Surfing Ruined My Life

October 2021 Surf Sessions

10-31-21 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 64
Happy Halloween, as most of you know it’s my second favorite Holiday after NYE.  Unfortunately thanks to an overtime shift at work there will be no costumes or festivities for me tonight.  I hope had a fun time for me.  The swell was the smallest I have seen it in more then two weeks.  There was just trace south and NW in the water.  Of course conditions were as clean as it gets. Once again like yesterday it was  another marine layer day.  We just can’t shake it this year.  My first stop was Harbor and definitely where I should have paddled.  There were peaks up and down the beach but inconsistent, hard to line up and rather mushy when they did come.  As per usual it was stupid crowded for what was out there.  I saw a few peaks at Emma on the drive down and headed back that way.  Being that it has been high tide for months in my window. I did not take into account the dropping tide which always takes a toll on Emma, especially when it’s small.  I saw a few on the north peak and a few on the south peak.  The south peak was a cluster fuck of beginners thus I decided to surf in front of the toll booth.  Right off the bat I got rocked dropping into a double up right hand tube.  I managed a handful of screamers after that too.  Then the tide completely turned it off forcing me to paddle into the cluster fuck that was on the left off the life guard tower peak.  I got a few more there before packing it in so we could head to Carpinteria for a most appreciated Hugo’s breakfast.  The rest of my day was spent hating my life for ten hours at the Post Office. 

10-30-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 78
As a result of a last minute schedule change due to one of my co-workers falling off his bike and incurring a head injury I had the day off.  I so rarely get a Saturday off in my life I seldom know what to do with myself.  The day was already stacked.  Surf, get brunch with the wife, sand some surf boards, then get ready to hit the Wild Cat for a little Halloween romp.  The surf was down from the past few days. I had a look at the Harbor.  Though there were a few corners to be had it was still fairly walled and crowded for how bad it was.  I had a feeling that Strand might have a wave and cruised to the Ship.  At first glance it looked pretty pathetic.  I was talking with John on the beach and in that time saw a few kill-able ones thus we paddled.  Overall it was a bit in inconsistent and when a wave did come through you had to lucky to be in the right position.  That being said there were a few tubes, turns and airs to be had.  Once again the rights were overall better than the lefts.  After the surf my wife and I cruised to Henri’s in Oxnard a janky little luncheonette that is steadily climbing the charts in my book.  Then it was home to grind out some ding work.  Finally we capped the evening off with our Halloween costume rendition of Silence of the Lambs with me as Hannibal, Bizarro as Buffalo Bill and my wife as Clarice.  It was pretty classic.  Considering it was Saturday night the Wild Cat was a shit show.  It didn’t help that I remained rather sober the entire night opting for clarity and feeling good in the morning rather then the gnarly drunk many of you have seen me as in years past.  It was a fun time out and another Halloween in the books.  If you want to see pictures check out my Instagram: @lisantiruinedmylife 

10-29-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 56
There was a fresh hit of steep long period NW swell in the water coupled with left over WNW and SW swell.  I headed south with little gas in my tank and considering NW winds were supposed to pick up by mid morning I wasn’t planning on going further then Emma Wood.  Out of all those options  Rincon was the best though far from good.  305 is a tough angle for the Queen.  Jeffery and I surfed lower River Mouth.  There was a stiff pack up at Indicator surfing a less than stellar inconsistent wave not worth fighting for.  We found some kill-able ones in our little zone.  Every so often a runner would roll through good for five to six turns.  There was a nice air section too though the landing was in the rocks.  Luckily my board and I made it through unscathed. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where as a result of two over flowing toilets I got to spent a half hour cleaning shit and piss off the floor.  Now that’s living the GLAMOROUS LIFE!!!

10-28-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 78
It was already heating up outside when I woke up at 7:30.  There were reports of a possible Santa Ana event at the VTA beaches.  Bizarro and I cruised south straight to North Strand since that was where we heard it was at.  The wind was off shore and not crazy hard for a change.  It’s cool having off shore winds, but it sucks when it’s blowing thirty knots and you can barely paddle into the waves or even catch your breath.  It was packed with cameras, pros and everyone in between.  We must have missed it cause it looked pretty weak and burgery to me.  I saw a few waves down by the Ship and headed there.  Sure enough there were some mixed peaks up and down the beach. It was very backwashy with the high tide and looked very difficult to make the tiny barrels.  It didn’t help that there was a body boarder having difficulty making tubes.  We decided to go look at Hueneme.  Before we even got a few blocks from Ship I got word that Hueneme was walled with south wind on it.  We paddled the Ship.  Biz filmed from the beach not in the mood to get wrecked in shore pound swimming.  My first wave I late dropped into a sick right hand drainer I pig dogged my way out of.  That was the best wave of my surf.  It was one of those odd days where the rights were actually better than the lefts.  The rising tide eliminated most of the tubes and after about a half hour the wind went SSE adding a bit of bump on it.  Everyone got out and I had the place to myself.  It actually got kind of rip-able.  I got in the zone and had a blast.   We definitely got a few clips.  Ryan paddled out and we decided to end our summer long feud over a pair of drop ins a year apart.  It’s funny how something so dumb as that was the catalyst for a ten year plus friendship to come to a halt.  I have to say it was a rather uncomfortable summer whenever our paths crossed in the line up for us and our mutual friends.  At the end of the day I was stoked to get my friend back.  Life is too short to hold a grudge.  The rest of my day was spent grinding away at ding repair. 

