April 2013 Surf Sessions
4-30-13 PM Session: 3-5+ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 22
After the first session conditions were pointing to the possibility of a second surf. We cruised for some lunch and when we came back sure enough things were still looking really fun. There was a bit more texture on the face with a few more heads in the water, but it was still very spread out. New Jetty looked best. Unfortunately the crowd was a bit busier then I would have liked. Trevor and I ran down to River Mouth again and took the same peak we were on earlier in the day. There were some gems although a bit more walled and windy then earlier. What a great day of surfing.
4-30-13 AM Session: 4-6+ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 3hrs
Waves Surfed: 53
What a fucking session. Man I am so glad it is finally south swell season and I have a feeling the summer may just make up for the dismal winter we got stuck with. I slept in a little bit being still a tired from the weekend festivities. Trevor and I met up in Carp and rolled south with the intentions of checking the River Mouth and if that was sub par possibly running to Malibu. On first inspection although plenty of size things looked a bit walled with the occasional scattered corner. We gave The Shores a look over at Fifth St, that was looking more organized but a bit on the weak side. The debate was then River Mouth or the ‘Bu. I hate driving away from potential thus we suited and charged the Mouth. As it turned out it was a very good decision with tons of really good left and right corners. I had some cherry ones and I stuck the biggest full rotation ally oop of my life. What a session.
4-29-13 No Surfing: 1-2ft
And the party continued into yet another fancy night. Daniel joined us and was glad he did cause it was another really hot night out. The place was fucking poppin’ (yeah thats right Im bringing it back). Turns out they are doing this Lesbian night, “G Spot” once a month now and it brings the people out. It was an awesome time from what I can remember, which was more then the previous night out, but still missing a few pieces. Bye bye brain cells.
4-28-13 No Surfing: 1-2ft
It was just one of those Fancy Town weekends for me. Bizarro and I rolled to the cat all decked out as usual and the place was packed with a line around the corner. We pulled our rank and were ushered into the club VIP. That is about all I remember before waking up the next morning in my bed with absolutely no recollection of anything. Who cares the surf was shit anyway.
4-27-13 No Surfing: 1-2ft
Knowing there was going to be shit for waves this morning I decided to go to full on fancy town last night with my crew. We went hard all suited up, Tim-o in a silver tuxedo the mother fucker. Somehow we ended up at the lamest after party ever, just us and the host, but he did have a sick beer pong table and a piano. I ended up going bat shit crazy on the piano before we bailed back to my house. I woke up around 10am on my couch still in my suit with a shirt less Bizarro passed out on the couch across from me. Good times.
4-26-13 No Surfing: 1-2ft
Well it was a good run of swell while it lasted. Now off to wait for the next south to fill in maybe around Tuesday or so. That was fine by me considering I ended up at the Cat last night with Tim-o, Amelia and Daniel. The initial plan was to go to the fair. A failed attempt at catching Tim-o’s cat left little time for such. I went home and enjoyed a moonlight smoke on the beach with Trevor. There is nothing prettier then a full moon over the ocean. Trevor is one of my favorite chef colleagues who just started at a new restaurant and I may be joining him there shortly. We compared notes on the biz so to speak. I got home and Tim, Amelia and JP were having a margarita party. It didn’t take long for me to be two deep. Then Daniel hit me up all charged to hit the scene and we all know you don’t have to twist my arm to party. It was a shit house packed night although Thursdays are still amateur night.
4-25-13 AM Session: 2-3+ft, C Street
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Last night Alfie got out yet again thanks in part to carelessness of a certain incompetent person. I am not naming names but you know who you are. I almost had a classic Lisanti freak out, but managed to keep it bottle up. It was good I didn’t blow up since Alf came back like 2 hrs later no worse for the wiser. I woke up and cruised to Harbor where Ryan was claiming River Mouth. It was way too tidey there inconsistent and crowded. Over it I checked Emma which was empty and also barely breaking. On a last ditch make it or break it effort I paddled C Street which to its credit had a few alright waves coming through. It was also crowded as all fuck. I started up at Pipes, paddled up to Hobos then drifted back down to Pipes. I should have stayed at Hobos cause there was no one out and I was getting some fun little A-frames. If the crowd was half the size I think it would have been fun. This wouldn’t be California if it was not crowded.
