August 2014 Surfing Session
8-31-14 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
I woke up a little on the later side being I was yet again fucking exhausted from the Westmont slave ship, which I now steer. All I am going to say is that in my five years there I can not remember a year as short handed and sloppy as this one. I ran down to Emma knowing it was my best bet to take advantage of the wind/South combo swell. Being that it was a holiday weekend I didn’t expect an easy time with anything, traffic, crowds and parking. I got lucky and pulled into a space as some guy was pulling out. I almost ran down a biker and cut off like six people to do it. Hey fuck it, I wanted to go surfing and was on the clock. There were a bunch of rights coming in between both the Toll Booth and the Life Guard Tower. The crowd was light for a holiday weekend and spread out. After a brief parking lot cock and bull with some random I paddled. Turned out it was way better then it looked. I had a few, but overall was surfing sub par for my liking.
8-30-14 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 15
Last night was sort of an average at best night at the Wild Cat, either that or I just never really got into it. Whatever the case I found a small after party at my friend Vidal’s place before retiring at around 3am. I woke up and was hurting a bit though more from lack of sleep then too much booze. I wanted to surf and with the little south that was trickling in I figured I could run down to Rincon and find something to grovel. Actually Indicator had more swell then I expected and a somewhat light crowd. I paddled. It was sort of weak but ride-able. The crowd was all groms a few guys my age. It was worth the short time I had to surf. Work was hectic as I walked into an all out pandemonium of over 300 students all trying to get food at the same time. It was a mob scene and it took all of our efforts to survive, but we did it.
8-29-14 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 44
All reports from down south came up poor at best. I was definitely going to surf something. I decided to check Rincon to at the very least rule it out. Turns out it was not bad and the crowd was light. It was nothing to write home about. With three guys on it and about chest high with better sets I was on it. Mike met me and we got a few. The crowd was mellow, all Rincon regulars and guys I have always got along with. No one was hassling and everyone was just stoked to be in the water and enjoy a few chaos free surf, especially after the past few days. I had a ball and almost wore myself out for work. Well it’s off to the kitty for me tonight. Whoot!
8-28-14 AM Session: 3-4+ ft, Gold Coast
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 16
Today the ocean and I blew it. The ocean failed to produce a second epic day and a NW wind swell tore up the SE that was so prevalent the day before. I found myself at Rincon staring at good size though mushy and some what crowded, about to get packed Indicator. Over it I bailed to Sea Cliff, where I was let down with more crap. Every place looked terrible. I had decided to just bite the bullet and go back to Rincon. Of course as my luck would have it some one was killed in a head on collision on the 101 in the wee hours of the morning causing the north bound side to be like the accident fatality stopped dead. I went back to Gold Coast. I saw a few nuggets coming in on the south end of the beach just north of Emma Wood. There were a few guys out, one in particular was absolutely slaying it. I desperation paddled as it was a bit on the all over the place side of things and very peaky. I got out there and it was way harder to surf then I had initially thought. The waves and current were pulling hard north creating a river thing. The pull was forcing a left wedge off the drop into either a death pit, a sick tube or a flat shoulder. I ate shit on my first wave pretty hard going into one too deep and super late. My second I managed a chill little tube. As I was paddling back out after this wave I look at the surfer paddling directly next to me and it was Jordy Smith! Yes WCT contender, South African Jordy Smith. He was the guy I saw slaying it. What he was doing surfing shitty Gold Coast when I am sure there were dozens of other great waves going off up and down the California coast at that very minute was beyond me, but there he was absolutely killing it. Now I am a decent surfer in my own right. Jordy put me to shame and everyone else out there which happened to be a line up of some of Ventura’s elite including Adam Virs. Even paddling Jordy found his way all around the line up while I was still stuck in the rip down the beach. He was totally respectful too. Gave as many waves as he got. I was paddling into a nice suck out a little deeper then he was and when he saw me gave me a hoot rather then a burn. As pissed as I was about not paddling Rincon, I threw a parking lot Lisanti tantrum like I have hot done in some time, I was stoked I got to surf with Jordy. Work was gay as usual and unfortunately I was not killed or maimed by any of the many dangerous situations my job puts me in everyday.
