Surfing Ruined My Life

May 2021 Surf Sessions

5-31-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
The NW swell that graced us yesterday just about completely dropped out. There were still three small south swells and a tiny bit of left over wind swell in the water. Definitely enough to allow for some kind of surf-able wave at the Harbor. I was graced with a paid day off, one of the few perks of working at the Post Office. Heck I’m writing this post while on the clock. My wife and I showed up and when I walked up the beach I saw a chest plus set roll throw, each wave barreled left and right and it spit. It was enough to send me back to my car ready to surf. It was a little drained with the tide but that just made the good ones that much more hallow. There were about thirty guys spread out from knoll to mouth with lots of peaks to be had. Robbie showed up and we paddled. I have not surfed with him in over two months. It was nice to catch up. There was a bit of NW swell in the water causing a few more close outs then one would like. Probably eight out ten were make-able. I managed a few really decent tubes, stuck an array of airs and a good turn or two. I didn’t mind waiting for the decent ones since I was catching up with my boy. After the surf my lady and I got some lunch, took my very dirty car to the car wash then headed home. It was a nice afternoon and since I wasn’t tied down with work my wife and I decided to go explore the San Marcos foot hills that open space activists are at the moment trying to save from development. After hiking about up there I am totally on board with their efforts. It’s a beautiful open space with nice views and a crucial habit for animals. The population of Santa Barbara has already grown immensely since I moved here in ‘06. Do really need to bull doze more gorgeous natural land so that some rich people can build homes with views and other rich people can fill their pockets? I say we don’t. After the hike I cooked us up calamari steaks, stuffed clams and risotto. If that isn’t a great use of a bonus day off in don’t know what is.

5-30-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
The buoys were showing some solid NW wind swell and all signs pointed to fun waves at the Ship. All the reports I got were that it wasn’t all that good, might get better as the tide fills in. With that intel I decided to hunt Sea Cliffs for a wave. For whatever reason the swell was completely missing that area. I decided to make it or break it for Strand and maybe get lucky. It was solid head high plus on sets. The shape thanks to lack of any decent sand bars was a bit to be desired. The waves in general were either dumpy, closed out or just shouldered off. There were even some that were a combination of all three. Though not crowded there was a bit of a pack on the best peak. I got out there and found a few bombs right off the bat. Then I went for an air and got hit with my fins on the landing. On my next wave a solid freight train left I got washed out on my bottom turn. When I looked at the bottom of my board I was missing a fin. I must have knocked it loose when my board hit me and then the pressure of the bottom turn washed out the fin. That was a $120 mishap. I ran back to my car for my spare set and paddled back out. Immediately on my next wave I almost landed on a random guy caught in the impact zone as I was dropping in. I had to do a mid face ollie to not kill the dude. It was for the first three quarters of my surf a bit of a shocker for sure. Then towards the end I pulled it together and got a couple of good ones. Some idiot harassed my wife on the beach telling her I was a kook and that we shouldn’t be there. I can’t believe people. After the surf we got some breakfast then fought more stupid holiday traffic back to SB. I swear I am very maladjusted with the reopening of California. The rest of my day was spent watching my life elude me at the Post Office.