4-24-13 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 28
I was exhausted when I woke up this morning. I have been working lots of extra shifts at Westmont and not getting as much sleep as I would have liked. I heard there was still plenty of south with light winds. It was too late to make a run for Harbor thus I settled for something off of Sea Cliffs. Gold Coast caught my attention but ultimately too inconsistent and shifty for my liking. I paddled Emma which the swell was a tad bit too steep for making things weaker then I would have liked. Still I managed to get a few. Trevor showed up toward the end of my session.
4-23-13 AM Session: 2-4+ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 2hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
Damn this new board is a fucking lemon and to make matters worse my other boards are all pretty battered at the moment so I am stuck on this POS. I cruised down to the Harbor assuming it was going to be a New Jetty session considering the wind and tide. As it turned out so did everyone else. The line up was packed and sets fat and slow going. There were multiple peaks working. I took my time hoping that River Mouth would give me a glimmer of hope. There were twinkles of fame out there but the wind was definitely increasing by the second. New Jetty and its obnoxious crowd would have to do. My boy Ryan was out getting a few along with the usual crew of older guys that surf there. Near the wedge there was another small pod of either hot groms or local pros attacking a fun looking peak. I opted for that considering things looked a bit on the weaker side off the Jetty. Turns out there was more back wash and chop over there then I would have liked making it very tough to surf. After an hour the tide dropped and I cruised back to the jetty peak where I frothed some fun lefts and rights. Over all though I think the swell direction was a bit too steep for the spot. Should have went to Malibu but I am never motivated to make that journey alone unless its guaranteed to fire.
4-22-13 AM Session: 2-4+ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves surfed: 25
The initial plan was to go out Sunday, but after watching a few movies Bizarro and I decided we were over it. Yet again a night in trickles down to a night of good rest. Ryan hit me up early saying not to rush down since the wind was a bit onshore and tide a bit fat. I snagged Trevor around 9 and we cruised to the Harbor. The wind must have backed off cause it was super clean. River Mouth was way too tidey to be worth it, but New Jetty had some fun bowls coming in with just Keoni and one other guy on it. As we were about to paddle Dane jumped in as well. Right off the bat I ended up getting a bunch of really good ones and that momentum carried me through for the entire session. I must say it was a rather good time.
4-21-13 AM Session: 3-5+ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 2hrs
Waves Surfed: 26
After two very interesting days of party I decided to kick it in with my girl. That decision left me ready and amble for a surf session and with new south swell and residual NW in the water things were looking good. I cruised down with the hopes of offshore winds. By the time I got there slight south breeze was kicking up. River Mouth was finished forcing me to go surf New Jetty where conditions were a bit cleaner. Surf was solid head high with bigger sets and some eight foot plus rogue close out NW sets that only New Jetty can serve up. My boys Keoni, Robbie and Dave were out along with a few others. There were some good corners but overall things were bit on the walled and bumpy side.
4-20-13 No Surfing: 2-3ft
It was a Friday night after all and that always means time to suit up and hit the club to see and be seen. Bizarro and I went out just the two of us, the first time rolling like that in a while. It ended up being a fairly average night out or maybe just a let down since Thursday was so much fun. Bizarro got especially fancy making it a very entertaining walk home that very steadily turned into a rampage. Those who have partied with me when I have a drunken rampage know just what such entails. Lets just say I have a few new souvenirs for the Palace decor. I passed out on the couch and woke up around 6am and went to bed. No one hit me up and the wind looked like shit so I just decided to sleep in.
