Surfing Ruined My Life

November 2020 Surf Sessions

11-30-20 Am Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 65
Funny thing about this morning is that I set out to grovel some high tide rock gurglers at Ventura Point. The only reason why I went down in the first place was to check on the process of some Clarks Surfboards at my Glasser’s. I spaced out and when I came back to reality I found myself pulling into Ventura Harbor. Of course the wind was already on it and the bars still completely suck for high tide there. I saw a few terrible mushy peaks down by the Rivermouth and went for it. I was out of time and it didn’t make sense to drive back to the Point and then back to my Glasser. I paddled and it was absolutely horrible. To challenge myself I tried to see how many weak ass burger sections I could connect. Surprisingly I managed a couple of really long ones. Then it was time for surf board business. There are a few boards ready and waiting for customers to pick up after a very unprecedented wait due to Covid. From there it was straight to the post office.

11-29-20 Am Session: 1-2+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 56
It took every bit of motivation to get me out of bed this morning to go grovel some more barely ride-able surf. The wind was off shore on the Ventura Point cam and though small there were some nice groomed little lines that I figured I could easily dismantle on my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz model fish. Not to mention I pride myself in trying to play every game no matter what. I know it’s a disease my level of commitment. By the time I got to Carpinteria the wind had already shifted onshore. I had a look at Indicator but it was very tiny. I headed to Emma on a wing and a prayer. Man it looked terrible. Every so often a waist high south set came through that looked like I could ride it. While I was suiting up this dude pulled up next to me. I figured he was checking it too and though wonderful that’s all I need is another guy out to make this surfing experience even worse. He opened up his trunk and I was sure he was going to pull out a board. Instead he took out a wooden Native American looking flute, sat on the hood of his car and began to play. It was super surreal. As he was playing I noticed that sets started creeping in. Better then anything I had seen while checking it. This guy was the Pied Piper of waves. Stoked I ran down the trail and for twenty minutes I scored a handful of really fun little waves on my fish. I looked back up the cliff and the flutist was gone. The sets resided as well. Then it became a real grovel. I was going to bail when this dude Drew paddled out whom I used to always surf with out at Emma. Except these days I don’t paddle Emma so much not being stoked on how the sand has been. For what it was worth it was nice to be out in the water and catch up with the guy. I lost track of time and got behind on the amount of time I needed to get home and get to work. It was a scramble but I made it on time. Looks like a fresh dose of NW swell is due for the middle of the week.

11-28-20 Am Session: 1-3 ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 64
Just like that it was back to our regularly scheduled flatness. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw how small it was at Ventura Harbor. At the moment the sand bars a very far off the beach leaving a bunch of deep holes on high tide. All of this did not help. The wind was off shore and the tide was dropping fast. I figured it could only get better. It was really slow and weak out there. I’m taking a really hard grovel. It seemed like the only swell coming in was the twenty second half a foot south swell. After about thirty minutes adding insult to injury the wind switched wnw with the twitch of Samantha’s nose from Bewitched. Yes you guessed it at the moment watching old episodes of Bewitched on Amazon with my wife has become my own little guilty pleasure. If I could go live back in another time it would for sure be those days. After the surf my wife and I hit up the Golden Egg, our favorite spot for breakfast in Ventura. As we were heading back to the freeway we saw a sign that said pottery sale with an arrow. We followed this sign bread crumb to this rad craftsman’s home off Seward where he a lots of cool hand spun pots, mugs, plates etc. I found a nice piece to add to my garden since some of the clumsy night rodents or neighborhood cats (more likely) are constantly breaking my pots. Then it was to the post office to hate my life for yet another eight hours. Today my coworker called in sick once again leaving the entire job of cleaning a complex a quarter mile around all to my lonesome. AWESOME!!!! Oh did I mention we are selling Clarks Surfboard swag. Check the link and buy some so I can quite this shitty custodian job please. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClarksSurfboards

