Surfing Ruined My Life

November 2024 Surf Sessions

11-30-24 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 12
I had to work a brunch in Santa Barbara.  Normally I shy away from morning work but the money was right so I couldn’t in good conscience say no.  I got done around one and headed back towards Oxnard.  Luckily the wind was pretty light.  Not expecting to even surf I pulled off at the Shores just to get my daily blog picture.  To my surprise there were some decent looking inconsistent waist to chest high south lines running down the beach all the way from the Hotel to Almalfi. Of course once out there I realized how incredibly inconsistent the sets were and with no waves in between not only was it slow but also nearly possible to hold position even with a bar marker I had set up on the beach furnished out of some driftwood.  I got few fun ones but ultimately it wasn’t the score I was hoping for.  When I got home my wife was eager to hang the outside Christmas lights.  In other words she wanted myself and Bizarro to do it.  We obliged and it came out nicely. Now all that’s left is to get a tree and our home will all Christmas all the time.

11-29-24 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 16
I got up early and was ready to cruise up to Hueneme for more off shore barrels.  As I was slipping out of the bedroom my wife woke up and reminded me that she was going to be on the radio at 10am for an interview she did about her most recent show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  She said I could go surf but those doe eyes she was staring at me with told me I better stay home and listen with her.  After all how often is my wife on the radio.  I didn’t get to the beach till noon and the wind was already on it.  Malibu was decent still but I didn’t want to burn my whole day.  My wife wanted to start decorating the house for Christmas in the afternoon.  I ended up joining Ryan and Evan at Fruit Stands and actually there were some solid chest plus lines running down the beach.  As luck had it the wind laid down enough to make it fun. It was a little fast but totally do-able.  I had a fifty yard tube that I came out of but got clipped on the ride out.  Unfortunately this south swell has been very inconsistent and today was no different.  We got a good forty five minutes before the wind came up and trashed it.  I don’t know if I’d characterize it as a score but getting fun waves with just two of your friends out in this day and age is pretty special.  When I got home I brought down all our Christmas stuff from the garage to my wife’s utter jubilation.  I’ll never understand why decorating for holidays make women so happy.  Then again I’ll probably never understand women in general.

11-28-24 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 14
The south swell from yesterday had picked up a bit and the wind was offshore at the beaches.  It was a nice morning and my wife decided to accompany me on my surf.  These days whenever she comes along it’s a really treat for me.  I had a look at Hollywood but the swell wasn’t getting in there.  Shores was looking pretty pathetic too.  I heard the Harbor had a wave but the report I got wasn’t all that enticing.  I decided to go back home to Hueneme where though a bit stretched it was head high.  I paddled Rockside and it was definitely very stretched and the draining tide wasn’t making things any easier.  I managed two really decent tubes in a sea of close outs.  After the surf we went for breakfast before getting home to cook the Turkey.  We were hosting just a small gathering of myself, my wife, Bizarro, CC and my shop partner Johnny. I’d say it was a very nice Thanksgiving.

11-27-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Malibu
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 70
A very late season south swell showed up bringing waves to the usual summer magnets albeit very inconsistent.  CC and I decided to roll to the ‘bu.  Normally this time of year one can score the place empty.  It was the day before Thanksgiving and with most were people around and off thus the point was packed with all the regulars plus some randoms.  The fact that there was no in between waves and sets about fifteen minutes apart made the place was a shit fight.  I accidentally dumped some water on the end section of a close out that this local heavy was on.  I didn’t think anything of it cause the wave was trash and he didn’t say anything.  We both went about our individual sessions.  About forty five minutes later I took off on an absolute junk left just cause I was bored of sitting and the local dude I dumped water on burned me and rode the wave on his belly.  I passed him and got a quick end section hit.  It was a crap wave and I didn’t care.  Dude looked at me and said “sorry I didn’t see you there”. I gave the standard “no worries” and paddled away.  He proceeded to paddle over to me and say “you know why I burned you”?  I looked at him perplexed but mostly annoyed.  I hate line up bs, I’m there to surf.  He went into a whole monologue about how I ruined his wave earlier.  I made a joke about how I actually gave him an air section.  To which he got mad and went on about the usual song and dance of how locals deserve respect.  I surf with this dude out there all the time and give plenty of respect even though he constantly back paddles and burns me.  Finally I was over it and told him “sorry but if you still have a problem and feel you need vindication then let’s go settle it on the beach”.  The thought of a fight must have confused him as he asked me multiple times to explain my intentions.  By this point CC and I were completely over the lack of waves and left.  Surfers really piss me off sometimes.  The rest of

11-26-24 AM Session: 1-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 2
Once again Hueneme had some fun peaky chest high waves.  The south side of the Pier was doing its thing and CC and I decided to give it a go.  Just like yesterday the quickly dropping tide steadily killed what could have been a super fun surf.  That being said we had a grovel boards and tore the crap out of whatever came our way.  After the surf I finished my entire work load of glassing freeing me up to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend.