8-27-14 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Mira Mar
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
All I can say is that I blew, you all should be ashamed of me and I totally understand if you never want to visit my site again. There were just too many options on the table for me this morning with too little knowledge of a swell direction I have never seen or heard of before and my time was very limited. Adam met me at my place at 7am. Lead Better was like 8 foot and bombing. It also had about 50 guys on it. I thought about Sand Spit, but was afraid the swell would be too east and just close out. I though Sharks would be the call and it was breaking with about six guys on it. By the time we did the drive around, parked and suited up there were close to thirty guys on it. Sets were not super consistent. We saw a bomb set come in up near Hammonds and Mira mar. The plan was to run to Hammonds and jump in and just float our way down to Mira Mar if it was too walled up there. There was a left and a right. The left was fast and directly over the rocks. The right was closed out. We did the float down and found some choice corners and racy over head bombs at Mira Mar. It was average at best and a waste of a once in a life time swell. None the less we had fun. Unfortunately I had work all day and I was not in a position to call in sick. One problem with being the boss is that people count on you, Plus we are so short handed me not coming in would really put everyone at a severe disadvantage. I reluctantly made the “adult” decision and went in. Fuck! All day I got bombarded with pictures and texts of everyone I know scoring it. Whatever I still got to surf and have been surfing my brains out. I will take all the fun days I scored all summer long rather then just one day on this swell. I had my time about six years ago for a period of around six years where I had to luxury to score the best waves anywhere any time, but nothing lasts forever. So if you currently have that flexibility and availability in your life then god bless you. Don’t squander a minute of it cause take it from me, it doesn’t last forever. No photo today cause I ran from Sharks up to Hammonds in my suit. Look for a piece on this swell soon.
8-26-14 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Solimar
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
I sort of feel like I am letting everyone down here with my surf escapades in what Surfline.com would have everyone believe is the California south swell of the year. Truth of the matter is the swell most likely will be the best south run of 2014. That being said in the 805 it was average at best for most spots, Malibu was obnoxiously crowded, Jalama was hit or miss and I am back at work thus my available time to chase the swell and be available at a moments notice to surf is non-existent. Instead I am stuck at the mercy of finding something fun to rip before my work day starts at 11am. Adam met me at my place bright and early with the hopes of scoring some south swell action before heading back to New Jersey tomorrow. I had high hopes that enough swell would have filled in to make Rincon work. That was small and crowded. Then we hit Sea Cliffs where everything was still pretty small. On a last ditch effort we went to the Harbor where New Jetty sucked complete ass with the incoming tide and River Mouth was walled. We decided to go back and surf Solimar since we thought we saw a sick one while passing by it. It was a right and Adam really wanted to ride a right. When we got back there it looked tiny and weak. Out of time we had to paddle. I was hoping to show my boy some epic conditions. He got a lesson in California car surfing instead. We got out there and it turned out the surf was way more fun then it looked. With the rising tide the swell began to push and both of found some great rides. I for one was pretty stoked on the meager offerings Solimar decided to bestow on us. Whooot! Work was hectic being that we are still super short handed and more disorganized then ever. I was informed by my boss that we are short 3 cooks on my shift alone and still a few more besides that meaning lots and lots of work for me. Oh yeah, being the sous is great…
8-25-14 PM Session: 3-5+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
I had to work a faculty BBQ event today thus I needed to be in at 7am. The winds and waves looked very promising for a Jalama afternoon. Considering that I am back to my old schedule and full time work I can only assume this will be my last time for such. Mike met me at my place and we cruised. Sure enough when we came over the hill in sight of the ocean it was perfect glass with nice long groomed lines coming in. There was a pretty good peak at the River Mouth near the camp ground. I thought about paddling it except it had like 12 guys on it. Cracks looked sick form the cliff anyhow. We got in front of Cracks and it was busy with all locals. Out of the 15 heads out 11 of us knew the wave very well. On top of that 6 were vets on big boards grabbing every set wave possible. Mike got frustrated while I bid my time till the crowd diminished the sinking of the sun. At that point I unleashed a froth like none other. I got a fun little fs tube. On my last wave I pulled a totally inverted fs tail free reo came down fakie and pulled it out. Had to quit on that one. What a fun little sess.
8-24-14 No Surfing: 3-4 ft
Last night was a typical Wild Cat night followed by a typical after party thus I did not get to sleep till like 4 am. I woke up around 8 am and was still exhausted. All the reports that came back to me was that it was really not worth it and crowded. I bagged it opting to sleep in and take a day off. I needed the rest. I have been surfing my brains out the past few days. At work I had a huge prep list to blow through. I was hoping I might be able to knock it all out by 7 and grab a quickie at Rincon before dark. I blew through 100 lbs of grilled vegetable orzo pasta salad, cut 24 pineapples for fruit salad, plucked 3 flats of grapes, and as I was coming into the home stretch Chef reminded me I needed to make corn bread. That put the nail in my coffin. By the time the corn bread was finished it was 7:45. No surfing for me. Whatever I am going to go hit Jalama after work tomorrow to make up for it.
