Entry 034 - New Perspective

Happy Memorial Day! A little smaller than yesterday with a new perspective on the GoPro. Yep, I turned the GoPro around and was rewarded with plenty of dolphin. They were totally in the lineup! Couple of guys even had to dodge a few when they paddled into a choice set. Didn't catch many myself but I suppose I should be happy with the ones I did catch considering the crowd (10-12 checking out each wave)! Should have brought out the 8' Costco special.  Think I'll switch back to the other POV of the GoPro too. Not much to see at Porto.

Weather: 64 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Glassy, Warm, Steep, Mixed Up, Crowded(!)

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Dolphin (6 and close!)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 033 - Cool It

Similar to yesterday - all mixed up. Got in and the water was bumpy but eventually turned glassy for a bit toward the end of the session. Dolphin were out as well and one popped up within 3 ft of my board. Any closer and I would have fallen off from shock! Caught two good rides with a bunch of junk in the middle. All-in-all little more fun than yesterday except when you take into account those who thought they owned the ocean today. I mean, seriously, we're all out there to have fun. When I'm paddling back from catching something while you turn your board around 2 feet in front of me expecting to catch the monster coming in, no, it's not going to happen no matter how hard I paddle into the peak. Cool down!

Weather: 64 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Bumpy to Glassy, Warm, Steep, Mixed Up

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Dolphin (1 and close!)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Where's my Surf Explorer??!!!  Server down today!

Entry 032 - No Booties

Yep, no booties today! The water was nice and warm but the surf was just okay. All mixed up, confused, and steep when a set did come through. I'm hoping tomorrow is better. Nothing else to say really, board repaired and lookin' for something good.

Weather: 62 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Glassy, Warm, Steep, Mixed

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Where's my Surf Explorer??!!!  Server down today!

Entry 031 - Head to Rail

Well, I tried.  It was definitely a bigger day today than I had seen in a while but I saw a few that looked good for the longboard so I paddled out.  The water was nice and warm today and the surf was steep but as the tide dropped the waves started to get manageable.  I caught a couple of good ones before getting wacked in the elbow by my board (ding 1, left) and then, a couple of waves later, getting nailed in the head by the left rail when I pearled (ding 2, right).  The second ding even had my hair caught in it.  Luckily neither were too deep and mainly just chipped away the nice epoxy finish. Repairs at home however showed some water in the "head" ding probably from minute pinholes in the glass.  Waited around to let the board dry out and then began the repair with some Solarez.  Even though the repair was easy and pretty much finished today, I won't be surfing 'til next weekend so both repairs should cure nice and hard.

Weather: 62 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Glassy, Warm, Steep, Consistent, Waist-Head High w/ Occasional Overhead

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 64 deg

Entry 030 - So So Saturday

Still kinda mixed up today and inconsistent but it was glassy.  Caught a couple of nice ones and continued to improve the bottom turn. No sea life today which was a bit of a disappointment - I really like surfing with dolphin in the water.  Looking to head out again tomorrow morning and hoping that the wind swell has backed off a bit in favor of the SSW swell.

Weather: 61 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Glassy, Mushy, Inconsistent, Sometimes Steep

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 63 deg

Entry 029 - Not Much

All over the place today.  The wind swell and low tide just didn't want to work for me.  I was hoping to get at least one good ride in and I kinda did before I had to get out and head to work.The waves were a little hard to wrangle today with them being steep most of the time or mixed up with no defined direction.  The one good thing is that it was a perfect day to work on my bottom turn given how quick the waves started to closeout.  So... I guess it was fun after all!

Weather: 61 deg, Partly Cloudy

Conditions: Bumpy, Steep, Inconsistent, Mixed-Up

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 63 deg

Entry 028 - Few But Fun

Surf report said 2-3 ft with occasional 4 ft. A little low if you ask me for Port.  But it was also low tide when I went out.  More often than not the surf was steep to walled off with a few corners if you could get through the crowd.  Don't get me wrong, it was fun and I caught two really nice rides but nothing compared to the past few weeks of glassy conditions that were perfect for longboards.  Looking forward to the weekend when things should settle down a bit.

Weather: 60 deg, Mostly Cloudy

Conditions: Bumpy, Steep, Crowded

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 61 deg

Entry 027 - Dolphins in the Lineup

Surfing right at low tide today and it was crowded. Seemed like every longboarder in the South Bay was at El Porto today. Caught some good ones but they were pretty short rides due to the drain out. The water seemed colder today than the past few days so I'm thinking its almost time to lose the booties. Best part about today was seeing two dolphin swim directly under my board again. Just freakin' awesome! It's a reminder that I'm in their world out in the ocean and just a visitor.

