And Then It Wasn't...the Surf That Is

Just as I was stoked to be back on the town reefers, it stopped. The NW wind swell just slowly backed down to bloated, pondish lumps. Oh well, maybe something next week. Yeah, right!

Mark Sponsler over at Stormsurf confirms the season as one of the worst. Usually we have 15 to 18 genuine Winter groundswells that produce real overhead waves during the season. This year we had five, (5) yeah, 5. On a good year we'll have up to 30. La Nina delivered nothing. For all intents and purposes, the big wave season is over. Now we head into the time of wind swells and cold water upwelling. Wouldn't it be great to have a good summer? Right now, things look doubtful. During La Nina the southern hemisphere tends to follow the northern. One glimmer of hope though, SoCal just had a nice five day south swell. The angle was too steep to get in here, but...hope Springs eternal!

While the surf was small this morning at the beaches, the weather was superb. It doesn't get better...just like summer. I went straight off to my favorite down coast sand bar to find that it wasn't really there anymore. At least not like it was for the past couple months. The sand has moved, and the rights were almost all closing out, especially as the tide dropped. I managed a few fun and fast rides before the tide just killed it. It was about twice as big as the up coast bars, but that meant that for the most part I got twice as hammered on the inside. No channels meant no mercy, and I got caught inside multiple times. Still, the endorphins were working their magic and I was feelin' good!

Surfed the thruster 2+1 set-up just for fun and comparison with the other fin set-ups. The board doesn't nose ride as well, but turns and redirects are buttery smooth. And the board, she is fast with that set-up.

My experience in the kelp on Tuesday caused me to finally bite the bullet and buy a "kelp" fin, which in this case meant a longboard fin with the most rake I could find. That turned out to be the RFC Detemple MD3. I gave Tara a call at Freeline and she ordered it on the spot. I don't see the kelp situation getting anything other than worse from now on, and it's already bad. As soon as the tide drops below two feet or so, the kelp catching, body lurching, getting launched gracelessly off the nose of your board as it comes to a dead stop trouble begins. This kelp fin won't eliminate it, but it will go a long way towards smoothing out the bumps and grinds.

Mar 19, 2009 (Th)

In: 0837
Out: 1040
AT= 53F to 56F
WT= 53.6F
Wx: Clear and sunny with some high cirrus
Tide: 2.7' Falling to 1.2'
Wind: Offshore to very light onshore
Sea Surface: Bumpy down coast to light wind rippling up coast
10-0 Angulo EPS/Epoxy Custom 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: Sand bars
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Nearshore)
0800: 3.6 feet @ 12.5 WNW (3 - 4 ft. faces)
0830: 2.6 feet @ 12.5 WNW
0900: 3.0 feet @ 12.5 W (3 - 4 ft.)
0930: 3.0 feet @ 12.5 W
1000: 3.3 feet @ 12.5 WNW (3 - 4 ft.)
1030: 3.3 feet @ 12.5 WNW