Surfing Ruined My Life

May 2019 Surf Sessions

5-31-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 64
As usual when I have work my morning starts hopeful at Indicator hoping to get a fun surf close to home, only to get denied.  From there I cruised south and since the wind seemed light enough I decided to go all the way to The Harbor.  Though light there was enough wind to put a good amount of chop on it.  The faces looked clean and basically out of time I decided to run down to the River Mouth and hope for the best.  Actually right off the bat I finagled a few really good lefts.  Then the wind steadily got harder making finding a good one tough.  I frothed a few more before calling it a day.  No sense being late to work for shitty waves.  We had a birthday bash in Montecito to work and as always everyone was stoked.

5-30-19 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, Mesa Lane
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 4
I had to cover the morning shift at the old folks home for a fellow employee.  Somehow I got stuck there till around 4:30 leaving me stuck at the mercy of rush hour traffic.  Being there was still a bit of wind swell abound I had a look at The Lane, where there was a waist high plus wave coming through on the main reef.  There were a handful of groms on it.  Not very stoked I left it up to the WSL if I was to surf or not.  If the comp was on then I was going home to watch it, if not I would paddled.  I chilled on the steps waiting for Keiron Perrow to make the call.  The comp was put on hold till 6:30 giving me more then enough time to go out there on my fish and hate my life for an hour trying to grovel absolute crap.  The crowd doubled from when I checked it.  Imagine fighting with a dozen guys for a knee to waist high one peak weak ass A-frame peak.  Some Mesa groms who were there first decided to make my life a living hell by constantly paddling me for whatever I went for and then made burn attempts as well.  Not wanting to be that old ass hole I just surfed around them.  When they closed out a section I used it as a ramp.  If they wanted to play chicken I ran straight at them.  Fuck I own a surf board company have at least two of every board I ride at home in my racks waiting to rip.  I guess I wore them out cause they bailed and a few guys I know paddled out.  As luck would have it right as my one buddy told me to watch out for the inside rock just by the steps on my very next wave I laded an air reverse on it and broke out my fin, dinged my rail and bruised my side.  Mostly it was my ego that was hurt by the whole thing.  Whatever like I said I had a brand new one at home waiting to be ripped anyhow.  I got home just as the event started.  By the way my fantasy team is taking a real beating this comp.

5-29-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 56
There was still some wind swell energy left in the water and with little time to surf before work thanks to my lazy ass over sleeping I found myself kicking rocks at Rincon wishing it was about four feet bigger.  I made the mad dash to Emma where though the tide was steadily draining out there were a few chest high combo NW and SW sets breaking up and down the beach with only three guy out.  Ryan was having a look at Strand and if it was good I may have went into work late.  As it turned out though fun looking there it was not solid enough to play that card.  I jumped in for a quick forty five minute heat.  With the Margerate River comp fresh in my mind from watching the past few days I surfed my own pretend heat and imagined Pottz and Joe Trupel commenting.  You have to do something to entertain yourself when its been mediocre surf conditions for days and days and days.  Work was spent prepping then working a big taco party event at the Natural History Museum tomorrow for 650 people.  For whatever reason in the world of food service my calling has always been my ability to feed the masses.

5-28-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 41
Miles Driven: 78
I had to work the morning shift at the old folks home after which I headed south in search of some new wind swell on the buoy.  I found myself looking at average at best Emma Wood with a crowd on it and more guys changing.  Then I checked New Jetty, which was equally uninspiring.  On a whim I decided to play the Hail Mary and have a look at Strand.  I figured worse case scenario I by the time I got back to Emma some of the crowd may have died.  As luck would have it there was a high tide bowl at the ship with one guy out.  There was a bit of wind on it, but the faces were clean.  Stoked I hit up Robbie and we got a fun little shore breaky session.  I managed two really fun little tubes.  Really the true stoke was sharing fun waves with just my bud.  A feat that is rare in California these days.

5-27-19 No Surfing: 2-3 ft, No Surfing
Miles Driven: 64
Another skunking thanks impart to south wind, a drained out morning tide and just some really shitty waves.  In hindsight I probably should have checked Strand, but got furstrated and bailed.  It worked out since the rest of my day was spent with my boss moving into our new kitchen out in Goleta.   This move has become very stressful and time will tell if it is for the best or not.  I suppose time will tell.

