Post Rain SUP

Don't fall in, your suit might disintegrate.  Doheny is known to have the dirtiest water in all of southern california.  It does smell bad most of the time, and after a rain WATCH OUT.  Last night it rained (2nd time all year), HARD, for about an hour.  By the time Richard and I met at 6 AM, it was mostly clear skies and dried streets.  Not a soul at the beach, just how we like it, and the cleanest waves in So Cal were breaking in front of us.  Still a windswell bump to it, but some 1.4@15 south swell was sending in the nice double-up little waves. 

While not every wave was good, some lined up and spit some fast walls for the 12 footers.  Only fell in once and I didn't melt, alright!  Just us until about 7:10, then we got out before the hepatitus crew showed up.  Still happy, definitely not summer yet.

March 14: Better than Expected Friday

Got a new suit from Richard, for free.  Zero Gold, 4/3, charcoal grey, rad old guy suit and super warm.  This was the Surf and Turf recruiting day John Seely put on, and I promised I be at the pier to help.  But knowing it would be a zoo and I wouldn't surf there, Richard and I dawn patroled Uppers.  5 guys out.  That's it.  And waves easily chest high with some connecting in the bay for a pretty long ride.  It was so fun, with clear skies, off shores, and no crowd, I didn't want to leave at 7:30 after only an hour 15 of surf. 

But, I promised so i sprinted over to the pier for the event.  It was super busy, but a pretty neat idea.  Made me very grateful for the job I have seeing all these people interested and/or somewhat desparate to get in here.  I love March and I love days like this.

Better than Creek

 

Another nice morning of small waves in the uppers bay.  Buoys were down to 1@15 from the s and no west; waves were maller than yesterday but very similar in feel.  Beautiful morning, perfect offshore conditions and about 50 degrees; thank God for funboards.  Just the two of us out there at 6 and we started a little higher up the point because the bay wasn't working.  After about 20 minutes, we made our way down there and the rides were so much longer and more lined up.  You wouldn't even notice the wave from the beach because of the steep curve at the shack, but this perfect little 1-2 ft wave pops up and grinds for about 20-30 yards.  The face remains steep and our funboards just glide.  So fun, perfect with the 5 ft. high tide and nobody at our spot to bother us.  A little 10 minute flurry at the end of our session tired both of us out.  Totally worth it again, i love the solitude of winter.

Fun Post Bday Grovel

My birthday surf was a bust.  Even though the buoys had 3@8 from the West, Creek was weak and either closed out or shoulderless.  And it was foggy and got crowded with high schoolers.  Sometimes you win at creek, but mostly you lose.  Fast forward two days, and even though the buoys were down to 1.4@12, we still gave trestles a shot.  Got to uppers at 6:10 and it was better than we thought, the tide was getting high but there were some waist high sets breaking deep in the bay, perfect for funboarding.  While Richard had the lucky magnet, I caught a few really fun ones and my best wave was caught by the cam.  Clear skies, off shores, and only 4 people make for a fun morning even if the waves are small.  Maybe we should try again tomorrow...

I heart winter

This is considered the worst fall/winter ever (at least the last 11 years here in SoCal).  While I won't disagree completely, my trusty surf companion Richard and I have made the best of it.  The months of November and December were mostly tiny, miniature south swells barely hitting 1 ft. at 13 on the buoys, but just enough to create perfect knee high waves at Doheny's northern break.  We've had countless solo or near solo sessions with rad sunrises and perfect SUP waves.  Honestly, the solitude has more than made up for the weak waves, and we catch 20-30 waves per session = never boring.
Intermittently, we had a couple all time sessions at Lowers where the off season south swell jumped up to 1.5 at 16.  One day with about 15 guys and 10 waves sets, chest to head high and realling.  Like a great summer day with literally 1/10th the crowd.  Clear skies, cold air, and just a few happy locals trading sets.  December 13, 2013, one of the best days I can remember.

Then we had a couple desparate sessions, while almost solo the waves were so small we could barely longboard.  We still made the effort, clear skies and insanely perfect conditions were too welcoming to pass up.  What else are we going to do in the morning, go for a run?

At the end of the day, I know for sure I am happy as a clam living here in winter.  Even in the worst winter swell wise I'm still 100x happier than summer with foggy mornings and 50 aggro guys on it at every spot.  Then, when an epic west swell hits, like it did last week, I can't think of a better place to be.  Will share in the next post.

100 Yard Grinders at the Hammer

If memory serves me right, January offers the most epic sessions of the year.  Cleanest conditions, longest rides, smallest crowds.  As good as it gets, and the cold mornings and stiff off shores just make it more memorable.
Today is a holiday for all the groms, and when Surfline calls anything above 3 ft the herds follow.  Knowing this whole week should be filled with solid west swell, we chose to SUP this morning and avoid the crowds.  The swell was weird, 2.1@14 from 195 yesterday and 2.6@13 from 226 today, more west.  With tide right at 2.0 Richard and I made our way to the hammer to find some insane chest high sets.  Richard caught one that must have been 100 yards, screaming the whole way.  The sunrise was epic, and the holiday surf seekers stayed to the north while we had our own peak until 7:15.  By then we were both already 10-15 waves deep and stoked.  Awesome start to what looks like a great week.  I love winter!!!!!!!!!!
And Happy Anniversary: 6 Years!

 

EPIC SUP: Some days are better than others

Holy crap.  Still buzzin' off the awesome SUP surf session we had today.  Ironically, Richard paddled out yesterday into smaller conditions with a whole high school team on their way out.  It was so crowded he couldn't surf. 
Today was bigger, the tide was better, and we had 3-4 of us out there most of the time we were out.  1.6@14 with a 4 ft and rising high tide made the boneyard at Doheny a great option, and Thursday is a day off for the local surf teams.  I caught so many waves today i can't even count, didn't even have a chance to just chill and talk with Richard until we got out of the water after 7:30.  Most waves were knee high, perfect for SUPping but a few big waves came through and I tippie toe dropped in to a couple and made them.  Such a great day, I feel way more outgoing and am starting up conversations with people I usually don't bother with.  Crazy.  Here are some great pics: