Summer South Swell #4 Fills In

First Session
Because this swell received so much hype, when it finally made landfall (12 hours late) it was a bit of a disappointment. I was sorta expecting something in the near epic category, and what we're getting is an inconsistent and smallish steep angled southie. I can't complain too much really, it's a whole lot better than nothing, which is pretty much what we had going into this thing.

I've been watching this swell like a hawk. All the pro forecasters were impressed. The NWS was impressed, even issuing a Hazardous Weather Outlook for a "high energy southerly swell," with the possibility of high tide flooding etc. etc. But the fact is, for good surfing at our reefs, we needed a little more west in the swell direction.

I woke up at 4AM, anxious to hit it. I did a computer check and...no swell. I went back to bed. At seven I woke up and checked it again. The first pulse of new swell was showing on the farshore buoy, 6.2 feet at 19 seconds, South. Game on thought I, grabbed my ready to go stuff, and headed for Sarges.

I paddled out into old home week. All the SUPers were out. Whitty, Greg, Sam, Steve, Hatman. Dean and Barry were holding down Yellow House. Because the tide was so low and the swell angle steep, waves were sectiony and wally. No surprise there really. Like Steve says, all those sections spread the crowd out and make for more places and more room to surf. There were a few fun and fast waves. Sets were inconsistent, just like a south. Bottom line...we were all hoping it would be bigger, but we all got waves. I managed to pull down three nice rides at two different spots on the reef, so all was not lost. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow.

NOTE: I got my new waterproof camera back from the repair shop. Wolf Camera did a class job taking care of me and honoring the extended warranty I bought with the original purchase. This was the second time the camera was in for repair, so this time they replaced it with a new Olympus Stylus Tough 6000. When I picked up the new unit I bought another two year warranty. So essentially I got a $200 plus camera for 80 bucks. Sweet!

July 24, 2009 (F)

In: 0850
Out: 1100
AT= 56.4-59.2F
WT= 53.1F
Wx: Marine inversion layer overcast, light drizzle
Tide: 0.2' Rising to 3.0'
Wind: Light to light moderate from the SE
Sea Surface: Glassy to light moderate wind ripples

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
0800: 6.6 feet @ 19 SSW (310 and 185) (2-4 ft. wave faces)
0900: 6.2 feet @ 19 SSW (310 and 185) (2-4 ft. wave faces)
1000: 5.9 feet @ 19 SSW (315 and 190) (2-4 ft. wave faces)
1100: 6.2 feet @ 19 SSW (320 and 190) (2-4 ft. wave faces)
1200: 6.6 feet @ 19 SSW (310 and 185) (2-4 ft. wave faces)

Second Session
Surfed a second session this evening as the swell started to settle in. Size this afternoon/evening was showing much better than the morning session, which was a relief. I thought that the steep swell angle might really downsize this southie. But I don't think it will. Still though, it's pretty wally out there. Overall, it's just taking a little more time than forecast for this swell to fill in.

July 24, 2009 (F)

In: 1900
Out: 2030
AT= 62.8-59.1F
WT= 54F
Wx: Clear with fog moving in from the east
Tide: 1.8' Rising to 2.3'
Wind: Light to moderate onshore
Sea Surface: Moderate wind ripples

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
1800: 5.9 feet @ 17.4 SSW (315 and 185) (3-5 ft. wave faces)
1900: 6.2 feet @ 17.4 SSW (310 and 185) (3-4 ft. wave faces)
2000: 6.9 feet @ 17.4 SSW (315 and 190) (3-4 ft. wave faces)
2100: 6.6 feet @ 17.4 SW (310 and 185) (3-4 ft. wave faces)