Super fun but did I choose the right spot?

Rolled solo today since Matt was surfing lowers and Richard stayed home for his wife's birthday.  Got to Trestles parking at 5:45 and it was really busy already so I decided to hit church.  Buoys said 2.2@17 which is solid, but I thought with the high tide it would be best to surf the fun board. I got down there and it was really pumping, head high to overhead sets, with most waves opening up with long shoulders mixed with the occasional close out.  I immediately regretted my board choice but made the best of it.  There were 4 of us when I first paddled out and I caught a bomb on my first wave, overhead screamer and the board rode just fine.  The tide immediately started to get fat and I sat a little inside and caught everything, I must have surfed 3X more waves than the next guy, and most of them were long and I got 2-5 turns on each wave depending.  Only about 8 of us until 7 when the parade showed up, but I was having a lot of fun so I stayed out until 7:30 (should have gone in early).  Check the set that plowed through unridden, A Frame.  Went straigh to work so no pics of the kiddies.

Really good Ramps

Tide was high again and yesterday was so crowded at Uppers, so Richard and I stayed closer to home and hit strands.  North swells throw pretty good rights at ramps and today was one of those days it was hitting just right.  Pretty inconsistent and it felt crowded with 4 people, but sets were coming through with big fast walls that you could go Mach 1 on, and the lefts were working too.  Best wave I caught was this outside right that only I could catch, had a steep take off and a smackable lip, way fun.  It was busy for strands but way better than the Uppers crowd.

I was a buoy today

Usually I catch a lot of waves, more than most people out there.  I'm pretty good at finding the best spots to be in and work around the crowd.  Today at Uppers there just weren't enough waves and the tide was too high, that doubled with a thick crowd and I ended up sitting around a lot, just waiting.  The waves I did catch were solid, lined up chest high North swell waves, probably only caught about 5-6 good waves and I got to try the neckbeard going right.  Still a little funky but getting used to it, and it is really fast.  Matt caught the most waves, he was just sitting in the right spot and was picking off lefts.  Still was fun but not all time like we hoped, maybe ramps will be firing tomorrow on the combo swell.

Perspective

Today is Audrey's wedding day.  I needed some time to myself to think about my speech for tonight, so I went for a solo paddle in the harbor.  It was a great morning, water was sheet glass and the weather was comfortable at 8AM, about 70 degrees.  Great day for a wedding.
This pic from near the Chart House just reminds me of how great this place is to live.  Yes, Orange County is very crowded and full of people that I don't get along with, but also has great people to be friends with, beautiful scenery, and tons of outdoorsy things to do.  Plus, I start my new job tomorrow as Product Manager for Oakley RX Frames... dream job: life is good.  And I have a lovely (and hot) wife, two wonderful kids, mom and dad near by, and a sister (one of my best friends) getting married and having a baby soon.  So stoked.

Funky Swell

Heard from a friend at work that Uppers had 200 people yesterday morning.  Ha ha, he said at least 20 people out at dark and the waves weren't that good.  That's what happens when surfline calls 4-6 ft and good conditions, people flock.  Richard knew it would be like that today so we all met at Strands to surf that awesome left again, we call ramps.  Matt came too, he did this off the top right in front of us that literally looked like Owen Wright.  Wish I had a camera.  The waves were a little warped and not that lined up, and the tide was pretty low so "the rock" that boils up was frightening; but a few good ones made it through.  It was just the 3 of us until about 7:15, and I surfed my new 5'9 neckbeard for the first time.  Man it is fast but I suck at going left (and right too) and couldn't get my feet right.  Hopefully tomorrow we'll catch some rights. 

A lot of people live here

Sometimes you have to keep some perspective, there are over 4 million people that live in Orange County, and another several million that live in San Diego and LA.  While riding down to Uppers this morning, Richard and I were a little discouraged that there were already 15 people on the beach at dark suiting up to surf, plus the additional 15-20 you know will show up by 7.  But, remembering how many people live here, we are lucky that it's only this crowded first thing in the morning.
This being said, yesterday was flawless and empty.  Today was smaller, forecasted to be the smallest day of the week, and twice as crowded; BUT still fun and we got our fair share of waves.  .9@20 was sending in a few long walls and we were catching some of those in the bay on the inside.  I paddled out in the dark frustrated about the crowd and rode my last wave in with a huge grin; ended up being an all around great session and my old trusty fish was still doing its thing.  So stoked.

The Spot that Shall Remain Nameless

Ha ha, Richard and I met at a spot closer to home.  Buoys were still pumping 3.3@11 and 2.1@14, but the tide was pretty low and this spot Richard surfs a lot wasn't working yet.  Lots of boyles and rocks sticking out.  We went out anyway and as the tide filled in these SCREAMING lefts started pumping through.  For about half an hour, right around 7, the sets were consistent shoulder to head high and REALLY fast.  Richard was doing these big racey off the tops on his neckbeard.  Tough surfing them backside but the old trusty fish hung in there, my neckbeard should arrive this week, yeee haaaw.  Great session today and just the 2 of us out the whole time.  Beautiful morning too with scattered high clouds instead of fog.

Coco's Second Paddle

Not as successful.  Yesterday must have been the hottest day of the year and none of us slept the night before because it was 90 in our house.  We got to baby beach and it was already 87 degrees at 8 AM.  After the first 10 minutes Coco wanted to stand up and wouldn't take no for an answer.  That meant I had to hold her with one hand and paddle with the other.  Still fun though, she is cute even when she's mad.

Burned at Church

Waves were just alright today. Bigger than yesterday but not as lined up and had a little lump to it; plus 5X more people. Still was fun because Matt and Richard were both out, and Richard brought his go pro with the bobber. He was surfing with the cam in his mouth and I bet the footage will be pretty neat, I burned him on camera and we both got burned by some longboarder, ha ha. That sucked. I brought my go pro too and got a couple good shots. Matt was ripping, I saw him do a backside air and severl frontside off the tops on marginal waves, well done. Anyway, it was a nice morning and even the sub par wave days are worth it...

Foggy, glassy, and Fun

Woke up at 5 to check the buoys, 1.2@18 sounded reasonable, my guess was inconsistent waste high. Richard was out today with a cold but Matt was already at Trestles. I parked up top and the crowd was in between, pretty light considering the forecast but potential to go from 3 to 30 again. So I took the funboard and went to Church. Paddled out at 6 and it was still really dark, and 5 of us all paddled out at the same time but no one else came out for about an hour. The waves were better than I expected, pretty consistent and little above waist high, super glassy and pretty lined up. I saw Brandon out on his 5'10 Sweet Potato and he let me ride it on about 5 waves. I loved it, it was fast and fluid and very turnable... fit my style of surfing better than the fishcuit, but I still suck at surfing a quad fin. It is my back up choice if I can't get a Tuflite Biscuit. Took a few pics but didn't wait around for a set, there were a few chest to head highs out there.