Surfing in New Zealand

Today I went surfing at Ohope Beach near Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty on the north island of New Zealand. The swell wasn't all that great but the set waves were chest high and it was an easy break. Unfortuantely the lack of energy made it difficult to catch waves, but when I could get one it was easy to ride. I caught my three waves, a solid right, a short fast left and then the wave of the day, a left that stayed open. I made the inside section and surfed it until it closed out hoping that my wife might see me or even be filming. I think she saw me. The wave was very similar to HB on a weak day. The swell is supposed to hit on Saturday but by then I will be in Picton on the south island. Prior to surfing here I had looked at Hot Water Beach on the Cormandel peninsula, Whangamata and Raglan. Raglan is where the guys stopped for the Endless Summer movie. Whangamata seemed like a fun place to surf and I saw some pictures of some great lineups, but Raglan seemed like an overhyped local populated by a bunch of Jackholes. That may be unfair, especially since I didn't even see any of the breaks, but that was the vibe I got. I think my NZ surfing is done. I had a successful day and tomorrow we will drive down south to Napier and then on Friday to Wellington.

The Swell Comes In, Bigtime

After my last posting it rained (11/12 and 11/13). By the time the rain had cleared up I was sick. I stayed sick until this past weekend when I finally went surfing again. Saturday (12/10) was small and weak. I was riding a board I borrowed from a guy at work. He wanted to sell it to me and I told him I wanted to try before I buy. It was a 9-0 longboard with a ton of rocker. The surf on Saturday probably didn't do it justice, but I could tell it wasn't what I was looking for.

Sunday morning a big swell came in. Travis Chase and I met at 17th St but it was completely walled out. We ended up at Bolsa Chica and had a great day. Even up at Bolsa the sets were coming in a few feet overhead and there was a slight offshore. The waves were a bit tricky to catch because they got steep very quickly and you had to time it just right. I caught a big left, made the bottom turn then looked up to see a wall of water well over my head and closing fast. I turned hard into the wave to get some speed then turned for the shore just as the water crashed behind me. I caught a super late takeoff on another left, made the drop and just dove hard into the face of the wave. A bit later I tried the same thing going right, but the wave won that one.

At one point I saw Travis paddle for a wave. I watched him take off on it then looked out to sea and saw the monster behind it. I layed down and paddled as hard as I could to try and get out far enough to avoid getting crushed. Using all the power available in my already rubbery arms I just made it over as the lip was starting to spill over. It was big enough that when I made it over the top there was that moment of freefall going down the back. I knew from where I had last seen Travis that he was going to get crushed. Sure enough, when I caught sight of him he was off his board in the water surrounded by bubbling white foam. When I asked him about it later he told me that he saw it coming and knew he was screwed. "By the time it got to me," he said, "I was laughing. I just bailed off my board and dove for the bottom."

We also got a visit from one of the larger pods of dolphins that I have seen. There were more than 10 of them, including some young ones, and they swam directly under us. The young one and one of the large older ones were breaching a lot so there were splashes and blows on all sides. It took the group what seemed like several minutes to swim past us. It was quite exciting. It was a fun day and we left the beach weary and satisfied.

I didn't surf Monday, but was back today at 17th street. The tide was super high, but the swell was still holding but was very slow in the high tide. With only 10 minutes left before I needed to get out and go to work I still hadn't caught a wave. I was not paying a lot of attention and kept making the wrong decision about where to line up. I ended up catching two short rides before coming in. It was already after 7:00 when after paddling after a wave and not catching it, I looked back to see the set wave crashing behind me. I saw Travis catch the shoulder off to my left and I just turned to catch the whitewash. At least I didn't have to paddle in.

6 days straight (is that really a streak?)

I didn't surf very much this summer. My last posting was in June after a trip to Mexico with Travis and I have been surfing about once a week or less since then. I surfed 10/30 and 10/31, skipped 11/1 then surfed Wednesday (11/2) through Monday (11/7). Tuesday was too small to even bother and today (Wednesday) was stormy and small. I just went to work. Monday was the best day surfing I have had in a long time. Even though the surf was small, the lefts were staying open at the north end of the Cliffs, my timing was coming back and my legs were feeling better. The first few days in the water my legs felt like lead. When I did manage to catch a wave, I couldn't manage a bottom turn and was unable to move my board around in the water. Many days I don't spend more than 30 minutes in the water, but the therapeutic effects last all day. I always feel better when I surf and need to make more of an effort to get in the water every day.

Tuesday I went down to the beach with my board. I stopped at the Cliffs and at 17th street, but the surf was rediculously small. Often when it looks bad from shore it is still decent, but this was beyond flat so I went to work. Wednesday was similar but stormy to boot. Wednesday and Thursday night it rained. It looked like the rain has cleared off, so Monday I'll be back in the water. Stormsurf is predicting 2-3 on Monday, so there should be something to ride.

Mexico, Part II

Last Friday (6/10) Travis and I left for Mexico at noon. The surf forcast was dismal but we had been planning the trip for a few weeks and both still wanted to go. We didn't waste any time getting out of TJ and didn't stop until we got to to Rosarito. Neither of us had eaten lunch so when we pulled into the taco stand on the street, the guy running it was in for the sale of the day. Tres tacos y una coca I blurted out, Travis said the same. After three tacos each Travis ordered two more. I looked up at the menu and asked, ?Que es una mulita? It turns out a mulita is two corn tortillas with carne asada, beans, cilantro, onions and guacamole with cheese melted all over it. I ordered two and Travis changed his order from two tacos to one taco and one mulita. Having satisfied our hunger and expanded our knowledge of Mexican cuisine, we got back on the road. A short time later we got off the toll road and took the free road, exploring surf spots and noting which ones were near hotels. We arrived at Salsipuedes around 5:30, set up the tent, suited up and surfed until the sun set. It was a fun session with chest high set waves to entertain us. We got out and made a fire and sat around eating donuts and apples until we ran out of wood. Some yokel in a 4Runner tried to blaze up a dirt road without looking and got stuck. Without looking or thinking he gunned the engine to to back down and jammed the corner of his truck into the hillside, unable to move forward or back. It was dark by then and we watched and listed as someone tried in vain to tow him out. We speculated that alcohol and bravado were involved and had little sympathy for either.

We got up late the next morning and discovered that the swell was gone and the extreme low tide made Salsipuedes unsurfable. We finished the donuts packed up and headed north looking for somewhere that was breaking. The guy in the Toyota was still stuck when we left. We ended up at k58, or La Fonda, depending on who you ask. La Fonda has been called the HB of Baja because like HB on a big day, if you get caught inside, it is a long way out. Right from the beginning La Fonda lived up to its reputation. I struggled mightily to get outside then sat up and rested once I got there. The set waves were coming in overhead. It was hard to believe that just a bit down the coast it was completely flat. I thought I picked my wave carefully, but after a big drop, it closed and I had nowhere to go and no chance to pull out. I jumped into the whitewater and took my beating. I recoverd and started the long paddle back out. I thought I was going to fare better on my second wave. It was a bit smaller, and I got a good drop then rode the open section a ways before I saw it closing from the other side. I dove through the face of the wave and started swimming out immediately, but the pull on my board dragged me toward the beach. I finally recoverd my board and started to paddle out, only to get pounded back almost to the beach. By this time my arms were like rubber and my upper back between my shoulder blades was begging for mercy. I conceeded and went to the beach. I decided on my way up the sand that I was going to get my third wave and sat on the sand to recover. After a few minutes I picked up my board again and paddled out. I kept getting pounded, but I just put my head down and kept paddling. After what seemed like forever I stopped and looked up. The whitewater was behind me and I could finally rest. I looked around and saw that I had drifted a few hundred feet south during my ordeal and I seemed now to be in a rip current. I started to paddle again, this time north parallel to the coast. As I went, I saw a dark fin directly ahead of me. I see fins a lot and can usually identify them readily as dolphins, but this was darker and smaller and moved differently. I pulled my hands and feet onto my board and hoped I looked a lot bigger than him. I didn't see the fin again, but I paddled like hell to get back to the crowd. Just as I reached them another determined soul was crashing through the final wave on his way out. He burst through yelling and shouting like a man determined. The fin and this guy had taken my mind off the surf, so I didn't see the outside set coming until it was too late. I got knocked back inside and after I recovered I sat up, thoroughly defeated and unwilling to battle back out. I caught a crappy wave to make quota and didn't ride it very well then caught some whitewash to the sand.

We made one final stop for shrimp tacos then set cruise control for home. Another successful and adventurous trip to south of the border. On the way home, Travis proposed that this be the summer of Mex. I think it will be.

A little fatigue

I went surfing this morning on the shortboard. The swell had picked up and the set waves were coming in about head high. I did manage to get to my feet three times to make quota, but none of them were spectacular. The swell would build and build and then break quickly, partly due to the onshore wind. I did not have the quickness today to make it to my feet on the faster board. Yesterday was much better. The swell was a bit smaller and there was no wind. I made three good sections yesterday and got a confidence boost I needed to keep going on the shortboard.

Part of my sluggishness this morning was due to my active weekend. I surfed Saturday morning, if only briefly, and then went of a charity walk/5k with the family. I ended up running about half of it pushing two kids in a double stroller and wearing flip flops. Then I surfed Sunday, worked in the yard, rode a stationary bike and ran on a treadmill. I felt a little stiff in the legs when I woke up this morning and with the swell and the chop my arms felt the worst while I was in the water, but when I got out I definitely felt the fatigue in my legs. Unfortunately for me, the swell is supposed to continue throughout the week so I may not get a day off for a while.

Oh yeah, one more thing. There was no-one else near me. There were two guys about a quarter mile north and two girls tried to paddle out in about the same spot, but didn't get through the inside surf. The water was grey and choppy and I was on a short board (more sea lion looking from the bottom than a longboard). All in all it rated 7 fins on the sharky scale. I got out early and was at work by 7:30 again.

Huntington vs Baja

I went surfing this morning at 17th street. When I woke up this morning and looked at CDIP it showed 3-5 from the north. Some of the set waves were maybe 5 but the bottom seems a bit uneven and so they look like they are going to break then flatten out. I was on the short board, got my three waves and was at work by 7:30. I was happy just to get three waves on the shortboard. There was not the crowd that there was at Newport. Freddy was out there, but maintained his usual distance and just before I left two more guys showed up but were still a peak away. The water was a bit dirty and had a faint odor. Curious since there has been no rain for over a week. After only two days surfing at home, I still compare everything to the first day in Baja where we had everything almost perfect, so on a short crappy day with dirty water Baja wins.

Newport vs. Baja

From an email to Travis 5/10/05

*****************************************
Baja..............................Newport
Clear Water.......................Could not see my knees
6 people = crowd..................6 people = empty (there were a lot more than 6)
No work after surfing.............Work after surfing

I stopped at 17th this morning but decided it was not worth paddling out. As I drove to work I decided to paddle out anyway, so I went to Newport, paddled out into a crowd of prepubescent boys and was reminded how fast that wave is. I was on my short board.

After the trip, I decided that I needed a new goal for this summer. My goal is to learn to ride the 7’2” no matter what. To that end I will be shelving the longboard until I either break the shorty or get desperate for some easy surfing.

