January 2012 Surf Sessions
1/31/11 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Buoys were slowly climbing, but after partying the night before till 4:30 in the am, I found myself in the need to relax a bit have a good sleep for change. Heard it came up a bit right before dark but I was working.
1/30/11 No Surfing: 1-2ft
More small swell and a severe lack of motivation kept me on dry land. Yes a fair amount of party the night before did not help all that much either.
1/29/11 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Surf was rather down today and after the run of swell I was more then stoked to take a day off and sleep in especially since I have been raging at the Cat the last few nights. Looks like there is some solid swell for mid week though.
1/28/11 AM Session: 2-3ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 17
The buoys looked a little small and I was a bit hung over from the 151 shot I decided to take at 1:15am. I had to take Kooky to work at 8:00am so since I was up anyway I figured I would just cruise to Rincon. Sorbo and I pulled up to rather empty lot and less then desirable conditions. With the tide and my time window I was not left with all that many options. Rincon it was. I did most of my work up at Indicator. It was a full on grovel fest, but it was a nice day and its always better when you get some water time.
1/27/11 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves surfed: 16
The boys and I got absolutely hammered at the Cat last night. A bunch of construction trash somehow got thrown out over my backyard fence. I passed out in my clothes and almost threw up. Needless to say I had a late start. Luckily the swell was rather west and there was a little wave at Hammonds. I morning drunk drove and then drunk surf. My boy Garrett was out fresh from a Nicaragua trip. The crowd sucked and waves were average, but at least I surfed. I did manage to stick a really nice backside air reverse on my last wave.
1/26/11 PM Session: 2-3ft, Loons
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Well Thursdays are my early morning over at Westmont, 7am-3:30, making pizzas. I was a bit upset about the whole thing even if my boss claimed I should be stoked about remembering my roots. Whatever, at least I get the negative tides. Kooky and Sorbo picked me up and the swell was really west, there were Santa Ana winds and it was like eighty degrees out. I did not want to deal with the hoopla of Rincon so pulled off at Santa Claus Lane to see if Loons had a wave. It did and I thought it more then worth the gamble. turns out it was only about waist to stomach with the occasional chest high one, but about thirty feet wide in the tube. I had some death pits. Sorbo dropped into the stair case of death and Kooky apparently sitting down the point got a ton of good tubes. It was fun to just surf with my buds and there was a breath taking sunset. I could not complain. If I wanted to who would listen anyway?
1/25/11 PM Session: 2-4ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 14
What a day for surfing if I must say so myself. I have not has a double session since January 3rd. That is what I love about the surflog all I have to do is check it if I have any question about when, where, how or what I surfed. It also gives my Rain Man like OCD a chance to shine. I also realized today that I can surf double sessi0ns on both Monday’s and Wednesday’s despite my heavy school schedule. Woo Hoo! Rincon was pretty damn fun still with near perfect conditions in the cove and a light crowd. I had a bunch of sick ones and even got a great barrel on one. Sorbo got owned by a drainer up at the River Mouth and broke his leash and Kooky had a nugget from River Mouth to mid Cove. Good times had by all and can you believe there is even more swell on the way.
1/25/11 AM Session:3-5+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves surfed: 11
What a splendid surf this morning. Truth be told I was not expecting very much at all. Buoys were a bit on the small side and the tide was high. I only had about an hour window to get wet in between class, getting my hair cut, which by the way came out amazing and more class. Rincon was really my only option with the time that was allotted to me. The boys and I rolled out and just suited up. To my utter surprise upon walking up the point River Mouth was firing. There were waves everywhere and a very light crowd. My second wave was a sick ten turner, Sorbo had some good ones and I saw Kooky get his share as well. Then towards the very end of the session I saved this dude’s board from getting mangled on the rocks and I think that good deed brought on some good karma. As soon as I got back out there I ended up snagging one of the better waves of the session. Heck it was one of the better waves of the whole month for me. Then I was sitting in the cove looking for a wave out and ran into my old boss/life mentor Tony G, owner of Ocean Hut Surf Shop back in Lavellette, NJ. Turns out he is going to be chilling here in Santa Barbara for the next two weeks. I will have to get a few sessions in with him. I also ran into Jersey pro Rob Kelly on my way down to surf. Jersey is everywhere right now.
