December 24, 2009 Thursday

Pacifica	Linda Mar Ave
12:15 pm to 1:30 pm	4' to 6', sets to 8'
Low upcoming tide (2.1 ft at 11:30 am)	Stiff offshore wind
Sunny, high clouds and cold	A 'just get wet' session

“Where shall we go?” I asked son Kevin as we loaded up the boards at his apartment in San Francisco.

“South,” he replied. Since it was Christmas Eve and we had a family obligation in the early evening, we could not blow the time traveling north to Stinson or Bolinas. South to Kevin meant anywhere between Linda Mar in Pacifica to Kelly Ave in Half Moon Bay.

Stormsurf predicted a new ill-defined north swell, 5 ft at 14 seconds with a larger swell (Swell #7) of 6 ft at 17 seconds to arrive at sunset. To us the swell looked much larger.

At Rockaway Beach, the cove north of Linda Mar, the waves were huge and a few guys were out.

We stopped at Linda Mar. The lot was full, 100 surfers were in the water and the waves were walled. The sets stretched from one end of the bay to the other with the north end being twice the height than at the south end. It didn’t look inviting so we pushed on.

At Montara we parked in the lot next to the new Peruvian restaurant, La Costenera, which sits on the bluff at the south end. I’m anxious to give this place a try. Again the waves were huge and nobody was out. Big boomers peaked and exploded over the rocks at the south point. We pushed on.

A few surfers were out at breakwater of the Half Moon Bay Harbor. Even though the tide was dropping the waves mushed up against the breakwater and were barely breaking. We continued on.

Six surfers were going for the big drop waves at Kelly Ave in Half Moon Bay. The steep beach at Kelly causes the swells to continue building into vertical faces and to crash a few feet from shore. It’s great for paddling out, but the rides are short and thrilling. The crowd was spread across two peaks, one left and one right. The waves were big, steep and fast. They looked like they had shape. If you could be in the right position, you could get an incredible ride. For fifteen minutes Kevin and I watched one surfer after another free fall down the faces of the waves. They were breaking top to bottom. Just as one pushed into the wave and started to jump up, the wave would pitch out sending the rider tumbling. It didn’t look inviting.

“Kevin, let’s go check out Mavericks. I bet it’s breaking,” I said to Kevin pointing at the white water at Pillar Point. Kelly Ave is about four miles south of Pillar Point and you can see the big rocks and white water of Mavericks. Off we went.

With luck someone pulled out as I entered the Mavericks parking lot to grab the last spot. We walked straight up the hill to the cliff that overlooks Ross’ Cove, which is just north of Mavericks. From there we could see one surfer sitting way outside at Mavericks but we didn’t see any waves come through. However, just below us in Ross’ Cove ten surfers were connecting on some beautiful double overhead waves. The above picture was one of them. Neither one of us has surfed here and the waves were too big for us to venture out to an unfamiliar break.

Instead we walked around the lagoon to the end of Pillar Point where the breakwater begins to Mavericks. The break is about a half mile out from the point. We climbed up the bluff for a better look. One lone surfer sat way outside and he sat and sat and sat. Some stunning waves broke just beyond the inside rock outcropping and exploded against them. They were too close to the rocks to be rideable. I snapped shots of some of the big ones.

“Let’s go back to Pacific,” Kevin suggested, which was what we did. By now we had that “just get wet” attitude. After witnessing the big closeouts down the coast, the walls at Linda Mar looked tame. For one hour, we paddled around in cold water, ducked under tons of white water and coasted down several head-high walls. It was invigorating and we were glad that we did it.

All in all it was a great morning, a leisurely drive down the coast filled with good conversation and marvelous sights; such as: two 300-ft cranes attempting to save an apartment building from sliding down an eroding cliff in Pacifica, and the engineering feat of the Devil Slide tunnel project, which was making great progress. Add to that the bright sun, blue water, offshore winds, spectacular shoreline cliffs and huge waves crashing against the rocks.

December 7, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:30 am to 10:30 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Low tide (2.6 ft)	Slight offshore breeze
Sunny, high clouds and cold	Fun session

As I drove by the post office on Brighton Ave this morning, I passed Jeff the Bolinas local walking down the road. He waved and gave me the thumbs up. I saw Mary, Russ and Hans’ cars parked by the tennis court with their boards gone. They were out at the Patch. Professor Steve was suiting up. All good signs that there were waves. I had serious doubts about getting any waves today. Surfrider Foundation’s water testing program got me here this morning. I had to collect water samples and drive them to the Branson School. The San Francisco buoy reported four-foot swells at 16 seconds with a slight breeze, nothing spectacular. The weather had just changed, a cold front moved in yesterday bringing light rains. All the weather guys reported more rain and south winds for today with a bigger storm to arrive Wednesday and to last through Friday. NOAA weather radio predicted a big swell with this storm. The Chronicle had a brief article last Friday stating that they might call the Mavericks contest for Tuesday. The contestants were going to vote on it Sunday.

But when I drove over the ridge at Pan Toll, I broke out of the clouds into this beautiful panoramic view of the Stinson-Bolinas bay and the ocean: the sun was shinning, the sky was clear and blue and the sea surface was smooth. The Farallon Islands stuck out on the horizon and Point Reyes could be seen from the ridge. From the seawall at Bolinas I watched two surfers connect on some long decent left curls at the Groin. In the above photo, this guy caught the wave out where the other wave was breaking and rode a continuous clean shoulder all the way to the inside where I snapped this shot. Four were out at the Patch getting some decent rides. Conditions looked good. Knee-high curls, my kind of waves, plus I figured I had to go out this morning because the big storm was coming.

I paddled out to join Professor Steve and two others. The ebb tide current was pushing us out and to the north, thus we had to keep correcting our positions. The waves were ground swells that stretch across the impact zone, but the sand build up on the bottom forced all the waves to break to the left. They were difficult to catch. After missing two in a row, I connected on a three-foot wall as it was breaking. I thought it was going to close out in front of me, but it didn’t, it held up. I shot down a fast section, cut back to let the wave build up and turned into a fast shore break. It was a good ride. Paddling out I got a glimpse of one of the others on a good one. This guy was riding a thick soft-top sponge board, the type all the surf schools use for beginners. But he was no beginner. He stroked into a good looking three-foot curl, pushed himself over the edge, turned left, crouched down in the middle of the board and hummed through a clean section. The wave continued to build. He stepped closer to the nose, crouched down again and with spray flying from the thick nose plowing through the water he cruised through another beautiful section.

