Lindamar Surf

Pretty cool - I finally got to surf in the Bay Area yesterday at a place called Lindamar Beach. There was an NSSA contest going on and there were a ton of people out due to the great weather. Water was 56 degrees but fun all the way! Mostly beginners and longboarders with a great vibe.

Met a Filipino surf shop owner and his wife when my friend rented his board. Pretty cool couple. I even bought a shirt from them!

I am definitely glad we got to go out and I am definitely glad to have surfed San Francisco. Pretty cool.

I thought today was better than yesterday

(This wave was bigger than it looks... I swear!!! I think I need to spread my stance more when going backside.)

This morning was much better because the size backed down a bit and the left coming off the pier had plenty of shoulder. I was so excited, I barely waited for any sunlight to start showing before I paddled out.

I wanted to practice my backside, ahem, "tuberiding" skills (otherwise known as bending down as low as possible into the closeouts) but I kept whussing out. It's weird because today you almost wanted to stand up and pump a few times to get some speed. Unfortunately, by the time I got enough speed, the wave would close out. I kept getting the feeling I should have tried to do something more at the end of the rides.

Closed out but smaller

Felt like a girly man today because I wouldn't sack up and take a few in the head with the closeout sets. A few other dudes were out today and they were paddling into some monster closeouts.

I definitely didn't want to be a part of the "closeout club" today. One guy saw me pull out of a wave that was barreling and he told me "You should never pull out! Ever!" I'll definitely take his advice on that. Backside is just so awkward for me.

I just have to remember what Taj always says: http://www.surfwithtaj.com/taj/heat/bs_tube.asp

One of the guys that was out there got hit pretty hard paddling into one of the bigger sets. I heard someone asking him questions if he was okay and he seemed shaken up a bit.

I did, however, get some photo opps because I was out there early. They look pretty cool, but I wish I had done something more on the wave.

Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Still closed out at Venice

(photo from venicesurfreport.com)

So it took me all of 5 minutes to realize the conditions at Venice were closed out and nasty. Today I was prepared and brought my fish to Sunset. It took me about a half an hour to figure it out up by the point. Because of the higher tide you basically had to sack up and do a late drop in - and it really seemed close to the rocks.

Once you got in, the rides were nice and perfect for some carves. I was a little sketched out because I was worried about getting slammed into the rocks.

The swell is supposed to back down tomorrow so it should be a better day to be at Venice!

Closed out in Venice

I was out pretty bright and early this morning thinking that the tide might help the situation (swell was 5-8 ft). Unfortunately, by the time the sun started to show the surf was pretty closed out. At 6:30, I decided to drive up the coast and see if anything was holding up. I ended up paddling out at Sunset, which is typically a longboarder spot.

It was breaking every 5-10 minutes, but I was sketched out because it was breaking pretty close to shore. From previous experience, I know that there are a lot of rocks there and I didn't want to get pounded into one of them.

Got a few rights and I actually saw a dude get a really long right at the main point. If the size keeps up, I may bring the fish to the main point tomorrow.

Perfect Conditions, but...

No waves. Haha. It was kind of funny because yesterday it was strong onshores and messy but there were a ton of waves. Freezing cold water too. Beautiful morning so it was worth a paddle out.

There were only 2 other people out - Jamie and Anne. Anne is this super cool older lady that works at Venice high as a college counselor. She has an pleasant personality and always gives a good vibe to everyone that is in the water.

We talked a bit and she told me that she remembers when I first started. She thought it was awesome how I progressed through the years. Pretty nice to hear someone say something positive about your surfing.

I also realized that I surf better when I am smiling. I'll try to keep doing that from now on. It will remind me to have fun while I am out there.

Waaaay funner than it looked

Woke up this morning ass early. It was cold and the wind was blowing at 6 am, so I was expecting crap. No one was out, but it looked like it was worth a shot since there were a bunch of sections.

When I got there - AWESOME. I've been checking the surf reports and people have been saying that it was crappy. Believe me, worth the paddle out.

