It is a tradition that the ocean has been keeping for there to be a good swell and perfect weather for Thanksgiving. Unlike our family, the ocean was able to keep this tradition despite the pandemic gripping our country and most of the world. Because 2/3 of our family has the entire week off, I also planned for a week long vacation at my parents cottage in Santa Cruz. The swell and weather was forecast to arrive, and in my stoke I brought 6 different surfboards with me.
Sunday the conditions weren't great, but I rushed up the coast and forced 4 waves in poor conditions. The weather was warm and I haven't been out in awhile, so I was happy for what I got. Monday was a family day that ended with me checking in on my work projects to find others hadn't done what was needed by the time it was needed. My stress level went way up and I frantically typed away on the borrowed laptop trying to deal with the situation. Tuesday was spent working at a makeshift "desk" that was a kitchen counter and sitting on a footstool ladder. Wednesday morning I went to go look only to find even my garbage surf spot was crowded. I headed up the coast but it was mid-morning, a bit junky with mix swell, and surprisingly crowded. By mid-day Wednesday I was burnt out and the swell was filling in. I went to my garbage spot and snagged two small waves among the crowd.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, the peak of the swell and great weather. What I thought was crowded the days before now looked great in hindsight. People everywhere. I felt fine not trying to surf and instead took my son for a beach day adventure (which was also me scoping out a somewhat hidden beach during the swell). The weather was great and when we first arrived the beach was mostly empty. We walked the sand, checked a few tide-pools, watched the waves hit the rocks at the south end, and played in the little creek at the other end. I was watching the waves and thinking how I could take advantage. It didn't look great, but with the right approach waves could be ridden. As the day went along and the tide dropped, I swore I saw something cranking along the inside. One wave looked kinda good. Then later another one in the same spot. Then another. Then a grizzly guy with a shortboard showed up and it looked like he was watching that wave. I'm pretty sure he was, but my son and I had been in the sun for a few hours and I was getting hungry, so we headed back to the car. Just as we were driving away two more shortboards were heading down the path. Hmmmm....
On the way home I drove along west cliff. It wasn't very big because the angle had too much north, but the tide was low and the weather was great. It was crowded, but I didn't stop because I wasn't there to surf, just to see what's what. Middle Peak had overhead waves and a ton of people. The angle wasn't sending very much down the cliff, with almost nothing left at the statue.
Friday JB and I agreed to go to tres mi at the top of the tide. The tide was too high and the swell was dropping, so we figured that would keep the crowd to a minimum. We were right, and we were the only ones out. High tide is really bumpy at this spot, with reflecting waves from two directions. Still, there was enough wave energy to ride and I got a few long and fast rides but was only able to hold on through all the bumps and not able to make a turn without falling. It cleaned up and got better, but then more people started showing up. JB wasn't linking up with any good waves and was getting grumpy, so we left before we had to interact with anyone else.
That was it. The best waves I got were bumpy lumpy but uncrowded. I felt fine "missing it" because I didn't want to deal with all the people. I felt good about knowing what my other options are, and taking advantage of that knowledge. I also feel good about still finding new opportunities for waves, especially ones that are in-between waves I already surf. I think there are still places to have fun and avoid the crowds, it's just a matter of working harder to get there.
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