Surfing Ruined My Life

July 2019 Surf Sessions

7-31-19 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
The wind swell dropped out and there was no new south in the water.  I could have went and tried to grovel sands on my grovel fish, but I was in no hurry to.  Instead I came home and chilled with my girl.  Fiesta starts tomorrow so a little rest was well accommodated.

7-30-19 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Sands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Driven: 28
Having a board that can cut through the shit is integral when one surfs everyday.  I was quite thankful I fixed my fish last night.  Sands was more of the same from Yesterday, maybe a hair less crowded when I paddled out.  On my fish I just went town and got on a mini wave rip fest.  By the time the after work crowd clogged it I had already got more then my fill. I heard that both Hammonds and Mesa Lane were also fun on this past swell.

7-29-19 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Sands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 28
Today kicked off my week long morning grind on my monthly corporate client at work.  At this point minus the annoyance of missing my morning surf we pretty much have it wired.  There was another unprecedented NW wind swell on the buoy leading me to believe that Sands might have a wave.  Since I am working in Goleta just down the street from that wave it seemed silly not to check it.   Sure enough there was a waist to chest high albeit weak looking wave coming through.  I parked in the pay lot cause some bad intel told me it was only two bucks.  That amount only gets you 40 minutes and it’s at least a ten minute walk round trip up to the beach.  I fucked up first and accidentally only bought twenty minutes and therefore wasted a buck.   To surf shitty Sands beach with an obnoxious crowd of kooks, students and old Goleta locals  I got stuck paying six bucks for.   I was riding my high performance short board since I broke my fish yesterday making working the mushy, junky wind swell rather frustrating.  Still I managed a punt section or two.  Then I got a really decent left, banged out two solid turns and boosted a money air section at the end.  Only I didn’t see the rocks in front of me and landed right on them basically cracking my tail rail clean through to the deck pad.  I guess I should be happy none of my fins broke.  I now remember why I never like surfing at Sands.  From there I ran home and did some ding repair on an older fish I have so that I would have something to ride tomorrow.

7-28-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 134
Another disappointing day at Ventura Harbor had Robbie and I heading south to LA for something hopefully better.  Zeros was our mainstay after checking everything down to Point Dume.  You can’t pick a spot until you have ruled out every other spot first after all and we were assured that nothing from Santa Barbara to Point Dume was better.  I never have any qualms with surfing Zeros.   Its a veritable goofy foot skate park on the right board and conditions.  Adela was in West Hollywood all weekend and met us.  I got right into a solid tear ass soon as I stepped in the water.  I felt like I was twenty again throwing and sticking almost every air I went for.  I didn’t bring my camera thinking the poor quality surf didn’t warrant it.  I blew it cause it would have been clip city out there for me.  My epic run was ended as many are when I snapped my board landing a three foot out indy grab on a two foot wave coming down in the flats.  I guess EPS and carbon fiber won’t stop that from happening.  I rode it creased for another few waves till it finally broke in all the way through.  The board was getting old anyway.  Good times.

7-27-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 56
I had hoped to wrangle some fun waves before work. This was a tough sale thanks to shitty winds and an unprecedented dose of NW wind swell. I ended up at Father Johns for lack of a better place to surf. I thought I saw a few good ones rolling through when I checked. The tide was dropping and I think that led to the sets being few and far between. I was hard pressed to find anything even remotely fun making it an excise surf rather then an actual session. Work went down with out a hitch. It was a small private dinner party in Goleta. Easy money.

7-26-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 116
It must have been a scene from the movie Ground Hog Day cause I was looking at the same shit as yesterday. While I was contemplating my next move when Robbie showed up equally disgusted. He was down for another LA mission and since I owed him from the last time we cruised south thus I drove. Leo looked fun enough and though crowded it was kooky enough that we could easily pick off waves, plus the bone yard looked fun enough for me to blast a few before getting into it with the crowd. As bad as yesterday’s surf was today I was on. After a fun romp at the Yard I paddled over to the zoo that was Leo and got my share despite all the efforts of the kooked out surfing majority to ruin my day with their back paddling, dropping in and absolutely getting in the way. It felt refreshing to own a session for a change. Rest of my day was spent working after I sat in Friday traffic for almost two hours to get home. The California dream is real.