5-29-21 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
I guess asking for more then one glassy morning in a row is a little too much this year. I got word early that all the VTA beaches were trash this I slept in till nine. I headed to Sea Cliffs where an annoying stiff south wind was ruining every wave but Tanks and Emma, both of which were tiny. On a wing and a prayer I checked the Harbor. It was also tiny there and sloppy and terrible. There was only one guy out on a Saturday to give you an idea of how bad it was. I went back to Emma which had one guy out. It was still a bit too low but the tide was on the rise. I paddled and it was definitely just weak mixed up wind swell that was either dumpy or had a flat shoulder. Every now and then a gem would roll through. It was almost fun till about twenty minutes into the session when ten random dudes came and sat right on me. It was cool, there were enough waves for everyone. This Dude about my age and his twelve year old son kept back paddling everyone for every shitty wave that rolled in and proceeded to continually blow it. I didn’t want anything to do with the situation and paddle off to a different peak. At one point the rights off the toll booth looked pretty good. I waited out a set to empty the peak then paddled over to get the next one. This guys son paddled back out and as soon as he saw the set bearing down on me attempted to back paddled me. Now I was as deep as you could be to ride the wave in the best manner possible. I looked at him and said “what are you doing? Back paddling me?” He said no but continued. I said “hey calm down, wait your turn, there are plenty of waves to go around” Then took off on the best wave of the set which I had patiently waited for. His idiot dad tried to block me as I was dropping in. I thought it was a mistake and let it go. Then I paddled back out and dude paddled right over to me and said if I ever talked to his son like that again we were going to have a problem. I told him let’s have a problem then. The problem is you didn’t teach your son any etiquette, which I guess you can’t since you don’t have any yourself. He looked at me and saw the fury of hell in my crazy eyes and decided to let it be and paddled away. I caught a few more and left fuming at the state of surfing today!!! I just wanted to surf a few shitty waist high waves and not be annoyed. Is that too much to ask? Then I fought traffic all the way home because it’s a holiday weekend. Waited for a table at the Mesa Cafe for some breakfast. It all reminded me how much I hate people and how sorry I am that quarantine is over and that Covid didn’t handle population control better. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

5-28-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 minutes
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 64
There was some fresh long period south, left over south from this past swell and a bit of NW wind swell in the water. Mouth looked a little bit more inconsistent and weaker then yesterday except for when a set from that fresh long period cruised through. There was already a bit of onshore wind on it when I pulled up which has me contemplating whether I should paddle out or not. The low tide wasn’t leaving too many options. I figured even if I could get a half hour of clean waves I’d be happy. To my utter disbelief it actually glassed off and stayed glassy through my entire session. I actually got out because the tide was too high. It was still glassy when I drove away at noon, a rarity out there any year but especially this year. The rest of my day was spent on another ten hour grind at the Post Office.

5-27-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 64
Angers was off and Biz wanted to film. With the swell and tide the only real option was Ventura Harbor. Biz and I met Angers and we paddled the River Mouth. It was waist to chest plus with lots of peaks up and down the beach. The waves were on the weak side with about thirty guys spread from knoll past the mouth. Angers and I found our own peak and went to town. Once again the wind came up about twenty minutes in. Unlike yesterday it was a slow burn allowing us to actually get a surf-able session in and we scored a few clips. After the surf I had to run a few errands for my wife in Ventura. The rest of my afternoon was consumed by ding repair. For dinner I served up a killer penne pasta in a meat/vegetable ragu with pancetta.

5-26-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Finally a day off, though not really cause I probably work harder hustling on my days off then I do at my job. The wind was on it early once again at the beaches thus I cruised Sea Cliff hoping for something to surf. Emma had an ok wave. It also had 30 guys on it and way too many for what was on offer. I noticed that the majority of the crowd was the crew that usually surfs out at New Jetty. If your buying I’m selling and visa versa. I headed to New Jetty and sure enough it was relatively empty with only eight guys out. While I was checking it four left and then another two. By the time I paddled it was myself and two other guys. There were some semi clean little lefts coming through. I actually found myself a tad bit under gunned on my small wave board. About thirty minutes into my session the wind began to howl out of the WNW absolutely trashing it and to add injury to insult a bunch of terrible rips reeked havoc in the line up. Still I grinded out my 20 waves. Then I cruised by the shaping room and banged out two short boards that needed to get shaped before heading home. For dinner I cooked up filet mignon for my wife and I.

