Surfing Ruined My Life

June 2021 Surf Sessions

6-30-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Lower Trestles
Time in Water: 1hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 13
Miles Driven: 167 enroute to Baja
My initial plan was to head down to San Diego after work Tuesday night. Then head down to Mexico from there in the morning. After weighing all the variables I decided to just cruise in the morning and hit Lowers on the way down. I hadn’t surfed out there since 2011 and thought why not give it ago. We got down to San Clemente around 1:30 and it looked fun enough with only around thirty guys out. What I didn’t take into consideration was the inconsistency of the sets and number of waves per set which were both slim making thirty guys a crowd. It’s Lowers, the most competitive surf break in California meaning that crowd consisted of frothy pros, ex-pros, up and coming groms and every other type of ripper that exists. It became a shit fight for waves. Truth be told I was feeling my best having not really slept well last night due to the fact that when I got home from work Bizarro had smoked two racks of ribs and I beasted a half rack of them into my stomach at 11:30 pm. At forty years old that is not a good idea. With all those factors against me I definitely didn’t make the it Lowers session I had hoped. That being said I still smashed a couple. From there it was back on the road to Mexico where we got to our destination safe and sound just before dark.

6-29-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 78
Thanks to yesterday’s retarded traffic issues on the 101 I was stuck having to go down to the Clarks Surfboards work shop to tie up some loose ends prior to my Mexico trip tomorrow. Nothing crazy, just heading down to north Baja again for a few days to do R&D and some well deserved R&R. There were small waves at the points again. I cruised to Strand and though not epic there were some solid sets coming through at the ship with only a few guys out. The wind was light on shore but it looked fun enough for my limited window and I was out there. My first few waves were super fun runners from the ship past tower five. Then the wind became to get harder as well as the tide got fuller. It wasn’t long before it was lully and when’s set did come in it was a chop riddled burger. Still I managed a few fun ones and sometimes that’s all your need. Rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-28-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 30
I was all set for my usual slow lurk down south when I fielded a call from Jeffery warning me not to cruise past Rincon cause there was a gnarly accident on the north bound 101 near Sea Cliff and the entire north bound was closed. I heard it was an over turned truck and that could take hours to clear. I had to get back to SB for work and didn’t want to risk it. I had a look at Rincon. It was pretty wind swelly and drained with the tide. There were some waist plus wack-able ones coming in up and down the point with a very light crowd. Since I had no other real options I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Fish and went for it. Considering there was no one in the Cove and I saw a four wave set of waist to stomach runners peel through I started there. Though a bit weak I managed a few fun ones. The long boarders slowly trickled in. Not in the mood to try and battle for small waves I got one more and headed up top. I walked all the way up to Upper Indicator and paddled. The tide began to push and sure enough there were six waves sets with chest high waves on the regular. Stoked I frothed a some very decent ones that had me wishing I had rode my Clarks Fly Guy out there. Biz showed up to shoot some water, but somehow accidentally turned his camera off and had to go back in to take apart the entire housing thus missing the end of my session completely. Initially I was pretty bummed that I had to paddle Rincon, but as it turned out I sort of scored for what was out there. I heard the VTA beaches had wind on them all morning anyway. On the way home the HP’s shut down the north bound lanes of the 101 in Carpinteria cause of another bad car accident. Luckily for me I was able to get off and grab Foothill home. With all this construction happening on the 101 there have been triple the accidents then usual. I think everyone needs to head the 55mph zone and drive a bit more responsibility. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-27-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
On a hunch I cruised to Strand in the hopes it would pick up the steep NW wind swell on the buoy. It really wasn’t. What was showing was the WSW swell that was in the water. It was very inconsistent and mushy plus there was a dog bank sitting just out the back which made getting any good footage impossible. I saw waves at Sea Cliffs on the way down and headed back there. Emma looked fun again but it was also crowded and parking shit. I checked Pitas. Though nothing spectacular there were a few worth a paddle and considering my steadily diminished time window I went for it. It was very surf-able I definitely caught the tail end of the tide push window as the rights were getting more mushy by the second. I smashed my twenty and cruised on it. For Lunch my wife and I checked out this spot in Carpinteria called Hugo’s. It’s a luncheonette that has been there forever but just recently caught my eye this past year. I had hunch the place was right up my ally and finally stopped in. Man am upset I didn’t discover this spot fifteen years ago. With breakfast all day, an array of sandwiches, an Asian menu and fish and chips how can you go wrong. I highly recommend the place and will definitely be back.

