Surfing Ruined My Life

October 2022 Surf Sessions

10-31-22 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 12
I should have surfed Strand this morning. Ship was head high and bowly with only three guys out. It wasn’t super organized but kill-able enough. Instead I listened to CC whom in his words “Hueneme is popping” thus I cruised back. When I got there it was definitely smaller and more weak then the Ship was. Too lazy to drive back and with the proper goading only your surf sparing buddy can dish out I reluctantly suited up and paddled Rockside. To its credit Hueneme definitely had better shape and conditions then Strand. That being said it was still about three feet smaller and weak. CC’s boy Corey from Malibu joined us, who also rips so at the very least the three of us were able to feed off each other in the water. It’s always more fun to surf with friends. The rest of my afternoon was spent getting ready for Halloween. Please don’t judge me for it is the first Halloween in over fifteen years that I didn’t go anywhere. My wife was very excited to give out candy to trick or treaters. We weren’t going to drive up to SB to go to the Wild Cat. Being in a new community we don’t really know the scene yet thus we put on our costumes and just hung around the house messing with the local kids and handing out candy. Maybe my wild side has been conquered by suburbia. I just don’t know. Feel free to check my Instagram for my Halloween photo dump.

10-30-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hrs
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 10
The buoys had some fresh long periods NW swell on them. I cruised over to Strand hoping for something to surf. The Ship wasn’t getting anything. I guess the period was too long. There were some mixed peaks in the bowl. I’m not a big fan of the bowl. It’s always hard to line up out there due to a lack of reference points. Maybe now that I live down here I’ll get good at surfing all the moods of these Oxnard beaches. The tide was vetting higher and with not too many options on the table I paddled. There were about twenty guys spread out up and down the beach allowing me to find my own peak. There were some rights, some lefts, some tubes, lots of backwash and plenty of fun. After the surf my wife and I tried the Cabo Bar and Grill in Oxnard. We were very impressed with the food. They even make their own tortillas right there in front of you. The place is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. From there my day was consumed with more ding work. Looks like I only have one more day of repair work before my load is finished then it’s time to shape.

10-29-22 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Miles Driven: 2
You know the surf is bad when it’s too small for me to give it a go. I could have done some really groveling at the pier but I just wasn’t that frothy or hard up. Instead I enjoyed a Saturday off from both work and surf with my wife. We did have to stop by my cutter and pick up a stack of blanks so I can shape them this coming week. Looks like there should be some fresh NW swell filling in tomorrow. I did see a video of County Line looking like it was surf-able. Oh well.

10-28-22 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 24
Miles Driven: 2
The swell was really down from the past two weeks. Hueneme still had a few grovel waves with no one out thus I paddled. Though small I made the most out of it and had fun. Sometimes it’s just fun to be out there getting waves all to yourself. These days the only time you get to solo a surf is if the waves are absolutely god awful. After the surf I was once again committed to an afternoon of ding repair.

10-27-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 10
There was still some waves at the Ship although a bit smaller. I got word that Hueneme was looking fun from CC and cruised. We paddled Rockside by the dredge pipes where there were a handful bowly rights and lefts with a half dozen guys on it. The conditions were chest plus and as glassy as it gets. After about twenty minutes the crowd left and it was just us out the back as the waves kept getting better with the incoming tide. It was a super froth for sure. The rest of my day was taken up with ding repair, of which I have been a getting a bit of recently. I am very grateful to everyone who has brought over some dings to get fixed. I’m quick, inexpensive and efficient. If you got a board that’s needs a repair don’t hesitate to reach out.

10-26-22 PM Session: 2-3+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 10
Brennan showed up around 3:30 and was totally down to try out his new rainbow rail Clarks Surfboards Pop Fizz. Biz decided to come and snap some water shots of Brennan’s first time surfing in nearly ten years. I was stoked to build my friend a board and help him get back into the stoke of surfing. Not wanting to drive too far we decided to paddle North Strand where there was a sloppy side shore wave coming in about chest high. It was mushy enough to allow for Brennan to easily get a few waves. As it turned out the waves were a bit more washy then we had anticipated making it a bit of a struggle to get a decent ride. Towards the end of the surf I found a reform left that allowed me a few decent rides. Brennan to his credit got up and rode a couple. If you buy a Clarks Surfboard Biz and I will be happy to come surf and document your maiden voyage on it absolutely free of charge.

