Hadn't surfed in a month due to travel/work. This week was pretty fun but I am rusty. So many of little things make for good surfing. Gotta soften my knees, especially on my forehand. Skating transition is helping.
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***Official 2021 Community Surf Journal***
- Thread starter jkb
- Start date
always cover the dome unless that leash is pullin... in that case, cover your face.
I'll borrow 000's advice and say you better quit surfing for 7 years just to be safe
I'll borrow 000's advice and say you better quit surfing for 7 years just to be safe
Tuesday:
Drove to pointbreakland. Started out with a quick solo surf at a reefy point just as the tide was starting to drop enough to work. Shifty and imperfect but I should have stayed there. Got out and went to another higher quality point. Light crowd, fast sectiony wave, lots of opportunities.
Midway through the surf a good set is coming in, I'm a little deep but in position and paddling, a guy who was maybe 20 and could surf was paddling in front of me. I give a hoot once it's clear I'm on it and he sort of looks back but still stands up, somewhat slowly, then starts to pump down the line. Clearly he thinks he's going to be able to leave me behind on this section. We both do a few pumps and then the section starts to let up, and I'm about to do the thing where you sort of guide the shoulder hopper off the wave with your rail. But just as I'm closing the distance he apparently assumes I'm not there anymore because without looking he starts a quick cut down the face. He's just bled his speed and I'm still at full speed from getting through the section. All I have time to do is just lean forward and straight hockey-check the guy. Had I thought quicker I'd have put more shoulder into it.
We both go down and I paddle off without really saying anything. It didn't feel right to try to act gruff or yell or anything. I paddled up the point and didn't see him again.To be honest he probably lives there and I don't. But, man, the crowd was light and mellow, I think we had both caught waves past each other, we both can make sections. Not here for that bullshit.
Today:
Afternoon surf at the beach out front. Beautiful lighting and conditions, kinda windswelly and imperfect, but waves all over the place. Felt like at least 3 surf spots: fun turns on an inside bar, then lil' big wave-y drops to no shoulder on an outer bar, to a really fast inside reform.
Drove to pointbreakland. Started out with a quick solo surf at a reefy point just as the tide was starting to drop enough to work. Shifty and imperfect but I should have stayed there. Got out and went to another higher quality point. Light crowd, fast sectiony wave, lots of opportunities.
Midway through the surf a good set is coming in, I'm a little deep but in position and paddling, a guy who was maybe 20 and could surf was paddling in front of me. I give a hoot once it's clear I'm on it and he sort of looks back but still stands up, somewhat slowly, then starts to pump down the line. Clearly he thinks he's going to be able to leave me behind on this section. We both do a few pumps and then the section starts to let up, and I'm about to do the thing where you sort of guide the shoulder hopper off the wave with your rail. But just as I'm closing the distance he apparently assumes I'm not there anymore because without looking he starts a quick cut down the face. He's just bled his speed and I'm still at full speed from getting through the section. All I have time to do is just lean forward and straight hockey-check the guy. Had I thought quicker I'd have put more shoulder into it.
We both go down and I paddle off without really saying anything. It didn't feel right to try to act gruff or yell or anything. I paddled up the point and didn't see him again.To be honest he probably lives there and I don't. But, man, the crowd was light and mellow, I think we had both caught waves past each other, we both can make sections. Not here for that bullshit.
Today:
Afternoon surf at the beach out front. Beautiful lighting and conditions, kinda windswelly and imperfect, but waves all over the place. Felt like at least 3 surf spots: fun turns on an inside bar, then lil' big wave-y drops to no shoulder on an outer bar, to a really fast inside reform.
