Not a bad way to end the year!

Summary
From sucky to fun. Life would have been better if I slept in for another hour and went then. Then again I was under the guise that I was off to work today, apparently not.
Waves
Pre-low tide, major sucky mush that was hard to pull into even on the fish. Once the tide started to rise a bit all got better. Certainly not perfect, but the occasional beautiful hollow shoulder would sweep through. Super bowly (and fun) inside if you pick the right one. They ended up getting pretty good and fun, decently steep drops and definitely a cutback or two, better than average for at least awhile.
Crowds
No one else until the tides started to swing. After a few guys came out, a few longboarders and a few shortboarders.
Weather
Spectacular foggy morning. Truly, it's difficult to describe but as the offshores pushed the fog out to sea one could see the outline of the land as the texture of the fog. But it was foggy, and for the visible offshores there really wasn't much of a breeze (which would have cleaned up the waves quite a bit...)
Forecast
Looks pretty mediocre. Windy days through my departure, but the mornings should (hopefully) be moderately surfable.
Eventful Stuff
None.
Wave of the Day
~5ft face, clean undeveloped shoulder, I paddle and catch it, straight down the little face for some speed, cutback, then shacked for about 10 seconds all the way inside. As the wave is about to closeout I shoot for a floater but I'm just a tad too late and the lip snags my board right at the top and tosses me off. Both of the shortboarders saw me get that wave, and though it was pretty simple it was undoubtedly the hollowest wave of the day.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:30-9:45
4-5ft 11sec
Still->Offshore
3/5

Mushy blah

Summary
Yucky tides and limited time means no real choice. Do the mush!
Waves
Mushy mush mush! Occasionally there would be a semi workable shoulder, but those were pretty rare. Fun only because even though they were mush, there was some decent power.
Crowds
It was a vicious battle for the waves out there today---one other guy.
Weather
Foggy and overcast morning. Cross shore/offshore initially (as the fog burned off) but the 46013 buoy was reading NW winds ~10knots.
Forecast
Mediocre conditions, good power. I heard some rumors (charts) reflecting actual waves for Southern California this next week.
Eventful Stuff
A pretty nasty South current. This made the inside completely unsurfable but super bowly because of the steep drop off. I rock on board choice---the fish is the right one. Oh, and the whole open gash in my shortboard...
Wave of the Day
First and last, for the third session in a row. Most of these waves were straight shots simply to get enough speed to turn. Both made it to the inside for very nice whack-a-face.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:45-8:45
3-5ft 12sec
Crossshore
2/5

Fun mediocrity!

Summary
Not bad at all.
Waves
Decent size and shape. Not perfect, but workable lefts and rights all over the place. Pretty dang fun.
Crowds
Laugh. None.
Weather
Beautiful sunny morning, stiff hollow-wave-forming offshores.
Forecast
Mediocre conditions, decent-good size waves.
Eventful Stuff
Nil. Saw some of the same people that were surfing over the weekend.
Wave of the Day
Best waves were the first and last. Not spectacular, but certainly fun little shoulders. Pretty much just one or two cutbacks and whack-a-face finisher.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:30-9:45
3-5ft 15sec
Offshore
2+/5

No, no, no... (but really yes!)

Summary
Pretty dang decent! Since this is the worst day forecast of the coming week, I'm dang psyched. Oh, and my surfing was not craptastic like yesterday. Maybe not great, but certainly good enough to have fun on every wave I went for.
Waves
Overall waves were a little crappier than yesterday, but I was focused and on top of most good ones. Most closeouts, but some decent shoulders would pop up every now and then. Overall the shortish period/high tide made a nice wall of closeouts right where the sand dropped off, so the paddle after every wave was either 20sec of whitewater or 5 minutes of whitewater, hit or miss. Not super hollow, but no doubt some hollow sections.
Crowds
Nah. I was alone for the first hour, then one guy that lives out here popped out, then a few other shortboarders. When I left for lunch at 11:00 there were about a dozen folks scattered up and down the beach (conditions looked pretty good with the tide maxed out and offshore winds dying down a bit.)
Weather
Slightly overcast but wholly beautiful morning. Continuing this week's whole-day SE/E offshore winds, the surf looked doable for pretty much the whole day.
Forecast
Looking nice. I'm excited for the rest of this week, although I think every session is a sub 2 hour early morning one before work. Oh work. Gotta pay for that on-the-mind Merrick MSG... or maybe there's just the June birthday, we'll see!
Eventful Stuff
One wave I started going for and decided not to, but too late. I sat up and tredded some water back as to not be sucked in. Feeling it suck in I say, "No, no, no..." outloud just before it sucks me in and spits me out. Mostly funny because there was one guy watching and I thought if I saw that happen to someone I'd laugh.
Had to end the session early so that I could clean up and head out to lunch with the Spotts. Nicks Cove though, well worth it!
Wave of the Day
I'd have to say the wave I got within five minutes of first paddling out. 4-5ft face, straight drop, gradual cutback (which really was more of just straightining out for the next little section) then little two second coverup/spitout.
After that I would say the last wave, which was basically a nice shoulder, two cutback, mini coverup 4ft wave. Not great in and of itself, but the perfect relaxing, fun wave to end the day on.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:30-9:45
3-5ft w/6ft sets 11sec
Offshore
3/5

Well, at least the rest of the week is looking pretty good.

Summary
Bleh pretty much sums it up.
Waves
Decent size but overall pretty mushy and closeouty. There were some decent shoulders but overall nothing really amazing.
Crowds
Decent little weekend crowd. Probably 10-15 people through most of the morning, maybe more.
Weather
Beautiful clean morning, early offshores. Rain later on.
Forecast
The whole week looks pretty good, hopefully a bit more size than here today.
Eventful Stuff
Nothing. My surfing was just a bit off today. Two turns on a wave max. Eventually I just started messing around. Oh, and apparently this past Saturday there was a shark attack at Dillon Beach. Some kayaker out by the point.
Wave of the Day
Really no inspiring waves. =(

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:45-10:45
3-5ft 12sec
Cross/offshore
2/5

Hmm...

Summary
Mediocre.
Waves
Tough suckers today. There were some good shoulders out there, just not for me. Stormswell conditions made paddling out quite an ordeal. Hit or miss, either easy or hard. Mostly hard. Highish tide meant lots of closeouts right atop you.
Crowds
Seeing as conditions were supposed to be pretty decent today, there were a handful out. Two or three on the beachbreak and four or five farther south on the sandbar. A crowded weekday.
Weather
Beautiful morning. I'm not sure I've seen the sky so dauntingly beautiful here since last winter.
Forecast
Friday on looks great. Tomorrow is a stormy morn windswell, but given what I saw out here yesterday definitely worth a shot.
Eventful Stuff
Just the current. The paddling-200-feet-north-every-time-I-take-a-wave current. I really should mess around on my 7'6" sometime. Oh how much easier paddling would be. So much easier. Oh, and I start working again tomorrow for a week. Yea.
Wave of the Day
I think I had one good wave. Actually, I think I really only had one worthwhile wave. Sweet right shoulder, straight drop, bottom turn, cutback, then pretty much straight on the walling up face. For some reason I feel like this is the same wave I've described every day for the last week. Well, it was fun.


Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:30-8:45
5-7ft with occasional bigger, 14sec stormswell
Still->Onshore
2/5

Now that's some quality windswell!

Summary
6ft 8sec waves are not fun to be duck diving under, one after another. All in all it's not too bad. Relatively high tide meant the waves had some good steep shoulders. Not long, but long enough for a turn or two on the good ones. Gimmie more!
Waves
Perhaps the best, cleanest, most fun windswell waves I remember. Shoulders right and left, a bit mushy but steep and fast breaking enough that that was no problem. Not tons of cutbacks, but most waves were one plus a whack-a-face. Fun, until the winds came.
Crowds
Aside from the giant sea lions swimming about---me, myself and I.
Weather
A break from the storm. The morning was sunny skies for the first hour, then the gloom swept in (and blew out the waves!)
Forecast
Yes. Good. Shorter period than perfect, but that means less people so it is perfect. Today's size should be the smallest in the next week. Conditions only improve with a few days of stiff offshores.
Eventful Stuff
Two guys came out right as I was leaving. I thought it was funny because they were in the water less than 15 minutes and they headed back to their cars. Guess the cold isn't for everyone.
Wave of the Day
There are a few that compete for this, but I think this would be the oh-snap!-I-made-that-drop wave, which was pretty much a really steep head high sideways drop, one pseudo-half cutback to stay on the center of the wave, and shooting right for the shoulder breaking the other way. I could have kicked out but I thought it would be fun to just go for it (when isn't it?)


Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00-9:30
4-6ft with occasional bigger, 7-8sec windswell
Still->Onshore
3/5

Absolutely beautiful morning

Summary
Beautiful skies, clean morning offshore winds, crispy cool water, but overall lacking in the whole waves aspect of surfing.
Waves
Inconsistent sets, shape leaving quite a lot to be desired, and damn cold.
Crowds
Good joke. 1 (me) at 7:30, 3 at 8:30, 9 at 9:30.
Weather
Oh my God today is a beautiful sunny morning. The sunrise was an absolutely spectacular synergy of pink and orange streams. No fog and nice offshores through the whole morning.
Forecast
I didn't think winter could be this small here. Tomorrow gets even smaller, but it starts to pick up from there. There's a nice little storm/mix of ground and wind swell hitting up here early Monday (I'm gone to Sugar Bowl for the day...darn) and continuing through the week. Basically conditions might not be perfect but there should be at least 5+ft of swell from Monday through the weekend. Yesterday the forecast was raw 30ft storm swell on Wednesday, which models have since revised downwards to ~15ft (or 10-12 for Dillon Beach here.) Basically, looks good.
Eventful Stuff
The water is really really really cold. I should probably wear gloves, what with my hands being unable to put the key in the ignition and all...
Wave of the Day
Pretty simple, 3+ft wave, clean shoulder, simple drop, cutback, straightshot, and whack-a-face. Given the crappy waves today, it was pretty darn fun.


Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:30-10:30AM
1-3ft (with a few 4ft waves) 11sec
Cross offshore
1.5/5

Yawn

Retro post for Friday.
Summary
Thank God for fish...days like today are why I got it! Sucky surf.
Waves
Pretty crappy, waves had OK power to them but they were blown out.
Crowds
Four people out 15 min before I got out, one out by the time I got there.
Weather
Overcast, crappy onshores, stormy. Yuck.
Forecast
Mediocre short term (small) but decent swell in the coming week.
Eventful Stuff
Nil.
Wave of the Day
Nothing special. I did get one decent turn on one wave.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
8:30-9:15
2-4ft, 11sec
Slight onshore->stiff onshore
1/5 overall

More lovely winter days...

Summary
Fun, wish it were like this every day!
Waves
Cold. Good size, clean conditions, super bowly inside. Pretty easy to paddle out in.
Crowds
Really, it's a weekday in the winter.
Weather
Cold. Cloudy. Clean.
Forecast
Cold. Since this a retro I'll just summarize what it's been. Wednesday was so cold that the ice on the beach was literally crispy. A bit more size, clean conditions, but bloody cold. I didn't go because my mom was afraid I'd get hypothermia or frostbite or something ridiculous like that. Quite literally the coldest day I think I've ever been here at the beach---frosty ground, frozen windshield, etc.
Eventful Stuff
Nil.
Wave of the Day
Some pretty fun open faces today. Probably this would be my 5ft clean right shoulder, steep drop, bottom turn, three cutbacks, then bowled up on the inside folding ontop of me.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:30-10:30AM
4-5ft with 6ft sets, 12sec
Offshore-> Slight onshore
3+/5

I heart Norcal winters

Summary
...but the water here is effing cold. I wish I had bought Patagonia gloves and hood. Oh, I will. The surf was pretty fun too.
Waves
Once the tide started popping up, wave shape improved significantly. Pretty much every inside set was a good 6ft, though I would say most a good two feet overhead. Super hollow, easy to catch, can't argue with that. The paddle out was not fun. Getting caught inside was not fun. Getting a 3ft overhead non-closeout wave made it all worth it.
Crowds
Since every other break within 30 miles is either blown out, too exposed, or too sheltered, Dillon Beach today is pretty much the only option. Good sized ripable waves here means a good crowd. There were only a handful out pre-parking opening, but a good 20+ on midsized shortboards once it really opened up. What good timing with the tides too, dang.
Weather
It's wintertime. Wintertime means storms. The waves today are the result of a storm. It was raining off and on throughout the morning, and I have absolutely no idea why it's not windier than it is, but I'll take it. Oh, and it's ass cold out. Put simply, my hands got cold AFTER I got out, they were fine in the water (which is 51) but the low-mid 40's air temp plus ridiculous winds...no go. I literally had to take my wetsuit off in the shower, I couldn't grab by the time I got back to the car, and the hot water felt cold. Maybe I should wear gloves...
Forecast
Mediocre conditions (mostly due to lower period swell) with 5-8ft here at DB through the week. Tomorrow is looking better and better, but it might be just a tad too much power too early---darn doctor appointments.
Eventful Stuff
Nothing really eventful through the morning. The first hour was truly one of the crappiest surf sessions I have had. The waves there, the conditions there, but for some reason I had the hardest time. I was quite literally paddling for an hour. Thank God for my new wetsuit otherwise I gurantee my arms would be trashed by then. The rest of the session, it was super hard to get outside, but once there the waves were super fun.
Wave of the Day
8ft, clean face, popped up out of nowhere with a beautiful right shoulder. Two quick strokes and boom, I'm on it, sharp bottom turn, heavy cutback, two quick pumps and in the barreling pocket for two or three seconds before it closes out ontop of me. Thinking back to it now there was a perfect little air section, but I really like the barreled feeling.
There were a couple other similar ones too, I with I could have gotten more turns in, but most were just so steep it's hard to force more than one or two turns.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:30-10:30AM
6-9ft with monster sets, 14-15sec
Offshore-> Slight onshore
First hour 1/5, the rest of it 4/5

Not bad after a week off

Retro post for Friday 12/12/08
Summary
Yea, I'd take days like today every day. Uncrowded lineup, not too intense of paddle, and fun as hell waves.
Waves
Not perfect, but as close to it as you can get on a random trip back home to Northern California in the wintertime. Good size, consistent head high to three feet overhead. Most not the upper end of the spectrum, but the smaller sets have far more workable shape.
Crowds
Laugh at crowds. A Friday at Surfrider with waves like this would have both sides of PCH jam packed. Carmel had maybe 25 people at its peak just before 9. I guess I'm a good target for dropping in, because I lost count of the good waves I lost to inconsiderate people.
Weather
Pretty nice. Sunny, clouds/fog already well burnt off, slight offshore early on, then pretty hefty cross breeze.
Forecast
Looks mediocre. This weekend has too much power and raw windswell to have too much surfing. Hopefully conditions (aka storm that's about to hit up here) transform into moderate offshores early on next week as the swell drops into more managable size (6-8ft instead of 10-15ft...)
Eventful Stuff
I didn't kill myself! That's certainly a good place to start. The ocean had some fun size, some workable shoulders, and the occasional beautiful barrel on Carmel's white sand. Three boards in the car and maybe one more on the way (if I can find a cheap, good condition Tuflite midsize shortboard.) Getting up at 3AM to get up to Carmel is friggen worth it.
Wave of the Day
The one 8ft legit barrel qualifies for this. From what I remember (before it tumbled me all the way to shore) it was perfect beautiful carving shoulder, then barrels over me for about 2sec before it raped me. Most of the other super quality waves of the day were on the small end of the spectrum.

Summary:
Carmel Beach, Monterey County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:30-10:30AM
6-8ft with occasional monster sets, 14sec
Offshore-> Moderate cross
4/5

If only I could surf instead of study/write essays/do group projects!

Good thing I can multitask well!
Summary
Friggen fun.
Waves
The forecast overestimated today's wave size. Yes, they were quality, but they were 1-2ft smaller than predictions. Don't get me wrong, the size was perfect shredable fun size, but a few more feet probably would have helped with consistency a little. Super fun shoulders left and right all over the place, and while California Street was pretty hollow, County Line was ridiculously hollow.
Crowds
Since we walked more than half the way to Emma Wood, there were very few people surfing the quality peaks we were at. There was a heck of a lot of seaweed though, even though the tides weren't anywhere near low. County Line was packed like no other---cars parked on both sides of the highway.
Weather
Cold morning, breezy offshore, overall quite chilly. Things shaped up and Malibu actually ended up being sunny for most of the day.
Forecast
Looking medicore. By mediocre I mean far better than the lame south swells at Surfrider, so the truth is pretty good. Finals week, but I should be able to get out every day except maybe Monday (but I'm dedicated so don't count on that!) As for the return-home session. While it's long range forecasts---next Friday looks like there's a building NW swell up in NorCal, with typical fall weather (aka light winds/early offshores). Basically Carmel should be head high to 1-2ft overhead barrels. Umm, yes.
Eventful Stuff
Where to start?

Apparently we fit 5 boards (3 roof 2 inside) and 5 people in my little Mazda. That made for an interesting little drive. Basically going to take fins off next time and put them all on the roof. Much better idea!

I had some effing amazing waves today. The rest of the crew was a tad skeptical about the session (referring it to it as basically a "good day of surfing") I thought it was pretty dang amazing. Not perfect, not huge, not ridiculous, but dang fun, good size, and managable.
One amazing wave both Steve and Eric W missed the drop, and I thought to myself, "Oh snap, this looks like a nice shoulder..." Super steep drop, amazing hollow face, fast breaking but I ended up going so fast I managed three cutbacks and a wraparound, staying in the perfect pocket for essentially the entire wave. After I paddle back out Mia basically says she was on the inside and saw me on most of that wave, barreled with turns and wraparounds, that that would have made an absolutely sick picture. Wave of the day for sure. Shiat, gimmie more!