1/24/11 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr, 15mins
Waves surfed: 16
High tide, back washy, cross wind riddled, wonky Rincon was what Sorbo and I had to deal with. I probably should have went to Hammonds, which is rather ironic since Sunday I said I should have went to Rincon. Time was an issue as usual. There were some solid bombs coming through. Sorbo put down a really nice fs floater. I had a few long ones through the Indicator and River Mouth. I just was not feeling the magic this morning. On contrary I was still feeling the Hangover from Sunday. Drinking for 12 hours straight, definitely not the best way to go folks.
1/23/11 PM Session: 1-3+ft, El Capitan
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Truth be told I did not even think I was going to make it out there today. Last night we raged hard at the Kitty then brought another after party back to the palace. I have been stupidly trying to impress this girl from the Cat by throwing these stupid parties. I found myself taking vodka shots at 6am in the morning after drinking around six beers through out the wee hours of the morning. What happened with the chick you ask? In classic downtown manners she hooked up with a friend of mine instead. Hey at least I won indoor urban golf. Kooky came home from work at about four and we decided to make a run up to El Cap considering how west the swell was. It was a little smaller then we had hoped, but that wave is so perfect even when it is small that it captivates your heart. I ended up getting a bunch of fun waves and Kooky actually got barreled. There were only us and like five guys out. At dark it was just Kooky and I trading really fun little waves in the middle of nowhere with a breath taking sunset. It made me really think I am better then all the bullshit I bring upon myself.
1/22/11 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
Hammonds was definitely a bad call. I should have went to Rincon, but I was lazy and did not feel like driving. The crowd was light and it had all the makings of turning into a banner session with the dropping tide. Shortly after paddling out the crowd picked up, the wind came up and when it finally started to get better I was freezing cold from the long lulls and all torn up from the wind. I still managed to finagle a few. Sorbo had one solid bomb. Overall I could have been just as happy staying in bed considering I was up late catching up with Lindsay. She needed a ride home from downtown. I was awake so met her at the Kitty where I decided to make a night of it. Next thing you know her and I were up till 3am talking about the previous month while stuffing our faces with left over lasagna from work.
1/21/11 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr, 15min
Waves Surfed: 14
Despite the windy conditions and a slight hang over (what else is new?)I forced myself to go for a surf this morning. Sorbo and I checked Hammonds, it was a no go. From there we rolled to Rincon where there was an ok wave running. It was glassy when we got there, but as we were changing in the lot the wind steadily picked up. Conditions were rather stormy and it took me a few waves to get into a rhythm. Truth be told it reminded me a lot of New Jersey except for the fact that it still was possible to get an eight hit wave. I managed to get a few but overall it was a forgettable session. Still it is always better to get wet.
1/20/11 No Surfing: 2-3ft
I wanted to surf before work this morning. Instead I went and got hammered at the Wild Cat the previous night where I found myself sitting at the bar after it closed chucking beers as my bar tender fed them to me. Sorbo and I literally closed the place. We got home went nuts in the back yard with a golf club. Sorbo went urban golfing. I passed out on the floor of my room only to wake up with everything I owned piled on top of me courtesy of sorbo. Kooky woke up to find his bike in pieces and I was drunk for the first few hours of work. Good times.
1/19/11 No Surfing: 1-2ft
More small scale surf was on tap for the morning so I decided to get some well deserved beauty sleep.
1/18/11 No Surfing: 1-2ft
Kooky and I cruised down to Ventura in search of a grovel wave on our only day off. Thanks to a steadily dropping low tide and lack of swell we found ourselves on the dunes at Ventura Harbor rather discouraged. Opting out of the surf we chose a breakfast at our favorite jank joint in the area, Christie’s. They never fail to impress. After that we headed to the Ventura swap meet at the fair grounds where we enjoyed rows and rows of janky junk. I scored “Stranger the Fiction”, “Taladega Nights”, “Apocalypse Now” and a copy of Author Jack London’s masterpiece Into the Wild and a pet door I am going to install on my room for Alfie all for under eight bucks. I almost scored a fly pair of shoes too, but the fit was less comfortable then I desired. The rest of the day was spent at Home Depot and Kmart getting some of the final supplies for the Palace. We are very near completion and I am getting very excited.
