Surfing Ruined My Life

May 2017 Surf Sessions

5-31-17 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 56
The morning looked a bit small and sluggish with shitty south winds.  I decided to go into work a little early in the hopes that it wouldn’t be a crazy day and I could get a surf in.  Luckily for me I got through my prep list with just enough time to sneak in a quickie before dark.  Considering the tide, wind and swell Emma was my best bet and I headed straight there.  Sure enough there was some solid wind swell in the water.  It was a little fat and funky with the south, not to mention the crap sand.  I was pretty tired from work and just not in the groove of things.  I managed a few, but over all it was just another session hardly worth the effort.

5-30-17 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 64
Somehow I was gifted with two days off in a row.  Shocked though not questioning I planned to take full advantage of my day.  First order of business was to find some surf.  As per usual during south season I always start at Ventura Harbor and if that is no good head south to Malibu.  As I was checking the surf I got a text from my boss to see if I could come in. I wasn’t surprised.  I had a feeling the work load was too great to do with out me for two whole days.  I sat there on the dunes angrily staring at my phone and the poor excuse for waves for the duration of then minutes.  Then my rational paper stacking side decided it was better to make money then spend money chasing average at best waves south to Malibu.  I hit my boss back and told her I would be in right after I got a few waves.  I jumped in at New Jetty, which if the sand was better I think would have been really fun.   Though a long way from where it was a month ago it is still far from being valid surf spot.  The water and air were freezing adding insult to injury.  I powered out twelve waves on my short board, though I considering how weak it was I should have rode the fish. Then the rest of my day was spent on the grind.  Since I was my day off I had a little more leeway on my hours.  I had promised my chick I would take up to the Mission to see the I Modonara chalk art left over from the past weekend’s festival.  The day or two after are the best days to go cause the art is still really intact and the crowd minimal so one can really enjoy the scope of the work.  I bailed at 6:30 and we cruised up to the Mission.  As usual half the pieces were amazing, a quarter alright and the rest laughable.  I wish they would force the artists to do paint a common theme.  Still It was a splendid night that I topped off with my famous carbonara.

5-29-17 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
I had the day off and was hoping that surfline’s promise of a late day south would hold.  It sort of did, but came along with shitty south wind and terrible holiday traffic going south.  My girl and I almost went for a Jalama mission late afternoon, but then got lazy on it, not that the cam or report had us all stoked on the idea.  Instead we decided to head out to the Gaviota wind Caves.  I saw on a while back that a buddy of mine posted a picture of him and his kids at these caves in Gaviota.  Curious I inquired where they were and finally today was the day for me to strike out on a new adventure.  People travel all over the world and see all of these amazing things, but few actually venture out in their own backyard. I find it quite refreshing that after living in Santa Barbara for 11 years that I am still finding new places and adventures.  I am even more stoked to have someone as eager as my girl to share them with.  Years ago my old roommate and good friend Brennan and I set out to do something new at least once a week in SB. So far I have held the tradition steadfast.  The one thing my buddy forgot to mention was the ridiculous effort it took to get up there.  I guess if you are someone who hikes it is a fairly easy trek.   If you are a city slicker like myself it can be a tad exerting.  I must say it was worth the effort cause there are easily 15 caves up there of every shape and size, not to mention incredible views of the land and sea.  We even saw some deer.  I would say it is definitely worth a visit if you are willing and able.

5-28-17 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
If it was small yesterday it was even smaller today.  I worked till 1:30 am, another 12 hour day and was more then happy to call it.  Looks like some new south to begin tomorrow.

5-27-17 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
It was super small out there this morning.  I had a long work day ahead of me and a night of hard partying at the Cat with Bizarro behind me.  Over it I saved my gas and strength.  The curse of the new board continues.

