Anyone else get some today...?

[Long duc dong]

^^ Isn't WSL going on this weekend at Lowers? Can imagine the crowds only going to be more insane, but I've never actually surfed down there.

Slim chance I do a long dawn patrol mission to NJ if the wind forecast changes for this weekend

They are going on right now. It should be pumping.

[Xover]

Keeping my fingers crossed LDD that the water stays this warm until the week of Oct' 10th. That's as soon as I can get back down there. As long as it is 73 (or above) and sunny, can trunk it pleasantly. Anything below that or cloudy and I gotta break out the shorty - metal in back and hip get to cold and I lose quickness/flexibility. Stay away upwelling That area of Trestles is my favorite as well.

[SB]

Buddy sez OBX is going off. Forecast looks like Big Monday.

[Long duc dong]

Keeping my fingers crossed LDD that the water stays this warm until the week of Oct' 10th. That's as soon as I can get back down there. As long as it is 73 (or above) and sunny, can trunk it pleasantly. Anything below that or cloudy and I gotta break out the shorty - metal in back and hip get to cold and I lose quickness/flexibility. Stay away upwelling That area of Trestles is my favorite as well.

It's certainly a possibility. Even if it does cool a bit you can often wear a spring around that time of year.

I remember one year trunking it into November. My threshold is a bit lower, around 70 for trunks, but it's always nice when it works out that way.

I got in a session north of the HB pier yesterday morning. I was in the water from around 8 to maybe 930, so I caught the tide coming up. It was head high+ and clean, but a bit shifty. Because of the high tide it was tough to connect them through to the inside. Still, they were solid and fun, a bottom turn flowing into a cutback, then maybe another before they softened up. The crowd was pretty spread out once you got north of tower 10.

The weather is pretty crazy here today. It is strangely humid in a way that is quite anomalous for this region. I'm a bit busy to be able to sneak in a session, but if things are not too crazy tomorrow with the storm I might hit up Trestles. This afternoon is supposed to be offshore here, but we will see. The planes are already landing at John Wayne by coming in off the water, which is what they do when it is offshore.

[Xover]

I remember one year trunking it into November. My threshold is a bit lower, around 70 for trunks, but it's always nice when it works out that way.

I remember that year. Had one of my best days at Swamis ever. And, holy fuck!! What a change on the surfline cams from this morning to afternoon at Lowers Morning looked like complete shit; now it looks alltime! Git sum LDD

[Ottime]

I’m going to be a ten minute walk down to Uluwatas for the next few days. Any of y’all happen to be in Bali right now? Have not surfed since around April, but still stoked to get out. Been swimming laps on the pool trying to not be completely out of surf shape. Living in Singapore for the next 8 months and with some luck I’ll get out for a few days once a month.

[SB]

Nice, i watch the SOB channel sometimes.

Will be on the look out, CF5?

[Ottime]

Took the moped over to Balagan for lunch break. Mid day high tide is a bit much for the small swel Been sucking down the Avocado Juice in SG for the past two months. This one kicks ass



My after surf breakfast location was not too shabby either.



Small surf put me out in the water at low tide. Bounced off the reef on my second wave. A bit of reef rash to start the trip. Figure I’ll keep going out as I fly back to SG on Friday and will visit the doc on Sat if it gets infected. Dumb move.

Not used to surfing is such fat crowds. I avoid town at home and usually surf with 2-8 max.

Got more waves than most of the line up but kind of wish I brought a few higher volume boards for ease of paddle in. It’s a pretty twitchy line up out there on these smaller days at least.

Balagan looks a bit mellower. This place looks like it could be fun when the tide drops out.

Trying to figure out where to set up with my family next month when I return. Uluwata is cool enough but more surfer than family. Not a whole lot of beach.

Blatant is just beach and warung.

Padang Padang looks like an option. Gonna check out Bingin area tomorrow mid day.

Looks like swell fills in late tomorrow with some size for Thursday.

[SB]

Sweet!

[nortonwhis]

Yeah buddy! Hope the reef rash heals. Get some hydro peroxide on the wound to make sure the coral isn't still growing in there...

