Surfing Ruined My Life

March 2021 Surf Sessions

3-31-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Malibu Surfrider
Time in Water: 2 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 152
I guess its officially south swell season if I found myself in Malibu. I headed down the the Ventura beaches and the wind was blowing 30 mph off shore. The only place remotely any fun was the Harbor where it was crowded, inconsistent, all over the place and closed out. I watched it for fifteen minutes with thirty plus guys out and nobody getting good ones. I had a look at Strand but the wind completely destroyed what little wind swell was still left on the buoys. I got word that Hueneme was solid, met up with Angers and we headed up that way. There were definitely some little lines coming through, the key word being little. Over Ventura we decided to go to Malibu in the hopes of chasing down some south. County was busy and pathetic, Leo crowded, weak and full of kelp and Zeros had so much sand on the beach it didn’t even resemble a point. I pulled up the cam for 3rd Peak Malibu and we saw a flurry of sets with a very light crowd. Taking full advantage we showed up and blew up. The first hour was pretty fun with the incoming tide push. There were chest plus lines running down the point with a light crowd and even some lefts in between peaks. Then as the tide hit dead high it got very lully and crowded. The entire second hour was spent waiting, scraping and battling for waves that weren’t half as good as when we got there. When we got back the the car we were welcomed by a bullshit parking ticked saying that we were over two hours in a two hour parking zone. It was two hour parking for commercial vehicles and no limit for regular cars. Oh and while we were out in the water there was this annoying surf dad constantly yelling at his kids about their surfing. Let the kids just have fun and surf. I had having to sit out there and listen to crap like that. The dad sucked at surfing too. Later that night Angers, his wife, and myself and my wife all went out to dinner at the Boat House in Santa Barbara. Minus having to wait an hour and half for a table cause they wouldn’t take a reservation it was a splendid evening.

3-30-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
There was a bit more wind swell in the water plus the south making decent combo conditions. For a change the wind was light. I couldn’t get any good reports from anyone on the VTA beaches. As a result I basically checked everything from Rincon down. Pitas was almost fun and if the tide wasn’t getting higher I would have paddled it. Emma was absolutely horrid. The sand is just deplorable there at the moment. Out of time and options I ran to the the Harbor. There were pick and choose corners up and down the beach. I found a shitty little peak just north of the Knoll where I managed a few fun lefts. It was definitely more fun then it looked, but far from good. And of course the water was still freezing. My foot is feeling a lot better. I think by this time next week I should be able to start getting gnarly out there again.

3-29-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Today was basically just another small terrible spring day that I wouldn’t have even surfed if I wasn’t on this surf everyday roll. The water was freezing and the wind was on it early, which is only fitting since I woke up early to try and get the beaches before the wind. Jeffrey and I had a look at Harbor. Windy and Pathetic we headed to Emma hoping for at the very least a lip to hit. It was rather deplorable there too. It looked like something I’d surf in Florida except the water would be in the 70’s as would the air temp. It was just another day on the surf grind. As good as my foot felt yesterday is as bad as it felt today. Extremity injuries are the worst when you’re older cause they take forever to heal. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office doing small doses of something or nothing or maybe the happy medium in between?

3-28-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 64
I suppose its that time of year again where I have to stop being lazy in order to stay ahead of the wind at the beach breaks. Today my 9 AM wake up didnt cut it as it was already rather hard onshore wind when I got to the the Harbor. Behind that, the high tide and a silly crowd for how bad it was I decided to bail to Emma. It was pretty deplorable upon checking it out there. If not for my surfing 365 days this year I definitely would have drove away. Instead I manned up, braved the freezing cold water and paddled. There was just enough south swell in the water to make it sort of surf-able and luckily the angle of the swell was running parallel to the beach allowing for some knee to waist high runners. I grovel with the best of them and must have made it look too much fun cause four guys paddled after watching me. They couldn’t make shit out of it and then all of them left as soon as I got out. Why is this world full of sheep. If you don’t have a small wave game in knee high crap then why paddle on a guy who does. Go find your own shitty peak. I can assure there were plenty of other terrible waves up and down the coast. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I choose to surf a horrible wave because I want to surf alone? The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office which has straight up become like “Ground Hog Day”.