10-26-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 10
I woke up to some decent short period NW wind swell on the buoys. Hueneme had a wave but it was on the smaller side. I headed over to Strand for a look. The Ship had some over head bowls rolling through. It was a tad on the shore break side but still very surf-able. Jeffery met me and we gave it a paddle. For about thirty minutes or so it was thumping out there with some heavy sets. As the tide dropped and the wind came up out of the NW it steadily went from fun to completely not surf-able. At the very least I got a few. After the surf I had some chores to do before my buddy Brennan came down from SB to pick up his new Pop Fizz and possibly grab a surf on it. Him and I used to be thick as thieves in my early Santa Barbara days. We have stayed friends ever since.

10-25-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hrs 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 2
I finally broke down and decided to paddle Hueneme despite my misgivings about the dirty dredge water. Fact of the matter was the tide was super high, 6.3 ft to be exact right smack in the middle of my window, add a minimal amount of swell and the options were slim. Luckily for me the Army Corp. was moving the pipes and not pumping, allowing for somewhat cleaner water. Rockside had a wave kind of in front of where they were dumping the new sand and Pat and I paddled. There were a handful of guys out challenging the somewhat closed out shifty double up bowls caused by all the new sand and no real sculpting.We found some real gems out there, though most were hard to track down and even harder to be in the right position for. I was either too deep or too shallow on almost every wave. I did luck into one decent back door right hand tube and had a few turns. As the tide dropped it got even more shifty out there. Pat and I mucked around for easily thirty minutes trying to get a decent ride in, which never really happened. Once on the beach of course we saw the set of the day peel off empty. I had to be in Ojai in the evening for some crazy big corporate party for 300 people.

10-24-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 33
Miles Driven: 12
It’s funny how fast the seasons changing sneaks up on you especially in Southern California. It always seems like we go from summer straight into winter with a minimal amount of fall. When I woke up this morning and the winds were howling offshore and it was freezing out I knew winter was here. I met Pat at Hueneme where it was absolutely bombing but also very fast, closed out and hard to make. Pat said Shores was more inviting. I ran home, picked up Bizarro and we headed to the dunes on the south end. There were definitely solid chest to head high plus peaks up and down the beach. There were also about 100 guys spread out from Hollywood all the way past the swing set at the Shores. It was packed but the peaks were all over the place leaving it some what manageable. The tide was over five foot making conditions a bit swamped and the really good sets were a bit inconsistent. I found that I was getting my best barrels on the inside double ups rather then the bombs. Ryan and Evan showed up and there were plenty of barrels for everyone. As the wind died and the tide dropped the waves began to get a little funky though still fun I ate it terribly on five in a row. Each time I kept checking my fins, my board, something wasn’t right. I was taking shitty wipe outs dropping in and that doesn’t happen to me that often let alone FIVE times in a row! After my fifth terrible beating I noticed that the left section of my tail pad had completely come off only hanging on by the little adhesive on the top of the pad. I caught my next one in. This time knowing where the equipment failure was I made sure to choke up on my board way above the pad and just pull in. I got spit out and called it a day. The wind ended up coming up onshore as Biz and I walked back to the car. It was a pretty good surf all things considering. The rest of my afternoon was spent working a wedding in Santa Barbara.