11-25-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 2
Hueneme was sort of doing it’s thing this morning with fun chest high peaky waves up and down the beach with offshore winds.  CC and I paddled the north side of the Pier.  Unfortunately the tide was dropping fast which quickly turned the place off.  I did manage a couple of ok rides but if the tide were coming in it might have been one of those rare epic Hueneme days.  Today was not meant to be.  The rest of my day was spent in the glass shop sanding away.  Only two more days to go and I’ll be finished with this batch. 

11-24-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
Talk about good shape and power with a rare light crowd.  Of course it was also only about chest plus and sets were very inconsistent.  I was learning a new board which is tricky to begin with let alone not having a lot of waves to catch.  The water and air were very cold.  Wanting to really feel out this board I put my time in.  I added a tad more volume to my rails and nose area to give more paddle and flow.  So far it felt like the foam distribution was working.  The board found its way into the air with ease.  After two hours I was frozen and headed home to hang out with my wife for my Sunday afternoon.   We decided to cruise into Ojai and do a bit shopping for art.  There is giant space of empty wall above our fire place we have been eager to fill. Though no purchase was made we did find a piece or two to consider and an artist to seek. 

11-23-24 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 10
One couldn’t have asked for better conditions this morning,  chest to head high, peaky, glassy to light offshore conditions at the Strand but man was it crowded.  I’m talking easily 150 guys from the Ship to Tower 3.  There were a lot of waves coming through and I really didn’t want to go drive around only to come back  thus I paddled.  Once out there I realized that not only was it crowded but it was also very weak despite the size and  perfect shape.  There were some barrels but they were definitely hard to negotiate.  I only made two.  The water was absolutely freezing too.  I surfed my usual length of session before throwing in the towel.  The rest of my day was spent in the shaping room.

11-22-24 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
Finally I got that win out of a surf session I have been needing for the past eight weeks.  Eight weeks of absolute mental hell.  Strand was solid overhead, clean, peaky and not stupid crowded.  I mean there were still easily a hundred guys along the entire beach but I definitely saw windows of opportunity, especially off the the Ship.  It was basically the Strand conditions that I thrive in.  Biz showed up to film and I got on the best froth I’ve had in two months.  I could do no wrong.  Good waves just came to me.  Barrels, turns, airs it was just flowing from a stream of consciousness I thought I had lost forever.  The best part is we got it all on film. 

11-21-24 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 12
A solid WNW coupled with a steeper angle NW swell showed up over night turning the beaches walled and the points on.  I had to take my wife to Santa Barbara for an import doctor’s appointment at 1pm limiting my time.  I boxed my afternoon in for earlier in the week the forecast wasn’t looking as good, and made a tee time to play the Santa Barbara Municipal golf course at 3pm with my brother in law. Having just the morning at my disposal Strand was basically my only option.  Though it was a little stretched there were some clean solid overhead barrels to be had in the south bowl.  Hoping for a miracle I called Bizarro to come film and paddled.  Shortly after I got out the wind went North then North West adding more chop then I would  have liked.  Despite the unruly conditions the crowd came out in full force with upward of a hundred guys from Ship to tower 5 and probably another hundred from Tower 4 to North Jetty.  The place was packed.  The majority of the crowd were donkeys who didn’t know what they were doing and continuously got in the way.  I had three really decent waves ruined by said surfers. I managed a few but never really got the one I was looking for.  On the way up to Santa Barbara all the points were as good as they get.  I was focused on the task at hand.  My wife was my top priority.  The appointment went well with very good tidings of which I am not ready to share yet but will in good time.  We went to Harry’s for lunch stoked on our good fortune. As far as the golf game went.  We got paired up with two walkers who were actually pretty good thus we felt rushed.  I managed to shoot a 72 which I’ll take considering we were rushed and it was a new course.  I had a par on hard four that I’ll take to the bank.