Rebecca mentioned that you guys checked out a bunch of spots along the coast. Did you see anything good? Any good spots near a hotel? I think if we go camping, we should go south of Ensenada.

I found your book. It was hidden in the middle of the floor in the office. It was completely in plain sight and I have no explanation as to how I could not see it before. It describes the road we took and mentions Punta China, but nothing about CEMEX. Apparently the road at the mouth of the river continues north and there is some sort of spot there.

Brett

Mexico, Finally

Travis has been trying to get me to go surfing in Mexico ever since we have been surfing (5+ years now). Well, this past weekend it finally happened. We drove down to Ensenada with our respective wives and kids and shared a rented house in Punta Banda, just south of Ensenada on the southern end of the bay.

Although the house was on the water, it was in the bay away from any break. So we loaded our longboards on the roof of my car and headed off in search of legendary Baja surf. We had second hand information that there was a spot at La Bufadora, at the end of the peninsula that formed the southern shore of Estero Bay. Since that was the closest spot that is where we headed. When we got there we found a tourist town with one major street lined with shops similar to TJ, but no surf. We turned back and after a short foray on a dirt road along the peninsula, we came to the conclusion that we had to go back to highway 1 and head south.

Next stop was the local Pemex, for gas because we were likely bound for the middle of nowhere and a map because we had no idea where we were actually going. Luckily for us the map we got had little surfers at all the surf spots along the coast. All gassed up and ready to go, we headed south. We drove half an hour along the windy highway until we came to the dirt road turnoff. The road was in pretty good condition and the Honda Passport made good time. We had switched to four wheel drive, not so much because we had to, but because it added to the experience and allowed faster cornering on the dirt road. We saw cows, dogs, lizards, squirrels, burros, horses, had to ford a stream that had pooled on the road about 15 feet long and a foot and a half deep. We had stopped to assess the fording possibilities and were considering a path around when some locals in there beat up old Toyota pickup drove up and just plowed through. A little sheepishly, we got back in the truck and drove through. We drove almost an hour on the dirt road to get to the coast, not seeing any turnoff that looked significant enough to be our turnoff, and finally reached the coast. There was a beach, but nothing worth surfing. We backtracked to the first "major" turnoff with a beat up old sign indicating it was the way to Punta China. Ten minutes on that road and we came to a guarded gate for CEMEX. We talked to the guard, who was cleaning a rattlesnake skin, and got him to let us in to get down to the cove we had found.

There we were, standing on the rocky beach of a deserted spot in Baja. The cove was pretty small and it was directly facing the swell, so there was a right coming from the north and a left breaking from the south. Since there were rocks to the right, we opted for the left. After watching for a few minutes for any signs of strong currents, we paddled out. The set waves were coming in head high. We were right at high tide, so they were a little soft, but we did just fine with the longboards. We surfed for about an hour, made quota and decided we should cut it short, since we were already overdue back at the house. On our way out, we tipped the guard to thank him and told him we would return the next day. The trip back seemed much shorter since we actually knew where we were going, and just to make the experience complete, we stopped for fish tacos at a little roadside stand.

The next day we decided to spend more time surfing and less time driving by going north. We were up at 5:00 and on the road. We stopped at San Miguel where there was a nice looking wave, but with the morning low tide it was right on the rocks. We saw it later on the way home and it looked fun. We continued up the coast to Salsipuedes where we payed our mandatory 50 pesos to park and hiked down the steep rocky trail to the rocky beach. Being north of Ensenada, we had to endure the crowd of six people vying for two peaks. We surfed until our arms gave out (at least mine did) then packed up and headed back to the house.

We spent the rest of our trip, relaxing, eating, sleeping and spending time with our families. The sun and the surf had taken its toll and we were happy to just kick back and get some rest.

More Lame Excuses

Between blah blah blah and blah blah blah I have surfed very few days since my last entry. Travis called this morning at 5:30 and managed to talk me into going surfing, not a terribly difficult task, but appreciated all the same. I met him and a couple of his buddies out in the water and was greeted with the classic surfer greeting, "you should have been here yesterday". The surf was fun and can best be described by the comment made to me just before I took off on what ended up being my best ride of the day. Travis' friend said, "that one's not going to break." And indeed it did not, at least not for a while. It was, however, steep enough for me to catch and ride until it finally did break/close out. This weekend it is supposed to be blah blah blah so I may not be able to blah blah blah, but I should go anyway. Oh wait, I can't, I am doing that thing that would be called babysitting if they weren't my kids. Tomorrow then and not again until Monday. No matter what.

Spring Surfing

I surfed Monday (3/7/05), Tuesday, took off Wednesday and Thursday for work, surfed Friday, Saturday Sunday and Monday. I expected my arms to be a little sore from the regular work and the tough inside section we have had lately, but my legs are the most sore part of my body. My last wave today was a nice left that didn't stay open long. I planted and made the drop, made a nice bottom turn and looked up to see a wall of water a few feet over my head. Knowing it was going to close soon, I brought my board up high on the wave and turned hard toward the beach. As I sped back down the wave, the lip came crashing down on the back of my board. I focused on staying on my feet as the whitewater exploded behind me. When it finally settled out I was still on my feet and got a free ride to the beach. There are several moments in surfing that stay with me, images I can recall months or years later. The sight of the lip of that wave curling over my head is one I will not soon forget.

Two Days in a Row

I went surfing again today. Woo Hoo. I remember when surfing two days in a row was a major accomplishment. That feeling faded this past summer, when we were doing marathon streaks, but has returned this winter as the rain has kept me out of the water most of January and February (so far). It is raining right now, so my streak has ended.

YeeeeHaaaa!!!