I think I surf better in the dark

Actually, I think it was much better at 6 am before the sun rose. I thought I was going to be slick and be the first one out, but when I got there, there were 5 guys in the water! One of the kids I surf with was upset that people beat us to it.

Had a pretty good session early and got tired near the end. Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow. Oh, and the water is ffffrrigid.

Fun!

There was a +3 low tide at 6 am today, so the waves were definitely fun. I actually paddled out with two kids when it was still dark and caught some fun ones - you just had to guess which ones were makeable.

As the morning wore on, the surf just became closed out. Hopefully the surf adjusts as the tide comes in.

Got worked today

Today the surf was much bigger and it was tough paddling into. I got worked a few times and only got a few rides. I wish it was a better performance from my end, but I felt like a kook today for sure.

Crap early, sick at 10 am

Yep, I shouldn't have woken up as early as I did... The surf sucked at 7 am. When I checked it out again at 10 it was bigger and badder. Lots of people out, but plenty of surf to go around. Lots of juice in the water for sure.

Mushay

Still pretty mushy with some bigger sets rolling through. A lot like yesterday, but I had a crappier session because I should have brought my fish out. Dumb ass decision to bring out the 6'0".

Still mushy, but more size

Photo from another website, venicesurfreport.com

Definitely a fun day today. Lots more size, but mushy so the waves weren't too heavy. I got a ton of rides north of the pier - and most were rights. Hopefully tomorrow will be even bigger!

I also found another venice surf blog this morning: http://www.venicesurfreport.com/

Mushy Mushy

Photo from another website, venicesurfreport.com

Yeah today was a little better in terms of size, but it was really mushy out there. Spent most of the morning just coasting down the face and trying to ride the nose of the board. Air temp was cold but the water was still nice and toasty.

Small, small, small

This week is definitely a world of difference compared to last week. Yesterday was too small to paddle out. Today was slightly bigger, but still hardly any size out there. Just messed around with the fish - trying to ride the nose, tried (unsuccessfully) to do a shove-it, blah blah blah.

Hopefully it starts filling out over the next few days

Early morning wind

A little bit of the size was still there this morning, but there was some strong wind mixing it up a bit. It was a little tougher discerning which waves were makeable and which weren't. I spent a lot of time today getting tossed around because I either paddled in too late, or messed up due to the wind chop.

It also looks like it is time to start wearing a 3/2. Party is over. Going to start looking for a new one over the next few weeks.

Backed down a little more, but still fun!

The bigger waves were less frequent today but there were definitely some fun ones to partake of. I was out super early and there was a dude out there in the dark by himself. Pretty nice guy - he had been out of the water for a bit and just got back into surfing. Looks like he had a hard time paddling into them.

For me, today was better in the sense that I was responding to the waves better and doing what was more appropriate. I still lose too much speed on the last move after pumping through. I think I shouldn't do such a deep bottom turn on my last move so that I can get my fins out of the water - or better yet - punt an air (dreaming).

Anyways, I heard this weekend is going to be pretty weak, so it's time to go back to the fish.

Super Fun Day!

Today was definitely a great day to be in the water. The size backed down a bit and there were peaks up and down the beach. I was out at 6:20 and there was only one other dude out, so it was like a fat kid in the buffet line. I stayed out until a little past 8.

I did notice, however that I'm not doing a good job in terms of reading what the wave is doing. Sometimes, when I should have hit the lip hard, I ducked and tried to get in the barrel. Other times, I was standing straight up when I should have tucked into the barrel.

I wonder if I'm thinking too much when I'm out there. I really try to visualize what I want to do, but the stuff I visualize in my head isn't usually what happens on the wave. Haha!

Big slabs this am

Got back from a short vacation to VA and boy was I glad I brought my 6'0" Merrick. There were some thick ass slabs out there and I didn't even get into my first wave until about 30 minutes into my session.

Things got a little easier as the tide came up, but slab after slab rolled through on the cleanup sets.

There was a dude that went out and just paddled into some of the thickest slabs I have seen. He said he made it out of a few. I give him some mad props for some of the waves he went on. It was also cool cause he had some sunblock/war paint on.