5-26-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zero’s/Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 118
After yesterday’s goose chase I was not about to make the same mistake twice.  When I woke up and saw more south winds I decided to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast with my girlfriend.  I wasn’t even sure if surfing was in the cards for me.  Around one I had a look at the buoys, cams and reports.  It looked like LA was an option and I pulled the trigger.  The wind was absolute shit down to Ventura.  I figured worse case scenario I could find a few at Leo. On the way down in Oxnard this pick up truck passed us with what I thought were yard trimmings in the back.  Low and behold my girl started to freak out that the dude had garbanzo beans and we had to follow him.  Luckily for us he pulled over a few miles up the road and for $10 bucks we bought an entire bushel of them.  I had never actually had fresh garbanzo beans and after cooking with them in two separate dishes this week I would highly recommend them.  Anyhow when we got around Point Mugu the wind was some what off shore.  I headed to Zeros and it was totally rip-able with only a few guys out.  Stoked I paddled, but after the first fifteen minutes it started to pour and then the wind went hard NW tattering the once fun line up.  Determined to get a surf session in I packed up and drove over to Leo where the wind was cleaner.   Though a bit fat and some what wind swept there were some fun runners to be had.   Thanks to the rain there were only three guys out.  We traded fun waves for an hour until this pack of annoying groms showed up and just clogged the place.  I got a few more and called it.  I must say it was a rather fun day off.

5-25-19 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 64
I wanted to surf this morning, but a detour to Goleta and then a rise in the south wind foiled my plans.  My afternoon was taken having to work a 40th birthday party in Montecito and after checking every spot possible with in my time frame I decided to call it a day.  I heard that Jalama was fun all day and that the afternoon cleaned up a bit.  The event went well at least.

5-24-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 30
Three days at Rincon in a row and an El Capitan day making four point days??? Wow, talk about late season luck.  If we don’t see another NW for till fall I suppose this run of surf should get me through.  Though smaller there was still plenty of clean lines coming through and it looked fun enough for my fish.  I started up top at Indicator where I got into a froth and had a blast dismantling both rights and the odd ball left.  I even found a little tube.  Stoked I carried that momentum into my work day full of lots of food prep.

5-23-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 30
Wow talk about another late season shocker of a wnw swell. What a crazy year it’s been. Fresh powder in the mountains and NW swell in the sea. I’m not complaining. If the NPAC wants to keep rifling swells this way I will be there to surf them. The buoys showed some solid wind swell and as per usual I had a look at Rincon to get my bearings. Faced with solid chest to head high lines in the Cove it didn’t take long for me to run back to my car and suit up. Despite a bit of south wind chop on it and being a bit racy I frothed and even call boxed one, feat that has been rare these days since the extension of the 101. Back at work I had the pleasure of working an appetizer heavy party that was attended and performed by Micheal McDonald. The show was sick and it was a pleasure.

5-22-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 30
The great gale of late May continued today. With it more wind swell. I had a charity dinner tonight for a high school wrestling team leaving with just a short window for surf in the morning. I headed straight for Rincon thinking it would be the most bang for my buck. Once again it was a bit on the small said maybe waist to chest at best in the Cove and all jumbled up. I grabbed my fish. I don’t if it is because everyone has gotten stir crazy from all the wind, but there were like 30 guys on it. When the waves are all over the place it doesn’t really matter about the crowd. I got in the zone and fell into a really fun grove managing lots of fun little connections and combos on my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Model fish. The water was freezing, low 50’s for sure. Work was fine though due to some organizational changes in my main employer I am starting to wonder how lucrative this gig is going to stay. Time will tell. Unfortunately this is the life of a culinary professional.

5-21-19 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 116
The plan was to start at Rincon and keep going south till I found something to surf, my usual south swell assault.  Truthfully I was really hoping there would be still enough NW energy to surf some proper Rincon.  Upon checking, it was fish-able at best and about the same shitty shape it had on Saturday.  I kept cruising to no avail.   When I got down to Ventura I ran a few Clarks Surfboards errands before heading to Leo Carrillo.  I figured with all the wind the crowd would be light, but when I pulled up there were about ten guys out and another ten about to go out.  There were solid chest plus surf out there, but with the wind and tide it was a bit gutless.  I hung out for a little bit till the new shift pushed out the old one then grabbed my fish and paddled.  Though soft There were some overhead sweeper sets that closed out the beach and the drops were pretty critical leaving me under gunned at times.   The wind being more WNW then NW was causing way more chop then there usually is out also making things challenging.  That being said I managed a handful of fun ones and I am pretty sure it was the best option of the day.

