March 21, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Straight out from the Ramp
8:30 am to 10:00 am	2’ to 3’, fairly consistent
Low upcoming tide	Stiff NW breeze
Sunny and warm	Fun session but crowded

 

Good Friday

So what do you do in crowded conditions? Here’s my strategy. 

This morning crowd was an issue. It’s Good Friday, sunny, warm and a beautiful morning. There were eight people out when I paddled out and fifteen when I left at 10:00 am. All of them packed into one narrow take-off zone. 

When I arrived at Bolinas this morning, Kathy the Branson biology teacher, Ray the Petaluma fireman, Mary and Marty were all suiting up. 

“There must be something out there if you are all suiting up,” I stated to Marty. 

“It’s barely breaking, but there are a couple of guys out front who are getting some rides.” 

From the seawall I saw several long lines come in that broke in the same spot. I watched two guys take off on the same wave, one went right and the other left. Both of them got long rides. Knee-high curls, my kind of wave, I’ve got to go out. 

I was the eighth person to enter the water. I had to quickly come up with a strategy to handle the crowd. I sat inside of everyone else. My objective was to pick off the small waves that everyone was letting go by. The small ones, like the set waves, had good shape. I managed to catch several of them. When the sets came, I figured could see them coming and paddle out to meet them. I also studied one guy who sat way outside and who was an excellent surfer. I watched him closely. If he started paddling out or moved to catch a wave, I paddled out. My strategy was to let the crowd have the first wave of the set and I would position myself for the second or third set wave. I banked on the notion that surfers hate to wait. After sitting through a low and a set of waves approaches, inevitably three guys will paddle for the first wave of the set. I would paddle to the take off point that they just left and set up to catch the second or third wave. My strategy worked. With each set I managed to connect with one good one. 

The waves were good, two-footers and an offshore breeze holding up the curls. On my first ride I connected with was a left curl that went on and on and on, right up to the shore. All morning I caught one long left after another, again and again. 

It was a beautiful morning with some beautiful long left curls.