Combo Swell for the End of July

After a long wave drought, not atypical for July, a WNW groundswell combined with a southerly swell to bring us some sweet and fun waves. Sam's trip down from the City paid dividends, as he and everyone else out got a nice helping of small to moderate size peaks and walls.

It never got crowded all morning, max being about ten people in the line-up at any one time. And everyone knew everyone else. Joanna, Barry, Chris, Sam, me, Whit, MikeyB, John S., Sam N., Doug, David, John N. were the usual suspects this morning. Lot's of laughing, hooting, ribbing and good times.

The northerly lines were peaking up at the usual take-off while the southerly pulses would sweep in diagonally across the line-up enroute to peaking up in front of the ladder. Long rides were enjoyed, some down to Al's Reef.

While everyone was getting good waves, Whit was pretty much on fire, getting the nicest set waves of the morning. He also dialed in his 10'8" Angulo Beachboy for noserides. He'd set up for the high line, stall at the top, and run to the nose to trim it up down the line, all the while perched on the tip. Sweet!

Weather this July has been cooler than normal. This morning was no exception with fog and overcast. A light onshore "fog wind" as Sean calls it, was present almost all morning. It didn't mess up the waves, but you could feel it's presence nevertheless.

Consistency was on and off all morning long, with some longish flat spells relieved by a series of pumping sets that lasted 20 to 30 minutes. It seemed that the westerly NW swell would put up a series of waves, and then the more inconsistent south would deliver. The incoming tide also seemed to slow it down and flatten things out a bit by 0900 or so.

My new K2D2 fin finally arrived yesterday, just in time for me to try it out in some decent size surf today. The Bluecoil I was using is 5.5" deep,compared to the new K2D2, which is 4.75 inches. The two fin profiles (Occy sides and new K2D2 center) are almost identical. The fin worked great today, no deficits at all. I can't say that I noticed a real leap up in performance, but I feel like I'm now on a true thruster set-up, with all three fins being almost identical in size. I'll put up some pics in the next post.

Sam brought us good luck and a nice swell today. And on top of that, he bought me brunch at Zelda's after. Thanks bro'! You da kine!

July 31, 2008 (Th)
In: 0630
Out: 0930
AT= 54 to 55F
WT= 54.3 degrees at the nearshore buoy
Wx: Overcast with heavy fog at times
Tide: -0.2 Rising to 3.3
Wind: Light onshore
Sea Surface: Light to moderate wind ripples
Buoy: NWS
0700: 6.9 feet @ 16 S
0700: 6.6 feet @ 10.8 WNW
0800: 6.2 feet @ 16 S
1000: 6.6 feet @ 10.8 WNW
10'4" Angulo SUP with Infinity paddle
Fin set-up: Thruster with K2D2 4.75" center fin and FCS Occy sides
Bathymetry: Rock reefs
CDIP: (0700 hours) 4.8 feet at 10 seconds from 310 degrees and 2.6 feet at 17 seconds from 175 degrees

I'm Back

After 12 days out of the water I finally made it back in the saddle again this morning. Paduan Sam is coming from the City to paddle surf with us tomorrow.

Here's what I wrote him today after my session.

