If it's dawn pootrol I definitely make sure I'm going to a spot with a bathroom I'm willing to use in proximity.
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***Official 2022 Community Surf Journal***
- Thread starter Kento
- Start date
Packed some close outs and 1-2 fun corners at the punchy local beachbreak. Crowd was thick when a buddy and I paddled out but thinned out as we drifted south. Water is friggin warm. Mini Ghost squash with Roberts L thruster felt nimble. Didn’t poo before paddling out, living life on the edge
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Warm water and a few fun ones on the plasmic. I like that board.
My spark plug has been giving me dirty looks each morning so I took her to play this morning. Waves sucked overall (close outs) but got 3-4 that allowed me to get some practice in for the qs. Chicks on the beach gathered as usual. Super annoying.
Another day of skatepark-style waves that make you feel like a good surfer. I made some adjustments from yesterday on my forehand and brought the re-entries and snaps around with more speed and power. Just about every right was 3 to the beach ending with me imagining that I knew what to do with the close-out air section on the inside. On the backhand I got one that felt like a point break and made two good wraps starting with my shoulders and hips square to the lip. It felt amazing. I wonder how it looked. 
Anyways, it took a long time to paddle back to where I started. What a difference good waves make on your timing.
Re: the morning pooh, I've been eating more legumes trying to lose weight to get into my winter suit. After the first sh1t, the load builds up again on the way to the beach but I don't know whether it's a turd or a fart and the consequences for betting wrong while you're on land can be steep. I clenched this morning through the build-up until I got waist-deep then let it go. It was a fart, thank God.
Anyways, it took a long time to paddle back to where I started. What a difference good waves make on your timing. Re: the morning pooh, I've been eating more legumes trying to lose weight to get into my winter suit. After the first sh1t, the load builds up again on the way to the beach but I don't know whether it's a turd or a fart and the consequences for betting wrong while you're on land can be steep. I clenched this morning through the build-up until I got waist-deep then let it go. It was a fart, thank God.
Ended up surfing midday at my lower tide summer spot. I was in a hurry and took off from the car at jog down the path. When I was about halfway I realized my feet were on fire. I ended up sprinting between tiny patches of shade the whole way. The waves were fun and the crowd wasn't terrible but I was surfing sort of wonky thanks to my freshly roasted feet. Even with that factored in, the Banjo felt great. It's my first time surfing it in who knows how long and damn, the thing just goes.
The water temp in south Ventura county has been like Hawaii the last couple of days. Only wore a spring suit because the sun was too high.
I happened to use a porta potty as a landmark this afternoon. That’s my only contribution to the sh!t talk’n theme.
I happened to use a porta potty as a landmark this afternoon. That’s my only contribution to the sh!t talk’n theme.
Its 64 in my part of ventura im wearing a fullsuit
looked like absolute crap this morning but somehow lucked into a few decent ones on the spark plug. water was warm with cold spots.
Uber crowded and lully at Donkeyland. . Snagged a few 3-4' softies to the beach from the buoys Would have been super with 1/3 the crowd(weekend warrior blues) Pretty walled down south at the usual.Like SBD water was warm with cold spots 2mil Reunion almost too much
Got some fun and very punchy sand over rock reef wedges early this morning little under to a little overhead. Solo sesh w my dog on the beach.
Here’s a new whip. Painted it yesterday, hopefully glasser will have it ready in a few weeks.
6’ x 20 x 2 1/2 lightly concave deck. Have done a couple flat decks n really dig em. Got a board from a shaper friend w a subtle concave deck that I loved so copied that. That same board also had a subtle rolled V to triplane entry bottom, consisting of a very shallow single concave transitioning to a subtle rolled V about 1 inch in from rail. Entry/stringer rocker fairly flat. That thing paddles into & knifes down the face of slabby waves like no one’s business so mimicked it on this board. Rest is subtle single, deepest in front of fins, then gets a subtle double inside the single to a mild flat panel V last few inches.
Guess you could call it a stubby-chubby ole man step up/good wave boar.
Here’s a new whip. Painted it yesterday, hopefully glasser will have it ready in a few weeks.
6’ x 20 x 2 1/2 lightly concave deck. Have done a couple flat decks n really dig em. Got a board from a shaper friend w a subtle concave deck that I loved so copied that. That same board also had a subtle rolled V to triplane entry bottom, consisting of a very shallow single concave transitioning to a subtle rolled V about 1 inch in from rail. Entry/stringer rocker fairly flat. That thing paddles into & knifes down the face of slabby waves like no one’s business so mimicked it on this board. Rest is subtle single, deepest in front of fins, then gets a subtle double inside the single to a mild flat panel V last few inches.
