Surfing Ruined My Life

May 2020 Surf Sessions

5-31-20 PM Session: 4-6+ ft, Willow Creek, Big Sur
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 68 (from Monterey)
We all decided to get a later start today considering the only schedule we had to keep was to get home for Monday.  It was nice to enjoy a relaxing morning at Lover’s Point.  My wife and I got up and enjoyed some breakfast in the room.  Monterey is still very strict with the Covid19 precautions.  Masks must be worn everywhere and inside dining is not allowed.  After our repast we decided to go down to the point to walk around.  We were immediately moved along by the police for apparently being in a restricted area.  It was fine we just walked down the street instead.  We hit the road around ten and headed for Willow Creek, considering the swell and the fact that Angers really wanted to surf it.  The fog was pretty heavy all the way there leaving me a little anxious that it might be a wash out.  There was also a bit more wind then I would have liked as well.  We stopped off at Pacific Valley.  It was just too low tide and too big for it to be any good.  Willow was solid over head plus and a decent mix of NW wind swell and south swell lines.  The south lines were the better waves.  It was a tad too low still and there was some ugly wind on it.  We debated what to do as the fog rolled in.  The call was to wait out the fog bank and then look to surf as the tide came up.  This turned out to be a good call as we jumped in with a three locals.  There was a solid peak coming in on the south side of the beach that I mainly focused on since everyone else was sitting the middle peak.   Man there were some solid way over head bombs.  I somehow got lucky and had three very good lefts come to me deep on the south side of the Cove that I some how connected all the way through to the River Mouth.  Everyone out there was charging and getting some really good ones.  I would say it was a super session for sure.  It was just fun to get into some size and raw power for a change.  After the surf we headed to the Whale Watchers Cafe in Gorda, just south of there for some sea food.  If your are up that way I recommend a stop.  The food is good and fair priced for the area and the view is spectacular.  On the way out we made one last stop at Moonstone to surf and collect some moonstone for Angers’ wife.  It was cold and windy and the consensus was just to head home with no moonstone or waves.  It was definitely an intense trip and lots of ground covered in two days, but another amazing time was had courtesy of the Central Coast. It also concluded a perfect month of surfing everyday and was one of the best May’s for surf I can remember.

5-30-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, The Hook, Capitola
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 42 (from Monterey)
I had to meet a customer for a board pick up on the East Side of Santa Cruz.  He proposed that we meet at the Hook parking lot.  As it turned out Gabe had paddled up at Pleasure Point earlier.  He lives in Davenport so if he drove that far it must have been terrible at all the breaks north.  After stoking this guy out with his new Clarks Surfboards Interceptor we had a look at the Hook since we were right there.  From the cliff it looked rather underwhelming.  We hadn’t heard back from Gabe yet and were just killing time.  The longer I watch a wave the more likely I am to paddle it.  With Angers the stoke level is always pretty high thus we paddled.  From the cliff it looked small and mushy so I grabbed my Fly Guy.  Once I got out there the best waves were these inside double ups that were just thumping and I totally could have got a way harder chunk out of on my Hacksaw.  There were definitely enough flat sections to warrant the groveler.    Due to the south wind and swell mix it was pretty wonky out there and very difficult to connect sections.  Angers had a terrible time at first.  I sat more inside and just went for all the double ups that the guys on the outside couldn’t paddle into, a strategy that worked rather well for me.  Overall it was a very fun surf.  It was also a lot of work and paddling and after an hour and coupled with the earlier session my arms were burnt out.  For post surf grinds we stopped at one of my favorite burrito spots in California, The Taqueria Santa Cruz on the West side before heading up to Gabe’s to drop him his latest R&D freshies.  My wife and I didn’t get back to Monterey till after ten and were exhausted.

5-30-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Mill Creek, Big Sur
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 35 (from San Simeon)
We woke up early to some rain.  This sort of threw a monkey wrench in our plans to find something to surf and shoot.  The swell was absolutely macking too.  Not only was the south swell at its peak, but there was a solid NW mid period swell due to peak in the afternoon and some short period steeper NW wind swell.  Out front of our hotel it was just big and dumpy.  We decided to head up to Big Sur in the hopes of some better shape, conditions and weather.  Willow Creek was out first stop.  It was solid, but the tide was a tad too low and sand by the river mouth not set up yet to focus the south swell.  Most waves were either burgers or close outs or both.  There was about ten guys out and another fifteen checking it.  With all that swell and rising tide I thought we should just check Mill Creek.  The beach break was a bit too unruly, though it did have some potential wedges.  The left point however was doing its thing.  It was solid chest to head with the occasional plus set.  With the incoming tide it was rather consistent too.  For the moment there was no rain either.  Since we had both our wives with us we decided to have one film and one shoot.  It was quite the kooky production, though the footage was pretty sick check the Clarks Surfboards and my own personal Instagram and Facebook accounts for that in the coming days.  We had a blast trading lefts for over an hour.  Then it started to rain again sending the girls running for cover.  As the tide began to fill in the waves started to get softer and slower.  Towards the end of the surf only the biggest sets were even worth it.  This spot has always been rather fickle with a very short window.  You really need a perfect medium tide.  Too high or too low and its over out there.  It is a classic Big Sur spot as far as that goes.  It was all good we had already got ours and had plans to potentially surf with Gabe in Santa Cruz later that evening.