Sam, I paddled and surfed this morning for a couple hours and it was tiny. I paddled out at 0630 with the tide at .5 and rising. Sarges had a few, small inconsistent waves that were poor quality. I wasn't expecting much in the way of surf anyway so I thought I'd take a paddle up to the point and see what I could find along the way. GDubs and the Scimis were choked with kelp and small, but First Bowl had a few inconsistent walls. Tres 8's had almost nothing. The surprise was the point. Only six people out at One's and Two's. I managed to get a bunch of fun rides at inside 2's with only me picking 'em off. After about 45 minutes a couple guys paddled out, it got really inconsistent and I headed back to Sarges to get out. With the rising tide, it was even worse at Sarges...no waves at all. I talked with some folks this morning and people know about the south filling in. I don't think the south will be much more than a little more energy and inconsistent, but I'm hoping that the NW is the real deal. With luck they'll cross up and give us some better than average rides. But, who knows? I don't think it could be worse than today! I'm out at dawn patrol just to hedge my bet. If I'm not out at Sarges I will have paddled up towards the point and be surfing somewhere in there. Aloha and see you tomorrow.
July 30, 2008 (W)
In: 0630
Out: 0830
AT= 49 - 55 degrees
WT= 54.5 degrees at the nearshore buoy
Wx: Overcast with heavy fog at times to clearing with foggy haze
Tide: 0.5 Rising to 2.88
Wind: Calm to E at 2 mph
Sea Surface: Glassy to light wind ripples
Buoy: NWS
0600: 3.6 feet @ 13.8 S
0700: 3.3 feet @ 9.1 WNW
0800: 3.6 feet @ 17.4 SSE
10'4" Angulo SUP with Infinity paddle
Fin set-up: Thruster with Bluecoil 5.5" center fin and FCS Occy sides
Bathymetry: Rock reefs
CDIP: (0700 hours) 4.3 feet at 11 seconds from 315 degrees and 2.1 feet at 12 seconds from 185 degrees

Cool Seasonal Weather; No Swells of Interest

The title pretty much says it all. Typical July/August seasonal weather, a little cooler than average. Wind swells and background swells not producing any surf with size or punch. It's not like there's NO waves, just crappy, mushy waves...like plain oatmeal or lima beans.

Things are forecast to get worse weather wise, with drizzle slated for tomorrow morning under a massive 2500 foot marine layer. Water temps at the farshore buoy have dropped back under 55 degrees.

I'm feeing better and was gonna crack it this morning until it came time to get up and I realized that it was just going to be gray, foggy and cold with not much to surf. So I switched off the alarm, got up to pee and then went back to bed.

It'll be worse tomorrow with the drizzle but the boyz will be out. Maybe that will supply the motivation needed that seems to be lacking.

A Good Day to Go Surfing/Paddling

The sun finally got a look at the coast at dawn this morning. For the first time in almost two weeks we had a clear dawn sunrise. Temps were up a bit too, as the SF/Arcata pressure gradient was at 6mb, mixing out the fog, at least for today. NWS has more low clouds and fog on tap starting tomorrow and into all of next week.

But the good news is that the surf is up a bit, and inconsistent, small clean lines are lighting up the best spots. Still, and at best, we're just seeing a sympathetic convergence of weak southwesterly background swell, and nearshore windswell. There really isn't much good news in the forecast for the deep south pacific, and nearshore windswell is the only thing on the charts for the NPAC.

Been taking the dog for walks on the beach with M almost everyday for exercise. Today was beautiful with lots of people enjoying life. As for surf, there really aren't any clearly defined bars, just lots of close-outs.

I'm still dry docked nursing this cold into non-existence and hoping to get back into the water on Monday. Have laid off the Bowflex but kept up (every day) Qi gong, and all the stretching exercises prescribed by Debra (sports massage therapist). My back feels pretty good, and I'm getting spontaneous back adjustments routinely during the stretching exercises. Working with Debra is paying major dividends. She has been able to pinpoint the muscles that are the precursors of my lower back pain, and working with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and deep tissue massage (along with her prescription for exacting stretching exercises) has begun the process of softening and loosening those muscles. As I gain this flexibility, I experience less pain, and can do more physically. She's really the ultimate physical therapist and along with Mark (the chiropractor) has been the cause of rehabilitation that is working.

SoCal is still looking pretty good. In addition to getting the deep SPAC swells sooner than us, and having a more open swell window, they get the hurricane swell makers from offshore Mex. The CDIP is giving me swell envy. The cams I mentioned in my last post are fun to watch when we're jonesing for waves, and even though contests usually mean we all get kicked out of our spots, a great wave cam for watching the waves in HB now is the US Open contest live feed. Check it out.

Feelin' Puny and the Waves Aren't Great Either

If I had to pick a time to be sick, now's the time. Surf is puny, and so am I.

