Surfing Ruined My Life

July 2026 Surf Sessions

7-24-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 43
After a quick Hueneme check just to rule it out AJ and I headed south checking everything to zeros, which looked the best but was stupid crowded. We settled on County where it was at the very least palatable.  I sat on the reef while AJ surfed the beach break.  The session definitely wasn’t anything special but we had fun. After the surf my wife and I had to head over to the T-mobile store to set up our new iPhones. We haven’t up graded our phones in over seven years and only had to because the last update to our phone operating system slowed them down so much they had become borderline useless.  The whole process took around two plus hours. Now I have and iPhone 17 whatever the heck that means.  I ended my day with a little bit of shaping.

7-23-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 41
More funky onshore winds in Ventura sent us south yet again.  Deer Creek looked fun, but anyone who knows that wave knows what flash in the pan novelty wave it is. I can’t tell you how many times I thought it looked fun over the years, paddled and got completely skunked.  We checked Zeros but it was a zoo.  Leo was the call with the rising tide and wind.  I was in the zone the entire session.  At my age this doesn’t happen all that frequent.  The waves were super fun thus it got crowded fast.  Due to the way the crowd can clump up around the rock I accidentally ran into two two people.  The first Guy was sitting on the shoulder and when I went up to hit the lip he was still that and I clocked him hard as I was following through with my turn.  I blasted him so hard I may have broken his ribs.  Dude was in so much pain he had to go in.  I actually felt really bad about it.  Kooks shouldn’t be out in situations they aren’t equipped for.  The second was a girl who thought I wasn’t going to make it and was trying to paddle in on me.  I didn’t see her cause I was coming around a huge foam ball and as I was coming off the bottom I saw her in the lip that I was about to hit last second.  After what had just happened I bailed but my board hit her.  She didn’t get hurt.  It’s a bummer cause it was the best wave I’d seen all day.  Talk about chaos.  Surfing really has become tragedy of the commons.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards.

7-22-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 40
This morning I woke up to yet another windy morning here in Ventura.  Lately it’s like we get one glassy day to every ten windy days.  This may be the worst summer conditions wise I can remember in the VTA.  AJ and I headed south but the wind was right on our heels making Leo the only option.  It looked a little soft and I was having serious motivation issues.  Then Zach pulled up and convinced me to paddle.  I don’t know what I was hating on.  There were chest plus runners with a fairly light crowd.  AJ managed to hit one of the inside rocks and dinged his board.  I got on a roll and surfed a pretty decent session.  Post surf Bizarro and I headed into the shop to get some work done but as soon as we got there the power to the whole area was out.  Instead we ran errands.  I got a bit of shaping done at home .  

7-21-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Dredge
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 38
After yesterday AJ and I both had the River Mouth on our minds.  We made a quick check over at Oxnard Shores but it was small thus we headed to the Harbor.  There was some fresh longer period south swell in the water causing the surf to be larger but also more stretched.  Still it was glassy and we decided to give it a go.  As I was pulling on suit the wind came up about ten knots out of the south west.  Another day where it blew out just after 9 am. Bummed but not wanting a repeat of yesterday we bailed and headed up north.  Emma Wood was our first stop but it was small and mushy.  I have surfed that wave just like it looked this morning and hated it.  On a last ditch effort we checked Father John’s but it wasn’t even breaking. Ryan said he saw some lefts off the backside of the Dredge Jetty that were head high.  He said it was too fast for him but worth a look.  It was chest to head plus and definitely a little stretched.  By this point I was over the hunt and just wanted to surf.  We paddled and made the most of it though I only made a handful of waves.  The water as crazy warm maybe in the low 70’s F.  I was dying in my 4/3.  I think it’s time I buy a 3/2. My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards. 

7-20-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 18
Like yesterday Oxnard was still not showing any significant swell.  AJ and I rolled to the Harbor.  The River Mouth was showing head high plus barreling peaks up and down the beach.  It was glassy when we got there but as soon as we got to the beach the SW wind began creeping up. I managed decent tubes on my first two waves and a double barrel on my third.  I knew I had to get as many barrels as fast as I could cause as soon as that south wind came up I knew the tubes would soon be mush. The current was bad so I had to get out and run back down the beach.  By the time I paddled back out the wind had pretty much trashed it.  I did manage one last back door tube on my second to last wave that may have been the best barrel I have gotten all summer.  AJ said he couldn’t even see me in it for a moment on the shoulder then I popped out. My afternoon was spent watching Adagio because my Nanny took off for her birthday. We had a fun father son day.

