Collecting some numbers...

There are a few spots that I like to surf, but they are far away so I want to be sure the waves will be good so I don't drive far and not surf. I thought I knew how things worked, tide, swell, etc. but I've been burned a few times. I've decided to make note of the conditions when I get it good (or bad when I thought it should be good.) Get-John-chells: 11ft@14sec from 290deg. Tide range from 1.5 to 0.5. This was in March I think, and the swell was just enough to make it worthwhile, any smaller or further North and I don't think it would have come together. It was shoulder with some bigger sets. Some wait between waves but not too much. Rides from mid-cove to past the point, so short. Didn't make it down to the suck-up on any waves. The next cove up looked good the whole time as well. Ona: On Monday of this week I double dipped on either side of low tide. The swell was mixed 2-3ft@17 from north and south, tide bottoming around 0.5ft. I thought this would have been a magical combination but the waves were lackluster and soft with few wedges. The hour centered on low tide was the best, but was also clogged with rippers. I surfed before and after that and got a few weak waves. On Thursday of this week I spent 12 hours on the beach watching. 5.5ft@14sec from 300 deg, 1.something @14? from the south, tide range 1.5 to 4.0 to 1.5. Head high, a few bowls but no big wedges. Much more fun than Monday. The thing is as I watched it I saw surf-able waves all day. Certainly it was softer at high tide, but nobody was around and there were waves to ride. For the afternoon low tide more people showed up and it quickly went from a few of us to 8 people scrambling for any wave around. Seems like if there is enough swell from the NW then mid-tide sessions are worth the crowd dodge. GoPro: Got one from the wife for my b-day a few months back. Brought it out Monday using the head strap as a chest strap. This put the camera just below my collar bone, high enough to still paddle a board. Videos came out good enough to see what's happening, but I kept forgetting to turn it on when a good wave came. Didn't bring it out Thursday, but probably should have since the waves were much better.

Looking around

This Thursday I decided to see where else might have good waves when conditions are good. The wind was light from the east and the swell was about 6@17 from 285. I drove out to Park Shit (funny name for a surf spot) thinking low tide was optimum, but I had all day to watch. I arrived around 10:00 and saw waves that looked alright from the rocks. That's too far to tell size, and it doesn't show the inner most part of the wave, but I think it's the best vantage point to check it. I want to the cafe, and the sand, and felt like I couldn't see as well from those spots. The waves were sectiony, and semi-hollow. Not the perfect hollow waves I've seen a photo or two of. As I sat and watched the wind turned to more NW and I got the feeling that offshore wind was vital for it to be surfable. I never saw anyone out surfing it except a SUP who kept to the inside. From that the waves looked SH to HH on the sets, perfectly do-able if I had someone else to surf with.
With the day not over and the wind on the rise I decided to continue exploring and check Drestero. From what I gathered the walk down requires getting your feet wet, or less than 2.5 feet of tide. I walked down around low of 1.5 and the sand was wet and flat. On the way down I saw three guys with gear heading back. I couldn't tell if they surfed or not, and I didn't ask. When I got there the wind was offshore, the sun was warm, and nobody was out. Also, the waves looked terrible. As I learned at Park Shit, checking the waves from the sand sucks, but I still think nothing was going on out there. It must want a larger swell, or something more direct because it looked waist high. In fact, the parking lot looked about as good as the Drestero proper.
The tide had bottomed out and the clock was ticking. I chose to skip the last chance wave and instead race rush-hour traffic home. I took the quicker route and was glad to get home in a reasonable amount of time. All in all a beautiful day outside and at the beach, but no secrets unlocked and no surfing done.
I'm considering going back today…

New Camera

I got a GoPro as a gift. It's not the newest, it's a 960 I think it what it's called. Anyway, JZ has suggested we go for a surf with one person shooting from the water while the other surfs, then switch. I'm down for it, and I'll get by swimfins ready to go. So, with a break in the rain, expect some seriously distorted fish eye images appearing soon on this very blog.