10-23-22 AM Session: 5-7+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 3
Miles Driven: 10
My time was very limited this morning. I had to work a lunch gig up in SB meaning I needed to leave Hueneme by nine. An afternoon session was out because I promised my wife I would go to Fillmore to some cray corn maze and pumpkin patch with her. I was left with a window from 7am-8am to squeeze in a surf. The buoys had some solid wind swell on them. I ran over the Strand. The Ship was a bit fat but with some well overhead bombs. By the time I checked it and put my suit on I was left with only about thirty minutes to actually surf. I took a few lumps getting out there. Then ate shit on my first wave in an attempt to swing in under the lip on a bomb. That washed me all the way in forcing me to do the run around back up the beach. My next wave died after the drop and at this point I was completely out of time. Luckily a double came right to me. I got one huge hit in before it closed out. Then it was a mad dash back to my car and up to SB. As far as the gig went Bizarro and I were in the weeds the majority of it, but as per usual we nailed it. I got home around 3pm and my wife and I headed out to basically the middle of nowhere. We got to this huge corn field with a clearing filled with pumpkins. It was twelve bucks to get in and then another twelve for the corn maze. At first in my usual cheap Lisanti fashion I bitched about the money. Once we were handed this gigantic map of the maze my misgivings about the price were completely placated. It was quite the trek getting out of the enormous maze and took us over a half hour. Truth be told we cheated at one point and took an illegitimate tunnel through to the other side of the maze. It was getting dark and we definitely didn’t want to be trapped in there after dark. There was also a pumpkin launcher, a pyramid made out of hay bails that stood easily 100 feet high, a hay bail maze for the kids, donkey rides for the kids and of course the pumpkin patch. I don’t know if I’d go back again next year but it was definitely worth a one time visit.

10-22-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 6
Miles Driven: 38
The wind was on it early trashing the small combo on offer. I wanted to get a few waves before work thus drove over to Leo. My thought process was that the south swell had filled in more over night and with the dropping tide it could be fun. The sets were still very inconsistent. Thanks to the obnoxious six foot high tide there was an inside double up that though small was kill-able and was over looked by the pack on the outside. That was until I started getting a few. Then about eight guys sat right on me with a handful of scrappers down the line. Over that I paddled to the outside to wait for a set. My first one burgered out on me. After that I just decided to wait way out the back for the odd ball set wave. Twenty minutes later I got a solid head high runner that I bashed ten times to the beach. That was enough for me. Rather then go back out there and wait another twenty minutes I quit while I was ahead. It was breakfast time. The rest of my day was spent working a wedding up in Santa Barbara.

10-21-22 PM Session: 2-3+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 10
Miles Driven: 38
I had a look at Shores first thing. There was wind on it and the shape a bit to be desired. I had blanks to pick up over in Ventura and decided I might as well look at the Harbor. Though plenty of swell I couldn’t find a line I was interested in surfing. A new south was slowly filling in thus I decided to get my obligations handled then head south to Leo for the incoming tide push. C.C. joined me and we cruised. We were actually planning on surfing Malibu but as we passed Leo we saw a solid set with only three guys out. This convinced us to paddle. Sets like we initially saw were few and far between leaving us out the back playing the waiting game. It definitely wasn’t the score we were hoping but as I always say anytime you can get one of the great waves of California to yourself is still a fun day even if it’s not up to par for the spot. To my credit I did managed a few fun ones down the point.

10-20-22 AM Session: 2-4 +ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Miles Driven: 12
After yesterday afternoon’s session I decided to cruise back to Shores for an encore. Though a little smaller and inconsistent the wind was offshore grooming the NW/SW combo. It looked fun enough. CC and Bizarro met me and it was on. As it turned out the surf was a tad more difficult being that it was smaller and a bit more racy. We got into a groove and definitely put down some decent clips. I had a charity event for the Santa Barbara Symphony to work in Montecito that evening. The event was a real treat as they had brought in a chamber group to play who were all world renown musicians. It was a splendid performance. One of the few perks of my job is being able to experience some pretty exclusive events that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to gain entry to.

