Down Low (Linda Mar)

Whereas (I used to be a lawyer, so I have to use that word sometimes) yesterday I surfed at an undesirably high tide, today remodeling chores forced me out at an unfortunately low one. So I set my expectations suitably low and enjoyed the warm sunny weather.

Choosing my usual spot near the creek mouth, I was rewarded with a few short shoulders and a bunch of closed-out and whitewatery rides, once I adjusted to the extra length of my 6'2" shortboard over yesterday's 5'4" fish and stopped tripping over those additional inches. Just enough stoke to keep me smiling!

Surfline: 3-4 ft, occ. 5 ft, fair conditions; mostly clean but pretty sectiony and walled out with just short sections to pick off. Mid period West swell combines with some longer period WNW and new SW southern hemi swell today. Skies have finally cleared up to reveal chest-head high waves and overhead sets at the more exposed spots. Winds are staying light right now so surface conditions are mostly clean and the tide is dropping. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 5.6 ft at 14.8 s WNW 90 / WIND WAVE: 2.3 ft at 4.3 s WNW / WVHT: 6.2 ft / APD: 7.7 s / MWD: 282 (Met) WSPD: 14 kn / GST: 17 kn / WVHT: 5.6 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / ATMP: 58° F / WTMP: 58° F. Tide: Less than 3' falling quickly to 0'.

Running on Fumes (Linda Mar)

We're having our kitchen remodeled, and a headache from lingering paint fumes drove me from the house relatively early this morning. Although I'd wanted to wait until midday for the high tide to fall off, the fresh air did me a world of good and the company of a few friends (in the midst of a hundred strangers) more than made up for the mushy waves. I rode a decent number of 'em on Nemo, and turned my waterproof camera on Nikki, Jacob and J-Bird.

Nikki, J-Bird and Jacob, about to get wet

Smile, ladies!

Nikki gets low (view from Nemo)

The long and the short of it: Jacob's board and mine

J-Bird had a good time on her new custom 7'0", Jelly Belly

Smallest changing bucket (Nikki)

Surfline: 2=3 ft, poor to fair conditions. Clean, but dealing with small-scale waves this morning. Soft, semi-rideable shape now. Slows down with the rising tide. West-WNW swell on tap this morning along with inconsistent SW groundswell. The better exposures go waist-head high with larger sets, while standout breaks go slightly overhead on occasion. Wind remains fairly light at the moment with generally smooth surface conditions. Watch for a 6.18' high tide just before 10:30am to slow things down as we move through the morning. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.9 ft at 10.8 s WNW 89 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 3.6 s WNW / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 7.0 s / MWD: 287° (Met) WSPD: 10 kn / GST: 12 kn / WVHT: 3.6 ft / DPD: 11.0 s / ATMP: 55° F / WTMP: 57° F. Tide: 5.5' rising to almost 6' high then dropping slightly.

And Then There Were None (HMB Jetty)

A buddy told me there were waves at the Jetty yesterday from the current swell, so I dashed over there during my window of surf opportunity late this morning. I struggled into my cold wet wetsuit, and shivered in the light breeze that chopped the water's surface.

I have a feeling conditions were better earlier, because there were eight other surfers out when I arrived, then five, then two, and at the end it was just me alone, bobbing in the ocean.

Long lulls were punctuated by closeout sets, the peaks were shifty and the backwash unpredictable, which made it all the more satisfying when I was able to catch an elusive rideable wave. A few of those otherwise unremarkable rides put a smile on my face.

Surfline: Light to moderate west wind is putting some bump and crumble on the water for most breaks this morning. Long period NW swell (290-300+) continues this morning with head high+ surf at many exposed breaks and sets to a couple feet+ overhead at standouts. Buoy 46026: WVHT 5.6 ft DPD 16 sec APD 7.3 sec MWD W 88 WSPD 9.7 kts ATMP 55.4°F WTMP 57.0 °F. Tide: 4' falling to just above 3'.

Half Moon Bay is ready for this weekend's Pumpkin Festival

Thunder (Capitola)

My first surf lesson, in the summer of '03 on a waterlogged 10-foot foamie in Cocoa Beach, Florida, was cut short by a thunderstorm. That was after I'd stood up on the board and ridden a few tiny waves - after I'd been hooked on the feeling and reborn as a surfer. My instructor and I ran through pouring rain and growing puddles back to his shop, lightning flashing scarily close and loud thunder booming from an angry sky.

So when rare California thunder rumbled while I was in the water at midday, I well knew that I should head in lest I become a target for the lightning that accompanied it. Yet I saw no flashes, and rationalized paddling back out for just one more wave. And then one more, and another, seeking a better ride. After all, lightning would be attracted to the highest point, and there were sailboats, janitors and taller surfers in the vicinity. Riiiight...

I bagged some fun rides on Nemo, mostly long reform scraps scavenged from the wavehogs on the main peak, but one clean green left (which sadly ended prematurely when I dug my inside rail trying to get fancy). I surfed until the time ran out on my parking meter, reluctantly accepting that my last wave wouldn't be anything special as low tide served up mostly closeouts. Tomorrow is another day!

Surfline: Inconsistent but fun size, long period WNW groundswell fills in through the day offering up chest-head high waves at well exposed spots. Standout breaks that focus the longer period energy produce 2-3'+ overhead sets. Also some small, fading SSW swell mixing in with occasional knee-waist high sets. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.9 ft at 19.0 s WNW 87 / WIND WAVE: 2.0 ft at 4.2 s WNW / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 6.3 s / MWD: 286° (Met) WSPD: 10 kn / GST: 14 kn / WVHT: 4.6 ft / DPD: 19.0 s / ATMP: 57° F / WTMP: 57° F. Tide: Falling slightly to 2.5' low.