11-20-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 52
Talk about rinse and repeat, today was just about a carbon copy of yesterday.  Once again Strand was too fat, and Ventura Harbor junky.  My wife said that Rincon looked fun again on her way to work and with that in mind I rolled the dice and drove up.  Though smaller than yesterday the waves actually had more power and were way more rip-able.  Unfortunately it was a bit more crowded than yesterday too.  I did my usual strategy of surfing where ever the crowd wasn’t.  Jeffery was out getting a few.  I was surfing rather well and had a blast.  As the tide dropped so did the waves.  That was fine cause I had another full day of work at the glass shop.  

11-19-24 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 52
Strand was pretty solid from like 7-9am.  Fat lot of good that did me.  Every morning I have a few chores to handle to help out my wife before she heads off to work so realistically the earliest I can get in the water is after 8:30.  Also it’s freezing at seven in the morning which leaves me completely unmotivated to surf no matter how good it is.  I never cared for Dawn patrols even when I was younger.  I did them when I had to,  but my favorite window to surf is from 9am-2pm.  I got to strand around 9:30am and though it was still very surf-able most waves were high tide wonky burgers with about fifty guys out.  All the major players were bailing, a tell tale sign that I had missed it. I got word that Rincon had a chest high wave up top with clean lines.  I met up with CC and we headed north to ‘Con.  Sure enough there were fun, clean chest plus lines running from Indicator down the point.  We paddled and the water was freezing.  There were some decent sets but they were rather inconsistent and most were overall pretty soft.  That being said it was us and only a dozen guys sharing fun enough Rincon.  A feat like that in this age of the constant crowd is unheard of.  Those who were out were all regulars, a crew I used to surf with all the time when I lived in SB and surfed Rincon more.  The session was nothing special but we had fun.  The rest of my day was spent glassing boards. 

11-18-24 No Surfing: 3-4+ ft
Miles Driven: 20
Today was another day where I completely blew it.  The obnoxious six foot high tide wasn’t helping my case either.  Hueneme wasn’t happening and Strand was way too high not that it stopped twenty guys from attempting to surf the shore break.  I had a at the Harbor but it was pretty Stretched thus I decided to head into work and have a look later.  More swell did move in for the afternoon but the wind was WSW blowing out both the beaches and the points.  There were a few guys trying to get some off the Ship but it was pretty walled and looked like a lot of work.  I was buried in errands to run and decided to continue being productive.  I heard Emma Wood was pretty fun mid day.  I had the inclination to look but didn’t.  I hate missing waves when there are waves but then again bad waves are still bad waves at the end of the day. Photo from Ventura Harbor.

11-17-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 2
Hueneme really screwed me this morning.  I pulled up to the Pier and the air was freezing. It had to be barely 50F.  All I saw was chest plus spitting off shore tubes up and down the beach.  I called Bizarro to come shoot.  We were out there.  In the ten minutes it took me to park, suit up and Bizarro to show up the surf completely shut down.  I’m talking borderline flat with the high tide.  I caught two waves and then sat there in the cold for another twenty minutes without a wave.  When a set did come the waves were progressively smaller each time.  We fought the good fight but ultimately came up devoid of any useable clips.  With how cold the water and air were it made absolutely no sense to beat a dead horse.  In the afternoon my wife and I went shopping for some new clothes for her.  The below photo is from the waves I saw but didn’t happen.

11-16-24 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 13
Miles Driven: 51
Some days we just make bad calls.  It’s easy to make a bad call when the waves are bad and your head is clouded with the drudgery of your life.  Today was just that day for me.  I had to work a wedding up in the Santa Ynez Valley from 4pm-1am.  The ship was my first stop around 9 am. There were some solid head high waves to be had but the tide was very high and crowd stupid for what was out there.  I decided to hedge my bets and try to surf one of the points on the way to work.  I ended up at Pitas where it was terrible, all closed out and riddled with a funky channel chop. I only paddled cause CC sold me on it.  While I was checking it I saw him get a couple of solid hits.  They were all one bangers but it was enough to get me out there.  I paddled with my friend Jeremy whom was a bit flustered after a parking lot confrontation with a very angry Karen who was attempting to save the spot he snagged for her husband whom wasn’t even on the premises.  I hate weekends. I offered to get his back, but by the time we got to where he parked the crazy lady was gone.  Probably for the best or I would have ended up in jail. I managed one really sick hit and a fun three banger.  Besides that the surf was laughable.  As far as the wedding went I ended up working a risotto Parmesan cheese wheel during dinner and then served grilled cheese and fries for late night snack.  Just another thrilling day in the life. 

