Surfing Ruined My Life

October 2020 Surf Sessions

10-31-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
Another down day. If I was off from work I would have went up in the hopes of getting some of the new south as it filled in. Last night my wife, Bizarro and I stepped out for Halloween at the Wild Cat. It was the first time any of us had been out since the new imposed Covid bar restrictions. This pretty much left us having to stay seated at our table much like a restaurant. Though it was nice to be out it was far from the usual fun times we usual have at Halloween out there. We did V for Vendetta feeling it was quite appropriate for the times. Here’s a photo of our costumes since there was no surf yet again today.

10-30-20 No Surfing: Flat
The report actually said flat and after consulting the cams I believe it. There werent too many places in California today that one was going to find a wave over waist high. My wife ended up taking off from work and we hung out and enjoyed a leisurely morning on the Mesa.

10-29-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Huntington Beach Pier, South Side
Time in Water: 2 hr
Waves Surfed: 35
Miles Driven: 264
It is very rare that I ever surf in Orange County. The last time I surfed HB was in the 2003 US Open. I had to get a board to a customer coming from Palm Springs. Considering it was going to be flat pretty much everywhere I figured I’d be nice and meet him half way and maybe sneak in a few waves. Bizarro came along eager to test out his new water housing. We got there around ten in the morning and there were some small south sets coming in. The Northside of the Pier looked the best but it had about fifty guys on it. I noticed some peaks on the south side with only a handful of surfers spread out. Actually on the tide drop it was pretty fun out there. Maybe I made it look a little too much fun cause it didn’t take long till there were over thirty guys all around me. Then the tide got too low and the wind began to come up. Still it was fun to go on a little surf adventure and take care of some business too.

10-28-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
Talk about being grovely out there. It was my day off and I would have loved more then anything to cruise up north and try and find some waves. I had plenty of errands and Clarks Surfboards work that needed doing down in Ventura. I got to the harbor and though small and fat at the very least it was glassy. I ran down to the mouth and tried to make the most out of the very meager south swell that was in offer and to my credit I did manage a few. For what it was worth the sun was out and the water was clear. It was a perfect beach day. I’d like to say the water was warm but all those hard offshores earlier in the week chilled it down a bit. Rest of my day was very productive.

10-27-20 AM Session: 1-2+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 66
The wind was lighter offshore this morning allowing for the tiny offerings to be a bit more surf-able. Angers, Ryan and I paddled and though small with my trusty Pop Fizz from Clarks Surfboards in tow I was making the most of what ever came my way. After about a half hour right as the tide was finally got low enough for it to really turn on the wind switched NW and howled destroying what little crusts of bread we had. Just another surf let down. Rest of my day was spent at work.

10-26-20 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 66
The first day of Santa Annas finally arrived. Ofcourse it came with minimal swell and a five foot high tide. Considering all the strikes against me I was considering to not even surf. Then I got word from a buddy of mine that there were some chest high waves at Harbor albeit very inconsistent and easily blowing 25-30 knots out of the NE. I got there and the wind had slackened a bit. Though small it appeared there were clean waist to stomach south left over lines. I ran into a friend of mine who was claiming Fruits was better. We cruised over there for a make it or break it session. Angers and Ryan with kids in tow showed as well. Bizarro came along to film the while calamity. It was small, cold, hard off shore and very inconsistent. I managed two micro barrels but besides that it was pretty grovelly out there. Rest of my day was spent at work.

10-25-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
Lo and behold yet another tiny day. So much for this fall being stellar. What can I say but it appears to be another underwhelming season adding to the many let downs in surfing the last few years. I would have went for a grovel except there were many factors against me. The tide was rather high, it was barley waist high at most spots and the wind was on it. Rather then waist my gas I enjoyed a relaxing morning with my wife.

10-24-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara Rivermouth
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
After a long shift at the end of a bery long week there was no way I was getting down to Ventura early. With the lack of swell it’s a miracle I got out of bed at all. If my buddy John hadn’t sent me a picture of Rivermouth I probably wouldn’t have bothered. Angers got there first and said it was clean though inconsistent. I showed up about a half hour later and it was clean, about chest high and god awful inconsistent. The crowd was absolutely stupid with 75 plus guys spread out from the Knoll all the way past the Rivermouth. It was nauseating. The majority were a bunch of random ass kooks whom I am dumbfounded on where they came from and why they want to surf there. Angers and I pretty much team surfed it and controlled which ever peaks we wanted. It was very very slow out there with set waves few and far between and a relentless drift to the north. I managed a few decent ones. My body was so tired from working so much it wasn’t easy to put on a great performance out there. Rest of my day was spent at work where I had another ten hour day. FML.