7-25-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 118
Nothing better then the wind already up at 7am. To make matters worse the sand is currently shit at Rivermouth. Pat was having a look at it and talked me into having a look at Hueneme. The sand was trash there and it was completely. There was some size prompting me to continue my trek south to LA. After checking all my usual haunts I fell into the goofy foot trap that is Zeros. There were about 40 other guys out there chasing the same lie. Though it looked absolutely kill-able from the lot it was as mushy as hell and finding a decent wave off the crowd. I went through the motions and came up short. Rest of my day was spent running around getting work provisions and then prepping away.

7-24-19 AM Session: 1-3 ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
There was a bit of new south swell on the buoys, enough to send me on the drive south for waves.  Unfortunately there was .8 ft low tide at nine causing what little swell there was to be completely drained out.  I saw a few tiny ones at New Jetty and for a change there was only about four guys out and no groms or aspiring pros.  With that in mind I jumped in on my fish and actually went to town.  I guess I channeled my inner grom groveller and had a blast.  I kept looking back waiting for the place to get mobbed by kids and it never did.  By my twenty wave I felt like I was ahead and rather then push the envelope I called it a surf.  With any luck there will be a tad more swell to fill in tomorrow.

7-23-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pacific Valley
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 186 (Ragged Point to Pacific Valley back to SB)
Courtesy of the fog, the small swell and being on vacation we had a lazy morning in bed.  In our busy every day lives this is a real luxury.  On the the hunt the first stop was Willow Creek, where there was definitely more wind swell showing then yesterday.  It was borderline surf-able or not.  I decided it was still just a bit too inconsistent and close to the rocks to be worth a paddle.  Pacific Valley had what appeared to be from the road a fun looking wedgey left.  It was rather disorganized and many were dumping, classic my kind of conditions.  The spot itself is a rather nice place to hang out as well.  I paddled and it was about as fun as it looked.  I didn’t really get anything phenomenal, but managed a few boosts off the close out bowl.  My lady and I hung around the beach there for a little bit before heading home.  On the way back we stopped in Cambria for a repast.  We were too early for dinner at this spot right on Moonstone Beach appropriately called the Moonstone Bar & Grill.  We took a walk to kill sometime and got right in the eye shot of retrieval effort of an ocean kayak whose owner it appeared must have fallen in while fishing.  Dinner was once again another calamity of mediocre California Sea Food cuisine.  At the very least the service was decent and the view/atmosphere satisfactory.  I will definitely not be eating at the Moonstone Bar and Grill again.  The food is not worth the money.  From there it was a rather uneventful drive home to Santa Barbara.  marking a rather fun early week getaway.

