Just In Time

Right after I got out of the water, the ocean looked like this:

Before that, not long after daylight, the surface was lightly ruffled by a slight offshore breeze. It was cold, in the upper 40s, and there were only five of us surfing at the pier. Three of the guys were from NorCal presently or in the past, and one of them recognized my Ward Coffey-shaped 6'2" from the lineup in eastside Santa Cruz. Seems a lot of the Bay Area migrates to San Diego for the holidays.

The waves were small, barely waist high, and their weakness challenged my ability to paddle in. The longboarders had better luck, but I scored several fun waves, making my bottom-to-top turns on the face tiny to match their diminutive stature.

The wind started to pick up, increasing the chop and teasing spotty whitecaps from the sea. The three amigos left, and a French dude on a rented pop-out and I searched for our last waves. I rode mine nearly to the beach, pumping it past a soft section. By the time I showered off and started to climb the stairs, the onshore wind was blowing so hard I had trouble holding onto my surfboard. Seems I made it out just in time ahead of an approaching end-of-the-year storm.

On a sadder note, my surfmobile has been crippled by an engine malfunction. After 102,000 miles, it's not worth spending half of the remaining value of the car on repairs, so I'll be saying goodbye to my '08 MINI Cooper S.

RIP, Lizzie (overlooking Santa Cruz on her maiden surf expedition)

Meanwhile, I'm getting to the surf in my husband's car, like this:

which is very cold at this time of year! Thank the gods for seat heaters.

NorCal Visits

My old Bay Area surf buddy, Luke, said he'd meet me after low tide for a surf if he got up early enough. Turned out he didn't, but Nick from NorCal paddled up in the nearly empty lineup to say hi. It's a small surfing world.

Although the waves were nearly as sparse as the surfers, patient waiting through lengthy lulls paid off with several long waist-high+ waves. And the morning was lovely (if chilly - there was frost on the cliff path). Yay!

Not quite

Eve Sunrise

Lovely morning for a surf. Only 4 of us at Hennemans in head-high waves brushed by taco-scented offshores.

Well worth paddling out before sunrise!

Must've Been Naughty

...because I got lumpy waves in my stocking late morning.

 Still snagged a bit of fun from the holiday crowd.

After (Not) the Longest Night Ever

Last night was the longest night ever in the history of Earth. At least I thought so, until this article was corrected. Turns out the longest night ever was actually in 1912. Anyway, we've turned the corner past winter solstice and the days get longer from here. Yay!

After the morning king high tide started to drop, Christina met me for a surf at Hennemans, which was going a bit overhead and getting more crowded and breezy by the minute.

Although it was hard to stay in position for the outside set waves that snuck through on the empty north side peak, my patience there paid off a couple times. Double yay!

Breaking the Rule

They say you should stay out of the water for 72 hours following a significant rain. I've never been good at following rules. And storms have been coming through so frequently that obeying would mean not surfing for a couple of weeks. I had to take advantage of today's small window in the weather. Although I came down with a cold last night, I wasn't going to let that stop me, not with rain predicted to fall for the next three days. I bundled up in my 4/3 wetsuit for the first time this season, and added a 1mil hood, so as not to add a second sort of cold to the first.

Hennemans

There were 10 surfers out at Hennemans in shoulder-high waves, but only 4 at Sewers. Much as I love that left, a shorter paddle plus lighter crowd made it an easy choice.

Sewers, and Mike's board which was shaped by Rick

There were a few familiar and friendly faces in the lineup, including Rick and Mike, who greeted me with smiles. After a lull, the waves turned on again, and I rode a few fun rights and a left. My limited energy told me to quit early, but the waves were so fun - it was one of those really nice surf days - that I had to turn around and go back for one more. It was a long right that took me close to shore, where I got out near the big outflow pipe from which Sewers takes its name. Sweet stoke to hold onto through the stormy weather to come!

Rick and Mike were already topside at Calumet Park and provide commentary for the video.