8-23-14 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 minutes
Waves Surfed: 35
Mike and I cruised to Jalama after less then stellar reports came back from down south. It looked like Pat may have got some good Port Hueneme but who really knows on that one. By the time I got that intel I was already in Gaviota with Jalama on my mind. I figured we were running the risk of it being maxed out with all the contrasting swells and packed with Saturday crowds. It turned out only the latter was true. There must have been 100 people surfing the greater Jalama area. The campground had 30 guys, T Cracks had another 30 or so, Cracks had the rest of the pack. It was insane and it was maybe head high at best. The surf looked weak with some wind on it from the SW. We were out of options and went for it anyway. We had a look a pyramids and that was small. Tarantellas was tiny and mushy. Cracks was the only game in town. The tide was still kind of high and the crowd was slowly beginning to diminish. The call was to kick on the beach till things looked like they were picking up. By 11ish I noticed some better sets starting to break through with a few lips. It was on. At first I was sort of not feeling it. Then I banged out a huge fs air reverse and went into high gear. For about an hour I was in froth mode destroying everything in my path. Lindsay and Johnny showed up and were getting a few. I think Johnny actually got the left of the day. Overall it was average Jalama at best. Beat not surfing and I had a decent enough time. Afterward we checked out Surf Beach so Mike to see just what I meant about how gnarly the place is follow by an enjoyable as usual repast at The Jalama Beach Cafe. Now I must adjourn the the Wild Cat!!!
8-22-14 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Santa Clara River Mouth
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
The initial plan was another Jalama day. Then I found out my boy from back home Adam, was staying literally down the street from me at his wife’s sister’s place. Of course we had to get a session. This guy is not just a friend but growing up together in the NJ surf scene there were few guys who pushed me to surf harder then he did. In my amateur days it was always him and I vying for that number one spot. Shortly after my I moved out to California. Adam went the family route getting married and have a daughter while I decided to turn pro and see where surfing would take me. Now almost 8 years later he had hit me up about surfing while he was out here and I couldn’t be more pumped to enjoy waves with such a person. He only had a limited surf window so River Mouth was the call. It looked pretty average and stretched. The sand has just been terrible out there this season. It was good for a hot minute back in May, but since has just been marginal at best. Today was just that. Our back was against the wall with no place else to go thus it became the call. At first it was a bit back washy and slow with the higher tide. Then as the tide began to withdraw a few of the sets began to show a small amount of promise and some tubes. I had about three really fruitful drifts before the wind came up and killed things. Mike and Ryan joined as well and got a few. Adam was stoked and I actually did find a handful gems making it worth it. Some one needs to dig out that river mouth.
8-21-14 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Staircase, Malibu
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
I woke up still pretty fucked up from the night before sort of wishing I blacked out. Mike and Ryan were blowing up my phone. Ryan was claiming River Mouth thus I told Mike to meet me there. I definitely would have got a dui had I been pulled over though I didn’t realize that till I was almost there. I don’t understand how alcohol can stay in one’s system so many hours after consuming it. It’s more likely that I just consumed way too much of it in the first place. Harbor looked like shit. River Mouth looked mushy as fuck and worthless as did New Jetty. Mike mention Malibu and that he would drive. I needed more time to sober up anyway. We got burritos and as we were eating I got a text from Trevor “Drop everything and come to Malibu”. We met him at County Line where the left was not bad. Him and Mike had a few other spots in mind and there was always Zeros. In my opinion we should have surfed Zeros, but ended up at the Staircase due to a light crowd and good from far conditions. It was a reef/beach break mix with a solid though rocky left with the best section over dry reef and a boost-able right mostly over sand. It was not a bad wave. but definitely not worth driving for. If I lived in Malibu I would probably surf the shit out of it just for lack of crowd. I found a few. I couldn’t stick any of my airs thus I was determined to stay out till I got at least one stick. On my last wave I brought down a somewhat tweaked out bs air. Beggars cant be choosers so on that note I quite. On another note I forgot what an ass factory Malibu is. Bikini girls every where.
8-20-14 PM Session: 3-4+ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 29
We all took a little break and waited for the tide to start coming back in with the hopes that things would pick up and it would get less lully. The wind stayed glassy today and the crowd died down as usual. The three of us paddled though it was still rather inconsistent for the first half of the session. Then like a light switch it just turned on. There were waves every where. I flared up for a little while and was going nuts. Lindsay got fired up and scored some really solid ones as well. Trevor frothed as always. My friend Phil from Ventura came up for the day and was on his second surf also. It was fun waves and good vibes for all. I would say the only thing missing for me was the barrel though I did pull into one or two. I got home and it was Calvin’s last night cause he had to bail back to the east coast due to a family issue. Trevor and I went to dinner with him followed by a night in Fancytown at the Wild Cat with all the regs. Afterward of course we got into a drunken fight. End result I wound up with a hole in my bedroom door and one less friend. Whatever and the beat goes on.