3-27-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 30
The swell was surprisingly west, relatively speaking compared to the rest of the week. I heard Strand was fat and small. With a five foot high tide at nine AM I wasn’t expecting much. Ventura Harbor was the best bet. I hate that place on weekends and at the moment the bars are all shit. Feeling lazy and low on gas I decided to just have a look at Indicator to rule it out. Though small there was the waist to chest high plus set with a light crowd. Small Indicator/Rivermouth on high tide is always more fun then it looks. Also I felt some NW wind on my face and didn’t want to drive all the way to the beaches only to surf three clean waves before being stuck in the chop. I paddled and Par decided to meet me. Armed with our trusty small wave killer, Pop Fizz Models from Clarks Surfboards we were ready to grovel hard. When we first got out there it was pretty decent. Some really solid runners. The only annoyance was the usual kooky crowd that small Rincon attracts, especially on a Saturday. We had two SUPs to deal with, which I thought there was an understanding that SUP’s are not allowed at Rincon. I made sure to not show any respect to those kooks on sheet principle. Then we had a few clueless soft toppers, a few soft top enthusiasts whom should be riding real surfboards and finally one guy on a pink shortboard who sucked and dropped in on every body even though there were plenty of waves to go around. As the tide dropped it got a bit wonky and backwash riddled though still very surf-able. I had fun for what it was. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

3-26-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
Angers hit me up from Strand early that it was fat but had potential. stoked I rushed down. When I got to the Ship it was all wonky and still pretty fat. There were like twenty guys out all of whom surf there a lot and no one was getting good waves. Even Angers who scraps everything that moves failed to get anything. On the way down I saw some lines at Indicator and with the dropping tide I knew I could find something at one of the points. I headed to Pitas first since I was short on time. There was one guy out a little down the point. It was still pretty high but I saw enough potential to warrant a paddle. Timing is everything in this life and for once I lucked into a window that lasted my entire session. For the majority of it I had the entire peak to myself. Towards the end two guys came out. The wind began to come up right as I ran out of time. It was only about chest high but I managed three to four good turns a wave. At the end of the day it’s all about having fun, which I did. The rest of my day was sadly spent at the post office.

3-25-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
The tide was gnarly high early. All the reports I got were less then inspiring. I had just got a big batch of boards back from my Glasser and had plenty of billing work to do anyway. Around eleven I headed south. I had to meet two customers down in Ventura and Oxnard. I figured if I saw something fun on the way down I’d surf if not sort something out afterwards. It was very tiny all the way to Ventura Point. I met a customer down by Strand and though it was windy I was right there and gave the North End a look. Though windy there were some alright bowls to be had with only a few guys out. Considering how small it was up north I paddled. I found a pretty fun peak in front of Tower 1 and got pretty frothy. I even landed a few airs, the first ones I have pulled since my foot injury. While I was out there this house right on the the beach at Hollywood burst into flames making quite the sight from the water. I have the hand it to the Fire Fighters cause they got it out very fast. After the surf I headed home where I served up an excellent spaghetti with shrimp in a creamy tomato sauce.

3-24-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
Today my wife and I were picking up a rescue cat to give him a forever home with us. He was in Ventura so on tbe way we decided to hit up Strand since it was offshore and barreling. It was one of those Strand days that looked perfect from the beach but was way more tricky once out there. First off the barrel was very hard to make. Normally at south strand the barrel opens wider as you ride in it. Today it was shrinking making an exit very difficult. My tube riding success rate is pretty high and I only made a few. Had some good views though. It was also very inconsistent and hitting all over the beach with no rhyme or reason. Finally it was very crowded for what was on offer with nearly fifty guys from the Ship to Tower 4. That being said I got a handful of sick ones before the wind came up and ruined it. The cat we picked up is named Raymundo. He is a three year old snow shoe cat like Charles. At the moment he is very skittish and shy. He won’t venture out of the bathroom and has limited interaction with any of us in the house. I’m sure he will come around soon.

