Half Moon Bay @ Jetty, 4 August 2009

With a southwest swell filling in and after being high and dry for a week and a half (there's something a little sad about pulling on completely dry booties), I had high hopes for today's sunset session at the Jetty, but they were dashed by the crowd. Perhaps instead I should have chosen cold dawn patrol on a less favorable tide.

Surfline said 2-3 feet, so naturally it was going overhead frequently on the first peak. The size dropped farther from the riprap jetty, but the closeouts increased. The waves were shifty and steep. And there were a lot of people out. From the road I saw a gap in the pack with some waves passing through unridden, but by the time I got in the water, the emptyish slot had already clotted up with more surfers.

L and his friend D joined me after a little while and I saw some friendly familiar and new faces in the full lineup, plus a sea lion from this year's baby boom. But all I got was cold and some good ducks dives; no waves for me. Heavy, heavy sigh. I need to be less timid in crowds, or find emptier breaks.

~~~

Dude, next time go around the bush and out of sight. We don't want to watch you pee from the parking lot. Look what happened: you're on the Internet for all to see.

The City of Half Moon Bay really should put in some toilets here, instead of allowing untreated waste from people like this guy to be discharged near the public beach. And people like me wouldn't have to stop so often at Starbucks before surfing, just to use the restroom. (Not to mention the guys - and I think it is mostly guys- who discharge directly into their wetsuits while in the ocean. Eww.)