10-19-22 PM Session: 3-4 +ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 12
I picked up a last minute decent paying gig working the City of Santa Barbara employee appreciation picnic for 700 people. Initially I was told I was just going to be carving tri tip the entire day. When I got there at nine I was handed coal, a shovel, fluid and torch and told to get the BBQ pit going and cook off 200lbs of tri tip. It didn’t help that is was 90 degrees out and I was in direct sun either. I definitely earned my keep. After the gig I picked my wife up at the museum and we headed back towards Ventura in search of some surf. There was some NW/SW combo running and it was one of those rare days where it stayed glassy. For once the surf gods were shining down upon me. Taking the combo into consideration I pulled up at the north end of the Shores. It was peaky and fun looking except for the fact that there was a dead baby humpback whale in the shore break floating around. Shark hazard aside there was also the worry of running into the enormous carcass. It looked like there were waves on the south side of Shores so we headed down that way. Sure enough there were a number of peaks up and down the beach. It was a little fast but with the rising tide I thought it was do-able. I saw a few tubes that looked worthy. Right off the bat I packed a handful of barrels. There were some decent air sections too. I boosted a giant double grab that I stupidly landed in the flats crushing the rail of my board. Guess it’s another ding repair day for me coming up. After the surf my wife and I grabbed dinner at The Shores Restaurant and Bar right in that little strip mall off Harbor. Food was adequate bar fare, service excellent, atmosphere decent and they even had live music on a Wednesday night. The place is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

10-18-22 AM Session: 2-3 +ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 18
Miles Driven: 40
The surf was looking pretty pathetic everywhere leaving few options. I saw a few sets on the cam at County and decided to meet CC there. Of course right as we were checking it the set of the day decided to roll in stoking out CC, myself and two super grom pros from the area. Four pro level guys on a peak that could barely support one of us. Luckily the takeoff zone on the reef was all over the place. The sets were solid chest high but very inconsistent and hard to track down. In his classic CC fashion he caught the wave of the day, did the turn of the day and bailed. I don’t how he always manages to throw twenty feet of spray on a waist high section but I guess that is what separates the legends from the pack. The other two groms bailed shortly after leaving me out the back to pick off whatever came my way. There were some really fun ones to be had out there but they were very inconsistent. At the very least I got wet. The rest of my day was consumed with ding repair. The painter came by to do a final go over now that the job is done. I must say that I’m rather stoked with how the house came out.

10-17-22 AM Session: 2-3 +ft, County Line
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 40
More small waves and dirty water had me back down south. Leo was weak and Zeros crowded for the meager offerings on tap. I saw a few at County and headed back. Though very inconsistent there was a decent right off the reef. The surf was negligent at best but I surfed well and sometimes that is all it takes. The rest of my day was spent catching up on everything I have not been able to do since I started this new job. One of which was finally updating this log.

10-16-22 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Zeros
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 28
Miles Driven: 40
Hueneme looked terrible, the wind was on it and the water was brown. Over it I had a look at the Leo cam. It looked fun, clean and empty. Stoked I raced down only to find out that the reason it was empty was because there was a contest happening and I couldn’t surf. County Line looked like crap when I drove by. Running out of time I paddled Zeros which had a very light crowd, peeling chest high lefts and just a bit of cross wind and backwash. I got on a froth. Unfortunately I couldn’t stick anything. It was my last night cooking for the group at the Sea Ranch and I did fresh caught Pacific Spiny Lobster over my famous butternut squash risotto. It didn’t disappoint. Looks like the house is not booked for the next two weeks leaving me a little bit of time off.

10-15-22 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 2
Talk about the smallest surf I have seen in about two weeks. There was also a funky channel chop on it as well. I probably should have just taken the morning off. I paddled the pier switching sides every few waves completely indecisive to which had the better rides. The water quality was very suspect as well. Really what it depended on was the backwash and lately it’s been worse on the north side. I did my grovel then came home and took my wife to breakfast afterwards we cruised over to Hollywood beach and meandered around a bit. The sun was shining and we hadn’t seen the sun for days so it felt nice to take in the rays. Dinner at the Sea Ranch was easy, grilled tri tip, mash potatoes and asparagus.