3-23-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 70
The wonk continued today along with a great deal of wind leaving only the protected points for options except they were rather tiny and gutless being all that was getting in was a very weak local wind swell. Jeffrey and I checked everything to Emma. Little Rincon was the best of the worst and luckily the Six guys that were on it, about the maximum the spot could handle given the conditions got out just as we pulled up. He wanted to try my Fly Guy so I started out on my Pop Fizz. I love when people, especially my friends constantly bother me about board design and this and that, never order a board from me and then have the nerve to ask me what I think about boards from other surfboard companies. It’s like fuck man why don’t you try out one of mine. What happened to the days when bros supported bros. It was pretty weak, windy and terrible out there, not to mention the current absolutely sucked. I can’t remember the last time I worked that hard paddling back to the line up. I managed a handful of runners that I groveled from the pier to the hotel. Definitely been a grindy couple of days out there. Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings. The rest of my day was spent underemployed, under paid and under appreciated at the Post Office.

3-22-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 44
Oh, spring what an interesting time you make it for a surfer. The water is colder then in the dead of winter, there is always wind coming from every direction possible and at all times of the day and night. It is Combo swell galore, but too much so making every surf spot mixed up and difficult to surf. Then there are those special windows where if you are lucky to be at the right spot at just the right time there is an uncrowded score to be had. This morning wasn’t one of those. Nope, it was all over the place everywhere with wind funk. Pitas was the best of the worst for my window and Jeffrey and I made the most of it. There was a bit of a south wind funk on it. I snagged a few good ones up top. Must have made it look too much fun cause four guys paddled out and sat right on us. I got a long one down to Faria and hung out there for the remainder of my session before cruising in. I think the sea glass score on the walk back up the point trumped the actual surfing. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

3-21-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 78
It was another morning of jumbly surf. Angers was paddling the Ship with a less then enthusiastic report. The points looked smaller today and with gas to burn I headed to the Strand. When I got there it looked pretty terrible. There were a bunch of guys out, it was all over the place, gutless and no one was getting good rides. Not stoked I decided to head back up towards SB and sort something out along Sea Cliff. Pitas had a chest high wind swell wave coming in up top with only a few guys out. I was out of time and it looked fun enough. Right off the bat I lucked into a few good ones. It was way more fun then it looked from the rocks. For about forty five minutes it was surprisingly fun. Then the wind sort of switched a bit out of the wsw and the swell began to drop. Then four guys paddled out and proceeded to paddle me for every wave and blow it. I hate surfers. I got a mediocre one and called it day. It was hard holding back from doing gnarly airs and hits still nursing my hurt foot, which may or may not be broken though at the moment I’m leaning towards just annoyingly hurt. The rest of my day was spent kicking it at the Post Office.

3-20-21 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 78
The new swell had arrived and unfortunately came in all jumbled as a result of too much combo in the water one of which was four second local NW wind swell that was fucking everything up. Town was small. The south points were small and crowded with Rincon looking the best. I had an appointment to look at a rescue cat down in Ventura at noon. Angers was at North Strand where it was over head with corners. I headed that way. It was solid alright with way over head bombs. It was also mixed up and all over the place. Out of time I paddled out and almost didn’t make with with all the white water and turbulence. Once out it was very hard to line up anything worthwhile and it was a bit crowded if you could believe that. I did managed a few ok lefts and a right that were worthy of a turn or two. On my last wave I looked up and saw some other guy literally surfing a race in the lip of the wave I was bottom turning on. Weird stuff. The Kitty was a cute three year old Snow Shoe male like Charles. He was a little stand off-ish at first, but slowly warmed up to us enough that I think he could be a good fit for the house. I decided to leave it up to my wife. The rest of the day was spent at the Post Office keeping things running cause I run stuff…

3-19-21 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
Even though we were suppose to see a new NW in the water upon waking up the buoys showed nothing but some south and very small local wind swell. I headed to Harbor and though a tad bigger then yesterday the shape was worse, there were thirty guys at the Knoll and the wind was already coming up. I made a Hail Mary run to Strand where it was too small to surf. I watched some dude on a longboard having difficulty. Then I met Jeffrey at Fruits. The wind was on it and the bars too far outside to be any good for such a small swell. We ended up desperation paddling Emma which was barely waist high. Conditions were perfect and in my fish it was almost fun. The two of us were out there surfing a tiny peak with barely enough waves for us. Some random dude paddles out and sits right on us and proceeds to paddle us for every wave that can through. It was astounding. Besides that at the very least it was a pretty day out and it felt good to be out in the ocean. The rest of my day was spent short handed at the post office where I had to work pretty hard to keep up all alone.

