July 31, 2008 Thursday

Dear GGNRA Planning Team:

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County thanks you for the opportunity to comment upon the General Management Plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). Representatives of our organization attended your Open House in Sausalito, have reviewed the alternatives outlined in the Spring 2008 Newsletter, and have drafted the following comments for your consideration.

The three hundred members of Surfrider Foundation, Marin County support and promote the protection of and public access to the coastal environment and beaches of Marin County’s precious coastline. GGNRA shares these objectives also. Of particular interest to our members and to the surf community are the natural first-rate surf breaks at Rodeo Beach, Muir Beach and Stinson Beach. We thank GGNRA for the great work it is doing to preserve these beaches, provide easy public access, ample free parking and well-maintained public restrooms.

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County appreciates the effort to develop a long-range plan to protect our beautiful, sensitive environment. We urge you to expand the plan’s scope to include coordination with other regional planning entities, such as County of Marin, the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of California, to develop a consistent approach for the coastal environment. Given climate change, rising sea levels, persistent cliff erosion and deteriorating roads, coordination across all government agencies is vital to the health of our coastline.

Regarding the three Management Concepts, Surfrider Foundation, Marin County, whole heartedly supports Concept #1: Connecting People with the Parks, “Park management would focus on ways to attract and welcome people, connect people with the resources, and promote understanding, enjoyment, preservation and health.” This concept emphasizes park’s management commitment to the founding idea of “parks to the people.” We realize that the final General Management Plan will contain elements from all three management concepts; however, whenever there are conflicts among the alternatives, we urge you to give primary consideration to Concept #1: Connecting People with the Parks.

The following are our comments regarding the alternatives for the Management Zones of interest to our members.

Marin County, Stinson Beach to Bolinas-Fairfax Road.

We support Alternative 1, which improves existing facilities, replaces existing restrooms and showers, protects and restores the coastal ecosystems and contributes to the restoration of natural processes that affect the Bolinas Lagoon.

In Alternative 2, we are strongly opposed to the elimination of the south parking lot to support wetland restoration. On summer weekends and during very warm days, visitors to Stinson Beach fill all the existing parking lots. Having this large parking capacity greatly contributes to the economic well being to the town of Stinson Beach.

Under Alternative 2, we oppose the suggestion that park management encourage the abandonment of Highway 1 between Muir Beach and Stinson Beach in the event of a catastrophic landslide.

Under Alternative 3, we support restoring the natural ecosystem of Easkoot Creek riparian and the preservation of the coastal defense structures east of Highway 1.

Marin County, Slide Ranch

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County supports Alternative #1 for Slide Ranch, which is a continuation of an environmental and farm education center managed by a park partner. This partner in good faith has successfully managed this area since before the GGNRA was created. We strongly oppose the Alternative #2 proposal to forcibly remove the center and farm education program to a more geologically stable site.

Marin County, Golden Gate Dairy (Muir Beach)

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County supports Alternative #1, which maintains existing historic structures, supports the Muir Beach Volunteer Fire Department, moves equestrian use to Lower Redwood Creek, improves trailhead and public transit stop and enhances the creek corridor.

We oppose that portion of Alternative #2 that calls for the removal of non-historic residences and restricts equestrian use to designated trails only.

Marin Headlands: Fort Berry and Fort Cronkhite

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County supports Alternative #1, which among several proposals maintains and improves the recreational experiences including surfing, swimming, hiking, bicycle and horseback riding.

We agree with Alternative #3, which improves the historic preservation of military history and structures.

Offshore Marine Environment

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County congratulates GGNRA for its managing of the 1000-foot-wide fringe of coastal waters immediately offshore and supports Alternative #1 which coordinates policies with the Monterey Bay and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. We especially support the policy of no motorized boating including no jet-skies.

We oppose the portions of Alternatives #2 and #3, which would permit motorized boating. Would this include jet-skies? In our opinion, it is impossible to preserve the sensitive marine environment and allow recreational motorized boating.

Again we thank you for the opportunity to comment on the General Management Plan and your consideration of our suggestions.

