Rock, Wind, and Water (Dunes & Jetty)

After working 12 straight days, I finally got to take a day off. To beat the wind, I planned to meet Luke, J-Bird and Jacob at the Jetty at 7:30 this morning. The Js were early birds and reported the Jetty was really small - only ankle-high - but Dunes was bigger and pretty clean so we should surf there instead. When I arrived they were already in the water, and I suited up without walking to checking the surf. From the beach I saw head-high closeouts and a tough short-period paddle, with some rideable waves in the mix. I got a short video of Jacob making the drop on a overhead wave, but my fat-gloved fingers cut it off when I tried to zoom. Doh! 

The paddle out was a challenge, and once there, I had trouble getting into the mushy waves that would often jack up and dump at the last second. I saw Luke on the beach heading back to the parking lot and wondered if he'd forgotten something, but he didn't return. I caught several broken waves that fizzled shortly after I got to my feet, then got stuck inside and pounded for my efforts before slogging back to the lineup. Meh. I decided to cut it short and try the Jetty instead.

The rock that saved me

When I got to my car, I dialed the combination on the Master Lock 5400D key storage box holding the car key, and was surprised that it wouldn't open. The wind was coming up and I was shivering in my wet wetsuit. Borrowing J-Bird's iPhone, I called my husband who said he'd rent a car (we only own one) and come rescue me. Then in hopeful frustration, I hit the lockbox repeatedly with a rock, and it popped open. Yay! Bad lockbox! From now on, my key's coming in the water with me. I'll have to find another way to deal with the car door lock getting corroded from saltwater.

Luke had left me a text that he'd bailed for the Jetty, and I found him there just after his session. The waves were much more than ankle-bitters, going chest-high plus. With the wind now blowing strong from the north, side/offshore, I wish I'd gone there earlier. It was still pretty clean and holding up decently, but took effort to get over the lip in the face of the wind. The whitecaps moved from the outer bay into the lineup while I was out. Although I was tired from fighting Bunnies, I got a few fun waves, washed off the work weariness, and put some stoke in my tank.

Surfline: Shorter period WNW-NW (275-300+) swell mix is up this morning as small SW (225-205) swell mixes in. Size for better exposures is in the 3-4' zone, with some larger sets for top exposures up around head high at times. Winds are light out of the NNE-North early for semi-clean conditions, though winds look to shift more NW'erly and build through the morning. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 7.9 ft at 8.3 s NW 35 / WIND WAVE: 6.9 ft at 5.0 s NNW 34 / WVHT: 10.5 ft / APD: 6.8 s / MWD: 322° (Met) WSPD: 23 kts / GST: 27 kts / WVHT: 10.5 ft / DPD: 8.0 s / WDIR: 330° / ATMP: 49.5° F / WTMP: 50.7° F. Tide: 3' rising to 4'.