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check one spot but looked kinda funky so opted for better wave spot. slow and not a lot of waves so I should have just paddled at first spot. still a couple good ones on the gx but overall pretty bad. was 46 on the way home 
High 30s air, low 50s water, figured I would use that Hyperfreak again. Wished I had used the usual 4/3 because I cooked in the water; highly uncomfortable actually. The sandbar I figured would be breaking well was, although a little inconsistent and shifty. Still though, some fun chest to shoulder high waves that burgered for long enough to get 2-4 turns in before petering out in the shallows. Had to all to myself for a while and got a half dozen or so in that 20-30 minute window. A few people paddled out but plenty of waves still. Had a little skunk funk for a bit but that got back into a rhythm, stroked into one of the better sets, unfortunately just a bit behind the burgering section. Wave kind of petered out so I just stalled/pulled out underneath the whitewash. Board must have popped up funny because I heard this crack as my elbow crushed the rail inwards. Crappy way to end a session, barely surfed an hour, and it was a fun, beautiful day.
Putting that space heater to work right now, drying out the foam. Joy. Good time to repair that and another board.
Lessons learned; bring more than one board and probably more than one wetsuit too.
Putting that space heater to work right now, drying out the foam. Joy. Good time to repair that and another board.
Lessons learned; bring more than one board and probably more than one wetsuit too.
Dawned the NS regular on the new 5’10. Had a shocker for the first half of the session. Fell on double ups fell on turns and I let it get in my head. Good thing it wasn’t too crowded and I knew everyone out. So I just started talking sh* t about myself. My friend ddDean asked if I was going into work today? I told him I was but I’m falling so much probably fall off the ladders. Then I told the boys I better sleep on the floor tonight I’ll probably fall off my bed. Haha.
That kinda broke the bad spell and managed to get a couple of nuggets and smash it vert.
That kinda broke the bad spell and managed to get a couple of nuggets and smash it vert.
Did you poncho?check one spot but looked kinda funky so opted for better wave spot. slow and not a lot of waves so I should have just paddled at first spot. still a couple good ones on the gx but overall pretty bad. was 46 on the way home
spot on for the report... I went to a not normal one for me, did the trick for the high tide but wasn‘t much on offer.
Checked my high tide go tos but there wasn’t quite enough swell. Hit my usual just as the wind picked up. I started out struggling but found a groove eventually and got some fun ones. I rode the Manta, initially I felt silly because everyone else was riding shortys but it ended up just right for me. Only the sets were breaking outside and the extra help catching waves was welcome. I got blasted on an off the lip on a steep section and somehow took a fin to the forearm leading to decent swelling and cut but fortunately the board was unharmed.
ha, no poncho. just can't do it. maybe someday though cause it just makes too much sense
beachbreak on my mid 70's G&S modern machine. kinda fun til the tide shut it down. channeled my inner devon howard but surely looked nothing like him.
little bit of exercise to work off some of yesterday's holiday pub crawl.
Since Wednesday it has been solid waves allowing me to surf the quiver of twinny shortboards in double sessions each day. It has been great to surf them back to back and recognize the pros/cons. I did break out the new wetsuit owing to the frosty mornings.
Yesterday morning, I blew it as the waves were coming down relatively and a bit of exhaustion so I grabbed cheater quad egg, which was a mistake and should have grabbed a more performance board. Though corrected my mistake for the second session, Album Insanity twin plus trailer, went very well. I want to surf this board some more. I am hoping to find a spot today to surf it, though waves are down.
Yesterday morning, I blew it as the waves were coming down relatively and a bit of exhaustion so I grabbed cheater quad egg, which was a mistake and should have grabbed a more performance board. Though corrected my mistake for the second session, Album Insanity twin plus trailer, went very well. I want to surf this board some more. I am hoping to find a spot today to surf it, though waves are down.
Some photos from a great session last Wednesday. Had the Harbor alone with 2 friends. Twas a great and memorable day. Everyone was ripping.
Dawned the NS regular on my Tokoro Moonfish. It was smaller than yesterday. Chest high but a new swell trying to fill in under the old NW.
Figured a couple things out after yesterdays fall-a-thon. Put a couple of swipes of FU wax on the boar. The cooler NS water has made my summer tropical wax a little hard. Going to use my summer boars if its west, steep drop but need the speed to connect the soft middle to the inside double. And if I take a bomb on the head and go tumbling under water trying to hold on I’m going to let go if no one is behind me. My shoulder and chest is sore today.