Sincerely,

Surfrider Foundation, Marin County

July 28, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:30 am to 10:30 am	1’ to 2’, sets to 3’
Mid upcoming tide	Slight NW cross breeze
High fog – couldn’t see tops of the hills	Waste of time

“Barry, how are you?” I greeted Barry the excellent local longboarder as he was stroking out to the Channel. “There’s not much out there,” I continued. 

“Are you kidding, I saw some great waves come through,” Barry shouted as he continued paddling out to the furthest peak at the Channel. 

“I wonder what he is looking at?” Dan commented to me. For forty-five minutes Dan and I had being going through the frustration of going for small ripples on the inside just north of the Groin wall. We’re there because the inside curls had some speed whereas the waves at the Channel were soft, mushy, difficult to catch and quickly peter out. The Internet surf sites predicted small four-foot local wind swell at eight seconds with a two-foot south swell at fourteen seconds. Thus there was some possibility of waves. My surf buddies Doug, Marty, Kathy the biology teacher and Mary had come out early and had left by the time I entered the water. The waves were tiny, weak, walled and disappointing. 

Ten minutes later Barry connected on what he had been seeing. He was way, way out there when a decent set came through. I was sitting 100 yards inside and north of him and had a good side angle view of his ride. With great board speed he stroked into a flat swell, caught it, stood up, went straight to let the swell build, angled left, and stepped to the center of the board to build up speed. The wave continued to build up. Barry stepped closer to the nose, the swell was shoulder high, it jumped up, began to feather at the top, Barry got into a crouch, trimmed through a beautiful steep section, cut back to let the wave build up again and then crouched through another steep section. It was a great ride and the only one that morning. This was a “rogue” wave and Barry was on it. Believe me, all the other waves were knee high, mushy, walled and unmakeable. Barry definitely caught the wave of the day. 

Soon after that Dan and I went in. The water was cold. Two weeks ago the water was an unheard of 60 degrees. This morning’s buoy report had the water temperature at 52 degrees and it felt much colder than that. After one hour my hands were losing sensation. Earlier when I was taking photos, I watched Doug come in and chatted with him. He was shivering as he complained to me how cold it was. 

“I need a new wetsuit,” Doug lamented. “My knees are coming through this one.” Just like the holes in your jeans when you were a kid, Doug’s knees peaked through the threadbare exterior of his wetsuit. 

“Doug, buy a new wetsuit. You deserve it,” I said. 

With numb hands I struggled out of my booties and wetsuit. It was a cold, frustrating morning. 

July 25, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
9:30 am to 11:00 am	Wave size
Mid – dropping tide	Slight onshore breeze
Sunny and warm	So – so session

After several weeks, the old crowd was back together again: 

• Marty had just returned from a five-week trip to Spain and Portugal. 

• Mary had recently returned from three weeks in Bali. 

• Doug had just traveled to Oregon where he built a deck for his niece. 

• Ray the Petaluma fireman, had returned from seven days of fighting California’s numerous fires.
• Matt had recently returned from visiting his mother in Pennsylvania. 

And everyone had a tale to tell:

Ray was backup to the other Petaluma fire crews, but he was out there for seven days straight. The Petaluma crews stay with their truck. Due to the number of fires, the truck stayed in the field and they rotated crews. Their fire engine and Ray were moved to four different fires. He would have stayed out longer but their truck broke down and they had to bring it in for repairs. This piece of equipment was on the job for 27 straight days. 

Doug and I talked baseball in the water. “You really saw a great game. I listened to the last three innings while I was working,” he greeted me as he completed his paddle from Seadrift to the Groin. Doug is a big Giants fan. He goes to spring training in Arizona every year. I had mentioned to him Wednesday that I was going to Thursday’s game. The Giants are struggling this year so every victory is a big one. Yesterday they defeated the Washington Nationals one to nothing. Matt Cain pitched a complete game shutout. He only gave up five hits and walked no one. The Nationals pitcher, Tim Redding, also pitched a complete game, but he gave up a clutch hit in the bottom of the eight to lose it. Doug mentioned that this was the first time in a long, long time that both starting pitchers had pitched complete games. Doug was going to tonight’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

On his trip to Pennsylvania, due to some scheduling problem Matt was up-graded to first class. What a pleasure, lots of legroom, white tablecloths and good wine served in wine glasses made of real glass. He also commented on the heat and humidity. By the time you finished your morning shower you were already sweating. 