7-22-19 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Sand Dollar Beach
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 181 (SB to Sand Dollar to Ragged Point)
My lady and I got up early and hit the 101 north with Big Sur on our minds.  In my younger days I would have crashed in my car or on the beach, but now that I am a tad bit older I like to pamper myself and my girl.  I got us a reservation at Ragged Point for the night.  Though on the pricey side it is one of the better hotels as far as comfort and proximity to the south Big Sur surf spots.  We stopped in Cambria for lunch before heading on the hunt for some surf.  Between the high tide and the meager swell my usual haunts were looking grim at best.  When all else fails in the Sur Sand Dollar is always a good fall back.  It’s not my favorite wave by a long shot, but it rarely closes out and seems to be surf-able from two to as big as one can imagine.  The only draw back to the place is that it blows out when the wind is up.  Today it was calm and there were glasssy little waist to stomach high rollers coming through mostly from the .5 ft @16 seconds south swell.  There was some slow rising wind swell, which was why I had decided to cruise up that way coming through as well.  When we walked down to the beach it was nearly dead high and completely uninspiring.  My chick and I chilled on the beach with little care.  Its such beautiful country up there I could sit and stare out into space indefinitely.  Rarely making it up that way in the summer I was shocked how many people, surfers and beach goers alike actually take advantage of the spot.  As the tide began to pull out the sand bar I was watching began to show some promise.  I suited and jumped in and I may have timed the window a little late cause my first ten waves were nice left runners that were for sure a grovel provided no less then 3-5 plus turns a wave.  As the tide dropped the outer bars began to feather taking the power from the inner bar I was thriving on, but it was so cottony outside that I began to struggle to get good ones.  Then a rip formed that constantly left me out of position.  I suffered through the remainder of my twenty and bailed.  Ragged Point upgraded us to an Ocean front room as a little stoke out.  It was pretty foggy when we got there and stayed that way through the morning allowing for not much of a view anyway.  We ate at their dinner room, which in the past I have been an enthusiast of.  This time I was very disappointed.    I found the menu to be quite simple and all over the place.  I ordered a NY Strip Streak.  For me to order a steak out means I couldn’t find anything inspiring on the menu.  My girl also at a loss on what to eat ordered the Salmon.  Everything was cooked fine.  The flavors were as mediocre as the menu and ultimately I was left with confusion on what I spent over $100 on.  We were literally thrown out of the restaurant just after ten when the last seating was at 9 pm.  Keep in mind we ordered dessert.  I literally had to scarf up my last bites of their California Lime Pie and chug my last glass of wine.  I feel embarrassed that I had prior to this experience highly recommended this restaurant.  I will never eat there again.  After we left the eatery we decided to go for a little walk around the grounds.  This was abruptly ended when our path crossed with a homeless person sleeping on the grounds.  I might expect this from the Motel 6 for $70 a night in San Simeon, but not from a fancy hotel like Ragged Point.  I hate that I was left with such a bad taste in mouth cause it has always been one of my favorite places to stay up there.  The next morning when I reported the homeless person sleeping on the grounds in plain sight it was taken very nonchalantly.

7-21-19 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Well once again there was little promise of finding anything worth while to surf.  Rather then stick around through another easily three to four days of crap surf I decided to book a quick get away up to Big Surf for Monday and Tuesday to at the very least get some adventure and find a few chest high waves.  I had a posh little dinner party of 15 in Goleta to cook for that went off well enough.  I guess someone thought the short rib to be a tad on the salty side, though it tasted spot on to me.

7-20-19 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
We knew the flat spell was coming, but I never like to believe till I actually see it.  Sure enough I woke up to barely surf-able background swell.  I slept in before heading into work for a luau party I was working in Goleta that as per usual went off with out a hitch.  After the event I met up with my girl at her museum for the end of her own fundraiser event there and we cruised for a night of dancing at the Wild Cat.  It was fun to get out and see everyone after we had been too busy to go in the past month and a half.

7-19-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, The Wedge at South Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 64
The long run of shitty swell we have had appears to finally be coming to an end.  I don’t think there is any significant swell in the forecast till mid next week.   River Mouth was drained and windy. There were a few guys out, but I couldn’t see any real rides out there.  New Jetty had a decent wave, but had three groms doing mock training heats with trainers on the beach and about three other regular guys on it.  Sets were scarce and if I had paddled I would have got one wave every two to three sets.  I was going to bail when Robbie showed up.  We saw what looked like a few manageable rights off the bounce.  No one was out and we figured if it sucked we could always just paddle over to the left if the crowd dropped.   The wedge is a very had wave to surf when it’s good let alone when its not.  I found a couple, but overall it was mostly closed out and useless.  New Jetty just got more crowded and finally to add injury to insult about four sponsored groms showed up and tried to hassle us for the garbage that was out there.  Good times…is it winter yet?