For an hour I managed to catch several good small curls. The morning was incredibly beautiful. Yesterday’s rains had cleared the air, big fluffy clouds hovered over the mountain and the air was crisp. Despite the beauty it was cold. After an hour my toes were numb. A basic surfer formula kicked in:

Cold water + Cold air = Really cold.

The NOAA buoy reported water temperature of 52 degrees, cold but normal. Per Pete the coffee stand guy Bolinas was 37 degrees this morning. Professor Steve had seen a dusting of snow on the ridge from his house this morning. He said this while showing me a hole in the seam of his wetsuit, time for a new one. But the sunshine, clouds and the beautiful little waves made the pain of the cold all worthwhile.

November 23, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:10 am to 10:45 am	3' to 4', sets to 6'
Low outgoing tide (3.2 ft at 10:00 am)	Slight offshore breeze
Sunny and clear	Great session

Bolinas at its best

My first wave was a good one. A four-foot well-formed wall approached. From taking pictures this morning at the overlook, I knew the waves were difficult to catch and breaking hard and fast. I hesitated a second to let the swell build and then paddled towards the peak. I glided into the wave, dropped over the edge, turned sharply left, hung there an instant and then dropped to the bottom. I climbed up the face of the wave, planted the inside rail under the lip, crouched down and hummed down the curl of a steep, fast wave. I stood there high in the curl and went on and on. I shifted my weight to stall a second and then leaned back into the curl. On the inside, near the shore, my legs went into shock-absorber mode as a series of backwash ripples that had reflected off the south seawall bounced my board. This great ride set the tone for me this morning. In the hour and a half I was out there, I repeated this ride at least six more times.

On the Internet, prospects for waves looked good: 9.8 ft north swell at 12 seconds, a NNW breeze and a warming trend had begun. Yesterday morning it had rained, but by the afternoon high pressure had moved in causing the air to warm up. Conditions were ideal: sunny day, glassy smooth, three to five-foot lines pouring in and only eight people out at the Groin.

The usual crew was present getting some good rides. Hank pulled into a three-foot wall and milked it for fifty yards. Doug caught a set wave, turned left, crouched down in the middle of his board, grabbed the outside rail and hung on for a long, long ride. Jim the jazz guitarist who paddles for everything was there paddling for all the big set waves; some of which he made and some he didn’t. David who rides the Becker board, Marty and Professor Steve were out there getting their share of long rides.

“Oh no, I’m in trouble,” I said to myself. I was paddling out when David stroked into a fast three-foot wall. As soon as he glided into the wave and even though he was yards from me, I knew from judging the size and speed of the wave, he was heading right for me. I had a brief “deer in the headlights” moment and froze. He was gaining speed, was perfectly locked in the curl and heading right at me. I quickly moved to the left into the white water of the breaking wave as he shot by me. He missed me by two feet. I looked back. He remained locked in the curl all the way to the shore.

A few minutes later, I was paddling out again and here came Marty on a fast four-foot wave. He too was heading right at me. Marty stood at the base of the wave right ahead of the breaking part of the curl. He moved in and out between white water and swell and he was heading right for me. Again, I quickly moved to the left into the white water of the wave as Marty shot by. He too passed within two feet. Marty rode that wave up to the shore. Later, he told me that was his best ride of the morning.

I was sitting way outside with Professor Steve when a big set wave approached. We both went for it. Steve was ten yards north of me. It was a huge wall. I coasted into it, stood up, turned left and dropped to the bottom as the wave closed out in front of me. But I caught a good glimpse of Steve as he streaked down the face. At the last moment, he turned and coasted down the wave. The lip of curl towered a foot over his head as it collapsed in front of him.

We all agreed that it was one of the best sessions that we have had in a long time. After changing and going into town for coffee, Marty and I returned to the seawall to check out the waves one last time before leaving. Thus at noon, fourteen people were out at the Groin and the waves were still good, possibly bigger than when we were out there.

“Loren,” Marty exclaimed, “I arrived at 7:30 this morning and here it is four and a half hours later and the waves are still good.” It was an incredible beautiful Marin fall morning topped with five hours of great waves.

November 18, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Groin
9:30 am to 10:50 am	4' to 6', sets to 8'
High upcoming tide (6.1 ft at 11:00 am)	Stiff offshore winds (NNW)
Sunny, windy and cold	Thrilling session

The waves were intimidating this morning. I entered the water by launching myself into three-foot waves that were breaking in front of the ramp. I waited for a lull between waves, jumped on my board and started paddling like mad. A wave broke in front of me. I pushed the nose of the board down, went under the white water, the surge of the wave was pulling me back to the ramp and then the flow of the water running back down the ramp pushed me out and over the next incoming wave.

Once safely pass the shore break I paddled to the peak north of the Groin to where Claude and Tom were waiting for the next set. Claude gave me that “you should have been here an hour ago” speech. At 7:00 am when he entered the water the waves had better shape and there was less of a crowd. He raved about the quality of the rides, insisted they were better at the furthest peak in the Channel and paddled off to go out there. I saw a set of big waves coming through and paddled out to meet them. A massive eight-foot wall of water was in front of me. I had not seen that much water in a wave in months. I was intimidated. A huge swell stretched for a 100 yards from the Channel to the south seawall. I paddled over it, turned around and watched it explode from the back with a deafening roar.

The weather had changed. A low-pressure front pushed in yesterday afternoon bringing in rain and a strong swell. At 6:00 am the NOAA buoy reported nine-foot NW swells at 12 seconds, 19-knot NNW winds and a dropping water temperature of 52 degrees. My first glance of Bolinas from the top of the Panoramic Highway was a solid “V” of white water at the Channel. Maybe the waves would be too big. At Bolinas all the parking spots were filled. I had to drive around the tennis court before a parking place opened up. Mary, Doug, Hans and Claude’s cars were there, and Martha was suiting up. The number cars told me that the other surf spots, Salmon Creek, Dillon’s and Ocean Beach were too big and only Bolinas had rideable waves.

