Smoke on the Water

San Diego is burning.

The fires - nine now - are to the north, but the smoke is making me cough. That's nothing compared to what others are going through, with thousands having to evacuate and a handful losing their homes.

Caught on cam: Me and Steve getting ready to paddle out

There's a south swell in the water now and not much else, so I met up with Steve at IB pier, which can catch that direction. We paddled out on the north side, then under the pier, carefully timing the waves to avoid being pushed into the close-set pilings which were coated in sharp barnacles. 

That's not smog on the horizon; it's smoke.

Steve's surfed IB the last few days, and wanted to get to the second peak south, which was less crowded. On the way over there, I caught a right near the pier. A bit father south, I paddled into a really fun right that, with the proper turns, reformed as a left with a second drop and took me all the way in to the beach. Yeah!

The hot, dry Santa Ana winds stirred up my heretofore unknown allergies, but the smoke added in bouts of coughing and a headache that put an early end to my session. What I wouldn't give right now for some cool, clammy fog!

Back at the car, I had an email from the editor of Mpora.com saying my article, the first on surfing for which I'm being paid - was "exactly what [they] were looking for" and "really well written." Double Yeah! Here it is: Why Aren't There More Openly Gay Surfers?