6-26-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 56
It was looking pretty grimy out there this morning on the cams with just a tough of minor south and nw wind swell in the water. I had a feeling it was going to be an Emma morning when I left my house. After seeing some wind swell at Rincon I decided to check Little Rincon and Pitas both of which though small had a wave to surf. Pitas was actually a bit busy with random kooks and a SUP. Maybe they got lost from Mondos. Emma looked fun with only about four guys on it. I knew that wouldn’t last but out of options I paddled. I got a handful of good ones right off the bat before the line up got packed with every level of pro Ventura and Santa Barbara has to offer with Conner Coffin at the top. It’s amazing the level of difference there is between a top touring pro and your home town hero’s. For once I was surfing rather we’ll despite the crowd and was stoked. After an hour I had my fill and bailed. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-25-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
The buoys and drive down was looking meager this morning. Despite the less then clean conditions on the Harbor came I headed there first. New Jetty was small and packed. As I looked down towards River Mouth I saw lots of little peaks up and down the beach and though a bit mixed up it was fairly clean for this season. In need of a replacement surf bud of Angers I hit up Robbie and we paddled. For how small and wonky it was I had a blast. We must have made it look too fun cause by the time we left there were easily twenty plus guys spread out from knoll to River Mouth. After the surf I raced home to fix one of my spare Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Model so that I could take it to Mexico with me next week. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-24-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 118
Once again the wind was on it early. Dave was off for the week and offered to take me to Base. Biz had to go to Huntington in the afternoon and came along. Base was far from good. There was the occasional gem, but they were few and far between. The reward did not out weigh the risks thus we decided to head to LA. Angers was at Leo and Robbie was at Dume and both had favorable reports. We stopped at Leo first where there was a light pack by Leo standards, a consistent wave coming through and room for us to surf. We paddled and it was a bit hectic for the first forty minutes. Then the crowd dropped off and it was just Dave, myself a three other guys on the peak. A rip fest ensued. It wasn’t the best shape Leo. There were close outs and some wonk to it, but man it was fun. I got out after two hours cause my legs were too sore to continue surfing, a fear which rarely happens for me out there.

6-23-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 3 hr
Waves Surfed: 44
Miles Driven: 126
After days of surfing windy, wonky and crowded surf I needed a good surf on my day off. The best bet looked to be Jalama. Angers picked me up and we headed north. I had a feeling the crowd was going to be on it today cause I got word that is was good yesterday and if I got word that means everyone else in Santa Barbara did as well. I expected about thirty guys or so not the fifty plus that were cluster fucked in between first and second crack with another ten or so at T’s. Actually inside Tarantulas wasn’t looking too bad for a south swell. Angers paddled Cracks while I sat on the beach and had a fit while waiting the crowd out a bit. Ten guys bailed thus I suited up and paddled, though not before some idiots dog came over and kicked sand all over my already melted wax job. Talk about adding insult to injury. With the crowd and my junk wax job I had a heck of a time getting into a rhythm. Thanks to the cluster fuck of guys someone was always in my way or taking off too deep to make it but not deep enough to burn. Then there were a lot of burger shoulders going back out to sea or just plain dumpers. After about an hour and a half the crowd really died out and with the dropping tide I really began to hit my stride. I even set the fastest speed on my watch to date: 38.5mph. Angers got some good ones too. After three hours we were both completely spent even though there were plenty of gems to be had with only three guys out and it was the best it had been all day. At my age you have to listen to your body. Mine was telling me to call it a day. After the surf Angers told me that he is moving back to Florida after ten years of living here. The move is happening as soon as we get back from Mexico next week. Talk about a bummer. He was my best surf friend. The California revolving door continues to spin.