County Line was absolutely ridiculous. I don't even know how many ridiculous barrels I got but for sure you'd have to have three or four hands. Pretty short session but it was wave after wave after wave. The most fun was 1-2ft overhead, steep right, one cutback, then down the face, in a legit head high barrel for 3ish seconds before the wave bounced off the shallow sandbar and trounced me.

Oh, and at County some jerkwad ran over my board TWICE, nailing my rails both times. I don't hold it entirely against him as I did drop in on him the second time (which is when my left rail got a nasty gash...already fixed) but it still makes me sad to see lame damage like that. Boo!

Summary:
California Street, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:15AM-8:30AM
4-6ft with occasional overhead sets, 14sec
Offshore
Steve, Mia, Eric W, Eric B
4/5

County Line, Ventura County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
11:00-12:30PM
3-5ft w/ head+ sets , 14 sec
Crossshore
3/5

I'm giddy for tomorrow!

Summary
Fun little crappy waves. Hollow, great conditions, but too small. Things are, however, looking up!
Waves
Mediocre, mostly closeouts, generally 2-3ft with occasional bigger sets, almost all of which were closeouts. For being small there were steep little hollow shoulders and occasionally a nice little mini-barrel cover up. /excited for the coming WNW swell!
Crowds
Little swell, wintertime, early morning, beachbreak. No, there really wasn't much of a crowd. A few little kids is pretty much it.
Weather
Foggy early on, sun came out quickly and started burning it back.
Forecast
Other than pretty damn spectacular for Fri/Sat/Sun? 4-6ft Fri, 3-5ft Sat/Sun. Small, but a heck of a lot bigger than Malibu has been in the past month! I need me some real waves!
Eventful Stuff
A couple of little baby barrels. No crazy waves, no actually making it out of the barrels, Zuma's just a tad too fast for that "fancy" surfing. Fun though, definately hollow. If you add some size...honestly Zuma could be loads of fun tomorrow. I'm going to check it out on the way back from C-Street.

Summary:
Zuma s9, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:15-7:30A
2-3ft with 4ft closeout sets, 15sec
Offshore
2/5
Steve and Lance

The fun waves continue!

Summary
I'll take it. WOW clean conditions, great little waves. If the tides were lower and the swell were building instead of fading, the surf would be more consistent and absolutely amazing. In short: the forecasts were wrong about today.
Waves
Once again surprisingly inconsistent, but still super fun. When there was no one else out the 4-5ft set waves from the point were super fun and would connect all the way to the beach. Nice slabs to work with, tons of cutbacks and wraparounds. Once it got crowded we moved over to the beach break which was a bit more consistent.
Crowds
Surfing at County Line's point without any other people (else who I came with) there? Really? I'll take that any day. More people came as the morning progressed, and the point was "crowded" with maybe 15 people there.
Weather
Supposedly it was supposed to be foggy. False. Beautiful warm morning, offshores, and genuinely pleasant.
Forecast
Looking pretty good for the rest of the week! Hopefully have one or two days of C-Street this weekend (before studying!) but it should be consistently chest high. Still too soon for the going-home Norcal forecast, but if past trends are any indication, next weekend is going to be head high, offshores, clean, and a perfect way to start winter vacation!
Eventful Stuff
Other than perhaps two of the most fun waves I have had at County in recent memory? One wave was a super defined, clean 5ft slab which had the opportunity for more cutbacks than I have had on any wave in at least a month. How many you may ask? So many that I stopped counting once I used up my fingers. Also, once it started really feeling the reef a nice little hollow pocket opened up, the speed I had after the cutback was perfect and it covered me up for three or four seconds. But no, not the end, it continued. That one wave made the day worth it---and it was pretty much the first wave I really went for.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura County
5'10" Southpoint
6:30-9:00
2-4ft w/ + sets (biggest is shoulder+), 14 sec
Offshore
3+/5 (more consistent size/lower tides))
Steve and Billy

Gimmie more!

Summary
I'll be honest---the surf today was well worth it! I am glad I got a little extra sleep, but it is relaxing to have some decent little (but shreddable) waves! Gimmie more!
Waves
Inconsistent, but damn fun waves. Clean, firm, defined shoulders, rippable waves. While County hurt from the morning high tides, there were some quality waves. Size was anywhere from 2ft to 6ft, however inconsistent it may have been. Occasionally a super set would come through, easy to catch (not much competition!) and loads of fun. There were long lulls, however, sometimes twenty plus minutes without even a 3ft wave.
Crowds
For County on a weekday it was crowded, but not crowded per say. 20-30 people maybe...
Weather
Low clouds, overcast. Foggy here in Malibu. Pretty chilly overall. Water isn't too bad though.
Forecast
Looks good, I am excited for this coming swell on Friday!
Eventful Stuff
Marcos! Man oh man can that guy stare. This creeper was all over Mia, and you could see her nervous smirk for most of the morning! Apparently I was so focused on this nervous interaction that I wasn't paying attention to how much the rocks were tearing up my feet. Dripping blood all the way to Lily's...boots for the rest of the week.
I had a few super fun/good size waves.
One was a good 20+second wave from the point all the way to the beach break. Not big, but probably a good waist-chest sized wave. Straight drop, bottom turn to straighten out, two or three little pumps to get some speed, a super sharp cutback right onto the breaking lip, somewhat shaky recovery as I was a little inside on the wave, making it all the way back to the perfect little cover up shack for a few seconds! Way fun.
There was one more way fun drop---6ft steep shoulder, straight down a nice size slab, cutback/floater at the top. I was a little too far inside so I couldn't do much more, but I got a few "no shit you made that" looks/comments. Steep drops are just so damn fun.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:30-11:30AM
2-4ft w/ + sets (some up to head high), 16 sec
Still->Cross off
3+/5 (more consistent size)
Mia

Perhaps the best Zuma session I have had yet

Summary
Fun session for sure! Barreling (little) waves, but damn clean, pretty consistent, and no doubt a relaxing start to a wonderful week. I don't know how many times I got covered up, but there were lots of shoulders out there to catch, and I sure caught a lot of them.
Waves
Some of the best waves I have had at Zuma. Usually when it's good here I'll head up somewhere else and not bother with this beachbreak. Needless to say, Leo/County must have been an absolute blast this morning. Plentiful rights and left---generally small but occasionally a sweet size set would roll through.
Crowds
Early morning session---there were a few people just East/South of us surfing, but the waves we were getting rocked theirs.
Weather
Fog had already burned off because of the nice little offshore. It WILL be foggy in Malibu today, no question about that. Probably turn into onshores, but certainly some darned fun waves.
Forecast
Looking good, genuinely! I think 3ft is the smallest any west facing break is going to be in the next week. The weekend looks like some solid shoulder+, but we shal see. Genuinely hopeful.
Eventful Stuff
Barreling rights and lefts? There was only one cutback the whole session (forced because I wanted to say that I had at least one!) because the waves were all so steep and barreling, there was no chance for them. I would much rather be covered up by a chest high wave than waste it on a cutback and lose the pocket.

Summary:
Zuma, LA County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:15-7:35AM
2-4ft w/ + sets (some up to head high), 16 sec
Offshore->Still
3+/5 (more consistent size)
Steve

Black eye what?

Summary
Norcal/Central California are macking huge today. I neither have a gun nor have an immediate desire to get one. I did find a few nice breaks that I want to hit up, but probably not until my trip back home. Oh well.
Waves
Northern California/Central California was 2x-3x+ overhead, no doubt. Super long period swell, tons of wrap, I'm not sure there were really any truly surfable beaches (and I drove down along Hwy 1 so I would have taken note. Pico Beach, the point break, was absolutely firing. I was tempted to surf their 2x overhead waves, but felt that more injury to the nose would be a very bad idea.
County Line was 2-4ft pretty much, some bigger sets but consistency was not there at all.
Crowds
Laugh. I was alone surfing in Carmel, though there were some guys surfing some 3x overhead waves by the point? there were not many. County was mad busy because it was the only spot picking up some of the West swell that wasn't completely and utterly blown out.
Weather
Foggy up and down the coast. County was sunny and relatively warm (and sheltered from the nasty onshores plaguing all of Ventura/Santa Barbara county on the drive down this afternoon)
Forecast
Socal looks like it's got a good week ahead for it. Not sure what exactly but hopefully 3-5ft off and on at various spots (aka West facing beaches that catch a little of this super long period Norcal wrap...)
Eventful Stuff
On a failed duckdive in Carmel (because three 9ft+ waves walled up only 3-4 seconds after one another?) I nailed my nose with my board AGAIN. No blood, but my nose is nasty bruised and I'm pretty sure it's giving me a black eye. Other than that nil.
Summary:
Carmel Beach, Monterey County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-7:30AM
6-9ft shorebreak , 15-16sec; 18+ft 20+sec on the outside
Slight offshore
0/5

County Line, Ventura County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
2:00PM-4:15PM
2-4ft w/ + sets, 16 sec
Cross shore->Still
2/5

Shrowded beneath the fog...