7-18-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, C Street
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 64
The tide was super drained early and the wind came up by 9 am.  River Mouth was all torn up and I didn’t want to fight with the pack at New Jetty.  Instead I decided to rule out the Ventura Point and if no good there head to LA.  There was only a few guys up at Pipes and though small the south sets had promise for my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy.  I got out there and right away I got into a serious groove.  I have had around ten bad to average sessions in a row that just didn’t really go my way.  For what ever reason in some of the smallest conditions I have surfed in a week I got on tare and kept it up the entire session.  I even stuck a frontside air to fakie and brought it back the hard way.  It was about time a surf clicked for me.  The surf has been so poor to average this season that it can really take a toll on a surfer’s morale.  The rest of my day was spent finally back at work prepping for a few dinner parties I have this weekend.

7-17-19 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 78
I hate south swells, especially this summer.  Ryan and I went on a wild goose chase from River Mouth to Shores to Strand.  All three had waves of varying proficiency.  River Mouth had the most size but was very shifty, dumpy and bit walled.  I was reminded of my hate session out there on Monday.  Shores was about chest plus, clean, very manageable, but mushy and weak looking.  It could have been fun on my fish, but I wasn’t in the mood to do that type of surfing.  Finally the Ship was glassy with a bowly chest plus left coming right off the Jetty, albeit a little shore breaky.  Ultimately I settled on Mouth since I couldn’t in good conscience turn my back on that much swell.  Right off the bat I grabbed a couple of solid ones.  The wind was steadily coming up and didn’t take long to trash what little semblance of a line up there was out there.   Fact of the matter was I should have just paddled there from the get go instead of wasting the good wind car surfing.  Sometimes the grass isn’t greener.

7-16-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 78
Last night there was an unprecedented NW Gale that picked up more then 40 knots above point conception.  With came came lots of wind swell and wind chop.  South of the channel the wind was blowing south causing a cyclone like chop that basically plagued every spot from County Line to Point Conception.  I started at the Harbor after Ryan gave word that the Ship was bad.  It was all torn up there.  New Jetty had a semblence of a left, though one had to be pretty desperate or optimistic to find a worthy line.  River Mouth looked like there were a few over head bomb corners coming through.  I was not dumb enough to go and try and put together a session out there.  It is hard enough to surf out there when its clean let alone all mixed up.   At that point I was contemplating going to LA..  I really wasn’t in the mood for that circus.  I thought I would at the very least roll down to the Ship and rule it out for myself.  When I got there it was pretty much how Ryan had described it to me.  Waist to chest plus and riddled with chop.  I watched it for a bit and noticed that with the incoming tide some head plus sets were making an appearance and despite all the chop the faces were rather clean and there were a few gnarly double up shore pound tubes to be had.  My bud Mike showed up and was the push I needed to paddled.  It was far from good and most waves were just dumpers, but when I good one came through it was pretty sick.  I snagged a handful of tubes and got a few combos.  Shit I had way more fun then I had yesterday.

7-15-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 3 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 64
Today I was hoodwinked by the River Mouth.  What looked like it was going to be a super session, I literally ran back to my car and tore on my suit, turned out to be a let down of sheer frustration.   My first wave I pulled into and came out of a fast tube.  I really thought that was going to set the tone of the session.  That was wishful thinking.  Once again the swell was a bit too steep and long period for Ventura to be really good.  The tide was a bit fat making positioning very tough.  There was a crowd on it, not that it mattered cause catching a decent wave was near to impossible.  I had a few tough beatings trying to make a couple of barrels and hurt my back a bit.  As of press time I am feeling very tender.  Hoping it might get better I beat a dead horse for nearly two hours longer then I should and ultimately almost had to paddled in on my last wave.  As the tide dropped the current and rips got way worse.   The sets got even more walled.  One thing no one could have accused me of today was not giving it my all.  In the afternoon I had a quick meeting about getting into the olive business, though ultimately the numbers didn’t work on it to make the endeavor worth my while.