4-19-13 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Holy mother fucking hangover. What a night Thursday turned out to be. About a week ago Wild Cat hooked me up with a free bottle for bringing in ten people. At around 5pm Thursday I got another text asking if I wanted another bottle. At first I was like no way am I going out on a Thursday let alone going to find 9 others down. I mentioned it to my boy Tim-o and he was pumped. I had him, myself, Bizarro and my boy Daniel for sure. I figured worse case scenario we could just pull six others off the street if need be. I committed to the bottle and then began texting everyone in my phone book. As it turned out 15 of my friends showed. The night became a shit show fast as we all went to fancy town. It was a night of almost all dancing followed by a good old fashioned Lisanti Palace after party that ran till 4am. There was no way I was getting up for a surf in the morning before work.
4-18-13 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 24
River Mouth fucking delivered! What a barrel fest. I got the call from my boy Ryan at around 7:30 that the wind was off shore down south. With some small south and fading NW in the water the combo action was just screaming beach breaks. Throw in a lower tide and things were finally looking up. I got to River Mouth and it looked a little smaller then I was hoping. The sand bars were as I had expected a bit torn up from all the wind the past week. Still there were some solid chest to head high pits to be had. There were plenty of guys out, but plenty of peaks spread up and down the beach. I suited up and was stoked for some fun waves. I started at the north end of the reeds where I found a sick little left sand bar that was hallow as hell. I picked off three really fun ones there before running further down the beach where conditions seemed a bit larger and more heavy. My boy Ryan was sitting on a suck up little A-frame all to himself and I joined. We traded some good ones although the current was a bit tricky with strange rips and it was a bit lully. None the less I went to work super pumped that morning.
4-17-13 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Pitas
Time in Water: 1hr 45mins
Waves Surfed: 22
“Bad waves are bad waves” I told my boy Ryan on the phone as I was about to paddle when he asked if I thought about going back to Little Rincon. Rincon was tiny and I definitely saw some waves breaking under the pier as I drove by. Getting back to Lil’ Con is such a hassle now with the highway expansion. I was over it and saw a few bowls with a light crowd. It was a bit more torn up then I would have liked with tons of bump and crumble. The water was fucking freezing too. When is the torment going to end. What ever I managed a few, but overall just wasn’t feeling it.
4-16-13 PM Session: 1-3ft, Summerland Beach
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Talk about a full day of both car and internet surfing (real internet surfing, meaning checking the cams, buoys, wind every half hour). My day started at Rincon which was way too small with some bad south wind on it. Ventura was all blown out, heard Strand sucked and it was way too low for Emma Wood. I had the day off so I decided to head home and handle some errands then reconvene with the surf. By 3pm I just wanted to surf. It was crazy windy out of the NW and there was some minor wind swell as a result. I was cruising to Rincon when I noticed some slop at Sharks and then saw some throwers at Summerland as I was coming over the hill on the 101. Knowing I was only going to drive around and surf junk anyway I decided to cut my losses and paddle out there. I have not surfed that beach break in nearly 7 years. Its a real novelty spot around here. There is a large head land at the start of the beach that blocks some of the north wind and a lot of kelp on the outside to smooth out the chop. The spot is also protected as all hell so the swell has to be really west or wind swell for it to get going. There were some waist to stomach high runners out there. I managed one really deep G.I. Joe barrel I was stoked on. The water is all nasty with crude oil floating around courtesy of a poorly capped oil well off the coast. It was far from what I hoped and reminded me of a minor south wind swell day back in Jersey.
