Entry 209 - Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Dawn patrol!!! Holy cow, talk about chilly. The water was 62 but the air was 40 deg. Lineup was pretty thin because of the small surf and the temperature. Fun stuff though when the sets came in. Wore my booties and and rash guard under the wetsuit today but decided against the gloves and cap - really didn't need them in the end anyway. Good to get out towards the end of December considering how crazy it's been lately.

Weather: 40 deg, Clear

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Crumbly, Fun

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 62 deg

Entry 208 - December Slump

It's been a long December so far! Lot's of storms coming down from the north with big swells before and after each one. Had a work trip the only nice week in December so far but finally go out today after Christmas. Fat, crumbly stuff with some height. Fun but a lot colder since I was last out. Let's hope tomorrow is good as well.

Weather: 61 deg, Clear

Conditions: Waist to Chest High, Bumpy, Crumbly, Fun

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 64 deg

Entry 207 - Flat Thanksgiving

Got out for the, hopefully, annual Thanksgiving session to some nice knee to thigh high stuff to start. Then low tide hit and the ocean became a lake with ankle biters rolling in every 10 to 15 minutes. Water was nice and warm and so was the air temperature. Hard to believe it's Thanksgiving! I've got a lot to be thankful for!

Weather: 60 deg, Clear

Conditions: Knee to Thigh High, Glassy, Fun

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Seal (1)
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 206 - Sharing with Dolphin

Yep, that's a dolphin on my wave in the left left of the picture. Two to be exact. What an ultra-fantastic day to surf. Sure, it was on the small side but the water was crystal clear and there were so many dolphin I lost count at 12. Lots of fun rideable stuff, warm water, and warm air. Is it really Thanksgiving!

Weather: 60 deg, Clear

Conditions: Knee to Chest High, Glassy, Super Clear, Fun

Waves Caught: 12

Sea Life: Dolphin (12+), Seal (1)
Sea Temp: 66 deg

Entry 205 - Funday

Kinda like yesterday but a lot more fun. Sets were slightly bigger but still soft making for nice rides where I could stay high on the wave. Breeze a little more stiff and chillier but I didn't mind. Just a quick 40 min session before I had to get into another day at the office.

Weather: 63 deg, Clear

Conditions: Knee to Chest High, Textured, Light Breeze

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 204 - Mondays

I really do kinda hate Mondays. All the staff meetings and running back-and-forth can get a little obnoxious. By the end of the day I end up forgetting anything I might have accomplished. I guess that's why I love Monday morning surf sessions. At least I have a few waves to start off the week.

Weather: 63 deg, Clear

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Textured, Light Breeze

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 203 - Washtub

Ever paddled out and notice that you need to start digging deeper because it looks like a wall is gonna come crashing down on you. Well, it happened to me today and I was in the perfect position for that nice what looked like head high plus wave to slam down on me. All I could tell myself was dive deep and relax. I don't normally ditch my board anymore but there was nothing I could do this time. It cleared the lineup.

Obviously dawn patrol was anything but small and weak from the looks of the cam.

Weather: 56 deg, Clear

Conditions: Waist to Shoulder High Plus, Closey-Outey, Crowded

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 67 deg

Entry 202 - Lefts and Closeouts

Was hoping it was going to be bigger today and I wasn't disappointed - although the sets were mostly closeouts and the crowd was nuts! Lots a fun fast lefts but very few rights today. Everybody wanted to go left. Saw the Saturday crew in the water and tried to stay away from the agro group that was crowding around 42nd St. Let's hope I can get out tomorrow too!

Weather: 63 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Closey-Outey, Crowded, Fun

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 201 - Getting' Cooler

Still cooling down and I could feel it. Got in for a short session before work today and was only slightly rewarded with a couple short rides. Nothing to write home about but still worth getting out there. Tomorrow should be more fun I hope but with Veteran's Day it might be more crowded.

Weather: 63 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Textured, Crumbly

Waves Caught: 5

Sea Life: Seal (1)
Sea Temp: 68 deg

Entry 200 - Starting to Cool

Yep, starting to cool off a bit. Though the air temperature is still well into the 60s in the morning, the water temp is starting to drop signaling wintertime. It's still crazy warm though. Surf this morning was nice. Given my travels over the past week, it was a perfect way to get back into the SoCal groove. Beautiful morning and so-so weak surf.

Weather: 66 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Crumbly, Fun, Glassy

Waves Caught: 8

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 69 deg

Entry 199 - San O' Day 2

As my wife said when we got down to the beach, "What a difference a day makes!" It was a beautiful morning with no crowd and 3-4 footers that were crumbly but fun. Caught one nice long 40 second ride that I'll never forget! Rides that that make me want to come back to San O' every weekend.

Weather: 66 deg, Mostly Sunny

Conditions: Waist to Chest High, Fun, Glassy

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 71 deg

Entry 198 - Victory at Sea!

Headed to San Onofre for the night with the family. Got off to a rough start in the morning with my car having to go back into the shop after being there on Thursday already. By the time we got down to San O' the wind the blowin' pretty good and it was chilly. Not the water though!!! It was 71 deg and just awesome to be in. Sure the waves looked like something out of a WWII flick but it was still worth it.

Weather: 64 deg, Cloudy and Rainy

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Choppy, Crumbly

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 71 deg

Entry 197 - Small Again

Everything got small and crumbly all of the sudden. Had to pull out the Stewart. Got in a nice long session before work today and needed it. I'm stressed out. Water's still warm!