7-19-26 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 10
Waves from tropical storm Elings were supposed to be showing but as usual up here in Oxnard there was shadowing.  AJ and I saw a decent chest plus set of waves when we checked it that got us frothy.  Once out there we thought we were hard pressed to get anything like the set that provoked us to paddle out in the first place.  As the session wore on the waves continued to get progressively worse.  It was a frustrating session to say the least.  The rest of day was spent with my family.  My wife and I took  Adagio to the playground by the canals.

7-18-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, The Hotel
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
There was a slight rise in the NW wind swell creating chest plus waves.  I could already feel that there was some onshore wind picking up as I was leaving my house.  That being the case and taking the low tide into consideration I decided to skip looking at Hollywood and met AJ at the Hotel.  Yesterday when we were surfing Shores I saw a lot of white water over that way.  Upon checking it there were kill-able peaks up and down the beach with no one out.  The wind was definitely getting harder but I was hoping we would at least get an hour. I was wrong and the session turned out to be completely blown out close outs.  It was pretty bad, maybe the worst waves I have surfed all summer long.  The rest of my day was spent working a wedding in Santa Barbara where I was told by my superior that I ran a near perfect event. 

7-17-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 11
Small wind swell/south swell left over combo was all that was left in the water.  The tide was way too low For Hollywood.  AJ and I had a look at the south end of Oxnard Shores where we have been doing better on the extreme low tides.  We ended up  paddling the mushy waist to stomach high lines which unfortunately by that point had a bit of wind on them.  The session turned out to be a serious grovel. My afternoon was spent shaping surfboards. The below photo is before the wind completely trashed it.

7-16-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 12
There was some fresh NW wind swell in the water making Hollywood chest high and though a little stretched there were some corners to track down.  If the tide were dropping I definitely would have paddled out.  Instead AJ and I rolled the dice and went to Hueneme.  The reason I’m not a gambling man is because sometimes you lose.  Today we chose poorly.  The surf consisted of meager waist to chest high closed out shore break on rockside.  I did have a few airs that were worth something. My afternoon was spent shaping. 

7-15-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 2
Though smaller than yesterday there were still plenty of shore break wedges to be had over on Rockside.  My ribs felt 50% better which is good cause I was really getting worried for a moment there that I actually might have a problem.  Hopefully I’m on the mend.  After the surf I had to get busy with the giant stack of surfboard repair I have going.  Every time I fix a few boards someone shows up with more.  It’s great for business but exhausting for me.

7-14-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 2
After a month long hiatus AJ and I finally found ourselves back at home.  When all there is in the water is a minor SW/NW combo coupled with high tide that is when Hueneme shines.  Of course we are currently suffering from the worst sand I have ever seen here.  The winter dredging project just about filled in any sand bars we had adding easily an extra 150-200 yards of beach in some spots.  Where we used to surf is now beach.  That beach drops off right into deep water making for very dangerous, dumpy unsurfable shore pound.  Rockside had chest plus waves that were allowing for a very concise section to hit on one out of ten waves.  We paddled cause there was no place else to go.  Overall it was a session of mostly close outs and dumpy angry shore break.  I did score a few tubes, turns and airs and also a handful of really shitty beatings. It was still the most fun I’ve had at a Hueneme since the end of May.  My ribs were causing me a bit of pain.  If this keeps up any longer I am going to have to go seek professional medical help. My afternoon was spent fixing dings.

7-13-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 43
Started and should have stayed at Hueneme as it appeared there was a surf-able shore break wave on Rockside.  Instead AJ and I rolled the dice and went down south where everything was small, crowded and inconsistent.  What happened to getting waves to yourself on the off days?   Not these day’s anymore.  Ultimately we paddled County Line.  The reef was super fun for the first thirty minutes then It completely turned off and got stupid crowded.  We sat there for a half hour lull not getting waves before finally throwing in the towel and heading in.  I was incorporated in ding repair in the afternoon followed by watching Adagio cause my wife got delayed at work.  We figured out a fun game where I hit practice golf balls out to him and the. He ran them back to me.

