No Surf

I know if I had made more of an effort I could have ridden waves.

I took a mini-vacation to my parent's beach cottage. The place has been uninhabited for almost a year, and with COVID, my parents struggled to find someone they trusted to maintain it. Also blamed on COVID was our inability to go on a vacation this summer, so we combined the two situations into a mini-vacation/maintenance visit. We spent part of each day cleaning, weeding, and informing my parents of problems we found. I replaced the kitchen sink faucet that was on the verge of breaking off and spraying water everywhere. Meanwhile, the waves were small in town and the weather was holding down the wind. The result was tiny waves at the point that were surfable all day long. The first day was a travel day and knocking the dust off the house. The next day was fixing the sink and other chores. The third day I woke before dawn and headed out to the point in the darkness. There were already at least 6 other surfers out. They seemed pretty stoked to be chasing down every ripple, hooting to each other and speaking at regular volume between waves. In the pre-dawn light and stillness of no wind and small waves, the loud voices made me uncomfortable. I paddled away to a spot with nobody out because the waves weren't hitting it very well. I only got a few rides, and nothing memorable, before the thought of what else I could do to clean the cottage started filling my thoughts between waves. I went in unsatisfied with the experience. I knew I could go up the coast for waves, especially with the calm winds, but instead I opted to spend a day sleeping. My body was feeling the effects the extra effort I've been putting in at work and at home. On Saturday it felt like it all caught up to me and after three cups of coffee, I went back to sleep anyway. It worked because I spent Sunday morning pulling weeds, trimming vines, and doing general cleanup around the yard.

The highlight of the vacation was each afternoon going down to the beach to play in the waves with my son. I played along with the imagination games, running up and down with the waves, and built a few sand castles. I was proud as his confidence with the ocean slowly increased. On the last day a wave pulled him off his feet and I wasn't there to scoop him up right away. I was nearby, and ready if he didn't get to his feet before the next wave came, but I wanted to let him save himself this time. It worked out as he managed to run up the beach before the next wave came, but his confidence was clearly shaken. We took a break to warm up and get some snacks at the towels.

I explained to him that the house belongs to his grand parents, but when they die it will belong to me. He argued to skip that step and just have the house be his, like now, and us to move there. I know that feeling of a great vacation and wishing that was your life, even though I didn't feel it this trip. I'm glad we have this place by the beach to go and visit so easily. I look forward to many more days of chasing my son along the sand, and one day pushing him into a wave.

You should have been here yesterday

"Not glassy like yesterday." said the guy who pulled up next to us. We were looking at junk trying to motivate ourselves to go get some exercise, dealing with the knowledge that Town was firing yesterday. We didn't want to go surf with the Town crowds, but didn't know where to go to get away from the junky conditions. A hard pill to swallow knowing this was the peak of what was probably one of the top 3 south swells of the summer.

The swell was forecast to peak Saturday night, so Sunday morning looked like a good bet. Unfortunately, there was junk on the ocean from winds somewhere north of us. The north coast looked terrible with the north cross chop breaking up the lines of the south swell. Add to it that I was trying to explore new options for a big south and I was lost trying to figure out where to surf. JB and I forced it at Scott's reef and it was worse than it looked from the road. Even inside a bit there was still cross-chop breaking up the waves. It also seemed like the south wasn't really hitting it. We bailed after 45min of trying to make it work and went in opposite directions. I went to the right inside of dog rock. From what I understand it is really a novelty wave, not great even at its best. But the strong north wind had come up and this is one spot that faces into the north wind so it was blowing offshore. I took out the TH with the quad setup and was able to catch a few. It was really frustrating because the best waves were the mid-sized ones while the sets were breaking across the top of the reef and just rolling along the edge. I caught some mid-sized ones and got a decent ride, but when I cutback the offshore wind pushed against the board hard and was difficult to control. Normally the solution would be to use the wave face to balance against the winds and make turns at steeper faces, but the wave didn't have much room for that. I ended up just sorta milking whatever I could out of whatever waves I got. I think it would be more fun either on a longboard to be able to paddle around more, or on the surfmat to be able to takeoff in the whitewater.

Word from JB was that the landing was fun. So, next time we'll do that instead of forcing Scott's.

Three reef day

I had the day off and family was out of town. The swell was small but the weather was good so I made the most of it by returning to the same old that I've been frequenting this spring. Also motivating me was a new (to me) CI Fred Rubble I picked up. I really wanted to know if I could still ride a 6'5" thruster shape. I started at Molino and caught a few blah waves. I didn't even see any good waves so I decided to go down past the rock to the other reef. I caught more waves there, but they didn't have much shoulder to them and I couldn't get a feel for the new board. I was able to catch waves just fine, and that felt good. In the few brief moments that I got the board up to speed, if felt like I remember a thruster feeling. Its that feeling of not having to wind up for a turn and lay into it, instead the board reacts as fast as I can. Of course when the wave is slow and flat the board doesn't do anything, and days like today are spent chasing that feeling.