I almost didn’t go out, in fact I had talked myself out of it. Hans stated that the high tide was knocking down the waves at the Patch and that the water was cold. I was hearing this standing in a cold wind. That was it I would not go out but take pictures instead.

“Are you going out?” asked Mary who had just come up the ramp from her session.

“No,” I replied. “I’m tired and have things to do.”

“Boy, that doesn’t sound like you!” she stated. “I had a great time. It was like you write about. I was on this head high wall, emerald-green color with sunlight dancing off a textured face and light shinning through the lip of the wave with spray arching off the top. As Hans said, it was a green-lip wave.”

I went up to the overlook on Terrace Road and changed my mind. The waves at the Patch were small but the Channel and Groin looked great. The wind had died down, the surface was glassy, and the sun was warm and rider after rider streaked down these beautiful peaks. I had to go.

For twenty minutes I paddled around looking for the best spot and tried for several waves but missed them. Finally I connected on a well-shaped left peak. I could tell the wave had power by the amount of water it was drawing out. I stroked into it, pushed the nose of my board over the ledge, jumped up, cut left and looked down a long, head-high, thin fast peeling curl. I leaned into it to climb up the face, stepped to the middle of the board, locked the rail under the lip, took one more step forward, crouched down and screamed across the face. I didn’t move and on and on I went until I pulled out over the top as the wave broke ten feet from shore. What a great ride.

After catching a few close outs, I moved inside and north with David who rides the Becker board where it was less intimidating. Within a few minutes David and I caught three or four screamers across the inside shore break. On one fast ride, just as the curl was about to pitch, a two-foot backwash wave from the south seawall hit and sent the lip of the wave and me four feet straight up. I came crashing down, landed on the deck of my board and fell off. The impact hurt but I was ok.

Sitting on the inside, I caught a great view of an expert surfer connecting on a beautiful wave at the furthest Channel peak. He took off late on an overhead wave and with his back to the wave he tucked into a small ball, grabbed the outside rail, ducked under the curl and disappeared. Three seconds later he popped out still locked in the curl. Everybody hooted.

Later, I dropped down a curl that hollowed out in front of me. I hesitated an instant and locked into the bottom of the wave and raced just ahead of the curl. I looked up; the lip was two feet over my head and was coming over me. I coasted out in front of the wave as it broke. For a brief instant I saw a perfectly shaped hollow wave with sunlight dancing off the face and the lip arching over me. It was a beautiful sight.

The upcoming tide caused the waves in front of the ramp to increase in size and power. “How am I going to get in?” On shore I chatted with a couple of younger surfers about their strategy for getting to the ramp. For ten minutes we watched a group of four surfers sitting outside the ramp waiting for a lull in the four-foot waves crashing into the seawalls.

“You know, I’m an old man. I don’t have to prove my virility,” I announced to my young companions. “I’m going to take the easy route and walk around to Wharf Road and through town.” Which I did. It was a long walk but it was free of intimidation.

November 16, 2009 Monday

Stinson Beach	In front of the central restrooms
9:30 am to 11:00 am	3' to 4', occasional 5'
High tide (6.2 ft at 10:00 am)	No wind
Bright sunny day	OK session

“Bolinas must be flat,” I greeted Marty this morning at Stinson Beach. I had just collected a water sample at Bay Front Park in Mill Valley and had pulled up to a parking place near the Parkside Café. On Mondays, Marty and I gather water samples for Surfrider Foundation’s water quality testing program. I take samples at Bay Front Park and Stinson Beach and then connect with Marty at Bolinas, where he takes a sample there and then drives them to the Branson School for testing. Marty is filling in this semester for a science teacher on maternity leave. On Mondays his classes are in the afternoon, thus he goes surfing at Bolinas in the morning. This morning he was waiting for me at Stinson when I arrived.

“Yes, Bolinas is flat,” he said. “The tide is too high. Mary, Hans and Doug came here. That’s them out at the Calles.” I could see three surfers out in front of the first group of houses north of the park. “I just don’t have enough time,” he continued, “or I would be out there with them.”

“Work is getting in your way,” I said rubbing it in. He is enjoying teaching again. I gathered a water sample and handed it to Marty. We sat on the concrete ledge of the sidewalk in front of the showers. It was a beautiful morning: bright sun, no wind, glassy smooth and consistent three to four-foot peaks coming through. I decided wait until they open the gate at 9:00 am to surf here. Out front looked better than the waves at the Calles and no one was out. At 9:00 am Marty took off and I moved my car into the parking lot. Other surf vehicles were already there. The young longboarder who I have seen several times at Bolinas was suiting up next to me. He often surfed with Barry, “Mr. Throwback”, the music producer from Stinson Beach. Like Barry this guy is a good surfer.

From the beach the waves looked beautiful, but in the water they were bigger and more walled than what I had thought. I entered the water north of the showers thinking there was a channel there. Once outside I saw a beautiful left wave peeling in front of the central bathrooms. I moved over there and stopped in the middle of the foam left by this classic wave. My first wave was my best ride. The waves were difficult to catch. I had paddled for and missed two in a row. This put me several yards closer to shore. I turned around to paddle back out and was greeted by a glassy four-foot wall. I stroked into it and jumped up to see a head-high emerald green line forming in front of me. I quickly swung left, positioned mid-swell, shifted my weight to my front foot, crouched down and hummed through a long, fast section. I straightened out as the wave broke on shore. It was a great ride.

And that was it. I caught several more waves but no more good ones. Due to the high tide, the waves pushed up close to shore before breaking. I had to paddle like mad to get into them, go straight for a second or two to push myself over the edge. Once into the wave, I had to turn quickly to prevent dropping to the bottom. If I dropped to the bottom the ride was over. The fast drop would push me out in front of the swell, momentum would die and the wall of water would collapse in front of me. If I could remain in the curl and not drop all of the way, I would have a great ride. But as noted above that only happened on my first wave.