After our session I asked Mary if she had seen any surf in Bali. She and her husband own a small place there but it is not located near the prime surf spots. One day they drove to the other side of the island, a four-hour trip, to the surf locations. Mary was hoping to rent a board and catch a few. They went to a noted longboard break, which had spectacular surf, a beautiful left point break. She watched a skilled surfer take off on a set wave and gasped, he was a mere speck on a double-overhead swell. This was not what she was hoping for. Also the only board available to rent was an eight-footer that had been run over by a car and patched up. She wisely decided to enjoy watching the others instead of venturing out in this challenging surf. Good call. 

Marty had lots of tales of seeing beautiful historic palaces and eating great meals in Spain and Portugal. He had seen some good surf and beautiful beaches on the Peniche Peninsula, which is northwest of Lisbon. He didn’t have the opportunity to surf there but he assured me that I would love it. He handed me a brochure of the Peniche Surf Camp and Surf Guide. It had some great photos of beautiful waves with skilled riders locked in tubes. Per their propaganda, “The Peninsula of Peniche will always offer you a beach where the wind will be offshore, creating perfect waves. In 15km of coastline you will find more than 20 surf spots for all levels of surfers, from beginners to advanced.” That’s it I’m going. 

The surf was small but fun; knee high curls, my kind of waves, two to three foot fast breaking lefts. Note in the photo above, “Mr. Throwback”, wood board, no leash and no wetsuit. Needless to say, he was an excellent surfer but he only lasted about 30 minutes. 

It was a beautiful day, the water was warm, and all of us were glad to be in the water together again. 

July 23, 2008 Wednesday

Bolinas	Seadrift side of the Channel
9:00 am to 10:30 am	1’ to 2’, sets to 3’
Low tide	Onshore breeze
Hazy sunshine	Terrible waves

“Hans, I hear you are associated with the Corinthian Yacht Club,” I commented to him during one of those frequent lows out at the Groin that morning. Hans, who is about my age, is one of the regulars at Bolinas, rides a blue longboard and prefers the long gentle waves of the Patch, which were not breaking this morning. 

“Yes, that’s right. I worked there for eighteen years. I was the General Manager,” he responded. 

“Then you must know Bill, my father-in-law. He was the Port Capital there for several years,” I continued. 

“Yes I know him very well. Bill was one of the good guys there,” Hans answered. Here was something we both had in common and it just opened the door of conversation of fond memories of the place and good stories of the people. Situated at the end of Tiburon’s waterfront, the Corinthian Yacht Club is a beautiful place. Its classic colonial clubhouse, built in 1911, sits on pilings on the water and has incredible panoramic view of Angel Island, Alcatraz and the City and its harbor houses some two hundred yachts. I crewed on many Friday night races with Bill, my son worked there as a deck hand during his high school years, and my sister and brother in-law were married there. Hans spoke fondly of the older members, like Bill, who had lived through the Depression and World War II. They were decent, humble and the better sailors. The new younger members tend to be more materialistic, arrogant and demanding. 

What an ideal job I thought. Outside all day, surrounded by the beauty of the Bay and the boats, sailing when the opportunity presented itself and running the numerous sailing races. “Say hello to Bill for me the next time you see him,” Hans requested. 

“Will do.” 

We had plenty of time to chat because the surf was terrible. When I arrived there were no cars parked along Brighton Ave. That was not a good sign. With camera in hand I walked up to the overlook. Nobody was out. The nice lines we had Monday had disappeared, the Groin was barely breaking and the Patch was flat. Remembering the good rides Kathy and Clark got Monday at the Seadrift side of the Channel I watch that side for several minutes. A few right peeling waves came through. The above photo is one of them. 

Walking back to my car, Professor Steve pulled up in his ancient Volvo. “I’ll go out if you go out,” I greeted him. 

“There’s nothing out there. I’m going for exercise,” he answered, reaching out the window to open the car door from the outside. He had arrived with his wetsuit on. 

“By the time I get dressed you will be done,” I stated. 

“That’s right. I don’t have much time. I’m taking my son to the mountains this afternoon,” he responded. With that he grabbed his board and took off. 

