Surfing Ruined My Life

November 2023 Surf Sessions

11-30-23 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
As bad as my surf was yesterday is how good it was today.  Talk about a week chuck full of surfing ups and downs for me.  I heard there were still some little waves at the points.  My first stop was the Ship.  Even though the tide was high and I got negative reports I just had this feeling in my gut that it was going to be fun.  High tide considered, there were some decent bowls rolling in, well overhead on set.  The shape was about as good as it gets out there.  Most of the waves were breaking close to the beach, but not shore break, just perfect bowls.  There were some heavy barrels too.  I saw C.C. get a gnarly close out tube that he stood and delivered in, on a way over head wave as I was paddling out.  Some of the waves tripled up and were borderline not surf-able.  The crowd was non existent.  C.C. and I were basically by ourselves the entire session. We had an epic hour and a half till the wind came up out of the WSW adding a ton of chop on the face.  At that point I should have gotten out but instead I floated around for another half hour not getting shit.  At least the majority of my session was fun.

11-29-23 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 62
I decided that I would do a wee bit of car surfing today.  I got word early that Rincon still had waves.  C.C. and I headed up that way chasing the dragon that was the euphoria of yesterday’s session.  Unfortunately Rincon was way more crowded and not nearly as fun looking.  Pitas was junky, which left us at Emma Wood.  It wasn’t anything special but there were some boost-able wedges by the life guard tower that had me sold.  We were about to paddle when Dane and his Chapter 11 crew showed up.  There definitely wasn’t enough waves to go around with that crew plus us.  On a last ditch effort we ran back south to Strand.  C.C. paddled the north end, while I paddled the ship.  Unfortunately though the surf was glassy when I checked it the wind had come up and after about thirty minutes the place was trashed.  I fought the good fight for another half hour or so before pulling the plug.  I literally didn’t get one decent wave.  The reason this all went bad is because I broke my own rule: If I drive north I stay north.  

11-28-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 52
Today was quite the pleasant surprise.  The swell had gone more west leaving Strand on the smaller side.  I had a look at Shores but it was small there also. Jeffery was paddling at the Knoll.  When I got up on the dune all I could see was close outs.  Over it, I started walking back to my car.  C.C. called and we decided to cruise up to Rincon. It wasn’t like we were leaving anything decent at home thus rolled the dice.  The tide was a bit fat but Rincon looked small but rip-able with a very light crowd.  We surfed Indicator and though small the lines were perfect and I got my share of six to eight turn rides and stuck a few air reverses.  It felt good to be in the zone and surfing with such a light mellow crowd.  Rincon had been so crowded every time I’ve paddled it this season that this surf was very refreshing. After the session the rest of my day was committed to ding repair. 

11-27-23 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 30
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 14
Today was the day themed later as “Magic Monday”.  I love how we are just throwing arbitrary names out for any semi-decent day of surfing these days.  Sure Kellen Ellison got an epic barrel but how many other guys did?  Once again the majority of the waves were close outs and corners few and far between.  Unlike Sunday the wind turned onshore out of the SW by 12:30pm.  After yesterday I sort of had a bad taste in mouth on the swell altogether.  I had a few things to take care of.  Pat and Ryan decided to paddle the Shores but by the time I got there only thirty minutes later about a hundred guys had paddled out.  Looking down towards Hollywood there appeared to be less heads.  Bizarro and I headed just south of La Brea where I saw some empty peaks.  My boy Mitch was suiting up and whenever I run into Mitch at a break I usually have a good session, he is just lucky like that.  C.C. met us and it was on.  I was in better form then yesterday and packed a few decent tubes with on backdoor left that really stood out. Just when I was settling into what I was hoping was to be a super session the wind went SW and added way more chop on the faces then I wanted.  The surf was still rip-able but rather than burn out my shoulder I decided to call it day.  Two days of Santa Anna’s and only two really decent barrels to show for it.  Magic Monday? I think not.

11-26-23 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 12
Today should have been the day of days, in some ways it was.  The NW swell had really filled in overnight combined with a minor south and stiff offshore Santa Anna Winds the stage was set for a day of epic proportions.  I myself was rather frothy.  There was a six foot high tide at around 8am swamping out everywhere.  Pat called me around 9:30 that Shores already had some tubes.  I woke Bizarro up and got my act together.  We met Pat at Hollywood where there were some solid overhead freight train runners coming through.  It was a bit walled and not as hallow as Shores according to Pat.  The three of  cruised over to the dunes on the south end of Shores and we’re greeted with well overhead bombs.  It was a bit stretched for my liking but I saw enough corners to pull the trigger on it.  When we first paddled there were handfuls of guys up and down the beach all on manageable peaks.  Every time I turned towards the beach guys just kept showing up until at one point there had to be easily 200 surfers from Almalfi to the Hotel.  At one point I swung around for a wave and had five guys so close to me that I couldn’t even position myself for the it.  This crowd would have been ok if the surf was consistent and perfect A-frames up and down the beach but It was inconsistent and only about one out of ten waves was actually not a close out.  The line up became a circus and I was very displeased.  I did manage one phenomenal left tube that was worthy but besides that I left the water more disheartened then stoked.  Where did all these dudes come from?  I didn’t recognize anyone.  I was going to try and get another surf in right before dark, but Ryan who had just gotten out of the water at 3pm said it was still pretty crowded and still closed out.  Rather than push my shoulder I opted to save it for tomorrow.  Looks like conditions should be similar and it’s a Monday so maybe the crowd won’t be as bad.

