Monday afternoon - 2:45PM...The second swell arrived two hours later than I calculated. At 4PM the farshore buoy was showing 9.5' @ 17.4 seconds NW. I had been watching the faraway buoys and they were looking pretty good so I paddled out at 2:45PM. The wind was offshore out of the NNW at 6 mph. Skies were sunny and bright.
I paddled and surfed my way up the reefs to Sarges. Only about five people out. A couple guys and their sons riding longboards. Bob was going to town on the low tide screamers that were standing up smartly in the wind. He spent so much time on the nose I thought he was going to get a parking ticket. And fellow SUP brother Dave C. paddled out after a while and surfed a bunch of good little waves in the mega-low low tide. Full moon is tonight and the tidal swing was in full regalia. Buoys are still showing a decent swell. If it holds then dawn patrol tomorrow for a Christmas day gift.
Today I wore my golfers elbow brace on the outside of my wetsuit and that seemed to work pretty well. Tendons aren't very sore this evening.
I also practiced a new paddle technique after discovering a way to take the load off my trapezius muscles. The idea is to rotate the shoulders from the hip towards the side you are paddling on. The rotation should leave your top hand and bottom hand holding the paddle shaft in a vertical position with the blade placed in the water in preparation for the stroke. The paddle blade is automatically angled at approximately 45 degrees when this is done properly. After energy is applied by pulling the paddle back (or pulling yourself forward...take your pick), the paddle should be removed from the water near the back foot. This stroke takes the pressure off the traps and removes undue stress from that muscle group. It also has the added benefit of keeping your board going in a straight line because of the angle of the blade as it enters the water. Ideally the paddle shaft travels in a straight line parallel to the rail from start to finish of the stroke.
This does take practice and feels awkward at first. But the more I practiced the better it felt. The workout today was vigorous as it included several miles of paddling and lots of wave catching. All this in a brisk offshore wind that kept me paddling just to stay near the line-up.
December 24, 2007 (M)
In: 1445
1st Wave: unk
Out: 1645
Wave count: n/a
AT= 63 - 58 degrees
WT= 53 degrees at the farshore buoy
Wx: Sunny and bright with light high haze
Tide: -.2 Falling to -1.73
Wind: NNW 6 mph (offshore)
Sea Surface: Wind ripples
Buoy: NWS
1400:8.5 @ 10.8 NW
1500: 9.2 @ 10 NW
1600: 9.5 @ 17.4 NW
1700: 9.5 @ 17.4 NW
10'4" Angulo SUP with Infinity paddle
Rock reefs
Waves: 4' @ 11 seconds (Nearshore buoy approx. ave.) Storm Surf Buoy Model
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Monday morning...the first of the several Christmas swells didn't last very long. It diminished in size as it played out, leaving residual windswell in the small range to deal with the maximum low and high tides.
But the second swell appears to be right on the first one's heals and started registering on the faraway buoy at about 2AM. At consistent 14-17 second intervals it should arrive by 2PM or so. A cold front passing through our district has kicked up northerly, offshore winds. Conditions look pretty good, it would be nice to have clean waves too. I'll definitely be out there for a paddle at the very least.
I want to continue using my new Infinity paddle as well as to work on paddling techniques I've been researching the past few days.
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