It begins...

Summary
Overall a bit slow, but there were some fun shoulders every now and again. Not great surf, but honestly not all that bad.
Waves
The morning session was not bad, but certainly was not spectacular. My board choice was poor, and I would have been far better off if I brought the fish or the M13... There were turns and pumps, but overall waves were just too difficult to catch on the shortie.
The afternoon session I decided to be lazy and use the fish. Damn I forgot how easy it was for that thing to catch little lumps. It really does catch waves like a longboard. There were turns and cutbacks and whack-a-faces. Overall the second session was surprisingly consistent, and overall pretty fun.
Crowds
There were people surfing all day, off and on. Maxed around 1PM with the high tide.
Weather
Surprisingly warm, but extra chilly because of the offshores. Strongest during the early morning session, they faded throughout the day.
Forecast
There will be swell all week. Conditions will be touch or go, but there should be two or three good days of favorable conditions (including tomorrow!) Today's swell should be the weakest of the coming week (thankfully!)
Eventful Stuff
Other than absolutely ludicrous offshores all day? Not really.
Wave of the Day
There was about twenty minutes in the afternoon session which was wave after wave. Twenty minutes of constant arm movement. I had probably seven or eight decent rides. I don't remember what they all were, but there were one or two coverups, lots of cutbacks-and quite a few whack-a-faces. Pretty dang fun.

Summary:

Dillon Beach, Marin County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove/5'10" Southpoint
8:15-10:00/3:00-4:15
2-4ft w/ ~5 sets 16 sec/3-4ft 16sec
Offshores all day
2/5 morn/ 3/5 afternoon

Truly not bad...

Summary
Even though it really was. I made a pretty good run of the surf. Conditions left a lot to be desired, but the dove pulled through and overall it was a fun peaky session.
Waves
Steep drops, fast shoulders, occasionally hollow. Not super rippable, but certainly fun. The paddle out was easy, and there were lots of waves for the taking and seldom any competition.
Crowds
There were a few people off and on. It was starting to get busy when I bailed.
Weather
Cold, offshore breezy, cloudy. Imperfect in a perfect sort of way.
Forecast
Looks no good for here, but up North looks like a few days of fun. There will be swell. Conditions might be lacking, but there will be swell.
Eventful Stuff
I am very tired from Songfest. Getting up early on four hours of sleep is not fun.
Wave of the Day
My last wave and the reason why I left. Good long right, two cutbacks, started to die, so a few nice pumps, then it reformed back on the inside, perfect for one whack-a-face finisher. I thought to myself, that is by far the best wave anyone has had or will have in the mediocre conditions today, so I will end on that note. Cannot be topped. Not saying it was "omg amazing" but given the wave's quality, it was good...it was very good.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" White Dove
7:15-9:00
3-4ft with plus sets, short period
2/5
Solo

First Surfrider session in more than two months...

Summary
And it was pretty fun. That longboard is effing huge. It boggles my mind how Mia can surf that...it's so big and slow to respond.
Waves
Small, but fun. There was a little south swell so I figured I'd hit up Malibu in lieu of driving far. Most everything was less than waist high, but there were a few waist + at second, towards the end of the session moderately consistent too, surprisingly.
Crowds
There were a few others out, but not crowded, espiceally considering that this is the first time in more than a month that Surfrider's been any good.
Weather
Sunny, rather chilly, but beautiful. The wind started to pick up (onshore) towards the end of the session, mushing everything up.
Forecast
Not great down South, but Norcal looks like it'll be head high beauties when I get home on Friday. Carmel Beach it is =)
Eventful Stuff
Saw Cotton and some other kid that lives above me here. My surfing was pretty crappy overall. Not using a leash just throws me off. I am not that comfortable on this un-manuverable plank.
Wave of the Day
There were three or four really good rides. I actually had one wave that was inches from shacking me, but it was just too small. All rights (Malibu) and some truly decent rides. My fish is jealous. Not so much turns (since I lose my balance on this giant board apparently) but there was some walking and noseriding. That is tons of fun.

