Fishrider (Linda Mar)

 Nemo and I are bonding over sun-kissed fun-sized waves at Linda Mar.

Surfline: 2-3 ft occ. 4 ft, poor to fair conditions. Clean, crumbly, sectiony lines working through. Rideable but it looks kind of mushy/weak overall. NW windswell is on the rise all day as old NW groundswell drops out. 3-4' surf is the norm while standout exposures hit shoulder-head high on the best sets. Larger surf due in the afternoon as the windswell gets stronger. Light SW winds early but conditions are looking pretty clean early on. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 5.3 ft at 8.3 s NW 74 / WIND WAVE: 1.3 ft at 3.7 s WNW / WVHT: 5.3 ft / APD: 6.2 s / MWD: 311° (Met) WSPD: 4 kn / GST: 6 kn / WVHT: 5.3 ft / DPD: 8.0 s / ATMP: 52° F / WTMP: 54° F. Tide: 4' falling to 3.5'.

Rip It, Roll It and Punch It* (Linda Mar)

After cresting the hill on the road to Pacifica, the road sweeps along the edge of the ridge, affording expansive views of the ocean below. Today there were no corduroy swell lines marching in from the horizon. Clearly it was a little-wave longboard day, which in accordance with my surfcation goal meant it was time to play with my fish.

Overlooking Pacifica and the pier

I had low expectations for myself given last week's performance, but as soon as I reached the lineup near the south end, my brain yelled "Incoming!" and I turned to catch a waist-high right. Much to my surprise, I not only caught it but rode it out. Yeah! 

In quick succession, I logged several solid rides on my 5'4" Nemo, including a left that let me get in a turn on the face before closing out (inevitably, since this is Linda Mar). Stoked!

Although the rest of my waves weren't so great and I need to put in some more time on the fish, I really thought reaching my surfcation goal would be more challenging. I don't know if it was waxing farther toward the nose of the board that did the trick, but something just clicked this morning and I am riding a board that's one inch longer than I am tall! It's just as well though, because there may not be a lot of fishable tiny surf days left. An early northwest groundswell is forecast for this weekend. Winter is coming.

*Title is from Finding Nemo. Of course.

Surfline: 1-2 ft occasionally 3 ft [with 4' closeout sets]. Clean, but small, weak, and inconsistent. Best for a longboard. Small mix of NW windswell and trace S-SSW groundwell continues to provide weak but rideable waves in the 2-3' range at better spots. Top breaks still offer a few rare waist+ peaks. There is a very light surface texture for the more openly exposed breaks, but it really isn't affecting conditions. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.6 ft at 9.1 s NW 73 / WIND WAVE: 0.7 ft at 3.4 s WNW / WVHT: 3.9 ft / APD: 7.7 s / MWD: 314° (Met) WSPD: 8 kn / GST: 10 kn / WVHT: 3.9 ft / DPD: 9.0 s / ATMP: 55° F / WTMP: 57° F. Tide: Around 3' falling slightly. 

Be Here Now (Montara)

A surf was required this morning, since I was already getting anxious about a phone interview this afternoon with the company at which I'd most like to work. I knew being in the ocean would settle me. There's nothing like surfing to force me to just be in this moment; everything else fades away.

J-Bird, Beanstalk and Luke were already in the water when I carried Rocket down the steps to the sand. I could've used more board this morning. The waves were mushy and hard to get into, even sometimes for my longboarder friends, but then steepened up and pitched as they broke.

After a number of false starts, including a backwashy left that bounced my board sideways on takeoff so I only landed one foot on the deck, I got into a speedy head-high right - woot! - but wasn't fast enough for it. I think I needed to turn sooner to stay mid-face instead of dropping down to the bottom - thrilling as that was - where the racing whitewater blew my board out from under my feet. I paddled back hoping for another chance, and hooted as Luke caught the next set wave, the lip starting to curl behind his head. When he rejoined me, grinning widely, he said he'd gone deep and gotten barreled although he didn't make it out. For the better part of a minute, he was all, "Oh, God, that was so good. Ooooh. Aaaah. Sooo good. Wow." I asked if he wanted a cigarette.

Tracey and Chris joined us, along with a handful of others, including some shortboarders. On my 6'2", I was already sitting farther inside than my bigger-boarded buddies, but eventually the other shortboarders moved even closer to the beach, where they were essentially catching quick rides in the shorepound. Daring the shallows myself, I launched into a shoulder-high right and this time rode it out, dropping off near dry sand. Yeah! Mission accomplished.

Still blooming

Surfline: Small mix of SSW groundswell and NW windswell today. Most breaks offer surf around the 1-3' zone, while the standout spots produce occasional waves/peaks up to belly-chest high. Conditions this early morning are fairly clean, with just a very light surface texture for many areas from the light SW wind. Mellow tide changes today, take note of the tides for your local break and what it favors. Buoy 42026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.3 ft at 8.3 s NW 72 / WIND WAVE: 0.7 ft at 4.0 s W / WVHT: 3.3 ft / APD: 6.9 s / MWD: 308° (Met) WSPD: 0 kn / GST: 2 kn / WVHT: 3.3 ft / DPD: 8.0 s / ATMP: 55° F / WTMP: 56° F. Tide: Around 3' rising slightly.

