First In (HMB Jetty)

Another weekday session was called for ahead of this weekend's forecast strong winds. I was the first to paddle out this morning, just before 6 am, but was immediately joined by taciturn Dan. With a mix of swells in the water, the surf was confused, with sectiony waves doubling- and tripling-up, and the larger ones closing out. It took patience to locate a distinct solo wave with a shoulder. I found a few, briefly, with fun head-high drops and a bottom turn before the whitewater exploded. I had an equal number of wipeouts, including one which sent me flying fast head-first into the water, bending my neck painfully on impact. That's going to be sore later. Blowing the drop on another wave, I thought I'd surfaced after a mighty tumble and opened my mouth for a gasp of air, only to find it filled with frothy water since I'd come up in foam instead. I've heard one of the reasons some big wave surfers have drowned is that the foam from giant waves can be feet thick, and they can't get above it to breathe. Now I understand.

A few other surfers showed up, including friendly Vanessa, who I'd met there last time. From the inside, I almost got a video of her making a nice drop and bottom turn, but I tripped backward over a unseen rock in the shallows as I aimed the camera. D'oh! After a bunch of rides early on, I wasn't having much luck for a while and started to paddle closer to the beach exit. Finally I found a chest-high right with a longer shoulder that took me most of the way in, and then caught the next whitewater on my belly to the beach.

Morning glass

Back at my car, an older guy parked next to me asked if I'd had fun out there, to which I answered an enthusiastic "yes!" Charlie, who turned out to be a sponger, said he and his buddies have been meeting in Half Moon Bay to ride waves every Friday for 20 years. What a neat idea.

Surfline: Mid period NW swell eases through the day as a new SW (200-225) groundswell builds in through the day. Surf for most breaks is in the chest-shoulder-head high+ range, with standout NW exposures running a few feet overhead. Winds are light/variable with fairly clean conditions on offer across the region this morning as the tide builds to a 3'+ high by 8:30am. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 6.2 ft at 12.1 s WNW 42 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 4.0 s WSW / WVHT: 6.2 ft / APD: 8.3 s / MWD: 301° (Met) WSPD: 4 kts / GST: 6 kts / WVHT: 6.2 ft / DPD: 12.0 s / WDIR: 210° / ATMP: 53.4° F / WTMP: 52.9° F. Tide: 2.5' rising to 3'.