11-15-24 PM Session: 3-4+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 8
Miles Driven: 52
We were hit once again by a hard coastal gale today leaving only the most sheltered spots an option.  I had to be in Santa Barbara to work a pre-wedding welcome party in the afternoon thus I got some work done early then headed to Rincon.  The wind and ocean  were so torn up that even the inside of the Cove was pretty messy.  El Capitan might have been the call, but I didn’t have the time for that mission.  My new thing is to just got out and try and catch a few waves any day I have the ability.  I paddled the Cove and it was way more crowded than I would have liked.  There had to be sixty guys out trying their hand in the chest to head high plus washing machine that was attempting to be an excuse for Rincon.  Though there were lots of waves coming in finding a decent wave was near to impossible between the crowd, extreme current sweeping down the point and the overall lack of quality waves in general.  I saw a few gems but all I got were flat faced odd ones that I milked down the point.  I locked into a few ok sections but overall I was definitely left wanting. At the very least my gig in Santa Barbara was a breeze.

11-14-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 12
I have to stop surfing Hueneme out of pure convenience.  I had a look at both Strand and Hueneme.  Strand was junky and crowded.  I thought the south side of the Pier looked better and paddled.  The dropping tide quickly turned the place off. For how bad the waves were I surfed rather well and I had the place to myself.  Lately the solo sessions have been just what my current mental health needs.  The water was freezing and I didn’t give it more than my requisite hour.  Later that evening I had to work a bonus Thursday wedding in Santa Barbara.  There’s nothing better than a week day wedding to add a little money to the till.  Everyone always gets married on a Friday or Saturday limiting how much one can work but when you throw in the odd week day it’s all gravy.

11-13-24 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 40
I had a pretty tight schedule. First I needed to meet a customer at my shop either at 11am or 1pm.  My plan was to check Strand and Hueneme and try and get an early surf in.  Hueneme wasn’t really doing it.  Strand was already windy and crowded. No surprise there.  I got word that the points had waves and decided to head to my shop at 11 then roll to Pitas.  The kicker of my whole day was that I had to be in Santa Barbara for my wife’s new gallery opening at 5pm.  She had done her first feature collaboration with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  From what I gathered it was a pretty big deal.  Pitas had some chest to head high waves coming through.  It was a little bit closed out.  There’s currently a bit too much sand up at the top of the point causing the wave to be even more dumpy and stretched than it usually is.  CC was already out making the most of what was on offer.  The crowd was rather intense with easily twenty guys up top and another twenty or so mid point.  I started up top with CC but after a few dumpy ones I decided to float down the point to see if any wrap was getting in. Every so often there was a head high set that would slip in.  The waves were shifting all over the point making catching a good one difficult.  Add to that a line up of long boarders  and guys on mid-lengths and it was even tougher.  I lucked into one solid set wave that I managed seven turns and an air on.  By then my time was just about out thus I paddled up the point to get a one out.  As I was leaving I saw CC get a screamer.  My wife’s opening was a huge success.  It’s crazy how you can fall in love with your wife over and over again.  

11-12-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 14
There was some mid period NW swell in the water.  Hueneme had a wave on the south side of the pier.  Hoping for more I cruised over to Strand where the waves were slightly bigger.  The shape was whatever and there was on it.  Add to that a solid crowd and I was over it.  CC wanted to surf the Pier so I headed back to Hueneme to join him.  We had the south side right bowl all to ourselves.  We kind of were pushing the tide window as the low tide approached it began draining the size.  That being said we both got our share.  CC got the head winner.  The rest of my day was spent building surfboards.

11-11-24 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 14
The swell was very similar to yesterday.  Hueneme was not doing it and shores looked closed out yet again.  Strand on the other hand though a tad smaller and more crowded looked peaky and fun. I paddled the Ship and though I saw lots of good waves actually catching a good wave was very difficult.  It seemed they were either racing away from me or just dying out or closing out.  I did score a few decent ones but once again it was another surf that left me wanting.  Maybe it’s not the surf at all but my entire outlook right now.  My heads still a mess and I just can’t seem to focus on anything.  Maybe I just need a good day of barrels. The rest of my day was spent shopping with my wife for some new clothes.