5-29-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Moonstone Beach, Cambria
Time in Water: 45 Mins
Waves Surfed: 13
Miles Driven: 130 (from Santa Barbara)
I can’t remember the last time I pulled a double session.  My wife and I had to meet the Angers up in Cambria for a 8:30 table at Madeline’s.  They just reopened since the Covid19 closures and we were excited to support.  They had gotten there earlier and Angers was already out at Moonstone.  Between the sw/nw combo in the water there were peaks up and down the beach.  It looked fun enough and I was down to paddle with my boy.  If anything it was good to get a short surf in to climatize myself to the colder water up that way I would be surfing in all weekend long.  It was a little mushy and wonky with the fat tide so I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy, though on the bombs I was definitely a tad under gunned.  Unlike the last time I surfed up there I didn’t break my board on my first couple of rides.  Angers was frothing on the right coming off the reef in the middle of the beach, while I stuck to the left off the rocks on the south end of the beach.  Though a good time I had to cut the surf short so that I could check into my hotel, shower and dress for dinner.  As for the meal, Madeline’s once again did a spectacular job.

5-29-30 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 66
Even though I most likely was going to get a surf in up in Cambria later this evening I still decided to go for a morning surf. It had a bit of SW wind on it adding some surface texture but the faces were clean.  There were a couple of guys spread out and it was about chest plus.  I paddled and Ryan met me.  It was not long till everyone left and we had the whole beach to ourselves.  The beginning of our surf was pretty much just left overs from yesterday’s south. At the half way point some solid sets from the new south began filtering in leaving me feeling a tad bit under gunned on my groveler short board.  There were some solid head high plus ones rolling through.  Most were pretty stretched, but if you were lucky and in the right spot for a corner it was a really fun ride.  If I didn’t have to get home and mobilize for my trip I would have surfed easily another hour or so.  Its a bummer I am leaving this afternoon cause it looks like tomorrow is going to epic at the Ventura beaches.  Oh well, I’ll score up north too.

5-28-30 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 66
I was a little later getting down today cause I needed to take my wife to work and borrow her car to pick up a batch of boards to bring  north this weekend.   Ryan and Angers were already out and claimed it fun enough.  There was a bit of south wind adding some bump and crumble.  Besides that the south and WNW combo were working nicely on the bars.  I got out there and was immediately frothing.  It was just myself and my two buds trading lots of fun peaks.  The left had this sick little air vault at the end of it that I went to town on.  I stuck a huge ally oop and a few different grabs.  I also took a couple of shitty landings that I am totally feeling as I write this.  I am definitely getting too old for airs, but I will keep going for it till I can’t any more.  For two hours it was super fun and even glassed off toward the end.  Then the tide turned the place off like a light switch.  I had to pick up a blank, then get those boards at my glasser’s.  I headed back to SB around one and it was still very clean out there. Rest of my day was spent taking care of random loose ends before heading up to Santa Cruz tomorrow.

5-27-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 66
The tide was super low.  I decided to head straight to Fruit Stands to see what was happening there.  The wind was light south, but the faces were clean.  It was definitely slow and inconsistent out there.  When a south set would roll through there were enough waves in a set to liven the place up.  Besides myself just one other guy was out surfing down the beach.  I walked to the south and found a fast running left.  The sets were really shifty out there and if it missed the sand bar I was on I was two far from the other ones to try and paddle for position.  This made for a very slow surf.  When I got wave it was awesome, but I did a lot of sitting my least favorite thing to do.  As the tide came in it got a bit more consistent before getting too fat.  At the very least I was smart enough to take my groveler out.  Rest of my day was spent running errands.  I wanted to stop in at Ross to buy a new pair of shoes, but the line was gnarly to get in.  I bet it would have taken an hour just to get to the door.  What a pain in the  ass life is these days.

5-26-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 66
I knew opening up a ten year old magnum of Lafond Syrah/Granache was going to lead to a sloppy evening.  My wife’s sister was staying with us and I have been itching to drink this bottle for over a year.  I have been sitting on it for three.  That plus two bottles of bubbly later we were all cooked.  I slept in and lucky for me the wind had decided to stay down and some new shadowed south swell moved in.  I got my act together around two and headed for a surf.  New Jetty looked solid but was packed easily twenty five strong with more checking it.  There were  peaks up and down the beach from River Mouth to the Knoll.  Not sold I thought I would at the very least have a look at Fruit Stands.  The tide was too high and swell a tad to small for any of the bars there.  I went back to River Mouth and paddled.  I over estimated the intensity of the surf and took my good wave board when my groveler would have been the better option.  I found a fun left bank just north of the Mouth that produced some really fun runners.  It was pretty inconsistent out there and more times then not I found myself out of position when a set actually showed up.  It was better then not surfing and every day is one day closer to my perfect month.

