Anyone else get some today...?

[Piggity]

Wind is usually the factor in spring. May gray and June Gloom are the usual, that means a coastal eddy and those are notorious for south winds. The kelp seems to be as thick as it has been for years. I don't think they're farming the kelp anymore so it helps out with windy conditions, more waves for us.

Today was fun. Last wave in was a fast backside, came from behind the section and brought it up to the top, expected to fall but somehow pulled of a really late turn in the pocket. Wind is up but lighter than yesterday. Windswell seems to have backed off so it's more organized but still peaky. Places that like combo swells are the call right now

[BS720]

Oh, I'm crying. I am off for seven days starting 6/9. Keep me posted, I think I'm there.

Maybe a tuxedo wetsuit? Make your transitions faster.

[bodywhomper]

Salt Creek was fucking sick, overhead A-frames from the point to gravels but HOLY FUCK it was crowded, I just brought my flippers and body whomped for a couple of hrs.

salt creek is a really fun beach for bodywhomping! gravels can really dump in a good bodywhomping way, especially when it's macking and 'the point' is a total shitshow. when i used to live in oc, i'd usually whomp there with a sponge. on a board (sponge) on bigger days, you can catch the mushy peaks that crest just enough on an outer sandbar to ride the swell/wave and have a good amount of speed on the wave as it reformed into a hollow closeout wall. the game i'd play with myself and friends was to see how far you can ride inside the closed-out barrel before getting tossed.

it sounds like socal's having some good times right now. ya'll enjoy!

[Ottime]

The new nw filled in nicely last night. Still a good mix of shorter period swell, waves, bump and chop. Been spending the past two nights playing the outside, middle and inside sections, just staying away from where ever the pack wandered. If I was alone on the outside and hot a good one, by the time I kicked out three guys would have paddle over there already. So, instead I just paddled straight out (not up the point) and wait there for one to peak in the middle. Then I'd do the same on the inside. Once the wind pushed everyone back down the point, only then would I go back to the outside. Worked out pretty well. I think the best formed ones were on the inside. Small chest high grinders. Literally ride my last wave to the beach (at a break that does not really go all the way to the beach).

Waiting now for my dawn patrol date who is now 30 minutes late. What the fuck is up with surfers? They all seem like slackers.

[PowerWhore7]

Nice work everyone, looks like fun is being had from coast to coast & on multiple continents, super cool. Surfed Trail 6 last night from 3-5pm and it was a ghost town, no one camping or surfing. Then we got on the 5 to go home and saw where everyone was, FKNA 6 lanes of just stopped traffic from San Clemente past Dana Point, at least 10 miles of parking lot style traffic.

Surf was meh, HH some OH but super disorganized and sort of blown out, kelp is helping a lot but I still hate the fucking wind, ruins everything in every season .

Just bustin balls about the 5’10” quads, I could never surf my 5’11” all the time, I neither have the skill or paddling capabilities. My hats off to anyone who keeps a one board quiver and can surf everything with it, while being successful and having fun .

Yeah fellas, I don’t have many responsibilities in life but keeping my wife happy and content is one of them...wife=boss HA-ha

the game i'd play with myself and friends was to see how far you can ride inside the closed-out barrel before getting tossed.

HA! I love that game, except I don’t have any friends and usually play it by myself

PW7, you really logging double session since last week? That's dedication. I'm done internet surfing, going real surfing now so I can keep up with pw.

I would not tell a lie . In all seriousness, I have totally trashed myself to the point that I probably need multiple days off to recover properly but just can’t seem to stay out of the water.

[icelanticskier]

Just bustin balls about the 5’10” quads, I could never surf my 5’11” all the time, I neither have the skill or paddling capabilities. My hats off to anyone who keeps a one board quiver and can surf everything with it, while being successful and having fun .

for me it's always been about simplicity and adaptation. if i can paddle into it, i can ride it. the board designs these days makes having a one board quiver pretty easy.

was surfing my 5'10 mini driver with a local shaper the other day in some really small thigh/barely plus short period windswell. he was on some high volume fish that he shaped. he was pretty surprised to see me on the same board that i was on when it was a couple feet ohead and thumping and having no problem with it. i told him i just change it to thruster mode when things get going head plus.