4-15-13 AM Session: 1-3ft+, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 23
I had a terrible night sleep. For whatever reason I kept having nightmares about having to cook broccoli all night long. I hate broccoli, the smell, the taste, even the look of it. YUCK! Bizarro and I hit up the Cat again. Three nights in a row. Its been weeks since we had a romp like that. I must say at press time I am rather exhausted. I woke up a little bit later then I would have desired. From what I gathered conditions were a bit strange and drained out. I considered going back to bed, but the buoys had too much swell on them for me not to look around. I cruised to Rincon. The wind was south and swell lacking. I did get to witness two tweaker ass bums running around in the bushes butt naked. I would expect that sort of thing in Ventura, but at Rincon? I thought things were a bit more classy. Only in California can you have multi-million dollar homes on the beach and naked meth heads running around on the beach in front of them. My time was very limited. I drove along Sea Cliffs hunting my usual low tide desperation paddles. Surprisingly Emma had a decent looking wave with only one guy out. It was on the smallish side but the shape was good. I got out there and ended up frothing the shit out of the session sticking all kinds of goodies. Sure it could have been five feet bigger and if my grandmother had a dick she would be my grandfather.
4-14-13 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Keeping good on my promise to Bizarro I suited up and charged the Cat once again. It was a strange crowd and I really was not in the mood. While he danced the night away I hung out at a booth in the back with some of the other regulars. I woke up and just was not down for a surf.
4-13-13 No Surfing: 2-3ft
Fuck did I get hammered at the Cat last night. Earlier in the day I received a text from the promoter of the Wild Cat letting me know that there was going to be a fashion show and if I could bring in ten people she would get me a free bottle. It didn’t take long for me to round up troops and get a real party going.
4-12-13 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
I don’t know what came over me that got me out of bed before 9am but somehow I was up and ready to surf. I had checked the buoys the night before and noticed a real jump in the swell. As I was cruising down south I saw that Santa Claus had some waves indicating a possible wave at Rincon. I pulled off and sure enough the Cove was going off with a very light crowd. I ran back up to the lot, texted Trevor that he was blowing it and paddled. What a session. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun. There were at least a handful that went to the high way. My legs were killing me by the end of the session.
4-11-13 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1hr 15mins
Waves Surfed: 26
Well I must say that it certainly feels good to be surfing again. Sometimes I forget how important having surfing in my daily routine is to my mental and physical well being. I always say I am going to get back on a program and never do, but man I hope with this coming south season I can really get back into the swing of things. Trevor and I met up at the Harbor, but there was way more NW in the swell then I had hoped and a bit more wind. Things were walled and average at best. We cruised to Emma where there appeared to be some fun looking bowls scattered through out the beach. The sand there is still a bit fucked up from the season change. Considering the wind, tide and swell it was about the only option anyway. We paddled, along with Killian and a handful of other guys. The first 45 minutes was way better then I had thought. Unfortunately I flipped my board attempting to land a sizable BS Air Reverse and went over the fins slicing both my thigh and shin through the wettie. Then the last half of the session was all lully. Water was fucking freezing too.
4-10-13 PM Session: 1-3+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 3hrs
Waves Surfed: 66
I had to work the morning shift since I was hosting an Italian lunch at Westmont. Read Chef for a Day blog for more on that. Things went down with out a hitch. I got out around 2ish and headed south. My boy Ryan said the wind was shit in Oxnard and Ventura despite the fact that Santa Barbara was glassy. I settled on small Rincon. It looked like there was a ride-able wave up at Indicator. Turns out the left was not bad offering a great air section. There were some short rights too. I managed to stick a huge bs air reverse I was stoked on. The crowd was light, it was nearly 80 degrees out, the water looked wonderful. It was just one of those days it would seem like a crime not to go surfing. Some how I managed to surf three hours and had a rather good time despite the shit ass conditions.
4-9-13 PM Session: 1-3+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 28
After a fruitless car surf all the way down to Emma Wood this morning where I met an equally unmotivated Ryan in the parking lot I decided to go home and get some shit done while the tide dropped. Around 2ish I cruised back to Rincon following a brief visit to the bank. I can’t say I laughed my way there, but felt pretty good about my current fiscal situation walking out (dont get any rash ideas folks I am still poor as a mother fucker). I pulled up to Rincon and the lot was half full on the bottom. I was going to go check it, upon reconsideration I realized it was the only place to surf with the hard NW wind. A buddy of mine told me it was small, yet ride-able. I wanted to get wet so I paddled. Sure enough it was in the waist to stomach range with clean little lines coming through and a light crowd. I ended up nabbing the majority of the set waves. It was far from great Cove though I managed to average around 9 turns on my good ones. The water was fucking cold though, 52.