5-25-20 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 78
Well I knew it couldn’t last forever. The twenty day run of solid surf finally came to an end.  Under normal circumstances I would have probably let today burn.  As of right now I am only four days shy of a perfect month of surfing every single day.  The last time I think I had one was three years ago.  I come close lots of times, but there is always one day that trips it up.  Don’t think its easy cause its not.  Finding the time, motivation and energy to surf every single day no matter what is very difficult.  Today was that day.  I started at the meager, windy, waist high mush burgers at the Harbor digging deep to find the drive to paddle.  Instead of just paddling out I cruised over the Strand just to rule it out.  There were still enough small NW sets in the water that the Ship could have a grovel wave.  Had I gotten there an hour or so earlier I think I would have paddled.  The high tide had claimed anything that could have been worthwhile.  I drove back to the Harbor, threw a quick tantrum in the parking lot, suited up and paddled River Mouth.  Luckily the sand bars are still pretty decent out there and focused the tiny combo into something that could be ridden.  It was a full on Florida grovel.  I didn’t even have my wife shoot it was so pathetic.  Instead she happily went down to the Mouth in search of plover nests to shoot.  To be honest I am glad I paddled out.  Though it was small the left off this sand bar I was surfing managed to focus what little energy there was in the small waves and allow me to get four to five turns on a wave.  At the very least it was good exercise and a nice day out.   After the surf my wife and I tried that Tommy Burger’s place on Market St.  I have seen it for years and never ate there.  They don’t make a half bad chili burger and the prices are rather cheap.  Definitely worth a stop if you are in the mood such a meal.

5-24-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
The swell was a tad more west today and both Rincon and Little Rincon were showing some waist plus surf.  In hindsight I should have just surfed Little ‘Con cause it looked alright when I was passing by.  I wanted to meet up with Angers at Strand so I could borrow his wetsuit repair kit to fix my very cold leaky, shitty Body Glove.  Don’t buy Body Glove wet suits.  Considering the long standing relationship I have had with the company I hate to give them a poor report,  but my last three have fallen apart in less then three months and when I contacted Body Glove about warranty repair I was completely ignored.  Guess I am done with you guys.  Luckily for me a buddy of mine at Quicksilver came through with a 4/3 Highline for me that I should be receiving soon.  I look foward to seeing how it compares.  I got to Strand and just by the lack of parking I could tell it was packed.  Luckily I snagged a decent spot close to the ship.  It was stupid crowded.  There had to be fifty guys from the Ship to the Pipe with the bulk at the Ship.  There were some solid sets chest to head and some even pushing a little bigger.  It was glassy too.  From the looks of it the Zuma boys came up to Strand for the morning and it was definitely causing a great deal of hassling at the peak.  Over in the south bowl there were plenty of peaks though not as good that were still fun and only had a few guys spread out.  I suited and paddled out there.  The water felt colder then yesterday and maybe I was tired from all the surfing I have been doing, but it was my worst performance in two weeks.  I kept picking shitty ones and then when I got a good one I was completely out of sync pulling the wrong maneuvers and just overall reading the waves bad.  That being said I still found a few.  The water was absolutely freezing once again.  Even worst so thanks to my leaky BODY GLOVE wet suit.

5-23-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
My wife and I had an appointment to look at a house on Santa Monica St.  Since we had to be at the Strand anyway I decided to check there first.  Of course the wind was already on it even though it was only eight thirty.  The Ship some chest plus waves coming through.  It was rather sloppy.  The only place that may have been a bit better could have been the Harbor. Rumor had it that the cops had shut the beach down over there for the weekend.  This beach closure thing still doesn’t make much sense to me.  If you can now eat in restaurants, shop in retail stores, etc  keeping the beaches and lots closed just seems a bit asinine to me.   Then again so has all this pandemic shit.  Not wanting to waste anymore time I just paddled ship.  Some days its better then it looks, today was with out a doubt worse then it looked.  It was all torn up, bumpy, fat with the incoming tide, a bit crowded for what was on tap, the water was freezing and the good ones were very inconsistent.  I made the most of it and at the very least got a bit of exercise.  The house on Santa Monica seems promising.  Now comes the usual up hill battle for a guy whose majority income is cash based; getting a mortgage.  Fucking system is rigged to keep a man down.  Being that the restaurants were open we treated ourselves to a nice breakfast out, where we were actually served at a table (crazy to ever think I would write something like this).  I must say it was most refreshing not to have to go home and cook breakfast or get take out and find some place to eat it with out getting hassled for using a park bench or picnic table.  Maybe it is a sign of things slowly trying to get back to the familiar?

5-22-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven:78
My morning had a rather auspicious start as I got knocked over by a refrigerator avalanche while trying to get a bagel. After I cleaned up the mess I hit the road.  I was sort of in the mood to try and surf something low pro like Fruit Stands.  When I got to Ventura there was a bit of south wind on it and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with high tide sand bars and texture.  I went straight to the Ship.  It was a tad  smaller then yesterday and a bit mushier also.  The shape was pretty decent and crowd light.  I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy model to cut through the mush and fat tide.  Once again the water was freezing.  The air was warmer and I made a point to stay busy in the water as not to go into the deep freeze.  It was a good thing I grabbed my small wave board cause it was way more weak then it looked.  Of course the crowd doubled shortly after I had hit the water.  I was in the zone today and found my share of decent waves.  I I kept milking the waves all the way to the beach and on a few found a couple of shore dump barrels to pull into.  Overall I would say I had blast out there. I had a bit more ding repair to finish up when I got home so that I can enjoy the weekend.

5-21-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 78
By first impressions today clearly looked better then yesterday. As a result of that the crowd came out in full force making it way too busy for what was out there. The water quite possibly managed to be even colder than yesterday. The sets were very inconsistent too. This all made for a very painful surf. I had a handful of waves just wrecked by the crowd cause people kept paddling in front of my line. If I hadn’t got one of the better waves of the surf I would have definitely left unfulfilled. Sometimes it only does take one. Just like yesterday I had to cut my session short as a result of the fear of hypothermia. The rest of my day was spent sanding Surfboards. Good times.