Is a mass of wish wash whitewater & huge impact zone.
Summary
I think I had like three waves before I called it quits. Three long ass waves, but three waves nonetheless. The beach is just too walled up and sloppy---masses of whitewater. Fun when you're on the waves, but not fun to get out there.
Waves
You can just look at the 46013 buoy here out at Pt Reyes. I look at that (after surfing) and see 9ft+ closeouts, and lots of sore muscles. Paddling out was not fun. I'm not sure what to say about the 21 sec dominant period, but I really wish it were that minus ~5 feet, + sunny warm air, -afternoon offshores. Then paddling out on a fish would be easy.
Crowds
People are afraid of fog and big waves. Today held both, and as such there were only 5-10 people out early on. Once the fog started to clear (and as I look outside now) there's at least 15 out.
Weather
Foggy, pseudo overcast weather. Offshores are supposed to continue throughout the day, and it's clearing up quite a bit. Still a bit hazy at the beach, but for being a fall afternoon it is absolutely gorgeous.
Forecast
Size should (hopefully) drop a little bit this afternoon, before being supported by the new NW swell tomorrow. Basically this afternoon should be 6-8ft (especially as the tide drops...should make paddling a bit easier). Tomorrow down at Carmel should be ridiculous. My shortie should be fixed by then (a tiny bit more epoxy and some sanding!) and I'm pretty sure that's the board I want to use in double overhead surf...
Socal looks dull and boring. 3-4ft for the rest of the week...fun but pretty small. I have like four essays to write in the next week so I'm not sure how much surfing I'm going to even be able to get in. Actually I'll be honest, just as much as I usually do.
Eventful Stuff
I'm not the only one who had three waves and called it quits. As I was checking the surf just a few minutes ago two surfers were talking and I heard "So much whitewater, I got three OK waves and just didn't feel like paddling for twenty minutes to get back out."
I did have one super long right, I went to the outside where some longboarders were, and got one ~40second right, to just before the inside break. In that sense the day was a success, but it was pretty much a straight line trying to keep up speed.

I also surfed (or rather tried to) in the afternoon. Once I got past the impact zone (aka the ridiculous mesh of whitewater) the current started dragging me North at an obscene rate. As soon as I noticed this I started paddling in, which was almost futile because I was also stuck in a nice little rip current spot, so pushed out to sea as well. By the time I got back onto shore I was almost past the whole of the beach, already getting into the rocky area. I'm not going to say I panicked, but pretty damn close. My arms are more sore from the thirty minutes of paddling here than any session I've had in the last month. Time for pizza, ice cream, and a nap.
The session went like this:
20 min - paddling/duck diving to get out
3 min - sitting past impact zone looking for waves before really taking alarm at the strong current
15 min - paddling in/trying to get back into the impact zone/past the rip section
10 min - walking back (and I walk fast) to where I paddled out on the beach

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:30-9:45AM
6-9ft 14sec---walls of whitewater
Slight offshore
2/5
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
12:15-1:00PM
wall upon wall of 6-9ft whitewater
Onshore
0/5 genuinely sucky---it looked a lot more managable than it ended up being

I could go for days like this every day

Summary
There aren't very many surfing days that are as good as today. It ranks only (laugh!) 4/5 because 1) the shortboard is OOC and I would have used it; 2) shoulders were truly difficult to find; 3) I got bitchslapped super hard by a LOT of closeouts.
Waves
Decent sized, fun waves. Once the tide started to fall at ~9:30, the waves started to become far more walled up (probably in part due to the fact that wave size jumped up a foot or two too...) The drops today were steep, sometimes too steep for the twin fin, the tail doing a little more sliding than I would generally like. There were some workable shoulders, pretty fast, hollow, but certainly not barreling like the past few sessions. Rather, the only barrels were the head high closeouts, which always end with a massive bitch slap. Ouch.
Crowds
The early part of the session was a good little solo surf, people slowly trickling in until there were maybe 10-15 people at the beach break, and 10 or so longboarders on the barreling left sandbar. A surprising amount of shorboarders, but there were some rippable waves, so it is no surprise.
Weather
I would kill for weather like this every day. Foggy early on (and I was worried when I woke up and looked outside) but the sunrise burned off the fog, pushing it out to see with some pretty decent offshore winds. The whole sky was florescent pink for a good long while, the glassy ocean the same indescribable glow as the sky. The sunny offshores continued throughout the day, even here when I got back from bond just after 5:00PM. No doubt, there were people surfing the whole day.
Forecast
Rocking it! Saturday and Sunday continue with more of this same amazing size, beautiful offshores. I have high expectations, at least 1-2ft overhead tomorrow (buoys are already reading 9-10ft, 16-17sec period) up to double overhead here at Dillon, offshores to continue and even strenghten tomorrow morning. Carmel is looking like a rocking barrelfest on Sunday, at least 7-8ft, 17sec period, offshores. I'm not looking forward to getting up at 4AM to drive there, but sacrafices must be made for good surf.
Eventful Stuff
After doing a bit of research on the internet, apparently my fish is only 5'10". Oops. Other than that just some firing waves. The current was actually pretty nasty, the paddle out after each wave taken pushing me down a good hundred feet down the beach.
The notable waves of the day go to the many steep drops on the fish, or rather the many attempted steep drops. It is truly indescribable how amusing it is to drop in on an almost-barreling 7ft face and have the tail slip beneath you, you facing the break and have the board slide backwards. Needless to say, I got schooled a few times by those.
The holes in the shortboard are partially filled in. They're both so bad I have to do a few epoxy repair sessions. Yuck.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
7:00-10:45AM
5-6ft early building to 7-8ft , 13-14sec
Slight offshore to breezy offshore
4+/5

More head high barrels what?

Summary
I slammed the bottom of my board into my head twice. Quite literally there is a 5"x5"x1/2" dent in my board. I'm going to do a patch job so that I can use it for sure on Sunday, and hopefully on Saturday, but I don't know if I have enough epoxy to even fill it. No doubt though, the surf today was worth a little board scar, at least earlier on. As the tide started to fall the super hollow sections pretty much disappeared.
Waves
Basically beautiful and perfect. The early morning rising/high tide really lit Dillon up. Waves were touching the sandbar and bam, nice hollow shoulders. Not great for carving, but they open up like they never do for some sweet barrels. Occasionally a smaller set would roll through and give a nice shreddable shoulder, I think three turns was the max I had on any since today pretty much was racing against the closeout, but mad fun.
Crowds
Everyone gets Turkey day off. As such today is as crowded as DB ever gets. In other words there was a meager 25-30 out once the lot opened up, less than five before that.
Weather
Low clouds, cool air, cool water, small offshore wind. A spectacularly pleasant morning.
Forecast
Beautiful, fun, amazing. Nothing to say other than that. I think Sunday is a 7AM Carmel---especially if it's a clean 7-8ft, 14sec. Easy and hollow, shiat that's perfect!
Eventful Stuff
DB barreling? How often does that happen? Basically one of the first waves I took was unexpectedly hollow, completely covering me up barrel for at least two seconds. I opened my eyes and was like, "No way, two barreling days in the same week?"
About an hour later there was a super steep outside wave that walled up again on the inside. The guy next to me seemed pretty intimidated so I thought to myself, "Hell yea, this is so steep it'll probably barrel for a few seconds before it closes out..." Lo and behold, it does! The wave is so steep that my tail slides from the getgo on the drop, but before it closes out I see it starting to barrel before it owns me. I am about 99% sure this is the wave that f'ed my board up, since I distinctly remember bumping my head hard after I pop up in the wishwash. After I paddled back out the same guy (who didn't seem to ever have any super fun waves) was like, "What? You got that?"
There were some sweet actual shoulders, since I had a decently long session I didn't bother counting, but a few dozen multi-turns/finisher waves for sure.
I'm so screwed tomorrow if it's 6-8ft again, I hate duckdiving on my fish. I'll attach some pics of the nasty dents later. Turkey prepping time?

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-10:15AM
5-6ft w/occasional overhead sets 14sec
Slight offshore-> slight onshore
5/5 (any legit barrels = unquestionable 5/5)

At least I got a good workout!

Summary
...lacking waves. The morning looked absolutely beautiful, but apparently morning doctors appointments trump morning surf. Too bad, it would have been a blast. /anxiously awaiting tomorrow's 8ft w/ offshores!
Waves
Mushy mush mush. Not only mush, but hard to catch mush. As the day progressed, waves firmed up but didn't actually improve. The reason for this is the dropping (and negative) tides. Low tide at Dillon Beach really kills wave shape, today it progressively walled waves up, transforming them into marginally ridable closeouts.
Crowds
Laugh. There were maybe ten people out at 8, which I would consider crowded for a Dillon Beach weekend, much less weekday. I went out alone, and one more guy came out after I did.
Weather
Hmm, let's think about this for a minute. The morning was beautifully sunny and warm, but I couldn't surf until the afternoon. By the time I got back the perfect conditions transformed into fog, rain, and onshore wind. It glassed up about thirty minutes before sunset.
Forecast
Let's not kid ourselves here! Basically there's power in the ocean and conditions that are atypically amazing. OK, so an afternoon surf isn't a choice, but all the mornings are looking to have glassy offshore mornings (which it was today!) so there's the power and the conditions. Hell yea, I'll take it!
Eventful Stuff
Not so much. The only good waves I had were lefts, and I think I had two that had two turns. Basically just trying to race down the walls and maybe find a shoulder. Good luck with that.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'10" Southpoint
2:15-5:00PM
3-4ft with occasional 5ft sets 13sec
Breezy onshore-> still-> slight offshore
1.5/5 (because it was good exercise!)