[justo8484]

^^ Isn't WSL going on this weekend at Lowers? Can imagine the crowds only going to be more insane, but I've never actually surfed down there.

Slim chance I do a long dawn patrol mission to NJ if the wind forecast changes for this weekend

You make the trip out to NJ? Made it out to Crystals in AC sunday for sunrise session before the tide filled it in, and it was super fun. There was a little bit of texture do to the suboptimal winds, but the swell was solid enough that the faces were chest-head and relatively smooth. Surfed my 6'2" thruster instead of 5'10" quad, which seemed like the right call since the 5'10" gets a bit squirrely (at least for me) when things get above chest/shoulder high. I also walked into the leftovers of a full moon party on the beach right in front of the rock jetty that was still raging from the previous night. Full DJ setup, lights, fire put, weird fire dancer dude, some guy dressed like Neo from the matrix, etc. Not what I was expecting to find at 6:30am at all.

[VTskibum]

Ha that’s funny about the DJ. Didn’t make it out unfortunately, kicked myself watching the Manasquan cam while having coffee w my daughter.

Glad you got some as it looked pretty good and first swell in who knows how long? I’m headed down to Brigantine for 4 day surf trip w some buddies. Hoping for more good waves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jackstraw]

I’m going to be a ten minute walk down to Uluwatas for the next few days. Any of y’all happen to be in Bali right now? Have not surfed since around April, but still stoked to get out. Been swimming laps on the pool trying to not be completely out of surf shape. Living in Singapore for the next 8 months and with some luck I’ll get out for a few days once a month.

That's wild Ott. Have a great time!

[meb4ac]

My day was good today. I helped someone by giving him food.

[Long duc dong]

I’m going to be a ten minute walk down to Uluwatas for the next few days. Any of y’all happen to be in Bali right now? Have not surfed since around April, but still stoked to get out. Been swimming laps on the pool trying to not be completely out of surf shape. Living in Singapore for the next 8 months and with some luck I’ll get out for a few days once a month.

That is awesome on so many levels. Ulus always looked like a dream wave....if I was better.

Hopefully it lined up for you.

[fool]

Looks incredible Ottime!

Suggestions on an app/subscription for surf break weather/details? Is Surfline the go-to? Happy to pay for a subscription if it's solid (ala Open Snow). About to start getting my feet wet in Santa Cruz as a beginner.

[up an down]

I’m going to be a ten minute walk down to Uluwatas for the next few days. Any of y’all happen to be in Bali right now? Have not surfed since around April, but still stoked to get out. Been swimming laps on the pool trying to not be completely out of surf shape. Living in Singapore for the next 8 months and with some luck I’ll get out for a few days once a month.

If you decide to check out Siargao Island in Philippines let me know.. I can hook you up with a local surfer there.. He also has a boat to reach breaks that are out of the usual range of the tourist crowd at Cloud 9.

[Ottime]

^^^^ I’ll look into that for sure. Do you know the season?

fool - I use mostly Stormsurf for Santa Cruz. I think they are way better and more accurate than surfline. Surfline is good for surf trends but they seem to miss the timin if and actually size/period a lot for SC. BTW - I’ll be back in September if ‘23 and would love to show you around. My biggest surf buddy is a intermediate surfer who I got to know when I was re-jabbing my ankle and Cowells had a great sandbar. As I healed I started dragging him around to less crowded, a bit more challenging spots. I love surfing with kooks, cause it makes me feel like a ripper instead of an old guy. Ha. Anyway, been surfing SC for a few decades and I know my way around and would be happy to tour you about when I return. In the meantime, 38th is a good beginner wave but can be super crowded. When it is small, head south to the beaches and find you own peak, even if it mostly close outs, to build strength and wave count. Town is super super crowded. Once you feel up for it, check out 3 Mile. It has grown popular, but when small, still pretty uncrowded. Ledge, soft point break. Prefers longer period swells. Mid tide on a south swell, low tide on a West or NW swell. Mellower crowd than most other spots. If you are in town, check out the peak just south of the Hook, called Sharks. A bit less quality than the Hook, but much less crowded. From there there are a few peaks south/east toward Capitola worth checking. Privates gets busy but the others don’t really.