10-27-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 104
I don’t know about anyone else out there in the 805 but for me this has been a very frustrating run of swell the past few days and today was no better. Bizarro and I left early with hopes and dreams of scoring some decent clips.  Rincon was crowded and average.  Little Rincon was actually the best wave of the morning, but with less swell and rising tide we decided to hedge our bets and head to the beaches. Harbor was close out city.  Hueneme had a few corners but was a bit broken up and all over the place with some funky onshore wind.  Strand was ok, but not for the amount to guys to decent wave ratio.  Over it, we decided to go hunt around for this years movie themed Halloween costume.  Normally we do multiple costumes but with money tight and time scarce we settled to just try and pull off Silence of the Lambs.  It’s going to be pretty classic as usual.  We will be out Saturday night from 10pm on at the Wild Cat Lounge in Santa Barbara if you’re around day hi and we can have a drink.  I promise I will post photos on my Instagram.  We sorted out the costumes between the Thrift Store, Dollar Tree, the spirit of Halloween (which had just about no inventory and was way expensive this year) and Ross.  At this point the tide was on the way down and there was a NW breeze picking up.  We went back to the points and did the Rincon loop.  Once again ‘Con looked terrible and crowded for what it was.  Little Rincon had a fun looking wave.  There were five guys on it with only two waves per set and it was inconsistent.  The guys out there were all competent surfers and taking turns.  If I were to jump in the mix I would only be getting a wave every third set.  No one was blowing waves so scrapping the inside was out.  I passed on it.  Pitas had a wave but was still pretty fat with potential.  Emma had some corners but overall it just looked crowded and not that good.  The call was to just jump in at Pitas, hope it got better with the tide and shoot some water since the afternoon light was pretty unreal.  It was below average but we did manage to get a few really good shots.  I feel like we always do our best water on sub-par days cause I don’t mind making a real effort to line up my rides with Bizarro.  When we first paddled it was just us and two other guys.  After an hour six more guys showed up when there was barely enough waves for the three of us and it actually got worse as the tide dropped.  We bailed stoked we got what we got.  You can see the spoils of our labor on both mine @lisantiruinedmylife and Bizarro’s @christopher_dunlea Instagram accounts. 

10-26-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 41
Before I get into today’s log I would like to make note that the crowd at Sand Spit yesterday was one of the heaviest I have ever witnessed in all my tenure here in SB for a day that was ok at best.  What a joke.  I guess everyone wants to live the dream of dropping in three flag poles deep and getting spit out at the end of the break wall into the channel.  Guess what, those days are rare and the waves that make it all the way through are unicorns.  That being said I have done it a handful of times in my life and it certainly was incredible.  Every time it happened I quit for the day on that ride.  One would have to be a pure gluten to go back for more. This morning I woke up in the dark and checked Sand Spit hoping to get a few tubes right at sunrise then bail as the crowd filled in.  The waves were all jumbled and not connecting with few barrels.  I went back to bed.  Later that morning Bizarro and I headed to Sharks.  We walked in but we’re left wanting at the poor shape and lack of wrap into the point.  From there we stopped at Rincon.  It was packed and pretty junky to fight a two hundred crowd.  At Little Rincon it was already very high tide, broken up with an odd south funk on it.  There were only three guys out and I was out of time thus paddled.  There were definitely some over head bombs to be had.  The majority of the waves were stretched or double up close outs.  Every now and then a good set would come through and I was able to bang out two or three turns.  One other guy and I had the place to ourselves for a half hour.  Slowly one by one the crowd filtered in, probably because I made it look too fun since a number a guys who paddled said to me they were going to bail but then saw me get a few good ones.  By the time I got quit it was a shit show out there with rippers, kooks, guys on fun shapes and everything in between.  The majority just blowing waves, barely able to make the drop.  Is this really what surfing has become? A MOCKERY!!! The strong suffer cause of so many weak.  I don’t care about how many guys surf.  Please know your skill level and pick your spot accordingly.  Not only is it frustrating for good surfers to watch you waste waves but it’s also dangerous for everyone.  I guess I should have went to Strand and charged close outs with that crew if I wanted to be among the truly devoted. I got home to find that my wife decided to take the day off not feeling well from the let down of us not getting another property we were bidding on.  The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office where I contemplated jumping into the garbage compactor after hitting the button and calling it a day.  On a lighter note if you want to get a Clarks surfboard ready as a Christmas gift and want the physical board by the 25th I need your order and deposit in by Monday.  Don’t forget we do gift certificates and have awesome apparel.  Please buy something so I feel like at least one aspect of my life is working out. 