...those are waves, and this is surfing

Summary
I'll be honest and say that the shoulders were tricky little suckers today. I am quite glad I bought this new wetsuit, both for paddling and for the warmth (GO BOOTIES!). Some amazing waves, and unquestionably one of the best sessions I have had in the past three months--maybe even since those first two days at Carmel.
Waves
Wow, where to even begin. Today was the hollowest I have ever seen Dillon Beach. I'm not going to go so far as say consistently barreling, but there's no question that they are out there. Paddling out was pretty damn hard today, even on a shortboard. There was a pretty significant water depth change, so these 6+ft waves would all wall up and close out at one spot. Needless to say, paddling past that point was more a game of luck than stamina or skill. Sometimes it would open up right after your wave, sometimes there would be no opportunity for five plus minutes. Meanwhile the current drags you south to the creek mouth. Overall there were some amazingly steep drops, some mighty fun shoulders, and an unquestionably fun time.
Crowds
Let's not kid ourselves here, it's a Tuesday at a local beachbreak in Northern California. There were probably about 10 guys out when I woke up at 8, and slowly trickling down. At noon there were only five. Apparently there were thirty some over the weekend when there were chest-shoulder high waves and clean offshore conditions/sunny and warm. Basically fall/winter rock like no other.
Weather
Quite pleasant, typical coastal winterish morning. High 50's low 60's, moderately low cloud cover, it actually started raining for a little bit. The offshores were pretty strong, but not too blinding, and really did a wonderful job of cleaning up the faces.
Forecast
I'm not even going to bother wasting my time. Simply look to the right and you'll see what I do...maybe the best week of surf this year (and unquestionably the best Thanksgiving surf in a heck of a long time...)
Eventful Stuff
There were some pretty damn fun waves. Elusive shoulders perhaps, but even the walls gave some good rides.
One fun right was a clean 2ft overhead. Easy but steep 3 second drop, bottom turn, cutback to straighten out, then straight shot. I'm not sure how long it was but it went from nice shoulder to 8ft wall in about half a second. I'm riding at the base of the wave when I see this, so I turn to shoot off it instead of get wailed---instead, because the wave is so steep, it bitch slaps the whole right side of my body. I'd do that again in an instant.
One sweet barrel was a steep drop, the offshore spray so intense that I have to close my eyes, but the instant I open my eyes the wave walls up, I cut right, and the wave barrels me for about two seconds before I get spit out. Needless to say, I was not expecting that at all.
Some had the chance for some nice turns, I didn't have any wraparounds because the waves were overall so steep and fast breaking, but there probably was the opportunity for that every now and then.
Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:15-11:45AM
6-8ft 12sec
Nice strong offshore
5/5

A good surf makes waking up at 4 totally worth it

Summary
Ocean Beach was worth getting up at 4AM for. Everyone likes good sized waves and clean conditions, and that's pretty much what San Francisco offered the world today. Hopefully there's more of that in the coming week!
Waves
Pretty fun size at Ocean Beach, perfect 3-5ft for the most part. Pretty inconsistent, but they were just tricky like that. A bunch of people shredding some waves, I even saw one or two very very forced airs. Probably more opportunity for that earlier when it was a bit cleaner. Dillon Beach was small. The fish was perfect for these waves, but that doesn't make them any bigger.
Crowds
By all standards Northern California is never crowded. There were people surfing up and down Ocean Beach, but by no means does it qualify as crowded by any standards (least of all compared to SoCal.) I surfed alone at Dillon Beach, like usual. Two guys went out just after I left.
Weather
All of California was foggy and overcast on the drive up, but somehow apparently Ocean Beach missed that. It was beautiful, warm, still air. The water is cold, but when isn't it? Booties solve that problem. Dillon Beach was overcast with a nice offshore. If there was a bigger swell it would have been a beautiful afternoon surf.
Forecast
n/a---since it's so amazing it's not worth even bothering.
Eventful Stuff
Good waves is pretty much it. Miss a few, catch a few, I had three or four three-turn waves, and quite a few beautiful little shoulders.

Summary:
Ocean Beach, San Francisco
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
10:30AM-12:30PM
3-5ft w/ occasional head high sets, 12sec
Still->slight onshore
3+/5

Dillon Beach, Marin County
5'11" Southpoint
2:15-4:00PM
2-3ft w/ occasional 4ft sets, 12sec
Steady offshore
1.5/5

Patagonia booties are so damn warm

Summary
Patagonia boots feel like God on my feet. Not only are they warm (3mm) but they feel so non-existent that you forget you're wearing them while surfing. Oh, Stables was fun again today too. A bit mushy, but certainly some good shoulders nonetheless.
Waves
Super clean, calm but beautiful offshores, far less size than the afternoon session yesterday. I was hopeful that it would stay overheadish (and scare away the poser surfers) but they did not. There were shoulders aplenty, no doubt.
Crowds
Few early on, but that changed quickly as people woke up. C-Street itself was more packed than 1st point is on a good swell, Stables was loaded with people too. There was an NSSA competition going on too, so I'm sure that didn't help.
Weather
Beautiful warm sunrise. Water temperature a bit warmer than yesterday (booties maybe?) and air temp slowly rising from an offshore breezy mid-high 50's early on to a mid 60's by the time we left.
Forecast
Sunday is looking yuck right now. As I'm writing this I'm throwing up the possibility of heading up to Ventura again tomorrow since South swell is still lacking for anything around here. We'll see, knowing me I probably will. Thanksgiving season is looking like some decent south swell will hit down here, but I'm apathetic. Northern California is getting hit with some nice swell, and some pretty decent conditions. Morning should be clean every day, and perhaps even one or two decently surfable afternoons. Fish and shortboard are the two boards, size should (and hopefully is) less than 1.5 overhead every day, and with 12-13sec period, hopefully it's got some nice little carvable slabs. For sure Salmon Creek and Dillon Beach, maybe even go for a few little hikes and hit up some unsurfed spots near home =)
Eventful Stuff
I saw the a-hole who yelled at/called some 80 year old handicapped lady "inconsiderate bitch".
As we were leaving some chick in a huge truck pulled up next to us, who had apparently hit a bird while driving on the street just a minute before. Guess pidgeons really are that dirty, the car certainly wasn't.
Some bad ass waves. I had some beautiful 5ft drops, perfect quick shoulders, a few cutbacks and wraparounds. Overall it was a bit too mushy, but there were some absolutely exceptional waves every now and again. Mia had some where-did-you-go-it-took-you-fifteen-minutes-to-paddle-back-here waves. I guess I got my fair share too, so I can't be too jealous =)

Summary:
California Street, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:15AM-9:15AM
4ft with bigger (5ftish) sets (12sec)
Onshore breeze
Steve, Mia, Eric W
3/5

How swell...

Summary
Swell does not exist at Surfrider. Literally, I look at noon and CDIP showed Southern Hemisphere 0ft, 25sec period. Talk about flat.
Stables (the not-as-mushy peaky part just North of C-Street) was pretty damn fun. Not perfect, not clean, but certainly entertaining.
Waves
Saying Surfrider was small is an understatement---there were like 2 3ft waves, and I'm pretty sure I got both of them on the fish. The day basically consisted of Mia/I joking around and dropping in on each other on every wave. There were some turns and wraparounds, but honestly I was really pushing for it.
Stables was a blast. The NW started filling in in the afternoon, and by 2 the models were really showing its power. Decently long period (14sec groundswell) and good size. Faces were consistently 4ft when we arrived, quickly as the afternoon went on (both because of the tide push and the strengthening swell itself.) By sunset waves were consistently shoulder high, sets reaching 1-2ft overhead. Basically sets were connecting from Stables to the pier. Mad effing fun.
Crowds
Surfrider defined dead.
Stables...apparently people don't like to surf on afternoons when it's not perfect. Perfect enough for me, I say.
Weather
Sunny, cross/onshore winds, chilly, but overall quite pleasant.
Forecast
Tomorrow should be fun. We shall see.
Eventful Stuff
I bought a Patagonia wetsuit and booties. My 4/3 O'Neill firewall is worn out, has holes in the rear shoulders, the right knee pad is about to fall off, and the seams are coming apart at most of the pressure points. It's gotten its use, but its time has come. Let me be the first to say, this wetsuit is worth every penny. Ass expensive, yes, but it's not possible to tell you how comfortable, flexible, and warm it is. You have to try it on for yourself, and you will be an instant convert.
Notable waves---there was one fiveish second cover up, some nice shoulders with 2-3 turns, overall just a tad too mushy for amazing surf on my shortie. Regardless, I think it was amazing simply because it came out of nowhere. Friggen the 7-8ft monster sets were hilarious, steep drops, with the option of a straight shot towards shore (before it closes out) or get covered up and spit out by it closing out ontop of you. Shoulders...damn you high tide...not so much.

