Anyone else get some today...?

[Long duc dong]

It has been fun down here, although not cranking.

I was busy all week, and couldn't make it out.

Saturday made up for that. It was about head high and fun, with the easy walls and takeoffs that can make hb so fun and user friendly. You did have to Huntington hop to get to the inside, but that was usually after a nice first bottom t urn to cutback, maybe a couple. Once you got there, the inside sections really had some juice. The paddle back was always long, but when you are surfing beachbreak waves that feel more like point waves that's worth it.

I waited out the crowd, and got rewarded. By noon the area from tower 8 to tower 10 was pretty empty, and it stayed glassy all afternoon. I surfed for 3 hours, which made up for not getting out all week.

Peaches,

I think you are going in the right direction. I hate to keep beating the same drum, but a board like that will not only be great for your current development, it will also be useful later. In fact, I might paddle out on a 7'6" funshape right now.

[PeachesNCream]

Check the surf shops for used funboards or eggs but you'll usually save some money cutting out the middle man.

Here's 2 options in SD from a quick search on CL that seem like decent fits.
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/...802417555.html

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/...799836159.html

Blacks seems to have become my default midweek option, though now that we're entering winter I'll be hitting Sunset Cliffs more often on the larger swells. Looker's right of Tourmaline is PB Point, are you out there or just surfing north Tourmaline?

Just north of Tourmaline. Basically between the parking lot and stairs. Lots of people there this winter. I’ve heard the point is a little territorial out there and I’m still in the beginner stages.


Thanks again for the board advice y’all. I actually ended up pulling the trigger on that 7’8 Stewart that CCS had posted. Seems like a pretty sweet board. I took it out this morning and it kicked my ass. Wasn’t a great day, but I didn’t catch a single wave and got a hell of a shoulder workout. Also just felt completely different being on a hard board and sitting that deep in the water, confidence took a hit. I’ll definitely be spending lots of time on the “foamy longboard” still

Edit: Are you guys using 3/2s or 4/3s? I’m in a 3/2, but man these morning are getting cold and I imagine it’s going to be cold for quite a while

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[comish]

Board size is hard. This is a long ramble as I'm dealing with it myself. I'm 51, been surfing since I was 15, but not with nearly the regularity as I ski (60 to 100 days skiing, maybe 25 to 35 surfing). Makes great sense living in SoCal right? I was a longboarder for probably the first 20 yrs of surfing. I have taken my 9' performance longboard out in DOH+ waves. So my brain is wired to get into waves nice and early. Since trying to play with shorter boards (but not even a true "shortboard, think 6'8 bonzer egg) my brain still struggles with looking over the ledge and knowing I can stick that drop. Total mind shift that I still struggle with. A lot has to do with my fitness at the time too. Longboard is just so easy to paddle and get in the right spot. Shorter boards require so much more energy, but if I'm in good paddling shape, isn't too bad. Once tired, forgetaboutit.

Was in Tavarua for Thanksgiving. Had 3 generations out surfing (dad is 81 still surfing OH Tavi). I picked up a 7'2 step up/mini gun bonzer used for $399 for this trip to try a more proper board. One day at Wilkes well overhead and I caught what I wanted and made the drops. Wave had no shape this day so nothing real fun. Another day at SH Cloudbreak, I just couldn't for the life of me get in the right spot. So frustrating. I caught a few, but basically kooked it up. This was on day 6 so I was pretty cooked physically. The day prior I took my longboard to Cloudbreak and caught a couple of sweet waves that got me hooted by the surf guides. On my longboard I'm confident, can turn the bonzer longboard surprisingly well, will catch and make any set wave. Then I switch to something shorter and I'm a shell of the same surfer. So, tough sport, helps to do it a lot as Ottime said, I don't know, I wish I had learned to short board when young. I will say, that 7'2 step up could duck dive which sure is nice when staring a big OH open ocean set rolling in on you. Let's just say that's a whole different beast on my longboard.

Trying to figure out what to take next year if I'm lucky enough to go back? My ideal scenario, something that paddles well since your arms are usually toast from surfing 5hrs a day +, I like being able to catch waves early, something that can duck dive. Is that so much to ask? Oh yea, thinking of going non-bonzer to make traveling easier and those waves once HH and above have plenty of juice. I'm 5'9, 165.

