through.  The Harbor appeared a tad deep and lack luster for my liking.  I thought I saw better waves coming in at Emma wood from the Freeway and decided to go back that way.  There were about six guys on one peak and it was wasn’t much of a peak at that.  We went back to Ventura Harbor and just made a paddle for the River Mouth.  As it turned out despite the fat tide there were rip-able peaks up and down the beach.  Once again I found a groove and managed some fun rides before the wind got too hard and the tide completely too high.

7-4-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I don’t know why my life always works out like this but it always seems to.  I had basically the entire month of June off and then in the first week of July I got hit with nearly a months worth of work compressed into a few days.  Today was another of those days.  First I had found myself up at 6 am loading a van for a 500 person BBQ.  After that I had to grill hamburgers and hot dogs for such.  Then at the conclusion of that event I had to give a surf lesson to a mid western family of four.  By the time I got home the wind was up and I was exhausted.  Instead of surfing or taking part in any 4th of July activities I laid down on my living room floor, put on the original Back to the Future and iced my back.  Whoo Hoo

7-3-16 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Traveled: 64
I had some catering commitments that kept me busy most of the day.  I met up with Gabe in the evening and we decided to cruise south and see what we could come up with considering the wind was somewhat light and a bit of minor south in the water.  We got to the Harbor and although not spectacular New Jetty did have a high tide left coming in off the Jetty that looked surf-able.  With little time and a lack of options we paddled.  Despite the tricky conditions luck was on my side and somehow I managed to get the best waves out there. Unfortunately my back was acting up again putting a bit of a damper on my overall enjoyment.  This injury is really starting to ware on my nerves.

7-2-16 No Surfing: 3-4 ft
Last night got a tad bit out of hand at least that is what I was told.  Shit I blacked out around 12:30.  Needless to say I was in no good shape to surfing and didn’t find my way out of bed till around 4 pm.  I was a fucking mess all evening.  Good times.

7-1-16 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I had some catering work at 11 and before that I had a few things to take care of.  From the reports I saw there wasn’t anything too much worth the effort anyway.  Later that night it was our friend Eric’s birthday celebration at the Wild Cat.  Bottle Service, after party, the works.