None of the south swell is getting in, SoCal has all the good waves. Adam Wright's blog is good for getting the latest forecasting in SoCal, he writes well and is pretty funny. To get a peek at the wave action without going through Surfline, check these free cams at Huntington Beach, and Ocean Beach (OB) in San Diego. And if you can't get enough of all the places that are getting some when you're not, check the south shore of Oahu here. Click on the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It'll give you a sweet view from Canoes to Pops and beyond. They've got a real decent (but small) south swell in the water now, running into the beach through that beautifully clear, pale, blue water. (Note: load times can be long on the Hawaii cam so...beware.) Back in my town, even the wind swell isn't giving us much, and the mornings are cold and foggy.

Not feeling like doing anything real active has given me plenty of time in front of the computer. But it hasn't been totally nonproductive. I changed my blog template, designed a new header graphic, upgraded my defragmentation program and watched some utube.

If this piece from the Derek Trucks Band and Derek's wife Susan Tedeschi doesn't get your head noddin', toes tappin' and fingers waggin' then you're sicker than I am, or dead. So enjoy. It sure made me feel better.

South A No Show

I was skeptical that we'd see much of this swell from the beginning. I thought we might see at least a little something though. But since I'm still stuck with this cold and sore throat, I slept in this morning, realizing that I could miss it. I didn't, 'cause it wasn't.

CDIP for SoCal at 0433 yesterday morning showed some very nice energy providing good waves for a while. The south was on the Harvest Buoy too, and it was only a matter of time before it actually showed up on the nearshore and farshore buoys. Numbers look pretty good on the farshore buoy, but for me the swell angle was suspect. Finally the nearshore buoy started registering the swell, but at very low energy.

My plan was to at least head down and take some pics when and if the waves arrived. A quick look at the cams was enough to show me not to bother. Better to pack it in at home, recover from this cold and hope for some wind swell driven olas later in the week.

Conditions aren't very good either with high temps in the high 50's/low 60's and water temps in the mid-50's. Overcast and gloominess have joined forces with the south to SE winds to make for some pretty miserable summer days. NWS is calling for the lifting of the 3,000 foot marine layer Tuesday afternoon as we head into some warmer weather mid-week

Since I had some downtime yesterday I web-surfed for hours and came across this really cool board created by Surf Prescription's Doc Lausch. It gives new meaning to the terms "surf art" and "wall hanger." He's got a pretty cool website too.

All Fog; No Swell; Very Grey

Sat pic shows a deepening marine layer and those small clouds over inland SoCal represent a high level low pressure trough that has moved in over the state. Therefore temps have cooled and it's even more summer today than it was yesterday.

And to make things worse, the south swell slated for today decided to cancel. While waves and period look pretty good on the Harvest Buoy (which can be a good indicator for swell and for calculating swell arrival times in the Bay), those waves aren't getting in here yet. What is here are lot's of surfers at one of the most well known spots in town.

If you like crowds, you'll love this place.

I've managed to pick up some sort of virus, sore throat and headache. My son's had it for almost a week, and I've talked to several people (in and out of the water) who've had it. Summertime colds...they suck! Maybe the timing is right...unless it jumps up and pumps tomorrow morning.

Summer Weather Patten Sets In

So far July has seen the establishment of a typical summer weather pattern for us. Gray, foggy to overcast mornings followed by warm and sunny afternoons. All this caused by the marine inversion layer that is a hallmark of the Bay in summer time.

Early morning (paddle out time) temps have been averaging in the high 50's, daytime mid-afternoon temps mostly in the mid 70's. Nice really, cool in the mornings to temperate and comfortable in the afternoon/evening.

Winds have been calm in the morning (except for yesterday when it was blowing pretty good straight onshore from the south) and start to ratchet up mid-morning and into the afternoon. It almost always is blowing down the slide by 3PM, chucking up whitecaps and bumps from one end of the Bay to the other. Sometimes the wind will slow down in the evening, sometimes it's still blowing like a banshee, but so far, it stays sunny...the fog hasn't been blowing back in.

NWS says it's going to stay this way for at least next week. Day temps cooling, NW wind swell up...while we wait for the south swell, not yet showing.

Waiting....

If there wasn't much surf yesterday, there was even less today.

Paddled out at 0620 in a very low tide. Jamie was grabbing about the only things out there at Al's Reef so I joined him. Anyway, I wanted to say hello. He just returned from his trip to Ireland and I asked him to bring some surf home with him. He didn't. We caught a few together and did some catching up on his travels, then I headed out for a paddle up to the Point.