Back in the water again after a protracted absence, it was good to have decent surf and only Travis to share it with. I caught a couple of mushy waves before I noticed some of the outside stuff arriving. It was shifty and sporatic, but I figured it was worth a shot, so I paddled out some more and a bit north. I saw one come to the south of me, where I had just been, and another, almost at the same time, to the north, where I was not yet. I have learned not to overreact to that kind of thing at Huntington, because like I said, it was sporatic, so I sat up and waited. Finally a 6-7 ft wave was coming just north of me and was going to break outside of where I was, but I figured I could catch the shoulder as it came past me. I waited until the last possible moment, then turned and paddled as hard as I could. I felt sure I was too late, that the lip was going to crash over and take me with it. I popped quickly to my feet and stayed crouched, waiting for the fall. Instead, I felt a quick accleration as the back of my board came out of the wave behind it and I rushed down the face of the wave on a perfect line, screaming like a little kid.

Spotty Coverage

Getting back into the surf routine is proving more difficult than anticipated. One major reason is the location of my work. In January my work moved from HB (15 minutes each way) to Tustin (20 minutes to 1 hour each way, depending on traffic). Another reason is my son. If he is awake in the morning when I leave, I'll stay and play with him (he is one year old) for a while, thereby missing my window of opportunity for surfing (you have to have your priorities straight). Between the two, I missed Tuesday and Wednesday. I hit the water again today (Thurs) this time with the longboard. What a piece of cake to ride after struggling on the shortboard for the past few sessions. Surf was small, but I caught my three or four waves and had some fun. That is the biggest thing about the longboard, you will have fun and your wavecount will be high. Shorter boards may provide bigger thrills when you actually catch a big wave, but big surf is rare, especially in the summer. The longboard is simply fun.

More winter surfing

Surfed Monday and Tuesday this week (1/31/05 and 2/1/05). I went out on the shortboard both days. I actually made quota on the shortboard Monday. Not so much luck Tuesday. I got one good right, then got caught inside and as it was getting late, I went in. I forgot my towel and had to change inconspicuously in my car.

Back again

Finally Tuesday (1/18) I hit the water again. Surf was small, tide was high, it was dark. There was only one other guy out there. It was really sharky. I caught my three waves and got out. Yesterday I met up with Travis at the Cliffs. I had the shortboard because the surf report was for a big swell to hit. It was bigger than Tuesday, maybe shoulder high, head high on the big sets, but shifty and unpredictable. Riding the short board is like going back to the beginning of summer and learning to surf all over again. I almost went back to the long board today, but decided to gut it out. I did better and hopefully there will be a pivotal point where I improve rapidly and can ride the short board as well as I have learned to ride the long board.

Rain Rain Go Away

Rain, travel and the holidays have conspired to make December the least surfed month so far. I went to Dallas from 12/6 to 12/10. I didn't surf a couple days before I left. Rain kept me out of the water until 12/13. I don't remember exactly which days I surfed that week, but was out of the water for Jacob's birthday. I surfed a couple days before Christmas. Missed some good swell days, made some small ones. Rain has kept me out of the water since Christmas.

Dolphins, Cold Water, High Tide and Green Grass...small surf...Ice Fishing

I surfed 11/11-11/17 (today).The tides have been really high in the morning and the swell not so big, so the result is not much surf. I drove by 17th street in the morning and didn't see Travis, so I made a u-turn and went up to the cliffs. The cliffs tend to break a little better than other breaks when the tide is rediculously high. It turned out that Travis was not too far behind me and saw me driving back to the cliffs. The water has been getting colder and Monday was dramatically so. Tuesday at the cliffs I saw dolphins surfing.

email to Travis 11/23/04

I hope you slept in today. I made the trek to 17th street and was greeted by a very high tide and crappy waves that were basically breaking on the sand. The air was cold and the water wasn’t much better, it is definitely time to get some booties. Since I hadn’t surfed since Saturday, the water in my trunk was really, really cold. I basically went three and out. Plus, there was no-one out there and it was really sharky.

12/1/04
Didn't surf 11/24 to 11/30. Was at Parents house for Thanksgiving. Back in the water today 12/1/04. When I went out to my car this morning it was covered in ice. The internet said the outside temperature was 39 degrees. I wore jeans and a T-shirt and flip flops. It was cold. I got to the cliffs to meet Travis and sat in my car for a few minutes to enjoy the heater. I changed into my wetsuit, grabbed by longboard and hoofed it down to the beach. By the time I got to the water, my feet were really really really cold. The water (59 degrees) was warm by comparison. I paddled out to meet Travis and was soon followed by what seemed like a hundred groms from the Marina High School surf team/class/whateveritis. I managed to keep my hair dry for a few waves, then finally went under. When my wet head hit the cold air, I was reminded what cold really was. The heat getting sucked out of my head felt like a vice clamping my ears together. Things numbed and were good for a while. I heard a splash behind me. Travis had gone underwater to warm up. Surf was small, weak and crowded due to the high schoolers. I caught one good wave, but flubbed the takeoff and ended up in the water. Finally the time came to go. I caught a weak wave to shore and emerged from the water. I ran most of the way back to my car to minimize the time my feet spent on the cold ground, but by the time I got there, by hands were numb and my feet felt like clubs. There was still ice on the grass by my car. I dumped my jug of warm water on my head and hurriedly got dressed before I froze again. Thankfully this is about as cold as it ever gets in So Cal and it won't stay this way for long.

