Surfing Ruined My Life

March 2026 Surf Sessions

3-28-26 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 2
One thing I will commend the town of Port Hueneme on is the number of free events they do a year for children and their families. This morning there was an Easter Egg hunt for kids ages 0-12.  We decided to bring Adagio.  I was worried at his being a member of youngest of age group participants that he may not get any eggs.  I decided to buy a sleeve of a dozen eggs just in case he didn’t get any.  Lo and behold they had the kids broken up into divisions. His was the 0-3 year olds.  I think it should have been 0-2.  A three year old is quite the ringer.  There were plenty of eggs and my wife and I put Adagio in his own little area where with our help he picked up about ten or so eggs despite one cunning little girl’s attempt to sneak up behind him and steal his bounty.  I denied her.  After the egg hunt there was a little petting zoo which he loved and we all took the requisite photo with the Easter bunny.  There was even a used book sale and I picked him up four cute books.  We left the event  around 10:30.  I dropped the wife and kid home and ran up the street for a quick surf. The low tide had already set in forcing me to surf dumpy closed out wedges on Rockside.  At the very least I got wet.  From the surf I headed up to the Santa Ynez Valley to work a fundraiser at the Dunn School in Los Olivos.  Talk about a full day. 

3-27-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
The swell was down from yesterday and had a bit of south wind on it.  AJ and I desperation paddled Little Sunset, which was a marginal waist to chest high at best.  We thought it worthy of an hour and made the most of what was on offer.  It was surprisingly more fun than it looked.  Both of us got our share of rip-able rights and lefts.  My afternoon was spent in the glass shop.

3-26-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10. I love hit and run wind swell it reminds me of my east coast upbringing.  Hollywood was showing chest to head plus stretched corners with some sw crossed up peaks.  It looked very fun to me with only AJ out.  I didn’t hesitate to paddle.  My friend Alex decided to join us and we had a blast.  I was a little out of sync but still put together some choice rides.  The wind came up stiff onshore killing it. My afternoon was spent glassing the boards I had just shaped.

3-25-25 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
Miles Driven: 10
There was still a tad bit of south in the water.  I checked Hollywood where it was maybe knee to thigh with a way too low tide.  Normally I might have paddled but Adagio had his nine month check up in Santa Barbara at 2pm and I needed to get more shaping done if I was to stay on schedule.  Considering all of that I decided to head home and shape.  Kevin Angers and I have been conceptually discussing a cross between a Hacksaw and Fly Guy Model. This morning I built him the prototype.  I must say that I was very happy with the end result.  Now we will have to see how it surfs and get Kevin’s feed back.  We may have a new model on our hands that sort of reminds me of the CI Happy Everyday but more performance oriented. There is still a bit more tweaking before I release it to the general public but if what you read interests you hit me up and we can talk about building one.  Adagio’s check up went great.  The doctor said he was very healthy.  I had a look at Hueneme in the afternoon but it was small and windy. Photo from morning check at Hollywood.

3-24-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 10
Though meager there was a new south swell slowly filling in.  My hope was with the incoming tide push there maybe a surf-able wave.  I was taking my time around the house when AJ clued me in that Hollywood looked small but fun and he was paddling.  I drove over and sure enough it was a grovely but fun looking, glassy waist to stomach with decent shape.  No one was out but AJ.  Another friend of mine paddled towards the end of my session.  I ended up having such a good time that I surfed two hours.  My afternoon was employed in the shaping of surfboards.

3-23-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 12
Hoping for a repeat of yesterday AJ and I met back up at Hollywood. The NW swell had dropped off as did the south swell leaving waist to stomach high gutless waves in its wake.  The tide was way too low for Hollywood so we headed over to Shores where the banks are better suited for extreme low tides. The waves were marginally bigger.  I wasn’t super frothy on it for it appeared most were either dying out in deep water or shutting down.  Over the hunt for bad waves we conceited to paddling.  Once out there it was definitely as bad as it looked.  The incoming tide didn’t help our case.  I don’t think I got one decent ride.  We may have been better off with the drained out walls at Hollywood.  At least I got wet. My afternoon was spent shaping surfboards.  We have lots of great  surfboard options at Clarks Surfboards.  Customs start at $625 and I’d love to personally build you an awesome surfboard.