Swell data today was about the same as all week, background south swell and a weak NW wind driven swell, but barely anything was getting in this morning. The kelp was thick, worse than all week, especially without any water to float it. If you could find a clear spot to take off, the run was through an impossible obastacle course of kelp stalks and blades. In spite of all that I managed to get a few at every spot along the way. There was even an eight or nine wave set at Scimi's which put up some good walls. But that was very sporadic. A shortboarder who had been out since day break commented that a set like that happened about ever 30 0r 40 minutes.

Air temps were colder this morning, around 55 degrees as opposed to the high 50's all this week. Water temps were lower (57/58) too but seemed warmer because the air was colder.

Everyone is waiting for the forecast south swell to take us out of the wave drought. I remain skeptical and am convinced we won't see anything like the second half of June souths. But like Barry and Joanna said, we'll have to take what we can get. Somebody say "Amen!"

The Social Hour - Part 3

I guess this is what happens when there isn't much surf. Everyone stands around and bullshizizits. It's happy hour without the booze, and everyone's getting that natural SUP high.

Paddled out around 0630 and Doug was already in the water on his classic Angulo 11-footer, having paddled down from C-Town. Wasn't much in the way of surf so we talked stuff. Doug paddles for cross training and fitness but likes to prone surf when the waves are good. He bought an entry level Angulo PU SUP just to get started and likes it just fine. It works great for paddling, small waves and taking his three year old son for rides on the nose.

Since it's Thursday morning, the crew paddled out about 0730. MikieB headed down to Yellow House, eschewing the crowd. Who knows what he was doing down there but said later that the best waves were where he was. (I know, I know, we "really missed it.") Andy was demo-ing an Angulo Beachboy with Mike who's new to SUPing. He did good and even caught a few waves, no easy task in the prolific kelp infested waters.

Only one guy at GDubs and it looked better than Sarges so we headed up and rode a bunch of kelp choked, knee/waist high zippers in the kelp forest. Steve paddled down with us on his longboard and got some nice, fast sections. (Taking pics was tough because of the low light....once again.) I splashed in on one insider and could barely move, the voracious vegetation was so encompassing. I couldn't pull my board back to me with my leash 'cause the fins wouldn't move through the leaves and stalks!

There's still that persistent background south swell in the water, and now the NW winds are up again, lowering the water temps slightly and producing very little in the way of wind swell. The angle is too steep to send much in. Still, there were a few good ones and (what else?) everyone had fun. It just feels good to get out there, foggy or sunny, it doesn't matter. Mornings are peaceful and glassy with lots of sea life. One harbor seal wouldn't leave us alone...I think he liked Mash. (He does have kind of a cute okole.)

The Social Hour - Part 2

Met John in the parking lot at 0715 and was paddling out at 0730. Today (unlike yesterday) I was expecting some waves. CDIP was up and so were the buoys, reading 2-3' at 15 secs. SW. But it wasn't happening. Yesterday was better.

Mashie and MikieB joined us shortly and we paddled, chatted, caught a couple small ones, etc. Good news is that the water temps are really starting to boil...60-61 degrees already and it's not even September.

Jamie sent me a cool pic of a surf shop in Ireland, Cork to be exact. (All those Mac employees travel all over the place on the company's dime.) Photo shows a Manual SUP and paddle. Of the ten boards in stock, Jamie said two were SUPs. Catching on world wide eh?

I had a chance to paddle and surf (one measly little wave) MikieB's new 10'7" Surftech Takayama. Surprisingly, it wasn't that much easier to paddle than the Tak 10'3". It's light and surfs like a performance longboard (just like the 10'3"). A nice board but more of a surfboard you can paddle instead of a paddleboard you can surf...and that's a big difference. More on that, one of these days.

The Social Hour

Paddled up to The Point and back, surfing all the way, and chatting it up with numerous folks along the way.

I wasn't looking for too much in the way of waves, the south is in the water, but as background swell. Patrick was in the line-up at GDubs and we rode a few small ones together. Met Steve from the Longboard Union and talked SUPs.