7-12-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 41
Small was the call nearly everywhere today.  I dragged my family down to Zeros where we met up with AJ.  There was a short window on the rising tide that almost got fun.  The surf started off with a very light crowd too.  I guess we made it look too good  because the line up got very  very crowded and super inconsistent borderline flat.  AJ paddled in and I basically caught a shore break wave to quit on.  In the afternoon my wife, Bizarro, AJ, Adagio and I decided to head to the Hueneme beach festival.  The only ride Adagio was tall enough to go on was this cute little helicopter ride that my wife accompanied him on.  I’m not sure if he enjoyed it or was absolutely terrified by the experience.  As for us we got the usual free swag that vendors always give away. 

7-11-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 41
Apparently there is this LA based Mexican surf squad that paddles out on occasion at Zeros. This morning they were there  fifteen strong.  It was almost enough to make me turn my back on the line up but with really no options left it was the call.  Luckily for AJ and I the majority of the surfers were easy to pick waves off of and they left in the first fifteen minutes of our session.  With that group gone all that was left in the  line up was six of us on a Saturday.  That’s unheard of in this day and age.  AJ was killing it, I did the best I could but my mysterious rib injury limited my paddling capabilities thus it threw off my game. I’d say it was a score.  In the evening Bizarro and I had a catering gig up in the  Santa Ynez Valley making wood fire pizzas for a wedding.  Before the pandemic making wood fire pizzas for parties was one of our main gigs. It was nice to get back into again.

7-10-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 18
Hollywood was clean but tiny, not wanting to go south on a Friday AJ and I cruised to the Ventura harbor where the Rivermouth was surprisingly not closed out and dumpy for a change.  Actually it appeared that there were three distinct bars with chest plus left and right peaks on offer.  The wind as light sw and only 4 guys were out.  I knew the window would be short thus we hurried up and got out there.  I had a blast.  It had been months since I have surfed River Mouth.  The sand there has been so bad that I forgot how much fun that wave can be. Hopefully this is the beginning of good bars.  The rest of my day was spent running errands with m wife.

7-9-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 41
South swell and an unseasonal solid NW wind swell could have set up some epic beach break conditions in the Oxnard but the wind was on it by 8:30am.  Aj and I headed south and paddled zeros which I wasn’t super stoked on. Ray Joyce wanted to shoot and talked me into paddling.  Asid always the case it was more fun then it looked.  I focused on big airs but didn’t land any and just took a lot of shitty beatings. At the very least Ray got one decent air shot of me.  For all the beatings I took I would have been stoked if he had gotten a few more.  AJ actually got a sick shot as well doing a cut back.  The surf was in general was weird, sectiony with lots of flat sections or straight up dumpy. Overall I had a somewhat frustrating surf. The rest of my afternoon was spent fixing surfboards.  Below is the air shot.

7-8-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 36
There was a solid rise in the NW wind swell along with a small long period south.  It was one of those days where the channel chop made the waves look messy even though wind was light.   Taking into account the conditions AJ and I headed south.  County Line was the best of the Leo/zeros/county trio.  I didn’t hesitate to go to town on the fun chest plus broken up peaks on the reef.  The place was virtually empty, just myself and two other guys.  The combo swell made it a little tricky really get a good one.  The actual sets were easily twenty minutes apart.  I was over it when the crowd began to show up and around the same time the wind came up.  Luckily for me I had already got mine. Tricky with the combo.  My afternoon was busy fixing dings.

7-7-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 41
Hard NW winds were up at 8am in Oxnard and they proceeded to follow AJ and I  down the PCH.  Considering the poor wind quality low tide Leo was the call for lack of a better option.  As a result of the junky wind the line up was way more crowded than it normally would have been on the low tide.  Despite the crowd, tide and wind there were some decent rides to be had.  I lucked into a handful of runners. Unfortunately I blew the wave of the day.  This overhead bomb came in off the second boil and I was the closest one to it though I was still too far inside.  Everyone was hooting so I had to go.  I ended up dropping in on the actual boil and free fell six feet to the bottom.  When my board made contact with water I tried to bottom turn only to sucked under the water by the inside boil.  Then after that wave another fifteen guys paddled clogging the place. AJ got a good one that he comboed a handful of turns on and decided to call it a day full on knowing he wasn’t going to get another wave off the now thirty strong gnarly crowd.   I got a few more and went in as well.  I just don’t have fun when I’m constantly battling for waves.  my afternoon was spent fixing dings.