5-20-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
I was hoping to get a few at Rincon. The wind was south when I got there ruining the small waves that were coming through. Angers was said the Ship though lumpy had a few sets. I headed that way. There were solid chest to head high waves breaking. Of course as soon as my feet hit the sand the wind came up WNW. This tore up the waves, but also alleviated the crowd. Despite the mess there were still some solid ones rolling off the Ship. The water was fucking freezing. It had to be in the low fifties. Coldest water we have had all year. My shitty leaky Body Glove suit wasn’t helping any. Right off the bat a picked off a handful of fun ones. Then I went into the deep freeze. Normally I would have surfed longer. I could no longer endure the cold thus quiting before my usual twenty wave quota. The rest of my day was spent fixing dings.

5-19-20 PM Session: 1-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 30
The wind wailed all night and was still at it when I woke up this morning.  All the reports I got from my friends were poor at best.  I decided to take my wife’s car for a smog check and have a look at Rincon on the dropping tide.  I had gotten word from one of my sources that Rincon had some head high sets around eleven.  You can imagine how disappointed I was when it was hardly waist high in the cove and rather weak looking.  The south sets at the bottom looked more inviting then the weak ass NW wind swell sets.  Even up top, though trashed with the wind was barely over waist high.  Maybe he meant dick head high?  I had a few friends surfing and hanging around the point so I chilled and shot the shit with them a bit.  In that time I saw a handful of waves I could rip on my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and one stomach high runner that my friend Heather got on her long board all the way through the Cove.  It may have been the wave of the day, but it was enough to send me back for my gear.   I figured if I could just get one like that I would be happy.  Actually I got three…BONUS!!!!  I had not grovelled in a while and I always forget how much fun it is to ride small waves on the Pop Fizz. It was a nice day.  The crowd was light and I left stoked.  Later in the afternoon I had to help Bizarro pick up some crazy yellow cuby unit for his room.  He is now steadily approaching his goal for creating the best gaming/tech nerd room on Oceano Ave.  If we have not learned anything from this Covid thing it is that it’s all about the little things in life.

5-18-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 78
The wind was already up early.  There was a healthy new dose of NW wind swell on the buoy.  Normally I would have just waited for the tide to get a little lower and surf Rincon.  I had Clarks Surfboard business to handle down in Ventura.  I had a look at New Jetty.  It was macking but mostly walled.  Considering all the swell in the water I had a feeling Strand would have to have something.  The wind was stiff NW when I to there thus I had a look at the North End first.  Sure enough there were some solid peaks coming in from the Jetty all the way to Tower 2.   There were only a few guys out and some head high plus sets.  I had the feeling with the dropping tide that a solid window was about to arise.  For an hour it was non-stop bombing lefts and rights.  I even found a little tube on a left.  Then it got crowded and the out going tide made lots of rips.  Finding quality waves became very difficult.  The wind began to get harder as well.  With conditions steadily deteriorating and the fact the the water was freezing I decided to throw the towel in.  It took me another hour to find a wave worthy of ending on till I ultimately got so cold I bailed on my very next wave.   In my book it was a bonus surf I hadn’t expected.  On the way home Rincon looked decent enough and I heard the Cove at CStreet got pretty decent before dark.

5-17-20 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 64
The morning was looking rather poor on all of the cams and with an early high tide it didn’t really seem like it was worth rushing down and dealing with morning crowds.  Instead my lady and I slept in and I cooked us a nice breakfast.  I am really getting tired of cooking breakfast.  It’s my least favorite thing to make and my favorite meal to eat out.  We came down in the afternoon with the promise of a new south filling in and light winds.  At the very least the former of those were correct. Actually the wind was just light onshore when I got there.  For a change New Jetty had a light crowd of randoms all spread out.  It was rather inconsistent, but every twenty minutes or so a solid three waves head plus south set would rock the Jetty and though a bit racy kind of peeled.  There were also a few NW sets as well.  I hate sessions when you just have to sit and wait for the sets.  Whenever I did snag a bomb off the rocks I had slalom the handful of randoms on the inside who were constantly getting caught off guard by the sets cause they were more interested in picking off the crappy wind swell.  That being said I had a few decent ones.  Then this gnarly WNW gale came in from the islands and just blasted the place.  It went from surf-able to completely destroyed in ten minutes.  Still I forced out a few more before calling it quits.  Believe it or not it was better then I had thought it was going to be.

5-16-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
I wasn’t sure what was going to be on offer when I woke up this morning.  There was some new very minor south swell in the water and the same steep NW wind swell from yesterday was still hanging around.  I got word that Strand had some head plus waves coming.  It was still mixed up and all over the place, but cleaner then yesterday.  It was average Ship at best and the crowd was nuts.  All the swell was focusing on just three or four peaks all tightly packed from the jetty to the life guard tower.   My wife and I had appointments to look at some places at the Strand at noon and figured I may as well just paddle.  I really didn’t know where else to go anyway.  My hope was that the crowd would eventually do itself in and I would luck into an alright window before the next shift.  That didn’t happen.  It was basically shit show crowded the entire session.  It didn’t help that the rip and current were constantly forcing everyone in a tight group all together right off the Ship.  It was flat out chaotic out there.  I am sure it was comical from the beach to watch.  Everyone was colliding with everyone and getting in each other’s way.  On top of that most of the wave either died out after an intense drop or closed out or had some strange back wash and funk on it.  One out of thirty were any good.  If you were lucky enough to get a good one you still had to negotiate the stupid crowd.  Someone was almost always in my way or deeper or just not looking and burning me.  There were six close calls where I thought I was going to get run over as well.  Good times at the Strand.  As it turned out my realtor mixed up my appointments with another client, mine being tomorrow.  Instead we got some lunch and took down to Fruit stands to eat and chill a bit.