Summary:
Surfrider 1/2, Malibu
10' Giant-Ass Plank (Mia's)
9:00-11:30
1-2ft with 3ft sets
1+/5
Solo but I saw Cotton

Giddy with anticipation...

...for the swell up North...
Summary
Fun. Not great, but pretty much perfect fish waves. I would have been lost with my shortboard.
Waves
Early session was sucky. Late session was sucky. Mid session was pretty dang fun. For it being Zuma and for it being relatively small, there were some mighty fine shoulders. I even saw a few people getting little shacks. I was not lucky enough to get a worthy see-through barrel, but I got covered up/spit out a few times, which I don't count. Shape was pretty hard to pull into, but once you got on it even the closeouts were pretty slow and you could get around the sections most of the time.
Crowds
Surprisingly crowded given the generally mediocre conditions. People up and down the whole beach.
Weather
Pretty chilly, overcast, almost stormy but not quite. It did rain a little bit late in the session.
Forecast
Sucky for down South. I think I will sleep in tomorrow instead of surf.
Norcal forecast looks bomb. 14sec+, 6ft+ of swell. Should be decent waves pretty much everywhere. Winds look favorable. Weather looks cold, wet, and breezy (offshores!) Oh spring break, you have me quite giddy with anticipation. And to think, you start tomorrow night. 13 days of glority.
Eventful Stuff
Dolphins galore, again. These little little creatures are crazy.
Wave of the Day
Pretty simple little left, probably just about 3ft, two backside wraparound cutbacks on my fish. There were some bigger set waves that would have been amazing but I ended up too far inside for most of them.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick Southpoint
7:00-10:00
1-3ft with some 4ft sets
2/5
Eric B, Basil

Umm, yea more of this.

Summary
Morning session was legit. The actual morning waves were pretty baller. Easy to drop in, legit shoulders, good turns. Not too barrely. Late morning surf quality drop significantly, waves got pretty walled up. Afternoon surf was super fast, hollow, and dang fun.
Waves
Mmmm delicious. Early morning was pretty much perfect shape. Relatively easy paddle. Turns galore. Unfortunately I f'ed up on most every quality wave I got, but there were some absolutely legit drops. Shape deteriorated as the morning progressed, and the paddle became tedious, as well as pulling into waves.
Crowds
Small, but there were others out there. Mabye two waves I lost becuase of other people. Basically, given how amazing it was there was no one.
Same is true of the afternoon too.
Weather
Sunny, warm, offshore breeze early, very slight onshores mushed everything up before 9, then offshores again in the afternoon.
Forecast
Looks pretty not as good as today. Oh well =) The quality of the past few days has once again been surprising.
Eventful Stuff
I sliced my upper front gum somehow. It was bleeding pretty bad, off and on through when I'm posting this (10PM). This was on one of the I-will-taunt-you-with-barrels-and-close-out-on-your-head waves. It didn't feel good but at least it didn't cut my face or chip a tooth.
And there were ridiculous amounts of dolphins "swimming" (aka mating) around. These guys were real characters today, flopping up and down for more than hour. Pretty sweet.
One big set wave in the late morning completely obliterated me. I duck dived "under" it maybe 5 feet too far inside after it broke. It snatched my board from me (I have tight grip), and sucked me all the way to the bottom of the sand (I was in the lineup before this wave...so it was at least 6 or 7 feet deep...) My board popped up tombstone style. I was under for at least ten seconds. Not fun, even though it really is. I just wish I were on that wave....looked like it was going to have a sick shoulder.
Wave of the Day
Probably because of the shared experience with Eric, one right in the afternoon. He took the first wave of the set, I took the second. Mine was just a drop, barrel for mabye a second and a half, then absolutely mashed. The way he was telling me this wave went was just hilarious, me just ducking in fitting, him reflecting his foresight of my sick barrel + nasty schooling.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-9:30 / 2:30-3:30
3-5ft with some plus sets
3+/5

Yea fun boom bam pow!