11-25-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 12
Gabe decided to cruise home to Santa Cruz Friday night.  The tide was super high early and Santa Anna winds were predicted to hang around the majority of the day.  With all of that in mind I decided to sleep in for a change.  Around 10am my wife and I headed out for a look. Considering the tide Shores was my first stop. The swell was about chest plus and still barely breaking on the 4.5 ft tide.  I knew the place had potential and slow rolled it.  Things were still a bit too fat when I paddled forcing me to be patient and wait for the ones that actually tracked into the sandbar I was sitting on.  There were some decent tubes to be had.  The waves were only getting better each passing set.  Still it was very inconsistent with long cold waits between good ones.  Then a pack of random guys on mid-length paddled and sat right on me.  There was hundreds of yards of beach with similar banks on both sides of me, why these guys had to come and crowd my peak was dumbfounding and frustrating to say the least.  To add insult to injury these guys would paddle too deep then blow or completely miss good tubes that I could have caught.  After about twenty minutes of this I was over it and quit on my next decent tube ride. 

11-24-23 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 12
There was a bit more NW swell in the water.  Strand looked solid but was insanely crowded.  Had my shoulder been feeling 100% I would have paddled but taking into account that my paddling and duck diving ability was limited I feared that I could put myself or another surfer in a dangerous position if I were to surf.  Instead Gabe and I cruised over to Hollywood where there were some pick and choose corners at La Brea with only a handful of guys out.  I was having limited to success.  Waves were hitting all over the place and being in the right spot seemed to be near to impossible.  Couple that with my shoulder issues and it was a struggle.  CC and Kai showed up just as the wind came up onshore making below average conditions worse.  At that point I was over it.  There was no point in pushing my shoulder for sub par surf.  Gabe decided to keep on surfing for another hour despite the fact that the waves sucked and that I was sitting in the car waiting for him.  Later that afternoon my wife and I went to brunch across from a cat shelter and ended up adopting a new Kitten. He is an adorable Tuxedo cat.  We named him Alistair.  Officially we will be taking him home next weekend. 

11-23-23 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 9
Miles Driven: 14
There was a definite uptick in the swell.  Hueneme was my first stop and though do-able it was still more stretched than I would have liked.  From there we headed to Strand, which was actually too peaky, on the small side and rather crowded for what was on offer.  Gabe and I were about to paddle anyway till I got a call from Ryan.  He thought Shores might be worth a look.  We were greeted by chest plus peaks up and down the beach. The wind was light onshore but the waves were still clean enough.  There were a handful of guys spread out.  We paddled just south of Amalfi and once out there immediately realized there was a gnarly current drifting us south.  Basically it became one of those surfs where we had to constantly keep paddling in order to stay in position.  This was not a welcoming situation for my shoulder injury.  I fought the good fight for way longer then I should have but did manage a few fun waves. After the surf Bizarro and I had a Thanksgiving feast to prepare for my wife, Gabe, CC and Joan. Since CC and Joan are vegans there were definitely some dietary restrictions to overcome.  All was well and everyone had a blast.  

11-22-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 18
Another day of small waves and offshore winds found Gabe and I back at Ventura Harbor.  The line up was significantly more crowded then yesterday, which was understandable considering tomorrow is Thanksgiving and most people are off and hanging around with nothing to do.  The surf was more stretched than yesterday with some fresh WNW swell beginning to show.  Our options were limited and I did see a few corners.  When checking it the plan was to go surf the Rivermouth cause those bars were empty and I’d rather surf a less perfect peak with no one on it then a better, yet crowded peak. Upon walking up to surf everyone decided paddle up to the mouth leaving the Knoll fairly empty.  What we did learn once out there was that the current was drifting south.  This most likely led to the crowd shifting down towards the Mouth.  That was fine with us cause the Knoll was where I wanted to surf anyway. I was feeling good and right off the bat stuck a solid ally-oop followed by a decent straight air and a little tube.  On my fifth wave I was screaming down the line on a left and boosted a solid air reverse. I landed clean but fell backwards on the recovery and my left arm got caught behind my back.  I heard and felt a pop in my shoulder, then felt it pop back into place.  I wasn’t in excruciating pain but definitely didn’t feel right.  Rather than let it go stiff I decided to surf the remainder of the session cautiously.  Luckily for me the wind completely blew the waves out about thirty minutes later.  Once I pulled off my suit I could really feel the pain in my shoulder.  I took it easy the rest of the day. Hopefully I’ll be able to surf tomorrow. 

11-21-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 18
The Santa Ana winds were still blowing. Strand was tiny as the swell had went more west. I heard the Harbor had a wave. Gabe and I definitely wanted to surf and drove over. We were greeted with fun looking chest high peaks up and down the beach perfectly groomed with the offshore winds. It was a little stretched and not super hallow but definitely worth the paddle. The Knoll looked better than the Rivermouth and we found a peak to ourselves. The good waves were few and far between which was fine. I was in a patient mood. When all was said and done I had snagged a few tubes and a couple of decent turns. We surfed till the wind went onshore and wrecked it. I’d say it was fun enough for what was on offer.

