***Official 2021 Community Surf Journal***

[000]

week of bad winds ended
started surfing again but the south was the wrong angle, wind swells been kinda fun
saw a baby whale with a bunch of dolphins, it breeched twice in probably 20' of water
next day a dorsal fin came towards me and i never saw it again, didnt come up for air. assumed it was dolphin but....
then a seal started bodysurfing near me
water is way too cold for almost may

 

[i_ride_spinnaz]

only window to surf yesterday was on a negative 1 foot tide at what is probably one of the worst beach breaks in california. i was working in west LA so surfed in santa monica. I don't really get how people surf there regularly I would probably lose my mind or just body surf full time. As the tide came up it didn't get any better but sets at least started to come in. Packed one of the larger ones into a nice little closeout drainer and came up with the tail on my favorite board cracked. oh well

 

[MathDebater]

Took the manta out with my friend from out of town. Winds went decently side shore right as we walked out but there ended up being some really fun 2' occ. 3' waves. Manta FTW.

 

[PRCD]

I had one of those days where it all came together: board, waves, and timing. I haven't surfed this well in a loooong time. Amazing how a little more power in the wave and a little better shape makes you feel like a pro. You just have that extra split second to judge the spot you're going to hit the lip and still have the speed to do it.

 

[Aruka]

bigger today. overcast and a little texture but fairly calm. got some really fun lefts but then a rip started sweeping across the peak and really screwed everything up. still caught a few more waves but it was so bumpy that every drop reminded me of riding a skateboard down a set of stairs. that nonsense lasted for a while and then it cleaned up again and we got a few more but it wasn't the same as before. we paddled over to the right which had it's own issues but at least there were some steep pockets to be had. still lots of paddling to avoid getting sucked deep and plenty of duckdiving when the big sets came but in between all that there was some running rights with surprisingly surfable faces and the occasional cool end section wedge to smack. 6-3 SMTH felt great.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

slept in junky windswell popped up. almost didn't go out but glad I did. managed a few fun ones that hit the bar right

 

[b.r.]

small and clean without the bad winds the last 2 days, nothing special but 2 hours per session of clean surf in April , will take it.

 

[PRCD]

....and the magic is gone! Smaller, mushier lips, second-guessing sections. Can't wait for my fishier board to come.

 

[MathDebater]

What sbd said. Same spot as yesterday But way more fun. Lots of paddling with a mean rip but got some fun ones on the disorder. lost my best turn at the end but had a lot of fun.

 

[Aruka]

smaller and windy. the go to was a bit too blown out by the time i got done working. surfed my local for the first time in like a month. rode the twinsman with the fancy new carbon fins. felt pretty good on the set waves of which there weren't many. something fishier probably would have been the call for making the most of the soft sections but overall it was a pretty fun sesh.

 

[Mr J]

2 open ocean beach break surfs today. An ok sesh this morning and an absolutely fantastic one late arvo. Clean right hand peak all to myself - walked to as stretch of the beach where there was no one else. Both sessions on my annual build - a high rockered 5' 7" HPSB which I call the "Toy Step Up" (TSU).

The TSU is my most used board of 2021 so far, due to frequent runs of open ocean conditions where the wind is good and swell small enough. My locally built custom HPSB is by far the better choice at the other sheltered spots I frequent - they can have a kick, but somehow seem to need more moderate rocker. I am managing with just those two boards.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

calm winds but semi junky conditions. lot's of duck diving but some fun ones

 

[oeste858]

calm winds but semi junky conditions. lot's of duck diving but some fun ones

What’d you ride?

Late morning low tide at main reef. Bit lumpy with chest-high sets, but only 3 guys plus one rando on a Bruce Jones shortboard out. A @sdsrfr utopian locals session with the four of us taking turns and chatting between waves. Good times. It was short and choppy at first, but it actually cleaned up a bit as the tide drained out and the left got hollow on the inside.
I blew a couple turns riding the CC Mescaline w/ reactor quads, which I hadn’t surfed in maybe a year. Probably could’ve used a rakier fin with that wide tail (but I was thinking quick turns) or even a thruster/twin+1 setup. After the first couple waves, it clicked and was able to surf it how I wanted. Still think it’s going on the sale pile. I just don’t love that tail- turns are too “choppy”. Easy to get up and down so might be better for typical short period / beachbreak. The el tomo is similar but fishier outline, which smoothes things out and I prefer for my usual reefs
Was toasty in 3mil full.

 

[PRCD]

Bigger than it's been in a while today but bumpy and chunderous. A lot of guys had trouble making it look good. Amazing how many of my problems come from eating too many chips, bringing my back foot too far up when I stand up, and not turning it forward enough.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

GX. worked on most but wish I had the scarecrow on a couple.

 

[bluengreen]

Been surfing but not much to report on: Some surprisingly fun hightide sessions at Taco Bell beach on the 7'4 SOC Twin. Yesterday, the beach was rather large (10 feet at 10 seconds ish) and kinda clean, so I took the 7'4 SOC Twin to see how it would perform in some juice. A lotta board to control when accelerating over chop and bumps. Felt some lift in the tail that did not make me 100% confident jamming it off the bottom on my first one. When I got a smooth one, it went well. Lotta drive off the bottom of a double overhead peak and tons of forward glide once I hooked it into the pocket. Didn't get a big wall to to carve, but some fun drops, pocket rides, and cutbacks on the shoulder. Last one connected to the inside bar and took me all the way to the beach for a 45 second ride. Always nice to end a session on one of those. Yew.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

fun combo swell today. sadly, I hurt my shoulder doing stuff in the yard and surfing isn't great for it. Gonna take at least a few days off.

new gx feels good. definitely paddles my fat ass better but the extra size gets in the way at times. Should remedy itself with time as I get more used to it.

 

[oeste858]

Low tide again at main reef. Bigger and more crowded than yesterday. Bit soft but lining up pretty good. Was better than I expected. Mostly rights with 3-4 fs carves on the Gremlin with reactor quads. Had a foam climb that felt nice to catch me up to the wave. Got cocky and was punished on one late drop left: Hesitated just enough to get hung up and pitched... right in front of two friends. Lots of paddling and some sneaker closeout sets. Pretty sure I did a mctwist underwater trying to get under one. Good to feel some energy in the water.

 

[MathDebater]

Fun spring conditions. Water was toasty. Got some fun roll in set up into nice turn sections. Only 5 people rotating on the peak, all regulars. No complaints.

 

[b.r.]

Waxed up my new Kenson twinzer. Was a nice mellow early afternoon session felt good right from the start. 1 hour and a half of inconsistent but really fun waves as the wind threatened but backed off. Water is warm again. Until I grab the spring suit again.