10-25-21 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Hobsons
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 9
Miles Driven: 56
The surf gods decided to fuck me in the ass this morning.  Originally it was suppose to storm over night, then the weather guys changed it to early in the morning.  Instead it poured and the hard SW winds blew from 9am-11am right smack in the middle of my surf widow.  There weren’t too many souls out there searching this morning. I knew all the ones that were.  Most just as crazy and devoted as myself.  Jeffery got an early start and checked everything from Rincon to Strand with little success.  I was hanging in the lot at Emma on the phone with my realtor trying to negotiate a counter offer on a condo at Hueneme.  Ultimately the other buyer was more motivated then I was and thus I bowed out rather than over pay for a place I was at the deepest roots of my heart still settling for.  Then again I’m poor so I suppose I will always be stuck settling for an over priced piece shit at some point.  Today wasn’t going to be that day.  Emma was a bit gnarly with lots of backwash and current.  Jeffery and I cruised north where we settled, as is the theme in my life lately, for junky head high plus, south wind, high tide Hobsons.  It was pretty terrible out there, though not as terrible as it looked.  That being said it still sucked.  The entire session we were getting pelting with sand filled rain for wonky, bouncy, wind blown close outs.  I took my EPS 5’7 out cause it was mushy not taking into account the elements and just about spent each ride bouncing around.  I did manage two ok turns and a floater so the surf wasn’t a total loss. I think the most exciting part of my surf was the climb in and out on the sea wall with waves crashing just about to the top of it.  Of course around 2pm the wind went north cleaning up all the points.  I got to watch some pretty decent head high sand bar on the cam right before I left for work.  I probably should have called in sick.  I don’t think it was so good out there to waste a sick day on.  The crowd was dumb anyway.  Maybe that’s what being old teaches you, responsibility.  Besides I need this shitty job I can’t stand so that I can keep bidding on homes I don’t really want, can’t really afford and get out bid for them by a cash buyer.   Welcome to the California dream.  Can I please wake up now? No photo cause the wind and rain were so hard I didn’t want to get soaked. Think of the shittiest victory at sea conditions you can imagine and that was what I was surfing.

10-24-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 82
I feel like the first few swells of the season are always let downs.  They probably wouldn’t be if Surfline didn’t get every kook excited so that all I hear about for days before is how good it’s going tone. After enough of this suggested swell hysteria even my skeptical self begins to believe the hype.  This morning there was a funky south wind up the channel adding way too much funk on all the points.  Coupled with the endless morning high tide it was horrendous.  Emma was crowded for the below average crap rolling through.  I cruised to Hueneme where there was a small wave off the pier that looked almost fun.  It had six guys on it and that was already too many for the lack of decent ones coming through.  I got word that North Jetty at Strand had some wonky high tide bombs rolling in and headed there.  It was definitely solid over head with about fifteen guys spread among five peaks or so.  The fat tide had definitely added some wonk to it.  I was out of time and options thus paddled.  It was very shifty with backwash but if you managed to get the rare left bowl that stood up it was alright.  At the very least it was fun to snag a few bombs.  I managed a handful of fun enough lefts.  After the surf it was eats at Hugos in Carpinteria and then a fun time stuck in Sunday traffic to get back to SB for another thrilling day at work. 

10-23-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 41
I just can’t take all the stress that is related to a hyped up swell anymore.  I have enough problems to stress me out in my everyday life let alone throwing a swell on top of them, a weekend swell too.  Now instead of just waking up and going to my usual haunts to find a shitty wave to do a few turns, maybe an air and an occasional head dip on, I have to figure out where I can score the best least crowded waves in my limited time window.  I need to find something alright too, otherwise I am going to be frustrated every time some other surfer tells me how good they got it. Every surfer lives to tell a surfer like myself how much better they scored it then me.  Today of course I couldn’t just focus on the surf.  I also had to go down to Oxnard to look at a few prospective homes to buy.  Anyone who has ever tried to buy a home knows how difficult and annoying this process is. Especially in Southern California when you have a limited income as I do.  I had to be in Port Hueneme up by the water front at noon.  Meanwhile the swell was very west meaning I’d probably find the best waves closer to SB.  Once again there was a six foot high tide at noon and it was already past the three foot mark at first light with some ugly channel funk on it.  Against my better judgement I ended up at Rincon battling a hundred plus crowd for what I would call below average Rincon.  The majority of the crowd were out of towners.  This always plays to my advantage cause most of them don’t know where to sit or even which waves to pick and not to be a dick but when ‘Con gets that crowded if I don’t recognize you and a good one comes through I’m most likely going to burn you if the opportunity presents itself as one very angry young lady found out this morning.  Sorry girl on the purple mid-length but I guarantee you we not going to make it around the first section or bang out there solid top to bottom turns after.  That’s surfing Darwinism at its best folks.  For the most part I did my usual crowded Rincon strategy and hung around lower River Mouth to high Cove picking off whatever might line up for a few turns before closing out.  I even managed to get a few seven to ten turn ones half way into the Cove.  I ended up having way more fun then I had expected.  Then Bizarro, my wife and I loaded up and cruised down to check out some places.  We saw a condo in Port Hueneme for the second time and decided to put a low ball offer on it.  The place was decent but only if I can get it for the price I want.  The consensus I got about the surf the rest of the day was that the it was pretty much average and a let down everywhere.  The rest of my day was spent working a ten hour overtime shift at the Post Office so I can afford that mortgage I’m trying to get. Life is so fucked up.  I wish I could just go back to sleeping on someone’s couch and just surfing all day. I suppose we can’t go back, time only moves forward. 