5-25-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
My morning started out a bit on the hectic side as I walked out my front door and saw guys with automatic weapons on the street outside my apartment. Apparently some drugged out idiot living in the building next door to mine was throwing bottles at officers at 1 am responding to a domestic disturbance called. Then the genius said he had a bomb, which lead to the scene outside my apartment as I was trying to bail to go surf. I had a look up the block and noticed there was just enough room to sneak my car out between the two police cars blocking the street. I waited till the swat team was in place then crept out of my driveway and up the street. I got a few dirty looks but luckily was not stopped. It was a good thing I had an early start cause I heard the cops shut down the block around 9am with a shelter in place order. I’d like to say it was shocking but over the years living on Oceano Ave on the Mesa I have seen plenty of interesting things and this is at least the fifth time I have seen the swat team on the block in my 15 year tenure. There was some waning SW swell and some fresh steep NW wind swell. The points were on the small side though surf-able. I was in the mood for some beach break juice and since the winds were down for a change I headed for Ventura Harbor. At the very least it was clean when I pulled up with just a light onshore wind. New Jetty as per usual was packed and very underwhelming. There were a handful of guys spread our from Knoll to Rivermouth riding mushy inconsistent peaks. There were some really good waves coming in. They were hitting a 700 yard zone of bars and not particularly focusing on any one area. I paddled the Mouth for lack of a better option. The water was fucking freezing. Between the wonky high tide conditions that made the waves either weak or dumpy it was a little frustrating to say the least. I have been testing this new experimental Fly Guy Model for Clarks Surfboards and I’m not sure how I feel about it. With all those strikes against me I didn’t have the best session out there. Maybe tomorrow I’ll score something on my day off. The rest of my day was spent keeping seats warm at the Post Office.

5-24-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 56
It has really been a tough spring for the Ventura beaches with this constant onshore wind pattern. That’s why if you notice I have been surfing lots of spots on the regular that I haven’t surfed in years during the spring. It’s definitely been a think outside the box sort of season. Jeffery hit me up that it was already windy at Rivermouth. I checked Emma and though not great I saw a few fun looking bowls worthy of a paddle. With the tide and swell there wasn’t many options anyway. We paddled as did Mikey Clark and two other pros. The first twenty minutes was a rip fest. I was working the left in front of the life guard tower. My favorite peak over there. Jeffery and the pros were working by the right off the toll booth. Then the wind got harder and tide a little lower and the swell got all mixed up and crossed up. There were also lots of rips and odd currents to contend with. It got borderline unsurfable. I grinded out my twenty and a few extra and called it a day. I got some lunch with my wife at Jack’s Bistro in Carpinteria before heading off to work at the Post Office.

5-23-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 64
Once again I had to miss an opportunity to go surf the Base thanks to my limited surfing window due to my job. I know I really shouldn’t be complaining since I am pretty much free to surf everyday from sun up to 11:30 or later depending how far I cam from Goleta. I used be able surf whenever I wished so it stings a little when I miss a potentially great session instead being relegated to crowded average to below average waves else where. The VTA beaches would have been fun had I got there at seven. Considering I had to work a ten hour yesterday and didn’t get home till 1:30 am it was difficult to get up at six to make that happen. I cruised at around 8:30 and heard straight for Ventura Harbor hoping the light south wind that was predicted would hold for my window. As I pulled up everyone was bailing and the flag was point rather stiff NW. I didn’t need to even check it to know it wasn’t going to happen. I headed back to Sea Cliffs and checked everything from Emma to Pitas. Nothing was inspiring so I desperation paddled Emma. For the first half hour before the tide got too low there were actually a few good ones. I even got a sick little double up tube. I also almost killed some idiot who sat in the impact zone and literally moved into where I had spotted the landing for an air reverse. I saw the guy as I was about to launch and he had plenty of room to get out of the way behind me. Instead he stayed out and then moved right into where I wanted to land. Luckily I had eyes on him and stopped the torque on my rotation and pushed for distance and landed just on the back of the wave on the other side of where dude was. Then I ditched my board and fought as hard as I could to not get sucked over into him. Luckily no one was harmed but man was it one of the exact situations I talked about in my last blog post on the main page of this site. I swear I hate weekend surfing it’s way too kooked out and chaotic. After the surf my wife and I checked out the Summerland Beach Cafe in Summerland. Parking was a nightmare cause for starters there isn’t much of it off the main road and there was a farmers market going on. Then there was a wait. The food was ok, I had French toast, eggs and bacon. I thought for the money my portion was a little bit skimpy. My wife had their eggs Benedict with ham. It was decent enough. The Bloody Mary’s were spectacular as was the coffee. If I go back I’ll be sure to forget breakfast and try lunch. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office on my last 10 hour shift of the week.