Summary:
Surfrider 2/3, Malibu
5'11" Southpoint
7:15-10:00AM
1-2ft with very occasional 3ft set 14sec
Still
Mia
1.5/5

California Street, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
3:00-5:30PM
4-5ft with overhead sets occasionally (12-14sec)
Onshore breeze
Steve
4/5 (so I'll rank the day as a 4 simply because it probably was one of the top sessions in the past two months)

Killing me with the small waves...

Summary
Fun. Small, but fun. For being 2-3ft waves, they were surprisingly carvable. Pumping a fish is absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure if it works or not, but it feels so funny that it's worth it simply for that.
Waves
Small, dinky, but certainly entertaining. There were moderately long breaking right and left shoulders all over the place. While consistency was certainly an issue, when the sporadic waves did appear, there were turns and wraparounds (little, mediocre ones, but I think they still qualify...)
Crowds
Hmm, Mia and I were the only two at second for almost an hour. Whatever waves you wanted were yours.
Weather
Sunny, warm, pretty windless. The morning was chilly, but the rest of the day here has been beautiful.
Forecast
Lacking, same as yesterday. This weekend should be fun with NW swell hitting Friday, really filling in on Saturday. Basically California Street early Sat morn---chest high+, clean, beautiful, fun. Basically Thanksgiving is going to rape me because there is no shortage of Norcal swell. I think I'm going to have to explore and look for a super super super sheltered beach, because 13-15ft 15 sec swell is just a bit too big. Hopefully the storms die down a little and become somewhat more managable. I'll probably bring all my boards home to make life a little easier (since I don't really use the 7'6" much, might as well just use the fish...)
Eventful Stuff
Nil too exciting. Tons of fun waves, I think I had two or three cutbacks & a whack-a-face on one, so while small there certainly was a little carvability. Mia was party waving me whenever she could, so I decided to jack her 1ft wave, and ended up on my knees squatting like no other, ending up going a few hundred feet (in a straight line) ending up in water about thigh deep. The other Pepperdine folks there were absolutely obnoxious.

Summary:
Surfrider 2/3, Malibu
5'11" Southpoint
7:15-9:30AM
2-3ft 14sec
Still
3/5

Not too bad...

Summary
Rocking hard. Decent waves, inconsistent, but when the good sets came through clean shoulders (at County) and fun closeouts (at Zuma). Beautiful day, far more promising overall than any forecasts had predicted. Well worth it.
Waves
Generally small, but overall far more managable size than I was expecting. Forecasts (and buoys) have a dinky swell, but there is certainly a bit of power in the water. Generally waist high, the tide push at County helped size a bit, but basically had waves plunging on shore.
Crowds
I was alone at County for 45 minutes, slowly people started getting in the water as they watched me destroy the plunging slabs. Zuma had a few people, but overall not crowded by any means.
Weather
Sunny, warm. Smoke is gone for whatever reason, so the air quality is far better. Offshores were just shifting as I left Zuma, so conditions were starting to mush up a bit.
Forecast
I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow exactly, the SSW swell should be about the same, so maybe it won't actually be bad. We'll see in the morning. The weekend is looking hopeful though, almost 3ft of swell, 14+sec groundswell, so hopefully there will be some decent chest+ waves. Probably not, but oh well. I know that Thanksgiving is going to be bomb down here, and as I look at forecasts for my journey back north, I see 13ft, 14sec swell, and cold water. Double overhead is as big any of my boards can take....shiat!
Eventful Stuff
One dude was shredding at Zuma. Duct tape on the (missing) nose of his board, catching dinky waves like no other, popping his board all over the place. I wish I had asked him what he was riding, because that thing was fast as sin and manuverable---/jealous. I saw dolphins again, popping out of the water maybe ten feet from me. No matter how often I see them fins still scare me. Seriously though, why does Zuma have so many dolphins? I don't get it.
My most fun wave of the day was the one perfect right shoulder I had a Zuma. This was a monster for the day, 5ft face, perfect form, barreling far enough out from shore that it was a decent carvable ride. Two heavy heavy pumps, hard cutback, two intense pumps, whack-a-face-then-get-owned-by-closing-out-wave. That wave alone was worth sitting in the water for an hour and a half, no lie.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
7'6" Al Merrick M13
7:00-10:00AM
2-3ft w/ bigger sets 14sec
Slight offshore
3/5 overall

Zuma s9, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
11:00AM-12:30PM
2-3ft 14sec
Still-> onshore
2/5

Better than I expected

Summary
Fun day, definitely worth going. A few little barreled shoulders. A few more feet and the break would be firing. Oh well.
Waves
Fun little clean waves. Shoulders generally lacking, but every once in awhile a nice one would form and give a fifteenish second ride to shore. One cutback and a finisher was the most I managed on any of the waves. If I had my little board I could have forced it a bit, but I am glad I didn't. Mini barrels, courtesy of the clean conditions!
Crowds
Decent clump of people, but the waves were fun and it's the only spot in the area that has decent waves so that is no surprise. Most out by the point, the beachbreak was mostly boogie boarders.
Weather
Malibu and LA in general is pretty smokey from the nearby fires. Thankfully County was surprisingly clean air.
Forecast
Yawn. Looks like Thanksgiving week might have some nice conditions up North. Next weekend should be fun for West exposed breaks too. The rest of this week is lacking though.
Eventful Stuff
A motorcycle did a wheelie when I was taking off my wetsuit. Ridiculous and ridiculously stupid.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
5'11" Southpoint
12:30-2:30PM
2ft, bigger sets 12sec
Completely still air
3/5 overall

...more California Street fun!

Summary
Quality waves with Eric and Steve up in Ventura. Not perfect conditions, tides unquestionably funky, but no doubt fun. Quite surprising how few people were out, given the steepness and overall fun qualities of all these waves.
Waves
Fun as sin waves. Mushy for the most part, but there were certainly some carvable waves. Not shredable, but a few turns here and there. Smaller than I was expecting overall.
Crowds
All left before we came. C-Street really must have been firing to have some little thing called wind scare people away.
Weather
Warm offshore/cross offshore winds. There was quite a bit of chop in the water, but bearable. Winds continued picking up throughout the morning/early afternoon, and didn't kill the waves, only the crowds.
Forecast
Bleh pretty much sums it up. Weak, small through the next week. Maybe some South swell or something, unfortunately nothing too special to look forward to.
Eventful Stuff
When we first got there some a-hole in a pickup who was "in line" apparently got pissed at me, and totally exploded on some old lady, cursing her out and jacking her parking space. If I were here 8 year old grandson in the car I would have shat my pants, literally. That white trash was scary. I wrote down his license plate for fear that my car would be keyed or my tires slashed when I came back. Thankfully not.
A few mad pumping waves, I know I got a few cutbacks and a few wraparounds in, waves too mushy to go absolutely crazy though. Ended on a good wave, so I'm happy.

Summary:
California Street, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
10:30AM-1:00PM
3-4ft with bigger sets, 12sec
Cross offshores
3/5

Zuma / South by where a bunch of trailers are parked, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
1:45-2:30PM
2-3ft, 14sec
Still-> moderate offshores
2/5

California Street fun!

Summary
Why go farther North when the waves over at California Street are so fun? That's a rhetorical question, because I certainly am not going to.
Waves
Go Ventura! Other than the water quality looking (literally) like shit, the ocean was imperfect perfection! I lost count of how many fun peaks I had, but there was quite a handful. Conditions played around, but cleaned up occasionally for one or two good fun clean waves.
Crowds
A decent little clump of people out at the point. Not crowded per say, as there are many takeoff points, but certainly busy.
Weather
Santa Ana winds did not apply to Ventura Proper. Winds shifted from slightly onshore to pretty strong. Not as mushy as one might expect given the conditions, and not as textured of ocean either, but conditions certainly were worsened because of it.
Forecast
Maybe the winds will actually turn into Santa Ana's tomorrow, this high pressure system moves further out, so I am truly hopeful. There should be a comparable swell, 3ft+ 14sec hitting the shore, so having some decent size.
Eventful Stuff
I think I had the most fun drop of my life. All I remember is it was a good sized 5ft face, I was a little too deep in so really charging to stay on the outside. Of course I didn't end up making it, but I was in a perfect pocket for about six seconds before it rolled ontop of me. Damn, that was fun.