11-10-24 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 14
There was some solid combo swell in the water.  Strand was crowded and stretched.  Hollywood was just stretched.  My time was running out as my wife was getting a bit testy about how many spots I was checking.  I had a look at Shores and though pretty walled there were some corners and some solid swell coming through.  I grabbed my bigger board because a lot of water was moving around.  I surprisingly had some solid turns and airs despite the trying conditions. It was nothing but one turners out there, no combos.  My wife and I went to Seafood Fresh at Hollywood Beach for lunch and usually we have a nice meal there.  Later that afternoon we were both were sick to our stomachs probably from the clam chowder.  As you can guess there was no golfing this afternoon. 

11-9-24 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 2
My wife and I got into a savage disagreement last night.  One of those couples’ arguments where no one wins and both parties walk away crushed.  I got almost no sleep. When the sun came up I got dressed and went for a walk up to the beach.  It was a crisp but beautiful morning.  In the midst of my sorrow I noticed some fun looking peaks up and down the beach with offshore winds.  I walked home, picked up CC and went back to the pier.  AJ was already out on the north side and we joined him.  Right off the bat we caught a few good ones, then in classic Hueneme fashion it turned completely off.  We literally sat there for thirty minutes not catching anything. Right  as we were about to call it quits the waves picked up for a moment. We all caught a few more and left. I went and got my wife some flowers and we made up.  My evening was spent working a catering gig in Santa Barbara.

11-8-24 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 2
Today was pretty darn flat.  Hueneme looked like a lake and Harbor was maybe knee high.  The air was freezing and water not much warmer.  I decided to head home and bang out some ding work before making the trek into Santa Barbara for a wedding.  I think there are only about five more weddings left to close out 2024.  The tally was only a mere 27 weddings on top around another thirty or so charity, corporate or other catered events.  Then it’s Christmas party season.

11-7-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Surfers Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 20
There was still Santa Ana winds in effect but much lighter than the previous day.  With the fire burning still the air quality was definitely a lot to be desired.  It smelled like I was in a smokers lounge.  Hueneme was tiny, as was strand and Hollywood and Shores were too tidy.  I ended up at Ventura Harbor looking at semi-walled lines at the Knoll.  I knew it was my only option thus I paddled.  Though a few did come through overall it was cold, the air quality was atrocious the waves weren’t fun and it got annoying crowded.  Sounds like a typical Southern California surf day.  After the surf I spent the rest of the day working in the glass shop. 

11-6-24 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 24
I woke up to howling Santa Ana winds.  I’m talking fifty plus miles per hour with harder gusts.  There was a bit of NW in the water but between the extreme wind and high tide paddling into anything was a struggle.  I decided to go into the glass shop early and wait till right before dark to have a look.  Sometimes the wind will calm down just before dark.  Around noon my shop mate cruised in and said I had to have a look outside cause a huge fire broke out in the hills of Camarillo.  The entire sky was black with smoke.  The fire was literally ten miles from my home in Hueneme.  I called Bizarro to check on the homestead.  He said it was Smokey but everything was fine. I got back to sanding and laminating.  Around 3:30 I quit and headed to Strand for a look.  Ship was about chest plus and ok lines.  It looked a little soft but do-able.  I was on the fence about paddling till my boy Tony showed up and said “dude we are out there.  We paddled and it was one of those days where it was running  walls with few barrels.  I did manage to find a handful of pits.  The quality was a bit to be desired and as the sun set it got very cold.  Changing at my car I thought my fingers were going to fall off.  Talk about a crazy day.  Turns out lots of people lost their homes to the fire.

11-5-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 22
Once again we were plagued with another morning fat tide and way less swell than yesterday.  Hueneme wasn’t really doing it.  I heard harbor was walled. I decided to have a look at Strand.  There was potential but with the tide still rising I knew it was a window to avoid.  CC needed a ride to go pick up his car from the shop thus I decided to give him a lift and ate lunch before heading back to the Strand for another look.  I figured if it were horrible I’d just head over to the glass shop.  Surprisingly Ship had an alright chest plus wave that was fairly clean with only a few guys on it.  It was a little on the far side but now on the dropping side of the tide it seemed like the perfect window to paddle.   By the time I suited up and got to waters edge everyone out had left.  Was it possible I had the Ship all to myself.  The Strand has been so crowded in general this year that’s it’s been a real drag borderline ruining the magic of surfing there.  To score even an hour of mediocre surf all to myself was an incredible feeling and to be honest one I really needed.  My heads been so scattered these days. As always surfing was there for me.  After an hour a few friends of mine who are og regulars paddled. I caught a few more then cruised to the glass shop to get some work done.

