Anyone else get some today...?

[Long duc dong]

Nothing up here yesterday. Anyone finding Emilia any where down south? I head out of town the day before the bomber southy will start to show, so I need to get on what we have. OTOH, things could be going off around the 23rd or so, being in the midsts of a week plus run of swell. If this current storm proceeds as forecasted, we could be seeing some solid swell in these parts. So sad I am going to miss the possibility of G or F at their finest.

It is definitely hitting down here. I surfed Cottons/Barbedwires yesterday from 430 to 630. It was really fun early, with glassy sets a couple of feet overhead, then the high tide slowed it down. As things slowed down, everyone paddled out, so it got tough to get waves, but the swell is very solid. It is a couple of feet overhead in Newport.

[Ottime]

found it this morning. less size here. maybe to shoulder high, but it felt like it was filling in further during my session. watched a few overhead peaks wedge at scotts reef, but the result not quite a wave per se. winds are light up the coast, and I am tempted for a second session. and that nw @10 looks to be on schedule for tomorrow. if this se maxes later, that could be some fun summer waves. oh, and hardly any folks on it this morning.

[BS720]

Hey, SD mags, can you guys post up some pics when this nails your favorite reef? I'd love to see a few from CDLC, or Coast.

[Piggity]

North County had waves but I was laid up after I threw out my back for the 2nd time in a week. Fabio is still spinning at 105mph at 9mph but still holding the 285 course. He needs to make his turn north now so we can get some better fetch before he sputters out and maybe screws with our local weather

[Long duc dong]

Fun Newport session on Saturday. The swell had dropped a bit, but it was still slightly overhead on the big sets. Those sets were a bit walled, but the chest and shoulder high sets were fun, with very good shape. The water was around 65-66, so I was fine in a spring suit.

The SE in the swell was making it behave differently than what we normally get. It really focused on the 44-56 zone in Newport, with 56-61 and 71 to the rivermouth being a bit smaller, more like shoulder high, but with nice shape. The zone from around 58 to 71 was smaller, I think it just was not getting the SE energy.

The best waves I actually got were in the 71 zone, after I was sequestered there by blackball. Shoulder high, but with good sandbar peaks.

Overall a really fun day. I will try to get an evening session in tonight. It has dropped a bit, but still looks fun. Given that the shoulder high sets were the best ones, I won't miss the walled head high+ sets.

A couple of good weekends in a row. It finally feels like summer down here.

Hope the rest of you guys are finding peaks with this one. The SE energy is making it a bit hit or miss, I think.

[icelanticskier]

tiny here. might have to break down and buy a log if this continues. haven't owned one in years, but............

nice 40 mile road ride to and along the coast and back. the bikini scene was worth pedaling over for. hmmm, now do i go buck up for that
9'6? desperate times call for desperate measures

rog

[Long duc dong]

tiny here. might have to break down and buy a log if this continues. haven't owned one in years, but............

nice 40 mile road ride to and along the coast and back. the bikini scene was worth pedaling over for. hmmm, now do i go buck up for that
9'6? desperate times call for desperate measures

rog

It seems like you've had it pretty good so far. I'm jealous of your sessions per week. I usually get three, but rarely 4-5. Having said that, I probably could get 4-5 if I just went everyday after the office. I am close to surf, which is one of the great things about Orange County. My buddies who work in outside sales (usually software or pharma) really have it great down here, they can often time their days to get favorable winds. Many of those guys surf everyday. Of course, they sometimes have to be in places like Tennessee and Arizona when there is swell, so there are tradeoffs.

I went to UC-Santa Barbara, and during the summer you rarely get south swell energy there. We would go down to Ventura and Malibu after summer school a lot, so we got plenty of sessions in, but south energy rarely gets into Santa Barbara proper. The good thing was, Sands and the DP beachbreaks got plenty of summer windswell, so we probably got 3-4 sessions a week during summer school. Those breaks are biking distance from UCSB, and if you live on DP you can walk to those peaks. Most of those wind swells were in the waist high range, with chest high stuff being a treat, so you had to deal with small, but rideable, surf if you wanted to get your days in. I had a 6'10" funboard in those days, which was absolutely money. It made the thigh high days fun, and kept me in the water and gliding down the line. It was not a long board, so you could surf it like a shortboard. It made a huge difference in my SB surfing, and I wish I still had it. You might want to consider something like that, as it will surf more like a shortboard, but keep you in the water. I sold the board when I left SB, and wish I hadn't.

I would really consider a board like that. It surfed thigh high surf the way a shortboard surfed chest/shoulder stuff, and it was much easier to carry around.