3-18-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
I got word that Strand was flat as was every place else tiny. Needing to get my daily surf in to make my 365 day quota this year I headed to harbor. It was terrible, waist plus and weak. There were some surf-able south lines at the Knoll. No one was out. I paddled and after catching a few gutless lefts four dudes came out and basically sat right on me, when there were plenty of shitty peaks up and down the beach. I drifted a little north and found my own peak. It was somewhat fun for how bad it was till the wind came up and trashed it. Then I just sat out there for another forty minutes banging my head against the wall trying to get a fun one in. Finally I gave up and quit on a junky close out I Huntington hopped to the beach.

3-17-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 84
There was a drop in the NW swell leaving me chasing a minor south swell. I had a look at Strand first since I heard there was a wave there early on the low tide. It was a bit fat and crowded for what was on offer. I decided to go have a look at the Harbor figuring the south would be pushing. It was gutless weak south dribblers with some wsw wind added even more crumble to it. I went back to the Ship and paddled. Everyone was sitting in the bowl. I found a fun little A-frame right in front of Tower 5 and got on a tear. If my foot wasn’t hurt man I could have put in an air show. The ramps were so perfect it was literally a skate park out there. The water was still absolutely freezing between that and my hurt foot I called it after an hour. It was definitely a lot of fun.

3-16-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 44
Any hopes of some accumulated wind swell in town were dashed when I looked at the Sand Spit came and it was tiny. My motivation was pretty low considering how cold it was outside. I got word from Jeffrey that Pitas was the best of the worst and he was out there. I showed up and though a bit choppy there were some smash-able peaks to be found. As soon as I jumped in the cold water hurt my bones. It has to be in the mid forties. My foot injury was also a bit tender too. I already had two strikes against my surf and the impending high tide was strike three. It was pretty difficult to surf being that the swell was all mixed up, choppy and very short period. Most waves either died out or closed out. Every so often there was a fun one. I was just too cold to have fun. After an hour I was borderline hypothermic. I need to get a thicker suit. I have never owned a 5/4 on the west coast but this may very well be my year to get one. The rest of my day was spent limping around the Post Office. I had a meeting with my boss who reminded me to have fun and not work too hard. We aim for the best around here…

3-15-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Mesa Lane
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 4
The wind was howling when I woke up and with the NOAA buoy feed down all I had to go on were the wave cams, which were all flat as a pancake. I panicked for a moment. Was this going to be the day that ruins my chance at surfing 365 days? I had faith that with the ferocity of the wind enough local wind swell would fill to be surf-able. Around noon I headed out to look around. The tide was too high for both Leadbetter and Sand Spit. My first stop was Mesa Lane. There is absolutely zero wind protection there. I found myself looking down at miniature victory at seas conditions. Despite the mess I saw a few corners that looked at the very least ride-able and that was all I needed. It was freezing between the hard onshore winds and frigid water. Luckily for me I grew up surfing messy, weak, small, wind swell on the regular in Jersey and got to work. I frothed in order to stay warm and managed to fit nineteen waves in thirty minutes. The Lane has always been a good place to get a fast wave count in. There are lots of take off spots, short rides and an easy paddle back to a peak. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