As I started toward The Point (again), I saw Michael and Priscilla sitting at No. 2's, Scimi's. We did some catching up and all of a sudden for about 20 minutes some nice two and three wave sets poured through. I caught one steep and fast peeler from the bowl to the cave at GDubs. Then it just went calm. So I started the paddle (again) for The Point.

As I was paddling through second peak point, Bonnie asked me about my ottertail paddle. That started a long conversation that ended with me lending her my board and paddle to fool around with while I floated around on her lay down Pearson Arrow. Caught a few waves, chatted, etc. Took a couple pics and headed back to the take out.

Waves were surprisingly good today. The southerly background swell was pushing in some rideable lines, conditions were mellow and the people were las mas finas.

Another great summer session on the SUP.

WhaSUP Eric?

Another dyed in the wool performance longboard, quad fish ridin' surf charger flipped over to the dark side. My friend Eric and I went out for a paddle this morning in the gloom. He on his brand new Angulo 10'4" Olohe and me on mine. Parking at C-town we launched off the beach and made the 10 minute paddle to GDubs in 20 minutes chatting SUP stuff all the way and enjoying the hoards of diving pelicans fishing for breakfast; the playful seals diving and splashing; and the cautious but curious sea otters checking us out.

We arrived at the empty spot to what looked like no waves, and in a couple minutes were paddling for bumps no one but us SUP folk could catch (and getting long ride rides into the beach too). Six guys out at Scimi's and us getting wave after wave in the waveless cove. It just don't seem right...ain't this like stealing? Jus' poachin'.

We had to head back before the wheel chair parking meter patrol arrived on scene, so we made a casual paddle back, under the pier, and back to the beach for take out. Breakfast at Zeldas.

It's my opinion that people like Eric have the shortest SUP learning curve. A long time surfer who both shortboard and longboards, Eric already knows what it's like to balance standing on a surfboard, and to surf. The Olohe 10'4" is the perfect SUP for Eric who goes around 170 pounds and is in great shape. By the time we paddled out he already had a couple hours logged on the board from a previous session. Today he caught a bunch of waves and didn't even fall off once on the paddle over and back. In short, for a novice stand up paddler/surfer, he ripped.

Welcome brother and...it's OK to laydown paddle. You just probably won't want to.

Things Slow Down

Monday's solid mid-size WNW swell that delivered consistent head high waves, began to taper off Tuesday and ebbed away completely on Wednesday and Thursday. Today, Friday, there is a little wind swell in the water, but not enough to make town any kind of adrenaline rush...more like a yawn. The beach breaks are missing almost all semblances of sand bars, and there is a paucity of good waves there. Too bad, because this is usually the fall back position when town goes flat. If there are any sand bars working, the folks surfing them are keeping the secret (can't say as I blame 'em for that!).

Tides are higher in the morning too, moving away from the very low morning tides experienced earlier this week and last. This certainly isn't helping surf amplification any.

A pesky wind out of the south is competing with the northwesterlies for dominance. The south is winning as evidenced by the steady coming and going of smoke and haze from the Basin Complex fire in Big Sur. The NWS speculates that a 1600 feet deep marine layer is keeping the majority of the smoke from penetrating the fog and making it even smokier at the surface.

On the upside, water temps are starting to warm up nicely, both the farshore and nearshore buoy show temperatures in the high 50's. Sometimes they even touch the 60 degree mark.

While it's been majorly hot over the hill, coastal weather until today has been near perfect with light winds and fog clearing in the morning to bright or hazy sunshine in the afternoons. Things are cooling off everywhere though, with forecast temps dropping back into the low 70's and high 60's. This morning I did Qi Gong in the Hanni Garden, where a thickening marine layer has spawned heavy overcast with drizzle.

Surf forecast isn't looking too good. There's rumblings about a SPAC storm moving up and headed to Chile and Peru mainly, with some action for CenAm, Baja and SoCal. At this writing it looks like NorCal won't see anything from the south. And the NPAC went back to sleep, maybe this time until the alarm clock goes off in Sept/October. So it looks like we'll be groveling in whatever wind swells we'll be getting for a while.