11-27-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 41
Between a tad too much wine with my turkey and being sore from Pitas leg burners I was not as quick to get out of bed as I could have been. That being said there was an out going tide all morning and still plenty of point surf to be had. There was no need to rush. I heard Rincon was good yet packed. I had a look at Little ‘Con, which was also packed. The crowd was a bit kooky with guys sitting in the wrong spots and blowing waves. I decided to paddle it and strong arm anyone whom I didn’t recognize. There were plenty of visitors. From the get go there were some really good runners allowing for three to six turns and the occasional barrel section as well. Of course getting barreled backside at Little ‘Con and making your wave is a bit tricky though I did manage a few. Over all it was a rip fest despite the crowd that kept on coming in packs of fours and five or more. When it gets that crowded it doesn’t even feel like surfing. It feels like I’m in line at Costco or somewhere to that effect and you all know how much I can’t stand Costco. Surfing used to so much simpler when it wasn’t popular. No matter I got my fill. The rest of my day was as per usual regrettably spent at the post office. My co-worker was away for training leaving me by myself the cover the entire complex. Oh and get excited we released the Clarks Surfboards Clothing store on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClarksSurfboards use that link to pick up some cool gear at very reasonable prices.

11-26-20 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 86
Nothing gives me more surf anxiety when there is a swell on a holiday. My whole morning becomes a crazy scheme on how to find the best waves with the least crowd. Though the major swell was some what steep there was enough of it to sort of wrap a little bit of west swell into the channel towards Santa Barbara. Rolling the dice I went for Naples hoping for a score. As I was getting my stuff together for the hike in my friend Jeffrey was walking back. He walking in and walked out with out surfing. That dude is as frothy as me if not more. If he didn’t paddle it had to be bad. In denial that the swell just wasn’t getting into Gaviota I decided to have a look at El Cap. Every so often there was a wave getting through. It was slim pickings with an already six person crowd on it barely breaking. I seriously considered just paddling in the hopes it could get better as the tide dropped, but came to my senses. For good measure since I was already on this fools errand (which is usually the case when chasing swells on the Gaviota coast) I had a look at both Lorraine’s and Refugio. Over it I headed home with my tail between my legs for breakfast and to regroup to plan my next assault. I had a feeling that Pitas could be the call on the low tide. I sort of have this sixth sense with that spot on such an occasion. I got there around two. Rincon was just about as fun as it gets but there had to be 350 guys on it. Pitas on the other hand was empty with just a few guys up top and a few more spread through out the Faria sections. It looked to be a tad bit drained and definitely had some wind bump on it. Still I had this feeling it was worth the paddle. I jumped in and got a few up top before floating down around the corner to where it’s really at down at Faria. My first wave there I connected all the way to Mondos. I got out walked back up and got a handful more screamers down the point. Pat paddled out and was stoked too. The entire time the most crowded it ever got was about twenty guys. That being said the current was gnarly forcing one to paddle the entire time to stay in position. I must say it was one of the best surfs I have had this month. After the surf I cruised home swooped up my wife and Bizarro and we headed down to Angers place in Oxnard for a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t think I could have asked for a better holiday.

11-25-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Sands
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 28
Today was basically the same drill as yesterday, but with somewhat more fun waves. I had catering in the morning followed by an intense high pace walk followed by an even higher paced surf followed by eight hours on my feet at the postal processing plant. Actually I wish I had time today to surf out at Sands cause there were some good corners to be had. All I was graced with was a thirty minute scramble where I pretty much spazed out abs caught anything that moved. I did manage a sick little backside tube and two solid backside air reverses.

11-24-20 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Sands
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 28
I decided to out tbe effort in today. Between my catering gig and the post office I have about an hour and change. One would say that it is plenty of time to squeeze in a quick surf. This would be true in a place where a surf-able beach was easily accessible. Out in Goleta or almost all of Santa Barbara for that matter getting to the surf and back all require some kind of walk and drive. I was determined. As the crow flys Sands is the closest beach from both my jobs. It’s literally down the street from the mail plant. One has to take into account the walk from the parking lot to the break. Round trip it’s over fifteen minutes. Then add another eight for changing in and out of my suit, another five for packing and unpacking my car. Finally tack on eight minutes of driving time. This only leaves about thirty minutes of surf time. I just barely made it to work on time. I did all this to grovel fourteen below average waves at drained out Sands, a beach break I have never really liked. On the plus side the crowd was rather light. I did manage a quick in and out tube. Thank god that tomorrow is my last day of double shifts and then I can go back to just hating my life for eight hours of the day instead of twelve.

