solo steamer lane dawn patrol

well i was solo for a good 30 minutes at least before 1 other guy paddled out and the crowd slowly trickled in. small waves in the 2-3 foot range, with the occasional bigger set wave connecting through. super low tide and really shallow and rocky. it was still amazing to be out there all alone hopping on every good wave that came through. most waves were pretty weak, but had enough juice to pump down the line and hit a turn or two before having to shift my weight all the way forward and crouch to finish out the ride. it's kindof fun riding my 6'5" JC like it's a fish, the board actually has some volume up front so i'm able to scoot pretty far forward. my wave of the day was a super glassy shoulder high wave that was really fast, and i was able to get slotted all the way through to indicators, getting low and letting the would-be barrel splash all over my face. it was so mellow for the lane, i love it. if only the vibe was so friendly on big days!

OB, the hook, steamer's

 
Lot's of surfing this weekend, and lots of time in transit looking for waves. Saturday AM I woke up around 8 and suited up, still feeling a bit dehydrated from the previous evening's festivities. i also made the mistake of eating a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast...it always seems like a good idea until i'm paddling and getting heartburn. OB was mixed up and blown out and warbly, but still cleaner than it's been recently. the paddle out sucked. i didn't have my hood on yet, and got an ice cream headache after 3 successive duck-dives. sitting in the impact zone on the inside, i straddled my board and pulled my hood on. only at that point, i realized that there was something stuffed into my hood...my gloves! i don't remember putting them in there, but hey, at least i realized it before i lost my gloves. pulled on the gloves, hood, and battled endless walls of whitewater to make it outside. once i was out there i waited patiently, bobbing around in the stormy surf. there was one other guy out, but i didn't see him catch anything. i was pretty sure it was going to suck and i was gonna get skunked, but i actually ended up catching 3 or 4 decent rides. one long ride that kept reforming, and another punchy wave where i bashed the lip pretty good and actually rode out clean. shitty waves, but nice out and good to burn off some of the pizza and beer and applesauce.

sunday i was determined to find some protected surf, even if it was small. we packed the car and headed south down hwy 1. everywhere was blown to bits, the jetty being the only rideable spot but looking pretty weak. the jetty is always a last resort for me, and we had plenty of daylight left so i kept driving. steamer lane had some size, but the high tide was making it really fat and soft, so i ended up heading to the hook. it was getting smaller as the tide dropped, but was really clean and nice. i shouldve had a log or a fish, but i made due with my 6'5" and caught a few little ones. it's nice to ride such friendly clean waves after getting battered by OB all the time. it made me really crave more point break waves, so i checked the reports when i got home and set my alarm for 5am.

snoozed a bit, and got up at 5:30 this AM. loaded my wetsuit and board and work stuff all onto the motorcycle and headed out a little after 6. no traffic, so i made good time and got to steamer lane at 7:15. it paid off too, the surf was 3-5 and glassy, and middle peak was wrapping through pretty nice on the sets. there were only 6 other guys out at first, and i caught pretty much one wave each set, which is pretty amazing at the lane, even for middle peak. lot of opportunities to practice my frontside hacks, and low effort paddling. i just wish Santa Cruz was closer to SF...I'm tempted to get up at 5 again and go tomorrow. i snapped a few pictures of a kneeboarder ripping at the slot, i'll upload them when i get home tonight.

steamer lane dawn patrol

whales tails

 
 
 
shooby bop onshore rips and lots of paddling for crumbly crumbs, but fun to be out with the crew again.

back in action

 
 
Had a visit with my orthopedic doctor yesterday and he gave me the green light to surf, told me i just need to ice it down and take ibuprofin if it gets stiff afterwards. sweet. i hustled home at 5:30 to try and catch a quick session before dark, since the reports were saying it was fair. i made it back to my hood in record time, and couldn't help but crack a little wheelie as I was a block away from my house. however, after setting down the front wheel i realized that up ahead a police car had just stopped short. i figured the cop spotted me, so instead of pulling up to my garage i made a right and circled around the block back to irving. when i got to irving i saw mark heading to his car with his board, so i asked him if he was going out. i pulled over and parked the bike, stalling to see if the cops would come looking for me. after chatting for a few minutes with mark, i walked to the corner, and alas the cop car was still sitting there in the middle of the street. rather than risk riding right up to the cop, i left the bike parked, took off my riding suit, and have mark drive me home. turns out there was a fight or something at the bus stop on the corner, and there were actually 3 cop cars blocking the road. i was relieved that they weren't looking for me...

without much daylight left, mark and i suited up and paddled out at judah. the current was pulling north pretty hard, and it was a lot of paddling for my first real session back. after drifting around and duckdiving for maybe 15 minutes I finally made it out as the sun was setting. caught a few crap waves, no good rides, it was a bit frustrating. good workout though, and nice to be back in the water. mark apparently caught a few good ones, but we drifted apart and it got dark, so it was hard to keep track of one another.

this morning i got up at 7 and suited up for the dawn patrol. reports were calling for head high waves with calm winds and glassy conditions, so i was stoked. drank a cup of coffee and ran down to K st. it was a bit warbly and disorganized, but glassy and good size. the paddle out was much easier too. my first few waves were solid, enough wall for a few cutbacks before the shoulder. my wave of the day was a beautiful head high wall that lined up perfectly for me. i didn't have to move an inch. i was just sitting there watching it roll towards me, and i got really excited, it was the best wave i saw all day and i was in perfect position. i let it come to me and pivoted, took a few stroked and popped up. it's been a while since i've surfed such a fast wave, the speed kindof caught me off guard at first. i found the trim line though and was flying down the line. a nice section jacked up and barreled, but it wasn't a clean, open barrel so i scooted around it and pumped for the next section. i knew i had enough speed, so i aimed for the lip and sucked my knees up and actually caught a decent amount of air. i didn't land back in the wave though, i kindof landed on top of it and then the wave went out from under me. i was super stoked though, hollering and talking to myself and sucking and spitting water for the next few minutes. surfing fast is such an amazing sensation, and that wave reminded me of why i'm so hooked. the swell is gonna be around through the weekend, so hopefully i'll find an opportunity to actually try and land back in the wave next time.

more Saturday OB pics

 
 
 
doesn't get much better than this...just wish the conditions would've stuck around a few days longer. that's me sponge charging too, trying to shoot video as i'm pullin in