6-22-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 56
These terrible morning winds have got to subside. So far It’s been five windy days for every two glassy days this season. Sadly the glassy days seem to only happen on the smaller days. Once again the best wave I saw today was at Indicator. Just like yesterday there were just a few too many guys for what was on offer. I got word that the VTA beaches were windy, Ventura point was a zoo on the cam and Angers said Hueneme was pretty closed out. By process of elimination I ended up at Emma Wood where it was also crowded and underwhelming. Mikey Clark and his crew were out there absolutely destroying it. I could tell they were struggle to even make something out of what was coming through. The majority of the crowd looked like they were sort of at the end of their wits thus I paddled and sure enough with in fifteen minutes half the crowd left. It was very shifty and doing they outside/inside thing it does on these types south swells. Mushy on the outside and dumpy on the inside. I sat way out the back worked there mush then Huntington Hopped to the inside where there was a shitty ugly dumper to hit. At the very least it was good exercise though I did sort of tweaked my back on an air. So far this swell had been absolute shit in Ventura and packed thanks to an overly inflated surf report courtesy of my friends at Surfline. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-21-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 64
Some days nothing goes right for me and I wonder why I bother. Upon waking up my body felt like I got hit by a car from yesterday’s terrible wipe out caused head injury. Like a trooper I stretched, took three Ibuprofen and headed south. I got word the wind was on it down at the VTA beaches. Hoping some swell was getting in I had a look at Indicator, which though very inconsistent had an occasional good one. I was contemplating paddling out till the Surf Happens bus pulled up and unloaded ten groms. From there I headed to Emma. There was an ok left coming through with about ten guys on it. It was clean. After watching it a bit the good ones were few and far between and there just wasn’t enough room for me to surf the way I’d like. For the size it definitely wasn’t worth dealing with that many guys. I headed to the Harbor where there was plenty of swell along with plenty of wind. New Jetty had a wave and a stiff crowd. No surprise there. The talent of the crowd was far lower then normal making me feel like I could go out and sneak a couple. As I was suiting up the zipper broke on my wetsuit, an awesome way to start off the session. Then I got out there and completely kooked it on my first two waves. My third one I managed to pick off a runner and got three solid turns on it. This would be my best wave. After that the tide got a bit low creating annoying rips and dumpy close outs, while the crowd also grew exponentially to a very annoying point. At this point I decided to just sit way outside and wait for the long period bombs. When I finally caught one, some idiot decided to paddle on me, ruining the first section. I don’t know what made him think I wasn’t go to go considering I had waited twenty minutes out the back for it. I tapped the second section before attempting a gnarly section floater that I chickened out at the last minute and threw away before the landing. In the process my leash broke thus ending my surf. I could ran back to my car and got another but I was over it. Every time I surf New Jetty I am reminded why I don’t bother surfing New Jetty. Let reiterate how much I hate south swells. The rest of my day was spent hating my life at the Post Office.

6-20-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
The wind was already on it by nine this morning. It was light and still socked in with the Marine Layer coaxing me to paddle. As soon as I walked to the Mouth the wind got harder and the chop built. Despite the mess the faces were staying rather clean and with the strong rips the waves were even holding shape. There were even some ugly double up tubes if you could get to them. I got into a groove and found a handful of fun ones. As the tide dropped some gnarly back wash began to rear itself on the sand bar. It was very hard to read. Towards the end of my session I was jamming down the line on a screamer setting up for a big air. As I bottom turned up to unload on the cascading lip the back wash hit me and threw me four feet into the air. I came careening back down to the flats where the water was only about two feet deep on the sand bar and landed right on my head upside down. I was lucky I didn’t break my neck. I definitely threw my entire spine and body out of whack and incurred a concussion. As of writing this I am still feeling rather loopy. If I don’t update in the next few days I may have died from a massive brain hemorrhage. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching finals day of the Surf Ranch Pro. It was a pretty sterile contest as usual but I think due to the extreme heat it must have been very difficult for the athletes.

6-19-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
Talk about another day where I expected little and found some fun ones. Just like yesterday I headed straight for Rivermouth. There was a bit of WSW wind on, but the faces were clean and it appeared that new long period south was starting to show with a somewhat stretched set every fifteen or twenty minutes. There were plenty of junky in betweeners to scrap as well. It was definitely a bit more challenging to surf as it always is with long period swell lines. Also there were a number of terrible rips that made keeping position a tad tricky. I basically had the place to myself with the exception of Jeremy C and his buddy. We for sure made the most of what was on offer. I got two really cherry lefts that made it all worth while. Just another day down on the 365 run. After the surf I enjoyed a nice breakfast with my wife before heading into work at the Post Office.