3-22-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 10
Some days end up just being super fun.  This morning was similar to yesterday, another pleasant surprise.  It was foggy with some light wind when I pulled up.  Once on the sand I saw very rip-able albeit a little soft right and left peaks up and down the beach.  The SW/NW combo swell was really doing its thing.  I paddled with my boy AJ and a full on rip fest ensued.  My new Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Model is really starting to come into its own.  I always hate learning new boards.  It always takes about two solid weeks before I get it completely dialed in and I’m the one who shapes them.  I’ve always struggled to get used to new equipment.  Once I learn every little nuance of said board the sky is the limit.  light south wind. Ultimately the incoming tide and onshore wind ended the session.  I had totally gotten mine.  I spent the rest of my afternoon getting chores done around the house and watching my son.

3-21-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
Talk about a pleasant surprise this morning.  Initially I was super pissed off because there was this 5K race that ended up at the beach at Hueneme leaving the main road along the beach closed.  Thus I wasn’t able to surf Hueneme.  I loaded up my wife and baby and we headed to Hollywood where I wasn’t expecting much especially with the incoming tide.  I was stoked out with chest to head plus A-frames.  It was a little tidy but with the right finesse I was able to get some rather fun rides.  Eventually the wind came up out of the WNW trashing it.  After the surf my wife and I took Adagio for a drive to some park in Agoura Hills that was suppose to have nice vistas and wild flowers this time of year.  When we got there it was uncomfortably hot for the baby over 91 F according to the car thermometer, there were no wild flowers to be seen and the park appeared to be under construction.   Then We headed up to the beach but it was foggy and cold making it a rather unpleasant experience.  The day was spent driving around failing everywhere we went while Adagio slept so I guess at the very least that was a win.  Just another exciting moment in parenting.

3-20-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 2
The surf was on the smaller side but glassy and with decent shape down by the wash.  Three straight days in a row I’ve been finding palatable surf there.  Jeffrey and I paddle and were trading off fun lefts and rights.  While in the water we witnessed a homeless encampment fire, prob fun cooking meth.  The buns must have put it out themselves cause the smoke stopped well before I heard any sirens.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards.

3-19-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 2
Similar conditions to yesterday were on tap this morning just a little bit smaller.  I went back to the southern most part of the Hueneme beach front.   It worked well enough for me yesterday and of today did not disappoint.  The waves were still fun and there was more size than any place around.  Jeffrey showing up confirmed as much considering he passes every spot north of here on his way down from Santa Barbara.  We took full advantage of the kill-able lefts and rights.  My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards.

3-18-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 22 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
The ocean was glassy as glassy can be.  Too high for rockside and too dumpy for the pier I was lured in by the siren call of the mysto bars to the far southern reaches of Hueneme in the zone know as the wash.  With the current sad state of sand at Hueneme it appears the wash is the best option.  Part of me regretted not paddling there yesterday.  I suited up and made the walk.  When I got there 4 guys were out.  There were plenty of waves for all of us and each of us had our own peak.  Mainly the surf consisted of fast corners, barrels, turns, airs and straights.  I was a bit tired from Adagio’s teething escapades keeping me up all night.  The session was still tons of fun.  My afternoon was spent Glassing. Photo from north side of Pier.

3-17-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 28
There was a peaking  south swell coupled with a five and a half foot high tide.   The winds were offshore in both Hueneme and Oxnard.  Hueneme was just too walled and Shores and Hollywood too high to break.  I had a look at the Harbor.  New Jetty was uninspiring and Rivermouth was mushy and the water smelled gross.  Out of options I ended up paddling the point up top where I found a serviceable left going into the Rivermouth and had it to myself.  It wasn’t anything to get excited about but I had fun.  My afternoon was spent fixing dings and sanding surf boards.