Doug arrived. I explained the conditions to him and stated that the rights at Seadrift were our best chance for waves. Since it was a warm day we decide to go. By the time Doug and I reached the beach with our boards, Professor Steve was gone. We entered the water at the Groin and paddled over to the Seadrift side. The waves were one to two feet with an occasional three-foot wave. They broke to the right but they were un-makeable. The waves would peak in mid-channel, start to break then would jump up and crash as solid walls in one to two feet of water. Doug and I tried and tried but we could not get any decent rides. By the time I stood up the waves would be collapsing ten to fifteen feet in front of me. 

After a half an hour, Hans paddled out to join us. He too experienced the same frustration. Hans finally stated that the lefts at the Groin looked better and he paddled off to try his luck over there. Doug and I followed him. In the brief time we were out there the tide had filled in, the wind had died down, the surface had glassed off and some nice left curls were peeling off. Within twenty minutes I managed to connect on three fast, paper-thin left curls. This made my morning. With that I went in. 

Never admitting that we wasted our time, all three of us had the usual surfer banter after a lousy session: “beats working”, “good exercise”, “feels good to be in the water”, etc. My main accomplishment of the morning was discovering Hans and I had something in common, and because of our Corinthian Yacht Club connection I’m confident that we will be buddies for years to come.

July 21, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
8:00 am to 10:30 am	2’ to 3’ sets to 4’
Low upcoming tide	Slight offshore breeze
High overcast	Fun session

“Dan, I saw your picture in the IJ last week,” I greeted my friend Dan as he emerged from his camper. The Marin Independent Journal printed a two-page spread of photos and commentary on “Surfing and Zen at Fort Cronkhite.” The article had a photo of Dan in his swim trunks sitting at the table in his camper. 

“Yeah, I wish the reporter could keep his facts straight. I’m from Fairfax not Bolinas, and you know the surf was really lousy that day,” Dan responded. 

“I take it the photographer pulled out his best shots from the last six months,” I added. The surf photos were pretty good.

“To the contrary, he had just purchased a water casing for his camera and that was his first day taking water shots. You know that great shot of Nate in the barrel was pure luck.” The article had a picture of our friend Nate, one of the owners of the Proof Lab Surf Shop, with the lip of a wave pitched over his head and Nate in a tight crouch. Nate is a very good surfer. Only Kelly Slater and Nate could get barreled in two-foot slop. 

“Dan, are you going out?” I asked. 

“No, I’m going to get some breakfast first to let the tide fill in then I’ll go out,” he responded. Good move; an hour later when I saw Dan in the water the tide had come up a bit, the waves were more forgiving and I saw him connect on a couple of great rides. Twice Dan took off on well-shaped small left walls, with his back to the waves he crouched down, grabbed a rail and made it through the initial sections, stood up and glided down the good inside curls. 

I had high expectations for good waves. All last week Stormsurf was predicting the second major south swell of the season for Sunday into Monday, three-foot plus swells at seventeen seconds producing five-foot faces at south facing beaches. The waves were two to three feet at Bolinas. The next day Stormsurf printed an apology about the surf not being as big as they predicted, something to do with a screw up in one of their many weather models for the east Pacific. I have been relying on Stormsurf for thirteen years and that’s the first time I had read an apology for one of their predictions. 

When I arrived there were eight people out at the Groin and no one at the Patch or the Seadrift side of the Channel. I watch Kathy and Clark, the biology teachers, paddle across the Channel to Seadrift to go for the fast breaking right waves. Jimmy the Stinson carpenter soon joined them. By the time I entered the water half of the crowd at the Groin had moved over to Seadrift to join Kathy and Clark. 

The waves at the Groin looked great; clean, fast, left breaking curls, but they were breaking too fast and in very shallow six-inch to one foot of water. By the time I got up the ride was over. Barry, a long-time regular at Bolinas, was making them. He sat way outside, waited for the sets, paddled hard, got up good board speed, managed to get into the waves while they were still flat, turned quickly, positioned himself high in the curl and calmly walked to the nose. Following his lead I tried to do the same with some success. I connected on a few very fast, crisp, thin curls. Those few waves made my whole morning. 