6-18-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
There wasn’t much swell in the water. The only thing I had going for me was some minor south swell and light winds. I headed straight for the Harbor knowing it was going to be the only real game in town. To my surprise there were peaky waist to chest plus combo A-frames breaking up and down the beach with a fairly light crowd. Stoked I got into froth and went to town. The only bummer was I paddled at basically dead low and had to deal with some pretty lully conditions. The rest of my day was spent back on the postal grind.

6-17-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Hoping to score a bit more late late season point surf I had a look at all the points and Sea Cliffs. It was still surf-able though only on my fish. I had gotten mixed reports on Strand and since I had to go down to Ventura to shape anyway so decided to have a look at the Ship. There was a bit of wind on it and it was tad on the weak side. Still there were chest plus lefts coming off the ship and the Lifeguard tower that looked fun enough to me. There was also only three guys out. Stoked I jumped in and picked off a handful of runners. I guess I made it look fun enough to stoke out Jeremy C, John and a handful of other dudes to paddle. I never mind a good surf with the boys. It was really fun till Pat showed up then it pretty much turned off. I guess wind swell began to petter out with the incoming tide. That was cool since at some point I needed to get in the shaping room anyway. Shaping went well then I headed home where I prepared a nice Caprese Salad and Beef bolognaise over ziti regate for dinner. Couldn’t ask for a more productive day off.

6-16-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 35
Miles Driven: 41
The plan was to meet at my place around one and then cruise up to Jalama to take advantage of the combo swell. I had a bit of catering work in the morning. California is officially open for business again post Covid, whatever the fuck that means. It does feel good to get back in the kitchen again in what limited capacity it is for me at the moment. Maybe it’s time I get my ass into gear, get out of the Post Office and take my life back. The last nine months, NINE MONTHS!!!! At the Post Office!!!! Have been a nightmare. While working this morning I got a host of reports claiming the points were all solid. I checked the buoys and they were reading some solid west wind swell. Sure enough all the winter spots were lit up. Angers had a look at the south points. Little Rincon was the call. Biz and I met him and it was on. There were four guys out and chest to head high runners with the occasional plus set. Stoked we jumped in. Within twenty minutes the other guys bailed leaving us the line up for over an hour. The whole thing was rather mind blowing. Besides being a tad on the fast side there were some real gems out there. I’d say it was a score and just what the doctor ordered.

