I intended to surf yesterday after work before the sun went down, but alas, the traffic gods cursed us, and we were denied access to the coast by 511.org's gloomy prognostication that the 20 mile journey would take nearly an hour. The MINI was already packed with gear, my Magic surfboard secured on the roof, and I was eager to surf, so I resolved to try again this morning, when we wouldn't be racing the darkness and the traffic could only impede our journey to work.
With only an hour to surf, I had to pick my ultimate destination in advance and hope for the best. Waves at the Jetty just past dawn were small and shifty at a slightly negative low tide, and there was no one out. I spotted some shoulders amidst the closeouts, so I suited up (in my 5/4, packed by mistake) and paddled out. There was a weird reflection wave off the riprap jetty, moving almost perpendicular to the incoming swell. It was interesting to be the only surfer in the water, having to rely solely on myself for positioning, without worrying about what anyone else was doing. Despite the mixed-up conditions, and the patience required to sort the good waves from the bad, I got a passel of short rides, and latched onto one sweet shoulder for a decently long right. A flock of pelicans in V-formation buzzed the top of a waist-high wave as the warm sun and barest breath of wind greeted the start of a fine summer day in California.
Surfline: 1-2 ft. Semi clean conditions on tap again this morning as WNW (295-305) swell drops further and S (175-190) groundswell holds. Better breaks are seeing surf generally running in the knee-waist-chest high zone, as standout exposures pull in some shoulder-head high+ sets. Shape is peaky at the well-exposed beach breaks, with a fun little mix of surf on tap this morning as we come off a negative low tide just before 7am. Buoy 46012: 5.2 ft @ 14.3 sec.
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