As my dad proves, it's a great life long sport though! Keeps you fit.

edit: 3/2 in spring/fall, 4/3 in winter. Rip curl outlet in San Clemente is great for suits. Got some 3/2's for the fam for $80 this fall. Board shorts for $10. I find Rip Curls super flexible which is great, maybe not the longest lasting. When talking to the Florence brothers, mostly Nate, about wetsuits in Tavi, they agreed with that. They only do custom $$$ suits for Florence Marine.

[CascadeCrudSkier]

Just north of Tourmaline. Basically between the parking lot and stairs. Lots of people there this winter. I’ve heard the point is a little territorial out there and I’m still in the beginner stages.


Thanks again for the board advice y’all. I actually ended up pulling the trigger on that 7’8 Stewart that CCS had posted. Seems like a pretty sweet board. I took it out this morning and it kicked my ass. Wasn’t a great day, but I didn’t catch a single wave and got a hell of a shoulder workout. Also just felt completely different being on a hard board and sitting that deep in the water, confidence took a hit. I’ll definitely be spending lots of time on the “foamy longboard” still

Edit: Are you guys using 3/2s or 4/3s? I’m in a 3/2, but man these morning are getting cold and I imagine it’s going to be cold for quite a while

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See the wetsuit thread for my inputs on wetsuits but yeah, the water temps are down into winter mode now. I ended up getting another Feral suit in what they call a 3+ suit with a hood. Normally I'd be in a 4/3 with booties once the water drops below 60, like it is now, but I've been pretty comfortable just using the hood and this new suit. No booties required, which is really nice. I'll never go back to a RipCurl suit again. I'm not a big fan of surfing in a hood but it's better than booties and also protects the ears if you're concerned about surfer's ear.

The switch to a new board will be painful at first but is a necessary step to improve. You'll soon get a feel for paddling that egg around and it won't feel so foreign. Then the waves will come. I didn't start surfing until I was in my early 20s and I didn't know what I was doing. My board progression the first 2 years was 7'2" gun (a terrible choice for any conditions I was using it in), 8'6" longboard, 6'6" thruster. I don't think I caught a wave on that thruster for the first week I used it. The trick is to just keep going after it and eventually you'll see progress, just not day to day progress. I think Ott mentioned it upstream but the real key to improvement is to just surf every day. I'm still not a great surfer but I'm competent and love the feel of shortboarding; the speed and acceleration are addictive. Paddling sub 6' boards can still be frustrating at times but the advantages outweigh the costs.

If you really want to get some online studying in then check out the training section on Surfline; Nick Carroll does a pretty good job of breaking down a lot of important skills you'll need to build on your journey. I'd start w/ the paddling series they're releasing now and the Surf Your Best series from a couple years back. I'm not sure if you have to be a member to access these but if not then I think they're also on Youtube.
https://www.surfline.com/category/training

I'm happy to paddle out at Law Street on Saturday for a dawn patrol if you want.

[PeachesNCream]

See the wetsuit thread for my inputs on wetsuits but yeah, the water temps are down into winter mode now. I ended up getting another Feral suit in what they call a 3+ suit with a hood. Normally I'd be in a 4/3 with booties once the water drops below 60, like it is now, but I've been pretty comfortable just using the hood and this new suit. No booties required, which is really nice. I'll never go back to a RipCurl suit again. I'm not a big fan of surfing in a hood but it's better than booties and also protects the ears if you're concerned about surfer's ear.

The switch to a new board will be painful at first but is a necessary step to improve. You'll soon get a feel for paddling that egg around and it won't feel so foreign. Then the waves will come. I didn't start surfing until I was in my early 20s and I didn't know what I was doing. My board progression the first 2 years was 7'2" gun (a terrible choice for any conditions I was using it in), 8'6" longboard, 6'6" thruster. I don't think I caught a wave on that thruster for the first week I used it. The trick is to just keep going after it and eventually you'll see progress, just not day to day progress. I think Ott mentioned it upstream but the real key to improvement is to just surf every day. I'm still not a great surfer but I'm competent and love the feel of shortboarding; the speed and acceleration are addictive. Paddling sub 6' boards can still be frustrating at times but the advantages outweigh the costs.

If you really want to get some online studying in then check out the training section on Surfline; Nick Carroll does a pretty good job of breaking down a lot of important skills you'll need to build on your journey. I'd start w/ the paddling series they're releasing now and the Surf Your Best series from a couple years back. I'm not sure if you have to be a member to access these but if not then I think they're also on Youtube.
https://www.surfline.com/category/training

I'm happy to paddle out at Law Street on Saturday for a dawn patrol if you want.

I’ll check out that thread.