8-20-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
Man was I sore from the previous days surfs/rock throwing. Mike had bailed on me for another Jalama round due to a broken tail light thus I hit up both Lindsay and Trevor. Lindsay got back to me first and we cruised. Trevor decided to follow us up later. We got up there and it was solid south swell. The wind swell had completely dropped out and there was nothing but nice clean albeit inconsistent south lines. Another day of light crowds, no wind and warm sunny skies. We paddled Cracks and found that it was really inconsistent. Somehow the Jalama gods were shinning on me and literally every set wave of the session came right to me and I was in perfect position. It was a little on the soft side making most rides cut back city. I guess I was surfing well although I didn’t really feel like I was cause people kept telling me I was ripping. I did almost stick a huge fs air reverse on Lindsay’s thick ass slug of a 6’1.
8-19-14 PM Session:2-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves surfed: 32
After a couple of hours of chill time the surf although a little textured with the wind still looked kill-able enough and the crowd was beginning to drop off. Mike and I decided to open up a can of ham in the water. Upon paddling out we found we were both a bit tuckered out from trying to bring down a chunk of the cliffs by throwing rocks at it. I don’t know why my idiot friends and I get a kick out of undermining cliffs, but every time we are in such a situation it is what we resort to. Real smart, lets take down a cliff we are standing under. I found some fun ones and Mike went crazy out there grabbing a bunch of waves. After the first ten minutes the crowd (all four of them) got out and left us the entire line up. Upon finishing the surf we decided to go ham on the cliff again, ending up taking out a huge chunk of it. Like I said, IDIOTS. Don’t try this at home kiddies.
8-19-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Jalama
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
Mike fresh off his little east coast misadventure where he inadvertently scored winter good conditions in August, go figure, met me up for a Jalama excursion. There was plenty of wind swell and south swell in the water, the tide was good and so was the wind so it was a no brainer. We got there and sure enough it was pretty damn fun looking with only about eight guys out at Cracks. The sand has completely changed up there for a third time this summer. The reef at Cracks is once again exposed and the wave has taken on its usual fall demeanor. Its still a little soft though, but a few swells and some wind I am sure the barrel will come back soon. Also currently Cracks is the only really decent peak in area. We got out there and had a shred fest. Unfortunately the water got cold as fuck again. Whatever, we had a blast and I as stoked Mike was back. I missed the guy and was a tad bummed that he was going to be gone for eight months or so.
8-18-14 AM Session: 2-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 47
I have not put a real number on the board in some time. What can I say I just have not been super motivated to surf average was or at least not as much as I was about a month ago. I as actually torn between Jalama or Ventura. The report said bad winds, but as of 8am it was straight off shore and looking fun. By 9am it was still clean. Ryan hit me up and said he was paddling Emma and gave no other input. My gut just didn’t trust Jalama and I figured if Ryan was paddling it couldn’t be horrible. Compared to all of the other shit I have been surfing there the past few days I figured how bad could it be. I got there and it was alright looking, round chest high or so, clean, a few peaks working, mainly NW wind swell with some infrequent south swell. The crowd was average to heavy. I chilled in the lot for a little bit to get a feel for the mood of the crowd. It looked to me like most guys were lack luster and over it meaning they had most likely been out for a while. I knew a line up turn over was about to happen and besides myself and one or two others it appeared that a new shift was not showing up. I paddled and as I predicted the crowd dropped by half in about twenty minutes. By the half way point of my surf it was myself and eight other guys. Too bad the waves were a bit on the lack luster side. I had a few ok rights and lefts. Overall I was just not surfing great and the water was a bit colder then it has been making me a tad uncomfortable in my thin suit. I got 20 pretty fast and it started to get more fun so I decided to do another 20 and then it got real bad thus I quit on my next good one. Rumor has it the kiddies start school tomorrow so God willing the line ups should get a lot less crowded.