5-15-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 78
The wind decided to blow hard all night out of the NW.  I knew things were going to be trash down south so I headed to Rincon hoping to find something to grovel.  Of course it was tiny there and the wind was south wrecking havoc on what little offerings there were.  I had heard that Strand was surf-able at the very least.  I would rather surf big shitty waves then small shitty waves.  The Ship was trashed with overhead sets.  I saw a few lines I thought I might be able to grab onto.  With the dropping tide it just wild out there.  The current was constantly pulling me into the jetty and the rip dragging me way outside.  I pretty much paddled hard for about forty five minutes to get absolutely no where.  All the waves I managed to catch were just gurgled up gnar with very little riding potential.  I dropped into an overhead close out and didn’t feel like making the effort to get back out there.  I still wanted to surf a bit and drove over to the north end where it was smaller maybe about chest plus on set but a tad more organized.  Though a bit grovely I found some fun lefts and rights that salvaged the surf.  Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

5-14-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 78
All the reports I had received from down south were far from inviting.  There was still a healthy dose of S/NW swell combo in the water.  Enough that I knew I could find something to surf.  I heard Strand was small thus I checked Fruit Stands first.  There was definitely some swell there and the wind was actually light off shore out of the SE.  Unfortunately I think the bars are beginning to deteriorate out there. I had this feeling when I surfed out there on Monday.  Its still very surf-able, but I may be going back to River Mouth and Shores if things continue to get any worse out there.  Also the channel was so mixed up with all the different swells and wind that it wasn’t helping the shape any better.  I decided to just go and rule out the Strand.  This is a lesson why sometimes it’s good to not be lazy and check it yourself.  There chest to head high bowls from the Ship to Two Trees. It was a bit crowded for what was coming through, but there were lots of waves.  I paddled and picked off six really good waves right off the Ship.  I started getting dirty looks from the pack because I just paddled out (I got lucky and just happened to be in the right spot.  No real pack paddling really took place.) and decided it best to go try and hunt down some barrels that I saw towards the bowl when I was checking it.  This turned out to be a fools errand.  It was all mixed up there and coupled with the rips I just couldn’t seem to get a wave.  I paddled back over to the Ship which had gotten way more crowed.  I sat outside with Ryan and just waited for the bombs.  The wind slowly began to pick up and the surf steadily deteriorated.  For the second straight day in a row I found myself struggling to get a decent wave out.  Oh and the water was still fucking freezing.  The rest of my day was spent running errands with my wife.  One of which was we opened a joint savings account with our wedding gift money.  Big life step.  I got the low down on what happened with the local food bank shipment yesterday in case anyone was wondering.  Apparently the truck flipped over leaving Vandenburg and all the food was lost.

5-13-20 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 78
I had heard that some new NW wind swell was supposed to fill in over night.  Still I figured I would be chasing south swell or combo.  Early on I got a text from my boy John that Strand was overhead, but lumpy.  I cruised south.  Rincon had some chest plus waves.  I figured I could go back there if the south beaches sucked.  I got to Strand and it was very lumpy.  There was also plenty of size.  Some bombs sets had to be a few feet overhead.  It was all over the place as was the shape and form.  Everything from runners, to bowls to close outs to burgers were out there.  I almost drove away, but this time of year when do you ever drive away from overhead surf, especially NW swell.  I jumped in at the Ship and picked all the wrong ones for my first few waves.  Then I lucked into an overhead runner that went down the beach.  From there my surf was hit or miss.  Maybe one out of every five I caught was good.  There were rips everywhere making it a lot of work.  Then the wind came up by eleven trashing it.  I still stayed out there stupidly trying to force the issue.  The water was freezing too, colder then yesterday too.  I had a serious case of last wave syndrome that lasted almost an hour till I finally pulled the plug on a meaty but average sized two turn left.  After the surf I had some Clarks Surfboard business to handle.  It was Wednesday so I raced home to catch the food bank distribution for my neighborhood over at city college.  This has become one of the highlights of my week.  Truthfully times have been a little tough and the free food no matter what it is has been welcome.  For whatever reason they weren’t there?  My neighbors and I, whom are also out of work were very bummed.  Good think I have some reserves.  I know everyone is all jazzed on helping the “front line workers” and that is great and all, but there are lots of people who are out of work due to no fault of their own that also need help and don’t have weekly pay checks coming to them.  Maybe donate to the local food banks also. That’s my political statement for the week.  Sorry.