7-14-19 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 126
The wind swell had decreased drastically from yesterday and there was some new long period Steep SW in the water.  The winds looked solid for a day up north as did the swell.  Upon arriving I was correct in my expectation.   Unfortunately it was rather crowded with more then thirty guys spread along the peaks from T’s through both Cracks.  The sets were very inconsistent and shifty making getting a wave tricky making the crowd not too big an issue.  Jalama is still just burger.  The sand is slightly better, but between that and the steep angle of the swell it was pretty useless out there.  I was trying out a new board and I recently got myself a pair of those Sol lite boots that form to the feet.  With all these variables working against me I had less then a stellar surf.  Jalama is always a beautiful place to visit and surf and it was a sunny day at the beach for a change.  This has been as bad a summer for weather as it has been for surf.   After the surf my lady and I cruised to the Valley for an early supper and were pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere and food at The Solvang Brewing Company.  The food is a bit on the pricey side for the location and what it is, but tasty none the less.

7-13-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 78
The buoys were still looking mostly NW and though a touch smaller then yesterday I headed back to Strand.  The Ship had a wave again.  It was packed.  There had to be easily twenty five guys vying for three peaks.  It was Saturday and not wanting to spend my day searching for more crowds I just paddled.  Luckily eight guys bailed right as I paddled.  Looked like the whole group came together.  Why anyone would want to crowd a spot like that is beyond me.  Shit I am lucky if I ever bring more then three guys to a spot and even that is rarity and usually they are guys who would have paddled there anyway.   Whatever, I also keep this log that certainly helps lead to over crowding so who am I to talk?  It was a bit more chopped up then yesterday even though the wind was just as light. There must have been some heavy wind in the channel or something.  The waves were more dumpy too.  I took even more beatings for even less pay off.  Still a day a Strand is better then most and I really don’t think I would have found much better.  I did hear Emma Wood was pretty fun all swell too.

7-12-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 78
Another late season NW wind swell with another possible one for the end of the week?  What a crazy summer.  I had a look at Ventura Harbor first.  River Mouth was all walled.  New Jetty looked pretty darn good, but was packed with easily thirty rippers crammed into the tight take off area directly off the Jetty.  Not feeling like stepping into rush hour traffic I decided to have a look at the Strand if for no other reason then to rule it out.  Sure enough the Ship had a chest to head plus wave coming through with a light crowd.  It was a little shore breaky as per usual in the summer with the sand change.  I saw a few shore dump tubes that needed to at least be attempted.  Right off the bat I got a few cherry lefts.  I also got a bunch on heavy beatings courtesy of the shore pound.  Ultimately I took more lumps then keepers.  Still it was fun enough and from what I heard was decent all day.

7-11-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 118
What a dumb day today turned out to be.  I got up early and ran down to River Mouth where the wind was on it again.  New Jetty had a wave, but had ten plus guys with another five checking it.  Considering the conditions and tight take off spot that was a pretty much maxed out crowd.  Ryan and I cruised over to Ventura Point for a look.  The WSW wind and dropping tide had made it completely gutless and it was rather crowded as well.  Robbie had hit me up about car pooling to LA and I figured why not.  I hopped into the car with him.  Unfortunately that same shitty WSW wind was trashing both County and Leo.   Zeros was clean, though smaller, maybe chest high and crowded.  It seemed the best of the worst so we parked.  Of course I forgot my suit in my car.  Ironically I brought a spare board, leash and fins, but forgot a wet suit.  I only three in my car parked back in Ventura.   I told Robbie to just paddled and I’d just kick it on the beach, maybe try my hand in a pair of his baggies.  He decided it wasn’t goo enough to make me suffer so we headed back to Ventura Harbor since we both thought New Jetty to be better anyway.  I wore my 3/2 considering it was super hot out and was pleasantly surprised on how warm the water was compared to Tuesday out there.  The crowd calmed down for a moment too only about six guys on it, Robbie and I making eight.  Everyone was rather respectful making for a nice rotation.  I had my Clarks Fly Guy fish and it cut through the average conditions like butter.  I guess we made it look too much fun cause it didn’t take long for the crowd to double.  Dane Reynolds paddled  and ripped the tiny offerings to pieces.  Don’t be mistaken that dude may have went super incognito but he still has it. I bet you could give him a wild card to any tour event and he would shake some trees.  By that time I had my fill got one more good one and bailed.