3-14-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Surfer’s knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
The weekend grovel continues. You know the waves completely suck when not even my wife is interested in coming down to the beach with me. The buoys are still down so left in the dark I trusted my instincts and indicators and headed straight for Ventura Harbor. There was some light wind out of the wnw but not enough to completely thrash it. I guess I timed it right cause the wind had everyone leaving right as I pulled up. It was terrible, barely waist high and completely gutless. If not for this surf everyday in 2021 think I don’t think I would have even gotten out of bed, especially with the time change. I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Model and paddled in front of the Knoll. There was this Japanese kid out with his trainer on the beach. This kid can surf but is completely wasting his time paying a trainer. There is no chance in hell he will ever amount to anything in surfing. Him and his trainer, whom at any given time is training between one to five guys, annoy the fuck out of me cause they always show up wherever I’m surfing and clog my peak. Considering how shitty it was I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine and paddled right on top of the Japanese kid. Then pretty much turned the session into a heat where, not to float my own boat, I smoked him. Kids half my age, in shit waves like that he should have owned me. After I was finished demoralizing this youth I headed back to my car and to my demeaning minimum wage custodial job at the post office. Here is the real lesson about professional surfing kids: if you don’t have rich parents after the sponsorships that barely paid you enough to subsist on dump you all you’re left with is a myriad of dead end low paying jobs. That’s cool cause your sponsors made bank off your image and left you with nothing!!!! Pro surfing is AWESOME!!!!

3-13-21 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 7
Miles Driven: 78
Its days like today that make my endeavor to surf everyday in 2021 rather difficult. The wind was on it everywhere and the protected points were small. I car surfed all the way down to Strand before desperation paddling really, really terrible Rincon. By terrible I mean in every possible way. It was barely pushing thigh high, all broken up, weak and mushy, and the tide was fat. I jumped in at the Rivermouth and failed around for a half hour forcing tiny turns on even more tiny waves. At least I got credit for the session and kept my streak alive. Rest of my day was spent limping around the post office on a bad right foot that I can only assume I messed up on the stupid Ranch mission.

3-12-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Man did I wake up sore this morning. My, back, my arms, my legs, me knees and my feet were killing me. Maybe I’m getting too old for idiot missions like yesterday’s. Nah, I’m sure I’ll do something dumb like it again. Feeling completely spent I called in sick to work. It’s the post office, plus I get tons of sick time. Around 9:30 I got word that Strand was looking fun and decided to cruise. Sure enough there were chest to head high peaks up and down the beach. Stoked I suited up me grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Model. As soon as I hit the water it was absolutely freezing. It had to be 45. I ducked dove three waves in a row and got dizzy. Once out there I was a bit under gunned on my small 5’7. Being exhausted from yesterday didn’t help either nor the cold water. To add injury to insult I forgot my good boots at home and had to use my spares, who’s bottoms are pretty worn out. You can imagine the type of surf I had out there. I did manage a few alright ones despite all the strikes against me. I went to visit my Glasser. He was supposed to have a few boards ready for me. Of course I got there and nothing was even laminated yet. This put me in a shitty mood for the rest of the day and evening. I have worked so hard to build my surf board brand and now I’m getting hosed by my Glasser’s back log. Anyone out there who happens to have room to glass ten boards in the next few weeks or so reach out. I’ll give you the work and will have plenty more behind that.

3-11-21 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Razor Blades
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 66
Adventure is the spice of life. In surfing some times being adventurous and striking out on the road less trodden upon can mean a mighty big score. With a baby on the way in just over a month Angers was looking for such a delight. As for myself I’m always up to go on the hunt for something different. What am I talking about? We decided to hike into the Ranch and surf Razors. The buoy reading were borderline, as was the advice from a guy who goes there often enough to know. Still we went on the three mile retard mission to skunksville. The worst part was as soon as we got to a razors we saw a three wave head high set peel down the reef perfectly groomed with off shore wind. Considering we had been walking the last two miles in pouring rain we were paddling. We got out there and right off the bat got a few small non set waves that were just scraping the reef. Then a few smaller sets then the one we saw came in and we took full advantage. Then all the swell seemed to suck out with the tide and we were left with just junky boil ridden dumpers over basically dry reef. We never did see that mysto set that got us to paddle in the first place. The water was ice cold as was the miserable walk back in the rain and wind. The moral of the story is do better research before going on a surf adventure. The skunking aside it was a cool walk and nice to spend time with my friend before he becomes a dad and his whole life changes. My body was so sore that night I could barely climb into to bed. No photo cause it was pouring rain.