5-22-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 78
Good thing it’s Saturday cause my surfs have gotten progressively worse every day this week. This morning was the grand finale. There was some fresh south in the water. Unfortunately there was too much combo swell and some funky onshore coupled with high tide to make the VTA beaches that get south any good. I was left chasing the remnants of yesterday’s now dying wind swell. All the points were small and crowded for what was on offer. Little Rincon had a small waist plus wave that probably got better as the tide dropped. I should have just paddled that on my fish. Instead I went for a make it or break run down to Strand already short on time. The ship was absolutely terrible with a handful of guys all of whom I know on it. I was out of time and had to paddle if I was going to get a surf in and keep my streak alive. What ensued was a cold water version of something I could have surfed in front of my parents house in Florida. It was doing that “high tide, low tide” thing where it was feathering on the outside bar and then just mushing out down the line before reforming into weak not kill-able shore break. Either that or it was just closed out and dumpy. Don’t ask me how both of those conditions can exist in the same lineup but it was happening. I made the most of it as I always do. It was a struggle. Oh well, Saturday sucks for surfing anyway. The rest of my day was spent on her another ten hour grind at the Post Office.

5-21-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 60
Last night got pretty dicey in my neighborhood as a fire broke out up in television hill just above my home. From about 9pm-11pm we were on the edge of our seats ready to evacuate at a moments notice. Luckily the wind switched a bit more westerly and the fire fighters got a handle on it. In my fifteen years this was the closest a fire has ever come to my residence. My morning started out focused on surfing something in town. I was really feeling Sand Spit on the cam. As the tide dropped it started sucking all the swell into the rocks and not connecting into the rest of the point. I headed south. Rincon was small and busy for what was on offer. Little Rincon was still just an tad too fat. Pitas was junkier then yesterday and Emma was too drained. After covering a coastline from Goleta to Emma Jeffrey and I settle for a now sloppy Little Rincon for the WNW wind was really beginning to pick up. By the time I jumped off the rocks into the line up it was victory at sea and the drift down the point a River. Somehow I lucked into a really fun runner that ran to the hotel. Then I fought my way back to the pier and did it again. Then I took a close out on my third one and completely fell out of rhythm. The rest of my surf was spent fighting the current and taking shitty waves till I found myself washed away down to Muscle Shoals and called it a day. The rest of my day was spent on yet another ten hour shift at the Post Office. This time unwelcoming.

5-20-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 2 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 41
I was hoping to get a few at Strand this morning, but the wind was up early down that way and all reports I got were not to bother. Rincon was small with a healthy number of guys on it. Little Rincon looked the best but it had ten guys on it and then two cars loaded with four surfers each showed up ready to rip or at the very least clog the line up. I cruised to Pitas. It was a little bit sloppy and all over the place. There were still some decent lines running with only two guys out. I paddled and I must not have been the only one cause by the time I suited up four more guys were on it with another three changing in the lot. Since it was all over the place the crowd wasn’t that big a factor minus the usual annoyance of people getting in the way. Biz showed up and jumped in to shoot some water. The wind picked up pretty hard thirty minutes in out of the WNW making it even more junky. To add injury to insult the sets were very inconsistent for a wind swell. The draining out tide didn’t help either. I was also trying out an experimental Fly Guy model mod making my session even more tricky. I had a good straight air worth something and a few runners. Ultimately it was a throw away surf in my book. Chalk it up to a very grindy spring. The rest of my day was spent messing around with some new stuff in the shaping room.