6-15-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 56
After a brief deliberation between Pitas and Emma I chose the latter. I was stoked I did cause right off the bat I snagged a handful of really fun waves and for about twenty minutes or so it was jus my Jeffery and I. Of course we knew it couldn’t last and it didn’t. People showed up a few at a time and at the forty five minute mark it was packed yet again. At the very least the crowd was made up of a majority of alright surfers meaning the line up rotated appropriately and people weren’t constantly in the way. That being said it was still way too crowded for what was on off. It is summer time after all. What should one expect. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-14-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Driven: 56
More of the same WNW local wind swell was on tap. I got word early the VTA beaches were less then desirable so I had a look around Sea Cliffs. Emma despite the very low tide had some kill-able little peaks coming in. There were only three guys out and it looked fun enough to me. Jeffery showed up and we paddled. I guess it must of looked fun to lots of other guys two cause every time I caught a wave there were three more guys in the lineup till it was a straight up cluster fuck of surfers every level from kook to ripper. It was hard to even turn around to take a wave with out someone getting in the way. Bizarro showed up to shoot right in the thick of it. We did manage a few shots but it was rather rough out there. Let me just say this people; if you pull up to a already crowded line up and don’t see any waves going by un-ridden go some where else. There’s no room for you. Either that or hang out and wait for a few guys to leave. When you go to a crowded restaurant you don’t just walk in and sit on the laps of the people at a table. You wait for one to become vacant. Think about that analogy next time you’re thinking about crowding an already maxed out line up. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-13-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
I woke up and it was foggy, cold and very little swell on the buoys or cams. With that on tap I decided to sleep in till around 8:30. My wife had to drop off a present down in Oxnard thus I had a look at Ventura Harbor first. It was a bit bigger then yesterday with more wind swell showing. The shape however was less then desired. It was surf-able but I definitely saw a few possibilities along Sea Cliffs on the way down. Heading back north Emma actually looked pretty decent. It was absolutely packed for what was on offer though. I saw some white water up at Pitas and had a look. It was meager. There were some waist to stomach waves coming in and I was out of time. For once I lucked into a magic window as the tide was coming up. As soon as I paddled out sets started pouring in and some were solid chest high runners. It was myself and three other guys and plenty to go around. For about a little over a half hour I frothed. Then my friend Carlos paddled and brought the bad luck. In reality the tide began to get a little high for the size and the onshore wind picked up as well. It didn’t take long for it to get a bit soft and wonky out there. For another day that I completely wrote off as a throw away and wouldn’t have even bothered getting out of bed had it not been for this surfing 365 day charge, I’d say it was a comparative score. One thing this insane idea of surfing everyday has taught me is that if one is privy and has an open mind, fun waves can be found nearly everyday. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-12-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
Today was the first day in a while that there really wasn’t very much swell in the water. Besides a very short period steep NW wind swell and some minor background it was definitely slim pickings out there. Of course whenever there aren’t any waves the conditions are absolutely pristine. I headed straight for Ventura Harbor where I learned that Surfline has just added a cam too. I have very conflicting feelings on all these new cams popping up like it’s Orange County or something. On one had my lazy side likes that fact that I can now check the wind at the Harbor from my bed. On the other hand those days where it stays sort of clean mid day and afternoon that sometimes one could sneak in not crowded are over. Such is life living in the era of the kook. I saw a couple waist to stomach plus waves breaking off my usual bar down by the reeds. I don’t if it was because of the swell angle or the tide or lack of swell but for whatever reason the wave was coming in out of the north west as a close out line then would hit this deep spot on the bar and be forced to make a 180 degree turn on the left. This made for a very rip-able little wave. I frothed on it. I must have made it look too fun because six other guys decided to show up and paddle. Luckily it was at the tail end of my surf. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-11-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 56
Instead of the wind blowing NW today it was blowing south west. There was a slight up tick in the wind swell though the points and Strand were still small. I saw a few rip-able nuggets at Emma and paddled. I was still feeling rather beat out there though not quite as bad as yesterday. There were only two other guys out and some fun peaks. Then a pack of five kooky kids paddled followed by three body boarders and the line up was clogged. I spent the rest of my session negotiating people constantly in my way when riding and paddling for waves. The water was very warm, maybe in the low 60’s and the air was hot. I found myself uncomfortably too warm out there for the first time since fall. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-10-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 84
The wind decided to continue with any real gain in the wind swell. After exhausting all options Jeffery and I found ourselves staring at terrible Hueneme. At that point we were completely over the hunt and resolved to paddle the south side of the pier. It was complete wind chop familiar to what I might find surfing in front of my parents home in Florida. Of course the water was freezing and the current annoying. I was completely whipped from yesterday’s mission and very unmotivated. I went through the motions, caught a few terrible waves and was reminded why I don’t waste my time surfing Hueneme. I was suppose to go shape, but when I got to the shop I was feeling incredibly weak thus decided to take the day off as rest.

6-9-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Point Dume, Malibu
Time in Water: 3 hr
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 134
Angers had the day off from work and a hall pass from baby duties. We wanted to get some footage for the next YouTube edit on the Clarks Surfboards channel. Unfortunately there was a gnarly NW gale blowing down the coast and very little wind swell showing at our protected points. With little options we decided to roll the dice and chase the background south swell down to Malibu. Leo had an alright wave but was an absolute zoo. It was so crowded there was no possibility of getting decent clips. Not to mention it was a tad bit of a burger. Just for argument sake we decided to check Dume. It’s a some what fickle spot, but it can also deliver when one would least expect it too. Parking was a nightmare as usual. Walking down the stairs are currently being rebuilt and in classic Lisanti fashion I led us down the gnarliest goat trail. At the bottom we saw a way easier trail two hundred yards from the crazy one we took. We had the place to ourselves for about twenty minutes then one other dude paddled and we were trading off waves very respectfully for about an hour or so. You had to cause Dume is very inconsistent. Then another guy paddled and it was still chill. Finally six other randoms came out and the peak was clogged. People were constantly in the way cause they blew the drop. We decided to call it quits, which was fine cause Bizarro, Angers and I were exhausted and burnt from spending three hours in the mid day sun.