7-10-19 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 69
Damn was LA packed.  It is the middle of summer on a hot sunny beach day with a peaking south swell so why was I shocked.  I checked everything down to Dume before deciding that Zeros was the best bet and paddled.  There was a solid thirty guys packed into a three to four peak take off zone.  Very unlike Zeros some were connecting all the way through the point.  I guess the sand is pretty good out there this year since it was like that when I surfed it about a month ago.  I jumped into the chaos and was a bit culture shocked coming from empty, gnarly Mugu.  I did my usual sit inside of the rock and wait for the double up thing.  I never really felt like I got into a groove out there, but I did manage a few decent ones.

7-10-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Point Mugu
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 47
Last night I got home from work all tired with the usual amount of discouragement.  I fielded a text from my boy Dave that he was going to Mugu tomorrow and I was more then welcome to come along.  I got super excited and pulled out this brand new round pin  5’10 Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw model that I made especially for heavy barreling waves like Base and Strand.  I barely got any sleep all night constantly waking up thinking it was time to go.  Bizarro came along to document and it was on.  Unfortunately there was a funky wind from the SW on it adding a bit of crumble.  Add to that the sand already almost all torn out and it was far from good.  On a decent day you are lucky if one out of twenty are make-able, but today it was more like 1 out of 50 with most just closed out dumpers.  We saw one or two that had us hopeful that it might get better, especially if the wind turned around NW.   None of this happened and it got worse rather then better.  I did manage two sick drainers, one so deep I couldn’t see out of it off the rocks that made the trip worth it.    Still left wanting Biz and I decided to cruise south into LA to try our luck.

7-9-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 72
Sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a lesson I should have heeded and paddled the Shores. It looked a bit soft and hard to line up. Short on time I ran to The Harbor only to find it way too drained and a mess with wind chop. New Jetty was my best bet to at least get wet. The current was nightmarish making holding position impossible. The good ones were few and far between. I got two ok ones, but by the time I actually settled into a groove I had to bail to go to work. Can’t it be winter again?

7-8-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, C Street
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
Another morning with onshore winds at first light.  There’s no point in getting up early for windy surf when it will be there all day.  I started at Ventura Harbor, which was trash.  New Jetty was palatable, but had about eight guys on it, the current was like a river and sets inconsistent.  I decided to have a look at the Point not feeling like making the trek to LA.  The crowd was light at Pipes and there were a some chest plus with the occasional head high set coming through.  There was wind on it, but it looked surf-able at the very least.  I jumped in and though a bit walled there were some corners and I managed a few on hitters.  Then I got a few combos.  I must have made it look too much fun cause people started coming out one by one till it was pretty busy.  By that point I had already got mine anyway.  It wasn’t epic, but I had fun.

7-7-19 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Some how I managed to triple book myself And pulled it off with a little help from my lovely girlfriend. I started nine in the morning and finished up at eight in the evening. This left little time for surfing. From what I heard the wind was up at like 8 am anyway.