5-12-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 66
It appears we are starting to get into that summer wind flow pattern which means my lazy ass has to be out of bed as early as possible.  Following suit I was up at 7:30 am and out the door by eight.  There was still plenty of south in the water and the wind was light off shore down south.  Jalama was already a little windy.  Angers got to Fruits first and said it was about chest plus and fun.  I had to pick up Ryan so was about ten minutes behind.  Pat got there and sent me a very exciting video from the beach just as I pulled up.  With two contrasting reports I took both my boards just to be safe.  It was a good thing I did too cause the bomb sets were few and far between and on average it was just about chest high.  The swell must have went steeper south from yesterday cause the lines were almost running away down the beach.  When you did snag a corner there were some really long racy lefts to be had.  I started on my good wave board and right off the bat pulled into a couple of decent tubes.  The exit on the other hand was very tricky.  It seemed just as I was about to come out each time the foam ball from the next section would take me out.  The current was tough too causing me to take a lap down the beach every few waves or so.  I did two laps on my Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw before switching to my Fly Guy small wave board.  This board is 5’7 and for whatever reason it just fit the shape of the wave better allowing me to really take advantage of the long lines and by this point the wind had already come up a bit out of the WSW eliminating the tube.  I was also pretty exhausted from yesterday’s epic Jalama surf.  Between that and the current after two hours I was completely out of gas.  That was fine cause the wind was really taking a toll anyway.  As we were leaving Conner Coffin paddled out.  I guess he was trying to keep a low profile after all the “stay at home. shred at home” posts he has been throwing up on social media.  Can’t promote something like that and then get caught surfing a crowded line up.  Rest of my day was spend grinding out dings.  By the way if you need some boards fixed in the Santa Barbara/Ventura area hit me up.  I am cheap and efficient and could really use the work.

5-11-20 AM Session: 6-8+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 126
Finally a solid south swell.  Of course it was coupled with shitty onshore wind down in Ventura and closed beaches in LA.  Jalama was clean on the cam and wind reports looked favorable for the day.  These days parking has been a bit of a hassle up there, especially on swells and weekends.  Being it was Monday I figured I would have half a chance of getting a space without waiting.  On the way up I checked El Capitan.  The tide was favorable as was the direction, size and period of the swell.  There was a waist plus high wave out there.  It had some shitty wind adding texture and about eight guys out.  Over it I continued on.  When I got to Jalama gate the line was nine cars deep and the rangers were escorting people to a space when one opened up.  I sat there in line for easily forty five minutes.  Lucky for me I had my book.  It was a bit frustrating watching absolute kooks walking to go surf with fun shapes, long boars,  and soft tops when the waves were well over head and thumping and these people had no business being there what so ever.  Their selfishness was taking away parking spaces from locals and good surfers who were not about to waste waves. While sitting in line I did notice that it appeared that there was a solid left and right coming off the River Mouth in the campground.  As soon as I was graced with a parking space I ran up the dunes to have a look.  From T’s through both Cracks was way overhead, but also looked pretty washy.  Meanwhile in front of the River Mouth looked really good, better than I have ever seen it.  There were only about five guys out and I was there too.  Immediately when I paddled out I got rocked by a massive six wave set that just unloaded on me.  It had to be at least eight foot plus.  I guess that set separated the men from the boys cause all that was left outside was myself and two guys.  Then serious sets started rolling the through.  The rights were good for two to three turns, while the lefts ran down the beach like it was a left point break.  Some were clearing one hundred and fifty yards.  I still was thinking that I might be blowing it by not going to cracks.  That was until Bobby Martinez and a few other rippers paddled.  I hadn’t surfed with Bobby in quite some time. It is always a pleasure to watch a guy who was once in the top ten in the world surf.  The rest of us could only attempt to even keep up.  I found a few really cherry runners and two barrels. I would say it was yet another solid day of surfing.    As I was leaving around three it was still macking and clean.  The line to get in was still eight cars strong.

5-10-20 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 66
Last night Angers was claiming that there would be some sick combo action at the beaches.  From what I saw it looked like there was going to be too much NW wind swell to make any Ventura beach breaks but Strand be any good.  As it turned out the wind swell peaked overnight and was already on the decline allowing for a rarity, decent combo at the beaches.  I think everywhere from Hollywood to Ventura Harbor was firing.  I had received a picture of Shores early, but it looked fast and walled thus I decided to be lazy and hang in bed a little longer.  It wasn’t till Pat called me and said that Fruit Stands was going off, then sent a subsequent video that sent me flying out the door.  I can’t remember the last time I have been that excited about surf.   I was speeding the whole way down and made record time.  Not even checking it I suited up, grabbed two boards an ran down the trail.  I may have been a bit too excited and by not looking where I was going stubbed my toes pretty hard on this jagged piece of metal that sticks out of the ground half way to the beach.  Lucky for me I had my boots on, though I still hurt my foot pretty good.  My adrenaline was way too high for that to ruin my stoke.  When I came up over the dunes my mind was blown by what I saw.  Up and down the beach there were barreling head to overhead plus A-frames standing up and unloading on the sand bars.  Angers was already on the beach waxing his board.  Pat and one other random were out taking advantage of the surf.  Once I began paddling I realized it was way bigger and more heavy then it looked from the beach.  I was stoked to have my trusty, tired and proven Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw model short board under my feet.  First couple of waves were decent enough.  Then this bomb left came right to me.  I thought it was going to feather and allow for an easy roll in.  Instead it hit the sand bar and just jacked and doubled up.  I free fell to the bottom and pulled into a perfect stand up tube.  The whole time I was looking at Pat sitting there in the channel as motivation to make sure I came out.  What a wave.  The session was pretty all time for the first forty five minutes.  Then the wind turned on like a light switch out of the SW and and steadily trashed it.  Angers bailed as soon as it got bad.  I hung for another forty minutes or so in hopes that the wind might back off or the high tide would help smooth it out.  Ultimately it wasn’t looking good.  Pat stayed out and fought the good fight.  I bailed.  It may have only lasted for a short window, (I actually heard it was too drained early) but man was I glad to have caught it.  Talk about a Mother’s Day miracle.

