Last Gasp of Winter? Fresh WNW Swell

Tuesday, March 16 2010
Maybe. This swell had a lot of north in it so we didn't get the juice or the size everyone was hoping for, but let me be the last to complain.

This morning's sunrise was a jewel in a rare setting, in that we haven't seen the likes of this kind of fantastic weather and great conditions in a while. Winds were light offshore and the sea surface was slightly mottled to fully glassy.

Dawn patrol locals Jamie, John, Joanna, Sean, and Tim were on it and that was pretty much it all morning long. It was soooo uncrowded! I don't think I counted more than six or seven in the line-up at one time. I surfed super fun chest/head high waves for two hours on the SUP, paddling from spot to spot and bagging a few doubles in the process. I didn't crack it like the others...still trying to beat that daylight savings time anchor that seems to be wrapped around my consciousness. But I wasn't too far off, paddling out at 0725. I paddled in just in front of Al who is totally back on his game after twin hip replacement surgeries. He got a twofer for the price of one cutfest. Sweet!

After a great time on the waves, I headed home, nursing a little back muscle pull as I was taking my booties off no less. I wasn't inclined to snap any pics until I saw a lone guy surfing the creek drainage sand bar. I had to stop and check it, and it turns out that the guy was having a totally great session on one of Christian's Evol mini-Simmons. So I pulled into the lot, fed the meter and snapped off a few while sitting and enjoying the beautiful warmth of a pre-Spring mid-morning.

Score!





Wednesday, March 17 2010
So I seem to be getting better at overcoming my DST sloth. Up at 5AM 'cause it takes me a while to warm up by walking around, heating up the tea, toasting the toast, etc. etc. Assembling the gear in ernest by 6AM and paddling out at 0650 for a two hour session in almost prefect conditions.

Yesterday's swell was posting bigger numbers today and I was hoping for more of the same as yesterday, but better. The usual suspects were already on scene, having paddled out with their U.S. Navy Seal commando special ops night vision waterproof goggles. Only people 40 and under can get them. Us old folk call this special equipment normal vision.

It didn't take long to paddle into my first wave, a fun chest high right that swung wide and bypassed the dp'ers sitting further out, waiting for the bigger sets. It was about as consistent as yesterday, maybe even a little less, but some good ones peeled through, leaving lots of stoked surfers in their wake.

We surfed it as a foursome for about a half hour before a couple more folks paddled out. It was less crowded upstream so I headed up to GDubs for a few. Kirk was out on his new L41 8'8" performance stand up paddleboard. A sweet ride if ever there was one. Stable and maneuverable, light and fast. Kirk is a longtime L41 local and designs, shapes and surfs lots of different wave craft. He is a consummate designer and shaper. One doesn't often find that wrapped up in one package. A creative wavecraft artisan/craftsman like Kirk is challenged by all things surfy. Frankly I was surprised when I first saw him on a SUP. I thought he was dedicated exclusively to the pronecentric life. I was even more amazed when it only took him several months to get off his L41 10' SUP, and onto the little 8'8" quad ripper he now surfs. Kirk's a big guy and when he's sitting or kneeling on his 8'8", the contrast is startling, yet the board is stable. It surfs so well Kirk says, that once you catch the wave "you don't need the paddle." Sweet! I'm gonna try it out one of these days and see for myself what the balance/maneuverability ratio is for an old guy like me. Check Kirk's Facebook page by searching for "L41". Lottsa really cool pics. He's what you call a "backyard" builder I guess, but his product is becoming more well know and in demand.

About an hour and a half into the session everything just stopped. A long 20-minute lull set in. Time for thoughtful reflection on the warm Spring morning and a little chit-chat with the boyz. (No girls in the line-up this morning at GDubs.) But soon enough the tide changed up and we started experiencing some three and four wave sets in the head high plus range.

Winds blew offshore all morning long until a lite southeast/southwest flow took over. Then it went pretty much dead glassy. Tough to beat a morning like this. Two days of really fun surf in a row in fantastic conditions. Somebody say Amen!

Didn't get many good pics. Had to shoot from the water and just wasn't in the right place at the right time. Also, had to take my son to school so no time for land based shots.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Off to see Molly's Revenge tonight.