Entry 069 - Glassy!

Gorgeous morning for dawn patrol. I've never seen the ocean so glassy and clear. While the sets looked small from the parking lot, they turned out to be fun and often steep when I got in. The smaller sets were hard to catch and petered out while some of the big stuff had a tendency to wall up and make for some fun and exciting rides. It was crowded, of course, for Labor Day weekend and there were newbies in the lineup and on one of the nicer waves I caught a guy paddled right into my line. Really kinda sucked but no hard feelings, it was all about having fun. As the morning drew enjoyed my share of rights and lefts and had a good time with everyone else. Don't know if I'll make it out tomorrow morning but today was a hell of a nice one!

Weather: 73 deg, Sunny with a Few Scattered Clouds

Conditions: Glassy, Clear, Knee to Shoulder High, Fun

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Dolphin (3)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 068 - More Small Stuff

No Pic Today

Small again today but more sets coming in that were semi-rideable if they didn't wall up too close to the shore. Definitely fun even if the rides were short. While the 9' Stewart did its job today I probably would have been better off with something 8' or slightly less given that some of the sets were walling up and it looked like the shortboarders were having a little more fun. Apparently the shark is still out there somewhere and everyone was talking about it. Didn't spot him/her this morning but kept my eye out so as not to get too close.

Weather: 64 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Clean, Ankle to Waist High, Weak to Walled

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Dolphin (2)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 067 - Small Again

No Pic Today

Very small today. Headed out right at low tide and caught a couple of short rides. I was surprised at how many folks were out considering the conditions. But, then again, it was mostly longboarders with a few shortboarders on the inside. Even though it was small and mushy, I still had a good time and caught a nice right that had me doing a few small S-turns. Maybe head out tomorrow a little earlier to see if things get any better.

Weather: 64 deg, Party Cloudy

Conditions: Clean, Ankle to Waist High, Mushy, Inconsistent

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: White Shark (Apparently)
Sea Temp: 64 deg

Entry 066 - West Wind Swell

Early morning today hoping to see something good in the water unlike the past week with weak lines barely able to push a long board. I was pleasantly surprised. While the lines were still short and sometimes walled up close to the beach (low tide) I was able to pick off a few and got one nice long left out of one of them. The crowd was pumping today and everyone had to keep an eye out on the inside as well as to their left and right. With the soft mushy stuff, all the surf schools were out and the inside was a bit hazardous after 7:45ish. Folks were still out there when I decided to pack it in for the morning - looked like the rising tide was gonna make the surf even weaker.

Weather: 62 deg, Foggy

Conditions: Glassy, Mushy, Shore Break, Ankle to Waist High, Semi-Walled

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 065 - Small But Fun

No Pic Today

Headed out this morning before work and caught some decent small stuff even though Surfline was reporting very weak lines. Even with the bad report, it was pretty crowded for a weekday today and I saw a couple of familiar faces. Coolest sight today was a feeding frenzy by a pod of dolphin and seabirds. Really cool.

No GoPro because of the housing mishap yesterday. Hoping to get it back into working order by next weekend. We'll see. Overall, it was actually nice not having the GoPro on the board. It felt more freeing than I expected without having to worry about whether it was recording and how long a ride I could get. Maybe I skip the GoPro more often.

Weather: 64 deg, Cloudy Skies w/ a Little Fog

Conditions: Bumpy, Ankle to Waist High, Inconsistent

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Dolphin (4+)
Sea Temp: 65 deg

Entry 064 - Check the Housing

This past week was a bit crazy at work and with the surf a constant 1-2', I just couldn't convince myself to get out for a morning session. That is until this morning. Heard from a friend that yesterday was pretty good at Porto so I had to check it out this morning. Made it to the lot around 6:45 and was in the water by 6:50. Nice a glassy with some 3' sets every once in a while. Then I noticed the GoPro was fogging up more than usual. Shit, one of the anti-fog inserts must've gotten in the way of the seal. Only got about a quarter of an inch of water in the housing but it was enough to stop the camera. Paddled back in to get it in the car ASAP and then headed back out. I had a pretty good remainder of the session, catching both rights and lefts that I could ride for 10+ seconds.

When I got home, I rinsed off the GoPro with some bottled water and then put it into a bowl of rice outside. I'm crossing my fingers that it's gonna work again.

Weather: 64 deg, Cloudy Skies w/ a Little Fog

Conditions: Glassy, Ankle to Waist High, Crowded

Waves Caught: 10

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 063 - Torrance Beach Family Day

Today was family day with friends down at Torrance Beach. We've done family day before at Torrance and whenever we go I always wish I had my board. Well, today I brought both the 8' Costco and my 9' Stewart. After getting all the beach stuff down to the beach from the parking lot I headed back up, quickly changed into my wetsuit and grabbed the Costco board. Shorter rides at Torrance vs. Porto but still just as fun. I told myself that I was going to give the Costco foamy a try before purchasing a shorter board than my 9' Stewart and I'm glad I grabbed it today. The 9' would have been too much for the short rides. Caught a few nice lefts and a nice right that almost turned into something longer than a 5 second ride. Got out after a bit as the wind was picking up and spent the rest of the day playing with family and friends. Good day!

Weather: 71 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Bumpy, Knee-Waist High, Wind Swell, Short Rides

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 062 - Back to Porto

Well, back from the islands and into the cold Southern California water. Not to complain, it's just that the water is soooo nice in Hawaii! Got up later than I wanted to this morning and headed out for my first session back. Surfline forecast was for weak little lines and it was pretty accurate. There were a few waist high waves mixed in but primarily little guys. The first one I caught out of the gate I walked like a plank off the front of the board when my board just stopped because it was so weak. After that I caught a nice one that almost barreled for me and then had a few nice lefts before taking it in for the morning before the wind picked up too much more and everything turned choppy. Heavy crowd overall but the usual nice folks in the lineup made it fun.

Weather: 64 deg, Cloudy Skies

Conditions: Glassy Early to Bumpy, Ankle-Waist High, Inconsistent

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Dolphin (2)
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 061 - Lahaina Breakwater (Final Day)

Another fine day on the 9'2" but smaller and weaker lines than yesterday. Got out pretty early (7:45 AM) and caught two nice lefts. Much longer wait between sets today and they were not as punchy either. Still, the crowd was fun and the water was just beautiful. Overall, the Lahaina break was nice but I miss Porto for the wave energy and shape. Too bad I've got to wait another year before surfing Hawaii again and check out some other spots (unless I can get more vacation)!

Weather: 82 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Clean, Ankle-Waist High, Very Long Periods

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 80 deg

Entry 060 - Lahaina Breakwater (Part 3)

Pick up a 9'2" this morning from Boss Frogs instead of the 8'2" I had at the beginning of the week. Much better! Also helped that the surf was up a little more as well. The board didn't have a GoPro mount so I resorted to using the wrist mount again but turned inside - also much better. The Breakwater is nice and the locals are friendly but there's a long wait between good sets. My best ride of the day was a left that I took almost all the way to the other side of the breakwall. Great day!

Weather: 82 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Clean, Knee-Chest High, Long Periods

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 80 deg