As for Ulus, had three full days there. First two were decent but nothing exciting. Being old and out of surf shape made that fine. Mostly surfed up at the top at Temples as the line up down at the Peak and Racetracks was way too busy and way to twitchy for my liking. About 100 folks out by 8am all paddling for every fucking wave.

Thursday the swell came up a bit and I spent about four hour mostly at the Peak, but caught a few at Racetracks after getting a long one from the Peak. Racetracks is really the premier wave there. When it got good, it was a really good wave. Would love to get back there when I’m in form, as I felt pretty old a kooky. Still had fins and got plenty of waves on Thursday.

They have a photog set up and sell pics for pretty cheap. I did not have much cash on hand but bought two that showed a pretty average wave for the day. There were smaller ones and bigger ones out there. I did get one really nice shack, but could not find it on their roll. Oh well. They do a pretty good job of finding your pics, as they are taking about a thousand clicks every few minutes. It helped I was in the kooky hooded rash guard and reef boots (I love both of those items - my face and legs are burnt as fuck, but not my balding head or arms)





Lost one of my reef booties that day as I was duck diving. The Indian Ocean just ripped it clean off my foot.

Went to Ulu Temple after late lunch and returned for a sunset session. Paddle out 30 minutes before sunset on a super low tide with DOH sets at Racetracks. Took me 15 minutes to get out, waited two minutes, got my biggest, fastest wave of the day - went for a cutback and lost the wave. Started to paddle out for another and after the third line of whitewater decided it was best to head in before it got dark seeing I really did not k it this reef at low tide and sailed was solid. Got all the way to a few feet from shore and was about to stand up when the water suck out and I knocked my knee on the reef. Small cut (like a cm) but mostly felt like a win.

And a few shots I took from the trip.


Rented a bike and checked out a few other spots and surfed both Impossibles (super fast wave, not consistent - got one screamer) and Dreamland (mellow right hander good at low tide on the morning I flew out - safer wave and I was tired and did not want to fuck myself up before heading home)


Racetracks from the cave entrance about 45 minutes before my departure. Friday looks pretty fun. It was the only section of Ulus working that morning, but the crowd was pretty minimal compared to the rest of the week.


Looking down the final stretch of stairs into the cave


Looking out of the cave toward the surf. At high tide, it was pretty scotching coming in from surfing. For sure not a beginner exit.


Racetracks from about halfway up the cliffs. I totally enjoyed all the warung built into the Cliffside. Great for after or pre surf season meals/drinks. You could actually fuel up and watch the surf from a great vantage point and create your lineup points.


Bingin in foreground. Want to get out to this place next time. It picks up less swell and is a shorter wave, but really well defined and barrels. Impossibles is next behind that. Deceptively awesome looking. On Friday morning I watched it for a bit and it does seem more makable with more swell. You can kind of see Padang Padang, but it was not really breaking this day (Wednesday) as it was too small. That last big rock at the bottom of the cliffs in the background is where Ulus sits. Great stretch of coast line In the other direction is Dreamland, which is a easier wave than any fo these, and around the next headland about KM north is Balangan. I'd be happy to come back here. But also would love to find some more remote places. I don't love hassling to get waves. Much prefer to sit under the peak and wait for a good one to come to me. That was not an option at any of these places. Oddly enough, Dreamland had perhaps the most twitchy lineup of all - perhaps cause it is loaded with folks who can handle the other spots perhaps.

[Ottime]

A few more



Down in the cave, locals set up in cave warnings to sell snacks and drinks, They have all their chais and tables tied up inside the cave so they don't wash away during big swells


The paddle out at mid-low tide. This is pretty much the end section of the Peak with Racktracks forming up to the right after a close out section. Occasionally they would connect but never saw any that reeled through both sections of the reef.


Uluwatu Temple has a huge grounds atop the cliffs. My first night, at low tide, I surfed under these cliffs, in a stunning setting. The temple was super crowded, but a cool place to walk around. Would love to go back sometime, maybe in the mornings, to enjoy with fewer folks. I surfed the cove below on Tuesday at low tide with smaller swell. Super cool place to surf, just 15m away from the 70m cliffs.