11-20-23 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 10
We got to the airport free of any issues. My wife and I ran into both Miss Puerto Rico and Miss England from the Miss Universe Pageant on their way home at the airport. Besides that the journey of rather uneventful. Bizarro and Gabe met us at the airport. On the way to LAX ten days ago on the way to El Salvador I had promised my wife we could stop at the famous Neptunes Net across from County Line and of course she held me to it. Though a bit of a tourist trap they do cook decent food. It was a weekday so there wasn’t a line, a nice relief from the weekends when you could wait an hour to order your food. The Santa Anna winds were whipping. I got word that the surf was small. After I unpacked all my gear Gabe and I drove over to Strand for a look. The tide was still pretty high making the waist plus inconsistent peaks look very weak. We were about to walk on it when my friend Mitch showed up provoking the three of us to paddle in the hope the waves might get better with the dropping tide. Sometimes diligence pays off. The waves kept getting better till dark. Towards the end of the session I was packing legit chest plus barrels. I had ten really fun tube rides. The surf was borderline more fun then any single session I had in El Salvador. I guess it’s true what they say “There is no place like home”.

11-19-23 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, K59
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 17 km
Kevin and I really wanted get one last surf in before the conclusion of the trip. Conditions were pretty glassy so we headed to K59. Thus far we have been unimpressed with the spot though both of us were hopeful that this session would change our minds. The crowd was very light and actually it was more crowded at K61. We paddled over from K61 cause the walk over the rocks to K59 sucks. I actually snagged a decent left off the backside of the point. Once again we were let down by the very shifty and odd shape of the lines as they wrapped down the point. I got a few combos off as did Kevin but we were left severely disappointed of what was our last surf in El Salvador. I think the left I got off the backside of the point was better than any of the rights I caught. Since it was our last night the whole group decided to have a nice dinner out over at the restaurant at Puro Surf. Those guys never disappoint making the evening a nice way to end the trip. Everyone turned in early to bed for we had to leave for the airport at 4am.

11-19-23 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Mizata
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 64 km
The swell appeared to be slightly bigger then yesterday with stiff offshore winds. We got a way earlier start and headed straight for Pat’s fabled beachie around the corner from Mizata. We found the trail easy enough as per his directions and came out to this giant black sand beach with peaks up and down the beach. Maybe it was the wrong swell angle, the banks not good, swell too big or a combination of all three but the place was pretty closed out with the odd ball pick and choose corner. There was no conformity to it. Regrettably we returned to the Mizata. The left was working again though a bit more mixed up. It appeared the new swell was a bit less organized than the one we had previously experienced. No one was out and I saw plenty of kill-able ones. We paddled and though it looked similar to yesterday, bigger even the waves were weaker and more sectiony. I couldn’t find my rhythm at all. Kevin on the other hand was finally in epic Florida conditions and was on fire. To my credit I didn’t kook it, just never found my stride. Maybe I’m just getting old. It was difficult being on a surf trip knowing I didn’t have the stamina to surf from sun up to sundown and had to pick and choose my sessions strategically. We came in and my wife was chilling next to this local kid Jonathan who surfs and we stoked him out with some Clarks Surfboards swag. The rest of the day was spent packing and getting the Airbnb ready for check out. Tomorrow we have to leave for the airport at 4am. Our flight is at 7:30am and the Angers’ flight at 7:15am leaving no time like the present to get ready.

11-18-23 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Mizata
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64 km
On every surf trip I have ever been on there has always been one special session that stood out from the rest, one surf that really made the entire trip. So far that session has yet to materialize with just the K61 morning surf the morning of the Baptism. With only two more days left I was beginning loose hope. The swell was on the way down and weekend crowds in full force we decided to head back to Mizata. There was a beach break just north of the town that Pat claimed to be pretty hallow. Kevin and I figured we could maybe scope it out. We got a slightly later start then we had hoped and decided to just go to Mizata in fear that beach break which was completely exposed could blow out. The point was small and weak. On the east side there was a fun yet somewhat crowded left hand reef break. The crowd was made up mostly of locals and I could tell they were regulating the tourists. There were some fun looking beach break peaks a little up from the reef that we decided to paddle. I was really hoping to get barreled. So far it has been the one thing that has eluded me this trip. Maybe today was my day. The beachie was punchy and very rip-able but the tubes on offer were few and far between and I couldn’t line any up. I did find a few air sections. The real problem with El Salvador is that the tide is constantly changing and the extremity severe so the line ups are always changing every twenty minutes or so. The fun peak Kevin and I had to ourselves disappeared. I paddled over to the left reef, while he sought out this elusive right hander he saw way up the beach. As I got closer to the reef the locals began pointing their fingers at me to not come over for I was not welcome. Just another annoying moment of localism, I decided to sit at the very bottom of the reef where on the bigger sets a wide one would double up. When that happened someone further up the reef was too deep to catch it. This strategy was working well till this local chick paddled over and sat on me so I couldn’t get the waves that I wanted. I was still content with her scraps till this other local paddled down to also sit on me. What really pissed me off was they couldn’t make the waves because they were taking off too deep just to spite me. I paddled further up the reef to where they had been sitting. They followed, which allowed me to sneak back down to my original spot on the reef. Ten minutes later they all got out. See what I mean by stupid localism. At this point the lower tide had turned the entire reef on and I was getting three to five turns a wave completely uncontested by the remaining kooky visitors out. Kevin came over and it was a full on rip-fest until we were about fried from the sun and heat. I’m not calling it the session of the trip but it was fun. The wind came up very hard onshore in the afternoon thus we decided to leave the evening session out.

11-17-23 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, K61
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 17 km
The wind always slacked just at sunset around here. The high tide was adding lots of backwash on the crowded junky looking Zonte line-up hoping to find a better liken we drove up to K61. Though cleaner the fat tide had really made the place soft. We paddled all the way up the reef to little avail. Kevin managed a few gems while I struggled to find much more than a three turn weak right. I think I would have had more fun enjoying the sunset poolside with my wife. I guess tomorrow is another day.