1/17/11 No Surfing: 1-3ft
The surf was down. I could have found some left overs at New Jetty, but Sorbo had court in the morning and I did not want him to have the added stress of having to find a way there. I opted to get him where he had to go instead. I needed to go to the bank and handle other random chores anyhow.
1/16/11 PM Session: 2-4+ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1hr, 20mins
Waves Surfed: 27
A late start was had by all considering I threw an after party till nearly 5am with over twenty Wild Cat regulars. Sorbo and I were pretty much in bad shape for the latter share of the day. We had to pick up Kooky from work and figured the least we could do for keeping him up all night with the noise was to take him surfing. Emma was just about as good as it gets. The crowd was a pro show with Dane taking the cake. He was killing it as usual. I had a ball and came out of one ridiculous backside barrel. Sorbo was killing it for him and had the best session out here yet. Kooky had a good barrel too although still struggling with how to surf Emma. What a sick session.
1/15/11 AM Session: 2-4+ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 22
More offshore winds and small surf had Sorbo and I at New Jetty battling quite the stupid weekend crowd. I had a few good shacks right off the bad and a handful of other fun ones. Sorbo got one decent right, but the cold water was taking a toll on him. It was a fun session, but I was definitely surfing poorly.
1/14/11 AM Session: 2-3ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 45mins
Waves Surfed: 8
Friday was Micheala’s last night out and we went hog wild at the Cat. I got up on the cat walk and danced making a complete ass of myself. Dont worry we have the video to prove it. On the walk home we ended up playing pranks on each other throwing chairs, oranges, jumping out from behind bushes, kickes to the ass and other stupidity. At one point I threw a bunch of logs down a flight of stairs at Sorbo. Then we came across some lost cat poster that I called at 2am cause I really did see their cat on my block earlier that night. Things caped out with Sorbo and I getting into a sword fight, him Micheala and I wrestling. Ultimately Sorbo and I piled up all the furniture in the apartment in front of where Micheala was sleeping so that it would be hard for her to leave in the morning. Sorbo and I rolled to surf. Rincon looked average so we cruised to Emma and Sea Cliffs. Nothing was popping there. I figured I would just go in early to work, but as I was passing The ‘Con I saw a really good set roll through river mouth. I ran out for a few and frothed the shit out of the place. I was surfing really well and it was a time and a half.
1/13/11 AM Session: 2-3+ft, New Jetty
Time In Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Thursday was another night out. It was fun although not that eventful despite Micheala’s fruitless attempts to bring some hot chicks back for us to party with. Damn college night. Next morning actually getting more then four hours of sleep, Micheala and I decided to head to Ventura for her last surf. New Jetty small and a bit crowded but the winds were offshore. I ended up getting a bunch of fun lefts and even snagged a decent little left barrel.
1/12/11 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Wednesday night got out of hand at the Kitty once again. We ended up drinking a ton, forced the DJ to play Juicy, by B.I.G. The night ended with a bizarre after party where Micheala decided to invite this Mexican gangsta bitch and her friend back. The friend borderline raped me before passing out in my bed. Meanwhile I wake up to Sorbo screaming at the other bitch to get out of the house at like 5am. I could not get rid of mine till almost 11am. Good times.
1/11/11 No Surfing: 3-5ft
Well Tuesday became another out of control night at the Wild Cat, 80’s night. I am not going to lie I was rather exhausted from the previous three nights and spent most of it hanging in the booths with multiple friends. Kooky decided to get shit ass hammered since he did not have to work till I did. As it turns out the kid snuck two 151 shots and a tequila and red bull. Things were all fun and mellow till the end of the night, when Micheala and Kooky start threatening to kill this Connor Coffin look alike and his friends cause they were bad mouthing Jersey. Some how I got pulled into and told the guy I had been to prison as a result being a brand of crazy he did not want to fuck with. Kooky told the guy he was going to cut him at his belly button and pull his skin over his head. Kooky also would not stop demanding that his family had signed the declaration of independence. I ended up sleeping in that morning.