It's Raining Again

It rained yesterday while we were in the water. It continued to rain off and on during the day and it rained last night. According to www.weather.com we have had more than .2" in the last 24 hours so I have to assume the water is polluted. If it doesn't rain anymore that means I will be back in the water on Thursday, 11/11. Having not surfed today, I have surfed 107/137 days since June 25. I have been noticing further improvements to my surfing after what was a plateau for a couple months. I have gotten a lot better at working up and down the face of the wave. Previously, my efforts to this end were limited by keeping the board parallel to shore. Recently I have gotten much better at bottom turns, allowing me to drive back up the face of the wave, and top turns, where I actually fall back around to drop back into the wave. I have been getting a lot of rights lately with the storm centers moving from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere, so I can actually work the top turns better going right than left. I still get better control going left and can maintain speed better. Yesterday, I took off on a left and thought it was going to close on me, but I worked the face and built up enough speed to get back in front of the wave, back in the curl. I am understanding why it is difficult to learn to surf. In order to surf well, you have to react to the wave. In order to react to the wave, you need to have been on enough waves, in a similar situation, to be able to predict what is going to happen. This means that it is a slow, incremental learning process. The steps to learning to surf are:
1. Get a feel for standing up. Do this in the whitewater.
2. Learn to time a wave as it comes in. This can be done on a surfboard or bodyboard, or bodysurfing.
3. Put 1 and 2 together and just go straight.
4. Add a bottom turn.
5. Learn to control your speed with turns and the face of the wave.
6. Top turns.
7. Aerials (anyone can get air once you can do a good bottom turn. Being able to land it is the trick).
8. Tow in Surfing.

More Collisions

Up until Tuesday, the only person that I had done bodily or property damage to while surfing was Travis. That changed Tuesday. I took off on a little left and was having a good ride. I saw the guy in the water and figured I could get past him. I probably could have made it except the wave closed on me. I tried to bail, but was too late. I took a chunk out of the nose of my board and really pissed off the other guy.

Winter Surfing

Sunday was what I consider to be the first day of winter surfing. Daylight savings time switched off on Sunday morning at 2:00, the air has a chill although the water is still not cold. I started wearing my fullsuit. I surfed last Sunday, 10/24 and then not again, due to darkness and rain, until yesterday, 10/31. I was supposed to meet Travis down south for a trip to Swami's, but an alarmclock SNAFU thwarted my plans and I ended up at 17th. There was an extreme north swell in the water and the waves were breaking at a distinct angle to the shoreline. The setwaves were head high, but really slow. Despite the angle, they were breaking both ways. Today was similar, but with some south in the water to really mix things up. Not as peaky, with more close out sections. Need to buy booties, not for the water, but for the walk across the sand. With daylight savings time done with, there is plenty of light in the mornings, so we are back at 17th street on a regular basis.

Sixteenth Log Entry 10/14/04

Today is Thursday and marks the last day I will surf until at least next Friday. I have surfed 98/112 days since the daily routine started on June 25. We have seen small surf that was barely rideable, overhead surf carved hollow by Santa Ana winds, choppy surf that tossed you around like you were skiiing moguls and last Saturday we had what I consider to be perfect surf. The water was glassy and the wind was inperceptible. Set waves were coming in about head high and pealing left and right. They were fast, clean and plentiful. I surfed more than two hours until finally a combination of fatigue and increasingly croweded conditions drove me from the water. Some days I barely make quota, some days I catch an excess of so-so surf, and then those rare days like Saturday I lose track of how many really fast and fun rides I get. The last few days we have been surfing at RJs to help perpetuate Travis' streak. The place is filled with high school kids who are full of surf skills and short on manners. As you go further north, people get more laid back (and older) culminating at Bolsa Chica, where the crowds are friendly (and somewhat geriatric)

Fifteenth Log Entry 10/4/04

Top Ten Lame Excuses for Not Surfing

10. My dog ate my surfboard. This is a classic, only noone believes it. Try again.
9. I went on vacation. Pretty weak, why didn't you go on vacation somewhere you could surf?
8. I damaged my surfboard. You idiot, you are surrounded by billions of gallons of water. How do you manage to run into anything that could actually damage your surfboard?
7. My leash broke. Poor baby, what do you think people did before the leash was invented?
6. Surf was too big. Eddie would go.
5. Surf was too small. If we could surf yesterday, it can be done. Yesterday, all we needed was a rubber duckie and it would have been a (cold) bathtub.
4. I stayed up too late. Poor decision making does not a surfer make.
3. I drank too much last night. See #4.
2. I didn't want to go. GASP!!!

And the number 1 lame excuse of all time for not going surfing...

1. I dropped a measuring tape on my knee.

Yes, it is true. An object (any object) dropped from a height of 6 ft and impacting another object at a height of 2 ft will have a speed of 16 ft/sec (11 mph) at the time of impact. This object weighing half a pound will have 64 ft-lbs of kinetic energy. If the flat side of this object hits muscle, this energy could be absorbed without the victim noticing. However, if the corner of the object hits the spot directly above the kneecap where there is not much muscle, the result is a painful sensation similar to getting whacked in the funny bone. If you are lucky, the pain dissipates quickly and you go on your way. If you are unlucky, you wake up around midnight with a knee twice the size it should be and throbbing painfully. Not being able to sleep you limp to the TV only to discover that the bonus disc of a ten disc documentary, that you thought was going to be bad, dissapoints even your meager expectations. Finally after the painpills kick in, you limp back to bed with that terrible feeling, knowing you won't be surfing tomorrow.

