Entry 047 - Searching for Warm Water

Cold and crowded today.  Who would have thought that in the middle of summer I was going to be contemplating wearing my booties.  The paddle out was pretty dicey too - a few big sets came in just as I was going out.  Once I got out there, there wasn't much to ride and what looked good ended up being walled off or ridden by at least 2-3 surfers.  Weird jumble of waves overall.  Definitely saw a shark too - and all of us in the lineup didn't think it was your typical sand shark.  He was too far out.  I'll probably skip tomorrow's dawn patrol if the weather and swell is the same.  I'll hold out for Monday!

Update (07-06-13):  I learned that that shark we thought we say was actually a juvenile dolphin.  Poor guy!

Weather: 63 deg, Foggy

Conditions: Textured, Chest-Head High, Mixed Up

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Dolphins (2, 1 Juvenile)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 046 - Unexpectedly Cold and Strong

"I was not expecting it to be this cold!" - The first words out of my mouth as I paddled out.  What happened to summer today?  Strong southwest swell also made things interesting.  Head high surf with a strong longshore current made it not so great for the 9' Stewart today.  That, and I broke the GoPro clip (no big deal, I have another one).  Overall the steep and sometime walled up surf made for a less than delightful session today.  Oh well, still good to get out.

Weather: 64 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Textured, Chest-Head+ High, Strong Longshore Current

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Dolphins (3)
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 045 - Flying Boards

Beware of flying boards.  I didn't know how close that board came until I played back the footage from today.  Actually, "objects in GoPro seem closer than they appear."  I bet it was probably 6 feet from my head but still pretty close.  Fun today, although much softer than yesterday and the skies definitely looked stormier.  The ware was an interesting color at times, too.  Went from grey to green and blue which made it hard to see the sets as they came in.  Overall, fun short session before heading into the office.  Kept me centered all day.

Weather: 65 deg, Partly Sunny

Conditions: Textured, Waist-Chest High, Soft

Waves Caught: 11

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 044 - Fun Lineups

There is always something to be said for nice folks in the lineup.  Makes an okay day better.  And that's what today turned out to be.  While everything was a little soft and bumpy, we were all enjoying ourselves and laughing at the ones we paddled for and lost.  Caught my fair share too and had a couple ~10 second rides which I think isn't too bad for Porto.  From the report, it looks like this week is shaping up to be pretty good and, if today is an indicator, I can't wait to get out again!

Weather: 65 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Textured, Waist-Chest High, Soft

Waves Caught: 14

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 043 - Full

Good to get out today after a busy week at work and home.  Paddling out the lineup was packed.  There were at least 2 people to each wave and when you caught a nice one it was a short ride for everyone - limited bottom turns.  Friendly crowd and everyone just taking turns trying to catch a good one.  The water was extra warm too!  I'm thinking tomorrow morning I'm doing board shorts and rash guard.  I was warm in the 3/2 when the sun started peeking through the clouds.  Gotta remember to wipe the GoPro memory card though before I head out. Ended up getting full about 1/3 way through my session.  Oh well, nothing good in the 1st third anyway!

Weather: 65 deg, Partly Sunny

Conditions: Textured, Waist-Shoulder High, Soft, Crowded

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 042 - Better Yesterday

Yep, yesterday was better.  There was a weird eddy today that was coming off the beach and it was causing everything to get jumbled and bumpy on the way in.  Turned glassy toward the end of the session but then there were fewer sets. Caught two okay rides but nothing to write home about.  Northwest swell is coming in over the next few days bringing some bigger surf.  We'll see if I go out.

Weather: 63 deg, Partly Sunny

Conditions: Textured, Knee-Shoulder High, Eddy, Soft

Waves Caught: 6

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 041 - Leashes

Nice day today for a fun surf session.  Glassy and not too big.  One small rant though - if you are going to go surfing in an area where there are a lot of folks, bring a darn leash.  I don't care how cool you think you are Mr. Big Teenager, you won't be when your board comes barreling down on somebody and knocks them out.  Besides almost getting nailed by a leashless board on my paddle out, the morning was really quite nice.  Caught some really nice ones including two that I rode down the line for at least 10 seconds.  Gotta love glassy days.

Weather: 61 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Glassy then Textured, Knee-Waist High, Soft

Waves Caught: 12

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 040 - Busy Saturday

Heading to low tide today but started off pretty good.  Crowded like to 405 at 5 PM too.  Everyone was trying to avoid each other which made for short rides and a little competition for the waves.  I was okay with it.  Caught a few before deciding that the tide had washed the surf out too much to bother.

Weather: 59 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Textured, Knee-Waist High, Often Walled Off

Waves Caught: 9

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 039 - Walls

Felt even better today but the surf was just so-so. I think summer's here judging from the number of people out before 8 AM this morning.  But, then again, maybe folks were just itching to get out after the past couple of days of mushy surf.  I paddled out with the rest of the crowd and caught a few good ones (even hanging onto a few that turned into walls).  Still enjoyable and I can feel with each wave I'm getting better at maneuvering the 9' beast.

Weather: 62 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Textured, Knee-Waist High, Often Walled Off

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 038 - Surfing Good for a Cold?

Getting over the tail end of a cold. Glad it hit me these past few days instead of the upcoming weekend, though.  The surf was just alright today which was fine by me.  Caught three nice ones  in bumpy conditions and then called it in to get to work at a reasonable hour.  Cold almost gone and I think the workout did me well.

Weather: 62 deg, Cloudy and Misty

Conditions: Textured, Crumbly, Small Sections, Kinda Mushy

Waves Caught: 6

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 037 - Less Bumpy, More Crowded

Less bumpy than yesterday but still soft and mushy overall. Bigger crowd too. Caught a couple of nice ones but decided to take it in early because it was just too inconsistent and when the sets came a lot of them turned steep. As my session ended I noticed that the longshore, south-to-north, current was picking up too.  With the overcast sky, I just wasn't feeling it.

Weather: 64 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Bumpy, Crumbly, Small Sections, Kinda Mushy

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Dolphin (Huge Pod, 20+ incl. baby, mommy, and daddy)
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 036 - Bumpy But Alone

While everyone prefers a nice glassy day on the water with no crowd, today I had to settle for bumpy a no crowd. Turned out to be okay though and I caught a couple on a short session before having to get out by 8:30. Still prefer glassy though! ;)

Weather: 61 deg, Overcast

Conditions: Bumpy, Crumbly, Small Sections, Soft

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 035 - Water Temp

Workable lines today with some fun corners. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and the longboarders were out in force south of 40th St. North of 40th the waves looked steeper with a few head high.  Water was warm once more with a little longshore current that had some coldness to it probably around 62 deg. I enjoyed myself but I'm looking forward to the weekdays when I can catch more and not have to work around the crowds. But, like I said, fun time.

Weather: 64 deg, Overcast

Conditions: Glassy-Textured, Warm with Some Cold, Longshore Current

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Dolphin (1)
Sea Temp: 65 deg