7-6-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 41
More junk conditions at home ment I had to cruise south.  This worked out since I needed to meet a customer down that way.  AJ and I cruised deeming Zeros the best of it and paddled.   We ended up having another super fun, somewhat empty session.  In the afternoon bizarro and I had to do our quarter year shop maintenance.  This involved breaking up and replacing the glassing room trough and changing out the tar paper in the main room.  It doesn’t take too much effort to keep the shop tidy.

7-5-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 41
It was windy early in Oxnard.  Making lemonade out of lemons I took the family south ending up at zeros.  AJ met up with us.  Somehow we lucked into super peaky fun chest plus waves with a very manageable crowd for a Sunday.  There was a bit of NW cross wind on it but for me that’s just good air wind.  We ended up having a grand old time for ourselves. In the afternoon my wife and I took Adagio to the playground at Oxnard Beach Park.

7-4-26 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 10
Drained out tide, waist to stomach high south bowls were on offer up and down the beach.  It was a little dumpy but there were definitely corners to be had.  Today was my boy Brandon’s last day in the US before he headed back to Columbia.  Him AJ and I had the place to ourselves as usual.  Then out of the blue a group of guys I usually see at strand paddled.  They were all guys that I’m chill with.  Which was a relief since I had my wife and baby on the beach and I really didn’t want to get into an altercation.  Though small there were some fun sections to be had.   After I got out of the water I decided to put Adagio on my board and let him flow with some of the tiny inside white water.  We did this for two waves.  On the third he decided to stand up.  For a moment he was surfing then he stepped off the rail of the board and he was “drowning” as my wife would later refer to it.  He got dunked and I pulled him out.  No harm was really done, the little dude just got scared. Though it was Independence Day we really didn’t have any plan except to have a chill family day.  As our long standing tradition on July 4th we watched the movie “Independence Day”.  Oxnard and Hueneme always get a little out of hand with the amateur firework enthusiasts.  From about 9pm-midnight things got gnarly.  Now I know what it must sound like living in a war zone.  The consolation I took was knowing at least a few of those idiots were going to wake up in the morning missing fingers. Stupid is as stupid does after all.

7-3-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 10
It was too low tide for Hollywood.  On south swells whenever there is a negative low tide on a minor south swell the harbor sucks all the swell out till incoming.  The call was to paddle the south side of Oxnard Shores where it was weak and inconsistent with occasional chest high or chin high as AJ likes say to south sets. There was also SW wind on adding more bump and crumble to the already weak wave.  I caught a few gems.  I had to work pre 4th of July BBQ up on the Santa Barbara Riviera.  The house was build on the side of the hill with all sorts of dangerous stairs and inclines.  By the time I left three guests had fallen including the host of the party.  One lady fell down the house stair case and rolled into my kitchen.  There never is a boring day in catering. 

7-2-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 10
Yesterday’s combo swells were down a notch with some new long period minor south filling in around 1 ft @ 18 seconds or something dumb like that.  Conditions were glassy when AJ and I first got there which provoked us to paddle, but as soon as we got suited up the wind went SW.  My back was still hurting from falling off the ladder limiting my performance.  At the very least I got out there.  I took in way too much ding repair in the last month leaving me very behind therefore my afternoon was spent fixing boards instead of building them.  When my wife got home we took Adagio to the play ground so he could burn off a little bit of energy. 

7-1-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
June was a perfect month meaning I surfed everyday and for the majority of it I didn’t surf a wave under head high.  One of the best I can remember.  Let’s hope July continues to deliver.  This morning there were two minor south swells and a little bit of NW wind swell to create just the right combination to produce fun beach break conditions here in Oxnard.  Hollywood had a very rip-able mix of peaks with a light SW wind on it. My back hurt from falling off a ladder in the garage yesterday stifling my performance though I did manage a few draining tubes on the shallow sand bar. It was a fun, clean empty morning, how could I really complain?  After the surf I met up with my sister and folks for lunch.  In the afternoon we all took Adagio to Bubbling Springs park here in Hueneme to feed the ducks after which he enjoyed a romp in park.   Everyone went back to my house for a final family dinner before my folks and sister head back to New Jersey tomorrow.