11-4-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 14
The wind was offshore and there was a bit of mid period NW swell in the water.  I had a look at Hueneme which had some fun looking chest plus clean runners up and down the beach.  The lines were a little sweepy down the beach but with the offshore winds looked fun enough.  It still wasn’t a sure thing thus I drove over to Hollywood for a look.  There was way more size over there but the fat tide was making it less than appealing.  I momentarily thought about checking Strand.  Lately I’ve been getting skunked there on the high tides.  Not wanting to burn the quickly fleeting offshores I picked up CC and headed back to Hueneme to surf the Pier.  The tide had really begun to slow it down forcing us to surf basically in front of Ventura Rd.    We both ended up getting some really fun rip-able lefts and rights.  As a bonus we had the place completely to ourselves.  Later I would find out that Strand was borderline all time.  It was also packed.  I was bummed to miss a solid day at Strand but I still had blast trading off really fun waves with my buddy.  The rest of my day was spent in the glass shop.

11-3-24 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15m
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 2
There was a solid rise overnight of steep NW wind swell.  Though the wind was light there was a good deal of channel chop making conditions at all of the beaches pretty torn up.  I got word that the north points were on the smaller side.  Hueneme was doing its best to filter out some of the mess and the south side of the Pier looked solid and very do-able.  Mitch and I decided to paddle and a number of randoms were also in attendance including shaper Todd Proctor.  I have always respected his work and the way he represents his brand.  As a matter of fact his example helps for the tone I try to set at Clarks Surfboards. The surf was much trickier than it looked making catching a good one difficult.  Whenever there is just wind swell in the water Hueneme can be a bit on sweepy side.  Mitch and I well versed in the many faces of Hueneme managed to snag the best waves off the somewhat bewildered crowd.  The water was rather chilly and since my wife was on the beach and the waves nothing all that spectacular I decided to keep it a short one.  After the surf we got some brunch before playing our usual round of Sunday golf.  The weather was a bit more windy then we would have liked and it was the first day with out daylight savings time which caught us nearly in the dark by the last hole.  Taking all of that into account we played a horrible game tied with a horrid 74. 

11-2-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Hollywood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 12
It was rainy and freezing cold this morning, but the wind was offshore.   The tide was also going up to a six foot at 9:30am.  Jeffery wanted to surf so we had a look around.  Hollywood had a surf-able shore break wave in the chest plus range.  If the tide were at three foot it would have been very fun but alas it wasn’t.  We both pulled into our share of shore pound close out barrels.  Besides that there wasn’t very much on offer.  It was just us out there and sometimes it’s nice just to paddle around with your bud.  I had a wedding to work in Santa Barbara in the evening. 

11-1-24 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 40
I had a look in the morning and between the high tide and strange swell angle there wasn’t much worth surfing.  I decided to cruise into my glass shop and get working with the hopes to maybe try and sort something out in the evening.  The wind had come up in the early afternoon making the beaches a no go.  I got word from Ryan that Pitas has a chest high wave.  Around 4pm I closed up shop and headed to the north points.  Though a bit drained I saw a few do-able waves at Pitas.  With the daylight steadily waning and in serious need of a surf I paddled. At the very least it wasn’t crowded.  I rocked a few turns.  Most waves were good for a two or three.  Then right before sunset the lineup got mobbed by like a dozen guys.  One of the guys who paddled was this dude whom I met there fifteen years ago while he was camping.  That was the El Niño year of 2009/10 and all the points had pumped continuously from September all the way till August that year.  Dude said since then he gets a campsite at Pitas the same week every year.  It’s funny how much my life has changed since.  In ‘09 I was just a care free professional surfer.  Surfing all day everyday and partying in Santa Barbara all night without a care in the world.  Now fifteen years later my life is about to undergo yet another major change.  It’s funny how the world works.  For better or worse that’s how life goes.