A beautiful day on the coast (Princeton)

What a Surfer Sees (Hook/Sharks)

Surfline: Fun size blend of slow easing SSW groundswell and holding short period NW windswell. Foggy with clean, inconsistent surf working through in the knee-chest high range. Should improve with the morning tide push. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 4.3 ft at 14.8 s SSE 71 / WIND WAVE: 1.3 ft at 4.0 s WNW / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 5.9 s / MWD: 156°(Met) WSPD: 8 kn / GST: 12 kn / WVHT: 4.3 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / ATMP: 51° F / WTMP: 56° F. Tide: Less than 3' rising to over 4'.

Foggy Fun (HMB Jetty)

The south swell has faded down to "fun-size", under head-high. When I paddled out on the north end of the lineup, I counted 15 guys (all guys again), but two of them were Manabu and Steve and the vibe was more friendly than Saturday.

I was rockin' on Rocket today, with a few standout rides. I wish I could've surfed this swell in reverse; today first, then Saturday's more intimidating conditions.

Foggy glass

I split the peak on a bouncy shoulder-high left with Manabu before backwash from the rising tide made the left unworkable and we moved southward. There I got a wild ride on a longer right, surprised and stoked that I made the tricky drop and rode it out over moguls almost to the riprap wall.

Steve and Manabu

Manabu and then Steve caught waves in, and a few minutes later Heather and Perrin joined me in the water. After a short chat, I found one more nice right to the beach and left smiling. Stoked!

Heather and Perrin

Surfline: 2-3 ft [to 4'] SSW Southern Hemi groundswell continues along with NW windswell. Dense fog has settled in along the coast making it impossible to see the surf this morning. Expect better exposed breaks to see waist-shoulder high waves, with larger sets for top spots. Onshore Westerly wind early and thick fog along the coast. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 4.6 ft at 14.8 s SW 70 / WIND WAVE: 1.3 ft at 3.7 s WNW / WVHT: 4.6 ft / APD: 6.2 s / MWD: 222° (Met) WSPD: 6 kn / GST: 8 kn / WVHT: 4.6 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / ATMP: 52° F / WTMP: 56° F. Tide: 2.5' rising to 4'.

Come Alive (HMB Jetty)

After a long summer of overhyped south swells that turned out to be duds, finally we've got the real deal. It's a Labor Day weekend special, end-of-summer 3-day blowout, filling in late Friday and winding down on Monday. Since our third attempt at night-surfing was again foiled by clouds covering last night's full moon, I was on it this morning. Trouble was, so were a lot of other people.

The south swell made the Jetty come alive, waking from many weeks of slumber. With the tide too low at dawn, I waited till mid-morning. The waves looked fun when I arrived, but there was only one peak working. Although there were a few familiar and friendly faces, there was also a lot of testosterone and greed in the lineup of 15-20 guys (yes, all guys... and me). The Jetty was doing a backwashy impression of the Hook, all pointbreaky and overcrowded.

I sat on Rocket near the right shoulder with George, where we both hoped for a section to appear in our vicinity. Even on the far end, one guy almost ran over George. Then he paddled into my path and blocked my takeoff so he could get the wave.

Self-doubt and self-confidence were my companions, and S.D. spoke louder today. I didn't want to sit in the pack to try for those big sweet waves, afraid I would wipeout or get in the way or be caught inside and pummeled, and me with a bum wrist in a brace and all. So I kept waiting for something to swing my way, even when a passing dude told me to move closer. "You surf here all the time, right? Come on over." Surfing here a lot doesn't mean that I surf well, I thought.

Eventually I saw an empty peak rising farther south, and S.D. and S.C. warred in my head:

S.C. Paddle over there! You can get it!
S.D. You'll never make it. It's too far away.
S.C. Yeah, you'll never make it if you don't try. Go now!

This time I listened to S.C. and paddled fast. And I did make it and got the wave, although after a fun drop it closed out and threw me. Take that, S.D.!

Surfline: 3-4 ft [to 6 ft]. Mix of primary/building and long period SSW groundswell (185-200 deg), secondary and shorter period NW windswell. NOTE - Most of the SSE tropical swell is missing the region. SSW sets are up to chest-head high occasional overhead for standout summer spots. Beachbreaks exposed to the SSW/NW combo are peaky. Conditions already have a little surface texture/bump this early morning. Incoming tide all morning. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.6 ft at 19.0 s SSW 69 / WIND WAVE: 2.3 ft at 4.3 s WNW / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 5.2 s / MWD: 209° (Met) WSPD: 10 kn / GST: 14 kn / WVHT: 4.3 ft / DPD: 19.0 s / ATMP: 53° F / WTMP: 55° F. Tide: 3' rising over 4'.