Post-surf rainbow on the Westside

Double Bof (Montara/HMB Jetty)

Manabu surf-checked the Jetty ahead of the appointed meet time, and said it was mostly flat with a surf school on the only peak. He drove north and reported that Montara looked better with more waves, so Luke and I planned to meet him in the water. Manabu said he'd be in his hard to miss (and seldom worn) yellow wetsuit.

Walking the golden sands of Montara with my shortboard under my arm, I searched the sea in vain for a yellow-clad surfer. Luke and I paddled out on a crowded mid-beach peak, both of us having to wait for a lull to get through the head-high surf. The waves were clean but sadly closing out a lot, and there was too much competition; I had no joy. Caught inside again, I took a whitewatery wave just to ride something. Then I walked northward and tried to go out near an empty peak, but closeouts kept crashing down in front of me in waist-high water, and I was spending too much time tossing my board and diving under them. Not fun. As I walked back on the beach to tell Luke I was going to the Jetty, I saw him ride a closeout that was slightly over his head. He said it was one of his biggest waves yet, but he was ready to go too.

As it turned out, Manabu had also decided to retreat to the south, and I passed him leaving the Jetty after surfing with Steve. The waves at there were shifty and messy with the occasional shoulder. It would seem I've overcorrected from being too cautious in wave selection to being too indiscriminate; mostly I just wiped out and put myself out of position for better waves that followed. Somehow, I need to find the balance. My best ride, and that's not saying much, was a short-shouldered right I caught in at the end. Earlier, I'd taken off on a better right, but turned too sharply up the face and dug my inside rail. Bah! This is why my turns are tentative; I have such a fear of "wasting" a wave by screwing up a more agressive move.

As I changed in the parking lot, two guys approached with wetsuits half on, and one asked with a distinct French accent if this was the Jetty dirt lot and "how were the waves?" I told him yes and meh, which in hindsight was probably not a word he learned in school. Rebecca tells me the analogous French word is "bof." Double session, double bof.

Surfline: A new WNW groundswell fills in further and tops out, becoming the primary swell, while the SSW groundswell eases some. Breaks that are better exposed to either swell will offer surf mainly in the 2-4' zone. Standout winter spots will produce occasional WNW sets up to shoulder-head high. Good combo spots will also see occasional waves/peaks up to shoulder-head high. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.6 ft at 14.8 s W 86 / WIND WAVE: 0.7 ft at 3.7 s NW 85 / WVHT: 3.6 ft / APD: 9.5 s / MWD: 278° (Met) WSPD: 4 kn / GST: 6 kn / WVHT: 3.3 ft / DPD: 16.0 s / ATMP: 55° F / WTMP: 57° F. Tide: 3' rising near 4'.

Rocket on Top and Fish Inside (HMB Jetty)

My MINI Cooper was loaded for possibilities today, with my 6'2" shortboard Rocket strapped to the roof and my 5'3" fish Nemo tucked inside. Luke surf-checked the Jetty before me and on his advice I took out the fish, though the waves looked a bit steep when I paddled out. I've only surfed Nemo on Lindamush and softer waves at Capitola, but thought I'd see how it went. I rode a nice right straight away, which set expectations too high for the session.

When I asked Luke if he wanted to try Nemo, he said yes. He's a big guy and totally sank the board. It took him a wave or two before he stood and rode whitewash, and he said it was like surfing on a McDonald's tray. Hah! Meanwhile I tried for a few on Luke's 6'8" custom Coffey. I caught a couple but pearled - too much unaccustomed extra length, at almost a foot and a half longer than Nemo. I think the 3rd time would've been a charm but he wanted his board back. 

View from the fish

Luke and his Coffey

Luke introduced me to a guy he knew, and later I got to chatting with a dude who recognized me from a local Meetup group. Unfortunately conditions deteriorated as time passed. I'm not sure exactly why, since the tide was coming up slowly and there was little wind. The waves were lully and shifty, and I had trouble being in position and making the walled-up drops. Although I thought about going back to the car for Rocket, I didn't want to cut into my surf time since I had a deadline to meet up with Scott. Maybe the shortboard would've been a better choice, but I'll have to find out another day.

This morning I was going for more waves, trying to subscribe to BD's philosophy:

My new motto is "fuck it".  I have this new attitude where I'm going to paddle for a wave even if I'm late and not be pissed if I make it or not.  A quarter of the time I get hammered, and the other third has been straight up fun!  

That approach meant more wipeouts, including one that spun me 360° lengthwise. The rest of my waves were closeouts or whitewatery, nothing matching the first ride or the past two sessions, although I got a semi-decent wave in. Still looking for that straight-up fun!

For now, I'm content with my one good ride, sharing a surf with friends old and new, and spending time in the ocean on another lovely fall day.

One of my whitewatery rides, photo by Luke

Surfline: A mix of primary/holding SSW groundswell and secondary/easing short-mid period NW swell continues this afternoon. Many of the better breaks of the region offer surf within the 3-4' zone, while standout summer spots and combo spots produce occasional waves/peaks up to head high. Buoy 46026: (Wave) SWELL: 3.9 ft at 16.0 s SSW 84 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 4.0 s W / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 7.9 s / MWD: 208° (Met) WSPD: 6 kn / GST: 8 kn / WVHT: 4.3 ft / DPD: 16.0 s / ATMP: 56° F / WTMP: 56° F. Tide: Less than 3.5' rising over 3.5'.