10-23-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 73
Finally I had a morning free to surf. Making money is great and all but all work and no play is definitely not how I want to live. Angers and I cruised out at the north end of Shores. The wind was offshore when I got there with fun chest to head high sets coming through. It appeared to be barreling. I got out there and had a few decent waves. Angers showed up and the wind went south completely trashing it. We forced out another hour in the garbage before throwing in the towel. Work was annoying. I had to go down to Port Hueneme at 10pm to remove a mail box with a broken lock on it. By the time the job was done I didn’t get back to the Post Office in Goleta till 12:30. I fucken hate overtime. Dont let the photo fool you. it was only like that for fifteen minutes before it blew out.

10-22-20 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I tried to get motivated to get out of bed at 5:30 this morning to try my luck at Rincon. I was exhausted and facing another twelve hour day on my feet. I decided a little extra rest would be more valuable to me then rushing around to jam in a few waves. Today was the last morning I have to work till next month. Tomorrow I’m going to be on it with a reckless abandonment. Working sucks. Please send money so I can just surf, make videos and write fun blogs. I promise I’ll more entertaining then usual.

10-21-20 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I had catering in the morning. i heard there were some fun ones early againg before the tide. I got finished with work around 2pm, grabbed Bizarro and headed south. We had to stop by my Glasser’s shop first to shoot some model videos and do a little quality control. That took way longer then I had hoped. It was about 4:30 by the time I got to the Harbor for a surf check. The wind was on it and as usual it was packed. Over it I headed back home. On the way I noticed some waves at Indicator and pulled off for a look. Sure enough it was chest high with clean right hand lines running to the Rivermouth with only a handful of guys out. I wanted to surf it, but it was already past six, I had promised my wife I’d be home around five. Rather then push my luck for maybe eight waves at best, the light was waning fast I went home. In hindsight I should have just surfed since I got the cold shoulder when I got home anyway. Here is a picture I took from ‘Con.

10-20-20 No Surfing: 2-3+ ft
I was stuck moonlighing with catering in the morning and then working at the Post Office after that. I got word there were some fun waves early before the tide swamped it.

10-19-20 No Surfing: 1-2+ ft
I picked up some daytime catering work before my post office job this week leaving me limited surf time. Lucky for me there wasn’t much in the water less some minor South swell. It was a trip working a catering gig after eight months of forced atrophy. What a difference. All the food was prepackaged before hand and people just lined up and took their to go boxes and left. It did feel good to do a bit of food service again. After that I had an hour before my other job. I needed a new car battery for my Si. Since I was in Goleta I figured why not go to Larry’s Auto Parts where the service is top notch as is the merchandise. The deals aren’t bad either. The rest of my day was spent doing whatever it is I do for eight hours at the plant.

10-18-20 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Surfer’s Knoll
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 64
Another 6.5 foot high tide with even less swell then yesterday left me grappling for motivation to surf. As a matter of fact the only reason I even bothered to have a look is because I picked back up a corporate catering account and won’t be able to surf Monday or Tuesday and maybe even Thursday this week, though from the looks of it I won’t be missing much. Considering all the elements I headed straight to Ventura Harbor. While passing Emma I noticed the crowd was way gnarlier then yesterday. Even there at Harbor it was pretty swamped. The only sandbars even remotely surf-able were at the knoll and that was borderline shore break. There were also close to thirty people out from the life guard tower to the Jetty on a day normally you’d call it crowded if there were five guys out. With little option and time not my friend I paddled. It was definitely a grind out there. At least I got wet.

10-17-20 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 56
Today there was a 6.5 foot high tide at 10:30am to combat. There was also very little swell left in the water. If I were off I would have went north and pressed my luck above Conception. I was way to lazy to get up at dawn to get back in time. Instead I headed south. My first stop was Indicator. There was a waist plus wave coming through with a bit of south wind ruffle on it. Had there not been ten guys out I might have paddled. Instead I desperation surfed Emma, where there was a the very least an occasional south runner with a somewhat light crowd. I got out and began getting some fun ones. Maybe too fun cause before long there were thirty plus surfers out. Everything from rippers to kooks to kids to body surfers to spongers. AWESOME!!! That put the final kibosh on it for me. Rather then hate my life I went home and cooked a nice breakfast for my wife and I before heading to work.