5-20-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, El Capitan
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 42 
The gale was still blowing and with it some really solid wind swell. I was faced with a serious decision on where to surf.  Go back to Rincon, the guarantee or gamble on El Cap.  I had a rare  day off so even if I did get skunked I could just run down to Rincon.  It was smaller then I would have like, but I saw a few solid bombs up top that motivated me to just bring my short board.  This was a mistake cause with the incoming tide it seemed the good sets were few and far between and everyone out there was on more lumber then I had.   Up top looked like there were some heavier ones coming through and more size.  Although I rarely surf that section of the wave given my board choice it was my best option.  I paddled high point with only two other guys up there and right off the bat I found a few connectors all the way through the Cove.  Then this double up came through that I was a tad bit too deep for, but paddled for it anyway.  So how I pulled into it from the bottom and next thing I knew I was completely engulfed in a heavy tube.  Just when I thought I couldn’t see out and was going to eat it I gave it one more pump, the wave bent  back out to sea and I came flying out.  It made the whole session worth it.  I surfed till I was absolutely frozen, the water has been very cold thanks impart to all the wind.   It may not have been the biggest wave around, but one thing about El Cap it makes you feel incredible when you get a good one.  It is a very special place.

5-19-19 PM Session: 1-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 64
I had a 1000 person small plate gig for the CAMA nonprofit group.  Basically they put on a classical music concert and had food and drinks to celebrate their centennial.  We were one of the caterers picked to participate.  We did Short Rib and mash potato, which was the crowd favorite and we served over 1,500 portions.  I  am pretty sure it was the most food I have ever served in a four hour period.  After the event there was some short period wind swell in the water.  I headed to Rincon in the hopes of finding something fun on my fish.  There were a few waves waist plus waves pushing through the Cove and despite the hard WNW wind it was sort of clean on the face.  My first three waves were small but ran the Cove.  The swell was funky and the lines were coming straight into the point making it very fast.  Then it started raining and the wind went bit more WSW adding a bit of chop to the face and breaking up what little organization  there was out there.  Add the incoming tide and the Cove pretty much shut down.  I went up top though it was completely trashed and tried to make something of whatever was coming in.  Ultimately I should have just surfed Sand Spit and saved my gas.  Oh well.

5-18-19 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 78
Considering how much wind swell was on the buoys last night i decided to get up early and head straight for Strand. Though clean the swell had dropped significantly from the previous night. The Ship was about waist to chest and a bit fat and shore breaky with the incoming tide. I had limited time needing to be back in SB by noon and I saw a few boost-able sections. The water was freezing thanks to the wind limited my surf time. I had a few good airs and a tube or two. Heck it was better then what the put the air show of the Bali Pro on.

5-17-19 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft
If surfing was going to happen for me today it had to be very early and somewhat decent. The south swell was on the way out, the wind swell didn’t really show much more then yesterday and the wind was already up. I had a twelve hour day ahead of working a wedding for 180 pp thus I passed on the surf. It’s a good thing I did too cause it was an exhausting run. As per usual the gig went well and everyone was happy.

5-16-19 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, El Capitan
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 42
A winter style front came through with rain and everything. I can’t remember in my 15 years here ever getting real rain in May. The weather is crazy these days. Anyhow with the storm came the usual hard NW gale down the coast foiling any chance of a morning surf, which was too bad cause there was still plenty of south running. Luckily I had a somewhat flexible schedule at work and decided to go in early. My hope was that some wind swell would show for the afternoon. But by the end of my work day there still was minimal surf showing at the protected points. The south was still showing solid on the buoys despite the hard winds. With that in mind I made the gamble and headed to El Cap. I got there and it was pretty small maybe waist plus and a bit haggard with all the wind and mixing swells. It looked fun enough for my Clarks Surfboards “Pop Fizz” fish so I paddled. Turns out as the tide pushed back in it got pretty fun and the wind even went off shore. I found my way into a few barrels on the inside. I always forget how good a wave El Capitan is even when it’s small. Good times.

5-15-19 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
I had a plated lunch for 60 in the morning leaving me the afternoon to surf. Thanks to this strange tropical like humidity we have been experiencing the wind stayed down. Stoked I heard south. It was rather small with the drained out tide down to Ventura. Robbie hit me up that Rivermouth was clean and over head. As it turned out the south was pulsing a bit hard for the place and the drift was insane. Most sets were a bit stretched as well. Then as the tide filled in it got weaker and more crowded. Some idiot yelled at me for back paddling when all I was doing was trying to get out of the way of an outside set, which he missed every wave from. I managed a few good ones but ultimately it was lots of work out there.

