Pleasure Point, 24 Mar 2007

Swell direction: NW
Tide: Rising, just past -0.2' low
Wind: Light breeze
Air/Water Temp: 55/52 degrees
Wildlife: Dolphins & a sea otter

Since points north seemed they would be blown out, D and I headed to Santa Cruz. Capitola was tiny, so once again we ended up near PP. Since I've decided I want to move down to a shortboard, D let me try out his 6'3". I almost kinda sorta was able to duck dive it a couple times. But the chest- to head-high waves were inconsistent and often mushy (plus, it goes without saying, it was crowded), so I didn't manage to catch any waves before we switched boards again. Then I had to let one go because a guy was right in front of me and I was afraid I'd hit him when I took off. But I did get in one brief ride before the wave mushed out on me, and my shoulder held up fairly well. Any day surfing is a good day! Hopefully we can get in another sesh tomorrow before a storm moves in on Monday.

Look close - the dark shapes in the wave are dolphins!

Pleasure Point, 14 Mar 2007

Swell direction: SW
Tide: Rising, 3 hours past -0.3' low
Wind: Light
Air/Water Temp: 75/53 degrees
Wildlife: Sea otters

Same shit, different day at PP. Horribly crowded as usual, but 4 Mile was too blown out when we checked it after work. Waves about 4', half of them mushy. But to mix it up, I took out my 6'8" NSP, which I hadn't ridden in at least a year and a half. It didn't take long to get in sync again, and I had a nice ride on the one wave I managed to snatch from the mob. But this surf sesh pushed my sore right shoulder over the edge, and the physical therapist told me not to surf for at least 5 days if I don't want to risk doing real damage. Crap!

Waddell Creek, 11 Mar 2007

Swell direction: NW/SSW
Tide: Rising, 1 hour past 0.8' low
Wind: Very light
Air/Water Temp: 75/54 degrees
Wildlife: A distant seal

A glorious summery day in NorCal, and a fun, uncrowded sesh at Waddell. D and I checked 4 mile and Davenport first, but the crowd factor was high. I'm glad we pressed on to Waddell, because there were less than a dozen people in the water, spread out along the beach break. Getting out through the whitewash was a bit of a problem - turtle-rolling never seems to work out for me and I wish I could duck-dive like D on his little potato chip - but eventually I made it out during a brief lull. It was pretty glassy and the waves were 4-5', a little inconsistent but there were fun rides to be had. Once I got re-acclimated to my 7'2" funshape (after snubbing it for the new 8'0" longboard for several months), I snagged a few decent rights.

Waddell is a beautiful spot, but within view of Ano Nuevo. Fortunately the water is murky, so if there were any sharks, I couldn't see them. And of course I do have SharkCamo on my boards, so no worries!

Linda Mar, 7 Mar 2007

Swell direction: WNW
Tide: at 1' low
Wind: Very light
Air/Water Temp: 50/52 degrees

Pacificwaverider was claiming HMB @ Jetty to be 2-3 feet, so I drove by on my way to Linda Mar. 2-3 inches was closer to the mark, little ankle-biters maybe getting to a foot, so I didn't even slow down and kept driving north. Montara had a couple people out on small waves, so I was fearful of another skunking, but still determined to get wet. Fortunately Lindy didn't disappoint. It was glassy but small, 2-3 feet, mostly mushy and inconsistent, but I managed to ride 3 decent lefts before I had to leave for work. Life is good again!

Linda Mar, 2 Mar 2007

Swell direction: NW
Tide: 2.5 hours before 5.8’ high
Wind: Light offshore
Air/Water Temp: 42/51 degrees

March came in like a polar bear, and it was only 42 degrees when I arrived at Linda Mar just after daylight. While I was able to dig deep to find the motivation to drive to the beach for a solo dawn patrol, the ocean looked so uninviting that I couldn’t bring myself to paddle out alone. The north end was mushy, the south end was contaminated, and the middle was 2-4’, inconsistent and closing out. Still, one uninformed or foolhardy longboarder was risking illness on the far south, and another was attempting with little success to catch something in front of the bathhouse.

The Surfline reporter, who supposedly was there at the same time, called the surf as "3-5 ft. - waist to head high and fair conditions". IMO, they just put in whatever the Surfline forecast was predicting regardless of reality. In all fairness, she did note "Cleaner conditions but still generally walled up form. Occasionally ridable corners with the rising high tide." So best to read the details.

I drove south in search of better conditions. Montara was small, breaking all over the place, and totally mushed out. The Jetty wasn’t closing out as much as Linda Mar, but it was smaller, mostly about 2’, and only breaking right next to the jetty heading into a bunch of partly submerged rocks. Two people out there, looked like beginners.

At least it was a nice morning for a drive along the ocean…