At one point I was outside with Barry’s young companion. A set wave came through. “Go right,” I yelled to him, “go right.” He glided into a five-foot peak. Being goofy-foot he looked left, then swung around to the right, crouched down in the middle of his board and flew down a steep curl. He had the ability to catch the waves early while they were still flat and then position himself perfectly in the wave when the face jumped up. He caught several good ones.

After an hour and a half I gave it up and rode white water all the way to the beach. It was a beautiful morning: blue water, no clouds on the horizon, no fog on the ridge, bright sun and dazzling colors. My riding was frustrating but the conditions were glorious. I wrote this sitting at a window table of the Surfer’s Grill snack bar under the lifeguard tower. The snack bar was closed so I purchased my favorite grilled chicken sandwich from the Parkside snack bar and brought it to this protected table. The view was wonderful. At 1:00 pm there was no wind and blue-green lines continuously marched in. It was just another great Marin fall day. “Enjoy it Lorenzo,” I thought to myself, “because a storm front is coming in bringing rain, big swells and strong south winds.”

November 13, 2009 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
8:45 am to 9:45 am	1', sets to 2'
High tide (6.2 ft at 8:30 am)	Stiff offshore breeze
Sunny with a cold wind	Exercise session

Surf conditions did not look good this morning: 6 ft north swell at 11 seconds, 23 knot NNW wind and a 6.2 ft high tide at 8:30 am. “Bolinas will be flat,” I thought to myself. “The tide is too high.” Fall was settling in with cooler temperatures, highs in the low 60s and lows in the 40s. High pressure was pushing in causing strong north winds, the big swells of last weekend were gone and only local wind swells remained. While driving over the mountain I was thinking I would turn around and come home if it wasn’t good. I had other things to do. I didn’t see any white water at Bolinas when coming down the Panoramic Highway. I was convincing myself it would be flat. I won’t even get out the camera. I’ll check the surf, jump back into my car, return home and get back to my chores

I pulled up to the parking area. Doug and Matt’s cars were there with boards gone. They were in the water. Mark the archaeologist arrived and a cold wind greeted us as we headed for the seawall to check the waves. The shore break pounded the south seawall and Mark and I dodged waves breaking over the north wall. Six surfers were out at the Groin: Doug, Jim the jazz guitarist, Matt, David who rides the Becker board and two others. They were scratching for these one to two foot weak waves that were barely breaking inside the Groin wall. Mark and I moved to the overlook for a better view and to stay dry. The waves, though small, looked good; clean peaks that were held up by the offshore breeze.

“I’m going out,” Mark announced and took off to suit up. I stood there watching the waves and thinking about all the things I could get done if I left right at that moment. I hesitated. The sun was warm, the waves were picturesque and the high cliffs protected the beach from the cold north wind. Why not go? One hour, get some exercise and shoot the breeze with my friends. So I decided to do it.

The waves were barely rideable. This was purely an exercise session. My most interesting wave was a two footer that I rode laying down. The wave had broken outside; I caught the white water and the wave reformed into a small shore break curl. To stay in this powerless wave, I remained laying down and paddled along with it. I got a good head-high view of this small peeling curl as I maneuvered to shore. I ended up in six inches of water, picked up my board and walked around the Groin wall instead of making the long paddle back out to the peak. I repeated this experience six more times.

In the water, Matt showed off his new board, a 9’ 4” SurfTech Dino Miranda model. This was his third time riding this beautiful board. He bought it from the 2-Mile Surf Shop where they gave him a good price for it. Mark mentioned that any day he would receive his new 9’ 6” Hobie. He went all out and ordered a foam board custom built by Hobie’s long time shaper Terry Martin. Mark said Terry is in his 70s, has been shaping boards for Hobie since the 1960s and that he looks like Santa Claus due to his white beard and stout figure. This was the third board that Mark has ordered from Hobie’s factory in Dana Point. He ordered them over the phone or online and had them delivered to Bolinas.

The tide turned, the current started flowing out of the lagoon and the wind picked up. Time to go. I bellied another wave to the shore and got out. Out of the protection of the cliff, the cold wind hit me at the top of the ramp. Fall was definitely upon us.

Follow up on Mark’s board, I googled Hobie Surfboards and here’s some details about Terry Martin: 72 years old, has been shaping surfboards for 55 years, 40 of them with Hobie, has shaped over 70,000 boards and is still going strong.

The next day Mark emailed me about Terry’s latest model, the One Fin Pin that he worked up with nose riding phenom Tyler Warren. They are only making 50 of them and one is them is Mark’s. I’m anxious to see it. Mark also included a link to a fascinating eight-minute YouTube video produced by Surfer’s Journal of master craftsman Terry Martin shaping a board from beginning to end. Everything is done by hand using a handsaw that he purchased in 1964 and a Skill Model 100 Planner, which they don’t make anymore, to hand sanding the rails. The link is below. Check it out.

Terry Martin Video

November 11, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Groin
8:50 am to 10:30 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid outgoing tide	Offshore breeze to NW cross breeze
High overcast with patchy sunshine	Fun session

“Why are there fourteen people at the Groin at 8:00 am on a Wednesday?” I asked a young surfer standing next to me on the seawall checking out the waves. “Don’t these people have to work?”

“It’s Veterans Day,” he calmly replied. “The schools are out, the banks are closed and there’s no mail service today.” Well that explained it. We watched these surfers paddle for and miss weak two-foot waves at the Groin. The tide was too high. The swells wouldn’t break until they were within a few feet of the Groin pole.

“It looks like a paddle session to me,” Martha said as she was heading down the ramp to enter the water. I asked her if she was out this weekend for the big waves. “I came out Sunday,” she replied. “The waves were big and bumpy. I didn’t have a good time.” I had heard others talk about how frustrating this past weekend was, big crowds and big waves without much shape. “I think this place is better on a three-foot south swell than on a twenty-foot north swell,” Martha added and I agreed.