Glad to hear it’s not unusual to struggle with a new board.

I’d like to surf everyday, maybe I can work my way up. Long story short, I’ve had a few concussions and it’s really affected my “mental recovery”. I feel exhausted/irritable/can’t concentrate if I ramp up too fast, but I’ve been doing an hour in the morning every other day and felt okay so I hope if I keep at it, I can increase it. I just have to be patient. Hopefully looking into some treatments in the new year

Won’t be able to head out tomorrow, got plans with the gf. But I’m up for another morning, weekdays are usually best. I head out for a couple weeks mid next but might be able to on Monday or once I get back. Winter surfing is fun


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[CascadeCrudSkier]

Even with a really deep morning tide, today was the biggest day of the fall so far at Blacks. Sets were slightly overhead with the occasional bombs clearing out the lineup every 20 minutes or so. Caught one of those and a couple smaller ones; it was enough to call it a successful morning. I assumed that with the deep tide it would take the size down a couple notches but I was really undergunned on a 5'11" thruster.

Next week it looks like Santa is bringing waves to CA, with several sizeable swells but the largest appearing on Christmas Eve.

P&C, I'm on a time crunch tomorrow so I'll surf Law St from 6-7am. White Rav 4 w/ WA plates, parked on Ocean St that is adjacent to the grassy park on the hill. On Google Maps it's called Palisades South Park but I've never heard anyone call it that. I'll probably be there by 5:45 or 5:50 so I can bail and go for a run if the surf isn't working. With the nearly full moon there'll be plenty of light.

[Ottime]

The first time I surfed my Jeff Bushman, coming off two plus years on the Aiken plastic blown board I was able to catch waves. But every time I stood up the board would slip out from under my feet. To the left. To the right. No matter what I did I could not stand up on it. A few sessions later I was making bottom turns and a few more after that I was riding harder and smoother than I ever been on my old board.

[Xover]

Eddie on Yellow Alert for Sunday ......

[Sluff]

I was just going to bump the Eddie chance on Sunday. 30 to 35 ft forecast.

[PeachesNCream]

Thanks for the encouragement y’all. I think a new wetsuit will do me some good. My legs are numb after about 30 mins in the morning and that sure doesn’t help a rookie with standing up on a board

CCS - sorry I missed ya. We’ll have to meet up post new years once Im back

Looks like a pretty good swell coming through. Would be fun to watch. Any here have enough nuts for triple overhead?


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[Ottime]

TOH is about as big as I go these days. I used to chase bigger but I was a few decades younger and before I bothered chasing any snow. You need to keep your surf focus once you are out in that size.

I'll be looking at Scotts and Middle Peak over the next few days. We are forecast to top 25' surf around here. I imagine Mavs being significantly bigger.

The past four days has been great. Tuesday was solid DOH and I got a number of waves on my 7'6" with no real pain or suffering. The next three days I was at the ledge with surf ranging from 6-10' and it was oh so much fun. My 6'4" was still delivering on the bigger sets which is kind of insane.

On Thursday I grabbed this one 8' X 8'. I mean this thing was thiiiiiick. Two turns moved me like 60 yards but those turns were fucking insane. Both just crushing the lip. This wave was o juicy but I was on top of things and my turns were perfectly countering the force. So much fun out there.


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[jackstraw]

Hell yeah Ott!

[Ottime]

So never got to look at Scotts. I imagine it was a no paddle out zone with maybe some insane waves across the outside. I can't see how the channel would maintain.

Finally got down to West Cliff this afternoon for a walk with my mom. She had no idea what a treat she was seeing.

Swift St was working. Maybe 7 or so out. No one else anywhere along West Cliff other than maybe the Lane/ Cowells. The wave was easily twenty feet but I think it was quite a bit bigger actually. Somewhat soft/ easy looking drops. Take in to account it was at least twenty feet, so easy is relative.

I saw one guy grab a bit one and make the drop to the bottom. As he made the long down the line bottom turn the first section slow motion style caught up with him. He was maybe standing tall at the bottom of 30' of white water, got pass the section and rode up the face all the way to the top to place his turn and project through the next section - and good thing he did because it roped as much as a wave of that size ropes and he flew through it. So fucking insane the few rides is saw.

My mom asked if I wish I were out and explained I was happy to have her as an excuse. The wave actually looked sort of user friendly. The usually rock jump off point looked harder than tough. And figuring out where you'd aim to go in also seems a challenge. And the waves were big. But oh so nice looking.





