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Posted on January 26, 2009
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044: another big day
Posted on January 19, 2009
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tried my luck again. got lucky…again. but today I paid the price. over the falls and held down. it’s dark down there. not so bad of a hold down, even though it feels like an eternity. then duckdiving about four more. lots of current today. lining up with the windmill, man what a drift. a few nice waves, then take one way inside. that’s enough.
crazy scene at the beach during this never ending summer in august. high pressure has parked over california and that’s a good thing. 60-70 and sunny since we’ve been back, still going strong. half the city out at the beach, everybody here doing there thing and soaking up the sun. beach fire folk, drummers, picnickers, drunks, skateboarders, bicyclists, hippies, dog walkers, transients, couples of all types and colors, families, bums, freaks, hipsters, yuppies, poor people, rich people, frisbee tossers, and everyone else you can think of… and then there are the surfers. sometimes it gets loud but it’s a good vibe for the most part. everyone here is after the same thing it seems.
043: gun time
Posted on January 17, 2009
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photo from today, from Surfline’s photo-essay on this swell, shot by Adam Warmington
it’s double overhead on the sets (some even bigger) at Ocean Beach, clean and offshore. truth be told, I have been high-tailing it to the more manageable pointbreaks in santa cruz when it gets over head and a half (8-10 feet on the faces.) the paddle out is just such a bear at the beach. and it is so heavy there. other people must share some of the same sentiment, the lineup is practically empty at VFWs. and the few guys that are out are very spread out.
santa cruz is far. the crowds are ridiculous. and the waves look really good here. fuck it, I’m going to try it here. paddle out: yep, it’s hard, took about 15 minutes through endless walls of whitewater. big surf? yes indeed. strong spooky currents? got ‘em. alone? yah, sounds dumb, would be good to be with somebody. all good, there are some guys *kinda* nearby.
a smaller wave first. ah yes, I love this board. an old friend, reliable, solid on big, steep drops. like it’s on rails. I hadn’t ridden the gun since moving here. it’s not a big gun, just a 7′2″ pintail, but that extra foot of board makes a world of difference in solid, bigger surf. I bought it a while back for Hawaii, and for bigger stuff back east. I hardly rode it in New England, so even after all these years, it’s still in great shape.
photo is from today, from Surfline’s photo-essay on this swell, shot by Adam Warmington
then I luck into a bomb. a real bomb. The peak is right there, and I am in perfect position. it was delivered right to me, so I figure I have to take it. there is not much like that feeling, a drop like that. you have to trust your board and yourself to make it. this one is a good twelve feet on the face at the peak, then the perfect tapering wall. I just trim the pintail as the beast bowls up and lets me out without crushing me, I can hear the lip blasting right behind me. I let out a howl at the end, but there is nobody around.
and then there are plenty of waves I am too psyched out to try. the ones I paddled for and could have gotten, but would have had to have taken near air drops to make. waiting, waiting. the sun dips down. alternating between a respectful fear and confidence. swirl of water near my feet. currents? I hope so. I have a tingle, like I had in Hawaii surfing Tunnels on Kauai. the tingle that is that feeling that maybe you are not alone out there. I catch one in. 4 waves in an hour. I had paddled out thinking maybe I wouldn’t have even gotten that many, so this is plenty good for me.
it’s true, there is much bigger surf being ridden in deepwater spots today. I realize this wouldn’t even be considered out of the ordinary for the local chargers. but for me, from the east, it’s something significant. and the door has been open, if just a crack, to some of the bigger stuff.
042: Davenport
Posted on January 12, 2009
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tequila til 3AM courtesy of Molly and Mike in Santa Cruz. a good group of folks at the party, a friendly bunch. cali hospitality at it’s finest, drunk and a bunk and a brunch on the back deck in the sun. then off to surf Davenport. beautiful spot. never surfed it before, checked it a few times but it was always blown out. not today. clean and overhead on the sets, sunny, warm. what more could you ask for? had some really fun waves here on the new board. a little slow from the late night, but the clear, clean, cold water washed it away. tried to not think about the sharkies around there. ’shark bite right.’ only a few guys out, and a mellow vibe. and I actually knew a few folks in the lineup for a change. I’ll be back.
041: sunny california
Posted on January 10, 2009
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a nice welcome back to sunny california. the skies are blue, it’s almost seventy degrees and the wind is offshore. waves are really nice; about chest to head with some plus sets. good day to try out my new board. what surfer doesn’t love a new board? and this one rides really great, fast and loose. really noticed the few weeks with no surf, drinking, and overeating over the holidays. tired much more quickly, noodle arms; but good to be back in the water.
the green-ness of the landscape and the soft wind is such a difference from the grey of back east. snow and ice and five cold degrees when I was learning how to do some backcountry telemark while in vermont over the holidays. but it was great (essential) to be with who is important on those who you love: family and old friends.
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