6-8-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
When there’s next to no swell in the water all roads lead to Ventura Harbor. Jeffery and Angers were standing on the dunes with less then enthusiastic looks on their faces as I walked up. I had a look at New Jetty, which was crowded and not worth the effort as usual. One of the Guadaskas brothers was leaving along with many other guys. Who could blame them. It looked weak and the onshore wind was just starting to come up. I saw a few worthy corners down by River Mouth and was out there. Jeffery followed, while Angers with only about 45 minutes before work decided to bail. As it turned out there was more south swell showing then the buoys let on and with the WNW combo coupled with the higher tide there were some really rip-able left and right wedges out there to be had. The first forty five minutes of the session was an all out rip fest. Then the wind came up a bit stronger tearing it up more then we would have liked. With it came the annoying rip tides and currents and close outs. It was far from a session to write home about, but it’s always stoke when you are pleasantly surprised with fun waves on a day that was a throw away. The rest of my day was spent at the post Office.

6-7-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
There is nothing like spending an hour and a half and fifty miles of car surfing to start off the morning. As usual cause the surf zone I live in is super fickle and consists of tons of micro climate and swell zones in a fifty mile radius some days choosing the right spot can be rather challenging. I woke up at 7:30 and the was stiff onshore at all the Ventura beach breaks. Since there was some fresh NW wind-swell in the water I decided to take advantage of the weather and sleep in till 8:30. I headed to the points and between the high tide and swell angle they were less then to be desired as was Emma Wood. Considering I had Bizarro with me to film we both wanted to find a wave worth while. As we were checking Emma I noticed that the ocean looked rather calm looking south toward the beaches. To Harbor we cruised. It was pretty clean though the shape was poor. At this point I only was left with an hour and half to surf and options scarce. I could head back to the points and gamble away the remainder of my time checking Strand. Not stoked on the former I rolled the dice and came out on top. The Ship was solid head high plus with some chunky bombs. It was a bit shouldery or closed out. That being said there were some screaming runners too. I broke my leash doing a big air where I landed on the roof of a five foot section and three it away rather then take my chances landing in the flats on the heavy cascading lip. My board went one way I went the other. I felt my leash snap when it was pulled completely taunt. Luckily I managed to swim to my board before it got taken by the next set wave. I had hoped that maybe just the leash tie had broken or come undone. It had snapped clean through in the middle. It was over a year old or so and definitely served it’s time. This was at the half way point of my surf and sent me running back to my car for my spare. I managed to get back out there and sneak a few more in before having to head home to work. We had two hours of driving, forty five minutes of looking for one hour of surfing. This my friends is a perfect example of how surfing ruins my life every single day! The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-6-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
I had to dig deep inside myself to find the motivation to paddle as I looked at weak semi walled combo swell with stiff onshore wind already on it at the Rivermouth. In hindsight I probably should have went to Emma. I had a customer meeting me at the Clarks Surfboards factory to pick up a long board at 11:30 which is just down the street from there and I was hoping that the shape might hold. It was pretty much trash by the time I suited up and paddled. Every aspect of bad waves existed out there today. It was dumpy, closed out, weak, sectiony, and had flat shoulders. Then add faces riddled with chop and backwash and you have a real surfing dream. It was a wonder everyone split. Of course Angers paddled out right when it was as bad as it could possibly be. At the very least I had some one to share in my surf misery. After the surf I had to run around on various Clarks errands, scarfed a burrito then raced home to SB. As soon as I got home I made my lunch, changed and raced off to the Post Office. This forty hour five days a week grind for not even a living wage is no way to live.