Guess you could call it a stubby-chubby ole man step up/good wave boar.
Come to Indonesia they said, world class waves in Bali, they said...
Theoretically it's supposed to be triple overhead 3 days from now. Hard to believe it at the moment though
Theoretically it's supposed to be triple overhead 3 days from now. Hard to believe it at the moment though
must be tough!I pulled up the usual spot and the lot was pretty empty but the line up was packed with goons. Lots of hipster on logs that were just competent enough to be dangerous. Despite that I got plenty of waves. It was chest high and relatively consistent. I tried a new fin set up and it was okay, more drive but a little sticky. I saw a guy get two of the deepest barrels I’ve seen here but couldn’t find any myself.
Friday's "session" was perhaps the worst of the season. Total and complete self inflicted fail of going to the worst possible spot.
Saturday, I wonder if where I went is the same "Donkeyland". Paddled out late morning at probably the most user friendly spot in town, in 18 years at current house, I've been here less than 10 times, and it's right down the street. This means alt-boars, teenage girls on longboars and adult beginners everywhere. I apologize for not bringing the phone to the beach, would've been errb worthy. I brought a towel, which is super rare for me, cuz I knew I'd be going down a cliff. LOL, so bleepin stiff, probably hasn't seen the laundry all year. It's there now!
Top of the trail, I had to literally wait for a dozen young adult soft-toppers to clear. LOL, one chick banged her boar on the sidewalk and fretted. I have to give the dude credit for pointing out it's a softie, who cares.
Out in the lineup, It was pretty to figure out that only one kid was worthy of any respect levels. I dunno what I did, but said kid thought I was doing some nice turns and we chatted. He wanted to see my fin setup. He had a longer midlength, but three regular sized thruster fins, you could see the projection wasn't quite there for him. All I could think was the waves I caught were so mushy that I couldn't really figure out where the bottom was to bank off of. At least it was head high. Eventually a nasty chop came in and was outta there.
I made an errb approved checklist for bonus surf session points:
Dude with aqua glasses on? check
Lady with full suit, hood and booties? check
Chicks doing that butt up pose thing whilst paddling into waves? double check
Group of 25 kids drinking beers, having fun? check
Homeless dude with boar, scrounging for cans halfway up the trail? check
Saturday, I wonder if where I went is the same "Donkeyland". Paddled out late morning at probably the most user friendly spot in town, in 18 years at current house, I've been here less than 10 times, and it's right down the street. This means alt-boars, teenage girls on longboars and adult beginners everywhere. I apologize for not bringing the phone to the beach, would've been errb worthy. I brought a towel, which is super rare for me, cuz I knew I'd be going down a cliff. LOL, so bleepin stiff, probably hasn't seen the laundry all year. It's there now!
Top of the trail, I had to literally wait for a dozen young adult soft-toppers to clear. LOL, one chick banged her boar on the sidewalk and fretted. I have to give the dude credit for pointing out it's a softie, who cares.
Out in the lineup, It was pretty to figure out that only one kid was worthy of any respect levels. I dunno what I did, but said kid thought I was doing some nice turns and we chatted. He wanted to see my fin setup. He had a longer midlength, but three regular sized thruster fins, you could see the projection wasn't quite there for him. All I could think was the waves I caught were so mushy that I couldn't really figure out where the bottom was to bank off of. At least it was head high. Eventually a nasty chop came in and was outta there.
I made an errb approved checklist for bonus surf session points:
Dude with aqua glasses on? check
Lady with full suit, hood and booties? check
Chicks doing that butt up pose thing whilst paddling into waves? double check
Group of 25 kids drinking beers, having fun? check
Homeless dude with boar, scrounging for cans halfway up the trail? check
I went out by the pier at dawn yesterday in trunks. The water is 73 degrees and everyone is still in a fullsuit. Part of me wanted to paddle up to these people and go, "ARE YOU OK, BRO? ARE YOU WARM, BRO?" Will they be wearing 5/4s in the SoCal winter? Anyways, the crowds filled-in almost instantaneously and the vibe was hectic and the sections were back to being racy and less predictable.