5-26-17 PM Session: 1-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 30
It was a long annoying work day courtesy of a new door being installed in the kitchen.  I got to enjoy working to sounds and dust of four hours of metal grinding.  Buoys still showed a bit of south hanging on.  I had a look at Indicator.  Three were four guys on it and plenty of waves going by not surfed.  It was already seven and I really didn’t have time or optimism that there was something better. I grabbed my fish and paddled.  Between the wind, lack of swell and a bit too much nw in the water there were few waves worth much.  It was nice to get wet and wash off the grim of the day.

5-25-17 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Driven: 64
A real weekend, something that has become quite the rarity in my life these days.  To make things even better my girl decided to take the day off as well.  Since I started working for Omni we have so little time together it seems.  We were both stoked for an awesome day of 805 adventuring.  There was still some south swell lingering taking our path south to Ventura Harbor.  I stopped at Indicator just to get a sense of the swell first.  For a change it was actually glass, void of south winds.  River Mouth had some solid peaks coming in up and down the beach despite the impending fat tide.  Some of the sets were stretched with the small NW swell in the water, but overall I had some really fun ones. As the tide started to drop the current got shitty and the line up was constantly plagued by huge rips making getting a good one rather difficult.  I saw sick ones all over the place, though getting in position was near to impossible.  Still I managed a few fun ones and even got tubed a few times.  Back on the beach I decided to playfully poke my chick with the nose of my board.  In retaliation she decided to throw a rock at my board subsequently putting a ding in it.  Luckily for me I had a new one waiting for me back at the J7 shop.  After a quick Lalo’s grind it was back to the Barb.  My new board looked sick and now I am sure we are in for a good long flat spell thanks in part to the curse of the new board.  We got my board and then over the June gloom we decided to head toward the Valley to get some sun.  Our quest led us to Lake Cachuma.  Every year I buy the Santa Barbara County Parks Pass for Jalama.  It also includes entry into Cachuma and all the years I have lived here in SB I have actually never visited the Lake park.  Though a tad on the breezy side it was a very nice afternoon of hiking, bird watching, rock skipping and mountain lion avoiding.   Later that night I served up a sick meat sauce out of some left over Kobe beef I had laying around in the fridge.  Hows that for a statement.

5-24-17 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros, Malibu
Time in Water: 3 hrs
Waves Surfed: 39
Miles Driven: 118
I finally got a day off after all of my hard work the past week.  Though on the way out there was still enough south in the water to allow for some fun.  The wind was shit in the 805 forcing my had to take the trek south to Malibu.  With an approaching low tide and south wind Zeros was the best option.  The crowd was pretty light for L.A. too.  I paddled and go into the zone.  There were some really fun inside runners hugging the reef on the higher tide.  As the the tide dropped it began to get super mushy and very inconsistent.  Then the wind came up putting the final kabash on the session.  As I was walking back to my car, which I park on PCH to beat the parking fees I noticed a lot of broken glass.  There were three cars parked in front of me and all of them had the passenger side window broken out.  Expecting the same to be done to mine I was stoked when I got to my car and the window was intact.  I got lucky.  I don’t know what spooked the robbers and stopped them from getting to my car, but I am sure glad I did.  Zeros has always been infamous for break ins.

5-23-17 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I had another ten am start.  If there was ever a morning I should have got my lazy ass out of bed it was this morning.  There was some solid south coming through with good wind and tide.  Hoping I could get out of work on time again I passed.  As it turned out my prep list was rather large and I found myself in the weeds the entire day and consequently didn’t get home till ten pm.  All I do is work lately and I am starting to feel like a zombie.