7-6-19 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
Wow, finally a glassy morning.  It was a norm that now has become a rarity.  It was a bit more inconsistent, but still super combo’d up.  I decided to ride my fish since I felt that my short board didn’t really fit the curve of the short bowls yesterday.  I found my own fun little peak and went to town.  There were even a few barrels.  Then Ryan, Carlos, and Dave showed up and took the peak just adjacent to mine.  Behind them were another ten guys and all of a sudden my little oasis got clogged.  Then the wind came up out of the south and the rips showed up with the higher tide.  End result I pretty much spent the latter half of my session catching duds while hoping for winners.  I did manage to end on a good one.

7-5-19 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 64
With three south swells, a SE swell and a NW wind swell in the water there were ample waves coming through.  It was super peaky, maybe too peaky.  There was some south wind funk on it.  At the very least the crowd was light.  I jumped in at the mouth.  Brett and Gordo were out.  The swell was all over the place and so peaky that finding more then a one turn ride was tough.  I managed to get lucky on a really decent set wave that was my best.  Then the wind switched hard NW like a light switch and trashed it completely.  The rest of my day was spent prepping in the kitchen.

7-4-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Father Johns
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Oh my God was I slapped in the face with the realization of how much I hate holidays.  My first stop was Ventura Harbor.  There had to be 100 guys out from New Jetty to River Mouth, an all time record in my book.  Though solid it was a mess and I didn’t see anyone get wave worth dealing with all that frustration.  I had a look at Shores where I guess some idiotic holiday running thing had concluded cause that is what people want to do on their paid day off, go for a run.   Shores had potential if the tide were getting lower, but I was already on the opposite side of the tide.  The plan was to head back north and sort something out along Sea Cliffs.   Emma was still too drained and terrible.  I was hoping to surf the Gold Coast, alas there was no parking cause rude people with RV’s had parked parallel and took up all of the spots.  Tanks smelled like a cesspool.  I sound some parking at the backside of Pitas and Father Johns actually looked rather kill-able.  Tom Curren and his son were about to paddle.  That was enough to sell me.  Gabe’s boy Nate hit me up that he was heading through SB and met up and we surfed the shit out of that wave.  It was as usual classic east coast style conditions out there.  Really, peaky, hollow and rip-able.  If I didn’t have to work a fourth of July party I may have surfed for hours.  I got mine and then headed to work.  I had a roof top Party at the Moxi, a rather easy gig and a nice place to watch the fire works.  It was a bummer that it would be the first time in five years I didn’t have a BBQ at the Lisanti Palace.

7-3-19 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
FINALLY I had a moment to get some surf and there were waves to surf.  Traffic was hideous considering it was the day before probably the biggest holiday in America.  It took me over an hour to get to the Harbor and the wind was on it.  This kid paddled out who always rips the place, well He is in his twenties now, but I have surfed with him a New Jetty since he was a kid.  I decided if he could sell it to me in three waves I would paddle.  Right off the bat he got a head high three turn left that had me back at my car pulling on my suit.  Technically it was the biggest surf I had been out in since Big Sur.  Thanks to the wind and the five different contrasting swells in the water it was rather tricky, but if you were patient and crafty there were some really fun lefts out there to be had.  I stupidly wore just my 3/2 and was freezing.  It was also the first time I have surfed with out booties since last summer and my wax was melted.  Add on the fact that I had not surfed in almost a week and one could imagine the session I had.  I guess we made it look fun cause about five other guys decided to join on us on a day that five years ago with the same conditions I would have been lucky if anyone else even bothered to check it.  I got a few and was stoked to get wet again.

7-2-19 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft, No Surfing
The NW and the SW both peaked with somewhat agreeable winds.  Of course I was embarked on another fourteen hour day.  I heard the Point was fun and so was Emma.  I am sure a host of other spots as well.

7-1-19 No Surfing: 1-3 ft, No surfing
I guess there was some new little south and some NW wind swell showing.  I had a corporate lunch for 200 that brought me into work at seven followed by a Dinner for one of the former big wigs from Apple and then Google at his crazy mountain top home.  It was a grueling 14 hour day.