Waves were forgettable but reassuring cause I didn’t fall. Got a couple of wraps and did a long floater to get around a section and used all the speed into a carve down. That was the best wave.
Figured a couple things out after yesterdays fall-a-thon. Put a couple of swipes of FU wax on the boar. The cooler NS water has made my summer tropical wax a little hard. Going to use my summer boars if its west, steep drop but need the speed to connect the soft middle to the inside double. And if I take a bomb on the head and go tumbling under water trying to hold on I’m going to let go if no one is behind me. My shoulder and chest is sore today.
Waves were forgettable but reassuring cause I didn’t fall. Got a couple of wraps and did a long floater to get around a section and used all the speed into a carve down. That was the best wave.
A couple feet bigger today, chest to head high with a couple OH sets here and there. Was going to wear my 4/3 after overheating yesterday, glad I brought both suits. That offshore wind was blustery and colder than sh!t.
Most of the way towards repairing the other 6'6", yet sanding it down last night, a little overshot apparently sanded literally through the glass on the rail. Goes a lot towards explaining how a nudge from the elbow stove the rail in. Guess I have to chalk it up to glassers doing shitty work late 2020/early 2021.
Oh well, in hopes I could use a lighter wetsuit, brought the speed demon along with my 6'7" roundpin. No way that speed demon was going to float me wearing a 5/4 and waves were a little burgery for a roundpin but would have to be the latter. First wave I got was hilarious, actually thought my knees would bend enough to do a big grab rail cutback. No, not quite. Bummer because the section just inside stood up after I bogged in the flats. Mostly a day of lined up lefts and bowly rights. Good when you got into them but was hard as hell to do so as waves would back off right as you were about to drop in - stiff offshores did not help. A ton of current too; all of us knew the landmarks to line up but kept getting dragged off of them. A lot of time was spent paddling and trying to stay on top of the peak.
Going to be stormy for a lot of next couple weeks so got my money's worth on today's sesh - close to 4 hours out there and got a lot of waves even despite the periodic skunkings.
Most of the way towards repairing the other 6'6", yet sanding it down last night, a little overshot apparently sanded literally through the glass on the rail. Goes a lot towards explaining how a nudge from the elbow stove the rail in. Guess I have to chalk it up to glassers doing shitty work late 2020/early 2021.
Oh well, in hopes I could use a lighter wetsuit, brought the speed demon along with my 6'7" roundpin. No way that speed demon was going to float me wearing a 5/4 and waves were a little burgery for a roundpin but would have to be the latter. First wave I got was hilarious, actually thought my knees would bend enough to do a big grab rail cutback. No, not quite. Bummer because the section just inside stood up after I bogged in the flats. Mostly a day of lined up lefts and bowly rights. Good when you got into them but was hard as hell to do so as waves would back off right as you were about to drop in - stiff offshores did not help. A ton of current too; all of us knew the landmarks to line up but kept getting dragged off of them. A lot of time was spent paddling and trying to stay on top of the peak.
Going to be stormy for a lot of next couple weeks so got my money's worth on today's sesh - close to 4 hours out there and got a lot of waves even despite the periodic skunkings.
micro runners on the fuse. it was better than it looked.
I am in Bangkok Thailand with my wife who I hadn't seen for 2 years due to locked borders. I have not surfed for over a week. A few days prior to leaving I got my last surfing lesson of the year, which makes a total of 8 lessons at a consistent one lesson a week. Teacher has gone to Brazil for a month and half. I plan to continue a few more lessons in February when he returns and before it gets too dark for a 6am start. Early start allows the 2hr lesson to finish in time for me to start work without rushing.
Cost of the lessons has exceeded the price of a new custom board, then there is the Smoothstar surf skate I bought which has been an important part of the lessons. I feel the lessons have been well worth it, injected some new vigour and interest into my surfing. I have my regular skateboard with me, it fits diagonally into my suitcase. My smoothstar would not fit and the paths I skate in the apartment complex are not wide enough to make use of it anyway, so regular skateboard the clear choice of wheels to bring.