5-9-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 66
The two week run of fun wind swell had finally dropped out.  In its steed a new south swell minor as it may have been filled in.  Early on the tide was rather drained.  With weekend crowds at an all time high thanks to the Covid19 LA beach closure bottleneck it almost makes more sense to let the kooks fight it out early and get the late morning shift.  This is a bit of gamble with the wind.  Considering how heavy the Marine Layer was I thought I might get at least an hour of glass.  As soon as I got to Fruit Stands the wind was already becoming stiff out of the WSW.  Between the wind, lack of swell and steadily rising tide the bars were all flooded there.  Seeking a bit more wave face I headed to River Mouth.  There were a hand full of bars that were allowing the waves to stand up better.  The bulk of the crowd was focused just off the Knoll.  I saw some peaks down by the River Mouth and headed that way.  Just north of the mouth I found a fun A-frame bar to myself and picked off a few fun ones right off the bat.  As the tide filled in and wind got harder it just got more mushy and gutless.  Pretty soon I was surfing a burger bar, pumping and doing weak cut backs to maybe get a decent inside section.  I guess I should have woke up a tad earlier.  Oh well, I still managed a couple.

5-8-20 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 126
With dropping swell and lack luster reports down south I decided to take advantage of the first clean day we have seen at Jalama in weeks.  Not to mention there was incoming tide for the remainder of the afternoon.  While Ventura was all socked in with the marine layer the “J” was sunny and beautiful.  My wife decided to knock off work at four and join me.  What a splendid evening we had up there.  There was not another person in sight at Cracks but us.  The ocean was absolutely oil glass.  The sky had all the making of a wonderful sunset.   The only down side was that the bars as still a bit straight there and with just a little south in the water to cross up the NW wind swell the majority of waves were walled.  Luckily for me I was the only one out allowing me to just wait and track down the good ones,  though as I soon learned it was more fruitful to just stay in one place and let the waves come to me. After almost an hour and a half of having he entire line up to myself six kook kids decided to walk down and sit literally right on top of me.  Fuck there were similar peaks from first Crack all the way to T’s.  There was a stiff south drift that soon alleviated me of that problem as they steadily floated on by.  We reveled in the splendorous sunset before heading home.  I must say it was definitely one of those great Jalama evenings.  The surf could have been better yet very palatable.

5-7-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 10
As good as she was to me on Tuesday that was how bad she was to me today.  I should have listened to my instincts and drove away.  I watched it with very hopeful eyes for a bit longer then I should have and sold it to myself.  I was hoping it would get better as the tide dropped and that the morning crowd would dissipate and there would be a good window.  Now of that happened.  Instead the crowd got more kooked out with long boards and soft tops, the waves got very inconsistent and there were a handful of guys like myself to compete with for the few decent waves out there.  Shaun Thompson was out on a soft top and actually got the wave of the day and pulled a pretty solid turn on it.  When you have three world titles under your belt I suppose you can pretty much do whatever you want in the water.  I sure as hell wasn’t going to hassle him for waves.  I did get few.  Meanwhile it pretty much fired down south at Rincon, Little Rincon and I heard Strand was really good before dark.  You win some you lose some.   The rest of the day was spent getting an ear full from my wife who was working at home for the day and decided to make my  life miserable cause she hates working from home.  Ah yes the joys of married life.  That rolled right into the night too.  Like I said, some days you win and some you just plain lose.

5-6-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 30
The NW swell really jumped up on the buoys today.  I was disappointed by Hammonds where despite all the swell in the water it struggled to show anything over chest high and was rather weak.   I headed to Rincon where though very lumpy and bumpy with the south funk that has just been plaguing us lately there were some head plus sets up top and some ok ones in the Cove too.  The crowd was only about fifty strong on the whole point.  I paddled. I grabbed my mid range board and found myself just a tad under gunned on the sets, especially as the tide dropped.  I was in rhythm  with the Queen and stroked into lots of runners.  Around noon the crowd began to swell.  I was exhausted anyway and started surfing my way into the Cove.  As luck would have it I found my way into a nice chest high runner right as I got down there and surfed it in.  That almost never happens.   Later I heard Little Rincon was pretty much all time.

5-5-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 78
I had Clarks surfboards business down in Ventura to handle and figured I would have a look at Strand.  Though some size it was pretty windy and for the lack of quality rather crowded for what it was.  Not feeling it I ran may errands and then had another look as the tide got lower.  At that point it was even more torn up and crowded.  I watched it for a bit and didn’t really see any body get any good rides.  I had seen a few at Rincon on the way down and just decided to take my fish out and make the most of it.  There were a few chest plus waves coming through up top.  I paddled up at Indicator and though mushy with the slight south chunk on it I got a couple of long ones through the Rivermouth.  It didn’t take long for the place to get way too crowded for the poor quality coming through.  I floated down to the cove to see what was going on there. If you chose the right one and sifted through all the chop and mess there were some runners.  The current was gnarly with the low tide and wind swell push.  I got a few all the way through and called it a day.  Later that evening I cooked up some beef enchiladas for my wife and I in celebration of the weakest Cinco de Mayo party ever.