11-23-20 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft,
Today was the start of the Lunches I cater once a month for a corporate account. That starts at 8am and runs till 1pm. After that I have to be at the Post Office by 2:30pm. Unless there is some swell in town close to work it’s nearly impossible for me to sneak a session in. There is nothing better then working a twelve hour day and not surfing… I heard Rincon has a wave up top and the Ventura beaches were all mixed up. Judging from the buoys I’m pretty sure Sands had a wave too.

11-22-20 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 64
I made all the wrong decisions this morning and what they all lead to was one of the worst surfs I have had in ten days. My first mistake was trying to find surf at all this morning. My second was not just going to Rincon for a grovel. Instead I wasted all my time checking every spot down to the Harbor, which was windy and back again. Out of time I desperation paddled a slightly drained out, broken up, crowded with kooks Emma Wood. I pretty much banged my head against the wall trying to make the most out of barely surf-able peaks on the south reef while negotiating a stupid crowd of idiots. AWESOME. Then to make my day even better I got to work my favorite job ever at the Post Office. Why can’t I die of Covid already? Oh, wait it’s nearly impossible to die of Covid…

11-21-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
The surf was on the way down though still a healthy enough combo for it to be surf-able at most spots. I was hankering to surf a beach break. I love points and reefs as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just want find and destroy some close outs. My wife and I headed to Ventura Harbor. Of course the wind was already on it and there was no shape. On the way down I definitely noticed waves along Sea Cliffs. Emma looked alright but was steadily getting crowded. My wife needed to use the restroom so I decided to check Pitas. Though far from what I would call worth while there was a peaky wave coming through at the top of the point offering lefts, rights and straights. There were three guys out a little down the point. I was out of time and saw that boost-able close out I was after, only it was over gnarly rocks and in front of a break wall. Beggars can’t be choosers. I got to work thrashing any ripple the ocean decided to throw at me and actually it was way more fun then it looked. I ran into to former Westmont students I used to feed back in the day. They had gotten turned around at Jalama due to the Vandenberg launch. Talk about commitment. They must have went up there at dawn to get back to Pitas by nine. Good on them. I remember when I was that frothy. Now I consider it a dawn patrol when I’m in the water before nine. It wasn’t long before more guys showed up, the wind added lots of bump and crumble and the tide got too high. Guess I lucked into a micro window.

11-20-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 30
Word was the beaches were terrible from all my friends down south. I cruised to Con where though on the weak side there were still plenty of waves coming through. It was crowded for what was on offer. There weren’t too many other options and it was Friday after all. Yesterday the crowd really tapered off as the tide got high. I hoped for the same today. On the walk back to my car I saw some lady carrying a Gerry Lopez branded soft top!!!! I asked her where she got it and she said Costco. Even the king of soul himself Gerry Lopez has sold out. Is nothing still sacred in surfing? Angers came up from Oxnard and we made the most out of the very meager offerings. It was really slow out there and the crowd was made up of mostly locals meaning everyone knew where to sit and didn’t mess up. The dropping swell and steadily rising tide didn’t help either. I did my usual and floated around from lower Indicator to Lower River Mouth taking whatever came my way including lefts. Unfortunately my ankle began to really bother me from my injury yesterday. By the time I got back to my car it was very inflamed. I decided to call out of work I order to stay off my leg. I am required to walk close to six miles plus a day at work. I was not about to do myself a worse injury by forcing that kind of abuse on it. Not for the measly $15 an hour I get paid.