5-19-21 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 min
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
Today was another day stuck in the wind. Early on it was hard south ruining the morning session. That actually worked out for me since I after months of atrophy due to Covid19 bs I finally picked up a bit of catering work. While most caters have black listed me cause I chose not to get the vaccine I was thrown a bone by an old employer and was stoked to make a few extra bucks. After the gig I headed south. I had some shaping to do for Clarks Surfboards. I figured I’d either sort something out before or after. The points were all small coming down and after hunting the VTA beaches to Strand I realized it was too windy and opted to get some work done at the shaping room. At five I headed back on the search and found some peaky wind chop over at Emma. I tried out a new Clarks Hacksaw and despite the crappy waves I must say the board really responded well. I don’t want to jinx it but magic board may be in the making on this one.

5-18-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 min
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 78
To my excitement it was actually clean down south. So much so that it got me out of bed by 7:30, a rarity for me these days. It was tiny north of the Ventura beaches and a bit drained at Rivermouth. Jeffrey and I had a look at Shores but it was small, inconsistent and weak. On a whim I decided to just have a look at The Ship. There was some fresh wind swell in the water. Though nothing to write home about the Ship had a somewhat weak but rip-able chest high wave. It was the best wave I had seen in three days and I was out there. Turned out all the boys were out as well and we had a good old time for ourselves trading off lefts. There used be lots of sessions like that, but as of late it seems like Strand like everywhere else has been infected with Covid Kooks and randoms clogging the line up and getting in the way. I’m stoked that everyone is enjoying surfing maybe just not in my window. My knee was bothering me a little more then I would have liked limiting my over all performance. That being said I still had a blast out there. The rest of my day was consumed by the giant waste of time that is the Post Office. It pays the rent so what an I to do.

5-17-21 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Solimar
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 56
As I suspected I got word from Jeffrey that the wind was up at all of the VTA beaches. Looked like another alright day for LA not that it did me any good with my window. Once again I was relegated to Sea Cliffs to sort something out on the extreme low tide and minimal swell exposure. I almost went to Ventura Point, but after watching the came while checking Emma it looked crowded and small and definitely not worth the effort. Instead I saw a few minuscule peaks on the inside reef at Solimar and paddled. Over the years Solimar has always been one of the few spots on small shitty south swells with bad wind that I could salvage a desperation surf. I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz Fish cause it was as grovelly as grovelly gets. It was a grind but I must have made it look fun enough since six guys paddled out towards the end of my surf. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

5-16-21 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
Another day of early on shores for the beaches. I knew this cause I got a report early. After having a look at Sea Cliffs and it being rather small and lackluster I decided to have a look at the Harbor to see if it has any shape despite the wind. It didn’t. With my time super limited I headed back to Sea Cliff determined to sort something out. Emma was too drained to be worth anything as was Summers. Solimar has potential but there was no place to park. My wife had to use the restroom so we stopped at Pitas and I had a look. Though terrible by Pitas standards there was a junky, broken up south peak rolling through with three guys on it that was for my purposes the best of the worst. I got out there and decided to just destroy whatever wave came my way and definitely made the most out of the limited offerings. The rest of my day was spent yet again on a ten hour grind at the Post Office. The WSL ran the elimination rounds for both the guys and girls in some pretty deplorable conditions. I’m not sure that Rottness Island was the best venue choice though those little marsupials that are indigenous to the island are very quite. They are a kangaroo crossed with an Ewok.

5-15-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 64
As much fun as yesterday was today was the exact opposite. Due to having to work another two hours of overtime I got up a bit later then I’d like. When I got down to the Harbor it definitely had some SW wind on it. The shape was poor and rather drained. I decided to paddle for lack of a better option in my time window. As soon as I walked up the beach with my board the wind turned hard WNW like a light switch completely trashing it. I was already in my suit and committed so I paddled. I stuck a decent FS air reverse on my first wave. I should have quite right there cause it didn’t take long for it to just become pure trash out there. Still I grinder through an hour session none the less. The 365 surf streak continues. The rest of my day was spent watching the opening day of the final comp of the Oz leg.