10-22-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 82
If car surfing was in the Olympics I might have a shot at a gold medal.  Shit, the fucking gas companies ought to give me prize for the giant carbon foot print I stomp down chasing bad waves week in and week out.  At $4.50 a gallon I’m up to over $100 a week just to surf.  I started at Rincon, but between the fat tide, weaker swell and a strange south funk wind coupled with too many guys for how bad it was I was over it.  From there I headed to Emma, which was weak, small and way too crowded for what was there.  There were a few at Ventura Harbor though ninety percent closed out.  Someone mentioned Hueneme was fun.  When I got there it was tiny, weak and terrible.  Completely out of time I got a call from Jeffery that Strand was fat but surf-able.  I met him at the Ship where there was some chest high plus shore break that was better then anything I had seen.  We jumped in and though wonky there were some decent sections to be had, even the odd all barrel.  Of course when I’m running late I absolutely got murdered in traffic on the 101 all the way home and to work.  Some how I still managed to only be seven minutes late.  Fun times in the life of a surf obsessed idiot.  

10-21-21 PM Session: 2-3+ ft, Naples
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 97
Without sacrifice there cannot be a true score.   Without risk there can be no gain.  I rolled the dice today and I lost.  There was some really solid WNW swell in the water, the best we have seen thus far this fall.  There was also a six foot high tide at eleven pretty much ruining the morning.  Bizarro and I set out to check the south points starting with Hammonds all the way down to Emma Wood.  Nothing was that great.  In hindsight we should have just paddled fat tide Rincon.  The crowd was light and there were some sets to be had still.  Instead we decided to bank on a dropping tide Naples session.  As soon as we got to Seals I could tell it was not quite what I had hoped for.  Unfortunately traffic heading south was already tough. We saw a few sets all the way up at Naples Reef and paddled it.  This is my least favorite section of Naples and one I only surf out of pure necessity of desperation.  There were chest high sets and it was clean.  I managed a decent right hand tube on my third wave that was one of the highlights of the surf for me.  It was definitely pretty slow out there and with the dropping tide it was only getting worse. My only salvation was that I ended up running into two UCSB kids who are also readers of this blog.  We had at the very least fun conversation with all the down time.  The Gaviota coast is always a gamble and today I lost.  At the very least I got a few fun waves and made some new friends.  At the core of it that is what surfing is really all about anyway. 

10-20-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 82
There was just some minor combo swell on the buoys.  Rincon was a bust and Emma was crowded.  Jeffery was at Hueneme off the Pier and Bizarro and I decided to cruise.  It was about chest high and very peaky and rip-able.  I jumped in and found a palatable left going back towards the south side of the pier.  Hunter and John ended up joining me and we made the most out of what was out there.  Bizarro definitely got a few decent clips.  After the surf I had an afternoon appointment at the DMV to finally get my drivers license.  Mine was stolen over a year ago at Zeros.  I figured I probably can’t keep using Covid as an excuse and it was time to get one.  I don’t know why they make you have an appointment.  I still waited over an hour before the whole process was done.  Then they said it’s going to be like 4-6 weeks to get it in the mail! Is it coming in a container ship?  The lack of inefficiency in our life today is amazing.  I need a vacation.  Looks like some swell on the way tomorrow.  Can’t wait to see what ludicrous crowd that brings. 

10-19-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Ventura Camp Grounds
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 58
It was a really exquisite morning out there today.  Amazing lighting, spectacular weather, conditions as clean as could be, even a fair amount of combo swell in the water.  There was also six foot high tide a 9:30am to contend with flooding nearly every spot around.  Bizarro and I started at Rincon, though it had potential I knew it was going to be a real struggle till at least eleven.  From there we cruised to Emma where I was on the fence.  There were waves and it was peaky enough but in the back of my head I wondered if Hueneme was better.  Jeffery decided to give Ventura Camp ground at the backside of Ventura Point a go.  I have never at that much luck there over the years.  Trevor and I used to jokingly call that spot the ten dollar close out cause it was a State Beach and ten bucks to park if you didn’t want to walk in from the street.  We were set to do Emma. By the time I put on my sun block a dozen guys were on it.  Then after I turned my suit right side out there were twenty five guys out.  Then a crew of six parked and suited.  There were hardly enough decent waves for about eight guys let alone thirty.  We bailed and joined Jeffery at the Campground.  Considering the extreme tide and the combo swell it was actually peaky enough to be kill-able.  The first half hour was an absolute rip fest with turns, airs and even a few tubes.  After that the tide got just a foot lower and the wind picked up ever so slightly out of the SW.  This was enough to turn it to junk and the ten dollar close out returned with a vengeance.  I suppose it worked out cause Chris had to quit any way cause he was getting working hard over the shallow cobble stones on the inside.  Still, I’d say it beat fighting the pack at Emma.  From there I enjoyed an impromptu lunch with my wife who came home early since she had to work early.  These days with my crazy busy schedule any extra time we get together is a blessing.  The rest of my day was spent watching eight hours of my life disappear under accomplished, under appreciated and grossly under paid.  Please people order a Clarks surf board or some apparel so that I can one day quit this horrible job and live my dream of surfing and shaping and just giving and living the gift of stoke. 