1/10/11 PM Session: 3-4+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2hrs
Waves Surfed: 27
We had a very late start today, thanks to McLovin’s band sucking. Thats right the dude from “Super Bad”. Apparently I got a text cause I am still on their VIP list that him and his band were playing the Sand Bar. Now I am not about to let an opportunity like that slip through my fingers. The posse and I rolled out to see what was up. As is it turned out they were the worst band we had ever heard. I ordered a round of drinks that were weak as fuck. It did not take long before we found our way to the Wild Cat. It was karaoke night. Kooky made an ass of himself as usual, Micheala did as well. All of us got shit house drunk. Micheala got sick. I was more hung over then I had been in a long time and I lost thirty dollars in cash at some point in the shenanigans. We did not make it to the ‘Con till nearly 1:30. Poor Kooky got left for dead at work. As it turned out there were some really fun lines coming through with a light crowd and clean conditions. The cove was a bit more crowded then I would have liked so I did all my work up top. I ended up boosting a ton of stupid big airs through the close out section at the bottom of River Mouth. Good times.
1/9/11 PM Session: 4-6+ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 23
Last night was all time downtown. There was an impromptu drag show at the Kitty. It was Micheala’s first night in town and I always take my guest for a wild night at the wild cat on their first night out. Sorbo finally decided to get back on the horse after his unfortunate luck on New Years Eve. The four of us were a veritable posse. The place as packed all of my favorite regulars were out. Micheala got on the cat walk and had a dance off with some other random wasted chick. There was tons of drinks, lots of dancing and good times for all. Micheala forced us to walk home, which we all made. No one got arrested, she almost lost her teeth to a newspaper machine Nick the Kook style. Then we got home and I tried to drunken fight Kooky. Good fucking night. Needless to say we got a rather late start. The winds were forecasted to be good all day. I put forth the choice to either go North or South. Micheala said she wanted to surf the biggest waves we could find. No one else contested. I am always down for an adventure. Jalama was to the call. I was expecting it to be in the head high range and fun. Turns out it was way bigger and Tarantulas was breaking. I got frothy immediately. That is until I realized I forgot my suit at home. I chilled on the beach a while and then used Kooky’s suit after he was over it. It was a bit windy by the time I got out there but I snagged a few drainers.
1/8/11 No Surfing: 2-4ft
Kooky and I got shit house wasted at the Wild Cat as usual. Decided to sleep in considering the lack of swell.
1/7/11 AM Session: 3-5+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 14
It was my first day back at work despite the fact that I had put in for a weeks vacation for this week nearly a month ago. Thank you management. I wanted to surf after missing the day before. We rolled to Rincon considering how high the tide was and the dropping swell. Turns out as soon as I put my suit on and got down there the wind went south. Still there were some alright ones. Initially I was rather frustrated with the conditions and the crowd. Then when I paddled out I ended up getting a bunch of great ones. I had one from high River Mouth to high Cove. Then snagged one from High cove to the call box and on a day where making it fifty yards with the winds. I ended up being rather stoked on the whole thing. Sorbo had two good ones on I witnessed where he got barreled. It think it was the first session out here where that tuning fork rang inside and made him fall in love with Rincon. Kooky was a bit less then thrilled with his session.
1/6/11 No Surfing: 8-10+++ft
The winds were all wrong for Santa Barbara even though the swell was an optimal direction. We checked the surf three times and just could not get motivation to surf it. There was plenty of work to do. Anyone who tells you that wood flooring is easy is a liar. That shit sucks. We ended up have another long night that was suppose to only be a few hours of work. Surfing is over rated anyway.