In his talk at Book Passages, Gerry Lopez talked about surfing being a series of brief moments that last for a long time. Steven Kotler in West of Jesus stated that surfing is instants, short spans of a few seconds that have one returning and returning to repeat those instants. This morning was my time of brief instants. The flashes of being for a brief second locked into a well-shaped bluish-green curl, feathering white spray blowing off the top, shooting under the lip of the wave were firmly burned into my memory. For that it was a good morning. 

July 15, 2008 Tuesday

Bolinas	Seadrift side of the Channel
8:00 am to 10:00 am	2’ to 3’, occasional 4’
Mid upcoming tide	Sideways breeze
High overcast	Good session

“This is like fishing,” said Jimmy, the carpenter from Stinson, to Professor Steve and I during an interminable low out at the Seadrift side of Channel. “You get to bullshitting and after a while the fish start biting.” Not this time, the good waves were done and only mushy, infrequent ones were left. 

After yesterday’s great waves I had high hopes for today. Conditions on the Internet looked as good as they did yesterday: 2.6 foot south swell, a seven knot northeast breeze, 60 degree warm water and a two-foot incoming tide. I left the house earlier than usual in anticipation of good waves. 

When I arrived at Bolinas, Mary and Kathy the biology teacher were in their wetsuits chatting with John one of the owners of the 2-Mile surf shop. 

“It’s not a good sign when you all are standing around,” I greeted them. 

“No, we’re going out, there are waves,” responded Kathy. 

I went up on the overlook as they headed for the break. Mary had great luck yesterday riding the rights on the Seadrift side of the Channel, so she headed there. Kathy who is goofy foot (right foot forward like a left-handed batter in baseball) was going to try her luck on the lefts at the Groin. From the overlook the lefts looked good, smaller than yesterday but still clean left peeling lines. 

I joined Kathy at the Groin. We didn’t have much luck; the waves were breaking too fast. Kathy left to join Mary over on the Seadrift side. I drifted more out to the Channel looking for the good take off spot. I could see Mary, Kathy and Professor Steve, who had joined them, were getting some good rides. If I could catch a right wave I would be over there with them, which I did. I was sitting just north of them when the next set came through. I took the first one left and connected on a long ride. It felt like a wave at the Patch, I passed through one section, let the wave build up and then cruised through another section and on and on. 

My next ride was my best one of the day, a sizeable right wall. I took off while the wave was cresting. Once up I could see it feathering for 20 yards in front of me. I turned hard right, climbed to the top of the wave, stepped to the middle of the board, trimmed through the first section, cut back, turned hard right again to see another section feathering yards in front of me, made it through that section, let another one build up, continued back and forth until the wave finally died out very close to shore. 

That was the first one of a set of great waves. Paddling back out, I admired how beautiful the waves were: long, glassy, emerald green walls continuously breaking to the right. Professor Steve came gliding down one in front of me. Next Kathy turned into a well-formed green line. Then Mary got a sizeable one where she went on and on and on. 

Jimmy knee paddled out from Seadrift and immediately connected with some good ones. While paddling out, I saw Jimmy stroke into a four footer. He turned into a fast breaking right wall, positioned himself mid-swell, stepped to the middle of the board, crouched down and trimmed. He was coming right at me. I just sat there to enjoy the sight. He saw me, maneuvered around me and continued on. 

For an hour the rights were beautiful, long and consistent. After a while Kathy and Mary went in. The three of us, the poet, the carpenter and the retiree, had the break to ourselves. As the tide came in and the water became deeper the waves slowly died and then they finally stopped. The three of us sat there, “bullshitting” in anticipation of the next set of great waves. Steve gave up and went in. I finally caught a slow mushy wave. I had been out for two hours and my arms were turning to rubber. I told Jimmy that one more and I’m going in. 

“Here comes a big set,” Jimmy stated and he began to paddle out. I followed him. “You got this one?” he asked. “Yes I’ve got it.” I said. It was a well-formed wall but I was too late and too tired. I pushed into it, but by the time I got up the wave was collapsing ahead of me. I could see this perfectly formed three-foot wave breaking down the line, emerald green, stray feathering of the top for twenty yards, and I was trapped in the white water of the breaking wave with all my momentum spent. 