10-14-22 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 2
Small, high tide and backwashy sums up this mornings surf. I did manage to find few more corners then yesterday except the terrible backwash offset the corners so I’d say it was a push. The dirty water from the dredge has started creeping it’s way over to the pier. If the water quality gets much worse I don’t know how often I’m going to surf out front unless it’s absolutely firing. I hate the sinus infections I get from that nasty Harbor dredge water. I had the night off at the Sea Ranch but I had a private dinner to cook for one of the readers of this blog. This dude from Santa Cruz hit me about two weeks ago to see if I could cook for him and his group. They were renting an air bnb at More Mesa in SB. I was happy to oblige. I did a tasty menu of Caprese Salad, sausage and vegetables over fusilli pasta in my scrumptious pesto. Dessert was Tiramisu. Everyone was pleased.

10-13-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 20
Miles Driven: 2
Just another day slogging it out at the pier making the most of chest high close outs pretty much sums up my surf. I ended up surfing both sides of the as I couldn’t make up my mind which was worse. My best waves for whatever that was worth came from the north side. It was Cioppino night over at the Sea Ranch. One thing I do like about this group is they are pretty stoked on my menus and are allowing pretty free reign to do what I wish. My Cioppino is pretty all time stoking out everyone.

10-12-22 PM Session: 2-3+ft, Leo Carrillo
Time in Water: 1 hr 20 mins
Waves Surfed: 19
Miles Driven: 38
Finally I was graced with a day off, well sort of. I still had to shop for both lunch and dinner for the Sea Ranch guests for Thursday. Hueneme had junk wind on it early. I made the call to go home and get some ding work done then head to LA for a look after. Working around the painters I got my work load done. Around noon Biz and I headed south hoping for a score. When we pulled up to Leo the wind was howling out of the WNW. The waves were nothing impressive, chest plus and very inconsistent. There were only a handful of guys on it and taking the wind into consideration there weren’t many options. I don’t understand how when there was barely eight guys out people still managed to get in my way and ruin my first three waves. Then the wind went south? Weird for sure, but then again so has all our weather this year. The wind chased off half the crowd leaving four of us the back. I got on a bit of froth despite the weak inconsistent conditions. After about thirty minutes the wind completely died and it got glassy, coupled with the tide drop it almost got fun. Nonetheless we definitely banked a few clips.

10-11-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
Miles Driven: 2
The swell was definitely on the way down with just a bit of receding south and residual NW on offer. The 6ft high tide wasn’t any help either. There was a running left all the way down by the river mouth just before the power plant. I had been watching the peak all summer and considering how uninspiring the waves were I decided to run down for a look. It did run, but it was also very wonky, shifty and the pace was fast then slow then fast and over all very hard to get a read on. I ended up just surfing my way to the pier where it also sucked, walled, inconsistent and back wash riddled. I made my last stand on the North side of the pier before giving up. At the very least I could say I surfed all of south Hueneme. Dinner at the house was taco night, which seems easy on paper but is very prep and service intensive. Everyone was stoked but the clean up afterwards was insane.

10-10-22 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 17
Miles Driven: 2
There was a new group of guests coming into the Sea Ranch today, 4 adults and 6 kids. Luckily for me they were down for spaghetti and meat balls one of my specialties. Sure it’s not fancy but man is it tasty. Anyhow this left me the morning to surf. All the reports I got was that it was average everywhere and I didn’t really have the time to drive to Malibu. The Pier had a left going back into it on the south side that looked chest plus and good enough for me. Unfortunately it was very inconsistent and as per usual in Hueneme mostly closed out. I got s few head dips and boosts before retiring. The rest of my day was spent shopping and cooking. The new group was pretty chill. One of the dudes surfs up in Ocean Beach SF and charges the other three were just cool people. The children were very cordial and well behaved.

