I still haven’t figured out why it’s called the “Tree Hugger,” but I don’t mind. The second session on it was at low tide 4 mile with a small mixed swell. The inside was kinda barreling (not really) in the way it does. I opted for the 2+1 fin setup again with the thought of pivoting and stalling into the barrel section. The volume of the board worked great for chasing down the waves and getting in a second early to setup a line. When it worked it felt really good and solid. I didn’t get barreled, but close. It was a tight fit to get in and my leg strength wasn’t up to the challenge of squatting in control. Standing up at the end of the section also felt awkward. Time to do deep squats all week!
This 2+1 setup has a 7 1/4" center fit with a 5 1/2" base, and the sides are 4" by 4".
One thing that didn’t work for me was not being able to pump the flats to gain speed when taking off behind the peak. The feeling was similar to a single fin, which makes sense given the fin configuration I was using. I fully expect that if I load it up as a quad, the board will go great.
Another thing was duck diving the more powerful waves. A few times I found myself trying to duck a 4-5’ wave that had a throwing lip, and because I didn’t get the board deep enough, I got pulled backwards by the wave/lip. Never went backwards over the falls, but a wave a few feet bigger probably would do it. I can account for it by ducking earlier and strengthening my arms, but more likely I’ll just pick a board with less volume for waves in the 6-8’ range if I expect to duck dive more. There are plenty of point/reef breaks that this board would handle the size because I’d use the volume to just paddle around all the waves!
So after two sessions, I feel like this board is a good fit for me and my quiver.
By the way, is there a term, like board quiver, but for a collection of fins?
Social Distancing late edit: I arrived after first light and found the beach side parking was blocked off, so I parked at the old spot. I knew there were waves and no wind from the sound, but it was light so I climbed the hill at took a quick look for old times sake. Another car parked behind me and he quickly suited up as I gathered select gear from my car into my backpack and put a board under each arm. He beat me into the water by a good 30-mins as I lingered getting fins into my board and a wetsuit on, watching him get good waves by himself. I was the second in the water, but only got one wave before another person was paddling out. We were keeping our distance and getting our waves, but it got harder as more and more people came out. It got downright crowded, so I paddled up to the point despite the fact it wasn't working. I rode whatever mushy wave I could at the point until I was joined, one at a time, by three people. I decided I wasn't going to battle the crowd for waves and got one to the beach where I found a handful of people. Plenty of room on the beach so distance wasn't a problem, but considering it was only the 8 o'clock hour and the day was shaping up to be beautiful, I assume it got rather crowded.
I decided to drive up the coast and look for another opportunity to surf. There were options, but nothing that motivated me enough to paddle out again. Also of note was that anywhere there was room on the side of the road to pull off, there were barriers or cones and signs saying "closed." All the state beaches were blocked off, and I saw CHP, lifeguard trucks, sheriffs, and state park vehicles, so I assume those closures were being enforced. I'm glad I didn't get a ticket where I surfed. I might not be that lucky next time.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
I've been social distancing...
I'm the kind of surfer who's been practicing social distancing since before it was cool.
This weekend I broke the rules and interacted with someone from Craigslist to pick up a 6'10" Vernor Tree Hugger. There was a small swell in the water, so I decided I needed to again break the rules and go into the ocean to give it a try. Where I ended up is, even in this information age, still not on the radar of most surfers, so I'm going to try to describe my experience without giving away details that could ID the spot. I'd learned about it 10 years ago, made my way to check it out only a handful of times, and never before surfed it. I didn't even know anyone who had, at least not that was willing to talk to me about it.
But this weekend was different. I pulled up to the spot to check the wave and it looked like there were waves that could be ridden out there. As I was trying to decide if I was going to go surf it for the first time I ever had, two guys paddled out. They didn't look like they were great surfers, but they got a wave or two. That was all I needed and I pulled my gear together.
The first challenge is getting to the beach. I didn't know the best way to get there, but I knew I was going to be hiking. I put my wetsuit and towel into my drybag back-pack and started figuring out what fins to put on the new board. I wanted to try the Tree Hugger because it's a mid-length/funboard shape, but also because it has boxes for quad fins AND a single fin center box. I had an 8" single fin, but opted for a 6" with 3.75" side bites.Kind of a weird widowmaker arrangement. I had to come back and edit this after educating myself more on widowmaker fin arrangement. This setup was closer to a 2+1 or even thruster-ish in arrangement. More discussion 0’about fin clusters added to the end. Gear packed I started along the trails to find the best way down to the beach.