“Maybe I should have gone to Stinson,” I said to myself after a half hour paddling for and missing small waves at the Groin. Expectations for fun waves looked good this morning: 8 ft north swell at 11 seconds and a 5-knot NW wind. I had joined Martha and David who rides the Becker board at the peak north of the Groin wall. I paddled for a wave that I was sure I was going to catch but just missed it and some guy who had caught it at the furthest peak came cruising by me. “That does it, I’m going out there.” By now the outgoing current from the lagoon was rippling through the outside peak putting a texture on the surface. I paddled over there and still I couldn’t catch a wave. Within a few minutes the current had moved me outside beyond the impact zone. A big set approach, I paddled for the first wave and missed it, I paddled for the second it and missed it also. Now I was several yards closer to shore. The third and biggest wave of the set approached, foam was forming at the top, I went for it, dropped down a head-high face, plowed under white water from the wave breaking in front of me, climbed back into the swell and cruised through a good section. Finally I had caught a wave.

From outside I watched someone trim on a right wave in front of the Groin pole with great speed. It was Martha. I saw David connect on a good left curl close to shore. “That does it, I’m moving inside with them.” Good move. I caught several fast curls right up to the shore. The tide had dropped causing the waves to become steeper. Here we were inside of the outgoing current from the lagoon so the surface was smooth. On one I took off late, turned quickly to the left, got high in the curl and stood there just under the lip of the wave. My legs felt like shock absorbers as I bumped over a series on one-foot backwash swells bouncing off the seawall.

“Party wave,” yelled Dan to Professor Steve and I as we were stroking for a well-formed three-foot peak. I pulled back to let them have it. Dan took off, dropped into a crouch with his back to the wave. I turned to watch. Dan had disappeared. I thought he had wiped out, but then I noticed the wake of his board tracking ahead of the breaking part of the wave. After a long ways, he popped up still in the critical part of the wave as it broke onto the shore. What a great ride. I saw David on a good one. He took off with his back to the wave, cut left, trimmed through a fast section, cut back, turned left again and cruised through a fast inside section. For a guy who had just started surfing he is picking this up in a hurry.

After connecting on all those inside curls, it turned out to be another fun session for the old kid here.

November 7, 2009 Saturday

San Francisco	Fort Point
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm	8' to 10', sets to 12'
Mid outgoing tide (4.0 ft)	West cross wind
High overcast	Just taking pictures

Stormsurf’s Storm #2 arrived this morning early: 11 to 12 ft swells at 17 to 18 seconds. When Stormsurf numbers a swell, Maverick size waves are coming. They tracked this swell all week. Tuesday, confirmed 40 to 50 knot sustained winds in the Gulf of Alaska. Wednesday, sustained winds continued, seas built to 32 ft on the great circle to Northern California. Thursday, 40 to 45 knot winds continued, seas grew to 40 ft and still on the path to Northern California. Friday, the storm began to fade but 37 ft seas continued moving towards California. The main focus of the storm would be from Point Reyes northward, with most energy going to Oregon and Washington. It was positioned close to San Francisco, 1000 to 1600 nautical miles, resulting in a raw and unruly swell that would last through Sunday and fading on Monday.

Son Kevin and I were doing things in the city and late afternoon on our way back to Marin we swung by Fort Point to check the waves. The waves were huge, smashing against the rocks and sending plumes of spray up onto the road leading out to the fort. Six surfers were in the water. The waves were rough, bumpy, not well formed and coming in different directions. The big set waves broke under the bridge, pushed into the Bay and then turned 90 degrees to wrap around the point. Most waves came more from the middle of the bay, would peak and break near the rocks of the parking lot. Some peaked right at the point and broke over the big fill rocks that form the foundation of the road and parking lot. Others peaked further away from the point, some twenty yards east. These waves were bigger and barely broke due to the deep water. The water is deep at Fort Point, thus the waves only break during low tide and near the shore. The depth increases as one moves away from the fort and further into the bay.

The surfers were having a difficult time catching waves due to the strong currents and the shifting direction of the peaks. Nonetheless the rides were spectacular, every one was two to three feet overhead and fast. They would sail down a steep overhead face and plow into a flat shoulder. To stay in the swell, one has to cut back towards the rocks and work back into a reforming wave. The white water pushes towards the fort and the parking lot. The danger here is getting too close to the rocks. I watched one your short boarder pull out on the inside and immediately started scratching east away from the rocks as the next and bigger wave of the set broke in front of him. Being skilled at ducking diving, he calmly went under the wave and continued paddling east out of the impact zone.

What a tremendous place to watch waves. There we were, along with another 100 observers, standing at the point, on top of the rocks, within 50 feet of these beautiful and powerful twelve-foot waves that roared in from the sea and smashed against the rocks. I took several photos but due to the fading light the program of my digital camera held the shutter open to obtain light, thus all I captured were blurry images of the surfers. The above photo was my best and that was after all the magic Photoshop could deliver. This rider was on a boogie board. He caught the wave under the bridge and here he was near the end of his ride after the wave made its 90-degree turn around the point.

I have surfed Fort Point a few times. It is an eerie place to surf due to the rocks, strong currents, big waves and an aggressive crowd. But it’s a great place to watch big waves and skilled riders up close.

November 2, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:15 am to 11:15 am	4' to 5', sets 6' to overhead
High tide (6.2 ft at 9:45 am)	Slight onshore breeze to no wind
Bright sunny day	Good session

Last night the NOAA weather radio reported 9 ft at 20 second swells and this morning it was 8 ft and 17 seconds. A big swell had moved in yesterday afternoon. Stormsurf stated the swell was remnants from Typhoon Lupit:

"On Monday evening (10/26) the extra tropical remnants of Typhoon Lupit were tracking north-northeast off Japan with a tiny fetch of confirmed 60 kts west winds building in the storms aimed west. It was a fairly intense system, with confirmed winds of 60 kts for nearly 48 hours and a few barbs to 70 kts. That is impressive. Well rideable surf is possible for the Hawaiian Islands for the weekend with decent but inconsistent size for the US West Coast late in the weekend into the week beyond."

From the overlook I saw consistent four to five foot waves at the Channel and Groin, big powerful, rideable lefts with sets over six feet. Warm weather and a well publicized swell on the Internet drew all the Bolinas regulars: Marty, Mary, Doug, Matt, Dan, Russ, Claude, Professor Steve, David who rides a Becker board, Barry the motivational trainer and Yoshi.