8-17-14 PM Session: 2-3 ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 30 mins
Waves Surfed: 11
New wind swell as on the rise this evening and I was hoping to enjoy that with the tide change at Emma Wood. Traffic was a bitch getting south as always and by the time I got to Emma it was crap already too low. Solimar had a few but the lot was full. The Stair Case almost sold me, but on further inspection looked less then desirable. I thought I saw a few at Rincon when I was driving by and went for it. I checked Indicator first and there were about six guys out riding a few scattered lefts. The wind swell was solid at Bates thus I had a look at the point side, but it was way too small. I was about to just bail on it when my insanity for surfing got the better of me and I did a forced paddle at Indicator. I found a few alright lefts. There was so much kelp and seaweed on the inside that every time I caught a wave I spent about five minutes getting out of the weeds to make it back to the line up. Then I managed to get tar all over my feet. All that for 11 shitty waves. Fuck surfing I should have stayed home and masturbated to Asian porn.
8-16-14 AM Session: 1-3 ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 20 mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Emma Wood is fucking addictive. Its like a fucking rock of crack, a terrible high, yet one that is quick and easy. Its one of the few waves I get to surf out here that is easily checked from the comfort of your car with a very nice bluff side vantage. The water is usually a little bit warmer. The paddle out on most days is child’s play. Every wind except for W is decent and its always rip-able at any size. That being said it sucks and is crowded or average at best 90% of the time. It is very easy to get lost in a month worth of shit surf at Emma Wood when you could have been scoring some place else if you just got off your ass or woke up earlier. At the moment I have found myself in the funk this summer. It’s either I got score Jalama or I just surf terrible Emma Wood. In my defense I do happen to surf terrible Emma Wood well. I was actually torn today on whether to go to Jalama or Emma. When I checked the cam’s Jalama was off shore and C Street was onshore. Of course I had to choose the onshore option cause everyone always knows that surfing isn’t really all time till its all blown out. Ventura Harbor was shit thus I found myself in the parking lot above Emma Wood kicking dirt and rocks while attempting to trick myself that it was worth surfing with cell phone pictures. The tide was a bit too low so I also read a chapter of my book. Finally I noticed the crowd had dwindled giving up the good fight and leaving things open for the next shift. I suited up and went down to the beach just in time for about 20 groms, a dude on a kayak and a few frustrated dudes such as myself. Whoooooot! The only thing I like better then surfing on shore blown out knee high waves is to share them with a crowd of annoying groms. You just guess how the surf went. I did my 20 and got the fuck out of there. On the way home I got stuck in all sorts of Saturday traffic, which just affirmed why I usually opt to either work or get smashed or both on the weekends. Night people are not able to deal with day people cause night people don’t usually leave their homes till day people are in for the evening. Fuck, California, WHY. I am booking a flight to Nambia and going to post up at Skeleton Bay till I starve to death and become a skeleton myself.
8-15-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 12
I had planned on getting up a little earlier today to try and get River Mouth. Then I ended up going to the Wild Cat after my beach bbq where Calvin and I served up grilled herb crusted salmon, citrus herb marinated cod, clams and mussels, artichokes, corn, pasta salad, grilled vegetables and orzo and an Italian torte for dessert. The Cat was alright though I really wasn’t feeling it and we left early. I went to sleep only to be woke up by my girl blasting NPR while getting ready for work at fucking 5:30 am. Fuck I should have just got up myself and went surfing since I never got back to sleep anyway. A nine I pulled my pathetic ass out of bed and cruised south hoping the wind would hold out. I checked Rincon since there was lots of West to the south, but Indicator though bearing a wave was small and crowded. From there I had a look at Ventura Harbor, which was size-able, but blown out and crowded. Ultimately I settled for Emma Wood, where it was closed out though a few strange corners and crowded with kooks. It was super heavy breaking like shore break. I found one intense fs tube I was stoked to come out of and a few kill-able ones. I would have surfed a lot longer if it was not for my tail pad ripping off as I got clipped coming out of another disgusting double up tube. I thought about running to the store for some crazy glue to fix it. Ultimately I watched the crowd triple and the wind double and as over it. There is suppose to be waves all week anyway.
8-14-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, New Jetty
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 17
I had a feeling there was going to be waves today. As soon as I got past Rincon I noticed some south lines pulling through. Emma was drained so I skipped it and headed to the Harbor. River Mouth was ok, but the wind was threatening. Meanwhile New Jetty looked fun but crowded. I saw a few corners go by un-ridden and went for it. There was a mushy but rip-able left off the jetty and then a bunch of scattered A-Frame corners on the inside. I worked all the peaks and found a few fun ones. The crowd was annoying and I burned four times. If you could have taken away the crowd it would have been a great surf instead it was just adequate.