11-19-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 30
I was back on the grind today. First I was rudely awakened by my 19 year old cat Alfie taking a piss on my chest. No, it wasn’t kinky. Senior pets are a handful. This left quite the clean up not allowing me to get to Rincon till almost ten. It was crowded, but manageable, chest plus with take off spots along the whole point. I ran up to Indicator and got to work. Though the lines were long the majority were weak with the fat tide and receding swell. It was very shifty too making getting sets tricky yet also allowing more opportunities amid the crowd. At first I got pretty frustrated seeming to always be in the wrong spot. Then the crowd ebbed and it started to line up nicely from High Rivermouth on. I definitely got my share. Rest of my day was spent hating my life cleaning toilets at the Post Office.

11-18-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Naples
Time in Water: 35 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 36
Naples is always a gamble. Let me rephrase that, GAVIOTA IS ALWAYS A GAMBLE. It’s kind of like playing roulette and only betting individual numbers. If you win it pays very well, but the odds are usually against that. Biz and I left a little later then expected thanks to a bit of a line at the food bank where we basically got a box full of sugar. Where are the fruits and vegetables? It’s California!! I hate being at my current level of poverty that I have to rely on the food bank drop off for my daily survival. Thanks Covid. Anyone let out away my tiny violin. There was a bit of traffic near the Naples road and a cop was blocking access. We were forced to go to the Dos Pueblos access. I hate going this way cause it pretty much forces you to surf Naples Reef. That is my least favorite section unless there is some south in the water and the left is working. When we finally got to the beach we were looking at broken up short chest plus bowls. The sun was setting and figured at the very least we could shoot some cool golden light water photos. As soon as we jumped in a gnarly fog bank rolled in dashing those hopes. Then the tide bottomed out causing a lull that lasted just till about last light. Chalk that up to the first Naples skunking of the season folks.

11-18-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 10
There is nothing more refreshing then when we get waves in town. The new swell was on the buoys and it was pretty west. Considering what they were reading it was rather small in front of my place at Lead Better. I decided to head towards Rincon. As I was passing Sharks I noticed a little wave up top. A little more rubber necking got me glimpse of a set at Hammonds. I immediately exited at Summerland and whipped around. The tide was high and I was in no rush being off for the day. I walked up the trail and when I got to the beach I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was looking at solid chest to head plus sets rolling perfectly down the reef. The crowd wasn’t bad either. I literally ran back to my car tore on my wettie and ran back out to the reef. It was a little racy on some of the bigger sets. Besides that the water was glassy and lines perfect. I’m partial to Hammonds, next to Sand Spit and Sharks which rarely break good it’s my favorite consistent wave in town. Angers showed up mid surf and Bizarro jumped in with his water housing as well and for once we actually got some decent shots. The first hour and half the crowd was very manageable and a solid regular crowd. Steadily people continued to fill in till it was so packed one could hardly maneuver around. I ran into a longboarder as I was dropping in and hurt my leg. Dude didn’t even try and get out of the way. The sad thing is he could surf too. Pissed I burned him on the next good wave he decided to snake off the pack and limped my way back to my car. Biz and I decided to go home for some lunch then try our luck at Naples later.

11-17-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 78
I had the day off and after days of dealing with ridiculously high tides I decided to wait a bit till the tide dropped a bit. Surfline had predicted another day of good winds leading me to have high hopes on a mid day score. I cruised with Bizarro hoping to get some footage. We were headed for Strand when Angers let us know the wind was shitty south and the only place breaking was the north end where the wind was tearing it up. We had a look at Little Sunset across the inlet, which is almost side/shore offshore with south winds. There were some solid sets but it was pretty closed out. There was a sort of wedge thing happening at the very southern end of the break. There was one long boarder out though small there were some very boost-able chest high lefts coming through that kind of got me stoked. I figured when Angers showed up he would totally be amped. He wasn’t and my stoke didn’t convince him. Bizarro and I had some errands to run and figured we would look at Strand again on the lower tide. Two hours later there was a chest high wave in the South bowl that got me stoked. When I got out there it was very soft and gutless. I was frothy and got on a tear. As the tide continued on drop it got weaker and more inconsistent. I got a few more and threw in the towel. Was definitely stoked for what I got. Later that evening I cooked up some yummy Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo for my wife and I.