I should have put on sunscreen. I ended up hiking almost 2 miles to get to where I paddled out. I was wearing a beanie, but the sun came out and I was sweating so it came off and I slowly started to burn. Once I got in the water, the wave itself still takes awhile to get to. The two guys who were out earlier had left in the time it took me to get to the beach, so I paddled out through the rocks, boils, seals, and kelp all alone. Once I got out to the wave I was cautious, but still got some waves. The wave was doing a few different things with some swinging wide and bowling up, some foam-balling, and sometimes the two swell directions combined into what was the best wave to ride. The new board took some getting used to. It catches waves great, and I only blew it on one drop all day, but it took a few waves to dial in the sweet spot for a bottom turn. I rode a few until I found the sweet spot, then moved the center fin forward a little to see what it would do. When I moved the fin forward it tightened up the board, opposite of what I expected, but it was probably due to the three fins being too much in-line and starting to act as one huge fin. I slipped the center fin all the way back and the board felt good again. After about 45-min solo surfing, a could guys paddled out. Plenty of waves, no problem. They were on small boards and were riding the foam ball and I could see how the medium sized ones would reform mid-way and give a wall that had room for a smack or wrap-around, etc. A few more guys came out, this time on longer boards, and competed with me where I was riding the wide swinging waves. Still plenty of waves to share. A few more guys came out and things started to feel a bit crowded. I overhead them chatting about how good the waves were, so I got the sense that I had picked a really good day to give it a try. I was still getting waves, but had been in the water for 90 minutes (plus an hour hike to get down) and decided I needed to head back before I exhausted myself.
On the hike back I tried for a shortcut I had seen from the water. It ended up being so steep and so difficult that my already tired body screamed for a break every 5-10 steps. I was hiking up a cliff that was like climbing a ladder, but with blackberry and poison oak along the way. I eventually made it to the top of the cliff and finished the hike back to the car along the relatively flat trail.
Follow up edit on fins: The fin cluster I chose for the first time on the board was admittedly weird and uninformed. Of course a big part of choosing the Tree Hugger was to experiment with fins and get first hand experience with different options. My plan is to take the fins out of the board after every session to avoid “inertial” fin selection. This also requires me to bring options with me. I’d like to track down some sub-three inch side fins to imitate a widowmaker arrangement, but for now I have plenty to try with the fins I already have on hand.
This weekend I broke the rules and interacted with someone from Craigslist to pick up a 6'10" Vernor Tree Hugger. There was a small swell in the water, so I decided I needed to again break the rules and go into the ocean to give it a try. Where I ended up is, even in this information age, still not on the radar of most surfers, so I'm going to try to describe my experience without giving away details that could ID the spot. I'd learned about it 10 years ago, made my way to check it out only a handful of times, and never before surfed it. I didn't even know anyone who had, at least not that was willing to talk to me about it.
But this weekend was different. I pulled up to the spot to check the wave and it looked like there were waves that could be ridden out there. As I was trying to decide if I was going to go surf it for the first time I ever had, two guys paddled out. They didn't look like they were great surfers, but they got a wave or two. That was all I needed and I pulled my gear together.
The first challenge is getting to the beach. I didn't know the best way to get there, but I knew I was going to be hiking. I put my wetsuit and towel into my drybag back-pack and started figuring out what fins to put on the new board. I wanted to try the Tree Hugger because it's a mid-length/funboard shape, but also because it has boxes for quad fins AND a single fin center box. I had an 8" single fin, but opted for a 6" with 3.75" side bites.