5-14-19 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hobsons
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 56
Awoken to some new fresh long period south swell, but with a short window to take advantage of it I knew my choice had to be exact.  The wind seemed poor as did the period of the swell to make a play for the Ventura beaches.  I had a look at Indicator which turned out to be solid, but inconsistent and little room for me with the lack of waves coming through.  As I was driving away Ryan confirmed the bad wind at the beaches.  I got off at Sea Cliff and had a look about down to Emma. Hobsons proved to have the best wave seen.  Gordo and Ryan met me and the three of us traded off rather fun albeit inconsistent lefts and rights.  Had I not needed to go to work I would have gladly surfed longer.  At least I got something.

5-13-19 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 64
First off let start by saying shame on Kanoa Igarashi for fucking my fantasy team line up at the Bali Pro last night.  A whopping 1.77, you mother fucker.  That is the last time I am playing you.  I was reminded this morning just how much I hate south swell.  It may be super fun from San Diego to LA, but up here its just a lot of heart ache and frustration.  Today was not exception.  I found myself staring at very sub par windy, wonky all over the place River Mouth thinking “man I wish it was winter and I could have just surfed Strand or Rincon.  It’s not, so I paddled in the hopes it was better then it looked.  It wasn’t.  I floated around to little to no avail trying to find something to grab on to.  The bombs all broke too far in front of me or ran away from me and the inbetweeners I was constantly too far out for.  I managed on or two ok rides, but over all it was a C-.  Ryan seemed to have better luck at Shores from what he told me.  I heard Jalama was pretty sick as well.  I had to work so the Mouth was my best option.  At the very least I got wet and rode my short board for a change.

5-12-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 64
Stoked to surf no matter what this morning I headed south. I always start at Indicator for a look.  With gas at four bucks a gallon if I can surf close to home its money in my pocket.  The tide was too low and probably there wasn’t enough swell either.  I heard from Gordo that both the Harbor and The Shores were not good.  I got off at Sea Cliffs and looked around.  It was really small every where around there.  With light wind I decided I may as well just go look at the Harbor if not for any other reason then to rule it out.  There was a tad bit too much SW wind for the River Mouth or Knoll, but New Jetty had a small waist to chest high left coming through with a very light crowd.  Over the hunt I suited up and paddled.  Sage paddled after and we traded the Jetty peak with two groms.  There was a sick suck up barrel right in front of the rocks, but there was bit too much backwash and it too small to really make it.  That being said I found a few tiny head dip runners and actually got into a really good rhythm and had a blast.  The rest of my day was spent helping my boss move into a new kitchen.  A new start for our company.  Its both scary and exciting.

5-11-19 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I actually did have a very short window to get some waves early in the morning.  I got up at six and the cams looked small and the period on the new swell was still very long and not very large.  Knowing I had another two gig twelve hour day I decided to sleep till nine then head into work.  My second job had some cast and crew members from The Game of Thrones.  I don’t really follow the show, but I know my wait staff was pretty star struck.  I will thankfully have some time to surf in the morning tomorrow.

5-10-19 No Surfing: 1-3 ft
I knew the end of my week was going to be gnarly and made a point to surf as much as I good from Sunday to Wednesday.  From yesterday through Saturday I am pretty much locked in with a 12 hour day minimum.  Work is good and the money from the toil even better.  At this rate I will get my house at Silver Strand yet.  I actually had a double header today, a funeral reception luncheon and a BBQ for the UCSB physics department in the evening.  Both went off very well.  This left no time for surfing today.  I heard that C Street was fun in the evening.

5-9-19 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Today was the start of my hellish three day work grind. The next three days will be at least twelve hours and total five events.  I heard C Street was kind of fun again, but when there is money to be made and surf not epic these days I’ll take the green.

5-8-19 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, C Street
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 58
The wind was quite a bit harder this afternoon then it had been the previous few.  I had a look at Indicator, but as every other day this week it was not meant to be.  From there I went straight to C Street rather then waist time on the same futile hunt I have done for days.  It was rather small and pathetic.  I paddled Pipe on my fish and made the most of the small windy broken up peaks.  Then Robbie paddled out and some real sets began to come in and it was just us out there.  Stoked we frothed.  I guess we made it look too much fun cause it didn’t take long for a bunch of guys to clog what little offerings there were.  Actually by the time they all paddled the sets were not half as good and I had already got mine anyway.