I pulled into the parking area at 8:30 am. Mary, Doug, Marty, Dan and Russ had finished their sessions and were at their cars getting out of their wetsuits. Why were they getting out so early? Was the surf lousy? No way, each one of them claimed they caught several great waves and ordered me to get out into the water. So why are they leaving? It was the time change. These dedicated surfers schedule their days by the sun. They entered the water at sunrise, 6:38 am which was 7:30 am on Saturday, and surfed for two hours. I was on clock time arriving at my usual 8:30 am, which was 9:30 am two days ago.

A strong surge from the powerful swell, sand gone from in front of the ramp and the seawalls and a 6 ft high tide had the waves shooting white water up to the top of the ramp. Every wave crashed over the top of the north seawall. The only way to enter the water was to launch oneself between waves at the base of the ramp. I waited for a lull, jumped in and paddled like mad. My timing was good and I didn’t have any problems getting beyond the shore break. Two-foot waves were bouncing off the south seawall send a foot of white water out into the surf.

Even though the peak was a good five hundred yards offshore, the waves were bumpy due to the cross-swell backwash coming from the south seawall. They were also a combination of wind and ground swells. The best waves occurred when the two swells came together. I would catch the wind swell at the top and glide into the larger and more powerful ground swell. My second wave was a good one. The swells had combined, I stroked into the wave, swung left, look down a head high line up, climbed to mid-swell, stepped to the middle of the board and cruised through the first section. The wave was growing in size in front of me. A cross-bump from the backwash caused the wave to leap up into a sharp point and curl over. I had plenty of speed to drive under the white water and to climb back into the swell. On and on I went until I pulled out in the shore break.

Claude was out there having his best session ever at the Channel. He sat way outside waiting for “the big one.” He endured several long waits but he always connected. I sat further north and more inside waiting for the walls that peeled across the inside of the Groin. I got a great view of Claude on a good one. He stroked into a sizeable wave right at the apex of the peak. He dropped down an overhead face, disappeared behind the wall of water for a few seconds and then popped out on the shoulder. He stalled for an instant to let the wave build up and then turned sharply left again into a fast section. All I saw was his back as he sailed along a feathering curl. It was a great ride.

After a while, Barry the motivational trainer paddled out to join Claude at the outside peak. A big set approached. I contemplated taking the first one, but I saw Barry was paddling for it. Even though he was a good twenty yards away from me, I backed off. With waves this powerful one could easily travel twenty yards in an instant. I turned to paddle over the wave. Just before I pushed the nose of my board through the wave, I caught a glimpse of Barry at the base of the wave, standing straight up as a green wall feathered two feet over his head. Barry straightened out and rode out the white water of one of the largest waves of the morning.

As I wrote this I was sitting on a sand dune at Stinson Beach watching a couple of short boarders challenging this big swell. They would scream down these overhead glassy green walls and dive into the waves as curtains of white water would cover them up. It was just another incredible, sunny, warm, beautiful Marin fall day.

October 26, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:15 am to 11:00 am	2' sets to 3'
High outgoing tide (4.3 ft)	Slight NW cross breeze to no wind
Sunny, high clouds and fog on the horizon	Fun session

The last remnants of Storm #1 were still running today: 5 ft at 11 seconds. The weather was about to change, low pressure was moving in, pushing out the high pressure and the transition would produce two days of high NW winds, which means rough seas, chop and white caps. So today was the day to go out this week.

Eight surfers were out at the Groin at 8:30 am: Marty, Hans, Matt, Doug, Russ and three others. They were catching small, weak lefts at the only peak that was breaking. That’s Marty in the above photo on a good one. The Patch was flat this morning. Hans exited the water as I was suiting up. The crowd discouraged him. He went out early with Doug and Marty but within 30 minutes a dozen more people arrived and they all crammed together at the one and only peak.

The high tide was still pushing up the ramp this morning. I entered the water there and paddled out to the peak at the Groin. The waves were small but had decent shape. After my first wave I realized they lacked punch so I moved to the apex of the peak, which was half way between the Channel and the Groin, and waited for the set waves. Now I was in my element: sunshine, warm water, no wind, smooth surface and a peak of consistent well-shaped knee-high curls. On my second wave I turned into the peak, the wave broke in front of me; I coasted under the white water, climbed back into the swell and worked the wave for several yards. I did the same thing on several waves. The feel and glide of these nice peaks reminded me of small days at the reef at Cardiff by the Sea, where one glides down gentle swells for a long, long ways.

After an hour only four beginners and myself were out there. One of them was David who is about my age and rides a Becker longboard. I have seen him in the water a lot lately. Last week I asked him how he liked his Becker board. Phil Becker is the top board builder in the South Bay of Los Angeles. His home base is Hermosa Beach. David mentioned that he was just beginning and that he knew he knew nothing about boards. Friends in Hermosa Beach directed to this board and he bought it. I have owned two Becker boards, and my son Kevin has a beautiful eight-foot Mike Gee model Becker board. I didn’t tell David that I am a walking billboard for Becker Surfboards with my Becker baseball cap and three Becker tee shirts. I reassured him that he had an excellent board. While paddling out I saw David crouched down in the middle of his Becker board perfectly locked into a left three-foot curl. He cruised all the way to the shore. Yes, he was getting the hang of it.

I met Doug out there this morning. He is about my age, is just taking up surfing, lives in Berkeley, and is a psychologist with an office in Sausalito. He is in control of his time, has decided to only work four days a week and takes Mondays off to go surfing. He was having a great time on this beautiful morning.

As I was exiting the water I saw the back of some guy’s head as he crouched down and hummed across a six-inch shore break. It was Yoshi. Only Yoshi can ride the smallest waves in the world. Back at the cars he introduced me to his friend from Japan who was just ending a week’s stay in San Francisco. He was flying home tomorrow. I brought up the topic of baseball, knowing that it is a popular sport in Japan. They were Yankees fans because of Hideki Matsui, the Yankees’ designated hitter. They also root for the Seattle Mariners and their star hitter, Ichiro Suzuki. These two have become all-stars in the major leagues. Ichiro led the American League in batting average (.352) and number of hits (255). Hideki Matsui was named Most Valuable Player of this year’s World Series. In the six World Series games he batted .615 (8 hits for 13 at bats), had three home runs and 8 RBIs.