Summary
Pretty good. Pretty fun. Punchy. There was an air.
Waves
Imperfect but quality. Early on super clean, punchy, room for lots of turns. Walled up pretty well on the inside, enough such that I had one short little air. I'm proud of myself because that's definitely something I don't try enough.
Crowds
Moderately crowded for a Friday. Not bad, but there were quite a few others out there.
Weather
Sunny but cool. Far better weather than predicted.
Forecast
Looks good for the weekend. More of the same!
Eventful Stuff
Other than an absolutely nasty current. I gave up trying to combat it, just go in and walk up the beach...seriously more effective.
Wave of the Day
I'm going to have to go with my air. It was a finisher on a wave that had one or two turns too, so I felt like a baller. Plus there were a few people around too, so it just made me feel badass. Basically instead of a cutback finisher or bail, I stayed pretty high up on the wave and did a cut just up into the face of the breaking wave, it launched me maybe a foot above the wave onto the white water. Bad friggen ass.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00-10:30
3-4ft with some plus sets
3/5

Wrong board...

Retro for Thursday February 19
Summary
Yawn. I'm pretty much over it. More waves like yesterday please.
Waves
Generally pretty mushy, relatively poor shape closeouts. Basically the typical Zuma waves. Occasionally some room for a turn or two, but generally meh. Very slow.
Crowds
A few other people out. Definately would be more successful with a longboard or fish today...
Weather
Sunny, warm, still air. I feel like Zuma needs offshores to work.
Forecast
Looks good. Decent waves, decent period, decent conditions. I hope...
Eventful Stuff
Nothing.
Wave of the Day
Nothing inspiring. A few turns on one, but they were pretty weak and gutless.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00-9:00
1-3ft ~10sec
1+/5

Not bad

RETRO for Wednesday February 18
Summary
Pretty interesting beach. I can see the potential for potent localism here, and I don't think I would ever surf here on the weekend. Good waves, good conditions, good fun.
Waves
Initially amazing with nice offshores. Once those died down conditions progressively deteriorated. Waves went from super hollow to moderately open faces to closeouts. Decent by most means.
Crowds
I would say crowded for a weekday, but not crowded by most other measures. I think lots of schools have the week off because there were tons of kids out.
Weather
Offshores galore. Early on anyway. Beautiful brisk breeze keeping the faces nice and open. Sunny and beautiful day, but gross ocean (flavor and look).
Forecast
Looks pretty dang OK. Not great, not big, not perfect, but certainly a transition from having no waves. This is a retro post so the truth is it doesn't matter much.
Eventful Stuff
Other than little 80 pound kids absolutely shredding? Nothing other than an insanely busy day. I'm glad I got this session in before it.
Wave of the Day
First wave and only barrel. Steep drop, buttom turn, three second shack. Perfect. Needless to say, that got me very excited to be out there surfing. Unfortunately that was the only mini-barrel of the day, so I was eagerly waiting for another for the rest of the session...to no avail.

Summary:
Silver Strand, Oxnard
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:00-10:30
4-5ft with plus sets
3/5

And it was warbled...

Summary
Pretty dang mediocre. Poor conditions overall.
Waves
Initially horribly poor shape, insanely mushy. Thankfully right as I was about to get out something drastic shifted and there were some nice quick shoulders popping up, size increasing pretty quickly too.
Crowds
Steve and I were the only two out to start, but eventually a few others came. It seems like they found a nice little peak.
Weather
Cold, pretty dreary, but nice little offshores. These winds are really the only reason why it was surfable at all.
Forecast
Mediocre for the week. Yuck.
Eventful Stuff
Steve got out dang early. His wetsuit isn't very well sealed anymore, so he got a bit chilly. It improved after he left.
Wave of the Day
No really great waves. Lots of fun drops, most of which I didn't come close to making. I think I had two turns on one wave, that was the max. Oh well. Just too mushy and imperfect.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-8:30
3-5ft
1+/5
Steve

Afternoon fun

Summary
Decent little afternoon session. Nothing special, just a nice day.
Waves
Nothing spectacular or truly all that great. Decent little waves, pretty mushy shoulders but fun nonetheless.
Crowds
A few other people out, but not crowded by any means.
Weather
Brisk, sunny but chilly. Ocean pretty cool too. Back to Malibu weather (for a day or two!)
Forecast
Looks truly mediocre. Stormy.
Eventful Stuff
Some German girls came with Eric. That's about it.
Wave of the Day
Nothing spectacular. One or two turns tops.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
1:00-3:00
1-3ft with some slightly bigger sets
2/5
Mia, Steve & Eric B for a bit.