11-17-23 AM Session: 6-10+ ft, Mizata
Time in Water: 1hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 64 km
Everyone at the house was feeling a bit restless and decided to come along with us to check out Mizata, not that there was much to see. It is a very pretty beach but besides that the place is just a sleepy little town. There was one nice hotel and restaurant combo that we figured the whole gang could hang out in while we surfed. When we got there as luck would have it the place had been booked out for a private wedding for the entire weekend and no one but guests of the event were allowed on the premises. This left the family in need of a cool shady place to hang out. The remaining options were a couple of very rustic thatched makeshift driftwood structures that posed as restaurants on the beach, a far cry from the luxury hotel we had promised them. As for the surf, the point was still solid overhead with clean bombing lines and no one out. We jumped in and realized that it was way bigger than we had thought not having representative people out for scale. The average sets were double overhead with bigger wash through sets and occasional rouge close outs. Holding position was tough as waves were hitting all over the place and we were constantly being caught inside. I can’t remember the last time I had to duck dive so many waves. We were getting worked out there. I did get a few screamers but they were hardly worth the constant beat down from the wash through sets. Kevin and I hardly got our fill, but considering everyone was uncomfortably waiting for us on the hot beach we decided to call it and make a sound effort towards an evening surf.

11-16-23 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Punta Roca
Time in Water: 1hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 36 km
The swell had calmed down a fair bit from yesterday. We really wanted to get a crack at the top of Punta Roca and this morning it looked really good. There were about forty guys on it or so, but there was also a fair amount of waves coming in. One thing we have learned about how to beat the crowd around here is to time our sessions more mid morning. Most surfers in the area tend to surf really early and we have found that if we paddle around 9ish they are all on the way out. The same thing happened this morning. By the time we got geared up and walked up the point there were only about twenty or so guys out. Unlike all the other waves we have surfed thus far everyone in the water could surf proficiently or at a high level. The line up definitely had a pecking order. I sat off to the shoulder and waited three full sets till I had rotated to the top of the pack, while Kevin was content scrapping the inside. The set waves looked better than anything I had surfed on the trip yet and I didn’t want anything else. I was sitting in first position waiting when I got caught inside by the biggest set since I’d been out there. I came up after duck dinging and was sitting next to this big local dude. I didn’t pay him any attention under the assumption he was going to get the first wave anyway. All of a sudden he yelled at me to get down the line. I attempted to explain myself but was just accosted with a “shut the fuck up, I’m a local” followed by a series of fuck you’s. I paddled one spot lower then him and when the next set came in he actually missed the wave he paddle for so I swung under and snagged it. I banged out six top to bottom turns before the wave closed out on dry reef. I kicked out to see the angry dude on the next one which he went in on, to my delight. I didn’t want to deal with that bullshit. I can respect localism but I hate stupidity and to single me out when I clearly waited my turn was annoying. Upon paddling back out the entire line up left me alone, including the remaining locals that were out there. I suppose I proved I could surf on my first wave and just made sure to stay one position less deep then the locals, the three that remained. It also helped to ask their permission before taking a wave. I thought it was a load of crap but conceded. Kevin threw a huge fly away air into the rocks that had all the locals hooting and subsequently dinged his board. From that point on we were in the rotation and got our share. By 11am everyone had bailed and I was left out the back by myself. Though the wind had come up a little bit the waves were still very rip-able. Both Kevin and my wife were on the hot black lava cobblestone beach and I couldn’t in good conscience stay out there and let them fry. On the walk back to the van there was a pack of the locals hanging out who proceeded to yell profanities at us as we passed ending with “you guys scored some fun waves, don’t come back tomorrow”. We were pretty bummed by the whole situation. What should have been the session of the trip was shrouded in bad vibes. Lucky for Kevin there was a ding repair guy just a block from our AirBnb in Zonte. For twenty five bucks he fixed two good sized rock holes in the bottom and a decent rail crack plus had it ready to rip by the next afternoon. Dude was on it. A heavy squall with wind and bad winds came through making an evening session a no-go.

11-15-23 AM Session: 6-9+ ft, Punta Roca
Time in Water: 1hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 36 km
Today was the peak of the swell. El Zonte was nearly closing out the entire bay with few takers. Considering how small in structure to the size of the swell all the surrounding points were we decided to head back to Punta Roca. The top of the point was macking, easily triple overhead though mostly shutting down and sectiony. There were about twenty five guys fighting the good fight nonetheless. Meanwhile the bottom of the point was well overhead with the occasional double overhead bomb with about a dozen or so guys spread out along it. The take off zone was all over the place and the really big sets were stretching way out into the bay. Just like yesterday the same surf camp of Brazos pulled up. With today’s size they were a bit more hesitant to paddle out and only about half decided to brave the conditions. It was far from scary or unruly even, occasionally a big bomb would come through and close out the bay but it was very manageable. I had a couple of gems. Angers struggled a bit to find a great one. It was tough to get one that didn’t section or just mush down the line. Every now and then there were these double ups that hit the reef just right and would freight train down the line eventually opening up to some serious top to bottom sections. Rather than burn my arms out I only waited for these. The problem with surfing out here in El Salvador is heat exhaustion. Maybe I’m just getting old but the sun is strong, air hot and ocean a balmy 85 F. There is no relief and after about an hour and a half of strenuous surfing I have been pretty spent. Kevin had already went in by this time, lucking into a solid bomb. I got lucky too and found a final solid runner on which I almost killed some kook chick on a soft top who was floating around in the heavy shore break maybe learning to surf? This place is classic. They should have renamed it Kook City rather than surf city. We had hoped to surf again in the evening but the surf was maxing out with the high tide and the onshore winds were just tearing it to pieces. That was fine cause both Kevin and I were exhausted. Instead I chilled poolside and watched the sunset with my wife. That night for dinner I served up Italian seasoned chicken quarters with roasted potatoes and garlic green beans.