Again it was another eventful and beautiful fall morning in Marin.

October 23, 2009 Friday - Part 2

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 11:00 am	3' to 5', sets overhead
Low tide (3.4 ft at 9:00 am)	Slight offshore breeze
Sunny, warm and hazy	Good session

Today the waves were not huge but they were powerful with lots of push in each one of them. This swell was part of the Stormsurf’s Winter Storm #1, meaning a big north swell from the Gulf of Alaska. Mark Sponsler, the guy who runs Stormsurf.com, is the weatherman for the Maverick’s big wave contest. So when he gives a Gulf swell a “storm number” that means Maverick’s size waves are coming. Storm #1 arrived late Wednesday, peaked on Thursday and was still running today: 10 ft NW swells at 15 seconds. At Bolinas this translated to 4’ to 5’ waves with sets overhead.

Sizeable crowds were at both the Patch and the Groin. Mary, Russ, Hans, Hank and Robert the Oakland fireman were at the Patch. The Patch was smaller than last Wednesday because the three-foot south swell was gone. From the overlook I watched head high waves come through the Groin that nobody could make. Guys would drop down the face and plow into white water as the waves broke in front of them. Only at the very north edge of the peak and on the inside was there a nice rideable shoulder. I decided to go for that.

I paddled from the ramp to the inside peak at the Groin. Martha and Claude were there. So was the mid-fifties guy I surfed with last Wednesday at the Patch. He was the skilled longboarder with no booties, gloves, hood or leash, and yes he was the one who emphatically told the stand-up surfer where he could stick that paddle of his. Later on Professor Steve and David the Bolinas local joined us.

My first wave was a good one. As the wave approached I could see that it had some force. I stroked into it, turned left and looked down a beautiful wall that was feathering at the top of the wave for several feet ahead of me. I dropped down the face, slid under some white water, climbed back to mid-swell and cruised for a long ways. Paddling out I watch Martha drop down a head high wall that collapsed in front of her.

An outside set approached, the mid-fifties guy and I paddled out to meet it. The first wave of the set was beginning to break and I dug hard to get over it. My companion turned and went for it. In the instant before I pushed my head and board through the top of the wave I caught a glimpse of him taking off on this five-foot wall. As he dropped down the face, he was in a deep crouch on the inside rail of the tail-block with one hand stretched out gripping the outside rail. Once through the wave I looked back to see him crouched down in the middle of his board with just his head above the breaking part of a fast peeling wave. Later I complimented him on his ride. He told me that he got barreled on that one. Knowing how good he was, I believed him.

Twenty surfers were out at the Groin and the quality of the riders was good forcing me to be selective. The waves often sectioned in front of us and as the morning progressed they became steeper. A few of them crashed top to bottom. I dropped into a head high wall, stepped to the middle of the board, positioned myself mid-swell, crouched down and hung on. For a brief two seconds I screamed down a steep perfect curl until it buried me in a sheet of white water.

To beat the crowd I kept moving north and inside thinking about connecting with the steeper and faster inside curls. David was doing the same thing. But the crowd drifted along with us. About 10:15 am I hit a lull, fewer waves and more people. I finally connected on a good three-footer that I worked into the shore break. As I turned around to paddle back out I saw a three-foot shore break wave peel left along the contour of the shore. I decided to end my session in the shore break. I paddle out a short distance, turned and caught one that was reforming. I turned left, locked the rail under the lip of the wave, shot across a fast section and dove into the wave as it broke on the sand. I repeated this two more times and decided to call it quits.

When I first got up on the seawall this morning to take some pictures, I ran into Robert the Oakland fireman as he was coming back from his session at the Patch. I hadn’t seen him for months. Just last week Doug asked about him and none of us had seen him. He said hello, mumbled something about a good session and then proudly announced that he just had a baby. Well that helped explain his absence. This past year he fell in love, got married and they had a baby girl. He introduced me to his wife and four month old daughter, who is a big girl for just four months. Robert is still a fireman, he wasn’t called to fight the big fire in Los Angeles, but others in his company did go and Robert had to cover for them. They now live in Vacaville, which is 90 minutes from Bolinas and another reason why we don’t see him any more. He and his wife were having a fun time introducing their daughter to the beach.

Sunny and warm heat-wave day, with no wind, glassy conditions and a Gulf storm swell hitting Bolinas made for a perfect Marin fall day.

October 23, 2009 Friday - Part 1

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 11:00 am	3' to 5', sets overhead
Low tide (3.4 ft at 9:00 am)	Slight offshore breeze
Sunny, warm and hazy	Good session

“Look at the red tide!” Professor Steve commented between sets out at the Groin peak. “Yesterday it was clear.”

I noticed a slight brownish-red tint to the water when I launched myself off the ramp into a three-foot approaching wave at 9:00 am. The color became more pronounced the longer we were out there. By 10:30 am, near the end of my session, the water was a deep reddish-brown color. David, the Bolinas local, commented that Chuck the knee-boarder, who is a long time resident of Bolinas, is an expert on local birds, flora and fauna and he claims that elements in the red tide enter the air like pollen. Chuck swears that his nasal allergy was caused by the red tide. Last month, the red tide appeared and hung around for a week. Look at my photo of Matt on my September 23rd posting and note the brownish-red color of the wave. The above photo shows the red tide and the fierce shore break pounding the base of the ramp.

Professor Steve claims the red tide is an algae bloom. I googled red tide and located an informative article: Red Tides: Questions and Answers by Gregg W. Langlois, Senior Environmental Scientist, California Department of Public Health, Environmental Management Branch.

A red tide is a bloom of dinoflagellates, a particular group of phytoplankton, which are microscopic, single-celled plants that occur naturally in California’s coastal waters. A bloom occurs when dinoflagellates reproduce rapidly resulting in millions of cells per gallon of water. They seem to prefer warmer and calmer water. The reddish color is from pigments in the phytoplankton cells for capturing sunlight needed for cell nourishment, growth and reproduction. The color of a bloom can take on the appearance of a variety of shades from brown to burgundy to bright red. The color depends on the phytoplankton species, light intensity and angle of the sun shining on the water. The majority of red tides in California occur from early spring (February and March) to late summer (August and September). They can last for days to months depending on available nutrients, sunlight, water temperature, changes in wind and surf conditions, competition with other species and grazing by larger zooplankton and small fish.

