Not a Mouse (Venice)

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men 
Gang aft agley. 
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, 
For promis'd joy! 
To a Mouse by Robert Burns

The south groundswell is on the fade as is some messy northwest windswell. I planned to take my patience south and catch the inconsistent little remnants of the former in Santa Cruz this afternoon, but when I checked the traffic on my route - oh, nooo! "Multi-vehicle accident with injuries on CA-17 Southbound All lanes blocked Avoid the area." Such sweet little waves on the cams, now out of reach! Without much hope, I texted Luke for a report on conditions in Half Moon Bay, which was still accessible by land. He replied that the Jetty had been flat, but it wasn't just windslop elsewhere; I should come west and we'd hunt down waves at one of the beaches. Besides, we hadn't surfed together in ages. Change of plans, change of direction.

True enough, the Jetty was flat, with a sideshore breeze, but we could see waves breaking farther south. Luke invited a newbie who was half suited up in the parking lot to join us at Dunes.

Up close, Dunes looked more promising, although there was no one out there or anywhere as far as the eye could see. We paddled out near the border with Venice Beach, searching for an elusive peak that would hold up enough to ride. Christian had only been surfing for one week and was hungry for advice, and the first I offered was to stop trying to catch shorepound before he or his board got hurt.

After paddling hither and yon, Luke had ridden one wave and I hadn't yet put feet to board. I'd caught a left but aborted so I wouldn't land on Christian. Seeing a better opportunity more southward, Luke suggested we get out and walk down to Venice proper. It was a good call. I rode two or three whitewatery waves there before Luke had to leave. Since my elbow was being a pain, I joined him on the beach, nevertheless happy in the short session.

Discussing the conditions with Christian, Luke said he wouldn't have surfed if I hadn't come, and I replied I wouldn't have come if he hadn't said we'd surf. Ha! Nice thing about buddies. With the end result that today, promis'd joy was found in the waves after all.

Luke and Christian

Surfline: Small mix of SSW groundswell and NW windswell today. Most of the better exposures hang within the 1-3' zone, while standout summer spots produce occasional waves/peaks up to belly-chest high at best. moderate to breezy WNW flow prevails at the moment this early afternoon, creating plenty of surface texture/bump for most areas. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 2.0 ft at 13.8 s S 37 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 3.7 s WNW / WVHT: 2.3 ft / APD: 5.7 s / MWD: 185° (Met) WSPD: 6 kn / GST: 8 kn / WVHT: 2.3 ft / DPD: 14.0 s / WDIR: 300° / ATMP: 53° F / WTMP: 53° F. Tide: ~3'.