11-16-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
Another morning of seven foot high tides and me having to deal with it left me back at Rincon for a look. It was full high tide and very wonky at Indicator. It was also rather busy for what was on offer. I watched it for a while and never saw a wave go not surfed. I could have got in on the scrap but it wasn’t nearly good enough for that hassle. I headed to Emma but it was small and riddled with side chop due to the hard offshore winds in Ventura. Just about out of time I took a gamble on a make it or break it check at the Harbor. Surf was solid chest to head plus though a bit fat with tide and stretched cause of the swell angle. I had to paddle being out of time and I definitely saw a few corners that could be tracked down. Robbie was suiting up in the lot and we found a peak just south of the life guard tower. Then Bizarro showed up with his water housing and it was on. As the tide dropped it got even more walled. I managed one decent left tube and got a few turns off. At the very least it felt good to ride my shortboard for a change.

11-15-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 30
The tide was a whoping 6.9 ft king tide at 9am basically swamping out everywhere. On the buoys there was some semi steep mid period NW swell and still yesterday’s south swell. I got a video of the Harbor from Robbie. It looked fat and walled. My first stop was Rincon. I had an alright time there yesterday and figured might as well give it a look. While I’m on the subject I think I’m going to start putting in more time at the ‘Con again. Lately I have been just surfing horrible beach break usually windy, wonky or closed out or a combination of all three in search of a tad bit more size. What do I get out of a surf like that? Absolutely nothing but frustration when I could have been at Rincon combo-ing maneuvers on my fish. I’m sure I’ll be at Ventura Harbor tomorrow trying to find a corner in the close outs. Though very fat there was a wave coming in up at the lower Indicator and Rivermouth sections. There was an assortment of random kooks out on everything from rafts, to longboards, to fishes to fun shapes age varying just as much. Most were faces I had never seen before and it was apparent by where they were sitting and the waves they were missing. I grabbed my Clarks Pop Fizz and went to town. Right off the bat I got a handful of long ones. As the tide dropped, which it did steadily the swell began to come in rather broken up and bowly. Some of the waves were even rolling in parallel to the point, a clear indication that the NW swell was hovering around 300 and the SW was still very prevalent. I got mine as always. Some grom scored a sick little barrel that stoked me out to watch. Like I always say a bad day at Rincon is still better then an average to decent day at most other surf spots. After the surf my wife and I grabbed some lunch over at the Padaro Beach Grill in Carpinteria where they do good tasty fast food style cuisine at a fair price with a nice ocean front atmosphere. The rest of my day was spent at the post office cleaning toilets and sweeping the floors #custodial life.

11-14-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 60
Its true I didnt have very high expectations this morning but I thought at the very least it would be clean. Instead the wind was on it as soon as I got around Pitas. It was so hard that I turned around after C-Street and headed back north. I had a look at Emma first. It was doable at waist plus. There were a handful of guys on it and the quality pretty uninspiring. There was a little bit of west in the water that provoked me to go back and look at Rincon. Though tiny there were a few clean little lines coming through at the Rivermouth. It looked like I could grovel it on my fish. On the walk up I noticed a couple of lefts coming through at Indicator. With the high tide I started there and actually for how small it was my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz did it’s thing and I had a pretty fun time. Within in 45 minutes the tide dropped crazy fast exposing all the bad rocks especially with the lack of swell. I floated around the hook and found a few more before calling it. The highlight of the session was running into Mr. Kook of the Day Himself John Wayne Freeman getting a few out there. Good times.

11-13-20 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 64
At the very least the wind stayed down for the duration of my surf. That’s about the only positive thing I have to say about the session. Thanks to another six foot high tide it was pretty swamped every where. The Knoll seemed to have the most ride-able wave, though that was not saying a lot. My friend Jeffrey showed up and we paddled with the guise that it would get better as the tide dropped. Instead because of how fast the tide was changing it just got all stretched with waves breaking on top on one another. Others would feather outside and then dump on the sand bar. It was probably the worst surf I had all week and that’s saying a lot. The rest of my day was spent back at the Post Office after a very nice but too short three day weekend.