Cell phone was not ideal. The bigger waves fully put riders in the shadow so I could not get any of the stops mid face.





This is towards the end of the wave where the light worked better. Backing off?


There is a dude on this wave somewhere. He's tiny and you can see how long it is. These would line up and peel.






I'm gonna try to look in the morning. Swell is to drop a lot but it's still gonna be kind of huge.


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[jackstraw]

Yeah, I was down at Swift - Stockton. That wave always has the rippers on it! Guys I saw were killing it. Certainly seems like the local only spot. Every person I've seen surf there is borderline pro or pro.

How about the wharf! Jeezus! [emoji33] Not my pics.

[Ottime]

The Dolphin was looking for a new location. Down by the river mouth looks lovely.

Not all pros. I surf there a bit and I'm far from pro anything. Today my neighbor was out. High School teacher. Solid surfer, but just some guy who lies here. I think one of the cool things about SC is how many really fucking good surfers are living and surfing here. If you head out into good waves, there will always be rippers around you.

Just looked at winds for tomorrow, Boo,

[jackstraw]

The Dolphin was looking for a new location. Down by the river mouth looks lovely.

Not all pros. I surf there a bit and I'm far from pro anything. Today my neighbor was out. High School teacher. Solid surfer, but just some guy who lies here. I think one of the cool things about SC is how many really fucking good surfers are living and surfing here. If you head out into good waves, there will always be rippers around you.

Just looked at winds for tomorrow, Boo,

Yeah, growing up on these waves you're bound to be pretty good. I know my kids have improved tremendously from their ec roots with so few days of waves. Here you can literally surf every day. May not be epic, but there's a waist high wave somewhere.

[Ottime]

When I moved here after college, I had only surfed the EC. Mpstly Maine and Rockaway NY, so I hear ya on lack of consistency.

Not only can you surf here nearly every day, you can shortboard 9 out of 10 days. So true, you really get some time on the board. You can also balance a life, job, relationship, etc and still get into really good surf on a regular basis. On top of that, we have had overhead surf 9 out of 10 days over the last eight weeks, so you can really log some time in decent sized and large surf.

the 23rd was for sure XL out there. The wave actually looked very enticing. Getting out there looked like the bigger challenge and would really requiring good timing.

OTOH I surfed Swift yesterday afternoon and it was an easy jump off the rocks and I was out. Surfed the 6'7" pin tail and that was a ton of fun. A few feet overhead, but ultimately kind of soft and easy for out there. I mean, it was still hollow, but not a hard take off at all. Gonna give it another try in a few hours and then I'm up to the snow for a week.

[whitekingsalmon]

Yawn

[subtle plague]

that swell looked pretty wild..... ot I've only seen some mavericks footage, but it looked big. an donly a few tow guys out.

[jackstraw]

that swell looked pretty wild..... ot I've only seen some mavericks footage, but it looked big. an donly a few tow guys out.

This popped into my feed

https://youtu.be/Ro2K_bKAOLc?si=7W05jkQEUrtM3lho

[Ottime]

I saw that drone out there for a bit. Or some drone. I keep looking for pics of that session as there were at least to pro photogs set up on the cliffs.

And welcome back fishboy. We've been missing you around here. Can you please grab and repost some pics from the internet to share you imaginary travels with us? How's your mom these days? Charging rent yet?


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[whitekingsalmon]

Life is good ott... been crazy as normal. Finally got back 2 novembers ago to visit family after 3 years 8 months traveling nonstop... last 2 years super crazy cool, hiked 5 different caminos in spain... crusin around italy and a lot of time in the mountains around Cortina. Croatia. Bosnia, montenegro. Albania. Then came back this way n spent 5 months at the beachhouse in pavones then hiked the Appalation trail sobo. Life is good.

[Ottime]

Well man, so glad you privilege has led you to travels. Maybe some day it we lead to positivity. Best of luck with that. You may like this story, as it was not knee to waist high.


Paddled out at Scotts this mornin after spending ht last week in the mountains. It was big. 12.5'@15s from 280^. The channel looked huge and the paddle out easy. The surf variable but clean. Some lined up very nice. Lots of surf, ranging from OH to DOH plus. Some legit 15 footers rolling through, so I grabbed the 7'6" mini gun. As I got to the beach, I realized some of the bigger/wider ones were closing the channel. Oh. Walked back onto the reef and waited for a lull. Basically you just walk in as the water recedes meters and then jump over an inside wall of whitewater, and then paddle fast, out and left toward the channel.