10-18-21 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 64
I suppose my ten day run of chest high plus surf or better had to end sometime.  I woke and the wind was already howling out of the WNW at me place.  This coupled with a deep morning high tide and  steep NW swell and minor South swell didn’t bode well for me.  My first stop was Rincon knowing it was going to suck everywhere I though maybe I could cut my losses and just paddle my fish around.  The tide was just way too high and swell too small for what was coming through.  I headed to Emma, but it was tiny too.  Since I was already that far south I thought why not burn another six bucks in gas and cruise to the Harbor.  With any luck New Jetty could have a sloppy but rip-able wave.  It did not.  I went back to Rincon, suites up and paddled.  It was atrocious and barely surf-able. I started up and Indicator and just went after any ripple that would carry me till I was at the bottom of the Cove.  I actually did manage a few on ones and even got a 100 yard ride at some spot down the point.  It was definitely a day that made the 365 day challenge a bit of a grind. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

10-17-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 30
With the same tide only an hour later, rather then do another goose chase yesterday I decided to just head to Rincon. Though a little swamped with the fat tide there were definitely some high tide runners through the River Mouth. The crowd was very light for any day let alone a Sunday. I paddle, Jeffery joined and Biz showed up to shoot water and I had my wife on the beach with a lens too. The surf started out a little auspicious when I found a crease in the Pop Fizz from Clarks Surfboards I rode out there yesterday. Its an old board so it was bound to end for it at some point but it was also one of my favorites. Luckily I had my Clarks Fly Guy with me too. Thus I paddled it as it turned out that was the better option for the conditions anyhow. As the tide began to recede the surf got rather punchy and top to bottom and I was glad to have the higher performance board under my feet. Maybe it was the lack of crowd but I got in the zone and got on a real tear. It was just one of those rare surfs where I could do no wrong. In my twenties this was the majority of my surfs. Now at forty my consistency is a tad less then it once was. Whenever a session like this comes about it really makes my day. In these trying times where I find myself mostly down on life I will take this minute win. The rest of my day was spent grinding away at the Post Office, though thanks to the good surf it was more tolerable then usual.

10-16-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Miles Driven: 82
To say this morning was frustrating would be an understatement. Saturday is almost like a slap in the face. All week long it’s crowded but you can find a bit of a reprieve if your willing. On the weekend there are people surfing everywhere!! Notice I didn’t use the term surfers. I used “people” cause these days the majority of the crowd especially on the weekends are random people who surf. Not surfers. I think those of us who are surfers need to take the term back. Maybe I’ll write a blog on this. The wind was off shore but there was yet another very high tide at 8:30 swamping the majority of the beach breaks. I checked everywhere to no avail then ran to Hueneme. It would have been fun there except the wind turned hard south as soon as I parked my car. This basically trashed all the VTA beaches. I was at a loss on what to do till I got a text from Bizarro that he was going to shoot Rincon and it was chest high. With lack of a better option and completely out of time I ran back up to ‘Con. I didn’t check it, grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish and ran up to River Mouth. As soon as I hit the water I was greeted by a solid chest plus set that peeled perfectly with a solid lip line on them. At that point I was kicking myself for not bringing my Clarks Fly Guy Model. The Fizz can handle all sorts of waves and we did it dirty out there. The only downside was it was a little bit inconsistent and there weren’t really any in between waves. With that and the crowd I was not able to get quite as many as I would have liked and had to play a little dirty game of line up tactics at times. That being said I got a handful of really decent ones. The rest of my day was regrettably spent at the Post Office where once again thanks to being way under staffed I had to cover the entire plant alone and was stuck working two hours over time. Can Covid please end already so I can go back to a career in food.

10-15-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 66
Today was the first Santa Anna day of the season. I wait all summer long for that first fall day when the wind is off shore at the VTA beaches. Last year the majority of the Santa Anna wind events occurred when there was very little swell in the water. The only thing worse then small waves is small waves with twenty five knot off shore winds on them. This morning there was still plenty of residual combo swell to be had. Jeffery was at Fruits and Bizarro and I joined him. We have filmed the first Santa Anna day for the past two falls. Though a bit walled there were some over head screamers to be had. It turned out to be way more difficult to make then it looked from the beach. The first half of my surf was me just pulling into close outs or free falling head over heels into the pit. Then something clicked for me in the second half and I could do no wrong making all kinds of nutty drops and tubes. I even got a bomb right that I knocked two huge turns on. What a surf. When I was leaving Dane and his crew were pulling up to rip. From the surf it was a mad dash to the Clarks surfboard work shop to pick up some EPS boards that had just got finished with by my glasser. Two for Loren Bird and one Fly Guy Model for me. Then it was back to SB and off to work for me. Never a moments rest here in Lisanti Land.