8-13-14 PM Session: 1-2+ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 21
Back home and back to surfing small crowded shitty waves. Whoot! I probably could have found some fun waves at Jalama today. I was highly unmotivated to work that hard for a surf, especially after the last few days. I hit up a few people to try and go with so they would get me stoked, but everyone was busy. Instead I went to Emma Wood and groveled some strange south swell/ wind swell that was super small. I actually surfed the shit out what was coming in so I suppose I had fun.
8-12-14 PM Session: 3-5 ft, Prewitt Creek, Big Sur
Time in Water: 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 16
After a nice repast at my favorite Santa Cruz Mexican food out post and a reload of PBR for Calvin we continued our trek south in search of more surf and homeward bound. Moss Landing was my next stop, but it was windy as fuck so I didn’t even bother looking at it. From there the call was to just stop and charge Big Surf, but no before stopping at one of the epic Watsonville farm stands for crazy deals on produce (look for more on that in the up coming SF blog). My first stop rather then going for a crazy hike and potential trespassing arrest at the north side of Point Sur was Andrew Molera State Park, home of the infamous Big Sur River Mouth, Malibu 100 years ago is one of the things I have heard about the place. Not worth the effort is another. We did the mile hike in while Calvin chugged brews. At the trail head was one of the sickest set ups I have ever seen at a spot. That being said on this given day it was flat. It can be summed up in one word: POTENTIAL! We chilled for a bit then continued the cruise south looking for anything on the way. Mill Creek, which I was hoping to surf was flat, I guess that is a winter spot and needs some swell to get in there. Then just before Sand Dollar beach I saw this crazy left wedge breaking off a giant rock formation. We pulled over and it looked a tad bit on the shallow and crazy side, yet do-able. Fuck it, I was out of time with the sun close the horizon and went for it. All I have to say is that it was about chest to head plus and heavy as fuck. I managed a few sick airs on the close out and one stupid fs barrel that was so deep that when I came out I almost quit for the day right there. As the sun was setting this sea otter kept swiming around me just a reminder of how sharky that place was. I got one more and called it a day.
8-12-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Waddell Creek, Santa Cruz
Time in Water: 2 hrs 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 23
Personally I think I should have surfed either Montara or Pescadaro, both appeared to have better waves then what I ended up surfing, though to the naked eye it would appear that I scored. My rule is that I don’t drive away from good surf, especially when I am on the PCH up north where the number of surf spots is ridiculous and the distance between them a bit irrational as well. It doesn’t take long before you have easily covered 60 miles of coast line. I guess if I were still staying in SF I would have just paddled Montara since it was offshore and solid head high plus. I was going south back to SB and after yesterday had Waddell on my mind. Pescadero looked fun too with the new wind swell that had filled in, but I just don’t have it in me to surf that place alone. Calvin and I pulled up to Waddell and from the cliff it looked kill-able. The beach break was a bit on the walled side with the increased wind swell, but the reefs look really fun and solid. Paddled at the southern most reef, but the crowd was pretty aggro and there were not enough waves in a set for all that aggression. Over it I paddled down to my usual left reef I have scored more then once there. I had a few alright ones right off the bat. Then as the high tide came up it went lully as fuck and I just sat there taking terrible ones. I should have drifted inside and tried my hand with the beach break like I usually do when I am hating it at the reef. Instead I paddled all over the different sections working my arms and frustrating myself. Then a few good sets came in and I scored three alright ones, though a bit weaker and more work then I would have liked. I blew it making the surf average at best. I guess I was surfing well cause a few of the guys riding the reef that I was kept getting all stoked whenever I caught a wave. I just think that yesterday was so much fun that today had a hard act to follow.
8-11-14 AM Session: 2-4+ ft, Waddell Creek, Santa Cruz
Time in Water: 2 hrs
Waves Surfed: 32
A mellow night was all of our rewards for not dying on Saturday. Calvin decided to trip on boomers and passed out. John and I headed out early and after a very splendid breakfast of chicken and waffles we rolled south to Waddel to take advantage of the new south swell. Surf enough the place was on. The reef was a bit soft, but the beach was totally kill-able with no one out. At first it was a bit lully. As the tide dropped it just kept getting better and better. I had some really quality barrels and some huge airs. It was definitely one of the best surfs I have had in two weeks. John was pumped since it was the first time he had surfed since he hurt his back. Whoooot!