10-9-22 No Surfing : 3-4+ft,
Miles Driven: 2
I should have surfed this morning after a look a Hueneme all jumbled up and walled I couldn’t get motivated. Just like yesterday I had to be at the Montecito house by 11am to cook lunch. My thought process was that I could head into SB early and find something to surf on the way in. I guess being out of that mode of coming from north for so long I had forgotten how much smaller that stretch of coast is on south swells. I pulled off for a quick Rincon check. There was some tiny south sneaking in but with the high tide it was hardly appealing. The rest of my day was spent slaving away for a group of people who thought it was amusing to call me “cooker”. After twenty years of paying my dues in the kitchen the title I prefer is CHEF!!

10-8-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
Miles Driven: 2
Today was my first vacation group at the Montecito house. It none other then Jessica Simpson and her entourage, 10 adults, 10 wild children and 2 nannies making a total of 22 mouths to feed. They wanted lunch and dinner leaving me very little time to surf . It will be flat for days on end when I have nothing to do, but if I’m booked an entire day that is when the surf decides to fire. With limited time I met Pat at the very south end of Hueneme where he claimed there was a bar with a rifling left. He was right. It it looked like indo except the wave was a freight train with running off with little corner. Pat opted to bail while I pulled my trusty Clarks Surfboards Hacksaw model out and give the racy lefts a go. It was fast. Add a bit of backwash and sets hitting all over the place and you had a real challenge on your hands. I fought the good fight with a couple of views, a few race tracks and bunch of beatings both paddling and surfing. I wanted just one with no time left I saw a fast left running down the beach. I whipped around, air dropped to the bottom and was in the pit. From there it was a fifty yard screamer in the tube that some how I got out of and smashed the oncoming section. It may have been the best tube I have ever scored at a Hueneme. Then it was race up to SB, a scramble to get lunch out. After lunch it was cleaning, shopping, cooking and serving dinner. That was followed by a solid two hours of clean up. It was 11:30 when I got home making it an eleven hour day. I think this job was a mistake.

10-7-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 26
Miles Driven: 2
The swell had dropped significantly since yesterday and with the higher tide there weren’t too many options. I’m Malibu was decent with the new south filling in but I didn’t have time for that. My new boss over at the Air B&B I have recently become the chef at texted me at 11pm last night that he wanted me to cook dinner at the house for himself and six other guests. I always warn young chefs to beware of salary chef jobs no matter how good they sound. Salary chef jobs = slave, and unpaid overtime, plus being inconvenienced at any and all hours. Of course as usual in my life I didn’t head my own warning. I had already made plans with my wife to attend her latest gallery opening and then have dinner with her afterwards. I told my boss I would only work the dinner if my wife and I could attend dinner and dinner wouldn’t be till after 8pm. My thoughts being he would never agree to such. He called my bluff and said yes. With that in mind I still had to surf, shop, prep, suit up for the show and then cook and attend dinner in Montecito. Talk about a full day. Closed out cornered Hueneme off the pier it had to be. I started on the north side, but the backwash was gnarly so I paddled to the south side. Like I said it was classic Hueneme, mostly short broken up close outs. After the surf I did my shopping. Bizarro was nice enough to help me prep the food. Then it was time to put on my suit, pack up and head out. My wife’s show was quite impressive as they usually are. This one was about the Mountain Drive community that was a working commune through the 60’s & 70’s and from what I understand is still a bit of an artist commune today. I knew nothing about the topic. The shows is running through December at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum in downtown Santa Barbara. If you’re in the area I highly recommend checking it out. Then we rushed over to the Montecito house where my wife entertained the other guests while I frantically cooked up a storm of an Asian fusion meal. My wife and I humored everyone at dinner before having to clean up all the dishes, dining area and kitchen. We didn’t get home till midnight. Awesome!!!

10-6-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
Miles Driven: 12
Talk about two epic days in row. Every so often the surf gods shine down even on the likes of myself. Shores was doing it’s thing again this morning albeit a little more inconsistent. Ryan and I once again found a peak to ourselves while Bizarro documented the moment. Unfortunately my tail pad decided to come unglued after my first wave forcing me to go back to my car and switch to my good wave board which was fine cause it might be the best board I have ever shaped. I had a couple of tubes that you will just have to wait for the next YouTube edit to see. After two hours I was spent yet the waves stayed glassy all day. Pinch me I must be dreaming. Two days of absolute stoke.