10-14-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 36
Miles Driven: 78
With lots of Combo swell still in the water and favorable wind conditions Biz and I headed for the beaches to keep stacking clips. Loren was claiming Harbor so we stopped there first. It was all over the place, somewhat walled and crowded as usual. Jeffery was at Fruits but I couldn’t see it being all that much better then Harbor there. We had a look at Shores where it was definitely more peaky but also all over the place and the NW sets were still pretty walled. Finally we had a look at Strand which had the most shape but was barely pushing chest high on set and a weak chest high at that. Shores was the call. C.C. met us there and we paddled with this other dude Matt who lives just up the street. We pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves. There were some real over head bombers coming through too. It was definitely all over the place and very hard to line up a good. I saw lots of good waves everywhere but rarely was in the right spot. The boys bailed and left me out the back where I did another hour by myself. All it took was some patience and there were plenty of good ones to go around. After the surf Bizarro and I went to check out this new grocery store that opened up in Ventura called Aldi. We had never heard of it and thought it was worth a perusal. We weren’t all that impressed and I doubt I’ll be going back there. No to mention you have to put quarters in the shopping carts in order to use them. Later that evening my wife and I did our annual pumpkin picking outing at Lane Farms in Goleta. It was a bit of a culture shock from last year in the height of the pandemic where not too many people were out and about. This year the place was packed. It was a little hard for me to take. Is anyone else having a hard time to readjusting to post quarantine America? When the pumpkin fun was over my wife took me to this rad little steak house in Goleta called The Nugget. The food was ok, nothing to write home about. The pricing was fair for what you got. The atmosphere was awesome with taxidermy animal heads decorating the walls and all sorts of other rugged out doors type decor. I’m not sure I’ll be back anytime soon but if you’re in the area it’s definitely worth a visit.

10-13-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 78
The buoys were definitely calling for Ship to be decent. First reports I got was that there were waves but it was packed and wonky with few good ones. Rincon had a wave up top that provoked me to get off and have a look at some of the Sea Cliff waves. I was on my way to check Pitas when I got word from Jeffery that it wasn’t happening thus Bizarro and I continued on to Emma. There were waves, but between all the combo swell and the lower tide it was a bit too peaky. Not to mention the crowd was stupid. We decided to press onward south. My next stop was Hollywood where it was almost doing it. Maybe a hair less tide and it could have been the spot. From there we headed straight to the ship. It was definitely packed with easily fifty guys from Ship to Tower 4. More guys were leaving then coming with the tide and wind coming up the early crowd was definitely about to clear out. I jumped in at the Ship and found out that it was definitely a bit tricky out there. My first three waves I was out of sorts for sure. Then I locked into a good left that I belted three big turns on. That wave changed the momentum of the rest of my surf. I stopped scratching for every wave that came my way and just waited for the good ones. On my best wave I scored a double barrel. I’d say it was a good day of surfing and we definitely put down a few clips. Normally it would be my day off, but we are pretty short handed to begin with being down three custodians and on top of that a few guys took off this week cause of Columbus Day (I’m Italian so I will still call it such). As a result I had to work. The rest of my day was spent breathing in shitty fire smoke filled air at the Post Office.

10-12-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Little Rincon
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 62
This morning was a serious let down. But before I get into the surf let me tell you about a fun little situation of Lisanti rage I got into last night. I got out of work on time for a change at 11pm. The Alisal fire was burning up in Gaviota near Refugio making the air quality shit. I pulled into my building and there was a car in my parking space. Those of you who know me understand how angry this blatant disrespect and lack of consideration makes me. I was already seeing red. I noticed a Door Dash sign in the dudes window so I waited in the drive way for him to pull out of my space. When he got back to his car he wouldn’t pull out. Instead he wanted me to back out into the street. My building has a long narrow driveway into the parking area and it’s basically blind coming into the street. I never back out for that reason. I left him enough space to pull out of my space and drive his car to the right so I could pull in and he could then subsequently pull out. He wouldn’t do it and this went on for about fifteen minutes till he started beeping his horn and blasting music pissing off my neighbors while threatening to call the cops on me. I scoffed cause he was the one trespassing on my property. My neighbors were getting angry. It was after 11pm. I took a photo of his license plate and door dash badge and pulled into the back of the lot allowing him to leave. Instead he starts kicking my car yelling why did I take his picture. Finally I got out and got in his face and said go ahead and hit me. Just give me an excuse to beat you to death in self defense. At this point my neighbor upstairs came down cause he got woke up. This dude is as crazy as me and he came at the guy. Dude decided it was best to get the fuck out. Man do I hate human beings. Unfortunately when I looked at the photos I took they were too blurred to get a good read on the license plate so I can’t even report him. Maybe I’ll just keep ordering Door Dash till he shows up. Back to the surf. The wind blew all night and I had hoped we would have picked up some real wind swell. All the town spots were small. Bizarro and I headed for the south points. Rincon was also tiny and weak. Little Rincon was a tad better but with the impending high tide we decided to give Emma a look. Pitas was the dividing line on the wind being way harder and more west thus Emma was sloppy with a terrible current and it looked like a lot of work. Out of time we did the Rincon loop one more time and decided to paddle Little Con since I saw a real set from the freeway. The tide got super high and turned it off rather fast. I don’t think I have ever surfed Little Con that high at such a small size. It was so fat I started taking lefts and was using the boil off the mueller rock as a ramp. That was a first. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office watching the fire grow to over ten thousand aches. California is a wonderful place, where you pay top dollar, get paid very little, while dealing with rude obnoxious idiots and annoying wild fires. All we need now is a good earth quake to shake things up. Pun intended.

