South Swell #4 - Day 2

The south swell came in to it's own this morning. For some reason, when the swell periods drop down from 20 seconds into the 15 - 18 second range, the surf gets better, much better. That was the case today as the T-Reefs went off in classic style. It also didn't hurt that the off-season swell from the Gulf arrived at 4 ft. at 14 second intervals at 0900. So we had Northwest and SSW swell in the water at the same time. Sweet!

I paddled out at 0600 through a small channel that runs parallel to the beach and is deep enough to flatten out the incoming waves. This was a lot easier than blasting through the white water that was being presented by multiple chest/head high sets of very consistent waves. Jamie was in the line-up at Yellow House having paddled out in the dark. Already a small group was forming at Brown's House, hoping for the long ride through to Apt. House Point and beyond. But the tide was pretty low so few were making the entire transit. Those that did got blistering fast rides through cascading sections of speed. Barry was out on his shorter board and got some of the best rides that I saw all morning at Brown's. Paduan Sam was taking down waves on his PSH at BH too.

Jamie and I, and eventually Andy, Greg, Marsha, Keith and even Ralph (Ralph is that you on a SUP! Cool!) stayed put at the Y House, opting for that guaranteed fast ride and (maybe) hookup through to Dick's or even the Pier. (It wasn't that good though, no one made the Pier in one run.)

As skeptical as I was about this swell on Friday, is as glad as I am today. While today's waves don't qualify as epic, they definitely fall into the Classic category, and are about as good as it usually gets for Summer surfing at the T-Reefs. Take-offs were mostly in the kelp beds, but that got better with the rising tide, although not much better on the biggest waves in the sets. This swell was consistent too. Not uncommon were 10 -12 waves per set. And because southies are wally, there were no channels. So taking the first wave of the set wasn't the greatest idea unless your idea of fun is getting pummeled in the white wash by the next 10 waves.

The big sets kept coming, even as the tide rose up past the point where it usually washes the place out. At the end of my five hour plus session, we got some of our best and biggest waves.

More waves are in the forecast for Sunday but I might have to have a rest day. My glutes are so worked! Especially the right side, the pushing rear leg. Besides that, the big race is tomorrow and all the nearby beach access streets will be closed really early. Parking for the dawn patrol may be impossible. But Sunday night could be a go...Monday AM for sure.

NOTE: Still learning the camera. Shots are all overexposed for now. Getting the settings down is trial and error. Wave quality is not well represented either, because I always default to safety. And there weren't a lot of channels so it was hard to get a decent angle when the spot in the ocean I was standing on was either about to get smacked by an incoming wave, or I was about to get smacked by an incoming surfer.
July 25, 2009 (Sa)

In: 0600
Out: 1115
AT= 54.9-56.1F
WT= 54.0F
Wx: Marine inversion layer overcast, light drizzle
Tide: 0.1' Falling to -0.4, Rising to 2.6'
Wind: Light to light moderate from the SE, then SW
Sea Surface: Glassy to light moderate wind ripples at the end of the session

10-0 Angulo EPS/Epoxy Custom SUP with Infinity Ottertail carbon fiber paddleFin set-up: Thruster with K2D2 4.75" center fin (fourth mark up from back) and RFC Speedwings
Bathymetry: Rock reefs and sand
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Farshore*)
Time NDBC Data (approx.) CDIP Data
0500: 7.2 feet @ 17.4 SSW (310 and 190) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
0600: 6.9 feet @ 17.4 S (315 and 190) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
0700: 6.6 feet @ 17.4 SSW (310 and 185) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
0800: 6.9 feet @ 17.4 SSW (305 and 190) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
0900: No data (310 and 180) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
1000: 6.6 feet @ 17.4 SSW (315 and 185) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
1100: 7.2 feet @ 16 SSW (310 and 190) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
1200: 7.2 feet @ 16 SSW (310 and 195) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
1300: 7.2 feet @ 17.4 SSW (310 and 190) (3-5 ft. wave faces)