11-14-23 AM Session: 4-7+ ft, Punta Roca
Time in Water: 1hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 36 km
Punta Roca is the best wave El Salvador has to over. I have heard comparisons to Rincon. On my last trip we really didn’t get much swell forcing us to surf chest high blown out junk at the very top of the point. Today however the forecast was calling for 6-8 ft surf. Unlike our previous morning surfs the entire group, of Kevin, his parents, his wife and daughter along with my wife all wanted to come along so they could check out La Libertad the main coastal city in El Salvador where Punta Roca is conveniently located. As a result we got a later start then we would have liked. Luckily the wind cooperated with us and the point stayed clean for the duration of our surf. The session also had a time limit for we were meeting Kevin’s wife’s family for lunch back over by where the air port was, maybe 40km or so from La Libertad. That being the case we had to be out of the water by 1pm. The top of the point was solid 8-10 ft plus but packed with over fifty guys and you could tell it was heavily localized. Most sets were borderline too bag for that section and were just racing off down the line. I didn’t see many guys getting great rides. Rather than deal with that bullshit we noticed some solid 5-7ft sets rolling down into the bottom of the point that looked longer and more rip-able anyway, plus only three guys were out. We jumped in just at the same time a surf camp pulled up and unloaded a van full of fifteen Brazilian kooks all frothy, hooting and hollering. They weren’t really an issue as they kept to the inside soft section where as Kevin and I sat up at the midway section of the point close to the rocks where the wave really stood up and even went square at times. This section was difficult to line up being very shifty making a decent ride more elusive to find then it had looked from the beach. I did better with it then Kevin. For me at least Punta Roca broke the way a point should and it reminded me of the mid section of Pitas. I managed a handful of decent combos. The trick was to wait for the inside double ups rather than focusing on the set waves which on the whole broke too wide of the point forcing the wave to be very shouldered and mushy. I will say it wasn’t the score I was hoping for when I saw it from the beach. That being said I still had a fun time. I think Kevin was left just a tad bit unfulfilled. Lunch was back at his Wife’s family’s home where my El Salvador journey had began only a few days prior. While there a heavy rain squall came in dumping heaps of water. Unfortunately we had to drive all the way back to El Zonte in torrential downpour conditions. I will say this the roads are designed with deep drainage ditches on both sides and though they were full and looked like little rivers along both sides the road was seldom flooded. Getting back was a bit of an adventure in all that weather to say the least though we made it no worse for the wiser.

11-13-23 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, K59
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 17 km
Around 4ish or so Kevin and I noticed the surf had glassed off. Out front at Zonte was packed with easily fifty guys thus we set out for K59/61. K61 was more crowded then K59 so we paddled the latter. I had surfed K59 the last time I was here years ago and was unimpressed. Tonight’s surf just reinforced that sentiment. On paper the waves looks great, but the reality is completely different. The peak is very shifty and while riding the wave I constantly felt like the best section of the wave was always behind me no matter how deep I pulled my bottom turn. Many of the waves just die out or go flat after the drop and there is too much water rushing out of the bottom of the point causing a bit more chop resistance than I would like. There were some gems but they were certainly diamonds in the rough and few and far between. The proficiency level of the majority of the crowd was novice to below average causing people to constantly be in my way, which was annoying. In my opinion K61 is a much more kill-able wave that I would liken to a more fun version of Upper Trestles, even though K59 gets more notoriety. K59 reminds me of a shitty version of County Line but with out the wave variety. It wasn’t small either sets were solid over head so don’t tell me we didn’t catch it big enough. I managed a couple of five turn rides, but overall I was left wanting as was Kevin. The sunset faster than we had anticipated leaving us less time to surf than we would have liked. Getting back in over the rocks was a nightmare adding a few more cuts and scraps to my feet and knees. So glad I came to El Salvador to surf worse versions of waves I have at home with similar if not worse crowds. Later that night I cooked up my famous beef bolognese for everyone. The deal was Kevin’s family would cover my room and board if I cooked meals for group for the duration of the stay. This has always been one of the perks of being a some what sought after chef I have always been able to barter services.

