Dancing & Dynamite (Miramar)

Since the Jetty was next to flat this morning, I drove back south a bit to the general vicinity of a new and more exposed spot in Half Moon Bay favorited by my buddy Manabu. No one was out and the waves were mixed up, but I could see a few possibilities. And having read this Old Guy Sage Advice just yesterday, I was going to surf, regardless.

Getting down the bluff to the beach was tricky; the nearest choices were a sort of stair/ladder/slide made of driftwood or a dirt path with a rope to get over the steepest bit. I went for the former, thinking it looked more manageable with a 7'0" surfboard.

Made it down!

The journey to the lineup was no easier once I got to the sand. I couldn't see a rip current, which left me relying on luck and fast paddling, and hoping for a lull. 

I persevered to the outside, where the waist- to chest-high waves were often doubling and tripling up, with a few shoulders here and there, and larger closeouts rolling through periodically.

Since I was alone, it was good practice in wave-reading, trying to paddle to the shifting peak position, letting the poorly-formed swells pass by, and paddling out to avoid closeout sets exploding on my head. After my share of misses, deliberate and otherwise, and a few mild beatings on the inside, I unproudly rode some whitewater. At last I caught a right and then a left, but couldn't keep my nose in the air on the drops. The waves were pitching, and I wished I'd brought my 6'2" instead.

Taking a clue from a triangular bubble pattern that seemed to form more consistently a bit north, I moved to a peak in front of the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. There I caught and rode a nice right, dancing over the bumps all the way to the shallows. It was even sweeter and stokier since I'd had to work so hard for it. Then the mad dash back to the lineup, where I searched for another such nugget. It took a while, but I found another fun right. Old Guy was right; I'm glad I paddled out. Stoked!

Made it back up!

Awesome name!

Surfline: Mainly NW windswell and some leftover SW groundswell continue this morning as we pass high tide. Surf for most better breaks is running waist-chest-head high, with a few slightly larger peaks for top windswell exposures. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 4.9 ft at 8.3 s WNW 44 / WIND WAVE: 6.2 ft at 5.9 s WNW / WVHT: 7.9 ft / APD: 6.3 s / MWD: 297° (Met) WSPD: 16 kn / GST: 19 kn / WVHT: 7.9 ft / DPD: 8.0 s / WDIR: 320° / ATMP: 53° F / WTMP: 52° F. Tide: 3.5' high, dropping slightly.