5-14-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 42
Miles Driven: 64
With a new south swell on the rise and yesterday’s south swell still kicking around plus light winds I had a feeling I was going to get something fun. Jeffrey was paddling Fruits. Angers had a look at Shores where it was underwhelming. I checked the Harbor and though on the smaller side maybe chest plus there were plenty of left and right peaks up and down the beach. Angers showed up and we paddled the Rivermouth. Maybe it’s because I have been surfing such sub par surf lately but man did I have a blast. I got on a gnarly froth packing 42 waves into my session. On the beach there was this dead seal carcass that had a huge shark bite taken out of his side with its guts hanging out all over the beach. The vultures were having a party. The rest of my day was spent, a 10 hr day and actually ten hour days all weekend at the Post Office.

5-13-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 66
The combo swell numbers were looking good as was the tide for the VTA beaches. Unfortunately the wind was onshore from first light. Biz and I headed down on my only day off this week in the hopes of getting a few clips. Actually while on the subject check out the Clarks YouTube channel for a cool edit of Myself and Kevin Angers destroying some funky spring time conditions. We had a look at Fruits but those bars are still too far off the beach to be any good with out a very low tide and some solid swell. From there we met Angers at the Harbor where it was sloppy but still surf-able at Rivermouth. Let’s face it Angers and I are both east coasters at heart and therefore can make just about any bad surf look fun. We must of cause guys kept paddling out where we were and would take a few waves and bail in utter frustration. I was having a very good day which rarely happens when filming. I brought down three ally-oops, a few straight airs and a host of worthy combinations. To his credit Angers was throwing heat as well. After the surf I had plenty of Clarks Surfboards errands among other chores to get done before heading home to settle into a relaxing evening with my wife a killer Chicken cacciatore I cooked and a lovely bottle of Beckmen’s Sarah clone #1.

5-12-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 64
When ever I doubt if Rivermouth is too closed out to surf I need to trust my instincts and just drive away. It’s hard to trust ones instincts when your surfs are stuck in a daily time window. Sometimes a bad call can be made just because my time is short and I don’t want to waste on a goose chase. Today that was exactly how I felt. The tide was already too high to risk wasting the good wind window on checking Shores or Fruits. I saw some glassy corners and figured with the incoming tide it could only get less stretched. Of course the exact opposite happened. I found my best waves right when I paddled out. As soon as tide started to push the majority of the sets just completely closed out leaving little to no opportunity to even get a quick hit or air in. Every now and then a south set would slip in and you could find a quick corner, but that was all over the place. I managed a few, yet overall it was just another grindy spring surf. Though it was my day off I got stuck working a sixth day at the Post Office. To be honest I could use the extra money anyway.

5-11-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
Today wasthe first really bad day of surfing in a week. After the past run of nw wind swell I was less then motivated to grovel sub par waves in windy, cold, marine layer conditions. Jeffrey and I car surfed to Strand where it was tiny before heading back to Emma Wood, which was also tiny. New Jetty was the best wave but had a solid twenty pack on it with not too many decent waves coming through. We paddled Emma and it was a total grovel. I rode my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and was stoked I did cause I needed every advantage I could get in the gutless combo mix. Has anyone else noticed that the water has has an abundance of tar floating around. Yesterday at Strand it was so thick it was gross just paddling and duck diving and today at Emma once again it was rather prevalent even for an area where tar is a norm. I wonder if there was a spill that has been covered up. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where I found out that I was once again passed up for a promotion due to illegal nepotism. Good times.