Irony

Last year around this time I was spending too much time at work. I'd get full of anxious energy and when the surf was good I would charge. Well, I would try to charge, but because I was spending my days at a desk I wouldn't get far. Still, I had the full intention of getting myself into some big, gnarly waves, it was all I wanted when the beach cleaned up on a weekend day. This year I have been hitting the gym to get into shape to track down the big waves. I've taken an extra day off each week and surfed that morning. I've gotten into some good sized waves and for the most part handled myself. Now here's the irony; because I've been getting exercise, I really don't feel the need to charge big waves. The exercise that puts me into a position to achive the goal also makes me feel more satisfied in life and less in need of that excitement.
The good news is I can handle 8-10' OB, and anything smaller. I can go out and pick the size range I want to surf (even if it's not the biggest I can see) and go enjoy myself. Last weekend I chose 6' range breaking kinda soft. After I got a few I began working my way towards the size until I found some waves that were exciting enough without being too punishing. There was more size down the beach, and it was breaking hard enough down there that there weren't many takers. Those that were on it were getting great rides. And today is my day off and I've decided not to make the drive out to the beach, although it's perfectly surf-able. I'm gonna do some housework and pay some bills and try to take care of home life.

Would you rather...

The problem with not being rich is that I have to choose between a surf tour of Oaxaca and a new surfboard. Too bad I've convinced myself that I need a new board for the waves I dream of getting on this surf tour.
We've had an extended run of better than usual surf up at OB. Combined with my extra day off work and between surf exercise, I've been getting some pretty good waves lately. It's too the point that I'm starting to feel satisfied, which is good because there is change in the air. There is a storm forecast for next Thursday so I may not get surf. Looking at the extra long forecast, it kinda looks like after a few storms things will go back to sunny and offshore.
JZ is slipping. He was a hardcore addict of his Stoneman fish shape, having surfed through several of them in the past 5+ years. On the last one he ordered he ventured away from the proven shape and tried something a bit different, and was disappointed. Meanwhile I was going through my Pacheco purchase and trying to convince him that if he got the Stoneman fish shape done by Hess (i.e. Kunkle fish) then he would still be surfing the same board. His argument is one of short term finances, which is understandable, but my argument of long term savings still holds true as well. He's had a few sessions on boards Danny loaned me (barreled), on my Pacheco which he enjoyed, and just this weekend Danny let him borrow a 5'11" Pacheco of his own that he's ready to sell. We've got a nibble, I hope we can set the hook and get JZ to buy this board from Danny.
Yesterday JZ and I had a nice morning session. Things started more exciting and actually softened as the tide dropped. Waves got more inconsistent, but I persistently held position waiting for a particular bowl. It paid off with a smooth narrel. I was too deep so I paddled across to the peak as it came in. Nobody was around and I held back the drop and took a high line a bit behind the peak. I semi-side-slipped smoothly down the face as the lip came over, my hand dragging vertically downward as the wave grew upward. In an instant it was over with only a brief glimpse of lip over my head, but not between me and the beach. It felt great, but each time I replay it I think I could have held the line from deeper and think I should have not paddled so far across it. I'll try again!

Body (injury) Count

Since pushing my limits for better waves, I've suffered the following which are still noticable or painfull.

Hyper-extended elbow from doing bar dips at the gym. (Mostly healed)

Persistant (5+weeks) cough after a 2.5 hour session in good waves.
Pulled stomach muscles from coughing so hard. (Still bothers me.)

Upper shoulder/back strain from a long surf session in good waves. (50% healed)

Minor whiplash from Saturday session. (Getting better everyday.)

This is mostly due to the string of great surf we've been having. I've been pushing myself to get as much out of every session as I can, and I've been paying the price. Tomorrow we're due for a Big swell that will light up SC John St. area. I can go, it would be possible, but I'm so beat down I'm thinking I wont make it. I think it's time to rehabilitate myself. Maybe some light work at the gym and walking around for simple exercise, but mostly letting my upper body heal. (Not to mention the stomach flu, which seems like it will be a 12-24 hour kind, because I'm much better already.)

The learning process

On Saturday the wind was offshore and the waves were in the 8' range at mid-beach. I considered going north for less size, but ended up going out into the heaviest spot I'd seen that morning. I brought out the 7'5" thinking I could get into the waves earlier and handle the pitching lips that way. Once I got out there I found out that the waves were rolling along, not catchable, until hitting the bar and throwning over with heavy force. I had the most intense half-hour of surfing since Puerto at about the same size. The only difference is I was making waves in Puerto, OB was kicking my ass. It was too the point to make me worry about my health and I only stayed out for an hour, which was two waves made and many more getting drilled.
The next day I returned to similar condiitons but around 6' on most waves. I made the decision to go with the Quintara, the smallest board I own, and was glad I did. What I think is that the smaller board has less force pulling it up the face of the wave and so drops more easily when the waves are sucking out suddenly. I ended up making all my waves, and almost getting barreled. (JZ did better than almost, as did a few other guys out there.)
So next time it's 8' and throwing I'll go out on the small board and see what it will do for me. I am getting into better shape so I can handle the paddling better.