11-13-23 AM Session: 5-7+ ft, Mizata
Time in Water: 1hr 30mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 64 km
After the past two days I was in need of finding a spot to surf that wasn’t over populated and had some punch. Pat had mentioned that there was a small point/reef set up about 50 km north of Zonte that was bit more swell exposed called Mizata. Him and I surf together on the regular so any spot he recommended was worth a look. It was a bit of trek getting there. Of course getting anywhere is a trek in this country. The main/only coastal road is route 2 which winds its way up and down the coast is also a major trucking route. Between the slow trucks and buses, gnarly tunnels that are cut straight out of rock through the mountains and blind hair pin turns where you’re never quite sure if you are going to get hit head on by some idiot trying to pass, one takes his life in his hands to even go a nominal distance. So to travel only 50km took over an hour. When we got to the spot we were greeted by light offshore winds and peeling right hand bombs well overhead. There were about twenty guys out but more waves were coming through then could be caught. My wife looked at me and asked if I had a board big enough. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my 5’9 Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw Model. That board never fails me in waves of consequence. Kevin opted for his Bizzle Model, though I felt like he was a tad bit under gunned. Once again it was a shitty walk out over the usually urchin and barnacle covered rocks. Over it I paddled my board upside down till I got into deeper water. Once out in the line-up I discovered there were two distinct take off spots. I opted to sit the deeper peak cause it hugged the reef a little tighter which made the face stand up more. The majority of the pack was sitting the wide peak which was mushier. Not that it matter since the crowd all bailed after the first twenty minutes or so. There were some really good waves to be had out there, but you had to really sift through rouge close out bombs, mushy wide sets and shoulder-less bowls to get them. Being my first time out on the wave I experienced a bit of a learning curve. I’m a fast learner and found my way into a couple of real gems. That new swell Surfline predicted must have been on the rise as sets kept getting bigger and towards the end of my session I found myself constantly caught inside no matter how far out I paddled. Kevin got his share of bombs as well. The wind turned hard onshore blowing directly into the point leaving too much chop on the wave face to be fun. By that point we had already gotten ours anyway. So far I think Mizata is my favorite wave. It kind of reminded me of a miniature Sunset Beach on the North Shore. After the surf we headed back and enjoyed a group lunch at this fancy surf hotel, Puro Surf which has a splendid restaurant even by my standards. The rest of the day we kicked it pool side at the Airbnb until it was time for an evening session

11-12-23 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, K61
Time in Water: 1hr 30mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 17 km
Angers and I didn’t need to be at the Baptism till 11am leaving us plenty of time to grab a surf early before. Once again El Zonte was packed at 6:30 in the morning. We jumped in the van and cruised back to K61. K59 was also packed. We saw some solid over head right runners up at K61 that looked super rip-able with not a person out. This local dude Marvin had his camera set up and since my wife was still feeling the jet lag and slept in, we paid him $30 to video the session. It took us a few waves to figure out where to sit and where the dry reef spots were but once we did it was on. We began trading off overhead three to six turn runners along the reef. I guess Kevin and I made it look too much fun cause four other dudes paddled up. They were super cool and mellow, hailing from New York and Tennessee of all places. These guys were stoked and gave us first dibs on whatever waves we wanted. The two of us put on a clinic on that wave and I think they were stoked to just watch and take notes. We definitely gave them useful advice in return on what waves to catch and even where to sit. I also gave a shaper’s critique on one of the dude’s homemade mid-length he was surfing. The session was an unexpected blast but we had to be out by 8:30am to make sure to make it back in time for the baptism. As we were making our up to the main road, route 2, the traffic going back to El Zonte was completely stopped. This was the only way back to our Airbnb. Kevin went up to road to see what was going on. Apparently a giant tree fell over and was blocking the road only a few hundred yards in front of us. There were a number of local people hacking away at it with machetes but at that rate we were never going to make it back in time. The only transportation to get everyone to the church was our van. The two of us were definitely bugging out. About ten minutes had passed, in which time we considered one of of us walking it since neither one of us had a phone, I saw a police dirt bike roll by with an dude riding on the back carrying a chainsaw. Twenty minutes later they had the road open and we were on our way. Kevin and I got back with just enough time to change, load everyone up and get up the mountain to the church. It was a pretty standard baptism. One thing I found interesting was that the church raffled off a cloths iron at the conclusion of the mass. After the ceremony there was a big party thrown by Angers’ in-laws for the occasion at a nearby hotel. I wanted to surf again but the afternoon on-shores had pretty much ripped the point to shreds and there were still about forty guys on it. Rather than get frustrated I decided to save my energy for the morning.

11-11-23 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, K61
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 17 km
Day two in El Salvador posed yet another surfing let down. I was up at 6am central time, Kevin was already in the water. He had to be at the church, which was about a forty minute drive up the mountain from us at 9am for the baptism rehearsal. I looked at the point. There were ok looking chest to head high waves coming in with fifty guys on it. I was disgusted by what I saw and went back to bed. It didn’t help I was on west coast time still either. Let me give a travel tip when your surf tripping over the age of 40. Comfort is key. All the years I spent traveling in my twenties to the tropics I always stayed in rough hostel style accommodations. It was very nice to wake up in an air conditioned bedroom at our luxury Airbnb, luxury for El Salvador that is. We still couldn’t drink the water, had no tv and no hot water. Around ten I emerged from my bedroom and it was grotesquely hot. I had another look at the point and there were even more heads on it then before. Over it I took my wife to breakfast at this new mega surf resort they built right on the point called Puro Surf. The food and atmosphere were amazing. They even had a family of cats that they let patrol the dining area. No wonder the point was so crowded, that place had like fifty rooms and there were two other lodges like in the same vicinity, plus countless surf hostels and other Airbnbs like ours. Talk about an instant crowd. The crowd never slackened. Angers, my wife and I headed to K59 in the evening to get some waves. That point also had about thirty guys on it. K61 another rocky reef break just around the corner was offering some fun looking kill-able walls with no one out. We paddled. Unfortunately it took us longer to figure out where to park, paddle out and find waves then we had initially hoped. Darkness settled in rather fast leaving both of us wanting. I personally didn’t get anything worth while and trashed my feet walking out over the barnacle and urchin ridden rocks. Good times, definitely missing California right now.