After 45 mins I gave up and headed back. I walked slowly along the beach searching for more waves but didn't see any worthwhile. I kept walking all the way up to Scott's where two guys were out making the most of it. I saw a few waves away from where they were, and looked good enough, so I paddled out. I caught a few of them, but wished I had the extra volume of the Tree Hugger to chase down the waves better. The waves were shifting around and it was hard to get into one at the right spot. My knee wasn't feeling right so I decided to give up before something bad happened. Plus, I think Sunday will be pretty good and I wanted to save myself for that.

Afterwards I took some time to look around at other waves. Someone was out at horse shoe, but they weren't getting any rides. A couple guys were even further north and it made me wonder how they got over there. Did they take a really long walk, or is there another trail down closer to where they were. I didn't see them get any good waves so I didn't investigate further and headed up to Dog Rock. There was a left out front, and the wrapping right could have been surfed with a longboard, or a determined shortboarder. There were two guys a little north of the rock too. I could only see them drop and make one turn before they disappeared behind the headland, but I saw one of them go square off the bottom and top, which was the best turn I saw all day. I want to try these spots, but today wasn't the day. I continued north and Waddell was as crowded as I have seen. The main lot was closed, so cars and trucks lined Hwy 1. I didn't stop to look, figuring the crowds could have it, whatever it was. Onwards north with an eye on the ocean all the time. I didn't see much more along the way, but stopped at the overlook to watch some waves crash chaotically around that flat (not really) rock. A determined person could make it work out there, but it would be more novelty than surfing. I couldn't see anything down at Ross', but that only means it wasn't pushing 8ft.

So, in summary, it was summery. I got to try a small board and it worked for me. I'll continue to try to get it into the right kind of waves, and now I know 36L isn't too small for me, but it's close. I know I can duckdive 49L (the Tree Hugger is non-standard dims) and ideal would be something in the low 40s.

I'd love to get a board that has the 5-fin with the center box so I could continue the fin experiments but also have the option of a snapping turn now and then. Of course, maybe I'll work it out on the TH and manage a few anyway. I still need to try it as single and as quad, and I'm pretty sure it would work better as a thruster if I toyed with the fin position a bit more. Still, instead of the two boards, I'd like to have something in-between them both.

Another pre-surf post

I'm looking forward to this week. The 4th of July holiday is Saturday, and my work is giving us Friday off. The weather forecast is for calm winds through the weekend, and there is a south swell mixed with some north. The tides are negative pre-dawn, so everything appears lined up for a dawn surf Friday, and then again Sunday, back at the same stretch of coast I've been enjoying lately. Not epic, but hopefully as good as its been.

I have a habit of looking at Craigslist for surfboards several times a day. I'm looking for anything interesting, affordable, and within reach. I talked to a guy about a mid-length bonzer at a good price, but couldn't coordinate a meetup that worked for both of us. I'm not sure a bonzer is really what I want/need right now, but at that price I was willing to try!  What has really been on my mind was the few waves I got on JB's Smooth Operator. The board felt really good on the few turns I had on it. It felt small compared to the TH I was riding, but I caught waves no problem. It felt secure under my feet, but reacted without resistance when I turned it hard. It reminded me of many years ago when I rode a 6'1" potato chip thruster. Back when I was able to get that board into a wave with juice, the board went wherever I wanted. All I had to do was think about what I wanted, move my body, and the board did it. (The flip side was the 95% of the waves I missed or couldn't generate enough speed on.) So I've been watching Craigslist looking for something similar to JBs board, and found something.

A guy was nearly throwing away a CI Fred Rubble. It's 6'5" thruster with Futures, and he threw in the leash and a fin set, all for $40! I figured even if the board was about to buckle and fall apart, I could get a few waves on it and help answer some questions for myself. When I met the guy and had the board in my hands I was shocked by what good shape it was in. It had clearly been ridden for many years, but all the dings had been repaired. It didn't have any delams or stress fractures, both of which are challenging to repair to the point that I don't bother. Its kinda wide for it's length, although it's stock dimensions, but that's good for me comping off the wide quads. I knew it was a popular shape before buying it, but when I got home a dove a bit deeper into some research, it turns out to be very much in-line with what I'm looking for. Its described as a middle of the road board for middle of the road conditions. I'll be taking it out to kinda juicy waves, but certainly not barrels. Its on the small side, so if I can ride it I'll know that anything bigger I'll be able to handle. I really hope this experiment is enlightening.

Last minute update. I just got word that the surf was marginal at best this morning. Time to moderate my expectations so I don't psych myself up and get disappointed.