5-10-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 78
Always trust your instincts is a rule I don’t follow enough. I headed straight to strand cause I heard there were still some decent waves on offer. Jeffery met me at the Ship and though there were a few chest to head high peaks up and down the beach it was a bit crowded for what was on offer and overall average quality at best. I saw some little waves at the points on the way down and gave serious consideration on bailing. I saw enough waves out at Strand to take the bird in the hand. Too many times have I gotten skunked running back up north on a whim. Right off that bat I got a few good waves and the crowd dropped by more then half. I was super stoked for the first fifteen minutes. Then Angers showed up and unlike yesterday where he brought the good luck today upon his arrival the line up completely shut down. The high tide lull of all lulls. I ended up groveling gutless insiders on my good wave board when I should have been on my groveler. I still managed a few decent waves but it for sure got grindy. Meanwhile Jeffrey ran back up and scored. Oh well, I guess tomorrow is another day. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

5-9-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
I had a rough night’s sleep last night riddled with bad dreams, nothing that stuck with me but enough to wake me up multiple times. Lethargy took over and I started off the morning in a useless stupor. Then I got word that Strand was still fun and it brought me to life. The ship was decent when I got there, chest to head plus and a bit on the high side. It looked fun enough. I jumped in and was definitely a little out of sorts for the first half of the surf. Then Angers showed up and snagged the best wave I had see so far right off the Ship. I don’t know if that motivated me to get into the next gear, but from then on my session picked up. It’s nice to get a few fun days for a change. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where my lethargic ways steadily came back. It’s finals day at Margret River so I guess I’m watching that for the rest of my shift.

5-8-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
The wind swell was on the buoys and rumor had it that Strand was over head. The points on the way down were all on the small side thus I cruised to the Strand. Sure enough I was greeted by overhead peaks at the Ship. At times the Strand tends to be almost too peaky and this was the case out there. That being said there were also some gems if you picked the right one. It was just fun to ride some solid surf for a change. Ever since I got back from SLO it’s been rather grovelly. I managed a handful of really good ones. On my last wave I fell on an end section air and somehow got stuck in an under current and got held down long enough to where I got a tad concerned. Luckily I climbed my leash to the surface and found a quick breath of air before the next wave bared down on me. Despite that I’d say it was a fun surf. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

5-7-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 72
Knowing that there wasn’t much swell on the buoys I headed straight to the Harbor. The wind was already pretty stiff on it out of the WNW. I headed back to Emma. Though clean it was nearly flat. I met Jeffrey at the Harbor and we walked down the River Mouth and just paddled the garbage on offer. It was totally a grind out there. I kept the surfing streak alive. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

5-6-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 31
Miles Driven: 66
I got word that Rivermouth was fun early. By the time I got there the wind was on it rather stiff from the WSW. There were corners, although it was a bit all over the place. I cruised over to Fruit Strands to have a look. It was just a little too high and a little too small for the bars there. I went back to Mouth and just paddled. As it turned out the waves were way more fun then they looked and I had a blast. I only got out cause it got a little drained and I didn’t want to hurt my already injured knee. I had more Clarks business in the afternoon before enjoying a relaxing evening with my wife.

5-5-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 78
The south wind had come up rather early reeking havoc on the majority of the VTA beach breaks. The ship was still clean and though not as big as other places it looked rip-able enough. I paddled and everyone was leaving claiming it sucked. I was already suited up and still saw plenty of fun looking waves. As soon as I stroked into my first wave I realized that it was absolutely gutless. The wave had no power source. I was on my groveler and still was struggling. Angers showed up on his Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz and was cutting through the mush like butter. Mine was in my car, but I knew if I got out to switch I wasn’t going to go back out. It was just nice to trade off some waves with only a few of my friends. The line ups are so packed with kooks these days that when you get a chance to have a surf with only the boys it’s a beautiful thing. The rest of my day was spent running Clarks Surfboard errands.