Fourteenth Log Entry 10/1/04

Saturday and Monday we were at RJs due to the high tides and small swells. After the previous week's monster monday and tuesday sessions, it was a bit of a relief to have some ho-hum 2-4 sets rolling in lazily. It hearkened back to the early summer days when we had extreme low tides and the sandbar was still out there so you could literally walk out to the break. That was before I learned about stingrays. Large sea creatures scare the hell out of me. Even the friendly ones. It has never been a problem when I am underwater, I used to SCUBA quite a bit, but when I am sitting on top I think about it constantly. When the dolphins come by I am certain one is going to bite my ankle, even though I have never heard of a dolphin ever hurting a surfer. Sea lions freak me out because big sharks eat them therefore there must be a big shark nearby. I remember one time surfing in Carpenteria with little sharks swarming under me. They were all less than 2 ft, but that is big enough to bite a toe. I paddled out anyway, but kept my feet out of the water. Today I saw dolphins. They are common along the southern California coast. I see them a lot, still my heart leaps into my throat whenever that fin first breaks through the water.

Today was day 99 for Travis, day 86 for me. Of those days, I have been in the water everyday since 8/11/04 (52 days) . Two of those days I did not get to surf. Once because I cracked open my board before I ever caught a wave and once because my leash broke before I caught a wave. Travis has an unusual problem. His streak has gone on so long that he may never again have this many consecutive days. Consequently, he has incremental milestones that are easily achievable now, but will be tough to ever make again. Tomorrow is day 100, and it is light enough to surf by 6:25. We may make it through October (Off of daylight savings time), so it may be the rain that stops him in November, or he may go all the way into the darkness of December. Stay tuned to find out.

P.S. The Angels are tied with Oakland with 3 games to go... All against Oakland. Go Angels.

Thirteenth Log Entry 9/22/04

I needed today. Medium size waves don't give you the same rush as the bigger ones, but after a few days of fighting whitewash, crowds and the resulting low wavecount, it was refreshing to have a day that was just fun. Surf today was 4-6 with very clean shoulders. There is still a light offshore, not enough to make barrels, but enough to give the wave good shape. The water was lightly textured from the wind, but not choppy. The water was warm and the sun was out. I can't imagine a better way to start the day. Waves were fast enough to make them fun, but not too big. There was enough gap between sections to allow you to paddle out without having to fight a lot of whitewash. We were back at 17th street and there were only about 8 people in the water for as far as I could see. When my alarm went off, I stuck my watch underwater and pretended not to hear it. Not much more to say. It was simply fun.

Twelfth Log Entry 9/21/04

After yesterdays monster surf at Huntington, we decided to head to the relative calm of Newport Pier, where the beach faces more west and gets less of the south swell. We showed up there at 6:00 to find that it was a little too sheltered and the Santa Ana winds were destroying what little surf there was there. So we drove up to the river jetties. The surf there was big, clean and hollow. The set waves coming in were head and a half to double overhead and they were fast. The first one I tried to take off on just pitched me. I was much too late. The second one I got to my feet, but turned immediately instead of heading down the face. That works at HB, but it didn't work here. I ended up getting pitched over the falls. It seems that the bigger days are still a challenge and the ease of surfing I describe in previous posts only applies to small and medium days. The crowd was out today too. I was paddling out and watching other surfers take off on a peak when I saw this guy get right on this huge wave. He made the bottom turn, straightened out was right in the curl. This wave pitched over his head while he was standing with his knees only slightly bent. It was a full on stand up barrel, straight out of a Tahitian photo shoot, only it was in Newport Beach. People were hooting and hollering for the guy. It was pretty exciting to watch. Getting into a standup barrel is the Mecca of surfing. It is what every surfer wants. When my alarm went off I motioned to Travis that it was time for last call. He shrugged and I though he didn't understand what I was saying. I signaled again and he shrugged again. Apparently he had just gotten into a barrel and simply didn't care what time it was. He was going to stay out until he was ready to go in. I have been in that mood before, although not today. If you ever are lucky enough to get there, then you understand what surfing is really about. It is a hit and miss activity. You are at the mercy of nature, and if everything comes together just right to provide good surf, your timing has to be on and you have to get a bit lucky with the crowd. It is difficult to learn and can be hard to do. It can be ultimately frustrating, but when a day of surfing is good to you, you can ride that high through a lot of mediocre and bad days. Like the bumper sticker says, a bad day surfing is still better that the best day at work. I got a good left and flubbed another takeoff before the crowd started getting to me. I almost landed on some guy as I took off on one wave and decided that I should call it a day. On the way in I caught a little inside wave that was my ride of the day. I gotta say, I prefer 4-6 to 8-10.

Eleventh Log Entry 9/20/04

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you are the bug. The upside of it was that I got a nice swim this morning. A big swell had rolled in this morning and for 17th street that means that there are about three areas that break and they break on different size swells meaning that they will break at different times. Paddling out in these conditions is one of the physical challenges of surfing. There have been times when I was paddling out and thought I just couldn't make it. That my arms would simply fail to move me forward because I had beat them to a pulp paddling through whitewater. Whitewater is aerated water, so it offers little resistance. This makes it difficult to generate any speed and causes you to sink more than you normally would. Usually when you are in a spot of whitewater, you simply wait for it to calm down a bit and then start paddling again. Some day, however, you simply cannot afford to wait. Today was one of those days. Another thing about paddling out on days like today is that timing is very important. If you can make it over the smaller inside break, you may just have enough time to get out far enough to beat the outside break. If you get hit by the inside break, you only get pushed a little, but your forward progress is slowed significantly and your chances of getting hit by the outside break go up dramatically.