Re: County Line: Smaller, not as much fun, too many jerks. I'll call him Italian fatso, but this longboarder literally dropped in on every wave he could, didn't say anything ever, and came across as arrogant white trash. I honestly feel sad for this guy, so truly gross that his life epitomizes depressing. Attitude + attractiveness = will never be loved by anyone...ever. Oh, and Mia, Eric, and Steve popped by County in the evening. Unfortunately conditions were pretty bleak by then---this West swell just doesn't make it to County very well. I saw them as I was getting out and driving away and ended up going right back in. There were some fun ones no doubt, but most of them were ninja'd. I guess I could have put up a fight, but my arms felt like mush at this point anyway...

Summary:
California Street, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
11:30AM-1:30PM
4ft with bigger sets, 14sec
Moderate to stiff onshore; there were guys kiteboarding, so it got pretty decent
3/5

County Line, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
3:00PM-5:30PM
2-3ft, 14sec
Still-> moderate offshores
1.5/5

Talk about tide swings

Summary
Fun fun fun! Give me more waves exactly like this and I'm happy. More more more!
Waves
Decent 2-4ft face size, very fun rights and lefts. The beach at low tide here truly opens up and is very peaky, slow breaking good sized faces. Very manageable, shortboardable, but since the takeoff zone is pretty wide so the fish was definitely a good choice.
Crowds
A decent amount of people out for a Thursday afternoon/evening. Considering as this seems to be the only low-tide option in the area right now, the crowds truly are not that bad.
Weather
Beautiful sky, warm out, still air. Santa Ana's don't hit until the morning so a truly pleasant surf afternoon.
Forecast
Go Pismo! Clearly I am not going tomorrow as I got back from the party at almost 3AM. Basically W/NW swell is bomb Fri/Sat/Sun, conditions look (and are as I look outside now) pretty strong Santa Ana's, should die down by the afternoon. Meh for the rest of the week, I don't think anything special. Oh, and the stock market to go down 3% tomorrow, of course.
Eventful Stuff
Other than some fun waves? Dolphins always make the day better, especially if they surf too! There were three fins which surprised one guy sitting next to me, so I guess I am just used to seeing them now. Holy smokes on the waves though. Really, I think I lost count of how many three turn + & finisher waves I had. If I had the shortie I would have been going crazy, but no doubt I still had fun.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
5'10" Southpoint
4:00PM-5:15PM
3-4ft 15sec
still air
3/5

More more!

Summary
More more! If the tides weren't so poopy Surfrider would be absolutely amazing. LONNNGGG period swell, clean windless conditions. Firm waves, but the tides started to mush the swell just a tad. Go away 7ft swings! Go away!
Waves
Waist +, steep quick breaking (but not too closeoutish) waves. Long 18ish second period, pretty consistent overall. Better size earlier on, the high high tide push as the morning went on certainly brought down wave size a bit.
Crowds
Very few people. The beach was peaky up and down, but there was a nice left just east of station 9, so I hung around there with one or two other people throughout the morning.
Weather
Cold again, no winds so glassy conditions, but the water was certainly chilly. It should probably be low 70's by the afternoon here in Malibu, slight onshore. Maybe I'll get a chance to go out again. Who likes being productive anyway?
Forecast
I'm not sure what to put here other than lacking. South swell is nothing but, there is a nice NW swell hitting Central/Northern California now, and I think it should push past PC for some waves in Ventura on Sat/Sun. We'll see, I'm thinking I will probably head up to Jalama or Pismo (wishful, I know) on Friday or Saturday, as the models right now looks like 12sec 8ft (fri) 15sec 7ft (sat) swell, so some fun overhead+ waves. This little stuff is killing me, I can't handle it.
Eventful Stuff
Other than the obnoxious two surfers who wouldn't shut up with their hooting and hollaring? Definately better than the gang of kids who were trying to surf here yesterday. For about ten minutes wherever I moved I was circled. Shiat, all I want is some waves! Today certainly held some damnnn fun ones. The ridiculous high tide meant quite a few were plunging on the beach at the end, and there is no doubt that my butt ploppped on the sand after a few nice waves. No harm done. Enough room on these shoulders for cutbacks & wrap arounds, too small to be perfect, but big enough to step into the fun range! I met a nice young lady and her little kid at Lily's, Jenna and Sebastian. Making frizbees for a living? Badass.

Re: County Line: I wanted more. More did not want me.

Zuma s9-10
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
10:30-12:00
2-3ft with plus sets (16-20sec)
Still
3/5 overall

County Line, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
4:00-5:15
2-3ft, mushy
Onshore
2/5

A very fun cold and windy...

Supposedly the internet really sucks at forecasting. Surfrider was filled with some pretty intense offshore winds, decent (but intensely clean) waves. Yes, the 6ft early morning high tide messes things up a bit, but the reality is there were some pretty fun little sets in the morning---and there was literally no one else out. I had two snoozes so I got there after sunrise, but when I did there were three people at first and none at second/third. It wasn't until more than an hour and a half later that anyone else came up to 2nd (and it genuinely wasn't bad at all!)
Early morning started off with some pretty stiff offshores, but they slowly toned down over the whole of the session. Overall that wind plus the upwelling (ass cold water) from the NW swell made the morning a shivering session.
After eating my two caf omelets I decided that the session didn't quite do enough to sate my thirst for surf. I drove up 1, thinking about Staircase or County Line, but as I was driving by Zuma I saw some nice size sets with some defined, slablike shoulders. Needless to say, I drove no farther. That was one of the best decisions I've made in a while, Zuma was mad fun. Shoulders left and right, pretty hollow little pockets every which way (until they folded over you on the inside.) The waves here are always fast (and usually closeouts) but today there was plenty of time for two or three nice turns per wave. Good size 4+ft sets with droling 15min+ waits, it could be better but this is the best I've seen Zuma in quite awhile.
Maybe I'm a weird guy, but I talked to some homeless guy walking up PCH for about ten minutes. Needless to say, I am very glad that I'm a student in college...

Summary:
Surfrider 2, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:30AM-9:30AM (16-20sec)
2-3ft with plus sets
Strong offshore
2/5 overall

Zuma s9-10
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
10:30-12:00
2-3ft with plus sets (16-20sec)
Slight onshore
3/5 overall

Paddle paddle paddle duck dive paddle paddle paddle duck dive x alot

Fun, relaxing, and productive session for sure. The walls of mushy windswell chop truly provided for some exhausting paddling. This is one of those feelings that inspires my surfing, the wear-me-down, I-have-to-get-out-of-the-water-because-my-arms-are-rubber sessions. If you can walk to the lineup, you aren't surfing.
Overall the waves obviously weren't great, but there certainly was some decent power to them. This storm swell hit County Line at such an angle that every single wave had some nice little carvable slabs to work with. Chest-shoulder high destroy-you flops (only because the ocean was ridiculously choppy) would wipe out the three person lineup every few minutes. Quite a selection of waves, and no doubt that there were some fun little rides had.
Killing the arms was the intense cross-shore wind. From the NW was a 20mph steady breeze providing such an intense air current that it was literally not possible to sit still the entire session. Certainly provided for some laughs at the end of waves, shoot the board in the air a bit and boom, the board is literally pulling you down the beach as it floats in the air.
I would love to have spent another hour out there, but I actually have things to do today (boo!)
The future looks a little bleak, hopefully the week will be surfable but no question it will be small. I'm thinking Jalama/West beaches up north as there's supposed to be a nice 10ft/12sec NW swell this coming week. I probably won't, but I will taunt myself by thinking about it anyway.
Re-heated pizza for breakfast it is!

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-8:15
3-5ft 6-8sec windswell choppp
INTENSE cross shore
2/5 overall

Sometimes sleeping in is the only option

...if there were waves.
Summary
Beautiful day, dinky waves. Probably would have been better a little earlier in the morning, but truly I am glad I slept in.
Waves
The ocean had some decent texture to it. Not sure why but it was surprisingly wobbily. Peaky up and down the beach, but overall too small for anything special. Rights and lefts, inconsistent waist+ sets.
Crowds
It's the weekend, and the ocean is surfable. Quite a few surfers out, and people lounging on the beach.
Weather
Sunny, warm, a bit breezy. Supposedly the now onshore breeze is supposed to pick up over the next few days. We'll see.
Forecast
Sunny, bigger waves, breezy. I'll get out tomorrow early and hope that the W/NW windswell puts a little more punch in the water. The wind I can deal with, dinky waves I can't.
Eventful Stuff
Other than some hotties on the beach...whenever I go to Zuma to look at waves I see dolphins. Today no exception. Every time!

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
5'11" Southpoint
8:30AM-10:45AM
2-3ft 15sec
Onshore
2/5 overall

Today would be a beautiful day for surfing...