I made the first section out and avoided the shore pound at the river. The water here is uneven and moving in every direction, but you just dig in and get as much momentum as possible. The current is south, into huge beach break. The reef is north. As I was nearing the outer channel, a big wide set moved through. The wave loomed and the the lip pitched. Being in the depths of the channel, only the top four feet broke and the wave flatten backed out. I paddled up the dying face. Its hard to get underneath when the wave face is so sloped. But I did, and could just barely feel the pull of the wave across my back. Just barely. Broke through and I was out. But that meant the wave was at least 200 hundred yards away and the peak another hundred beyond that. I settled in for the long paddle.

It took some time and effort and I was out. A few friends in the water. We chatted and waited for a set. I just watched the first set come through to see how it was breaking. First set was DOH. They looked wide, but usually would settle back and stay open from deep. Cool. I paddled deep. Next set was a bit smaller, so I paddled a bit inside. Third set was bigger. 15'. I was inside. I paddled out over a few but one eventually clipped me. I tried to sneak under the lip, but the turbulence grabbed my board and I ditched it. Swirled, tumbled and I reached for my leash. I must have know, because as soon as I did that, it snapped off at the ankle cuff.

I was close tot he surface, and found my way up quick enough. Another wave passed through, but I don't think it broke. I saw a buddy nearby and said something about swimming in because my leash broke and he pointed, " you board is right there!" Ten feet or so away, deck up. I sprinted, got on and paddled out. I realized that my session was over and how damn lucky I was to recover my board. We are way out at sea at this break. A place where ten foot waves just do not break, but pass through like swells. It is way way out there. I looked out to sea, saw no big sets and started to work my way in. I was actually hoping to get far enough in where the ten footers were breaking, thinking I would catch an easier smaller wave to get me near shore. And that almost did happen. I was close to one, but should have raced down the line instead of getting right under it. I let it pass.

Then I saw some bigger ones looming. My mistake was paddling back out and down the line. I should have just sprinted in. The first few were not so big, nor so wide, even enough so I though I might line one of these up. Then I was racing one down the line, having to duck under the breaking lip at the last second, and even that one took me, swirled me and ripped my board from my hands. I was thinking, at least I am way more inside for this swim as I surfaced to find my board within arms reach. I grabbed it, and then saw the real set. It was big and dark and not terribly wide, but we all were way inside of it. Some broke for the shoulder. Others sat still, prepping to ditch their board. I sprinted in, trying to make it clear for anyone nearby that I was planning on taking this thing on the back.

It had already broken some time ago. I was trying to drive deeper but there were two people in my way. Being deeper, more energy will have dissipated. I did not want to be anywhere near where it was breaking. And then it caught up to me. ten feet of white water. I grabbed the rails and it hit, picked me up, surrounded me with froth - I held my breath getting ready to get wreaked. And then it grabbed me and tossed me up into the air, in front of the violence, I held on tight, blinded by foam I could tell I was in the air and took a deep breath. Somehow I landed this on my belly and skated well ahead of the breaker; by the time it caught up the violence had lessened but the ride remained wild and triumph was still over a 100 yards away. I bounced and raced toward shore, finally dismounting in a few feet of water, I ran up the reef. I felt so so lucky.

Another board, or half a board, was sitting on an exposed part of the reef. I secured my board on the cliff, and picked that piece up to get it to a safe spot. Who ever owned that was not as lucky. Heavy water is fun.

[subtle plague]

jesus christ. I was scared just reading that. I Get scared at anything bigger than 5@14+ seconds.....or 3m faces these days.
I would have drowned out there. And just for clarification for this kook: Is 10-12 or 15 foot not usually in the tripple or tripple OH+ range?
edit: and i've always wondered about the nature of the king fish...

[CascadeCrudSkier]

That was quite a session @Ottime, glad it all worked out. I've thankfully never had a leash go on a reef several hundred yards off the beach, I've always had them go on hollow beach break close to the beach.

Back in Britannia many centuries ago it is said that when a son reached puberty the father would take the son out for a walk and tour the edge of the family's property. Upon reaching the furthest point of the land, the father would beat the shit out of the son. This traumatic experience would forever imprint on the son where the family land's ended so there would never be any confusion about it from generation to generation.

A couple of weeks ago I got cleaned up by a set on a big day doing exactly what you did, cheating in on a couple smaller ones and then paying the price. After I got washed through the inside and finally made it back to the lineup a friend told me that story and finished it up with, "I think the ocean just showed you where the property line is."