8-10-14 PM Session: 2-4+ ft, Montara Beach, San Mateo
Time in Water: 1 hr 45 mins
Waves Surfed: 29
Last night was probably one of the craziest, worst, annoying, and funny night of my life courtesy of a bit too much booze and a really really big misunderstanding. Look for more in the wrap up blog for the details on this night cause its a bit too much and way too good to waste on the surflog. All I have to say is that this may be one of the best SF blogs I have ever wrote. John had to work for the bulk of the day thus Calvin, Graham and I decided to smoke a few J’s and chill at the beach. We all fell asleep and woke up completely covered in sand. It was like a deranged bum tried to bury us. John got back and we decided to roll south. The wind was blowing south and the NW was steadily declining and a rising south was forecast. After a few stops Montara actually looked pretty sick. Winds were side shore/offshore and the crowd was spread out and light. I paddled and as soon as I hit the water the swell began to fade and the wind turned more side shore. It became average at best really fast. Better then not surfing.
8-9-14 PM Session: 4-6+ ft, Montara Beach, San Mateo
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 16
First night in SF Calvin and I found ourselves partying downtown with Mauriello and his new chick. We found an alright hip hop club where we could get our groove on. Next day we enjoyed a leisurely morning and breakfast at a little cafe down by the beach. Cal decided to go see a friend of his across town while Mauriello, Atena and I cruised down the coast in search of the best of the worst. Wind swell had crept in over night and made a mess of most spots. Montara looked the least washy though still pretty all over the place. There were a few guys taking the challenge and I decided to join. As soon as I jumped in I was taking some heavy beatings just trying to make it to the line up. I got out there and found a few one or two hitters. Every wave was a work out getting back to the line up and hardly worth the effort. I almost quit after my first few over the effort for such low quality. I sucked it up and grabbed a few more. Ended up doing like a six foot fs air.
8-8-14 AM Session: 3-5+ ft, Arroyo Laguna Beach, San Simeon
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 7
Calvin and I were on our way up the PCH on the way to SF. My plan was to cruise up the coast and stop and surf anything and everything that looked fun. There was ample amount of south swell in the water. I felt my score probability high. Once we got through SLO I began seeing all sorts of strange reefs I have never seen up there before come alive. I was really hoping to catch Willow Creek in Big Sur considering south is one of its favorite swells. As we were passing Hearst Castle I noticed a solid wave in my rear view mirror breaking in a rocky cove. I almost got in an accident as I observed a three wave set come in and unload. I flipped a bitch and went back to this small dirt lot. There were two guys hanging out in the lot with boards and another two guys in the water. One was on this fast right on one end of the beach, the other was riding some kind of reefy left up the beach. The right looked a bit closed out and the left a bit soft. I thought it had potential and decided to paddled out. Turns out it was super inconsistent and way weaker then I had hoped. I found a few alright lefts. Basically the wave would feather off this rocky reef thing allowing a nice rolling and on the really good ones a decent first section. Then I would have to milk it for about two turns before opening to a decent sand bottom close out air section. It was far from epic and there was way more coast to cover. I didn’t want to burn up any more time at a mediocre wave when there was so much more potential. As it turned out that was the best I found cause the rest of the drive sucked and I never surfed again. Booooo.
8-7-14 AM Session: 1-2 ft, Devereux
Time in Water: 30 minutes
Waves Surfed: 6
Figure the one day I have a very limited window to surf that is the day where the waves turn out to be the best Ventura has seen in some time. I had to work at 9 am and I probably should have got up and dawned it. Of course my lazy ass didn’t do shit. I had pizza detail at Westmont from 9-2pm. Following that I had to do a group surf lesson at Devereux with Lindsay. Normally its very difficult to get this instructor out of retirement. The money was too right not to do it and after all the damage I did at Fiesta my wallet needed the recovery. I heard later on from Mike that New Jetty got pretty fun and Ryan said Emma was good too. Oh Well, I am going up north for a few days to surf and adventure anyway. I ended up getting a few waves on the soft top at tail end of the lesson. At least I surfed.
8-6-14 PM Session: 1-3+ ft, Gold Coast
Time in Water: 1 hr 15 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
This last south swell has been crazy unpredictable. I thought today was going to be the day, then I got a text from Ryan while I was at work that Ventura Harbor was unsurfable. This had me checking cams and buoys all day with mixed signals on what to do. finally toward the end of the day I had decided on cruising to Jalama since next to Malibu it was the best looking cam. Then as I was eating my lunch Patrick said he had some time to bang out the dent in my car this afternoon if I was interested. I took his offer since he used to work in auto body and we cruised south. While he worked I surfed. Of course as luck would have it he could not do a great job due to the nature of the dent and location. Thus I got stuck surfing very sub par waves at Gold Coast. Looks like the east coast scored today. This has been the only year I can remember where the east coast seems to always have been out doing the west. Whatever, fuck it, Rincon season is just around the corner. Work was completely ridiculous. First off I got there at 7 am and two of my people had been waiting for me in the parking lot since 6 am. We got inside and turns out they were scheduled wrong. Then I was the only cook on to cook a breakfast for 42 people (no biggie) and Lunch for 500. Chef rolled in around 9:45 am and was super behind. It became a shit show day from there on. Whatever, at least I got the deep fryer cleaned.