3-10-21 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 22
With my suit on Biz and I cruised to ‘Con. Angers was hanging in the lot post session very apologetic about his report earlier. It had turned on around ten. I paddled into the shit show competitive crowd in Cove. The line up was absolutely cut throat out there for waves. When it’s like that I go into full on beast mode. Even at forty I can still back paddle with the best of them, especially at Rincon where I have home court advantage. There were some phenomenal waves out there of which I blew two of them. Unfortunately when it’s that crowded I find it very hard to focus on riding the waves. There are just so many people in front of you, floundering on the inside, on the shoulder trying to burn you or just plain oblivious to someone flying down the face at them. Whatever the case I choked and fell on more then one turn, or cut a turn too vertical and couldn’t get back out onto the open face. I even blew a barrel that I stupidly stalled too much on when I should have just drove right through it. All that said I still laid into a couple of good ones too.

3-10-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 13
Miles Driven: 22
With the Ventura beaches windy early the plan was to let the tide drop snd head to one of the south points. I got word from Angers around 9:30 that Rincon was waist to chest and fat. Around 11 Biz and I headed out. Our first stop was Rincon and I could not believe my eyes when I came to the trail head and saw a three wave head high set come peeling through the Cove with out a drop of water out of place. Word got out and the crowd was pretty solid and a crowd of pros, groms and rippers to boot. There three cameras on the sand. Not in the mood to join the circus we cruised to Pitas where it was also solid with a fair amount of wrap getting into Faria. Jeffrey met us there and we paddled. The tide was still a bit fat for Faria making it wonky and a bit sectiony and a little too low for the top closing out most sets. Knowing as the tide dropped it was just going to get better I hung in the Faria section. Unfortunately after my third wave the wind came up hard WNW like a light switch. It didn’t take long before the entire line up with the exception of the very bottom of the point, which was small, to become trash. The current got impossible as well. I came in to walk back up for another go at it when Bizarro said with all the chop and glare he wasn’t getting much. To salvage the shoot we bailed and headed to Rincon.

3-9-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 41
Today was another day of mixed up conditions and early onshore winds. Apparently Strand was solid very early before the wind. Last night I had to work a ten hour shift till 1am making it two in a row. There was no way I was getting up at dawn to chase swell down south. I slept in till nine knowing it was going to be a point break day. Low tide wasn’t till 1pm so if I got to Rincon around ten or so I’d be in good shape. When I got to ‘Con it was a bit broken up and softer looking then yesterday. There was very light WSW wind on it. In the hopes that Little Rincon might focus some of the short period steep NW wind swell I decided to give it a look. It wasn’t like I was driving away from anything decent at Rincon. Little Rincon sucked and I could see a very strong NW wind line in the channel I just didn’t trust. I cruised back to Rincon, grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz and basically did the same thing I did yesterday in the cove only with way more wind and chop. Though it was absolutely victory at sea out there when a good set rolled through it had enough shape to connect in the Cove pretty well. The current was a conveyor belt pushing down the point and after and hour and five drifts I was spent. A surfer died at Rincon Saturday in a collision with another surfer. Though I wasn’t there I have a bit to say on this topic. Look for a blog post either tonight or tomorrow.

3-8-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 56
The swells (I say this because the past month has been combo swell mania) were a tad down today and the wind up at the VTA beaches early. Jeffery hit me up that although high he was paddling Pitas in tbe hope that it would get better. By the time I got there it was completely blown out by the WSW winds. I cruised to Emma, which might have been fun earlier. The tide was too low at that moment and steadily dropping. I headed back to Rincon where I knew I could at the very least ride my fish. I was rather eager to do that cause I just got a new Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Fish back from my glasser and wanted to give it a whirl. I made some minor tweaks to my personal one. It was about waist to occasionally chest and rather gutless looking. I saw a few runners through the Cove with a light crowd and paddled. As it turned out the sets were doubling up because of the wind making the small walls rather heavy. This gave me a bit of difficulty on my Fizz especially trying to get used to a new one. After a few waves I got it dialed and began destroying what ever came at me. I even pulled into a pretty sick tube though got clipped on the way out. After an hour I had definitely had my fill and with a ten hour day ahead of me at work I wasn’t about to push it. Talk about three surprising point days in a row. I love the off swells. You have to work harder to find good waves, but the crowds are light and pay offs sick.