Yeah fellas, I don’t have many responsibilities in life but keeping my wife happy and content is one of them...wife=boss HA-ha

smart man. i'm working the same program.

rog

[icelanticskier]

ugh. just under 3 hours of work left. latest buoy reads 7+ @ 10.5 with offshores. i can work with that

hopefully it holds....

rog

[Ottime]

Buoys this morning were showing 5.9@14 from 295 and 2.3@17 from 185. I knew there was plenty of wind swell as well, but did not really believe those readings. With the tide -1.75 feet, and a short window, I knew I had to find a spot that can handle so little water. Ended up at Manresa with my buddy and surfed our own peak. The sets were way over powering what little sand bar exists after such a dry winter. Waves were 3-4' OH and thumping fast and hard. The smaller head high waves would corner up nicely, just enough to get in, and then start to race track left. Once I figured out where to sit it was so much fun. Even got a head high barrel as I was working my way around a section. Way more surf than expected, and got more of it than expected. When I was in pre game stretch I thought I wouldn't get much more than some paddling. Instead i got some a bunch of fun waves along with some epic duck dives.

Working on game plan for tomorrow and winds might even go slack for the early morning on Monday.

[icelanticskier]

mmmmm, memorial day weekend. mid 40's rain and head high surf. kinda weird out there, but that's wrongsands for ya. my home break and it makes ya work for it lemme tell ya. one of those sessions where ya paddle for/into a bunch of shifty rip current shit, but manage to pull off some winners amongst a sea of losers. the north end proved to be the true oasis in the middle of a sea of madness and the lefts were downright dreamy if you sat still and let them come to you. i'm absolutely terrible at sitting still, but sometimes i'm patient enough. nice to finally be outta the boots and gloves, altho after 2 hours i couldn't even unlock my car from frozen hands. wore my squid lid with my 4/3, my summer suit

tomorrow should be super fun all day with good winds, a high in the mid 50's and yup, rain. will get at least 2 sessions in tomorrow. cracking another beer right now and raising the can to y'all!

rog

[Long duc dong]

Wow.

Friday night at Cotton's was awesome. I surfed from 4-615, with a small crowd (for Cotton's). I had my own peak at the south end, right beneath the south end of the cliff, where the square sign is. It was overhead on the sets, with little shoulder high ones coming in pretty frequently. One other guy was there, but he was sitting too far out, so I just bagged left after left. The highlight was a 120 yarder that just reeled the whole way. Most of them were a bit soft, bottom turn, cutback, work to stay in it, but some would then reel across the inside.

As the tide rose, my spot started to die, so I shifted south, and found nice peaks with only a couple of people at barbedwires. By the time I got out my arms were thrashed, 30 waves will do that to you!

I don't know why no one was there, it was clean. I think the morning surfline rating of 'poor' kept people away, because it was much less crowded Friday as compared to last weekend. I think people assumed it was blown out in the afternoon because of the morning sickness.

[Piggity]

Most of them were a bit soft, bottom turn, cutback, work to stay in it, but some would then reel across the inside.

Good stuff. That description reminds me of the day Ottime and I surfed it, the inside had a nice racy corner on it.

Not sure about paddling out today, tbd. Although today would make 1 week worth of wave bagging, so many turns blurring my memory bank.

[Piggity]

Few cell phone pics from yesterday afternoon....




From top of the high trail in previous photo


Looking north toward gliderport




few little nugs


There's a staircase down to the beach somewhere around here


stone steps down to the beach

[icelanticskier]

NICE!^^^^^^^^^

fun morning. wicked fun morning. small, about waist high with chest high sets, but super well formed and winds straight offshore. way better ride quality than the head high surf last night. the lefts were perfect and the rights were maybe more perfect. had one in particular that was so much fun that i shoulda just ended the sesh right then and there. set wave started out kinda fat/flat, got into it early and just kinda tick tacked a bit till it hit the mid bar which led to a high on the face fast paced pumping frenzy to stay ahead of things till it dipped into a bit of a hole which slowed it down just a touch which allowed for full rail to rail carves right up into the lip and back down till i rode off the end of it. not many folks out, but when i just drove by, holy moly, summer must be here! maybe 30 folks along the mile+ beach. yikes.

tide has just backed out just enough now to give me the itch again, and our guests will be arriving later than planned. firewood duty can wait till tomorrow. my better half just gave me the green light, i'm outty!!!

rog

[icelanticskier]

mmmmm, beer. fun lil afternoon micro-wave sesh

the wind has knocked the swell down to thigh high........sets, but perfect lil a-frames at my favorite local break. haven't surfed south of the restaurant since the sand went to shit last fall. it's back!!!

the lefts were super fun. crazy that the thigh highs had nuff juice and proper form to allow full rail to rail backside shortboard carves. now we go small, really small for the upcoming week. time to pull the bike back out........

rog

[Ottime]

If I could flip my two mornings I would. My window was a touch later today, so I headed to a trusty point knowing the wind would turn on so after I paddled out. Much smaller than yesterday, but still some fun ones. Nose high or so, smaller on the inside. Had too much swell at the beach yesterday, and not quite enough today at the point. Both sessions were still pretty fun. Gonna try to hit the negative low tide early tomorrow to score a wave called secrets. It is kind of a secret spot on the edge of town. Not so secret really, but it requires ignoring a sign, a short run and pretty good paddle around a headland. There is actually another pseudo secret spot called secrets in midtown that I am thinking about. That could be good as well.