1/5/11 PM Session: 3-5+ft, Hammonds
Time in Water: 1.5hr
Waves Surfed: 25
The Morning started off slow and there was painting that needed finishing and other responsibilities I needed to take care of. This “super swell” as everyone was calling it was suppose to fill in through the day. I am always skeptical on the predictions of such, but this one looked promising. Hammonds ended up being rather decent yet rather crowded as well. We had limited time and had no choice but to charge it. At first I was rather frustrated out there with the pack. After a half hour of getting garbage I got over myself and went and sat with the groms where I frothed harder then them. I ended up getting a ton of good ones and reminded myself just how much I love that wave. Sorbo got two of the better waves of the day. Kooky had some nuggets as well. Later that night we went home and powered a late night on the flooring.
1/4/11 PM Session: 2-4+ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1hr 45min
Waves Surfed: 24
I have not surfed Pitas in a long time, maybe not since last season. The plan was to go to El Capitan thanks to some intel from my boy Angers. Then he called again and said it was a false alarm. The boys were all charged up to go surf when I got home thus we headed south. I was hoping to get some Rincon, but there was a solid 150 crowd on it. Little ‘Con was crowded and not that good. But Pitas looked like it had an alright little wave around the corner from the top. As it turns out it was more then kill-able and I had a handful of really fun rides. Kooky snagged a nice one I watched him get barreled on then run it down the point. Sorbo did not really find his feet out there today. After the surf it was home to the Lisanti slave ship and four hours of ripping up carpeting and laying down wood flooring. Tomorrow will be more of the same.
1/4/11 AM Session: 1-3ft, Sand Spit
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 6
I had to go into work briefly this morning to train on the use of this new tortilla maker we got at Westmont. Now all I can say is there are a few other pieces of equipment I think would have made more sense then a tortilla maker, but then again I am not in charge nor want to be. Before work I decided to run out to Sand Bar to try and snag a few left overs from the previous day’s swell. I snuck out of the house with out the boys considering I slept a bit later then I wanted to and did not have time. I also did not feel like showing up to spot with three guys. I did call Kooky and let him know that there was a wave there even though I thought it hardly worth a paddle. He ended up running down and meeting me. It was small and inconsistent. I had three alright waist maybe stomach high ones. Overall I probably should have went to Hammonds.
1/3/12 PM Session: 3-5ft, Hammonds
Time In Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 20
Painting of the palace is finally near completion. With the exception of some window frame spackle in the small bedroom the apartment looks amazing. My room is all done, the kitchen and bathroom are complete and living room is solid. Now its time for the wood floors. As a result we decided to paint first and surf later giving the swell ample time to fill in. We rolled to Hammonds which was a bit on the crowded side. My boy Alex was getting dressed in the lot to surf Mira Mar on his log but then changed his mind and took his fish and joined us. It was shit house packed and I got a bit frustrated. Finally I got over myself and went inside and began scraping with the groms. I ended up getting plenty of really fun waves. Sorbo got two of the best waves of the session and Kooky did a really nice crisp backside turn.
1/2/12 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Buoys were all reading poor and there was tons of painting to do. We got Sorbo back thanks to some luck. The day was spent painting. Now as I write this we are just about finished and on to the hard wood floors!
12/1/12 PM Session: 2-4+ft, Hobsons
Time Water: 2hrs
Wave Surfed: 23
New Years Day and a very very heavy night of partying had myself not making it home till noon, Sorbo not getting home at all, but that is a story that shall not make it onto this blog. Sorry folks my own privacy is one thing but I have to protect the privacy of my friends with the utmost diligence. If you want to know the skinny on that then you will have to come out to Lisanti Land and hear it told orally sometime. Kooky woke up to an empty house. I walked in and needed about an hour or so to digest both the night and figure out damage control. After a few phone calls the situation was momentarily out of my hands. I did the only thing I knew in trying times. I went surfing. Rincon was crowded and I was not in the mood to deal with such. I decided to just go and surf Hobsons which had a fun A-frame focusing on the reef with a light crowd. I ended up having a ball. The left was going off. Then the tide got too high and turned the place into crap. It was nice to start the year off with a good surf. I wish Sorbo could have been as lucky.
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