I didn't have high expectations...thankfully.

Summary
Basically a fun little surf session. Not too long, not great waves, but this winter I figure I'll take whatever I can get.
Waves
There were some fun little shoulders. Not super workable, but still above average for Zuma I'd say. The tide was rising and would end up pretty wicked high---but there's not enough swell to make up for it in steepness, so the session progressively went downhill. Oh well.
Crowds
Small. Although there was this one little 8 year old kid who was shredding...oh how much easier surfing would be if I weighed 70 lbs. God being pure muscle sucks sometimes.
Weather
Sunny but bitter cold. Offshore breeze.
Forecast
Looks poopy...literally.
Eventful Stuff
Lily's burrito and a nice 30 min hot tub dunk post sesh. Life is good.
Wave of the Day
A fun little left. Two turns. That's pretty much it unfortunately. It was fun though.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:00-8:30
1-3ft with some 4ft sets
2/5
Mia, Steve

Umm...yea pretty much baller.

Summary
The ocean is being uncooperative. The last few days have been FAR better than they should have been. There is good size and pretty damn amazing conditions...if you can handle a little bacteria in your system. Super fun.
Waves
Good size, good shape, super workable shoulders. Not perfect by any means (too short of period...and it's Zuma) but still surprisingly great. The paddle either sucked or was cake. The current was pretty nasty. The weather was pretty nice. The tides completely uncooperative but unimportant.
Crowds
A few people out but not crowded. One guy growled at me when I was paddling for a wave (that he missed the drop on) so I was a little wtf'ed out, but other than that there were probably only one or two waves I missed because of other people.
Weather
Sunny, cold, pretty breezy enough that I wore my hoodie...which was also a good choice because of the cold water and constant duck diving.
Forecast
Looks bad. Seriously though, it doesn't look good. Conditions might be OK but there's no swell...til the next storm...when there's size but no conditions. LA NINA I HATE YOU.
Eventful Stuff
I saw Mia's car when I was leaving. Dang the surf was fun. Maybe a little slow but certainly workable with enough upper body paddling strength =)
Wave of the Day
The last good wave I got is the most memorable. Pretty simple right---basically a steep drop then shacked for like 5 seconds, until which point I apparently was going too slow....I got sucked up into the lip and spit out. Also the lifeguard was watching so I thought it was pretty funny. The thing that's killer is I could have made it though if I were sitting a little lower or if I was doing a turn, I was just going too parallel to the wave. Oh well. There were tons of other fun ones (like actually turning, or getting shacked etc.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:15-9:30
4-5ft with some 6ft sets, 13sec
3+/5
Solo but Mia was there apparently...

Absolutely effing amazing

Retro for AMAZING session Sunday
Summary
Holy everything! Absolutely everything came together for an as-close-to-perfect-as-possible session. And to think, I thought it would be little more than mushy crap.
Waves
Beautiful shape. Workable rights and lefts. Hollow sections. Shoulders wide open for carving. Pretty dang fast, but those are the best kind of ways.
Crowds
Me and one other sharing a peak for two hours.
Weather
Beautiful sunny, relatively warm morning. Light offshore breeze. Pretty much the opposite of what was forecast...again.
Forecast
Stormy. I don't have high expectations but with the past two days of surf, who knows?
Eventful Stuff
Surfing Westwards...eventful enough for me I'd say. That and the best So-Cal session I've had all year.
Wave of the Day
Which one? All waves have steep drops, lots with long rides, most with tons of turns. I'll say the first legit left I had, steep drop, bottom turn, three or four nice turns. There were a few almost-air sections, but not quite. =(

Summary:
Westwards, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:45-9:45
5-6ft with overhead sets
4+/5

