New South/NW Combo Fills In

An anxiously anticipated, but relatively weak energy combo swell filled in last night, bringing some fun peelers to the reefs. South swell sets were the most inconsistent, but when they came, they came in sets of 6 to 9 waves each. The NW sets were smaller, and more thinly populated.

I paddled out at 0615 for a five hour session at Sarges, Casas, Gdubs, Yellow House, Sarges, Casas, Gdubs, Casas and Sarges...in that order. In actuality, the lowest tides of the morning made surfing everywhere but YH almost impossible. There was no clear water, free from kelp to stand/sit in, and the kelp beds would literally drag you off the wave. Still, rides were plentiful, and the scene so delightful with combo swell waves gracing our shores, I didn't want to get out. Michael and Priscilla surfed with me early, then I surfed with Ron, Barry and Gary later in the morning. Crowds were light in the morning because of the low tide/kelp condition, and grew during the day as the sun rose, but never got too bad.

Winds stayed light all morning, starting offshore and then gently shifting onshore around 0900. It's too bad the kelp situation is so rapacious. It literally hurt to see a five wave set pour through Gdubs going unridden because the take-off was packed with non-negotiable kelp. We need to hire a kelp cutter, like the one that harvests off the point for the up coast abalone farms.

My Olympus waterproof cam took a dump again, this time refusing to close the lens cover and making whirring electronic noises while it displays cryptic error messages on the screen. Glad I got the extended warranty. I may be enroute to getting a new camera. Therefore, I didn't get many shots this morning. I headed back over later in the day to check the afternoon surf at the higher tide, and snapped a few with my land based unit.

Apr 13, 2009 (M)

In: 0615
Out: 1115
AT= 46.4 - 52.8F
WT= 51/52F
Wx: High wispy clouds with low clouds moving in mid-morning
Tide: .2' Falling to -.8', Rising to 1.8'
Wind: Calm to light offshore switching to NE then variable SE/S
Sea Surface: Glassy to light wind ripples
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: Rock reefs
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Nearshore)
0600: 2.6 feet @ 16.7 WNW (3 - 5 ft. faces)
0630: 2.0 feet @ 15.4 WNW
0700: 3.6 feet @ 16.7 WNW (3 - 5 ft. faces)
0730: 3.0 feet @ 16.7 WNW
0800: 2.6 feet @ 15.4 WNW (3 - 5 ft. faces)
0830: 3.3 feet @ 16.7 W
0900: 3.0 feet @ 16.7 W (3 - 5 ft. faces)
0930: 3.6 feet @ 16.7 W
1000: 3.3 feet @ 15.4 WNW (3 - 5 ft. faces)
1030: 3.6 feet @ 15.4 WNW
1100: 3.3 feet @ 14.3 WNW (2 - 4 ft. faces)
1130: 3.0 feet @ 14.3 WNW