5-7-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, C Street
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
Once again the wind was some what light this afternoon.  I looked at Indicator with the hopes of it being fun with a little more water on the reef then the previous day.  It looked as though I just missed the wind as guys out there were paddling in. I headed to the Sea Cliff area.  Solimar looked small as did Emma Wood. I watched the Gold Coast for a moment cause it was so clean, but it was also tiny.  With the light wind I headed back to the Harbor hoping it would be pretty clean.  As per usual if there is any wind the location of that place will amplify it.  River Mouth was solid and almost looked kill-able.  There were a couple of kids on it and though I saw them attempt a few tubes the current looked tough and the make-ability factor low. Robbie hit me up that C Street looked fun and being my best option I joined him.  We surfed up a Pipes and though crowded there were lots of broken up rights and lefts.  It wasn’t really doing the point break thing making there plenty of peaks to go around and even a the odd ball left tube.  At some point though I looked around and there had to be over 100 guys from Pipe to the Cove.  At that point I got my last wave and called it a day.

5-6-19 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Solimar
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 64
This week I have my monthly corporate lunches till Thursday leaving me a slave to the afternoon shift.  In the winter this is not that big of an issue and sometimes I luck out at the points thanks to the negative low tides.  Now it’s summer and south swell season meaning besides a few spots its beach breaks, which get completely torn to pieces with the afternoon winds.  This afternoon was funky.  We have been experiencing some really tropical weather as far as cloud cover, rain and wind patterns.   The wind constantly kept switching around, dying.  I got a text mid day that Indicator was solid chest plus lefts.  By the time I got there the tide was already way too low.  As I was driving south I noticed the wind had died and proceeded to go straight to the Harbor.  When I got there it was windy.  I had hoped that maybe I would get lucky and New Jetty would be somewhat surf-able.  The whole area was one deep hole.  There was one guy at the bounce struggling to find an open face.  I headed back towards Emma, which was too low, finally settling on very average Solimar. It was about waist to chest plus, empty and looked rip-able enough for my fish.  It was way more tricky then it looked and all over the place.  Classic low tide Solimar.   I sat on the inside reef and did snag a few alright rights.  Somehow on my last left I got barreled off my ass on the inside and had to quit on that.

5-5-19 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 126
I had a food drop at two for what has become a some what steady client for me.  There was a bit of kitchen prep to get done for Monday’s corporate lunch as well.   I finished up around four, grabbed my girl and headed for Jalama since the wind was still rather light on the cam and there was enough south swell that I figured with the incoming tide it might be fun.  When we got there though a bit more windy then I would have liked it was clean enough and the biggest waves I had seen in over two weeks.  Though I said I wasn’t going to buy my pass this year I decided that I may as well.  They raised it to $90 bucks!!  I guess I have to go nine times this year.  Cracks had a wave with six guys on it.  They had been out for a bit cause when I paddled out they slowly dropped off one by one till I had the whole place to myself and the wind died as well.  Unfortunately it was a little soft due to both the high tide and lack of a decent sand bar.  None the less it was a lovely Sunday evening and Jalama was always a good idea.

5-4-19 No Surfing: 1-3, No Surfing
What a nightmare today was.  I knew having three gigs, a taco party at Lotus Land for 100 people mid day, a wedding drop for 120 people at 4 pm and finally the Heart Association’s big season gala for 285 people.  The three ring circus was in full effect and I worked my ass off to make sure it all went off decent.  It almost fell apart, but thanks to some quick thinking and a little help from my girlfriend with the drop we got it all done.

5-3-19 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
Last night my lady had a gallery opening at her museum. It was a very well put together show and she is really coming into her own in the field. This led to a drunken night out at the Wild Cat. Come morning I was in no shape to surf and barely got through my work day.

5-2-19 AM Session:2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
The surf was a tad bigger then yeaterday and the wind was offshore. Stoked I ran down to River Mouth and had a way better surf then yesterday. I even found a stand up tube. I did get a good few. Stuck a few airs too. Was just the surf I needed to get through a very trying work day.

5-1-19 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 64
There was a little south swell in the water and I had the morning to surf before work.  I made the mistake of having a look at Indicator first and ate up some time.  I got down to Ventura Harbor and there were a few decent lefts coming through down by the River.  I suited and ran down.  I found a fun peak to myself and actually got shacked off my ass on my first wave.  After that the wind slowly came up and the crowd quickly filled out.  I struggled to find a few more ok rides before ultimately leaving on a shitty one cause I was already late to work.