Cost of the lessons has exceeded the price of a new custom board, then there is the Smoothstar surf skate I bought which has been an important part of the lessons. I feel the lessons have been well worth it, injected some new vigour and interest into my surfing. I have my regular skateboard with me, it fits diagonally into my suitcase. My smoothstar would not fit and the paths I skate in the apartment complex are not wide enough to make use of it anyway, so regular skateboard the clear choice of wheels to bring.
surfed the same section of the beach out front three late afternoons in a row.
Sat:
Beautiful micro clean waves that barely broke on a sandbar then almost backed off but evenly peeled all the way inside. Would've been perfect for a log, instead I got some long waves where I just stood there on my shortboard and tried to trim.
Sun:
Watched the cam, there was a bit more swell but I thought it'd be fun to try the log. Drove down and headed out without looking at it, and as soon as I'm paddling out I realized I'd made a mistake. It was both longer period and bumpier than I had realized. As soon as I'm out a set breaks on outer bars and I'm having to race out to not get caught. Suddenly feeling kinda dumb and conspicuous for being out there leashless on a noserider. Caught one sketchy, bouncy, one in and grabbed the shortboard. It kept building to where the shortboard was feeling a little small too, but I must've had the wave-catching mojo that day, found a few good set waves right in a row that lined up all the way inside, letting me do drawn out cutbacks on a mushy but overhead wall
Mon:
On the step up. Storm swell sweeping up the beach, peaks everywhere. SE storm winds blowing up the face, making it look burly and ledgy, rainclouds making it look dark and moody. Every wave looked like it was about to absolutely heave, but then it just mushed out and there was no wall at all. Late drop to bottom turn kickout over and over. A really entertaining sort of shitty.
Sat:
Beautiful micro clean waves that barely broke on a sandbar then almost backed off but evenly peeled all the way inside. Would've been perfect for a log, instead I got some long waves where I just stood there on my shortboard and tried to trim.
Sun:
Watched the cam, there was a bit more swell but I thought it'd be fun to try the log. Drove down and headed out without looking at it, and as soon as I'm paddling out I realized I'd made a mistake. It was both longer period and bumpier than I had realized. As soon as I'm out a set breaks on outer bars and I'm having to race out to not get caught. Suddenly feeling kinda dumb and conspicuous for being out there leashless on a noserider. Caught one sketchy, bouncy, one in and grabbed the shortboard. It kept building to where the shortboard was feeling a little small too, but I must've had the wave-catching mojo that day, found a few good set waves right in a row that lined up all the way inside, letting me do drawn out cutbacks on a mushy but overhead wall
Mon:
On the step up. Storm swell sweeping up the beach, peaks everywhere. SE storm winds blowing up the face, making it look burly and ledgy, rainclouds making it look dark and moody. Every wave looked like it was about to absolutely heave, but then it just mushed out and there was no wall at all. Late drop to bottom turn kickout over and over. A really entertaining sort of shitty.
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more summer waves in cold weather. perfect waves for the sub and I had a handful of fun ones.
They have adult learners in Baja too??
Looks fun. what boars have you been shreddin so far?
Festive times in Philly quarantined with the in-laws this week. My sister-in-law got covid. We all saw her Sunday. Fun activity each morning is trying all the local pharmacies to see who has any at-home rapid tests in stock! spoiler alert: they sell out in 20 min. My monster-in-law is a stress case and keeps talking about the food she ordered for Xmas Eve dinner rather than being concerned about everyone's health. We apparently shouldn't test til Thu so should be an anxiety-free week!
Would kill for a surf about now
Looks fun. what boars have you been shreddin so far?
Festive times in Philly quarantined with the in-laws this week. My sister-in-law got covid. We all saw her Sunday. Fun activity each morning is trying all the local pharmacies to see who has any at-home rapid tests in stock! spoiler alert: they sell out in 20 min. My monster-in-law is a stress case and keeps talking about the food she ordered for Xmas Eve dinner rather than being concerned about everyone's health. We apparently shouldn't test til Thu so should be an anxiety-free week!
Would kill for a surf about now
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