5-4-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 10
Wow! Hammonds in May talk about very strange times.  I spent the majority of my time driving an obscene number of miles in pursuit of waves. When I get the opportunity to surf just a few miles from my home I am thrilled for the experience.  Hammonds is one of those waves that when its good makes you feel amazing about yourself as a surfer at least for that is.  The pace, shape and timber of the wave is just right for my brand of surfing.  There is even the occasional sneaker left that puts up a very fun air section.  Whenever its on I can’t help but surf it.  The only draw back is being one of the top spots right in town its just about always crowded.  Thanks to three different wind swells there were lots of peaks hitting all over the reef making for a skate park like effect.  Stoked I just went to town.  I would have to say it was one of the best surfs performance wise I have had since the morning of my wedding at Fruit Stands.  Minus almost killing some chick on the inside while bringing down a solid fronside air reverse I would say it was a very fun section.  It wasn’t really either of our faults.  She was stuck on the shallow reef with only a foot of water leaving no place to go and when I spotted my landing prior to standing up I didn’t see anyone there.  The ramp was short and next thing I knew mid spin I saw her out of the corner of my eye.  Luckily I had enough time to chuck my board one way and my body the other leaving, besides me having to go over the falls both of us unscathed.  I hate when it comes close like that.  At that point I was getting tired a whole new shift of young frothers were paddling out and it was time for me to go.  Rest of my day was quarantine life.  Went to the grocery store where I was forced to wear a mask.  I swear if I am going to wear a mask I am going to rob the place.

5-3-20 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, La Conchita
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 41
This morning I should have got my lazy ass out of bed and sorted something out early before the wind went south.  Once again I was relegated to the afternoon.  I found myself at Little Rincon again. As I was staring at eight guys trying to ride torn up low quality rides that made last night’s session look all time (it wasn’t) I couldn’t get into it. Instead I decided to walk up the beach a little and paddle La Conchita.  I though I saw a few possible corners to be had (there wasn’t).  Instead I spend an hour  fighting the drift and pulling into right close out tubes.  I did get some travel time and had the whole beach to myself.  Isn’t that one of surfline’s guidelines for surfing during this pandemic; surf worse waves to avoid the crowd.  I certainly did that.  To add a cherry on top of the cake my car wouldn’t start cause I ran the auxiliary power too long while changing and had to wait for roadside to show up to give me a jump.  Awesome!!!  Later that night we had a birth day celebration for Charles our cat.  He just turned two.  Bizarro baked a cake and my wife and I got him this rabbit fur toys that he is absolutely in love with.

5-2-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 41
Another morning of shitty winds kept me in bed.  Sleeping in is a nice luxury the core surfer is seldom allowed.  I also figured the crowds were going to be in full force. By my usual weekend rules I try to pick a surf when most would be over it.  Today it was the afternoon at a point on high tide.  Rincon was pretty weak looking and riddled with south funk.  Little Rincon was marginally better.  There were two guys out and the tide was already high enough to ensconce the molar rock.  This is usually not a good thing when the waves are barely pushing chest high, weak ass wind swell and cross shore winds.  With all my other high tide and south wind breaks currently inaccessible due to lack of parking I was left with no choice but to paddle.  It was with out a doubt a struggle out there.  I did my best to make the most of it.  I did get a few that were palatable.

5-1-20 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Naples
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 41
First thing in the morning the wind was trash and all reports I got from down south were less then desirable.  More wind swell was suppose to fill in through out the day.  I actually had a lot to do around my apartment.  My wife and I were gifted a very nice two tier display hutch.  Much organizing and shifting furniture around was necessary to fully enjoy this piece.  I ended up turning it into a dry bar with all of our different types of glasses on display in the first tier and all of our alcohol and some fine China we were also gifted in the bottom enclosed tier.  Believe me it was a huge project that took me nearly all day to do and is still not quite finished.  Around five I decided to head to Hammonds to catch the high tide.  I expected there to be a crowd, but there was not a place to park anywhere near the break.  Sharks even had about eight guys on it.  I was just going to suit up and ride my fish at Sharks when completely fed up with the ridiculous crowding thanks to Covid19 beach closure bottle necks and the fact that a good portion of the population is unemployed right now, I decided to just do a Hail Mary run up to Naples.  The wind up in Gaviota was wailing out of the NW at like 20 mph, while it was just light south in town.  I hiked in for a sunset session.  Between the high tide, wind and lack of swell it was looking rather lackluster.  I really wanted to surf.  I headed up the point in search of a peak.  The Crack Peak though small showed a few waist to stomach high runners.  No one was out and there really wasn’t a drop of water out of place conditions wise.  That alone was enough for me to paddle.  It was actually a lot more fun then I had thought.  There was even the odd ball chest high set.  I surfed till dark and was reminded that life is still beautiful even if the majority of the humans on the planet have their heads so far up their ass with the Corona mess.  When I am feeling down or angry about it all I just have to breath and remember what my life has been all about from the beginning…living.