3-16-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 44
The morning was all socked in with a thick marine layer rendering most of the Surfline cams useless. Hueneme sucked, it was just too dumpy.  I headed south down the PCH hoping to get Leo somewhat empty due to the fog.  My intentions were dashed as I pulled up to easily thirty guys out at Leo with about another ten suiting up and the actual surf was very inconsistent.  From there I had a quick look at Zeros since I had to turn around anyway.  The tide was still a bit too high for it and at the moment there is way to much sand burying the reef.  Ultimately I settled on the reef at County Line, which was slow, inconsistent and definitely crowded for what was on offer. I ended up surfing for way longer  than I should have  because some guy gave me the wrong time.  He must have forgot to set his watch forward cause it was an hour off. My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards.

3-15-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 2
The surf was still pretty solid at Hueneme.  Though a bit on the dumpy side I saw a few rights square up and barrel off the south side of the Pier.  AJ was already out with three other regulars.  I jumped in and caught a draining right hander that I pulled into.  I got tossed into the flats by the lip attempting to thread the needle on a quick escape.  My board came back around and hit me hard three fins out in the back of my head.  There is nothing worse than getting hurt on your first wave it really puts a damper on the session.  I got lucky and besides a nasty bump and probably a slight concussion I didn’t get cut.  The ocean handed me a lot of beatings trying to make a few tubes.  Like I said the bars are all too straight causing it to be very dumpy.  I exited the water post surf feeling pretty mangled.  I got home and Adagio was extra fussy.  No matter what we did with him nothing seemed to satiate.  I guess it was just one of those nightmarish days in parenting.  Talk about rough day on all fronts in Lisanti Land.

3-14-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 12
This morning was yet another day I was let down by Hueneme as it was too dumpy still.  The bars are terrible right now and windows short, leaving a grim outlook for future swells. Hopefully the sand moves around in the next couple of weeks. There is nothing worse than when we go into our peak season with horrible sand.  I drove over to Hollywood hoping to take advantage of the dropping tide and fresh mid period NW in the water.  The open beach break was a bit too stretched thus I paddled out at Little Sunset which was really allowing the combo swell to make kill-able left and right wedges.  The wind was light onshore keeping conditions glassy.  I had it to myself, which is rare considering how blown up the spot got this winter.  After my surf I headed into Santa Barbara for a catering gig.

3-13-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 12
The morning began ify with smaller waves than yesterday and a bit too high of a tide with onshore winds.  Hueneme was still super walled.  I desperation paddled Hollywood again hoping it might get better.  Just like yesterday the wind died and the surf completely glassed off. Once the tide got low enough the waves began to barrel.  I frothed the chest to head plus peaky lefts all to myself. I can’t remember the last time I got so many tubes in one session.  I heard shores was good too.  My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards. 

3-12-26 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 14
The first real south swell of the season was upon us in March?  I don’t think in my entire tenure in California I have ever gotten a solid south swell this early.  On this particular day there were good waves to be had everywhere, but tons of hurtles to contend with as well.  All the LA spots were as good as they get but packed due to the fact that we haven’t had waves in three weeks.  Avoiding that zone like the plague I looked at Hollywood first.  It was do-able but had some onshore wind puffing up on it making me fear it might blow out.  I heard Hueneme was off the chain, but when I got there although pushing ten foot on sets and offshore the place was absolutely psychotic.  You could get seriously hurt out there with how hard it was dumping and 9 out of 10 waves was completely not surf-able, while the tenth wave was a Hail Mary.  I was going to just throw my hat in and give it the old college try till I ran into a few guys getting out I know who surf well said they didn’t get a wave.  I circled back to Hollywood where I met up with Jeffrey and did a no check paddle out of desperation.  The first fifteen minutes the wind was on it and we weren’t catching anything.  Then all of a sudden the wind died and it glassed off. Gracing us with a solid hour and change of head to over head peaks with some tubes.  The kicker was we were the only guys out.  In my book we scored!  Then the wind onshore again but it didn’t matter we had more than gotten our fill.  After the surf I finally got my car fixed.  It may have taken over a month but I saved around two thousand bucks.  The rest of my day I did ding repair.