4-8-13 AM Session: 2-3+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 12
I was a bit hesitant to get out of bed considering there were reports of gail force winds and the fact that I thought the windows in my bedroom could implode at any minute. After further looking at both Lead Better and the buoys I decided to have a look around. I got to Rincon and it was super fat and rather blown out. The Cove was somewhat side shore but weak looking. I was going to bag it but had an hour to kill before work and figured why not paddle. Turns out it was a good move and I did three drifts from River Mouth to the highway since the current was not worth fighting. I managed a few choice rides. Later I would hear that The Cove was all time in the afternoon. Of course I was stuck working.
4-7-13 No Surfing: 3-5ft
More wind, more high tide and more allergy angst kept me out of the water. I have never suffered from allergies as I have in the last two years. My mother always said I would grow into them, the bitch. What can one expect from an Italian mother? Dinner was crazy as I was expecting around an extra 150 to 200 people up at Westmont. My Sunday team is strong and we made it happen as usual.
4-6-13 No Surfing: 3-4ft
Damn I got fucking hammered last night. Bizarro decided to make up blood orange dacaris which were delicious. A grip of those later plus three Lisanti style rum and cokes at the bar and I was fucking trashed. Needless to say I woke up with a terrible headache this morning. From what I heard it was pretty sloppy anyway.
4-5-13 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 1hr
Waves Surfed: 15
Trevor was calling for Emma Wood and with a sufficient amount of South in the water and minimal NW it seemed like the place to be. I got there and it was crowded and way too peaky and already feathering on the outside reef. I hate it when the place looks like that. I cruised to the Harbor where New Jetty looked fun but was fucking packed. I had a look toward River Mouth which looked average at best. I was out of time and no one was out. It was good Florida but terrible California.
4-4-13 No Surfing: 1-2ft
And the great flat spell continues. Surfing sucks don’t waste your fucking time. Meanwhile I heard the East Coast scored again.
4-3-13 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
More shit ass conditions, which I guess was fine since I was still nursing this insipid cold. It was Wednesday so I just kicked around the house till my dinner party where I ran Shrimp Scampi.
4-2-13 No Surfing: 2-3ft
I must say that I think 2-3 ft was a bit of an over statement if you ask me. I looked at the cams early and things looked rather meager. Lindsay went down south and came back with nothing but flatness. Looks like spring is going to be just as shit as the last two seasons. For my part its ok since I am still nursing this damn chest cold.
4-1-13 No Surfing: 1-3 ft
A small rise in the swell slightly peaked my interest this morning. Then my chest cold had me decide it was better to take another days rest rather then risk illness for what was most likely less then stellar conditions. Plus I had to pay my rent which is always a pain in the ass cause I have to drive all the way to upper State St. Really exciting shit huh? Remember when I used to do cool shit? Yeah me either.
two things, what about brocolli raab and what about the look of this brocolli? http://www.burpee.com/images/product/prod001914/prod001914_lg.jpg
better image
^10: Cutting glove days
Wild Cat fights
favorite dessert
If you were to be executed, how would you want it to be done
Alfie’s ability to escape
the Skunks on the Mesa
This cruise ship in SB
Would you rather go blind or deaf?
Drug testing for jobs
Florida
look at that, I submit alfie’s escaping as part of my power of 10 and that day alfie escapes. I take that as a sign from the gods that you need to write a power of ten.
ha seriously. My last day of work is Friday so I should conceptually have more time to write soon.
[…] April ’13 […]