10-16-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 66
All good things must come to an end. With a wanning NW and just a small run of south in the water plus a six foot high tide my expectations were pretty low. I looked at Fruits first cause it where I think the best high tide bars are at the moment. Even it was swamped. I was going to leave when a buddy of mine showed up and was paddling talking me into it. Besides being fat there was an occasional glassy chest high south set coming through. Considering it was right at dead high when I was looking I figured it could only get better. It was pretty slow out there and then the wind came up out is the south. We fought the good fight but definitely came out lacking. I did manage a few to the beach that were at the very least shwack -able. The rest of my day was spent cleaning up broken packages and toilets at the post office.

10-15-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Sliver Strand
Time in Water: 4 hrs
Waves Surfed: 38
Miles Driven: 78
If it aint broke dont fix it. Though there was a bit more south in the water I still went straight to the Strand. It wasn’t quite as good as yesterday, but still fun enough. Angers was pumped and Biz came along to film. With the tide being higher it was way more bouncy out there. The waves were a bit more inconsistent then yesterday too. When a set came in there were with out a doubt some solid chest to head high waves to be had. There was a bit more wind making it a little hard to make the barrels. I managed a few cover ups. I’d say it was a fun session, all four hours worth.

10-14-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 4.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 43
Miles Driven: 78
Finally I managed a half way decent surf today. I’m not saying I’m back, but I finally felt good for a change. Plagued by yet another fat morning tide I cruised to Strand where although a bit wonky looked fun enough with a somewhat light crowd. Angers and I paddled the ship and went to town on the fun chest plus rights and lefts. As the tide began to drop it definitely was getting funky and I was about to get out. I had drifted into the bowl and started getting solid tube after solid tube. It was so much fun I ended up surfing till the tide got too low. Later that evening my wife and I cruised to Lane Farms in Goleta to pick some pumpkins and have a little Halloween fun. We weren’t sure what would be open with COVID but besides wearing masks it was business as usual. They had the animals and the corn maze, which we thought they made substantially easier this year. If you’re looking for some good old Halloween fun check out Lane Farms in Goleta off of Hollister behind the Shell station.

10-13-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 72
There was a bit more south on the bouy and after yesterday I wasn’t too keen on heading back to Strand. Instead I headed to Shores with high hopes. It was very soft and fat with the high tide. I saw one alright set but there wasn’t much in between and it was hard to find a good bar to line up with. There was potential, though maybe not for my limited time window. Angers and I cruised to Fruit Stands. There were plenty of cars in the lot and with time a premium we just suited up and went for it. Judging from what I saw at Shores I took my small wave board. From the beach it looked a little stretched but with peaky combo corners. It was a tad larger then Shores and as soon as I paddled into my first wave, a heaving overhead right I regretted my board decision as I found myself upside down cascading to the impact zone with the lip. With that being my first wave you could only just guess how the rest of my surf played out. There was a terrible drift south and shitty rips. There was lots of paddling. I did manage one suicide backside drop to tube that I made it out of, a left in and out tube and an ok weird frontside tail free layback thing that I pulled out of my ass. Besides that I’d say it was yet another throw away surf. Angers caught the right bomb of the day on his 5’5 Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz. This thing came dredging down the beach picked him up on an over head race track where be banged out one sick hit and then went guns-a-blazing into a bit floater that annihilated him. We basically got our asses kicked for an hour and half and then came in. Good times. At work I got my 60 day evaluation and it was good. 30 more days to go and I’m a regular postal maintenance employee meaning I am fully protected by the union. Then it’s fuck off and chill. The photo is from Shores where we probably should have paddled our. Ryan showed up at Fruits while we were out there and we frantically signaled him not to paddle. He went over to Shores and said with the lower tide it was walled there too.

10-12-20 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
I got mixed reports all morning and finally decided to just have a look for myself. Though a little high tide and wonky there were some solid sets coming through at the Ship. Connor Coffin was out doing his thing. The crowd was definitely on the high end but there were waves to be had. Angers and I paddled and right off the bat I had a couple of fun ones. We had hoped with the tide dropping it would get better along with everyone else cause the crowd began to grow exponentially while waves began to get worse. By the end of the session it was absolutely terrible and packed. I almost had to paddle in and if you had seen the laughable wave I quit on you will have agreed I probably should have. I did manage a tube and a backside reverse that stoked me out. Still it was another session where I just felt out of sorts . Don’t let the picture fool you I never saw another set like that the entire surf.