5-4-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 54
Though there was a slight drop in the WNW wind swell that I have been relishing it was much cleaner. Jeffrey, back in action after taking a fin to the head at base and requiring a number of stitches was paddling Pitas. I had a look but it failed to stoke me out. Torn between looking at Emma or running the Rincon loop I chose the latter. The tide was dropping fast and even if Emma looked fun the window would be short. Little ‘Con looked the best. The crowd was light when I checked it but another five guys suited and paddled at the same time I did. It was a little stretched. When I got a hold of a good one there were definite moments. Biz showed up with his water gear and it was on. Towards the end of my surf four randoms showed up and sat right on me off the mueller rock. Being the end of my session I was being rather selective. This double up came in and I thought it was going to line up as I was high pumping the bottom dropped out on me. I threw it up to the lip for a stupid Hail Mary when the smart move would have been to bail and take the sack. The water was only about knee deep in the impact zone. I got tangled up in a very thick lip with my board and went over the falls. My board hit me right in my knee, ripped through my three week old Vissla 4/3 that I spent good money on thanks to the wetsuit shortage and cut my knee as well. Luckily my board wasn’t damaged considering I damaged the center fin box hitting the rocks paddling out at Pitas yesterday. My cut though long wasn’t super deep. I just escaped stitches and a good chance of not being able to finish my 365 consecutive days of surfing. I’m definitely bummed about the suit. If anyone wants a deal on a 4/3 Vissla size medium, the hole in the knee is small and totally fix-able, it’s North Seas retail $325 after shipping. I’ll give it to you for $80. Leave a comment, email or reach out on my social media’s. If you know my number feel free to call or text. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office. Let this be a lesson, be smart and don’t force the envelope. That was a $325 mistake today for no good reason.

5-3-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 44
The WNW wind swell was still running and from what I heard it was bigger then yesterday. Stoked I woke up Biz hoping to get some A clips. As it turned out the swell was much more broken up then yesterday making it look a bit junky and short at all the points, while it was windy on all of the beaches down in Ventura. After deliberating between Rincon, Little Rincon and Pitas, I settled for Pitas due to lack of a better spot and shortness of time. It was pretty much about as bad as it looked out there. There were some cubic zirconia’s in the rough and I actually managed a few decent connections and stuck one really tweaked out backside air. I suppose we mined a few clips at the very least. I found a few pieces of sea glass too. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching the girls do their best at Margaret’s.

5-2-21 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 41
With a healthy dose of WNW wind swell in the water and ugly wind at the VTA beaches I headed to the south points. Rincon had a definite wave in the Cove. I stopped at Little Rincon for a look. There were only four guys out and lots of waves coming breaking all over the line up. It looked a little stretched but with the incoming tide I figured it would just get better. As it turned out it was a bit tricky out there the bombs were either closed out or mushy and a lot of the waves were pulling so far out to see that is was hard to stay in the power source of the wave. Really you had to wait for the inside double ups cause those actually keep a lip and nice pace the whole ride. Still it was nice to ride a point this late into the season. I could have surfed longer and would have except that a crew of random guys who were a bit on the kooky side decided to sit right on me and basically kept getting in my way. It was enough for me to call it a day. The rest of my day was spent watching the Margaret River comp while at work

5-1-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 82
There is something about burning up tons of dollars in gas that I love cause that’s what I do blowing anywhere from $10-15 a day in gas on the hunt for surf. Still suffering from the spring time wonk there was an ugly south wind from Emma Wood to Santa Barbara and a junky NW wind at all the VTA and Oxnard beaches. I drove all the way to Strand only to be denied by shitty winds and weak junky surf. Hoping to find some waves along Sea Cliffs I cruised back north. Emma had a wave though drained. Pitas was shitty and had eight guys on it. The best wave I saw was at Hobson’s but there was absolutely no parking and it wasn’t good enough to warrant the walk from Kooks Peak with my limited time. I went back to Emma and paddled into what was an empty line up when I checked it only to watch another fifteen guys paddle. Luckily there was a stiff drift north allowing me to stay out of the pack by constantly paddling. It was pretty weak out there but I did manage a few. The highlights being two bs air reverses an fs ally-oop and a fs tube. I heard Hueneme was fun. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.