10-11-21 AM Session: 4-6+ ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 12
Miles Driven: 78
Why is it that whenever I have to be down south that is when the waves decide that they are going to cooperate closer to home? Though from what I saw it looked like every wave around besides Emma Wood was below average this morning. Emma was slightly above average but as crowded as crowded gets out there. I had to be down at Strand at 10:30 to view a prospective home for sale. I stopped and looked at Hollywood. It was surf-able but with the rising tide I wasn’t too privy. Ultimately I just jumped in at North Strand for lack of a better place in my current time constraint. It was pretty dumpy with absolutely no shape to it. I managed a few turns that I worked rather hard to get. Mostly it was just a lot of work out there for very very limited reward sort of like my life these days. As far as house hunting goes we saw an over priced POS on the backside of Strand and two condos in Hueneme one of which we were kind of interested in. I’m just not yet resolved to settling for condo living, but it’s food for thought. Then it was a mad dash back to SB to grind away and watch my life slowly slip away at the Post Office.

10-10-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 82
Hueneme was a bad choice. There is nothing worse then when you show up to a spot at the end of a fun surf window but you think it’s just the beginning of the fun window. This is exactly what happened to Bizarro and I this morning. Really we should have just paddled out at The Harbor but it was very crowded for what was out there and with the tide coming up to a six foot tide at noon I was skeptical, while Hueneme usually gets better on a high tide. Also I’d like to mention that I got a later start then I would like thanks to having to work overtime till 1am last night and then there being a six car pile up on the 101 in Montecito. By the time we got to Ventura it was already 10 am. We saw a couple of clean choice little bowls on the rock side of Hueneme. With glassy conditions and good lighting we were pumped to do some water photography. Right off the bat there were some really fun waves to be had. Then some random long boarder decided to come and sit right on us when there were hundred did of yards of similar peaks both north and south of us. I hate when people do that. It was obvious we were trying to line up to get shots which is hard enough at beach break let alone having to worry about another random surfer getting in the way. Then at about twenty minutes in it just completely turned off. When a set wave did come in it just dumped. I think with the smaller swell the six foot tide just turned it off. Still we managed a few shots. At the very least it was a nice morning to be in the water. Was it worth all the driving and effort? Certainly not. Hindsight is 20/20 after all. I just love burning $100 a week up in gas.

10-9-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 82
More fat tide and combo swell had me back at Hueneme after a brief check at Rincon. As I was saying yesterday about how that place is different every single day and today was no exception. Today it was a skate park. I hate when surfers use that term to describe conditions, but there were perfect clean little wedges, lines and ramps up and down the beach allowing the ability to do just about whatever you wanted. I suppose it was the surfing equivalent of a skate park. The waves were a bit on the softer side. As the tide reached peak high there were some very boost-able double ups. I got on a froth and was having a very good session. That means I will probably surf like shit for at least a handful of sessions. After the surf I took my wife to the cheese steak shop I ate at on Thursday after I surfed. Hands down the closest thing to an authentic Philadelphia Cheese Steak spot I have ever eaten at on the west coast besides the brief time I owned mine in Santa Barbara. After lunch we cruised to Shores to look at what was supposed to be a two bedroom condo. It was well priced though had been on the market for over a month, a feat that is unheard of in this market. Turned out it’s really a one bedroom with a converted loft making it a bit too uncomfortable or three people to live jn. The place was small overall. House hunting is definitely a trying task. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

10-8-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 82
The wind was up and swell average this morning. I was really hoping to surf something off Sea Cliffs and save some gas and time. It was too high and on the small side. The Harbor was windy, junky and crowded. Back to Hueneme I went. Hueneme has to be one of the most schizophrenic beach breaks I have ever surfed. It’s got some many different shapes, moods and faces. This morning it was better on the rock side and super bowly boost-able shore breaky close outs. Out of time and options Jeffery and I paddled. It was pretty much just quick left and right one turn waves. I got on a froth and had a good time. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

10-7-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 30
Miles Driven: 82
The swell was down a tad from Yesterday. The Harbor was off shore. New Jetty was packed and the knoll was junky and crowded. Not wanting to do the crowd thing again today I decided to cruise to Hueneme and hope for the best. It was decidedly smaller then Harbor and had a funky south wind on it. Rock side was completely trashed. I had a look at the pier and there was a surprisingly decent right coming off the south side. It was almost a legit fun looking wave. There were two guys out so I paddled the north side of the pier and caught a few there as to not cramp their style before paddling over. The really good ones were few and far between. Most were either small and gutless or closed out. When one of those pier rights rolled through it was really fun. I had three I was able to combo five solid turns on. Then the tide got too low and it turned off. Fun while it lasted. The rest of my day was spent in the shaping bey.

10-6-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 64
With the deep morning high tides and swell angle options have been very limited. After exhausting all possibilities Jeffery and I were on the dunes over looking New Jetty and the Knoll. I decided to paddle New Jetty. He went for the Knoll. You know if I paddle New Jetty I must have ran out of options. There peaks spread out from Jetty to Jetty which always makes the crowd more manageable. There were the classic sweeping big NW close out sets that also help keep the crowd honest. I got out there and found a serviceable left and right just about fifty yards off the Jetty. There was an annoying rip that pretty much left the peak just to myself. I was having a decent time till I landed an air and hit a heavy amount of backwash sending my board right into my face. I was in a lot of pain but decided to finish my session. Once I got out of the water I was feeling very dizzy, almost like I was drunk. I was also pretty sure I broke my nose judging by the new shape it had taken on. I was supposed to shape but given my current state I decided to head home and address my injury. End result was a broken nose and a minor concussion. Go big or go home.