Quite simply I want more

Summary
Zuma is not supposed to be this good. Seriously, absolutely inspiring! Long (for me 25sec+ was longest) rides, super workable shoulders, steep drops, and uncrowded lineup. If only there weren't a torrential downpour for the first hour of the session, life would be perfect.
Waves
DAMN these waves rock today. Good size, good power, good shoulders, favorable winds, and good (ocean) conditions. Most around shoulder high, +/-, but occasional sets would definitely break overhead. Clean, workable, and completely uncrowded.
Crowds
Small, given the amazing quality of the surf. Very small. Today is NOT supposed to be this good, by any means. That and the rain/shit water...
Weather
Cold, rainy, poor water quality all plague the quality surf. Offshore breeze for the first ~2 hours of the session.
Forecast
Looks no good, but we will see. I can't say I'm hopeful, but today certainly surprised me.
Eventful Stuff
Called up Steve and Bill, told them to come out because the surf was so promising. And no, it did not disappoint.
Wave of the Day
I don't even know what to say for this. There were so many good waves that it's truly difficult to narrow it down to one. If so I would probably say one of the many lefts I had, pretty steep drop, a few nice backside cutbacks. There were a few little tuck in shacks too.

Summary:
Zuma, Malibu
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:20-10:30
4-6ft with overhead sets
4/5
Steve, Bill

The storm hits...

Retro for Friday 2/6
Summary
After a good wave on a day like this, you've gotta call it quits. Can't expect another one.
Waves
Pretty poor conditions, poor shape, but rideable nonetheless. Not closeouts, just super mushy and pretty hard to pull into.
Crowds
There were three guys from Pepperdine out (I saw the sticker on their car...probably Freshman because I've never seen them out before...) and that's it.
Weather
Unpleasant overcast stormy.
Forecast
Truth be told, it looks really pretty dang crappy.
Eventful Stuff
Driving back I passed by a truck flipped over at Malibu Colony. The car was on its side, the slick street just a tad too slick for taking the turn that fast... There were a bunch of county sheriffs and a couple rescue vehicles too. Damn that would suck so bad.
Wave of the Day
Legit left, the only really rippable wave I had all morning. Pretty good little 4-5ft drop, bottom turn, cutback, a few pumps (since the ocean ended up being pretty dang mushy...) another cutback and a nice whack-it finisher. Not spectacular by good conditions means, but certainly impressive given today's mediocrity.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
7:30-8:30
3-5ft mushy mixed up stormy crap
2/5 (because of the sick left!)

Mediocrity...

RETRO FOR MONDAY 2/2
Summary
Not as good as I was hoping, but not a bad way to start a week.
Waves
Pretty weak and small, as well as pretty high tide. Unfortunately this ended up having good sized rocks protruding everywhere, making getting a good ride pretty dang hard.
Crowds
Few people, but it was surfable amid a long lull down here, so there were longboarders and shortboarders alike hoping for a decent ride.
Weather
Sunny and a little breezy. Nice but certainly not making up for the poor surf.
Forecast
Looks pretty mediocre for the week. Small and stormy. Yuck!
Eventful Stuff
Nothing. Steve and Mia came and looked at the surf but didn't go out (wtf!) until the afternoon.
Wave of the Day
Once again, nothing spectacular. A right where I ended up almost smashing my board on the rock. I bailed so I wouldn't, but I had a cutback and a nice little whack-a-face-early closer.

Summary:
County Line, Ventura County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
6:30-8:45
1-3ft, occasional bigger sets, shortish period
1+/5

Now this is seriously depressing...

Summary
I consider today more of an exercise day of surf than one of actual surfing. Waves are flat out sucking it up. The ocean is warbled as can be, and the perfect conditions make me flat out sad.
Waves
Laugh. I don't even want to think about it.
Crowds
Solo.
Weather
Beautiful sunny clear crisp morning. Nice offshores, wonderful conditions, everything you could ask for EXCEPT the one thing you really need.
Forecast
Looks up for NorCal, but down for the Southland. No waves until next weekend at least =(
Eventful Stuff
Like waves? Nope, there really weren't any. Conditions were great, but the ocean just too damn warbled to make much of anything happen.
Wave of the Day
I don't want to talk about it.

Summary:
Dillon Beach, Marin County
7:30-8:30
1-3ft mushy mixed up stormy crap
1/5 (because the morning is so beautiful!)