8-5-14 AM Session: 2-3+ ft, Guadeloupe Dunes
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 20
Today was just a day of plans going awry. Originally Mike and I were suppose to get our hands on some bikes and revisit Point Sal again hopefully a bit more triumphant then the last time (see “The Point Sal Idiot Mission” for details on that). Then Mike was unable to get the bikes though a valiant effort was made on his part. There was still some south in the water and some minor wind swell. Jalama seemed like a good choice. We got up there and it was barely chest high, super in consistent and crowded. Cracks was the only peak really happening and it looked dismal. Hoping for more wind swell and less crowd we headed to the dunes. Unfortunately that was far from epic either though less crowded. There were scattered back washy peaks up and down the beach. We found a few and was better then nothing. It was definitely not worth the effort. My right ear has been bothering me thus I caught my twenty and bailed. Not that it matter cause the wind had come up anyway. Our only motivation for surfing the Dunes was that we could stop at the Jalama Beach Cafe to indulge in their calamari steak sandwich. Once again we struck out for they were completely sold out. We settled for rubens instead and they were a splendid substitute. Lemonade out of lemons.
8-4-14 AM Session: 1-3+ft, The Staircase
Time in Water: 1 hr 20 mins
Waves Surfed: 26
I had a shit night of sleep last night. My right ear was bothering me a bit and I was still very strung out from the four day binge party I had just come off. I woke up around 7ish from a text from Ryan about the surf. The guys lives way closer to it then I do. I checked the buoys and cams and there appeared to be some south coming through. I should have just went to Jalama, but as not up for that mission in my still self induced weakened state. I drove south expecting it to be at least entertaining. As I was heading to the Harbor I get a text from Ryan telling me its not good there and to check Emma. Emma was small and drained. Then I tried to get a friend to get me on the base till I found out it is closed to any water recreation for the next two weeks thanks to some sort of training exercise or other military bull shit. I thought about Malibu, but got lazy on it. I saw a few at the Staircase coming in and paddled with my friend Matt. It was way worse then it looked and way shallower. Every now and again a decent set would run through and offer an air section or mini-tube. Basically it was a Lisanti 20 for me. On my last one I managed a barrel all the way down the beach and quit. The odds of that happening again were very very slim.
8-3-14 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Talk about a serious black out. I have no recollection of anything past about 11:30 last night. Last memory was doing three triple shots of fire ball with Calvin. Next stop was full fledged Fancytown. I guess I stumbled in around 12:45 according to my girl and passed out on the floor. Then I vomited all over myself…awesome. Viva la Fiesta! Surf sucked as usual so its not like I missed anything anyhow. One more fiesa night tonight at the moment I am not sure if I am going to make it.
8-2-14 No Surfing: 1-2 ft
Feista, night three was off the chain. The bar was packed and free drinks just kept finding their way into my hand. Calvin decided he wanted to go ham on the shots thus heavy intoxication ensued. Some how we didn’t black out. I checked the buoys and it was pathetic and after yesterday’s grovel I thought I would save my gas money. Fiesta isn’t cheap after all. Looks like some waves into next week.
8-1-14 PM Session: 1-2 ft
Time in Water: 1 hr
Waves Surfed: 22
Talk about terrible waves. I really wish I would have checked the buoys before I decided to drive down south after work. I was hoping the wind swell would have lingered, though it didn’t. Bobby B was hanging out with his kid and I rapped it with them for a few. Then I forced a paddle in some of the worst waves I have surfed in some time. If I drive I surf. Last night was night two of Fiesta. I made a bet with Mark that I would come out every night thus I dragged my lethargic beat up ass out. It turned out to be a sick night none the less. I love Fiesta.
[…] August ’14 […]
Ah, sick! Stoked on you posting about Montara, that’s my hometown. Well Half Moon Bay. Same thing.
Yeah man, one of my best buds lives at Ocean Beach in SF and I have made the pilgrimage up there every year for the last four years to see him. Look out for a blog all about my most recent trip up there soon!!! Im always stoked to surf up north with you guys. San Mateo is one of my favorite counties to surf in all of California as far as cool vibes and fun surf spots go. Not to mention consistency.
[…] August ’14 […]
[…] August ’14 […]