Weather: 64 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Crumbly, Glassy

Waves Caught: 11

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 71 deg

Entry 196 - Warm Water October

Made it out for dawn patrol this morning at 6:30! Saw a beautiful sunrise and caught a couple of nice rides. Lots of swampy, bumpy, mushy stuff and the crowd made for some frustrating sets. Beautiful morning though. The summer continues!!!

Weather: 64 deg, Scattered Clouds

Conditions: Thigh to Chest High, Mushy, Bumpy, Crowded

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Dolphin (1)
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 195 - Lunch Session

Wanted to get out early this morning but had a meeting... which no one told me was cancelled! After getting a little work done, headed out for a lunchtime session.  Wasn't as good as yesterday but still worth getting out. Crowds just like the last few days. I think it's the warm water!

Weather: 69 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Waist to Shoulder High, Mushy, Glassy, Fun

Waves Caught: 1

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 194 - Left, Right, In

Looked big from the parking lot today but I hadn't been out in 6 days and the ocean was calling. Paddled out pretty quickly in the nice warm water and really only had about 40 min to catch a couple before work. Caught a nice big left that washy mushy and then a right before heading running back to the car to avoid a ticket. Wish I could have stayed out longer! :(

Weather: 64 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Shoulder to Head High, Mushy, Glassy, Fun

Waves Caught: 2

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 193 - Manhattan Beach

Woke up and watched the Porto surf cam for 15-20 min trying to decide if I should head out. It just looked too swampy. About 10 past 7 I bit the bullet and got in the car. By the time I arrived the parking lot was full and the surf looked pretty good. "Oh, well," I said, "let's check out Manhattan Pier." I'd never surfed Manhattan Pier but today was a good day to try. Got there, parked on the south side, put on wetsuit, and paddled out. Yes, pretty swampy! Caught one nice right and a so-so left. I'll be back.

Weather: 61 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Waist to Shoulder Plus High, Clear, Swampy

Waves Caught: 2

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 192 - Walls

Got out to walls today but I brought the right board - my Brog Egg. Caught one nice left that ended up a little mushy and then a right that I was probably the biggest one I've caught to date - a little over shoulder high. Nice quick ride and the Egg handled it well. Glad I went out even though it looked bigger than I could handle at first.

Weather: 64 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Waist to Shoulder Plus High, Clear, Walled, Closeouts

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 191 - Quick Pre-work Session

No Pic Today

Really quick session today. Surf was smaller with longer waits. Caught one nice right before heading into work.

Weather: 67 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Clear, Fat, Fun

Waves Caught: 3

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 71 deg

Entry 190 - Blood Moon

Had to get out this morning even though the tide was huge (6.1'). Sets would get fat on the outside, build up, and break at the beach which made for some fun rides. By the time the curl started to form, I had to pop off the wave to avoid slamming into the beach. One nice right and a nice left made for a good start to the workday.

Weather: 65 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Knee to Wait High, Clear, Fast, Fun

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 71 deg

Entry 189 - Not As Good As Yesterday

Not as good as yesterday but then again I might have been tired from Disneyland. Caught one, lone wave to end my session full of kids and Costco boards. Note to self, don't go to Hermosa on weekends to surf unless you want to teach someone.

Weather: 84 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Knee High, Bumpy, Clear, Closey-Outey

Waves Caught: 1

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 188 - Trunkin' It

Waited around today because dawn patrol at Porto just didn't look that great - still have a lot of backwash. I was rewarded in the afternoon with continued glassy conditions and since my wife wanted to go down to Hermosa Pier to takes pictures of her latest surfboard painting (fantastic), I was able to get in a quick session by the pier. First time surfing Hermosa Pier and first time I decided to trunk it! Felt good after the initial deep breath from the cold water. Caught two so-so rights on the south side of the pier.

Weather: 87 deg, Clear Skies

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Glassy-to-Bumpy, Clear

Waves Caught: 4

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 69 deg

Entry 187 - Good But No Luck

Pulled the Brog egg out. Thought I'd try it out now that I've had a few days of good surf. Yep, still different. Beautiful and glassy at Porto today but the backwash made it difficult to catch anything good. Oh well, still nice to get out.

Weather: 67 deg, Cloudy

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Glassy, Clear

Waves Caught: 2

Sea Life: Dolphin (7)
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 186 - More Summer!

Another good session but shorter this morning. A little more glassy than yesterday. Caught 1 nice right and another nice left before having to paddle in for work. These Tuesday sessions are gonna be tough with having to do school drop off but I hope to be able to get in quick sessions here and there.

Weather: 68 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Glassy, Clear

Waves Caught: 6

Sea Life: Nothing
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 185 - Last Summer Blast?

What a session! Not a 7+ session, but still a good one. Nice waves and warm water. Hoping that it sticks around for another month or two before the sea gets cold again. Caught some nice rights but mainly short rides due to the Porto closeouts. Good start to the week!

Weather: 70 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Glassy, Clear

Waves Caught: 18

Sea Life: Dolphin (2)
Sea Temp: 70 deg

Entry 184 - Swampy Backwash

Swampy backwash on tap today even though Surfline gave Porto a green! Never trust the surf report. Got out there anyway and caught some nice short stuff while trying to avoid getting smacked in the face by the backwash as I was paddling into a set. Still, warm, summer water makes all the difference.

Weather: 72 deg, Sunny

Conditions: Knee to Waist High, Bumpy, Swampy, Backwash

Waves Caught: 7

Sea Life: Dolphin (3)
Sea Temp: 71 deg