With all this, it is still impossible to complain. We've had an incredible Spring and Summer so far, a little breather would be natural.

Can't surf? Paddle!

Nearshore Buoy Data Analysis

"He not busy being born, is busy dieing." Bob Dylan (It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding)

One of the reasons I started a surfer's journal in a looseleaf spiral notebook almost a dozen years ago, was to learn more about the ocean, the waves and when, where and why there would be good surf at any given time. Last year, after a friend gave me a good quality, digital SLR camera, I added pictures to the journal and started keeping it online. Keeping the journal online has facilitated my ability to learn because of all the many and rich resources there are (for free!) on the internet. I'm "self taught" only in the sense that I haven't enrolled in any specific classes to learn about what I blog about. But in reality I have many teachers both online and in person.

Learning one thing has always led to another. Each time I learn something, it is a stepping stone to something else. In that vein, today's post is about using data from a secondary buoy source (the "nearshore" buoy), to confirm the presence of a swell, and analyze the data viz a viz the primary buoy source (the "farshore" buoy). My ultimate goal has always been to learn enough to analyse the data and KNOW there are waves. When I get to my spot, I don't want to waste any time checking it out. I want to KNOW that there's waves, and go surf them...sight unseen.

This recent WNW swell is a good one to look at, because it is so unusual to have groundswell that originates from the NPAC in the summer months. So it contrasted nicely with the low energy, southwesterly "background" swell that has been in the water for a while. The charts from the nearshore buoy at right depict three values: swell height; swell period; and swell direction. I want to know how they compare to the values depicted on the charts for the "farshore" buoy. I already know that in order to get an energized groundswell or even a good windswell, the data from the farshore buoy should read at least in double digits. That is, 10 feet (wave height) at 10 seconds (swell period) minimum (or so). The closer the values are to 10 at 10, the better the surf will be. I've also found that it is more accurate and reliable to look at the swell height number (SwH) for wave size, than the significant wave height (WVHT) number.

The nearshore buoy almost always shows much lower swell height readings, perhaps that is because it is closer to the shore and the effects of the swell traveling over open ocean and then making landfall, reduce the wave size and (but not necessarily) the swell period. By checking out the charts I can see that my surf on Monday, July 7th, occurred during what I would call the peak of the swell. The tide was right for the surf spot, and the swell was big enough and had the energy to produce consistent chest to head high waves for a number of hours. (The peak hours corresponded to the best tide heights for this surf spot, i.e. the best tide for this spot is between X feet low and X feet high.)

By comparing the farshore numbers (average 10.6 feet at 12.1 seconds WNW) to the nearshore averages for the affected hours, then I should be able to confidently predict that swell is in the bay, and delivering the goods. Are we having fun yet? I am!

Therefore, if the farshore buoy needs to be showing data of 10 feet at 10 seconds, the nearshore buoy should show readings of at least 4.5 feet at 12 seconds (on average) to expect solid surf in the line-up.

All the above is generally reliable with the caveat that a long interval swell period trumps everything. I'd trade a 10 foot swell at 12 seconds for a five foot swell at 18 seconds any day. As a matter of fact, the recent south swells were delivering high energy head high waves with the buoys reading 3.5 feet at 17 seconds. When you those kinds of numbers, start salivating!

Someone once accused me of being an "armchair scientist" and if that means that I'm just a total novice, "guessing" at outcomes based upon purely subjective theories, then I plead guilty. But by testing and applying the data, I've found that I can rely upon my conclusions most of the time. And by analyzing the data and comparing it to the reality of nature, I've grown much closer to, and have a much greater appreciation of this amazingly miraculous creation we live on.

Life is good.

WNW Swell (What?!) Fills In

In what can only be called a very unusual circumstance, the NPAC (which we all thought was hibernating for the season) snorted and woke up for an instant this morning, delivering clean WNWesterly lines in initially foggy, then clear and clean conditions. (Something about the Madden-Julian oscillation. Read more here at your own risk.)

I was out for a four hour session starting at 0815. I skipped the dawn patrol in hopes that a low tide rising scenario would yield some good waves. I was right, but Sean and Joanna, who were surfing by themselves at first light, convinced me that the dp was right on too.