This morning Travis and I got to the shore earlier than normal, it was only 6:20 when we stepped into the surf, and there was no-one in the water. Usually seeing other people out there gives you perspective about where the set waves break and how big it really is. You can wait around and watch to gather this information, but when you only have 30 minutes, you don't want to spend this time on the beach. So we started paddling out. The inside stuff was tougher than it had been recently, but it was not overly difficult. After a brief battle, Travis made it over a key inside wave and managed his way outside. I was just short of making it over the wave and got pushed back. I got back on my board and pressed on. Then the big outside set came. These were big. On a long board (I ride a 9'4") your only hope is to bail off the board and swim for the sand. Even with my face on the bottom, I could feel the wave grab me and pull me back and I could feel the board getting pulled as I got dragged by the leash. I came up, got back on the board and said, "Oh @#$%!" The second wave was bigger than the first. Again I dove for the sand and again I felt the force of the wave toss me around. This time, however, I only felt a brief tug on my ankle as my leash broke and my board was escorted to the shore without me. I stayed there for a moment considering my options. I looked out to sea, there was no third wave coming. If I had not lost my board, I was home free. I looked to shore, but could not see my board. I came to the sad realization that I was going to have to swim to shore. I looked at my watch. I had been paddling for 10 minutes and now had nothing to show for it but a bit of exercise. I swam to shore, where my board was waiting on the beach. After a brief attempt at reattaching the leash, I gave up and headed back to my car. At first I was depressed about the whole thing, then I realized that even though I didn't get a chance to catch any waves, I still got out in the ocean for an early morning swim, and that is definitely a good thing.

Today did not count, so I am 13 days behind the Master who has completed 88 days consecutively (75/88)

Tenth Log Entry 9/19/04

Day 75/87. The sun comes up later each day. I think we have about 2 weeks until there will be no hope of getting to work by 7:30. Friday was fun. Saturday was really fun. I caught a screaming left that pitched momentarily and put me in a barrel. Several other good rides, both right and left. Sunday was really choppy, more than a foot of chop. It made it very difficult to get any speed to get into a wave. I had another collision with Travis. This one nobody's fault, just an unfortuate effect of the crowd. I had turned and was paddling out to beat an outside wave, did not quite get far enough and got pulled back over the falls. The tail of my board landed on Travis' back and broke one of my side fins. Luckily (for Travis) it is a plastic fin and not a fiberglass or carbon fiber fin. That would have hurt more.

Ninth Log Entry 9/17/04

Got a screaming drop today. Was positioned just right, built up lots of speed and then was able to work the face to maintain speed for the entire ride. Definitely the ride of the day. Got some other good rides too, I stayed up too high on one of them, trying to get a big drop and ended up getting thrown over the falls. That one was a right. The size has picked up considerably from yesterday, and the swell is definitely from the south, probably due to Isis or Javier, more likely Isis as Javier is still tucked in too close to land to affect our swell too much. Got in the water at 6:20, it was just barely getting light.

Eight Log Entry 9/16/04

Since this is the first entry in my surf [we]b-log, I have attached the past entries to my surf log. Today was day 72/84. For a truly committed surfer, be sure to check out Travis' surf log at http://travinator.blogspot.com. He has done 84/84.

Since my last entry, I have continued the streak. This past Sunday, we went on a surf safari. Instead of surfing at 17th street, we went way up north to the Cliffs. That is probably a whole quarter mile north of where we usually surf. The locals there still speak english, but that is where the similarities end. The break there is a lot slower than 17th, but we were getting longer rides. Definitely a long board spot. Trav's friend Larry advised us that the Cliffs break when 17th is flat. Saturday 17th was definitely flat, so we made the move. Monday we were back at 17th and things picked up a bit. Most likely due to Hurricane Isis out in the Pacific. Tuesday I went over the falls and landed on my board, my elbow hitting the rail and smashing the rail. I patched it up Tuesday night using fiberglass epoxy putty and a piece of fiberglass with Suncure resin. It turns out that suncure is activated by UV light and will not dry just from heat. If you have a halogen bulb that will work well. I suspect that a UV bulb will work, but I have not tested it. The UV bulb would have the benefit of not melting the wax or yellowing the fiberglass if the bulb is left on too long (grin). I had to remove the UV filter glass from my halogen bulb on Wednesday morning and make quick work of drying the resin. Made it to the water, albeit a little late. Thanks to the everyday routing, making quota in 20 minutes is usually not a problem. Today I just barely made quota because I got caught inside for what seemed like forever. We hit the water at 6:30 today and while it was light, it had only been light enough to surf for 10 minutes or so, meaning we have about 2 weeks left before we get cut off.

Seventh Log Entry 9/7/04

Made it through the Labor Day Weekend. It was crowded all three days and a big swell hit from Hurricane Harold, peaking on Sunday with some remnants on Monday. Even Tuesday there were some head high set waves occasionally, but mostly waist to chest high stuff. I did better in the big surf on Saturday than I did in the previous big swell. I made quota and got a few fast long rides. Even with the south swell from Harold, there have been a lot of rights lately, so I have been getting better going right, but I still have some problems making the initial turn and I rode up too high on one wave and just fell off the back. The sunlight is still plenty for our typical 6:15 – 6:30 water entry. Today is day 63/75.

Sixth Log Entry 9/1/04

We made it to September. This morning it was pitch dark when I left the house just before 6:00, but by the time I got to 18th street, it was light enough for surfing. We hit the water and it was pretty weak. I barely made quota and all the rides were short and junky. There were very few set waves and I never got one. It was foggy, making it impossible to pick up waves far enough out to get in position. Better luck tomorrow. Today was day 57/69

Fifth Log Entry 8/31/04

Entering the home stretch. We have been getting in the water at about 6:30 lately and it is light enough to surf shortly after 6:00, so if we lose :40 a day that means 45 days (until October 15) until it is too dark to surf. This is longer than the our original estimate of September 26. I managed to repair my board sufficiently last night to make it waterproof. The epoxy putty from home depot worked really well. Sun Cure will dry without the sun, but it takes a long time and a heat lamp. I had to do 30 minutes in 10 minute segments to keep the board from getting too hot and yellowing. Surfing today was pretty weak. I pearled taking off on two waves that I should not have pearled on. On one of them I was too far forward and did not have time to scoot back. I got my quota and a few extra, but it was not my best day. I was in the vicinity for the set waves, but never in the right place enough to catch one. If you can have a bad day surfing, today was it. But it was still better than most things.