11-12-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 66
The tide was discustingly high and air only about 40F when I woke up. It was enough to keep me under the covers. Around eleven I decided to head down south for a look. There was some minor south and north west combo in the water. Bizarro had just got a new water housing and 4/3 and was eager to give it a try. I got word that Fruits had a waist high wave. We got there and the wind was up out of the WSW causing a fair amount of bump and crumble. Stoked to try out the new gear Biz and I got out there and tried out best to line up with each other. It didn’t help that the current on the inside was going north and the current on the outside was going south. That plus the wind and lack of decent waves reminded me how frustrating shooting water can be. We gave it the old college try till I was freezing and Biz’s ankles were raw from his flippers. It wasn’t the score we hoped but we did manage a few shots.

11-11-20 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 128
My day off and my wife was off too thanks to the Holiday. We wanted to go to the beach cause lately our schedules have been so conflicting that the only time we see each other is in the morning when we wake up and at night before bed. I got word Ventura was pathetic. There was some minor NW and SW on the buoy thus we decided to head up north. I decided to go have a look at Surf Beach first figuring I could get the most swell there. The bars were all shitty and I just couldn’t justify dangling my feet in the water up there for terrible surf. It’s one thing to get attacked by shark for fun surf it’s another for shitty surf. From there we cruised to Jalama and of course even though Surfline was calling for light winds it was howling out of the WNW trashing everything. We walked out to Tarantulas in the hopes the kelp would protect it a little or with a little luck the bay might have a small surf-able wave. Neither of that happened and instead I forced a paddle at freezing cold horrible T’s rights. I found myself in the middle of a feeding frenzy out on the reef. There were pelicans , seals, dolphins and host of other sea birds going to town on bait fish all around me. It was with out a doubt a little unnerving. After the surf my wife and I enjoyed a Jalama burger before heading back to Goleta for a birthday dinner for her mom.

11-10-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 66
The surf was on the steady decline fast. I got word that Strand was small and Fruits was about chest high. I headed straight to Fruits knowing that the winds were on the way. The tide was a little high when I got to the beach and the sand bars were way off the beach. It caused a Huntington Beach outside inside bar kind of effect and not in a good way. To entertain myself in the deplorable conditions I made a game out of home many waves I could connect from the outside all the way to the beach. I managed to do it on three quarters of them. Besides that the session was laughable at best and the wind came up within the first half hour and the waves were completely trashed within the hour. Good times.

11-9-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 72
When I left work last night the wind was still. With reports of light offshores for the am I knew the Oxnard beaches would be on. Unfortunately so did everyone else. At first light it was freezing provoking me to stay under the covers. Finally at eight I dragged myself out of bed and started getting reports. Heard Strand was good but packed. I was hoping there might still be enough swell for the points to be fun. Though surf-able they were a little small and underwhelming to get me to paddle. Angers looked at Strand and said there were fifty guys from the ship to the bowl. I was at shores when he called looking at solid chest to head high plus peaks up and down the beach with only a handful of guys on it. He came over and we found a fun peak to ourselves that we tore the shit out of till the wind came up and trashed it. I managed one screamer of a left tube before the wind switched. It wasn’t a score but certainly fun enough. When I got to work I was sent out to Ventura to pick up a busted mail box and bring it back to the plant. I love a good mail box outing, beats being stuck at the plant.