10-11-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
First off all month I have been stuck in a surfing slump. Performance wise I am completely off my game. My stick ration is at like 25 percent. I’m landing on my board, hitting into my board all the time. It seems like I’m always picking the wrong waves and the wrong spots to surf. I’m a mess out there at the moment. Usually not surfing for a few days fixes the funk, but not this time cause I was still sucking out there today. It didn’t help that I completely destroyed my surfboard on my fifth wave or so when the backwash flipped it over on me mid fin throw. I landed the maneuver on the bottom of the board, hit my knee and my head hard ultimately creasing the board. You can imagine how the rest of the surf went after that. Oh as far as conditions went it was chest to occasional head with somewhat clean conditions the entire surf. Waves were peaky to borderline stretched. The only bummer out there besides the stupid crowd which was sixty strong from Knoll to mouth was the intense backwash that has been plaguing the line up there as of late. Angers was killing it as usual on his Pop Fizz. Maybe I’ll break the curse tomorrow. Rest of my day was spent playing custodian at the post office.

10-10-20 No Surfing 1-3+ ft
Just like that its back to days of not surfing due to terrible surf. Due some extenuating circumstances I am not about to get into I woke up on the couch (no fault of my own I might add). Surf looked pretty pathetic on buoys and cams and the reports I got back confirmed it. I had some ding repair to do anyway and for the first time in three days it was sunny allowing me to get my work load finished. Then it was off to the wonderful land of the Goleta Postal processing plant for work. Life just doesn’t get any sweeter… I did hear that the surf came up a tad in the afternoon though nothing special. I am definitely going to try and grovel something tomorrow.

10-9-20 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Another flat day left me grappling for my sanity. I threw another brief tantrum in my bathroom before going to the Carpenteria slough to do some birding with my wife. I owe her for putting up with my less then pleasant disposition lately. It was a fun morning and we actually saw about 20 or so different species of birds out there. Totally worth a visit if you have nothing to do.

10-8-20 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
The buoys and cams were even more pathetic then yesterday. I was just about to write the day off when I got word Strand had a wave. As I was out the door I got a call from another friend at the harbor who said it was barely big enough for his soft top. Taking that into account I stayed home only to find out later that Strand was pretty fun. Talk about blowing it. I hate living so far away from waves.

10-7-20 No Surfing:1-2+ ft
Miles Driven: 64
It was looking a tad small on the cams. I had some errands to run down south and figured there was enough swell mix that the Harbor might have something. It was absolutely pathetic there. Between the high tide and the sand the meager waist high waves were barely ride-able. I cruised to Ventura Point. It was crowded, windy and very weak. I even had a look at Emma, which was barely knee high before throwing in the towel. Guess it’s feast or famine around here.

10-6-20 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 66
There was still some left over Tropical south in the water. considering I have yet to find a sand bar that I am truly in love with I went back to Fruits despite not having a great surf there in some time. Angers cruised to Strand for a look. When I got to the beach the wind was light offshore and it looked about chest plus and though a tad weak there were clean little lines rolling down the beach. Angers came over and we hit it. Unfortunately as soon as I caught my first wave I could tell it was way weaker then I had initially thought. Considering how bombing it’s been it felt especially weak. Not to mention I was feeling a bit working from all surfing I have been doing plus work as well. Even weak the conditions were so nice that it was fun. I managed a few alright little in and outs. The current was pretty stiff forcing me to do drifts down the beach and then a walk back up. My first two were alright. My third one I got one super long runner. There wasn’t much to do on it besides just race it down the line. That wave put me completely out of position for the rest of the sets and I was left in a deep hole towards the north end of the beach. While stuck paddling hard to even find a wave to get me to the beach the wind turned on like a light switch out of the wnw absolutely trashing it. Of course I beat a dead horse out there for another forty minutes before getting completely frustrated and throwing a tantrum in the parking lot while Ryan and Angers stared at me. Between all the monetary losses and hardships I had to face because of Covid19 and having to work this terrible job at the post office I think I’m am seriously at my breaking point. I need to figure out a solution soon.

10-5-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Miles Driven: 56
I overslept about a half hour. All the reports said Shores had size but was crazy crowded and there was a bit of a wind ruffle on it. On the way down Angers called from Shores with a mixed report that left me not too stoked. There was a bit of west on the water along with the tropical south. I stopped off at Rincon for a look. It was small on the point and crowded and average at backside. I was still considering a paddle when I got word that Ship was fun. Just as I was passing Little ‘Con my Strand source back peddled and said he was going to Shores and also confirmed there was wind on it. Just in front of Emma Wood there is a fun left that can develop on the correct angled SE swell. I saw a set and a few guys on it. Rather waist any more time I swung around and paddled. It was chest to head with clean runners. There was a slight NW chop up the face, yet totally clean enough to surf. Once again if the wind had stayed down it could have been a great session. Instead it was just fun enough. I got a couple. At work I had my interview for Maintenance Mechanic and Maintenance Mechanic Electical. I passed for both. Now all I have to do is wait for a position to open up and I’ll be looking at a minimum of 10g’s more a year.