Fourth Log Entry 8/30/04

Today was day going to be 56/67 but before I could get my 3 waves I dropped in on Travis and cracked open his rail with the nose of my board. This is at least our third collision, the second serious one and while the other two were pretty mutual, this one was completely my fault. I am going to try and repair the board for tomorrow, but this is a good example of why I need a second board (internal sales pitch). Officially I have surfed 55/67. On Friday Travis overslept, but continued his streak by paddling out after work. He went to some place down in Laguna Beach, Brook Street I think. I went to 17th in the morning and saw a dolphin clear the water about 3 ft from some guy. I was about 20 yds away. I am getting the hang of more nuances of surfing. When I pop up, I can adjust where I land based on what the wave is like. I am getting the hang of stepping back to the tail to make faster turns, although I am far from being proficient. I have had a few opportunities to cut back towards the whitewash to keep up my speed, although I need to work on that still. That will go hand in hand with the harder turns. There have been more rights since much of the swell is coming from the North. I am getting better at the initial turn on the rights; this is also related to stepping back on the tail. I have been working on noseriding indirectly, focusing on the functionality of trimming the board. I have been getting closer to the front and have tried a few times to get toes over the nose, but with no real success yet. Surfing has really become fun in the past month or so. As I have gotten better, my wavecount has gone up dramatically and the quality of the rides is better. The only days I did not get enough waves to make quota were when the big swell hit earlier this month. Most days I lose track of how many I have ridden and sometimes have to pass some up just to let my arms rest. I am starting to recognize and be recognized by the other regulars out there. On Sunday, I dropped in on a guy, but I was a ways in front of him. When I got out I apologized and asked if I had screwed up his ride. Turn out I had not, but he was appreciative that I had thought to ask. We talked some more and then went our ways. Cheryl just moved down from Venice. She is 50 and surfs better than most of the people out there. Apparently at Venice there is a breakwater and a single takeoff point. It gets crowded and the crowd can get ugly.

Third Log Entry 8/23/04

Have not missed any days since the last entry, making it 49/60 days. Nearly got run over by two dolphins this morning who were hauling ass through the surf zone. They went directly under me and got close enough to the next guy up (about 30 ft away from me) that they might have bumped him. Surf was really fun. I am getting better at moving up and down the wave going to the left and there have been some rights too so I am getting better on those. Working a bit on noseriding, but at this point more just trying to trim the board than trying to actually get toes over the nose. I guess that is the next step. I tried Travis’ 6’7” x 19” x 2” short board on Sunday. While it was definitely too small for me, I was able to get to my feet and it gave me enough confidence that I think 7’4” may be the way to go if I get a wider board, whereas 7’6” is probably better for a narrower board. There has been dramatic improvement in my surfing this summer to the point where I am catching a lot of waves and having a lot more fun. I make the drops and the turn on lefts most of the time and am getting better on rights. We figure we can get through September before it will be too dark in the morning to go before work. I want to go as long as is practical as it is really relaxing and good exercise too. I have lost 20 lbs since I started doing the everyday thing and since Rebecca fixed my diet. Spent 2 hours in the water on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday. I wanted to stay longer both times, but was getting tired and wanted to get home to see the wife and kids.

Second Log Entry 8/19/04

This is the second entry in my surf log. I missed another day on 8/10/04. Last week surf was small, but making quota was no problem. Locked the keys in my car on 8/12. Bought a hide a key on 8/13. Small surf continued through Monday, with Saturday and Sunday being almost flat but still surfable. Tuesday was huge. A big swell from NZ hit and we were seeing head and a half set waves. It got really crowded. I only got one drop and got pounded and caught inside a couple times. Wednesday was a bit smaller, but still with the crowd. I got one good left and a straight drop. The biggest problem is my nerves when I need to take off to catch the big waves. Thursday (today) was smaller still with the sets chest to shoulder high with the occasional head high, but those usually closed out. Got an honest quota today, two lefts and a right that I didn’t quite make the turn on, but still took off on. Left the door on my car open, not just unlocked but open, the entire time I was out there. Nothing was missing from my car. Also knocked my board pretty hard putting it away at work. Have not yet seen the damage, if any. Travis and I had a collision a couple weeks ago on a Saturday. I am not sure of the date, but it resulted in a big ding on the rail of my board and a pressure ding on the bottom about 4” across. Fixed both with glass and resin, but my pristine board finally got some damage. Have been thinking about a new board, probably a hybrid/funboard with more of a pointed nose. Am debating 7’4” vs 7’6”.

First Log Entry 8/9/04

This is the first entry in my surf log. Travis and I started the everyday routine back on June 25. I missed July 6, 7 and 8 (3 days) due to the final crunch before the customer demo on July 9. I missed July 22-26 (5 days) due to Swedish Camp in Lake Tahoe. I missed July 29 and 30 (2 days) for my anniversary celebration in Temecula. That means that I have surfed 36 of the last 46 days (Travis has done 46 days straight). All of those days have been at 17th street in HB. The surf has been small and fun pretty much the entire time, but there was a period of low tide mornings that made for some really fun surf. The last few days surf has been down. Today was choppy and small, but there were a lot of little waves to catch. Spent the entire time either paddling out or paddling after waves. Very little rest time. West swell provided for some rare rights. Practiced walking the nose. Got about six inches away. Practice quick turns off the tail.