3-11-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Ventura Point
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 26
There’s nothing I hate more than going on a wild goose chase for waves when I could have surfed perfectly rip-able chest high waves at Hollywood on my first check.  Instead I let my friends influence me to go everywhere from Hueneme to Harbor to Ventura point.  Ryan and I decided to head up to the top of Ventura Point hoping for some south swell magic.  It was a rather underwhelming waist to chest plus, thus causing Ryan to bail.  I paddled Pipes which was inconsistent thanks to the twenty second period south swell.  I got into a real rhythm and when that happens it doesn’t really matter what the surf is like.  One always has a good time when he is surfing well. My afternoon was spent at the new shop glassing surfboards.

3-10-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 12
Hueneme was way too low and small to get me fired up.  I got word that harbor was also tiny.  Considering the tide I drove over to Hollywood on a lark and was pleasantly surprised with head high surf.  I didn’t hesitate to paddle.  The open beach break was just too stretchy and dumpy to allow for any really good rides. I drifted my way down to little sunset in an attempt to salvage my session.  As it turned out I got a handful of kill-able right and left wedges making the effort completely worth while.  My afternoon was spent in the service of ding repair.  If it has to do with surfboards I’m your man.  I sell them, shape them, glass them, sand them and fix them.  When you find yourself in need of any or all of these services feel free to reach out.  I could use the work.

3-9-26 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Morro Rock
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 17 (from SLO)
The plan was to head home immediately after checking out.  My business thing ran a little later than expected.  I got word that the surf at home was pathetic, meanwhile Morro Rock was solid chest to head with clean conditions.  Not having to be back in Hueneme till 7pm to relieve our nanny my wife and I decided to at the very least enjoy a few more hours.  I paddled the Rock, one of my least Favorite waves in California.  It’s always crowded, always soft and very difficult to rip.  I got into a groove and managed a few decent lefts despite the heavy crowd.  I must have hit someone or something cause when I got out I had a little ding in the bottom of my new board.  Luckily I happen to know a good repair guy; me.  After the surf we got lunch at The Bayside Restaurant right next to the golf course inside the Harbor.  They do an excellent job and I make a point to stop there every time I’m in the area.  Following lunch we headed home where we were greeted by a very excited Adagio.

3-8-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, San Carpoforo
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 30 (from San Simeon)
There’s something about being on the central coast that just makes me feel free and happy.  I think it’s all the open spaces, trees, fresh air and absence of hordes of people.  Living in the concrete jungle of Oxnard the past five years can at times really wear a person down.  Every year it feels like the traffic gets worse and the lineups get more crowded.  It felt nice to wake up and the only pack in the water was a flock of pelicans.  Pico Creek and Moonstone though beautifully glassy were only about waist high and weak.  After a quick breakfast burrito stop we headed up north where I had a few spots in mind that are way more swell exposed.  San Carpoforo was the closest best wave to surf without going into Big Sur. This beach break/River mouth combo is always usually too big, too walled, too windy or a combination of all three.  As a matter of fact to get the place actually worthy is rare.  In all my years passing through I think I’ve only gotten it once.  Today was the day with chest to head high plus glassy waves breaking on a few different banks.  I chose this right hander breaking off where the Rivermouth came out.  The wave was definitely more tricky than it looked but I managed a handful of decent rides.  The solo session stoked me out and the water was warmer than expected.  On our walk out about a half dozen surfers showed up to paddle.  Guess I scored the window.  After the surf we headed into Cambria to do lunch at Lynn’s then continued on up to Paso Robles to Black Hand winery.  My friend Tom, owner and vintner had moved his tasting room from Cambria out to his Paso vineyard.  We always enjoy drinking wine and good conversation with him and his wife.  Everything was so green and beautiful thanks to the rain.  Finally we cruised back north to San Luis Obispo where we were staying the night at the Madonna Inn.  My wife and I love that place and make it a point to stay at least once a year.  This trip we stayed in the Buffalo Room which included an actual taxidermy Buffalo head on the wall.  We did dinner at their steak house before turning in after a very fun day.

3-7-26 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 12
Today was a smaller version of yesterday with more hard off shore winds and little bit too tidey.  When the waves came they came.  The water dropped in temp a few degrees and with the wind it I was rather chilly.  I got a handful of fun ones and one insane shore dump tube on my last wave.  In the evening I had a wedding to work up in Santa Barbara.  Immediately following the gig I met up with my wife and we made the graveyard haul up to San Simeon for a business thing that came up short notice. We left Adagio in the safe care of his grandmother.