11-10-23 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft, El Zonte, El Salvador
Miles Driven: 49 km
We had the red eye flight out of LAX and besides a little bit of turbulence our flight was uneventful. Our airport pick up on the other hand was definitely going to be interesting. The reason we were even in El Salvador was to Baptize Kevin Angers’ daughter. Not a one of us is catholic but his wife’s mother has been dead set on this child receiving the sacrament for years. When the kid was born my wife and I agreed to be the god parents three years ago when they lived in California. Since then Kevin and his wife had moved to Florida. Fast forward to a few months ago when I fielded a call from Kevin that El Salvador was a go and he would be honored if my wife and I would still be the God parents. There we found ourselves stepping out of an air conditioned airport into the scorching Salvadoran heat. Since the Angers’ weren’t making it into the country till the early afternoon his wife’s family picked us up from the airport. I hadn’t been to El Salvador since 2003 on a promo trip and was in for quite the culture shock on how safe and built up the country had become. They took us to breakfast then to a super market so we could buy some passable wines to drink, 21 bottles worth. We are here for 10 days and staying with 6-8 other adults, plus we’re on vacation. After that they took us back to their family home in Costa Azul not far from the airport where a number of family in town for the baptism were already gathered. Someone was supposed to take me to the beach to surf, which was only 1km away. That never happened and eventually I succumbed to my exhaustion and passed out in a hammock on the porch. I woke up sweaty and covered with mosquitoes to sound that lunch was ready. How could it still only be 1pm, maybe because I had been traveling since 6:30pm the previous night. Lunch was a splendid taste of the local cuisine, Caldo Indio, grilled chicken quarters, plantains and extra thick tortillas. The Angers’ were supposed to pick us up at 3pm. Kevin and I had planned on getting an evening surf at El Zonte where we were staying. Of course the 12 person van we had rented wasn’t there and we had to wait around another hour and half to get another one leaving us no light left to surf when we finally got to our Airbnb. Tomorrow is another day.

11-9-23 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 12
Once again I woke up to offshore wind. Word was the points were significantly smaller and still crowded for what they were. I went to Strand for a look hoping for some sick tubes. It was stupid crowded with not too many decent ones. I watched C.C. grotesquely burn two guys. Pat was on the beach considering a paddle. I talked him into to coming over to Hollywood with me for a look. La Brea was a bit of a burger and all over the place . Little Sunset though a hair smaller had a more conform take off. Every now and then a chest plus tube would come through. Not wanting to get caught short like yesterday I didn’t waste too much time checking it. Pat and I paddled. Biz showed up and filmed. Once out there the surf was slower then we had hoped and the tide was a tad bit to high. I almost gave up on it after my first couple. I still had to put the finishing touches on the ding repair from yesterday and hadn’t packed my boards for El Salvador. Just as I was about to bail I caught this head high left draining tube. It was on. The tide had finally got low enough. Ryan and Gordo showed up. The waves were still very inconsistent but that being said I packed more then my share of really fun tubes. I would have surfed longer but as I mentioned earlier I had a lot to do and was leaving for LAX to catch the red eye at 6:30pm. My next entry will be from El Salvador.

11-8-23 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 12
More WNW swell had filled in. I got word Rincon and all the points for that matter had head high waves. I was about to make my way up there when the wind switched off shore. I decided to cruise straight to Hollywood. There have been waves over that way all week. My first stop was La Brea, though clean he waves were breaking way outside with not a lot of real shape. I drove over to Little Sunset for a look and there were a top to bottom peeling head to over head right hand tubes to be had with no one out. I decided to give it the college try. Once out there I realized there was a very stiff current south and a strong rip. Also with no one out it very hard to get positioning. I was constantly either too far out or getting cleaned up by bomb rouge sets. Instead of it being a barrel and rip fest the session became a full on work out. I basically paddled for an hour straight to little success. The barrels I did get moved a bit too fast for me to make it out of and I had a few ok turns but nothing really to write home about. When I finally started figuring it out the wind switched onshore and trashed it. I considered eating a quick lunch and heading up to the points, but I was pretty exhausted, had some emergency ding repair to do for a team rider and was leaving for El Salvador in a day and still haven’t packed.

11-7-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 50
Yesterday’s WNW was on the decline, while there was a slow rising fresh WNW. Strand had peaky yet junky looking head high plus waves. I got word from CC that Rincon was head high and decided to head up that way. Once at Rincon the wind had went SW and the swell was all broken up coming down the point making the place more like a beach break then a point. I’m not a big fan of south wind Rincon, but I was there and just about out of options. The Cove was weak and crowded thus I went and surfed the array of peaks coming in between Indicator down to the River Mouth. Normally when Rincon has junk wind it’s empty but there was this pack of what I’d like to speculate were Floridians of a dozen or so guys out that were super frothy. The only reason I thought this was due to their exceptionally choppy style, inability to read the point and not knowing where to side or even what waves to take. If not Florida then definitely somewhere not exposed to point break style surf. This crew was annoying as heck but luckily bailed thirty minutes into my session. They didn’t really hinder my wave count per-say since I knew where to sit but they did get in my way a number of times and after yesterday’s horrific collision I was a bit more cautious of stupid kooks then I usually am. I was demoing a new Clarks Surfboards Fly Guy Model to determine if I liked it enough to bring with me to El Salvador and unfortunately the conditions were too weird to wonder if issues I was having was the waves or the board. Both CC and Loren were out having equally a hard time as I thus I deemed it conditions and not the board. Plus I stuck three solid air reverses and had one turn that was completely vertical to upside down re-entry that got CC fired up about so I can only assume in better conditions this board will cook. The surf steadily deteriorated as my session wore on. Considering I still had to fix my team rider Mile’s board before leaving to El Salvador and run a host of other errands and pack I decided not to waste too much time on bad waves. The rest of my day was spent in pursuit of the latter mentioned activities.