“That’s it, I’m out of here,” I said to myself. I made the long paddle across the Channel to the Groin. I was exhausted. I looked back to see Jimmy vigorously knee paddling out to the peak, but by this time the waves were mushy and slow.

July 14, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 11:15 am	Consistent 3’, occasional 4’
Mid upcoming tide	Offshore breeze
High overcast	Great fun waves

“No swell of interest,” reported Stormsurf on the Internet this morning. Boy were they wrong. The waves were great. 

Conditions looked bad. The 5:50 am buoy report had the swell at 2.3 feet at eleven seconds. The Stormsurf graphic for the North Bay reported 0.9 feet north swells at eight seconds and south swells at two feet every twelve seconds. But there were three favorable indicators: 

1. The dominant swell was from the south, which goes right into Bolinas,
2. Wind was four knots from the northeast, a slight offshore breeze, and
3. Warm water, 60.6 degrees, unheard of around here. 

Warm water, offshore breeze, glassy surface and small south swells meant it was worth driving out to Bolinas to take a look. What a pleasant surprise. Stormsurf had it wrong. The waves were a consistent three feet with sets to four with excellent shape, machine like glassy left peeling lines. 

There were ten people at the Groin at 8:30 am all bunched together on the Channel side of the Groin wall. By the time I entered the water the number was down to eight and half of them had moved to the Seadrift side of the Channel where there was a decent right peak. Mary, who had just returned from a trip to Bali, and Jimmy the carpenter from Stinson were there. I knew it was Jimmy by his distinctive knee paddle. Since he stayed on that side of the Channel and didn’t paddle over the Groin meant the rights were good. 

I went out at the north end of the Groin peak to separate myself from the crowd., Based on last week’s experience, the makeable lefts were north of the Groin pole. The waves broke fast. It took a couple of waves for me to locate best take-off point, which was straight out from the Groin wall. The set waves were lines of water across the entire impact zone. They would start breaking mid-Channel and continuously peel left for 200 yards finally terminating mid-beach under the brown house that is sliding out the cliff. 

My tactic was simple and effective: sit inside, be selective, take off late, jump up quickly and run to the nose. If I made the initial section I was in for a great ride. If I didn’t and the wave broke in front of me I would drive the nose into the white water and dive off the front of the board. 

I managed to make the initial section on lots of waves, thus scoring several long, fast, beautiful curls. One in particular, a four foot set wave, I saw that the shape was definitely left, it was cresting, I paddled north to get a little further down the line, I turned around and went for it as it was breaking. I could hear the thunder of the train of white water rapidly coming down the line. I stroked into it, got up quickly, ran to the middle of the board, crouched down, felt the wave breaking on my feet and managed to keep the nose of the board in the swell just ahead of the breaking curl. The wave slowed up for an instant, which allowed me to push all the way into the swell, climb to the top of the wave, step closer to the nose and to shoot down another long fast section. I was locked in the curl and heading right at two girls, beginners with soft-top boards. They froze. I saw that I could pass in front of them, it was close but I didn’t collide with them. I shot by them and kept going into another inside section, right up to the shallow water of the shore break. They gave me that “nice ride” high sign. 

After two hours I was spent. I caught a good set wave that ended right at the shore. That’s it, I got out. By this time the high overcast clouds were breaking up and warm sunshine was pouring in. It was just another great morning in Marin, warm sunshine, patchy blue skies, combined with that relaxed feeling from physical exertion and the satisfaction of a good surf session. 

July 8, 2008 Tuesday

Bolinas	Groin
8:30 am to 10:30 am	2’ to 3’, occasional 4’
Low tide – 0.5 ft at 10:00 am	No wind, zero, zip, nada
Heat wave – sunny, hot and glassy	Fun session

Mark the cancer survivor stroked out to the Groin and greeted me with, “Hey I keep hearing about that elephant seal story.” He is referring to my May 28^th entry about seeing an elephant seal catch and devour a small shark. 

“It happened right over there. We were sitting here when it happened,” I responded. 

“Every time is I hear that story the shark gets bigger, three feet, four feet, six feet, eight feet. What was it?” 

“Three to four feet,” I said. 

“It must have been a tiger shark,” Mark stated. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t get that close to it. Within minutes the seal had broken it up into pieces and ate all of them. There was nothing left.” 