[Ottime]

Monkeys rule the temple. Saw about 100 while I was there. One less crowded stretch away from the cliffs I walked between 40-50, Was kind if waiting to get jumped by them


This guy had no shame. Just playing with his balls.

[SB]

Outstanding, so glad you had a great time and good rides.

I like to watch the videos of various breaks there but it seems so crowded.

[Ottime]

It is so fucking crowded. It is not just the amount of people, but the impatience and what I've always called the kook shuffle. At one point I decided to bail on th Peak and paddle to Temples. Its about 150m paddle. As I passed people, they would just start paddling, many fast paddling to get in front of me, and then stop after 10m or so. My final morning, I was at Dreamland and one dude started to paddle to the outside and 20 of the 22 people in the lineup followed. I had been one of the farthest out, and then was the closest to shore. As the set started to come in, one person started to paddle for it, then the other 19 all turned and paddled. I just sat there as four people all took off at the same time basically right where I was sitting. It is odd how much paddling folks are willing to do to catch a wave. Makes me miss home, where you can go out and sit and wait for the wave to come to you. Paddle therefor four strokes and get a good wave. Go back out and wait your turn.

Ulus was much less crowded on Thursday when there was a bit of swell in the water, but still crowded. Ws actually surprised with some of the people who were out. There were plenty of good surfers and plenty of competent surfers but also plenty of what I would call "brave" surfers. No way I'd be out on a day like that at their skill level. Maybe I'm just old Or wise.

[SB]

I understand. As a white water kayaker years ago i had to stop going to many rivers i love because of too many people. Not only does it diminish the experience but is also dangerous and the over use of a natural resource is something i am willing to be a part of.

[TEXASS]

Thanks for the Pics OTT. I was wondering about reef shoes, hoodie, rash guards ect. Only thing Im really dreading on my upcoming trip is the sun exposure. Im going to be the Kook with 20lbs of zinc on my entire body . Hell, I would even wear a 1 mil full suit if I thought it would keep me from frying .
And, I was wondering about the crowds there. I watch s lot of those SOB clips from Ulu. Tons and Tons of people. looks like Lowers to me but extended crowd all the way up and down the reef.

[fool]

^^^^ I’ll look into that for sure. Do you know the season?

fool - I use mostly Stormsurf for Santa Cruz. I think they are way better and more accurate than surfline. Surfline is good for surf trends but they seem to miss the timin if and actually size/period a lot for SC. BTW - I’ll be back in September if ‘23 and would love to show you around. My biggest surf buddy is a intermediate surfer who I got to know when I was re-jabbing my ankle and Cowells had a great sandbar. As I healed I started dragging him around to less crowded, a bit more challenging spots. I love surfing with kooks, cause it makes me feel like a ripper instead of an old guy. Ha. Anyway, been surfing SC for a few decades and I know my way around and would be happy to tour you about when I return. In the meantime, 38th is a good beginner wave but can be super crowded. When it is small, head south to the beaches and find you own peak, even if it mostly close outs, to build strength and wave count. Town is super super crowded. Once you feel up for it, check out 3 Mile. It has grown popular, but when small, still pretty uncrowded. Ledge, soft point break. Prefers longer period swells. Mid tide on a south swell, low tide on a West or NW swell. Mellower crowd than most other spots. If you are in town, check out the peak just south of the Hook, called Sharks. A bit less quality than the Hook, but much less crowded. From there there are a few peaks south/east toward Capitola worth checking. Privates gets busy but the others don’t really.

That's great - thanks, OTT. Been using Magic Seaweed and Stormsurf (still figuring out how to read it) a bit to understand the forecasts more. Borrowed a wet suit from a buddy and just bought a foam board, though it won't surprise me if I end up buying a hard top in a month or so. Have had a few days at Cap - forecast has been better there than most other places - but excited to start checking out other spots. (And I live in Soquel now). I might be gone by Sep '23 but there's a decent chance I'll be nearby - Bay Area is likely - so I'm sure I'll be back. Would be great to surf with you. Enjoy it over there!