...if there were waves.
Summary
Surfing what? You need waves for that...
Waves
Poor, small, inconsistent sets. With low tide at 3ft, high tide at 4ft, there's just too much water for it to be breaking well. Certainly some fun ones, but no more than one turn and a finisher on any wave. Thank god for the fish, too small for anything else.
Crowds
No waves = no crowds. Short and simple.
Weather
Sunny, warm, funky winds. Santa Ana winds have been here since the storm left, they're certainly weakening a bit today but no question they're still here. I'm not sure what's wrong with Surfrider but winds shifted from off, to cross, to on, to cross, to off, about ten times. Funky.
Forecast
Supposedly the weekend is going to bring us some decent waves. We'll see, I am a bit skeptical, but I would be happy with consistent waist high for the next week. We should see some decent swell through most all of next week, Malibu no more than shoulder high at any point, but we'll see.
Eventful Stuff
Literally nothing whatsoever. Up at County on Wednesday I jumped off the rocks onto sand (aka a rock that looked like sand) and banged up my heel. It's still got some pretty nasty hurt to it, but I'm pretty sure it's not serious.

Summary:
Surfrider 2, Malibu
5'11" Southpoint
7:00AM-9:00AM
1-2ft w/ 3ft+ sets 17sec
Funky winds
1.5/5 overall

Far better conditions than I was expecting

Summary
And quite better even than the buoys were reflecting. In a word: fun. Thankfully not every beach in the area gets swamped by raw sewerage if it rains. I certainly would not want to mess with Surfrider though---blowing chunks of crap out of my nose is not my idea of fun. Not mushy at all, clean, defined, just small and slow. Good thing I got this little fishy!
Waves
Small, but clean and certainly fun. Nothing spectacular, but slow peeling shoulders popping up every now and again. Overall the 2-3 ft waves (maybe 4 ft sets) held up surprisingly well for County. Generally small waves keel over here, but today presented the genuine slow beach break that the ocean conjures in most folks minds. There were some moderately steel peaks that I found, the most intense wave of the day was two little turns and a finisher.
Crowds
Other than the three obnoxiously loud and frustrating ten year olds, there really weren't many folks out.
Weather
Offshore winds, sunny, slowly warming up. I'm not sure how much of a beach day today will be (as I write this my window whistles the intense offshores right now) but it's shaping up to be far more pleasant than the past few stormy afternoons. Mid to high 60's, sunny, not a cloud in sight.
Forecast
Uncertain. I'm skeptical, but some nice size systems are moving around Northern California this coming week. Possibly Sunday-Tuesday we'll see some long period West swell, but again forecasts for a week really don't mean much.
Eventful Stuff
Snaking when there's five people in the ocean? Seriously? I really don't care, but no question it is frustrating and absolutely ridiculous. What makes it truly pathetic is the fact that this little blond kid knew exactly what he was doing. En route to the car I was describing these run ins to Eric, and as I was taking my wetsuit off I finished it off with a loudly obnoxious, "That friggen blond kid..." As I do, I turn around and speak of the devil, the little tyke walks right on by.
That timing could not have been better, but I remain unsympathetic. could not have been better.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
5'11" Southpoint
6:00AM-9:45AM
2-3ft 11sec
Offshore
2/5 overall

Daylight savings makes me sad

I really don't like getting up at 5:30 =( but surfing makes me =)
Summary
The surf was fun. Mushy, kind of (very) crappy, but there were some fun clean shoulders popping up every once in a while. Surfrider was absolute unridable mush, so I'm glad Eric/I went up to County because surprisingly it was holding up far better.
Fish are fun little boards, but certainly a shift. It's amazing how intense you can dig on the rails and have the board hold on. If it slips that's fun too, just not quite in the same way. Generally backside is my stronger side for drops for whatever reason, but on this fishy I destroy frontside waves, backside not so much.
Waves
Junky windswell. Fun junky windswell. The reality is that because the period was so short, there were endless waves to chose from. Not the cleanest waves in the world, but certainly fun ones. Not big, but decent 3-4ft, generally pretty mushy. For about 45 minutes the world cleared up and the ocean was glassy beautiful, offshore winds cleaning up faces and giving some nice workable shoulders. In short: far better than it looked from a glance.
Crowds
None whatsoever. There were two people out when Eric and I first went, and about six or seven more came in the next two hours. If you saw a wave, it was yours.
Weather
Generally gloomy, but overall far more inspiring than Malibu. Overcast, no rain but you know that there was just an hour or two earlier. Cool breeze for most of the morning, shifting from cross-shore chop to offshore glority after about the first hour, before finally ending up with onshore mush. The storm was supposed to be over, but apparently not.
Forecast
We'll see. Fading S/SW swell through the week, winds should die tomorrow to give Surfrider some doable waves. The weekend holds potential tropical storm down in Mexico, but it should provide waist to chest+ here in LA at best, and that's hopeful. Basically winter has started, but the sure sure as heck ain't here yet.
Eventful Stuff
I barely persuaded Eric to get in the water---when we first got there it looked like absolute unsurfable mush. The reality is it was a lot better than it looked, and it only got better.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
5'11" Southpoint
6:30AM-9:45AM
3-4ft faces, windswell
Cross->off->on
2/5 overall

The storm

Summary
County Line with Mia and Steve. Basically mushy, have-to-be-right-on-top-of-it-to-catch-it surf, decent size, but overall pretty gutless. The storm is so close off the shore that the waves haven't sorted themselves out, so calling the ocean chaotic is very diplomatic. Fun, but leaving a lot to be desired.
Waves
The storm hanging out provided some bumpy texture to the ocean. Surfable, but combined with the rising tides and increasing winds, certainly made the waves tough little suckers to catch.
Crowds
Quite a few people were at/around County Line, seeing as it is the weekend and all. Even though there's the power in the water, the lackluster waves turned the big crowds off.
Weather
Windy, rainy, cold. Overall pretty much what you expect when there's a storm about. The first hour was relaxing and fun while the offshores were blowing. Once the cross-shore winds started up it became a constant struggle to stay in the same spot (minimal current but strong enough breeze to literally blow you down the beach.)
Forecast
The internet has comparable winds for the rest of this storm, so tomorrow morning will probably be doable (with bigger surf) but no doubt the early offshores will turn onshore and mush the surf up like no other. Same thing for the rest of the week---looks small into the weekend, but mabye something will pop up and give some clean waist+ waves then. Hopefully!
Eventful Stuff
I swear on the drive there when I was looking at Zuma I saw a dolphin jump out of the water. I know my mind was a bit fried but that's not the kind of image you make up. Other than that just the surprisingly mushy surf. Always some fun waves, some very occasional (and small) barrels every now and then, nothing spectacular but always fantasticly entertaining.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00AM-11:00AM
3-4ft faces with bigger sets, ~14sec
Offshore->cross->onshore
2/5 overall

Busy busy day so this is a retro

Summary
Where to begin? Quite simply, County was firing pretty much the whole day. There's a storm with rain and all that jazz but it's donning a pretty sweet little swell and some nice offshores. I know I'm a bit ridiculous sometimes, but I bought a Southshore Fish for kicks (basically for dinky sub-par Surfrider surf days so I don't ding up my nice boards...)
Waves
Fun, decent sized, good shape. Consistency was mediocre with sets breaking 2-3ft bigger than the average waves. No question that there were some steep, hollow shoulders to pick off, lefts and rights both in the morning and evening. Overall the beach break was faring better than the rocky little reef/point.
Crowds
Not crowded, per say, but last night's hangovers certainly didn't stop people from coming in the morning. Overall a medicore crowd in both quality and quantity, the waves were certainly there for some shredding. The evening was definately a relaxed session---mostly beginners on longboards with boards flying everywhere...
Weather
Stormy, windy, rainy, with nice offshore winds. The whole day, pretty depressing because after coming back from the morning session I went straight off to some intermural football (boo losing 28-27) which had people slipping and sliding all over the place.
Forecast
Looks like some good surf through Tuesday. The internet says onshore winds, but I'm pretty sure that it lies. West swell peaks tomorrow night, fades on Monday, dies Tuesday. There's a little SW swell that should give some decent waves through Wednesday. Next weekend looks like perhaps there'll be a decent West windswell, but that's a little far off to have any sort of accuracy. In short, winter needs to give us some consistent head high waves with Santa Ana's! Gogo!
Eventful Stuff
I bought a little fishy today, 5'11" Southshore epoxy. I tested it in the evening and man it's fun. I thought it would be a good idea to enter it into the ocean as a free board, without a leash, and that messed me up a bit. Apparently I didn't wax quite far enough back, because the first wave I went for my right foot slipped, I fell on my ass, and the board skirted all the way to shore. Oops. That happened one more time then I went to Mia's car and put a bit more wax (and a leash) on. Those boards are so ridiculously easy to catch waves on it's not even funny. I started to try to pump it and I realized that it was just soaring, moves so fast that it's hard to slow it down. I certainly don't get the opportunity for two wraparounds on my shortie very often, but on this little speed demon it's almost every other wave..


Summary:
County Line, Ventura
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00AM-11:00AM
3-4ft faces with bigger sets, ~14sec
Light offshore (rainy)
3/5+ overall

County Line, Ventura
5'11" Southpoint Fishy
4:45PM-6:30PM
3-4ft faces with bigger sets, ~14sec (overall a bit less consistent than the morning)
Offshore, glassy, beautiful sky, warm water/air temp
3/5 overall