11-6-23 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 52
Finally a somewhat decent WNW swell had filled in. My first stop was Strand. Though plenty of swell was getting in the shape was a bit more closed out and backwashy then I would have liked. I had got word that Rincon was solid and headed up there. The crowd was pretty stiff with easily a hundred guys from Indicator to the Cove. Despite the crowd it looked manageable enough with the amount of waves coming through. I paddled the River Mouth/Indicator zone and picked off more then my share. The swell was weaker then I had hoped causing the majority of waves to be soft. As the tide dropped it seemed to just get softer. At this point I slid down to lower River Mouth. The waves always stand up the heaviest in that section even if they are not as long. I managed to get three all the way to the mid Cove. It was after my third one that I was paddling back out when a solid double up was directly in front of me. I swung around and took off under the lip. As I was setting my line this big guy on a knee board came careening through the lip and landed on top of me. When I initially saw him coming down I put my arm up to protect my head and that arm took the brunt of the impact, followed by my lower side, my calf and my foot. We both went over the falls together. When I came up there was a giant fin slice through my rail running all the way to the center of my board. Though I was pretty banged up I wasn’t cut anywhere. Considering the extensive damage to my board and my body I decided to catch my next wave in. I limped my way back to my car and went home to nurse my wounds. The real bummer was that I really liked that board and was hoping to take it to El Salvador with me on Thursday. Even if I could fix it in time the extent of the damage and subsequent repair would make the board too heavy for me anyway. Luckily I happened to have a new board ready to be picked up at my Glasser’s shop. One of the few perks of owning a surf board company is that in most cases it’s almost easier and cost effective to build a new board then waste time fixing a battered one. For this reason I always keep new editions of my favorite boards in constant production. After the surf I wanted to shape since there was just one more board that needed to be finished before my trip, but by the time I got home I was really in a good deal of pain and opted to take it easy and ice all my bruises. It’s a sad time when the crowd in the lineup is more dangerous then the waves.

11-5-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 12
Upon checking the buoys I had noticed that there was a bit of steep wind swell showing. Hueneme was looking a little small thus I drove over to Strand to meet Pat who was on the fence about paddling. There were waist to chest high waves breaking up and down the beach with the majority of the crowd focused in the bowl. Pat wanted to walk on it, but I saw a couple of rip-able bowls by the Ship with no one on it. I talked Pat into paddling with me and we both ended up getting some fun waves. Overall the surf was a bit weak and wonky. I did my hour then adjourned to take my wife to brunch. We ended our Sunday with our usual afternoon golf outing. My wife beat me by three strokes. I’d say it was a full day.

11-4-23 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 2
I had another independent gig today, a passed appetizer party for 150 people in Santa Barbara. Since most of the prep work was done and the party wasn’t till the late afternoon I decided to give the waist to chest high peaks rolling through at Hueneme a go. I saw one set on the North side that stoked me out. I jumped in and whatever I thought I saw certainly didn’t show itself again. Instead after a couple of weak lefts I caught a right back towards the Pier and paddled through to the south side. The first wave I got over there I pulled in and came out of a solid little tube. Besides that I found a couple of two and three turners to limited avail. It was just nice to get wet. The surf really cleared my head and allowed me to steer my crew through yet another stellar event.

11-3-23 No Surfing: 2-3 ft
Miles Driven: 2
Today was gig day and unlike most of my jobs where I work as an independent contractor for a larger caterer this time I was the sole caterer thus all the responsibilities of the event rested upon my shoulders. Had the surf been epic I definitely would have paddled, but the weak looking close outs a front at the Hueneme pier certainly weren’t selling me. Instead I stopped at the store to pick up some last minute provisions then headed home to help Bizzaro finish the remainder of the prep. At 1pm C.C. showed up, we loaded the car and headed to Montecito. It was a fairly straight forward job of passed apps, buffet dinner and cake for dessert for 40 people. The whole shindig went down with out a hitch. Everyone was very happy. I wish I could just shape surfboards but at least I get enough chef work to keep afloat. Photo from Hueneme.

11-2-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 42
There was more south swell in the water. Hueneme was small but all the LA cams were definitely showing more swell. I headed south checking everything to Zeros. County Line looked the best and actually while I was changing I saw a five wave chest plus set roll off the reef that had me frothy. Once out there I realized it was way more inconsistent then I initially thought and that amazing set I saw never came again. Instead I scrapped wonky, backwashed riddled rock scrapers till my last wave, which turned out to be a head high bomb that I managed to combo four solid turns on. Considering I waited an hour for that wave I decided to throw in the towel. I had a full day of prep work to do for the coming weekend’s events anyway so it’s a good thing the waves weren’t firing.

11-1-23 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 50
The Santa Anna winds had finally subsided and the surf was still very small. With only some trace WNW in the water and a minor south I headed towards LA. After checking everything down to Trancas I decided that the reef at County Line looked the best. Though high it was oil glass with only three guys out and inconsistent chest high right hand runners. I jumped in and somehow lucked into a fun window. Besides a bit of backwash from the tide I had a few super fun four and five turn rides. I would have surfed longer except that I had two very large private cooking jobs on the weekend. I had to go home and shop and begin planning and prepping. These parties should make my entire month.