Good Friday Gifts

Life is always full of surprises, most of which come when we least expect them...hence the surprise eh? Today I launched at Platty's, no one out. Then suddenly I was joined by Priscilla and her son Patrick. A nice surprise and a good way to start the morning. My plan was to paddle down to Walls, turn around, come back to Platty's, get my 7'6" Freeline and lay down surf for an hour or so.

But that didn't happen because when I got to Walls (about a half mile paddle down the beach) I ran into John surfing some nice peaks there. I stayed a while, he got out and soon another stand up surfer paddled out. I hadn't seen Buzz since last summer when I bugged him about SUPing while we were out at another beach break. You don't see many stand up surfers who aggressively seek out the beach breaks because it takes lots of practice to successfully crash white water. But Buzz is one who goes out of his way to surf the beachies. He's one of the best so it was good to see him again.

Also today I switched out paddles from the Infinity 6" otter tail to the Kialoa Kole with the 9" blade. True to what I remember, the bigger blade is a very good distance paddle. The long slow pull or draw really gets the momentum going and you can cover a lot of distance faster for the same or less energy expended. But in the surf the Kole feels like pulling through molasses when positioning and paddling for waves. That's when I really missed the Infinity. So for any distance, or day trips, I take the Kole. For surfing, it's the Infinity all the way.

I love these kinds of surprises! I got a few pics, revisited and field tested my paddles, surfed and chatted with friends, met Buzz' son who was out with us on a longboard, and got some good waves in clear ultra-clean water and spectacular weather. What a great Good Friday surprise.

March 21, 2008 (F)
In: 0830
Out: 1130
AT= 41 - 55 degrees
WT= 52 degrees at the farshore buoy
Wx: Sunny, clear and cool
Tide: 4.14 Rising to 4.69 to 4.23 Falling
Wind: Calm to light south/southwest
Sea Surface: Light rolling sea, glassy to light wind texturing
Buoy: NWS
0700: 3.6 feet @ 11.4 Seconds NW
0900: 3.3 feet @ 12.1 Seconds NW
1000: 3.6 feet @ 11.4 Seconds WNW
1300: 4.6 feet @ 10.8 Seconds NW
10'4" Angulo SUP with Infinity paddle
Fin set-up - Single 9.75" Greenough Stage 6 cutaway
Sand bars
Waves: 3 feet at 12 seconds (Nearshore buoy approx. ave.) Storm Surf Buoy Model