6-5-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 64
The south swell that in my option might be the best one I have utilized yet this season was still providing and unlike yesterday the wind managed to stay down till around 10:30 before things really got junky. I pulled out magic Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw Model and went to town. It was a pretty stiff crowd with easily fifty guys spread from past the Rivermouth all the way to Knoll. There were also lots of peaks and with the period hovering around fourteen seconds there was plenty of waves for everyone. I found a peak with just three other guys on it and got to work. There was just enough onshore wind to keep it from really barreling all that good. There were also a couple of new WNW close out sets to contend with as well. When a pure south set came it was a screamer to the finish. I got on this ally-oop rampage and just kept boosting them serially till I got a stick. Then I landed in the flats really hard on a big one and decided to cool it on the gnar. It wasn’t epic by any means but I had a good time. Looks like there may be an uptick in the WNW swell over the next few days and still some south. Combo time! After the surf I got some breakfast with my wife then headed to the post Office for a super fun ten hour shift.

6-4-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
I found myself staring at yet another windy morning at the Rivermouth with little other options afforded to me in my time window. Angers was in the water fighting the good fight. I broke my cardinal rule out at the Harbor: If one as any doubt about paddling out, there is no doubt. Don’t paddle out. Of course I paddled. Within five minutes of being out there the wind got harder and the tide began to drain too fast leaving nothing but stretched walls. I beat the dead horse till there was nothing remotely even surf-able left. I was the last guy out there of the morning. Still there were a few corners that I managed to shine on. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

6-3-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 126
Angers had the day off and a pass from baby duties from his wife. We really wanted to score some good waves. The wind looked ok up at Jalama and I had been hearing good things from there as of late. He met Bizarro and I at my place and we all cruised up. Sure enough it was head high plus, peaky and clean at the Cracks. We timed it perfectly cause the bulk of the morning crowd was bailing leaving just a few guys out by the time we paddled. Although a little soft there were some runners to be had if you picked the right one. The first half hour I wasn’t really finding the good ones. Then I got in the zone and it was on. My new Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw Model is absolutely the best board I have had in three years. The magic board is an anomaly and when your lucky enough to get one it’s an amazing surfing experience. Angers to his credit was killing it as well. Bizarro was on the beach documenting all of it. After the surf we indulged in a Jalama burger before heading. I didn’t get any work done on either of my days off. It’s been a while since I scored two days of fun enough surf.

6-2-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Heavens, Malibu
Time in Water: 2 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 40
Miles Driven: 116
The south swell really to kicked in today and though only three feet on the buoys there was plenty of swell to be had at the southern exposures. I toyed with the idea of going to Jalama but with work to do at home I decided to head to Ventura. The Harbor would have been fun had the wind not been on it and tide already too drained. I headed to Shores where it was a bit better. The bars there have a lot of holes in them making it hard to get really good waves sitting in one spot. I went over to Hueneme, but the tide was a bit too low there as well. Out of options I headed to LA. My friend Tim was claiming Heavens, a reef break of little consequence just north of Leo Carrillo. When I first moved to California I used to surf this spot quite a bit cause it usually is less crowded then the big name spots. It’s also hardly as good. The thing about Heavens is that it always looks fun from up on the cliff. This is why I never even check it there. I don’t want to get suckered in. That was exactly what happened. I saw a solid ten wave south set pulse through with only three guys on it. I paddled and it was way weaker then it looked. Still if you picked the right one there were moments of brilliance. After about fifteen minutes the line up got mobbed by fifteen 18-20 year olds who all came together and clogged it. Besides a few the rest sucked at surfing and were just buoys. As usual I found a right just south of the pack that no one really wanted a piece of. I got a few. Overall I should have just surfed Zeros or County, maybe even Dume. By the time I got home it was 4:30 leaving me no time for ding repair before my wife got home.

6-1-21 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
There was a serious drop in the swell from yesterday. That plus the drained out early morning low tide less things a bit to be desired. At the very least it was clean and there were some waist plus south lines filtering in. Jeffery was already out and Angers and I joined him. That was the entire line up for our whole surf. It’s very rare to ever surf clean Harbor with no one out these days, shoots even messy Harbor gets a crowd at times. My first three waves were absolutely magic. I got a screamer right I hit a nice air on. Then I stroked into a left that I somehow managed to pull through a sick little tube and finally I picked off a left that I stuck a sizable ally-oop on. After that the wind came up a little bit out of the south and the tide bottomed out. There were still some fun ones but overall it got rather grovelly. Still I had fun and have certainly surfed it a lot worse out there. Plus the water warmed up a great deal from yesterday. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.