10-5-22 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Oxnard Shores
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
Miles Driven: 16
The Shores are a magical place filled with white and black magic most days of the year it’s average to below average, then there are those sessions that beat you so bad it’s humbling, but every once in awhile the swell, wind and tide all line up to make some of best beach break around. Today was one of those rare days. To make it all the more sweet Ryan and I had a perfect A-Frame peak all to ourselves. There were barrels, there were air sections, there was room for turns and everything in between. Here is the kicker…it stayed glassy till noon before the wind came up. What a day of surfing. Biz came and filmed. The irony was when we first looked at it I drove on it and had a look at Fruits. I guess the tide just had to get to where it needed to be to score. Even this dog gets his day on occasion.

10-4-22 AM Session: 3-4+ft, Silver Strand
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 22
Miles Driven: 10
There was some fresh mid period north west swell in the water, a sign of winter coming. I got word that the points were showing very little of the swell and the Harbor was walled. I had a look at Hueneme. It was surf-able though rather under whelming and only about chest high. I checked in with my Malibu connection to see if the south was showing and it was not. On a whim I decided to have a look at the Ship. At the very least I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see how the bars were. Between the high low tide and the lack of bars it was pretty much just dumpy shore break up and down the beach with some wind on it. I saw a couple of do-able ones and even the odd ball shore break barrel or two. I have been watching a few too many of Brett Barely’s v-log on YouTube and it stoked me out to give the shore pound a go. Overall it was mostly just shore break, though I did manage three decent tubes. The rest of my day was spent running errands all over town.

10-3-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Miles Driven: 2
Surprisingly Hueneme had a solid chest high wave despite the fact that it was pretty small everywhere else. The waves were definitely a bit stretched with corners so typical Hueneme. I think I have been surfing here so regularly that I am desensitized to what a close out actually looks like. Jeffery showed up and we paddled the north side of the pier. The wind came up quite steadily forcing us to paddle to the south side where the surf is slightly more protected. I managed three rights that I was able to combo a few good turns on, other then that it was close out city. We fought the good fight for over an hour before throwing in the towel. When I got home the painters had begun scraping and caulking.

10-2-22 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 21
Miles Driven: 2
All the reports and cams were looking dismal this morning. My body was feeling rather worked from the last two days. It took all the motivation I had to get me out of the bed and to the beach. Hueneme actually had some waves albeit a bit closed out. It was classic Hueneme, what I like to called walled with corners. I did the majority of my session on the north side of the pier pulling into close outs and boosting the occasional Hail Mary air. When the wind came up I paddled to the south side of the pier where I caught a couple of more before throwing in the towel. The rest of my day was spent doing a private dinner party in Montecito.

10-1-22 AM Session: 1-3+ft, Port Hueneme
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 14
Miles Driven: 2
I got a late start thanks to my hectic and late night from the wedding. Man was my body sore. In order to get from one kitchen to the other last night I had to go through a hedge maze, up a flight of stairs across a breeze way and then down another flight of stairs. To get to where the desserts were set up was down another two flights of stairs. Like I said in yesterdays entry it was quite the estate, like something you’d see in a movie. I got to the pier around 9:30am. It was small but glassy and peaky. There were little tubes up and down the beach. I paddled the north side of the pier since my time was very limited. I had to be in Santa Ynez Valley by 1pm for another wedding. Right off the bat I got a few fun ones. Then the wind went south and trashed it. That was fine cause I needed to bail anyway. As far as the wedding went, let me reiterate how much I hate Valley boho weddings. It’s dirty, dusty and hot. Then it gets freezing cold once the sun goes down. My day started making pop corn for 180 while trying to get the rental company to bring a new oven since the one they sent was broken. As usual I get all the hassle so the guests get all goods.