When I pulled up this morning, the dawn patrol, the biology teachers Kathy and Clark, Professor Steve and Doug were out at the Groin catching small left waves. They were back at their cars as I was suiting up. 

“So how were the waves?” I asked Doug. 

“Terrible! Simply terrible,” Doug responded. Yesterday Doug’s assessment was right on. He stated it was better that it looks and he was right. But, today he was wrong. The waves were great. 

Northern California was going through a heat wave and a rash of 700 fires, thus it was hot, there was no wind and the skies were hazy due to the smoke. It reminded of my younger days of growing up in Los Angeles in the sixties. The lack of wind has caused the swell to clean up, the bumps that were there yesterday are gone, and the surface is glassy smooth. The swell was down slightly but it was clean. This morning’s buoy report had the north swell at 4 feet at 10 seconds and the south swell at 1.0 foot at 14 seconds. The above photo is Professor Steve on a typical wall of glass. 

There was nobody out when I paddled out. A couple minutes later Jimmy came knee paddling over from Seadrift. Like yesterday we traded waves. Jimmy again wave after wave crouched down in the middle of his board, locked himself into the curls of these glassy walls and either let the wave break over him or straighten out at the last moment. He told me that his favorite board, the sun weathered pintail, was falling apart from wear and that he needed a new one. What was he going to get? He’s going to make a new one. He makes all of his boards. I told him the story of receiving a surfboard kit for Christmas when I was thirteen, using a friend’s brand new 9’0” Hobie as a template, shaped it, glassed it and used it for five years. 

After 30 minutes Jimmy left and Mark paddled out. Mark and I traded waves. We had the peak to ourselves. Long clean lines were coming in. Being selective I connected with several good glassy green walls. On one good one, I got high in the wave, stepped to the middle of board, as the curl stood up I stepped closer to the nose, there I stood for 50 yards until the wave collapsed on the sand. Mark commented, “You sure milked that one for all its worth.”  One good wave after another Mark and I connected with for a good hour. 

“Mark what gives you the opportunity to surf on a Tuesday morning?” I asked. 

“I’m working from home today. I was up at 4:30 am doing email and connecting with the office. I have been spending a lot of time in the Bakersfield area and had to make an appearance at the office.” 

“What do you do?” I was curious. 

He paused, looked straight at me, “I’m an archaeologist,” he said. “I’m not in academia. I work for a large engineering firm. We’re working on an oil exploration project.” 

“Do you contribute to Environmental Impact Studies?” I asked. 

“Yes. I work on all the regulatory studies,” he added. With the rise in oil prices, the oil companies are reactivating all the old oil fields around Bakersfield. Mark is looking for ancient Indian artifacts and reports on them. He stated that they have uncovered a ton of stuff that is over 6000 years old. One artifact was a shark’s tooth with a small hole drilled in it. It must have been part of a necklace; a necklace from the coast that inland Indians traded for. Six thousand years ago there were two large lakes in this region forming the most fertile part of California and thus a lust area for the ancient cultures. The lakes, which were formed during the last Ice Age, disappeared a hundred years ago, drained by the water demands of the settling of the Central Valley. I thought it was cool to be riding waves with an archaeologist who is an expert on the ancient Indian societies of California. 

After two hours I was spent and had to call it quits. A heat wave at the beach is wonderful: sunny, no wind, warm, smooth blue water and the satisfaction of having ridden some beautiful fun waves. 

July 7, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:20 am to 11:20 am	Consistent 3’ with sets to 4’
Low upcoming tide	Slight onshore breeze
Hazy sunshine, warm air and warm water	Good session

“It’s better than it looks. Believe me, it’s better than it looks,” stated Doug when he and a friend just returned to Doug’s truck after a two hour session. “Go on out, have fun.” 

Doug was right. It was better than it looked. The Internet predicted some decent conditions. This morning’s buoy report had an 8.2-foot swell at 12 seconds with a 1.1-foot south swell underneath and warm water, 55 degrees. Stormstorm’s graphic depicted four to six foot swells going into Bolinas. Predictions for the rest of the week were not good. The north swell is going to decline leaving just a one to two foot south swell for the rest of the week. Today and tomorrow were my best chance of waves this week. 