[icelanticskier]

nice thanx^^^^^^^^

ya switching back and forth between short and long was always weird to me and i get so bored so quickly on a long board. that 5'9 rocket kills it in thigh high+ which is why i've been able to ride it as my one board quiver since last october. even overhead does ok set up thruster. just have to hit that 1st bottom turn a bit more patiently/gingerly due to the wide tail in the bigger stuff. man does it go rail to rail nice tho.

i used to have this wonderful g+s egg 7'0". absolute magic. i was about 15, so 25 years ago. i shoulda never sold it. beautiful board. clean lines.

not getting a log, today. gonna mull it over some more. maybe look into what you suggested.

catch a few for me!

rog

[Piggity]

Brought the 8'0" and a pair of trunks today to surf 2' perfect little lefts, caught a billion waves and was actually really fun.

[Ottime]

Get a log rog. I have both a true log and a 7'6" egg like creature that was left behind at my house. I use the egg a lot, but then again, I don't have a rocket or fish like board. Both my short boards are low volume or very low volume and my step up is very low volume, so I use the egg when it gets small and gutless.

A real log will not bore you. Go find one stashed under a house at places like Drakes Island Beach. Score CL and yard sales for someones classic board. I got my Rick, which turns 50 next year, for $25 from someone who found, stashed in the crawl space, when they bought their beach cottage. The thing is so hard to ride that it is always fun. Almost no rocker, and a huuuudge tail concave makes things interesting. And at 9'3" and about 30#, it takes some muscle to turn. And finesse.

Found the combo set up yesterday for some head high barrels. Go figure, when the other breaks were mostly waist, with maybe some chest high soft peaks. 5@10 from the nw has filled in for this morning, with more super steep (160) 2@14. Gonna go see if I can find some of that. Word is Montara was pretty fun last night.

[Piggity]

Fabio finally made the turn north but is barely hanging onto Hurri status. Looks like the past 7 hours he has been on an very good path and is now heading 320 at 7kt. He's losing steam quickly so every hour is key to some fun size waves for slocal throughout the week.

[icelanticskier]

thanx ottime, i'll keep my eye out. i have owned some classic ole logs over the years, but been so long since. i'd like to pay as little as possible as i won't use it very much.

got a nice 2 session day in today. 1st one in southern maine where i found thigh/waist high waves and super clean. not much punch, but plenty of face for the rocket to work with. no one out cept for 3 of us from 7-8am when the waves were best, then it started to get busier as the swell dropped a bit. being surrounded by a crowd of loggers on my 5'9 is never a great time, but some of the best formed waves were the insiders where i sat, so that worked out.

after a coupla hours of that i headed south to nh and trunked it for a short sesh in rye. smaller than maine and kinda closey, but nice to be out there without any rubber.

may head back out this evening depending on the buoy, or just wait for morning.

hot out here, hotter tomorrow.

git some

rog

[Ottime]

What is the water temp running back there? I might be in the water in just about a week's time. Southern Maine, with a crowd? Rivermouth? Long Sands? Hell, even the better days on my visit last sumer rarely saw another board the whole length of the beach. Love my homebreak.

[icelanticskier]

i'd say mid 60's. jeffreys ledge buoy is high 60's, but some of the warm surface water must be drifting from the shore with the offshores.

longsands. only 3 of us the 1st hour 7-8am, then 20-25 spread out after that. i guess the wall had60-80 folks out by 630am. yikes. crowds are easy to avoid, even in nh.

woulda gone to rivermouth but tide was mid coming in.

rog

[Ottime]

I am loving this current flat spell. Found head high plus peaks at my favorite fall spot yesterday. Sure the wall was a little weaker than ideal, but it was powerful enough for the 6'3" chip and to send you over the falls if you were not on top of things. And today I ferreted out the little southeast in the water and score chest to shoulder high barrels. I bet during this entire swell event since last Friday there have been fewer than a 100 surfers on it. Gotta love when all the forecast outlets are wrong about what this stretch of coast can pull in.

[icelanticskier]

love that story^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

rog

[Ottime]

Solspot forecast for today was "poopy" and knee to thigh high dribblers. I surfed overhead thick heavy fast pertain today and was a bit under gunned. So disappointed. Maybe they will be as wrong tomorrow.

[liv2ski]

I am loving this current flat spell. Found head high plus peaks at my favorite fall spot yesterday. Sure the wall was a little weaker than ideal, but it was powerful enough for the 6'3" chip and to send you over the falls if you were not on top of things. And today I ferreted out the little southeast in the water and score chest to shoulder high barrels. I bet during this entire swell event since last Friday there have been fewer than a 100 surfers on it. Gotta love when all the forecast outlets are wrong about what this stretch of coast can pull in.