Weather: 68 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Glassy, Crowded, Slightly Mushy

Waves Caught: 13

Sea Life: Dolphin (3)
Sea Temp: 62 deg

Entry 026 - Yes, It's the Weekend

Another good day out there even when Surfline was saying that I shouldn't get my hopes up.  I was glad I went out.  Crowded - sure, but a nice crowd with everyone having a good time.  As I told someone 4 feet next to me, "It was like trying to get a table during the dinner rush.  Table for 20, please."  Nice waves, good folks, and getting my bottom turn figured out.  Even switched boards with someone for a bit.  I rode an 8' foamy for the first time in 2 years - kinda weird!  It felt so small - but I got up anyway and could really feel the difference in maneuverability - gotta get the shorter board for my quiver.

Weather: 63 deg, Partly Cloudy Skies

Conditions: Glassy, Crowded, Slightly Mushy

Waves Caught: 13

Sea Life: None
Sea Temp: 64 deg

Entry 025 - Got Crowded

Still a little mushy today but better than yesterday - more consistent.  The crowds were out though.  Caught a bunch of good sets within the first 15 minutes of being in the water which made it all worth waking up earlier this morning. I can definitely tell that I'm getting better at the whole surfing thing based on the number and types of waves I can catch.  Still can't get anything super big but part of that is the tank that I'm riding at Porto.  Like I've said in a previous post, I need to add something a little shorter to my quiver in the long run.  Good day overall!

Weather: 63 deg, Partly Cloudy Skies

Conditions: Slightly Bumpy, Semi-Consistent, Kinda Mushy, Crowded

Waves Caught: 11

Sea Life: None
Sea Temp: 62 deg

Entry 024 - Sand Sharks

No gloves today!  First chance to get out after the rain the past few days and it was only mildly worth it.  From the shore it all looked flat and kinda mushy and, expect for the occasional waist high plus set, that was pretty much true once I got in.  Still fun though with the very small crowd that was at 45th St. As you can see, on one of the waves I caught I decided that it was nap time and took a pretty good smack on my neck.  All was well though and on the next set I made up for it with a nice 10 second ride.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, sand sharks still freak me out sometimes when I step on them on the way in - like today.

Weather: 63 deg, Partly Cloudy Skies

Conditions: Slightly Bumpy, Inconsistent, Kinda Mushy, Small Crowd

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Sand Sharks (1)
Sea Temp: 62 deg

Entry 023 - Choppy

That strong current was still there today but it had back off just a bit so I didn't go as far.  Bumpy to start off the morning then turned to choppy and windy.  I was able to take off on a few good ones before I called it a morning and paddled back in.  The surf wasn't as steep as it was yesterday but the chop just made it hard to catch and hold anything most of the time.  The dolphins were having fun though and I saw a pod of them including one that literally swam under my board.  For a second I was thinking how good the GoPro footage would be if he surfaced next to me.  Fun morning even with the chop and wind.  Oh, and no rashguard today - just the 3/2.

Weather: 63 deg, Clear Skies to Cloudy and Windy

Conditions: Bumpy to Choppy, Inconsistent, Longshore Current, Small Crowd

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Sea Lions (1), Dolphins (4)
Sea Temp: 61 deg

Entry 022 - Jumbled or Steep?

Yep, thought it was gonna be a good day but the current was nuts. Started at 40th and ended up in front of the Chevron plant.  Water was nice though and I'm thinking its almost time to ditch the booties and gloves.  Went with new earplugs today and they worked out great.  The surf started out jumbled, inconsistent and steep but as low tide approached, things got a little better - or maybe it was just my eventual location.  Either way, caught two nice ones and almost handled to should-head high waves but I couldn't get the board moving they way I wanted.  When things are steep at Porto, the 9' Stewart just doesn't cut it.

Weather: 64 deg, Clear Skies and Getting Warm!

Conditions: Bumpy, Inconsistent, Steep, Longshore Current

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Sea Lions (2), Dolphins (3)
Sea Temp: 61 deg

Entry 021 - Steep

After looking at the El Porto surf yesterday and seeing pretty much flat seas, I bet on today and didn't have much luck.  While the swell was showing more than yesterday, the tide was going out and the waves were steep.  That, and the current was pretty heavy.  Everyone was paddling south in between sets.  Made for good exercise but not very good surfing conditions for the longboard.  I'm convinced that I've got to get something a tad smaller in my quiver - say 7'6".  Total for the day was one okay ride and a few halvies.

Weather: 60 deg, Cloudy Skies

Conditions: Glassy, Inconsistent, Steep, Longshore Current

Waves Caught: 2

Sea Life: None
Sea Temp: 59 deg