11-8-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 30
Last night I went to bed hoping there might still be waves in town in the morning. That didnt happen. At first light Sand Bar was barely showing waist high sets and Lead Better around chest. The wind was whipping again, maybe even harder then yesterday. I had a laughable look at Thousand Steps before I just bit the bullet and cruised to Rincon. When I got to the lot it was only half full, not a good sign. I was stoked it wasn’t packed, but on a Sunday and what was one of the few non-victory at sea spots it must not be that good to be that empty. I walked the bike path to check the Cove. It was freezing out between the air and the windchill off the strong WNW winds it cut right through my thermal hoodie. There was a very fat and broken up wave coming through the Cove, maybe chest high at best and very weak. There were about twenty plus guys on it as well. The only redeeming quality was that it was clean. It took everything I had in me to not just turn around and head home. On these days it’s foolish to fight the current, which is gnarly. The better attack is to surf in drifts. Paddle out as high up the point as you can handle conditions wise (it can get pretty VAS up at Indicator and on the big days down right scary) and just catch as many waves as you can until you find yourself at the freeway. I saw a few solid ones up at Rivermouth so I jumped in at Lower Indicator. My first wave turned out to be my best. I snagged a solid chest high runner that got me all the way to mid-cove. Then I got an alright one through the Cove as well though it was very weak and grovelly in there. I forced a few lefts and close outs into that drift for good measure. By my second drift the wind got even worse completely tearing the top of the point to pieces. Still it was where the largest waves were so I jumped in at proper Indicator and scrapped around a few average ones. I don’t know if it was the lower tide or the extra wind, but by the time I got into to Cove it was terrible. The waves were completely broken up and totally weak. I had to go left to find anything with some juice. Freezing and over it I decided to call it a day rather then brave another drift. Rest of my day was spent at the good old post office cleaning toilets. Don’t let the photo fool you I never saw a set this good the entire surf.

11-7-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Sharks Cove
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 34
Miles Driven: 12
I always have a mixed bag of feelings when the first storm of the winter rolls in. First I’m excited the only time we see waves here in town is when there is some real weather. Then I’m apprehensive about how crowded it’s going to be will the conditions be ok for my limited surf window and there is always the worry of the potential damage and dirty water caused by such storms. This one was mellow. We only picked up less then a quarter inch of rain here in SB. Just enough to make the water brown. Mostly we just got bombarded with relentless WNW wind. I woke up early and checked Sand Bar. There were about ten guys on it at first light. It was only about chest high at best and far from what I would call worth battling with a crowd for. Instead I drove over to Hammonds. Being a bit more wind exposed and swell exposed I had high hopes. It was chest to head, mushy, pretty torn up and packed. There had to be thirty guys trying to surf really low quality waves. I was going to just sneak in at the top of Mira Mar where I saw a few racy chest high peaks scream down the top of the point uncontested when I ran into a friend of mine who said he surfed Sharks last night before dark and it was fun. I had done the 101 drive by earlier and saw a a wave there. We decided to just go for it. There was definitely a few waves off the top of the point. They were a bit too broken up to connect all the way through. The longest ones went to about mid point just past the inside death rock. It was only about chest plus and a bit chopped up from the WNW wind. If you got one around the corner the face cleaned up a bit. I love Sharks and has always been one of my favorite SB waves. The place is very fickle and only breaks a handful of times a year. Last year my schedule never coincided with a swell there. The fact that it was just my boy, myself and two other guys for the entire surf was stoke too. I took out my Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy model and had a blast. It kind of got me stoked for the season. Bring on a La Niña year with lots of wind and weather. I’ll take whatever you wish throw at me. Rest of my day was spent at work.

11-6-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 78
The storm had begun with hard onshores winds out of the WSW in front of my place. I got word that North Strand had a fun enough looking wave and that it was pretty clean all things considered. I cruised still hoping to maybe just get a few at Rincon. The wind was hard SW trashing everything from Montecito to Cstreet. Then it was almost glassy from Pierpont to Shores. Meanwhile at Strand it was stiff WNW. North Jetty had some solid across the grain lefts coming through with some rights mixed in. Though all torn up on the outside the faces were clean enough to rip. There was plenty of size too, head plus. Angers and I jumped in. There were lots of dumpy ones and you really had to be choosy on what waves to pick off. The wind was getting harder by the minute causing more and more chop. We took shelter under the Jetty and got a few more before throwing in the towel. For my surf window I think I made the right choice. I heard the points got fun before dark. Fat lot of good it did me since I was sitting at work by then. I realized the other day that I like everything about my job except for the fact that I have to go physically be at work for eight hours a day everyday. I don’t know how people do this all their lives.

