Veterans Day

2016-lm-11-11

Surf: 8.2 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 297°

This week has been a bit busy, and a bit too big and wild to surf. After the election and work, it was nice to have a medium sized surf session. It was crowded and closed out, but there were still plenty of fun waves. I felt like I was surfing sloppily, but somehow making it work. Lots of wobbling into a wave, lots of having to cut back for the closeout. It was a nice day. I hope we have some more nice days in between the big, threatening swells.

More reasonable

2016-lm-11-07

Surf: 6.9 ft at 12.9 s from the WNW at 287°

Today was better. Still large, but not quite as beefy. There was a bit more beach open to surf, so we surfed it. Nice to see folks out.

 

Too big, too rough

2016-lm-11-06a

Surf: 11.5 ft at 16.0 s from the W at 276°

Today was a bit more what I was expecting to see yesterday. Large sets, churning foam, and poor visibility. My shoulder’s been hurting so I opeted to paint on the beach while Chris went out. He had fun. Got whomped plenty, too. I just wasn’t up for it. But there was hardly any wind and it was remarkably warm. Perfect conditions for sitting on the beach with my sketchbook.

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2016-lm-11-06c

 

 

Winter Swell

2016-lm-11-05

Surf: 9.8 ft at 13.8 s from the WNW at 290°

The forecast was stacked with big swell after big swell. I wanted to get out, have been worried it’d be too big. Today looked a little rough and a little thumping, but turned out to be nice enough. Lots of chop. Plenty of waves. The heart is back on the hillside, which is nice. That with some warm air made for a nice late afternoon surf.

 

Favorite Winds

2016-lm-10-24

Surf: 4.9 ft at 12.1 s from the W at 281°. Incoming. Winds out of the S.

Yeeeew that was fun. If there’s only one thing this beach does well, it’s these conditions.

I brought a board and an extra suit for Boris. We got down to the lot before the sun was even up. I’m always nervous taking friends who don’t surf around here. I want it to be fun and easy. I knew the winds would be blowing, but it was hard to tell if the suf would be big and closed out, or fun. I could see the little peelers even in the dark. YESSSSS.

I found myself a nice right and surfed and surfed and surfed. I snapped my leash string, I surfed to hard. As I was threading a new one, waves were just rolling in. Oh man, it was hard to be patient and get the new string in when all I wanted to do was get back out there.

Once I had my leash back on, I paddled out again. It was a beast to stay in place and totally worth the paddle. Oh man was that right fun. It had some steep drops but the wind keep things open and all I had to do was hold on and trim. It was a blast. Great for walking up, great for swooping along. Yeeeeee.

Boris had a good time, too! He and Chris wound up all the way at the north end and it sounded like there were plenty of waves up there.

It sounds like we’ll have a pretty active storm season this winter. I hope we get more days like this.

 

 

Late Start

2016-lm-10-22

Surf: 8.2 ft at 14.8 s from the W at 280°. Incoming.

I bet if I’d have gotten up earlier and skipeed loafing around, the surf would have been pretty nice. It sounded like there was the right kind of swell for my favorite corner but, by the time I got there, things were plenty funky. It was still fun and rideable for sure. I got lots of rights trying to work opposite the crowd, but there was still a lot of slop to go with it. Maybe too much wind and sea, maybe too short of a period. Not sure. But hey, nice to get in the water.

Pre-storm Grey

2016-lm-10-13

Surf: 3.3 ft at 13.3 s from the W at 269°. High tide.

Today was a little funkier than yesterday, but still fun, still plenty workable.  I got a couple I was pretty happy about and it was fun watching other frield folks make the most of the morning. It’s always tricky when there’s swell forecasted. Some people get antsy wondering why the big waves aren’t here yet. Me, I’m happy to have a nice, glassy-enough morning. Especially considering how sore I am. Man am I out of shape. 4 surf sessions, couple of Pilates workouts, and a couple concerts and I’m beat. My arms were sore, my lats were sore, even my legs were sore.

There’s rain coming. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal by the time it’s over. I’d love a few more mornings like the last few before the big winter swells arrive.

Pre-storm Blues

2016-lm-10-12

Surf: 3.0 ft at 14.3 s from the WSW at 245°

This morning looked a little closed out and a little uninspiring, but I gave it a shot anyway. I’m glad I did. It was really fun. The waves were small and clean. Lots of friendly folks were out, too. Between my work and my shoulder, I don’t get to see the usual folks nearly as often. It’s nice to hear that everyone’s doing well and catching waves. Well, except for Joel who separated his shoulder. Ouch. Heal up fast and right, man!

 

Traveler

2016-lm-10-09

Surf: 2.3 ft at 15.4 s from the SW at 234°

More warm, sunny weather! The waves were smaller and the breeze was a little stiffer but it was still pretty fun. Lots of cruising, a little stepping, and tons of glorious sunshine.

After we hopped over to Traveler, Julie Cox’s new shop in Pacifica. It’s rad.

She’s got surf stuff, hiking stuff, clothes, art, and books. She’s hoping to host movies there and is starting a surf club with hot showers and board storage available to members. I think it’s a great idea and I can’t wait to check out her future community events!

Big Chill Out Saturday

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Surf: 1.3 ft at 16.7 s from the WSW at 238°

Another warm weekend! With the Big Chill Out going on, the beach was pretty packed. The waves were small but plenty fun and the water wasn’t as crowded as you’d expect.

I wore my watch out in the water for the first time. I pretty much surfed the same 100ft stretch of beach so the GPS map was a bit of a blob. The heart rate was interesting, but I’m not sure how accurate. Today was small so it seems like 185 bpm heart rate was a little much. It’s interesting, but I think I’m fine just surfing without all the metrics.