3-7-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 44
Another combo filled day of surf was on tap. Though the buoys had a fair amount of west showing on them town was small and plagued with south wind. Angers was at Strand paddling the north bowl. I headed south and left Strand as a worst case scenario. Rincon had a wave but was a bit mushy with the light WSW wind on it. Little Rincon had an ugly cross chop on it and seven guys on the rock with another half dozen on the wide peak plus a few guys on the north side of the pier. My last stop was Pitas and if that was bad I was just going to head back to Rincon. Though there was a bit of a south funk to it there were some solid lines coming through and standing up down the point. The crowd was average for a Saturday and to me it was the best of the worst of the south points at that moment for my window. I jumped in up top and once out there realized it was kind of macking with head to over head bombs. The waves were doubling and tripling up on the bar. I definitely took my share of heavy beatings trying to get hits on chunky sections. There were even a few barrels. As the tide got lower it started wrapping into Faria. I had my wife shooting on the top of the point and stayed out. It wasn’t all time though it was one of those sessions that gets the heart pumping with adrenaline. Then it was breaky at the Carpinteria IHOP cause they seem to be the only place you can get a table with out a long wait on a Sunday. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where I had to work a ten hour shift because they forgot to schedule a fill in guy for the night shift maintenance guy. It’s all good cause I could actually use the money. I’m a bit over extending right now with the Clarks Surfboard and apparel line. Throw me a bone and buy a t shirt or better yet a surf board. Go to Clarks surfboards.com t-shirts start as low as $12 and custom boards start at $550 for a sick board 6’2 and under.

3-6-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, El Capitan
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 41
Talk about another day of mixed up swell and wind conditions. There was a long period NW swell, a mid period west swell and a south swell in the water. The wind was all over the place changing hourly and every few miles up and down the coast. I got word from Angers that the Ventura beaches were so so. There was a nasty south wind up the coast from Emma to Santa Barbara. It was a shame too cause Sand Spit was solid chest plus but all sectiony with the bad wind. I checked the models and they were showing north wind in Gaviota. Between the west swell and the south swell I was pretty sure El Cap would have waves. I made the gamble and headed north. Sure enough El Cap was solid chest plus with only about. Twenty five guys on it. Thanks to the combo swells it was kind of broken up making plenty of take off spots and the crowd manageable. Looking at it from up on the 101 I could have went either way. I definitely wasn’t wowed by it. When I walked down I almost turned right around and headed back. I saw a few drainers in the Cove. There were these two little groms on tiny soft tops just charging that inside double up. It was over head on them. It stoked me out to paddle and I was glad I did. Somehow I was in zone and got more then half my waves to be growers from mid point all the way to the freeway. The crowd fluctuated through out my surf, but I never felt differently getting waves. After an hour and change I had got so many leg burners I was exhausted and called it quits. I always forget how much fun El Cap is even when it’s small. So glad I decided to paddle out. As I was walking out I turned around to get one last look and saw one of those groms just getting shacked down the point. So much stoke. I even shared my last wave with one of them. Everyone was getting good waves and in good spirits. It’s been a long time since I can remember it being like that out there. Last few go outs at the Capitan I got burned or back paddled too many times and left rather begrudged. Not today. Rest of my day was spent very tired but super stoked at the Post Office.

3-5-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 78
Luckily I woke up with just about full maneuverability in my arm and had no trouble putting weight on it. Dodged yet another bullet at a possible serious surf injury. I headed south. There was not too much swell in the water leaving all the spots north of Ventura Point pretty tiny. There was already wind at the Harbor. I met Jeffrey at North Strand where though small, weak and windy it certainly was the best of the worst. I hadn’t groveled in over a weak taking me a few waves to get back into the swing of things. It was classic mushy stretched out all over the place North Strand. I managed a few alright ones but it was for sure a grind out there. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office doing whatever it is I do there or lack there of.