Later we met family up in S_C_ for my youngest son's birthday and my brother's. I brought my board because I knew it would be good if I didn't. Closeouts. I had a blast bodysurfing on the foam handboar though. I checked the spots in the big greenbelt on the way back south and it didn't look fun either.
I hopped in the water after a few weeks of not surfing due to a flat spell + stepping on a 16-penny nail. The sea urchins of an untidy job site I've been volunteering at for the past few months.
Drove north in search of a fickle and empty sand bank that a friend and his brother had scored the day prior. No such luck today. Off to the usual spot alongside this stretch of coast. With an option of crowded reef or semi-crowded beach break. I opted for the latter.
The first hour was fun. Bowly one-hit lefts and feeling strong enough to motor around the shifty lineup. The next two hours saw deteriorating conditions and an increase in people. It was the kind of crowd that made you feel lonelier as it grew: a burst of unfamiliar faces (who are equally unfamiliar with each other) and generally a group that you can't really relate to. At 38, I shouldn't be feeling this old and cranky. But several years' worth of unsuccessful house hunting here has altered my relationship of this region into one of love and hate. Today was becoming a day of hate.
I stubbornly hunted after a few inside left tubes that a local kid had been mining. I fucking suck at backside tubes even under the best of conditions. So now, with significantly lumpier conditions and my tank running on empty, I pumped past 'em all and relied on the same backside schwack that I've been doing for 20-some-odd years. I told myself I'd end it on a good one, but as time passed my definition of "good" changed.
Back at home, I hopped on Zillow and started wondering why my wife and I continue to try to live in this surf-rich but painfully expensive zip code. And yet I struggle to find another place I'd want to be. Sometimes, it's best to leave when it's still fun, and I think I'm just talking about the surf. But who the fuck knows.
Drove north in search of a fickle and empty sand bank that a friend and his brother had scored the day prior. No such luck today. Off to the usual spot alongside this stretch of coast. With an option of crowded reef or semi-crowded beach break. I opted for the latter.
The first hour was fun. Bowly one-hit lefts and feeling strong enough to motor around the shifty lineup. The next two hours saw deteriorating conditions and an increase in people. It was the kind of crowd that made you feel lonelier as it grew: a burst of unfamiliar faces (who are equally unfamiliar with each other) and generally a group that you can't really relate to. At 38, I shouldn't be feeling this old and cranky. But several years' worth of unsuccessful house hunting here has altered my relationship of this region into one of love and hate. Today was becoming a day of hate.
I stubbornly hunted after a few inside left tubes that a local kid had been mining. I fucking suck at backside tubes even under the best of conditions. So now, with significantly lumpier conditions and my tank running on empty, I pumped past 'em all and relied on the same backside schwack that I've been doing for 20-some-odd years. I told myself I'd end it on a good one, but as time passed my definition of "good" changed.
Back at home, I hopped on Zillow and started wondering why my wife and I continue to try to live in this surf-rich but painfully expensive zip code. And yet I struggle to find another place I'd want to be. Sometimes, it's best to leave when it's still fun, and I think I'm just talking about the surf. But who the fuck knows.
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Had fun on Fri with obslop on the 5’10”Mandala carbon SuperChunk. Had fun yesterday on the 6’8” Sakal Sabre twin. Had fun on the 6’2” VS Shadow today. All 3 days crowded as fook, but clear and warm water, not super high expectation, and first time surfing three straight days since mainland trip this summer and I’m content. Prob gonna handplane the low tide early tmrw.
No surf session, but I heard a story worthy of telling. Hanging out at a restaurant at the Leucadia Art Walk, In come the singer of the next band. We're bros, he introduces me to his friend from Maui. Anyways, my bro was in Maui when the recent swell hit. He told me the absolute jaw dropping sight as his first view after exiting the airport and heading to town.
The story told to me is that at Maalaea, the wave were breaking so hard that sea urchins were dislodged and floating in the lineup. People were getting impaled in the head by urchins on duck dives. Gives new meaning to "taking it on the head".
The story told to me is that at Maalaea, the wave were breaking so hard that sea urchins were dislodged and floating in the lineup. People were getting impaled in the head by urchins on duck dives. Gives new meaning to "taking it on the head".
Wow, worst sesh of 2022!
Got out early and drove through the reefs and they didn't look any better.
Got out early and drove through the reefs and they didn't look any better.
Would have sucked arse on a surfboard, but had a blast on a wedging right anomaly with swim fins and a hand plane. 50 min of non stop paddling/kicking, many barrel views, made and NOT, stoked!