5-22-17 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Solimar
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 56
I couldn’t muster up the strength to surf before work, plus with a start time at ten I basically would have had to got up at around 7 am.  Luckily it was a light day in the kitchen and I got out on time and decided to have a look around.  There was some solid south in the water.  I looked at Indicator and though there were a few waves there were also about five guys on it with hardly enough waves for them.  Hoping Emma would be alright I continued on. Between the tide and the swell it just wasn’t all that fun looking out there.  On a last ditch effort I had a look at Solimar.  There were a few guys on the beach break, but the reef to the north looked a bit more enticing.  Though pretty terrible I had my fish and low expectations and made the most of what was on offer.  As the sun was setting I was looking for one or two more when something bumped my leg rather hard from under the water.  It felt like a pointed snout.  I was probably a seal, but I was not about to hang around to find out.  Lucky for me there was a set to get me to the beach.  With all the recent shark sightings and attacks I was not about to risk it for crumbly waist high waves.

5-21-17 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
I didn’t get home from work till 2:30 am.  In the morning there was definitely some south in the water.  I was exhausted and I felt like I had been neglecting my girl with all the time I have been spending at work.  We spent the morning together before I had to go work my third wedding of the weekend.

5-20-17 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
I had a 13.5 hour day upon me, the cams and buoys left lots to be desired.  Over it I decided to sleep in and save my strength.  Its a good thing I did.  Between shucking over 100 oysters in the hot sun, putting out a meal for 184 people and a late night snack I needed all the rest I could get.

5-19-17 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
We picked up a last minute wedding at work, which I was to take the lead.  It was the first one I was take the lead on over at Omni.  As a result I didn’t have to report to work till like 1:30 allowing for ample surf time.  Master Sefu hit me up that we was going to shoot Tar Pits.  I was rather skeptical about that wave being any good, but I woke up Gabe and we headed out. As I thought Tar Pits was terrible.  Sefu packed up and we took the show to Ventura Harbor.  There was some combo in the water and New Jetty though a tad closed out looked palatable.  We paddled and I wasn’t really selling.  It took me easily ten minutes to even get a wave and then it was a struggle to find any scoring potential.  Then a half hour in I got into a groove and things turned around.  Its been along time since I have been able to make diamonds out of coal.  As far as the wedding went, besides a fight between two guests in the parking lot the even went off on my end with out a hitch.

5-18-17 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 30
I had work at 11 leaving me in a time bind.  There was the same wind swell from last night still lingering.  Rincon had some small, but fish-able.  With little time I paddled up top hoping for the best.  I managed to get into a groove and scored some pretty good ones.  My fish just turns absolute shit.  Stoked I unleashed a very satisfying small wave onslaught.

5-17-17 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 41
Miles Driven: 56
I finally took some action in my car and put a windshield on it.  After weeks of waiting on insurance claims, rentals and borrowing my chicks ride my civic is back on the road.  That being said the chassis is definitely a little askew though no dangerous.  It’s no worse then the Saturn was after I replaced the sub frame. My whole morning was spent running errands. I got my new tuxedo and suit tailored among other things. Around three I decided to give Emma a look.  Truth be told I almost bagged it cause at my house the wind was stiff NW.  It was my day off and if you don’t surf on your day off when you are as busy as I am then when can you surf.  On the way down I noticed a fair amount of fresh NW wind swell with the high tide I knew Emma should be fun. Sure enough when I got there it was solid chest to head plus.  The sand was still a bit shitty but it was the best waves I had seen in weeks. I called Ryan and my Photog Rob and told them to get down there.  Despite the size the swell was pretty mixed up and hard to surf. Most waves either closed out or died out and all were gnarly elevator drops to the flats.  I am still getting used these new fins, which may be too small for me.  End result I surfed rather average and took some real beating both surfing and paddling.  I did get a few including on sick tube I was stoked on.  My photographer said he got some though the evidence will be in the proofs.
5-16-17 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, New Jetty
Time in water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
Of course there was more south wind on it today. I am really glad the winds have decided to blow the one direction that basically fucks every spot in California.  The tide was too low for Emma so I had a look at the Harbor.  New Jetty though pretty torn up had a few little bowls.  I didn’t want to gamble on the Emma Wood later thus I paddled.  Some days you go out there and its better then it looks.  Today was just about as bad as it looked.  I did manage a few on my short board.  I am sure I would have had three times the amount of fun on my fish.

