05 March 2012

Just Me in the Satin Sea (HMB Jetty)

After the weekend's warmth, which set a record yesterday in Santa Cruz, I wasn't expecting my MINI's frost warning to chime on the way to the beach. I wanted to get in one last weekday dawn patrol before Sunday's start of despicable Daylight Savings Time steals them away for a while. The fog descended as I turned north along the coast, and all but the nearest waves at the Jetty were hidden in mystery. But there were waves, so I suited up and paddled out, taking a gamble on a mid-beach peak.

There were no other humans in the water, only me, a harbor seal, and a few birds. Before the cold drove me from the sea in about an hour, I rode a handful of fun-size waves on Emm, nothing to woo-hoo but some decent ones. The fog thinned and a peek of early sun glinted through, but then it descended again less thickly. For several minutes, the horizon divided a uniform gray sky and a satin-smooth green ocean, nature's loveliest art on show just for me.

Surfline: Modest to fun size NW groundswell continues this morning with some very minor S swell underneath it. However, the coast is socked in with dense fog right now, making it impossible to get a good visual of the surf. Expect head high waves at good exposures while standouts go a couple to a few feet+ overhead on sets. Winds are registering light onshore so there is likely some surface bump/crumble at many locations as well. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 5.6 ft at 14.8 s NW 22 / WIND WAVE: 3.3 ft at 5.9 s NW / WVHT: 6.6 ft / APD: 7.7 s / MWD: 314° (Met) WSPD: 16 kn / GST: 19 kn / WVHT: 6.6 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / WDIR: 320° / ATMP: 46° F / WTMP: 50° F. Tide: 5' rising slightly.

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