11-5-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 126
After so many days of groveling I really wanted to get into some juice. The buoys, wind and cam looked good for a Jalama mission. I have been craving a good Jalama trip for weeks now. Sure enough when I got there it was solid chest to head with bigger sets and oil glass. Unfortunately it was very crowded with thirty five guys at Cracks and at the moment with the way the sand is there really is only one peak working. The swell was a bit too broken up for T’s to be any good. I slogged it out with the crowd which was rather annoying with everyone on top of one another. It didn’t help either how inconsistent the good ones were, not to mention all the backwash. Still I got my share of fun lefts and rights. Towards the end of my session I was coming up to do an end section floater when the backwash got me and sent me over the falls in the shore dump on top of my board. I took my fins hard to the left side of my face. I thought I ripped my ear off at first. Luckily I didn’t get cut but was left with a bruised jaw and swollen ear. I paddled back out and got one really decent tube to end on before the head ache from the beating got bad. As of press time it hurts a bit when I chew.

11-4-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 30
There was some fresh mid period NW windswell on the buoys. The wind had come up down south too much to bother with the beach breaks. I had a look at Rincon and though far from good there were some fun looking high tide lines coming in at Rivermouth. Angers cruised up from Oxnard to do a little filming with Bizarro and I. It was a bit wonky, inconsistent and fat with the tide and about twenty five guys on it. That being said on our Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz models we made the most out of the burgers on offer. I had a number of six plus turn rides that got my legs burning. Unfortunately I stupidly allowed myself to get stuck in the cove for an extra half hour chasing a phantom wave that I ultimately was never able to catch. The rest of the day I spent showing some love to my as of lately neglected gentleman’s garden.

11-3-20 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 64
I suppose the waves were slightly better today, at the very least a tad bigger on set. Maybe even the occasional chest high one if you were really feeling optimistic. Of course the backwash was worse and with the new NW swell mixing in it was a bit walled as well. If you could have taken the back wash away it would have been a fun surf. The wind stayed light for the duration of the surf. My boy Jeff was out and Angers showed up just after. The three of us fought be good fight to make the hardly ride-able fun. I managed a few alright lefts. Angers has a crazy inverted tail free reo that was sick and Jeff scored a little right hand tube. I guess it beat not surfing. Looks like some storm surf for the weekend. Hopefully there will be windows of opportunity at the right spots.

11-2-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
I got word early that it was still small but ride-able at Rivermouth. I cruised with very low expectations just looking to get wet plus I had business with my cutter. Unlike yesterday the wind and fog were already on it when I got there. So thick I could barely make out the surf. A buddy of mine in the lot assured me there were some surf-able ones down by the mouth. I suited and blindly ran down there. When I got to the mouth the fog lifted enough for me to find a bar. Right off the bat I got a handful of fun ones till I was just about back at the Knoll. When I ran back down for my second drift it was a different story all together. The tide started dropping making the sets more stretched and there was more backwash too. I still made the most of the absolute crap out there, got my wave count and moved on with my day. All my Clarks Surfboard business went well. On the way home I got killed in traffic thanks to construction and barely made it to work on time. All that for knee to waist high junk.

11-1-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 64
Despite the waves still being absolute trash and there being a fullmoon six foot high tide I decided to start the month off on the right foot and try to get a surf in. My wife and I cruised straight to the Harbor the only place I have been able to find anything even remotely surf-able on these tiny south swells and extreme high tides. Though small it was glassy and the sun out. I decided to paddle out for an hour. As soon as I put on my wetsuit the wind went SW and a thick fog bank rolled in. I just jumped in for a smash and grab shore break session. Actually I managed a few alright rides. After the surf my wife and I thought we would try out Delgado’s, a some what staple Mexican food spot in Carpinteria. All I can say is that the food was terrible. I ordered the Flautas, one beef, on chicken and it came with rice and beans. The entire plate was tasteless and my flautas were borderline burnt. My wife ordered Huevos Rancheros but got like a sort of liquidity soup thing with two fried eggs on top and it also had no flavor. What a waste. We should have just gone to the El Taqueria Rincon across the 101 where they never disappoint. Rest of my day was spent grinding away at the post office.