5-15-17 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 30
I had to work at ten.  The buoys showed a bit of NW wind swell on them. Hoping to get a few small ones on my fish before work I had a look at Rincon.  It was super small and very drained with the tide.  I am sure it would have been a lot more ride-able on incoming, but I didn’t have any time to wait around.  Instead I went for a beach walk and read a little before heading in to work.  I am sure there would have been some type of terrible close out at Ventura Harbor and Emma was probably fun on the high.  I thought maybe I would be able to get out early and have a look after work, but I got two extra parties dumped on me sealing my fate to a long day.

5-14-17 PM Session: 2-4+ ft
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 56
I had a gig working a mother’s day brunch in Montecito.  Turns out it was one of the homes right on Sharks Cove.  The job went well, pretty much easy money.  I was making omelets for thirteen people and I think the grand total of actual made was like 8.  After work I cruised to Rincon.  The tide was a bit high and wind shitty for the top. Over all most of the waves were all broken up making it look like a glorified beach break.  All things considered I decided it wouldn’t be a true surf afternoon if I didn’t burn a little more gas.  The call was to go look at Emma if for no other reason then to rule it out then go back to Rincon and just ride my fish.  I really didn’t expect to find anything worthwhile.  Emma actually had a few bowls.  The sand is still absolure shit there, but after watching it for a bit I decided it was the best of the worst.  It was short board-able there and since I just got a new pair of FCS II Performers in size small.  For awhile I was rocking the accelerators and though they were going well for lately I have been feeling not great about the performance I have been getting out of the back end of my board.  After some research on what some of lighter pros on tour were riding I decided to give this new set up a try.  Unfortunately since fins have gotten so exceedingly expensive and I couldn’t get a better insider deal then my team discount at J7 Surfboards I had to wait a few pay checks to cough up the dough on top of all my other expenses and finally got a pair this week. I had yet to try them out so why not the present.  I paddled and it was about as average as it looked.  I definitely felt a difference in the fins though because I was so exhausted from all the work and party I did this weekend and the poor ass conditions it will take further examination to be sure.

5-13-17 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft
Last night I accompanied Bizarro to the wild cat for what has become a past time for me.  My girl was in San Diego with her family. I couldn’t tag along cause I had events all weekend. Biz and I had a boys night something we don’t get to do all that often these days with our very different schedules. It was a fun time. Of course I had way too much to drink leaving me very lazy and unmotivated to surf the wonky, wind blown shit that was on offer.  I had a wedding in the valley at 2 till midnight where I got to work a Wood burning brick pizza oven. So that was pretty cool.

5-12-17 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Miles Driven: 64
Today I was a jack ass.  There really was no excuse for me not getting wet but my own stupidity.  I literally checked every spot there was surf and ate up all my time.  Rincon looked too weak, Emma weak, The Harbor was all closed out and I couldn’t find free parking at C Street.  I should have just groveled ‘Con.  One thing that was nice about Florida is the lack of available options.  You check like three spots with in a ten mile radius and paddle.  Here there are so many options and what if’s you can spend all day driving around.  Believe me I have.

5-11-17 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Driven: 30
Considering last night’s score and the fact that the buoys still had swell on them going back to Rincon was a must.  Though a tad smaller, the lines were longer and swell much cleaner then last night.  I grabbed my fish and headed up to Indicator.  Some how I lucked into a solid chest high set wave as soon as I paddled out that ran all the way to lower River Mouth.  From there it was a full on rip fest.  As bad as I had been surfing since I got back it was all made up for.  I ended up surfing a wave in every section of the point and even got a sick one to quit on in the Cove.  I love Rincon in the Spring.