3-4-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 78
My first stop was Strand hoping for some fun barrels and kill-able walls. Instead it was just plain weak. Bizarro and I met Angers over at Fruit Stands where it was exactly the opposite. Instead of soft bowls we were looking at gnarly, chunky, dumpy rights and lefts. There seemed like enough corners to paddle and with the incoming tide we figured it would smooth out a bit. The wind was light onshore out of the WSW adding a fair amount of chop on the surface. Once in the water we realized it was way more difficult and fast then we had originally thought. That being said we definitely rustled some gnarly ones. We also took plenty of beatings. One such beating about at the half way point of the session I got caught in a rip up the face while paddling into a right. I thought I could still push into it. I quickly found that I was standing up in the lip and went head over heels down the face with my board following close behind. It hit me square in my left bicep and then I got dragged over the falls with it. When I came up I could hardly move my arm and definitely couldn’t paddle. I tried to turn to go in but the rip sucked me back outside. At this point I was fighting a strong rip tide with one arm and not having too much success. Slowly I got a bit more use out of my left arm and was able to paddle around the line up. Standing up and duck diving were another challenge altogether. I fought the good fight lame for about a half hour before throwing in the towel.

3-3-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood Beach & Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1hr 40 mins
Waves Surfed: 26 (1:25)
Miles Driven: 78
Talk about getting completely skunked by the wind. What was supposed to be offshore winds till noon quickly turned SSE tearing up most spots. Angers, Jeffery, Bizarro and I found ourselves on the dunes at Little Sunset trying to motivate to paddle the side shore/offshore rights running into the channel. It looked decent enough so we paddled. Once out there we realized that with the high tide and the long period swell being in the right position when a set came was nearly impossible and no matter how far out we were a set would come and break another hundred yards deeper. Some how managed to get a bomb all the way into the channel before getting completely annihilated by the shore pound. Over it Angers, Bizarro and I ran over to Strand and paddled the South Bowl. Actually the wind turned more ESE allowing for some clean bowls. Unfortunately with the high tide it was a bit soft and some of the bowls were just rubbing down the beach. At the very least we had the whole line up to ourselves.

3-2-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
With less swell in tbe water then yesterday I headed straight to Ventura Harbor. The wind was already light onshore and the shape was terrible. Mostly close outs up and down the beach. There were a few corners at New Jetty but it was very crowded. On a whim I headed to Strand. The Ship was flat but there was definitely swell getting into the North Bowl and North Jetty. I headed over that way and it was solid head high plus on set with long lefts from Tower 3 to the Jetty. The wind was light off shore. I ran down to between towers 2 and 3. I caught three really fun lefts that brought me all the way back north of tower 1. I got up and walked back down the beach only to see the wind switch WSW. Between the wind and the rising tide it degraded steadily as did my session. I guess I should be stoked for what I got. So far I have gone three months consistently without missing a surf a day. Two months down in 2021, ten more to go. Let me tell you surfing everyday is not as easy or as fun as one may think.

3-1-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 66
More offshore winds and hightide was the game this morning only with less swell in the water then yesterday. I met Jeffery at Fruit Stands hoping to get that bar we surfed last week. Though potential it was just too small and too high with no reprieve in sight. We cruised to the Harbor where there were some good peaks just at the Knoll. The water was black and gross from the dredge project. I don’t care how good it was I wasn’t going to put my head under that water. New Jetty had a few peaks and seemed a bit cleaner. There were a handful of guys out but definitely room for us. Upon jumping in I was reminded of how impossibly cold the water is especially with my suit a little old. At the moment tracking down a decent medium 4/3 for a bro deal is not easy. Of course the crowd doubled as soon as we got out there and the surf got way more inconsistent too with the high tide lull. Every so often a decent left would come through and it was shifty enough that if you stayed out you could get a wave off the pack. It was absolutely freezing sitting there putting a bit of a damper on the surf. Robbie came out and brought the luck cause I managed a handful of really fun lefts at the end of the surf. Then the wind went hard SW causing a bit of chop though still very clean. I got out cause it also shifted the drift of the dredge water making it pretty toxic out there. I don’t what they are doing this year but whatever they are sucking up off the harbor floor is way more nasty then years past. I went home and scrubbed myself down “Crying Game” style. Then it was off to the post office.