I should have put on sunscreen. I ended up hiking almost 2 miles to get to where I paddled out. I was wearing a beanie, but the sun came out and I was sweating so it came off and I slowly started to burn. Once I got in the water, the wave itself still takes awhile to get to. The two guys who were out earlier had left in the time it took me to get to the beach, so I paddled out through the rocks, boils, seals, and kelp all alone. Once I got out to the wave I was cautious, but still got some waves. The wave was doing a few different things with some swinging wide and bowling up, some foam-balling, and sometimes the two swell directions combined into what was the best wave to ride. The new board took some getting used to. It catches waves great, and I only blew it on one drop all day, but it took a few waves to dial in the sweet spot for a bottom turn. I rode a few until I found the sweet spot, then moved the center fin forward a little to see what it would do. When I moved the fin forward it tightened up the board, opposite of what I expected, but it was probably due to the three fins being too much in-line and starting to act as one huge fin. I slipped the center fin all the way back and the board felt good again. After about 45-min solo surfing, a could guys paddled out. Plenty of waves, no problem. They were on small boards and were riding the foam ball and I could see how the medium sized ones would reform mid-way and give a wall that had room for a smack or wrap-around, etc. A few more guys came out, this time on longer boards, and competed with me where I was riding the wide swinging waves. Still plenty of waves to share. A few more guys came out and things started to feel a bit crowded. I overhead them chatting about how good the waves were, so I got the sense that I had picked a really good day to give it a try. I was still getting waves, but had been in the water for 90 minutes (plus an hour hike to get down) and decided I needed to head back before I exhausted myself.
On the hike back I tried for a shortcut I had seen from the water. It ended up being so steep and so difficult that my already tired body screamed for a break every 5-10 steps. I was hiking up a cliff that was like climbing a ladder, but with blackberry and poison oak along the way. I eventually made it to the top of the cliff and finished the hike back to the car along the relatively flat trail.
Follow up edit on fins: The fin cluster I chose for the first time on the board was admittedly weird and uninformed. Of course a big part of choosing the Tree Hugger was to experiment with fins and get first hand experience with different options. My plan is to take the fins out of the board after every session to avoid “inertial” fin selection. This also requires me to bring options with me. I’d like to track down some sub-three inch side fins to imitate a widowmaker arrangement, but for now I have plenty to try with the fins I already have on hand.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Shelter in place
We're all stuck at home. The cams verify that the police are doing their job and keeping surfers out of the "town" spots up and down the coast. We all know of some hard to reach spot that we could get to and probably not end up with a $1,000 ticket. Some are on it, others like me don't want to drive in circles trying to work it out.
And back to those cams. Watching empty waves is like a dream I have. In this daydream I imagine having a time machine. The cockpit has to be big enough to fit a surfboard, because I'm hitting all the spots, and doing it back before Columbus' big adventure. Malibu with nobody around to jockey for the set waves. Rincon with nobody snowballing the wall. Shoot, even the spots that are considered third and fourth rate would be tons of fun without the crowds.
But then my son comes to visit me at my desk. He's stuck at home with parents who are supposed to be working remotely, and he's going crazy. I get an instant message from a boss asking about a report, and another from a coworker asking questions about another. I'm back to reality, but one that is surreal in it's own way.
In these times I greatly appreciate http://surfmatters.blogspot.com/ for continuing to provide stories and photos to help me make it through the week. I wish I had some photos and a story to tell, but the strongest memory from my last session is someone paddling under my longboard and taking the wave of the day. I don't want to rehash the details, I'd rather plan my next session. Maybe somewhere hidden from the eyes of the police. Maybe somewhere that the police have given up trying to control.
And back to those cams. Watching empty waves is like a dream I have. In this daydream I imagine having a time machine. The cockpit has to be big enough to fit a surfboard, because I'm hitting all the spots, and doing it back before Columbus' big adventure. Malibu with nobody around to jockey for the set waves. Rincon with nobody snowballing the wall. Shoot, even the spots that are considered third and fourth rate would be tons of fun without the crowds.
But then my son comes to visit me at my desk. He's stuck at home with parents who are supposed to be working remotely, and he's going crazy. I get an instant message from a boss asking about a report, and another from a coworker asking questions about another. I'm back to reality, but one that is surreal in it's own way.
In these times I greatly appreciate http://surfmatters.blogspot.com/ for continuing to provide stories and photos to help me make it through the week. I wish I had some photos and a story to tell, but the strongest memory from my last session is someone paddling under my longboard and taking the wave of the day. I don't want to rehash the details, I'd rather plan my next session. Maybe somewhere hidden from the eyes of the police. Maybe somewhere that the police have given up trying to control.
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