5-10-17 PM Session:  2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 83
What a stupid day I had today.  It was suppose to be my day off so following the protocol I mentioned earlier I checked every surf spot down to Silver Strand with everything looking like shit thanks to more south wind.  I was about to desperation paddle Emma Wood when my boss called and asked me to work. The waves sucked any way thus I might as well make some money. At the very least reimburse myself for all the gas I wasted.  My list wasn’t out of hand and I had two extra cooks on my shift allowing me to get out at 7.  Ryan had let me know that he saw some little waves at Rincon when he was driving by earlier.  Sure enough it was solid chest high, glassy and fun.  Up top was a bit more consistent and lippy with the impending high tide so that was where I did my most damage.  I took my fish though I was all over the place with my timing being that I had not rode the board in over a week.  Still I got some really fun rides.  That is why she is my queen cause ‘con always delivers.

5-9-17 No Surfing 2-3 ft
I woke up and the buoys looked awful. The cams looked small, windy and gutless taken what little motivation I had left in me out.  Instead I slept in hoping to get to have a look at Rincon after work. My prep list was grueling and kept me in the kitchen till 8:30pm

5-8-17 AM Session 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 78
I love wasting gasoline for what turned out to be a complete non session.  I had a look everywhere to no avail.  I should have just fished it at Indicator.  It was my day off and like most surfers in the 805 it wouldn’t be a true day off of the majority of it wasn’t spent driving around looking for surf only to end up settling for windy, junky surf.  I got to Strand and the bowl through fat was solid chest to head plus, clean and only five guys out.  Stoked I suited up. By the time I walked up the beach the wind already turned on stiff NW. T had not taken a toll on the waves yet.  With a naivety of optimism I jumped in.  The water was freezing and after my first three waves it became absolutely unsurfable. Ryan showed up and paddled due to my bad intel.  Together we sat there and hated our lives just a little more then usual.

5-7-17 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 10
After yesterday I was determined to surf.  Luckily there was lots of WNW wind and ground swell available.  I had a look at Hammonds considering the swell and the tide.  Though not epic there were a few decent ones out there and since I had work at 11 I didn’t have any real time to waste. The crowd was light only five guys on it and there were a fair amount of waves.  I just couldn’t get in a groove blowing just about every wave I paddled into.  Then the crowd steadily rose as to expected at Hammonds on a Sunday.  My last two were alright.  I hate when the surf is solid and I’m just completely out of sync.

5-6-17 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft
It was quite late when I got in last night.  I woke up and the wind was wailing out of the NW hard. There was an early high tide and I had a wedding to work at 1 pm.  Sand Bar had a wave but was a too crowded for what it was.  My back and neck were super sore from the 17 hour drive.  I decided to sleep in abs take the day off. I heard it got pretty fun at all of the Santa Barbara points towards the afternoon/evening but I was stuck in the valley slinging tri tip and salmon. Another surf missed thanks to my job.

5-5-17 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft, C-Street, California
Day four found us on our most challenging day, 17 hours, 1,138 miles to cover with very little time built in for stopping except for food and gas. Unfortunately I had to work a wedding at noon on Saturday and had to be back.  We were out of time and had to just keep on driving.  We did get some incredible Texas BBQ at a roadside stop called Rudys just out side of EL Paso that was mouth watering.  From there it was road, road road, some shitty construction traffic and a bad dinner at Arby’s in Cochella to finally making it home with no time for Cinco De Mayo party in Santa Barbara at 1:30 am.

5-4-17 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Corpus Christi, Texas
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 675
Day three of our epic road trip found us awoken from our air mattress slumber to a welcoming sight of sunny skies and birds singing.  Ryan lived right on San Padre Island spitting distance from Bob Hall Pier making that our first spot check.  There were waves, lots and lots of waves.  The period had to be like 3 feet at 1 second.  As far as I could look in any direction all I could see were waves.  The wind was side shore/off shore and a bit too drifty for the pier.  Ryan took us to an inlet jetty where some of the south drift was blocked allowing for cleaner conditions.  The surf was about waist to chest with the occasional bigger one.  I was pretty pumped to be able to get a session in at the gulf.   The water was a bit colder then Florida thus I wore a spring suit.  Once we got out there catching waves and then even picking the right wave was where all the finesse lied.  Although there were waves everywhere most were either mushy, flat, or dumpy or a combination of all three.  If you were patient and knew what to look for on occasion a decent wave came in.  I even got barreled on one.  It took me the majority of my session chasing down anything and everything like a dog after birds to realize which were the ones.  After an hour and half I was over all the work.  I think if I had my fish I would have had a ball.  Either way the novelty of the experience and getting to share the surf with an old friend at his home break made it all worth it.  After the surf my chick was super eager to go into Downtown Corpus Christi to see the Salina memorial and pay her respects.  we did that, got some lunch with Ryan and then got back on the road.  We mad a quick stop in San Antonio to see the Alamo.  Unfortunately it was closed due to a special event.  I still got my token picture in front of it.  From there it was road warrior until midnight when we stopped in at the small town of Fort Stockton Texas for the night.
5-3-17 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft, Texas
The goal was to make it from our stopping point in Mobile Alabama, where stayed in the dingiest, dirtiest Days Inn I have ever seen and probably caught a social disease in, to make it to Corpus Christi, Texas in time for an evening session.  The report showed some solid wind swell and we were going to meet up with and stay with an old friend and photographer of mine, Ryan.  When I first moved to Santa Barbara 11 years ago he was a student a Brooks Institute of Photography, which is no longer in town.  We worked together at a little produce market and began surfing, shooting and chilling.  I actually had not seen the guy in nearly ten years and when I ran the idea of us coming and hang he was stoked.  In a perfect world we should have got there by about 6:30 pm with just enough time to sneak in a surf.  Instead when we got to Louisiana we got hit with flooding and torrential down pours so hard we were lucky to average 50 mph.  Couple that with a few accidents, rush hour traffic in Houston and a stop off at some roadside Cajun place that served up the best bayou cuisine I have ever eaten and we didn’t get to Corpus till nearly ten.

5-2-17 No Surfing: 1-3+ ft, Florida
Today was our final day visiting my folks and the bulk of it was to be spent on the road driving.  If you remember back to April about two weeks ago my car was unfortunately crushed by a eucalyptus tree causing it to be smashed up too much to drive.  As luck would have it my folks actually had an extra car that they had picked up a little while back and were nice enough to gift it to me circumstance considered.  The car is a 2009 Subaru Out Back, fully loaded with only 70,000 miles on it.  Minus the annoyance of driving it home, though I am never one to back down from an adventure the deal was a no brainer.  Since my girl is really into history I figured it was a must that I take her to St. Augustine to see the oldest European settlement in North America.  I woke up early to check the surf.  The cams looked like more of the same choppy junk.  The surf is always a little better the farther north you go in Florida.  I figured I could have a look at Jacksonville Beach and if it were fun paddle there.  The surf never materialized so after a brief site seeing stop we continued on our journey across the lower portion of America.

5-1-17 No Surfing: 1-3+ ft, Florida
Miles Driven: 20
I just couldn’t get into the wind swell conditions that had turned down a notch from yesterday.  In that time my board had managed to get about three pounds heavier as it filled up with from the previous two sessions.   I had a look at the Pier, the reefs at the Civic Center and the Inlet.  If I was going to paddle anywhere the Inlet had a bit of an against the grain wedge that might have been boost-able.  My board had gotten so heavy I was lucky if I could even carry it up the beach.  Meanwhile back in California the first real south swell of the season showed up with nice conditions.  All the boys back home didn’t hesitate to share pictures of barrels and the south points firing.  If me leaving was the sacrifice we needed to get out of the crap weather pattern we have been in the entire spring then so be it.  Stoked for the boys.