When I first viewed the waves conditions were not good. The swell was there but it wasn’t clean, merely bumpy lines across the entrance of the Channel. Doug, Professor Steve and a couple of other guys were out at a peak north of the Groin wall. The current was pouring out of the lagoon even though low tide wasn’t for another hour. The waves were doubling up into fast breaking left walls. I watched Steve veer left on the top half of a wave only to drop into a small sucking out collapsing wall in six inches of water. It didn’t look inviting. 

I went up to the overlook to check out the Patch and the Seadrift side of the Channel. The Patch was barely breaking with weak mushy waves that would die out after a few yards. On the other side of the current coming out of the lagoon I saw a couple of tempting right waves. I saw someone knee paddling from the Seadrift side heading for the peak at the Groin. It was Jimmy, the Stinson carpenter. I could tell it was him, he had that comfortable, experienced knee paddle stroke, his long blond hair flowing over his ears, paddling an sun weathered yellow board with a black patch on the nose. I hadn’t seen Jimmy at Bolinas since the good peaks of last September. Jimmy is a good surfer and I always pay attention to what he is doing. He just answered my question about surfing at Seadrift. If Jimmy is coming over to the Groin then he has decided that nothing is happening on that side of the Channel. I’ll follow his lead and join him at the Groin. 

There were only three of us out there, Jim, one other guy and me. Jim and I traded waves, the other guy didn’t, which I found a little annoying. Jim sits way out there and at the deepest point of the peak. In wave after wave, he paddled with great speed, cruised into flat swells, cut left with his back to the wave, crouched down in the middle of the board, locked himself into the curl, traveled a long ways and either let the wave break all over him or straighten out at the last instant. I tried to imitate what he was doing. On my second wave I connected on a good fast curl, worked through two sections until the wave sucked out in shallow water near the shore. That did it. I kept following Jimmy’s lead. 

After an hour Jimmy and the other guy left and I had the break all to myself. The waves were doubling up. Two small swells would merge together to form one fast left breaking wall. The trick was to catch the top portion and then push over the edge of the front portion and drop into the steep fast peeling wall. Before dropping into the wall you have to be up, turned, and positioned high in the curl. One had to stay at the top of the wave. If you drop to the bottom the ride is over, the board looses momentum and the white water from the collapsing wall overwhelms you. My strategy was wave selection. The north wind swells approached from different points. By selecting waves that were definite lefts, those that peaked in the Channel, I could get up fast, turn and step to the middle of the board before dropping into the wall and manage to stay at the top of wave. With luck I made the first section, shifted my weight slightly and leaned into the next section. The walls were steep and fast. I risked having the inside rail being sucked up the face of the wave and the board curling back into my ribs. When positioned in the middle of the board, never fall on the beach side. Fortunately this didn’t happen. If I moved to the middle of the board, I kept moving forward, never backwards. When the wave started to break in front of me, I walked to the nose, drove it under water and dove off the front of the board avoiding being hit by own board. Keeping these points in mind and being selective, I caught several fast, good, long curls. 

After a while, a five others came out, but since the waves were consistent the crowd was never a problem. The waves got better as the tide began to fill in. The walls became more forgiving. I caught wave after wave until I was completely exhausted. After two hours I had to call it quits.

After getting coffee I dropped into the 2-Mile Surf Shop to chat with John, one of the owners. John makes surf boards, Mystic is his label. John is a professional graphics artist who worked for Cliff Bars for a few years. He is building a board for my son and I asked about its progress. “Being glassed, should be ready tomorrow,” he said as he was working on the blank of a long board. I asked him whom this was for. He had some exciting news. He is making four longboards for a trade show, the Outdoors trade show in Salt Lake City. This is the BIG ONE; everything outdoors is there. A food company in Mill Valley had invited John to help them out. John is building their booth displays and graphics and they will let him display some of his boards. He will be flying to Salt Lake in early August  and his boards will be going by truck. Should be fun. 

It was another beautiful morning in West Marin. I stopped at the Gospel Flats Farm Stand to buy lettuce, beets, zucchinis and flowers and I tooted my horn and waved to John the Greeter of the Panoramic Highway.