Well count your blessings, as I haven't surfed in weeks due to weak ass conditions. Granted, I can't be on it at any moment, but the days I have open during the week have sucked ass forever. Seriously, why live close to the ocean if you can't get some surf in. O, that is right, because my wife won't move to the mountains.
Rant over

[Piggity]

And my wife is kinda pushing for us to move to the mountains but I'm afraid I'll miss the ocean....I'm constantly torn between the two

[icelanticskier]

And my wife is kinda pushing for us to move to the mountains but I'm afraid I'll miss the ocean....I'm constantly torn between the two

well i'm single with all of the time in the world and now choose ocean living over mountain living 110%. once there's snow in the mountains, it's there, and pretty much always good and fresh if you tour even if it hasn't snowed in days/weeks. to score waves often and the best, you gotta be within minutes at any time, and have to be able to drop anything/everything. i mean shit, i caught the one waist high pulse in the last 2-3 weeks and it only lasted one hour, but i was on it cuz i was a few minutes away. if i lived up in the mountains i'd be fucked. living an hour an a half from george, i can score excellent uncrowded bc skiing even if it never snows on my days off all winter pretty much. don't be torn piggity. stay at the beach and run to the hills for the snow that lays/stays there. the ocean is so much more dynamic on so many levels.

rog

[Ottime]

I agree with rog here on the point that if want to surf, you need to be near the beach. I'm lucky and within 5 minutes of a number of good breaks. The snow is 4 hours away, but I tend to get plenty of good snow each season. I know that I miss a lot, not living in the mountains (like the before/after work thing), but I would miss a whole lot more surf if I was even 20 minutes up into the local hills. Maybe it is that a good surf session can be had in an hour and a half, but a good tour takes most of the day. Or the surf is just that more fickle.

Well count your blessings

I do daily. Right now, things are good, and I am lucky enough to have a go at it almost daily. In the fall, it will be a bit harder, but I try to get out every time I have a window and make the most of it. Recently, I have had a lot of short board days, but I can utilize my egg when things are not as well shaped, and take out my log when it is micro. I've been on the water 17 of the last 18 days. I returned from a trip 19 days ago, and travel again on Friday. For sure I will be in the water tomorrow morning.

[icelanticskier]

17 out of 18, good game. wish i could say the same. i'd be a much more tolerable human being if the ocean was cooperating. maybe august

fickle, yes fickle. love and hate that word just the same. one of the gaggillion things i love about new hammy coastal living is that we can have a noreaster blow through town and pummeldump george with a foot or 2 o new, skin up to high east facing in the early am while the wind is still east and dropping. score beautiful deep pow in the gullies and fields before the wind switches and scary slabs start to form, put in about 6k of climbing before noon, get outta there and head to the beach while the wind goes offshore and surf from 2pm till dark. nice to be able to easily score ski/surf days from november-june.

another nice thing for going coastal is that more often than not, we can keep our cycling fitness all winter as well. no waves or just crap conditions? sub par conditions in the mountains? how bout some bone dry frozen ground grippy singletrack to rip around on.

livin

hope to see you soon mang^^^^^^^^^even if just for a beer!

rog

[liv2ski]

And my wife is kinda pushing for us to move to the mountains but I'm afraid I'll miss the ocean....I'm constantly torn between the two

You guys are right. Were I live would be pretty much most peoples dream location. Besides, if all goes well, in about 10-12 years we won't be working full time anymore and can live where ever we want in the USA, Canada or Europe. So lots of variety and locations will be had and seen, but I would bet anything we end up back where we are at, as oldsters probably like the beach more than the cold. I will be one of those guys out at Old Mans every morning

[Long duc dong]

I would agree with the above sentiments on the ocean/mountain dilemma. I lived in the mountains for 5 years between college and grad school, and while I loved it, I'm glad I left. I would rather live close to the beach, as you really don't get to surf much otherwise. I am 5.5 hours from Mammoth, without traffic, and 1.5 hours from Mt. Baldy. In a good year, I get about 30 days at Mammoth and 10 at Baldy. I would rather do that, and get to surf all summer, than move to the mountains. There is also much more economic opportunity here.

I have sometimes thought about living in a place like Seattle or Denver, if I found the right work opportunity, but I would still be a weekender, so I don't think I would get too many more ski days than I do now. The advantage to those cities would be the ski convenience, but if you are willing to drive you can get lots of great skiing from socal. And when Baldy gets a good year I can pretty much get at least one day a weekend on the weekends I don't go to Mammoth, and some of those weekends I ski both days. Baldy really makes it nice to be a socal skier, although I wish the snow was a bit more consistent.

I don't surf much in the winter, as I am cubicle bound and devote my weekends to skiing, but it is nice to have the option.

[PedPro]

nice combo of south swells yesterday at a norcal cove:


2012-07-19 08.49.19 by pedpro, on Flickr