10-4-20 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
I got work early that Shores was firing but packed beyond recognition with all sorts of people. Bobby, the Coffin bro’s, shit I even heard Hawaiian Jamie Sterling was out there. Fruits was packed too and lately I haven’t been a fan of the sand bar there. It’s not in my opinion what it was in the spring and early summer. I figured if everyone was at those places maybe the Harbor wouldn’t be as crowded as usual. There was still close to fifty guys spread out from the Mouth to the Knoll. That being said there were lots of peaks up and down the beach and completely empty ones if you didn’t mind making the walk past the mouth. It was chest to head plus with occasional bomb sets thanks to a fresh hit of tropical swell. Angers was lagging as was Ryan. I ran down toward the Mouth and found a peak to myself. My first three waves were killer little in and out tubes. My fourth I had a slick tail free snap that I projected into the flat and then was able to recover into a fun little cover up. Then the south wind came up just like yesterday. The only difference was today I came an hour earlier to beat the wind. I can never catch a break. Then high tide took its toll making it very backwash riddled. The barrel was gone two. For about an hour Angers and I struggled through this gnar. Then I guess more swell was filling in and the slight drop of the tide some solid overhead bomb sets were pushing through. Still you had to be in just the right position or it was impossible to make. I got a few more bombs before cruising to work.

10-3-20 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 72
Talk about a hit and run swell. When I woke up there was hardly any west swell left at all. It was as if yesterday was just a dream. Shores was the call, though significantly smaller there were some clean chest plus peaks up and down the beach with some really nice shape. I didn’t factor in the dropping swell and rising tide ratio. Then a south wind came up adding just enough bump to make things annoying. There was already a fair amount of backwash on it from the fat tide. The finally kicker was that a gnarly thick fog bank rolled in so heavy I couldn’t see in front of me or behind me. I should have got my lazy ass there an hour earlier and I would have scored. I got to work, which is usually the downside of my day and as it turned out they were seven people short meaning they couldn’t run the majority of the machines making my job very easy.

10-2-20 AM Session: 6-8+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 72
The first WNW swell of the season was on the buoys. I checkes in front of my place at Lead better to get confirmation. It was about waist plus. I headed to Rincon figuring even with the high tide there would be some chest high fun ones. It was very swamped and not too much swell was showing. Early on I had gotten word that Shores was solid, “double overhead” from a pretty reliable source. Running low on time I bolted down there and it was thumping. Way overhead!! Some of the bombs were a little stretched but ample corners did exist. I paddled and right off the bat I took off on a bomb. I go to the bottom and was completely engulfed in the barrel. I was super deep and was just pumping through it hoping to hang on and find a safe place to try and get through the back. Right as I was about to bail I saw a doggy door opening and went for it. Luckily for me I snuck out and didn’t get jacked by the lip. After that I got a few other corners that were good for turns. As the session wore on it became more and more closed out. I wasn’t making anything. By this point it was just eight foot plus walls coming in a just dumping on the bar. I looked around and it was just Bobby Martinez and I and a few other dudes out. I was out of time and had to get a wave in. A big set came. I was out of position for the first four. Then the fifth one seemed like it had a line. I paddled hard snuck under the lip as survival surfed it to the beach. That first tube made it all worth it. Rest of my day was spent doing whatever it is they pay me to do at the Post Office.

10-1-20 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 2.5 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 66
Reports were all calling for calm wind and solid combo seelk all day. Bizzaro wanting to try out his new video camera decided to come along and get some film. It was a tad wonky with the high tide. No one was out either. I saw some bombing corners that looked do-able with the occasional hucking tube. It ended up getting pretty mental out there with sand sucking drainers up and down the beach. The majority of the sets were rather walled, but is you had patience there were some phenomenal tubes to be had. I frothed on it and the footage we got, let’s just say there will be a sick edit coming soon. The last twenty minutes of my session I spent stuck in a rip that completely burnt out my arms. When it subsided it put me in position for a gnarly kegger that was the perfect pit to quit on. Later that night I made pizza for my wife Biz and I. I’d say it was a pretty good day.