10-5-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 64
Last night pretty much all of Southern California got hit with a gnarly pattern of thunderstorms with some cool lighting in the mix. It also brought had WSW winds whipping through the channel pretty much all night long. I knew I was waking up to trashed conditions and a tricky morning scouting out surf. Every where had ugly morning sickness to it. A five and a half foot high tide at 9:30 didn’t help either. After exhausting all possibilities with in my time window Jeffery and I decided to paddle Emma which looked fun. I was hurting this morning due to lack of sleep and overall body fatigue that comes with never getting a moment to rest. Once in the water there was some very angry back wash to contend with on top of the already somewhat dumpy conditions. This just about took all the wind out of my sails as I took serial beating after serial beating. I did manage two left barrels that stoked me out. Dane Guadaskas paddled for a brief moment and put us all to shame. My boy Chris who I traveled with for a bit in NZ paddled out and we did our usual catch since we seem to randomly surf together a few times a year. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

10-4-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 30
I got word from Jeffery who was on his way to the beaches that he saw some waves at Rincon. Only about fifteen minutes behind him I elected to pull off and check considering that the swell was a bit too west and tide high for the beaches anyway. There were some clean lines with a light crowd up at Indicator. It looked a tad on the weak side but was still somewhat enticing. I got word the beaches weren’t really happening and paddled. Taking into account how weak it looked I grabbed my Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz fish. Once out there though some off the sets were pushing chest high it was even more weak then I had initially thought making me very glad to have my fish. I got some choice ones. Biz showed up mid way through and we tried to line up some water shots. Like I always say even a bad day at Rincon is still better then an average day at most other spots. After the surf I headed downtown to meet up with an old friend of mine, Christian, his girlfriend and my wife for lunch and an impromptu tour of my wife’s museum. I’m always stoked to catch up with an old friend from the past. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.

10-3-21 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 88
Let’s continue the frustration that this NW/SW combo swell has been causing me. At least yesterday though not a score by any means I cut my losses early at Rincon. Not today. Today I was intent on trying to find a real score. I took Bizarro with me too cause I really believed we were going to find something special. Then the car surfing began. The first stop was Ventura Harbor since it was pretty small everywhere coming down and I heard Strand was pretty high tide, wonky, dumpy and on the beach. It was pretty closed out everywhere. Judging by what I saw and the high tide I could pretty much rule out the rest of the VTA beaches. Besides, I thought I saw a few waves at Emma on the way down and headed back there. It was very peaky with not good lines or connecting air sections. Out of the fifteen or so guys out there, most could surf too, no one was getting anything worthy. I thought I saw a few up at Indicator on the way down and ran back to Rincon. It was super small. Out of time we ran back to Emma and shot water. Actually it got better with a little tide change as Emma always does. With the exception of the crowd being a bit heavy for what was out there making it harder to line up a good shot we got s few and I had fun. Then it was home bound to have lunch with my wife. She had just got back from a two day camping trip at her family’s ranch. The rest of my day was consumed and wasted by the Post Office where I trade my soul, sanity and dignity for a very low barely live-able wage by California standards.

10-2-21 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 30
One of the things I love about living in the 805 is also one of he things I hate: TOO MANY OPTIONS. It’s quite the paradox. There was still a healthy dose of combo swell in the water. All the reports I got from the VTA Beaches were less then Stellar and on the cams it appeared that there was already wind on it. Also the fog decided to return as well this morning. It rolled in last night so heavy that when I got off from work at a 1am I could hardly see manger feet in front of me. When it’s foggy like that every spot you check takes easily an extra 15-20 minutes side one has to walk all the way down to the waters edge and then try and squint out if there is actually something surf-able. I pulled up at Rincon and the lot was basically empty for any day let alone a Saturday with some swell running. I walked up to River Mouth and had a look. It was small but through the fog I could see the occasional waist to chest high runner with only two guys on it. Rather then waste time and frustration driving around I decided to just paddle and hope for the best. It was a little more weak and inconsistent then I had hoped. That being said when a good one came through it was easily kill-able all the way from lower Indicator to lower River Mouth. Pat showed up and must have brought the bad luck cause from the moment he paddled the crowd got more heavy and the good ones started to disappear. I literally almost had to paddle in towards the end of my surf. At least I got to slay a few at the Queen, plus how often these days can you say you surfed at Rincon with only one other guy out on a Saturday with swell in the water? Not schlepping all the way down to Oxnard I got home early. My wife was up at her family’s ranch in the Santa Rita hills for the weekend allowing me to make a couple board templates I have been putting off due to lack of time. The rest of my day was spent slowly watching my soul get sucked out of my body at the Post Office.

10-1-21 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 78
I was sure Strand was going to be the call today. There were definitely waves. The angle was still a bit too west in the swell causing most waves to just close out. There were also good number of guys out with no one really getting anything great. There was a chance it might better with the dropping tide but I didn’t have that kind of time in my window. I had saw a few at Shores that looked more peaky. I stoped at Hollywood just to rule it out. Actually in hindsight that is probably where I should have paddled out especially with the dropping tide cause by the time I got back to shores it was pretty walled. Every twenty minutes or so a south set would come through offering up some really good lefts if you were lucky enough to be in the right spot. I got about six of those and found a few tubes. I heard River Mouth had some gnarly barrels for those up for the challenge. I never really scored this swell, but at least I got a few. The rest of my day was spent at the Post Office.