A Few Fun Waves in Wind Hacked Conditions

Paddled out at noon for a three hour session in what I hoped was going to be bigger waves. Conditions were about as I expected. What a workout. Three hours of paddling into 3 - 12 mph headwinds. Buzz paddled over from C-ville Main after a while, he even got a few pics of me with my camera. Thanks Buzz!

I was in the water fifteen minutes before the one foot tide. I was hoping to surf until dark, but constant paddling in bumpy conditions and a head wind wore me out after three hours. This wind swell had some size, but a fast moving high pressure trough put up enough local northwest winds to keep the post-storm conditions from settling down. Every once in a while a head high set of three or four waves would pore into the line-up, remnants of Storm #5 I think. Those were nice, but rare. Generally, surf was in the waist to chest high range. Even the inside fast waves weren't hollowing out in the sections. Face it, it was just lumpy.

I did get a couple long rides though from the YH to past Dicks, and then some doubles inside, but generally it just never got going. As soon as the wind would calm a little bit, it would start right back up again, keeping a constant wind bump on the sea surface. There was just too much lumpiness in the swell to clean it up and make it really fun. But waves is waves, and this Winter season has been such a disappointment that I'll probably remember this session as being really "good". Naaawww!

Feb 7, 2009 (Sa)

In: Noon
Out: 1450
AT= 57F to 59F
WT= 55F
Wx: Partly cloudy and sunny
Tide: 1.2' Falling to -1.2'
Wind: Mostly southwest 2-12mph
Sea Surface: Wind rippled with lumps and surface chop

10-2 Angulo SUP with Infinity Ottertail carbon fiber paddle
Fin set-up: Thruster with K2D2 4.75" center fin (fourth mark up from back) and Future Fiberglass YU (actual fin not shown)
Bathymetry: Rock reefs
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Nearshore)
1200: 9.2 feet @ 12.5 WNW
1230: 9.2 feet @ 11.1 WNW
1300: 8.9 feet @ 13.3 WNW
1330: 10.2 feet @ 13.3 WNW
1400: 7.9 feet @ 13.3 WNW
1430: 9.2 feet @ 13.3 WNW
1500: 9.2 feet @ 12.5 WNW
1530: 8.9 feet @ 11.8 WNW