Heads up surfers here’s the warning: Phytoplankton are the base of the food chain and their presence is both normal and essential. However, scientists are concerned that there has been an increase in the number of blooms, and that blooms, particularly toxic blooms, are occurring where they never occurred before. The increased red tide activity could be related to human activity, which has greatly increased the amount of nutrients that enter our coastal waters. The majority of red tides in California are non-toxic. However, non-toxic red tides can cause irritation of the eyes, mouth and throat as well as cold and flu-like symptoms. Unfortunately, some red tides are caused by species that produce deadly toxins such as domoic acid and paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins. Filter-feeding organisms like mussels, oysters, clams and scallops can accumulate dangerous levels of toxins produced by a few different phytoplankton species. These nerve toxins can also accumulate in the guts of crab, sardines and anchovies. So pay attention to alerts and quarantines issued by the California Department of Health.

This particular red tide hung around until Monday. When I paddled out to the Groin peak Monday morning to join Professor Steve the water only had a slight tinge of red. Steve commented that the red tide was still there and that he could feel it. The water felt the same to me, but I could smell the red tide. It has a distinct odor, much like smell I remembered as a kid around fishing piers, the smell of decaying fish. Professor Steve had heard the red tide was everywhere along the coast and it was in the lagoon also. Josh the Bolinas fisherman told him that last week the red tide was twenty miles out to sea where he was fishing. A couple of locals had come down with colds and blamed it on the red tide.

Weather conditions changed, low pressure moved in pushing out the sunny and warm high-pressure conditions. The transition from high to low brought in high winds Tuesday and Wednesday and the red tide disappeared.

October 21, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 11:00 am	3' to 4', sets head high
Low upcoming tide (2.9 ft at 7:30 am)	Slight onshore breeze to no wind
High fog to sunshine	Fun session

Two stand-up surfers were out at the Patch with us this morning. One was good and the other was just beginning.

“That guy dropped in on me,” I heard the good stand-up surfer said to the other one. “I’m going to talk to him about it.”

We normal surfers don’t enjoy having the stand-up guys around us. With their big boards they catch more waves than the rest of us and can catch them when the wave is still a flat swell. When paddling out, the stand-up surfers are awkward due to their big clumsy boards. Twice this morning I had to straighten out to avoid hitting them.

The good stand-up surfer paddles over to a mid-fifties aged longboarder who had no gloves, no booties and no leash. This guy was good. I had the impression that he has been surfing all his life. The stand-up guy presented his case in a proper British gentleman tone, a speech filled with indirect references and no direct accusations.

“Fuck off!” was the response. This set off several minutes of hostile words, something we rarely hear or see at Bolinas. Finally a set wave came through, the longdboarder turned and stroked into it. That ended their heated discussion and these two stayed away from each other for the rest of the morning.

Prospects for waves looked good this morning: 7 ft NW swell at 11 seconds with a 3 ft south swell at 17 seconds. The weather had just changed. Monday a front brought rain, south winds, white caps and rough seas. Yesterday high pressure moved in clearing out the clouds and producing sunny conditions for today.

“Hey dude where were you?” Claude stated in an email I received yesterday. “It was 4 ft and perfect at the Patch, and Mary and I had it all to ourselves. Get here early tomorrow.”

Claude was right; it was good today. Ten surfers were out at the Patch and only two at the Groin. The Patch was definitely the call. The inside rights looked good. Several of the Bolinas regulars were there: Mary and Claude following up on yesterday’s good session, Hans on his big purple board, Russ riding them on his knees, Hank getting in a few waves before work, Matt sitting outside and Jeff from Mill Valley going for the inside rights. The above photo is Jeff on a good one.

I paddled out to the group that was going for the inside rights. I thought I would catch a couple of those. Sitting there I looked outside and to the north. In came a set, I watched Claude stroke into a four-foot peak, drop to the bottom, crank a big turn to the right and cruise down a beautiful wall. “I’m going for that,” I said to myself and paddled out to where Mary and Matt were. Both Mary and Claude had to tell me yesterday was bigger, better shape and less people. Claude then paddled way outside to catch the “ultimate” wave. Typical Patch conditions, the waves would peak way outside, not break but keep moving forward and break when they hit the Patch reef. Thus we could see the sets coming a minute before arrived at the reef.

The waves had some force today. They would peak, break over the reef and reform into long right peeling waves. On my first wave I turned down a four-foot peak, cutback into the swell, pushed my weight forward to drop into the reforming inside curl, swung to the right again and trimmed down a well-formed wave for a long ways. Paddling out I watched Mary do the same thing. She traveled on and on stopping near the shore break. After sitting outside by himself for ten minutes, Claude caught a big one. One he milked all the way to the shore break. From then on Claude joined the group going for the inside rights.

After an hour, I hit a lull. The waves didn’t stop but I just didn’t connect, a combination of a changing tide and tired arms. Finally I caught one, my best ride of the morning. I was sitting next to the fifty-something surfer who had just told the stand-up surfer where to stick that paddle of his. A set approached, the first wave was four-feet and I could see another wave behind it. I watched the other guy closely to see if he was going for the first wave. At the last moment he turned and stroked into it. I quickly paddled over this wave and positioned myself for the second one. It looked walled but I decided to go for it. I dropped down a head-high wall, white water slid down from the top ahead of me; I leaned hard to the right, cruised under the white water into a steep fast breaking curl. I climbed high in the wave and shot through a steep section, eased up to let the wave build up, swung right again hummed through another section. Another surfer was paddling out, I had to straighten out to avoid hitting him, I turned hard right again but by now the wave had collapsed into a solid wall of white water and the ride was over. What a great ride. I gladly made the long paddle back out to do it again.

After two hours and several good long right waves I was exhausted and at the end of a good inside right curl I paddled in. It was just another beautiful Marin morning.