I jumped in, headed for Yellow House and a two-hour solo session (Jeff joined me at the end) which yielded a ton of waves across the pocket beach. I picked up a couple doubles and one screaming little wave from Prow Point to Apt. House Pt. that made my day there. But the waves were small, nothing bigger than chest high. At 1015 (.5 rising) it was over, and I headed to Sarge's to see what was up. Tide was still a little too low and it was sectioning at the stairway. Still though, there were a lot of good waves to be had. As the tide filled in, the winter looking swell started to show better and before long, long lines were forming up from the point to past the stairway and into Bare Butt Beach (for us paddle-powered types that is).

The crowd came and went. From 1030 to 1130 it got magic with six in the line-up. Sets of four to six waves were consistent and long rides were had by all. Mike from Visalia (a life long surfer) entered the zone and could not catch anything but the best of every wave in each set. It was one of those phenomenal things to watch him effortlessly be in the exact right spot for each set wave, in every set that came his way. I love it when that happens! And he was stoked...he let out a roar after one particularly super sweet wave that could be heard by every surfer's spirit that knows the joy of surf riding. It's what surfing is all about.

After four hours I had more than my fill. I got a lot of practice moving the Olohe all over the wave face...climbing, dropping, bottom turns, hitting the lip, another floater (which I made) and numerous opportunities to crash white water. So far, this year's surf season is one for the record books. Epic!

July 7, 2008 (M)
In: 0815
Out: 1215
AT= 55 - 66 degrees
WT= 54 degrees at the nearshore buoy
Wx: Overcast with heavy fog at times to clearing with foggy haze
Tide: -0.13 Rising to 2.51
Wind: Calm to SW at 4-6 mph
Sea Surface: Glassy to light to moderate wind ripples
Buoy: NWS
0800: 10.5 feet @ 12.1 WNW
0900: 10.5 feet @ 12.9 WNW
1100: 10.2 feet @ 11.4 WNW
1300: 11.2 feet @ 12.1 WNW
10'4" Angulo SUP with Infinity paddle
Fin set-up: Thruster with Bluecoil 5.5" center fin and FCS Occy sides
Bathymetry: Rock reefs
CDIP: (1100 hours) 12.5 feet at 10 seconds from 330 degrees and 1.2 feet at 14 seconds from 190 degrees

Angulo Summer Super SUP Sale

For those of you fortunate to live somewhere near Santa Cruz CA, Andy over at Angulo Surf on River Street (map), is offering some great deals on the entire line (as long as the inventory holds out) of 2008 Angulo stand up paddleboards. Andy is making way for the 2009 Angulos, and that's why he's discounting the boards.

I've personally paddled and surfed the three boards in the Angulo line, and I know and surf and paddle with at least ten guys who own Angulos and we all really like our boards. All three models are high quality molded construction boards that will last, and they are designed by a master, Ed Angulo, so they work in the surf, on the river, the lake, for fishing , downwinders, diving...where ever and what ever.

And in addition, Andy's throwing a Kialoa paddle into the mix (also at a nice discount) to complete the summer package. You can choose any one of three styles of Kialoa: the Kole; Nalu, and everyone's current rave, the Shaka Pu'u. Dave Chun makes Kialoa paddles, and if you want a lot of info check out Evan's interviews with Dave about paddle technique, performance etc. Click here for more...

But don't take my word for all this, my advice is always "try before you buy!" You can demo the boards by simply calling Andy and setting something up. Oh yeah, here's the prices.

Angulo 10'4" Olohe $1200. Kialoa paddle $300. (This is the board I have.)
Angulo 10'8" Beachboy $1400. Kialoa paddle $300.
Angulo 11'9" Nui. Call and ask, I'm not sure he has any left. Kialoa paddle $300. (This is the board that won mega-kudos at Pono Bill's Ke Nalu Paddleboard Showcase on Maui this year.)

So don't say I didn't give you a hot tip. You can reach Andy at 831-419-1091. And here's another hint, don't be afraid to bargain a little. Who knows, you might be able to sweeten the deal.