3-6-26 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 12
There was some solid mid period NW swell in the water.  Hueneme would have been fun if it was a foot bigger.  I cruised over to Hollywood where it was solid head high plus but a bit fat with tide.  The wind was hard offshore creating perfectly groomed conditions.  I paddled, but it was definitely tough to find a good one with the tide so high and wind so hard.  Somehow I did manage to catch two decent left tubes.  As per usual I had had the entire line up to myself.  After the session I drove over to Honda of Oxnard to try and make sense of my car.  Of course even though they had worked on my car a week earlier for the same computer issue they were unwilling to help me out without paying a $225 diagnostic fee.  All I needed was a five digit code that I was supposed to have gotten when I bought my cat in the first place.  Oxnard of Honda is a bunch of crooks.  My afternoon was spent sanding surfboards. 

3-5-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
I met up with my good friend AJ at Hueneme this morning so he could try out some different models of Clarks Surfboards.  He wanted to place a custom order but wasn’t quite sure what he wanted.  I brought up a few different models and we paddled Rockside.  Unfortunately the sand bar was all messed up making it rather shore breaky.  CC paddled and we did the best we could with the peaky but somewhat dumpy bowls.  Then the wind came up super hard out of the WNW turning what barely was surf-able completely off.   At the very least there was enough on offer for AJ to decide on a Bizzle Model.  Nothing strokes me out  more than when one of my close surf buddies decides to let me build them a board.  My afternoon was spent Sanding surf boards.  

3-4-26 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 2
Just like that the flat spell came back.  I found myself staring at barely knee high waves at the pier with onshore winds.  All the reports I got from other spots were calling the same.  We got an early start at the glass shop and banged out quite a bit of work.  Photo from Hueneme.

3-3-26 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 2
The tide was super fat this morning but there was still wind swell getting in.  The North side of pier looked rip-able enough.  I jumped in and got on a tear destroying the chest high lefts and rights.  In classic Hueneme fashion the dropping tide completely killed it.  Basically there was a twenty minute window that was fun.  When I started up my car after the surf the computer decided to give up on me.  This was one of the problems that was supposed to have been corrected.  I guess I’ll have to bring it back to the shop.  Usually when my car has a major problem and it has over 150k miles on it I scrap it and buy a new one.  I’m paying for not heeding my own advice .  My afternoon was spent glassing surfboards. 

3-2-26 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
There was some junky windswell on tap.  Heard Strand was solid but crowded.  To be honest I’m still not ready to go back and surf the Strand.  After everything that happened back in October my heart doesn’t have a place in it to surf the Ship. It’s too bad cause it is one of my favorite waves in the world.  Right now I can’t have fun surfing there no matter how good it is.   There was a chest plus bowly right and left over at Rockside down by the light house with no one out.  Lately I’d rather surf by myself than waste my time waiting for waves alongside a bunch of idiots:  The waves were backwash riddled and very hard to surf.  I wasn’t a feeling all that great and my performance reflected as much.  When I got out of the water I had a message from my mechanic that my Honda Civic Si was finally ready.  It had been in the shop for over a month for a new clutch that turned into a complete rabbit hole of a job.  Upon pick up it appeared that everything was working as it should.  In the afternoon Bizarro and I were back to glassing 101.

3-1-26 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 2
It was still pathetically small this morning.  Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn’t have even toyed with the notion of paddling out, but after days of completely not surf-able conditions all of a sudden a ride-able wave seemed epic.  My buddy Aj was walking his dogs on the pier and decided to join me.  Adagio and my wife came along for a super fun beach day.   As I was putting on my suit this Mexican family walked by with a pet duckling and chick.  They let Adagio pet them and he was ecstatic.  I jumped into the water and got busy on the back washy waist plus onshore close outs.  There was a very minor South swell in the water with some extremely short period NW wind swell making little ramps on the north side of the pier.  In the afternoon we took Adagio on a hike along one of the Boney Mountain trails in Camarillo.  Everything was super green and lush from all the recent rains.   We even picked up some tad poles from a puddle and added them to our backyard pond.  The gold fish are most likely going to devour them but you never know we may get a frog or two.