So I've been thinking about jtrans backside question and the response to angle in and at first I was like no, no, no, but then I thought more about. Here is what I came up with. I think it is important to note that you need to paddle straight down the wave and then angle your board. While this is not really the case in short period swell that does not have a lot of water moving, in long period swell there will be water pulling up the face. From my experience, when you paddle at an angle (or down the line) you expose more surface area of your board and the water moving up the face will begin to slow you down. So, first, paddle in straight. The other thing that concerns me about angling in is that in steep waves (like long periods waves tend to be) you are more likely to lose your fins in the face and side slip and you are also fighting against the water moving up the face again, hence slowing you down. The nice thing about the angle is that you are staying high with a lot of potential energy. And it can work, especially if you are able to negotiate along the very top of the wave. That said, I still think it better (in long period swell) to drop straight in and generate speed in your bottom turn where you can really drive your rail against the water and then pulling it back up the face.

I know every wave and every surfer is different, but that is generally my perspective on it. Also, when you angle in you get kind of stuck in a down the line position and it makes it harder (as you have less room) to pull your board up into the lip, unless you turn down the face and then make your bottom turn in the flats. When I showed up in SC about 18 years ago I was shocked at how the stronger surfers could generate so much speed through their first bottom turn.

Also, this is not always the case with wind swell. With much less energy, you tend to generate speed through pumping on the face and need to work the vertical aspect. I think this also has to do with long period swells pulling water around. It is almost like you create some speed from the vertical drop and when you begin to lay your edge, the water pushes against the bottom of your board pushing you back into the face. With a properly laid carve you can make some distance. You just need to be ready to hit the lip or carve underneath it to get your down the line speed.

Anyway, that is the way I see it. I sometimes angle in, but try not to. If I do, I usually do so on weaker waves (or weaker peaks - before the wave has fully broken) and make one pump off the time and still drive down to the bottom turn. Maybe I m a sucker for the bottom turn.

Bottom line though, jtran, if you are angling in on long period swell, still paddle squarely down the face and then angle the board as you jump up, or just after you jump up. Also, make sure you get low enough on the wave so you don't 1) get pulled back up over the falls or 2) lose your fins and side slip down the face.

A little storm to our north looks like it will deliver another round of mid period nw. Now, if only these winds would actually go slack up north could be really good.

Pigs, that trail reminds me of one of the beach break access points about half way between here and SF.

[jtran10]

Thanks ott. I'll think about all that info and reread when I'm not on a phone.

Went out last night at 34th st in newport. Pretty consistent but short lefts coming through at sunset about waist-chest. Only a couple other guys out with me. Probably will head out there again before going back south in a couple hours. an afternoon session for me today pigs if you want to join

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[Piggity]

Sounds fun J but just got out and not sure if I'll be able to break away later today. Maybe a quick session after dinner

Trunked it for almost 3 hours and water is nice. Still a few waves coming through. Saw a kid ripping some waves while I was stretching on the beach, decided to try to emulate his style. I have a big boy style and I try for more power turns than finesse, but damn the finesse surfing was fun as hell.

[Ottime]

^^^^Having finesse and power is a nice combo. I like watching the guys who can bust an air and on the next turn gouge the face. Sometimes though, you need to stay light and turn, finessing the wave so you can generate the speed for one big maneuver. If you surf to powerfully, you end up losing the wave. Almost like you need to match it in style. I think no smiles is a wave like that. To line up and connect the inside, you sometimes need to make 3 or 4 quick, light, gentle turns so you can be on rail as it begins to stand up on the inside reef. Then you can go for more powerful stuff.

Thanks ott. I'll think about all that info and reread when I'm not on a phone.

Of course I'm pretty much full of shit most of the time. Although, this morning, I had to chase quite a few rights (backside) down the line, but I did notice, as I went to actually catch the wave and stand up, I pointed right down the face, and did the bottom turn thing. I do think it takes practice, but it seems way faster. If I had been angling into these things I would have just been pushed up and off the back. Combo 12s/14s, so mid period, but sucking enough on the reef that water was moving up the face.

As for this morning I think I fared better than BS720 who sent me a text saying OB was 2', as I drove by the lane and saw a head high ish set. More waves along west cliff, glass inside the kelp with a slight bump outside. Headed to my spot and has it all alone with my buddy for our 90 minute surf window. Two guys showed up about half way through and set up on the peak to our south. We had either a waist high peak that would bowl and jump up into a chest high wall with many opportunities to turn before it would drop back to waist high and close out on the inside. Or, the bigger sets were about head high to a foot OH, fast, juicy bowls that allowed a big turn, followed by down the line speed arcs finishing with another big turn as the whole thing came down across the mid sections. The big ones were fun, but the small ones were super fun. Anyway, had fun this morning. So stoked when that place comes together. Almost forgot about the left bowl/barrel my buddy was surfing. That wave looked fun too, but I never got one of the better ones. Such a grindy little spot.

[Tectonically_Neglected]

Today was my first day without a cap and gloves. Was 20degrees C (water 9C), sunny, no wind. What a blast to enjoy good weather (we've had rain, cold, wind for sooo long... average temp is 8C BELOW normal for this time of the year!!!) to be in the water again (OK, yesterday, the day before and the day before that I was also surfing but who's counting?). Too bad the waves were small. Had a few rides of over 20m and that was it. NIce to feel that I am finally getting some paddle power! Nothing crazy but I feel I can paddle for a few minutes without killing my arms/ shoulders. Hung around the beach a bit and then headed back home to pick up the kids from school.

Nothing forecasted for the upcoming days. That's just as well cuz I need to get some work done...

[Piggity]

Agreed Ottime, this was the first time I made a conscious decision to switch up my style before paddling out. Gonna try it more often to keep progressing.


Am I seeing a 14m+ pimple on the map?

[Ottime]

That is a mighty good looking three day forecast. Hope it holds. What I like even better is the 14 day forecast locally with slack winds. Not that the 14 day is ever close to accurate. A boy can always dream.

Still high on this mornings session. Best of the past week I think. Such awesome shape.

[jtran10]

Didn't end up paddling out this morning, but just had a 2 hour session here in Cbad. SSW and the W wind swell working through. Best waves were breaking on the reef from the SSW, but some fun wind swell waves too. Stayed out until I didn't think I'd be able to make the paddle back out.

I was consciously catching the set waves right on the peak to try and keep as much speed as possible through the wave, and 3 different times the same guy dropped in on me down the line (there were only about 10 people out). 2 of the 3 waves would have been best of the session status, but the guy snowballed the face and all three waves shut down right there. I was coming out of the whitewater on two of the waves, but know I could have very easily gotten ahead of the section.

Maybe he thought I wasn't going to make the wave? I dunno..pretty sure he didn't look right at all. Very frusturating. He didn't apologize either. Do you guys say something in this situation? I didn't because he was a good 10-20 yards down the line so he wasn't super close to me, but like I said he did shut down all 3 waves.

[icelanticskier]

Maybe he thought I wasn't going to make the wave? I dunno..pretty sure he didn't look right at all. Very frusturating. He didn't apologize either. Do you guys say something in this situation?

yes, i most certainly do. if it's just once i usually let it go, but if the behavior continues i let them know in various ways depending on my mood

haven't had to deal with that here in maine. refreshing.

rog

[PowerWhore7]

3 different times the same guy dropped in on me down the line

Ahh, SoCal surfing. It’s so refreshing isn’t it
I had a guy at Cottons this week straight up call me a “fucking faggot” for catching too many waves. Funny thing is, I thought I was being courteous and only catching outside waves every 3rd set or so, and in between I would sit off to the side or on the inside as to not be a greedy pig catching everything on the 9fter. So after that I made a conscious decision to show him how Cottons is truly a longboard break and what an agitated little italian dude from Jerzey can do with his longboard.

Do you guys say something in this situation?

Personally I never say anything unless it’s absolutely necessary. Surfing and skiing are the two things in my life that bring me true peace & happiness so I try not to break that zen for anything or anyone, but I am from NJ and think I am 6’5” 250lbs (really 5’ 7” 155) so if necessary I will bite your ankles until you you fall down.

[Ottime]

I use a trick I learned on the NYC subways. Just start talking to yourself about what an asshole that guy is. It I helpful I you can work up some spittle. Be sure to not use coherent sentences. Mumble under your breath. If they say something to you or ask you what you are saying, turn toward them, look them in the eye, act surprised and say "was I talking? Sorry, that happens sometimes." They will often paddle away.


Honestly, that is why I generally don't surf in town. What is nice about it up here is that folks who surf up north are usually trying to get away from the BS. It can be aggressive, but usually cordial.

Last night, OMG. Got a txt from the buddy I surfed with in the AM. Something about how the winds looked light up north and how he wished he could surf in the morning. I responded with saying I might go that evening. This was around 6:15. We ended up meeting at the Waddell parking lot around 7:45. No one there. Almost absolute glass. Just a very light texture. Shoulder high on the small one. Two feet over head on the big sets. Fast, hollow, long. Again, the smaller ones were pretty epic. Such an excellent session and stoked to get a double in surfing with just my buddy. Especially as the evening session was at a very popular summer spot. A little surprised how much wave a 2.3@17 and 2@11 combo can make.