January 14, 2009 Wednesday

Stinson Beach	Right out front
9:50 am to 11:00 am	2', sets to 3', occasional 4'
Mid tide - 3 ft	No wind
Sunny and warm, heat wave	Fun session

King of the Knee High Curl Rides Again

Marty and I had Stinson Beach all to ourselves for a nearly an hour before five others crashed our party. We rode wave after wave at a perfect small, glassy left peak that broke into a deep hole just north of the showers.

I had no surf expectations this morning: the swell was declining, the NOAA buoy reported 3 ft north swells at 13 seconds, down from 7 ft at 14 seconds on Monday. I traveled to the beach because I had to gather water samples for the Surfrider Foundation water-testing program and to connect with Marty at Bolinas who would deliver the samples to Jamie and crew at the Branson School.

I met Jimmy the Stinson carpenter at Stinson as I arrived to take a sample. He stood next to his pick-up truck with board inside and chatted to Robbie, another long time Stinson Beach surfer. Robbie owns the “Majestic” camper that I often see parked near the main intersection of town.

“Loren, get your board and suit up there are some fun little waves out there,” Jimmy greeted me.

“I have take a water sample and then go to Bolinas to take another one, then I’ll return and join you,” I responded. Jimmy and Robbie proceeded to grouse about how lousy this winter has been. Wave starvation excited Jimmy about glassy two-footers. As I waded out into the water to take the sample, I noted a current or channel just north of the showers. The Stinson locals refer to these as “holes”, which are pockets where the sand has washed out exposing the sandstone. The undulations of the sandstone form deep-water pockets (“holes”) next to shallow water. Today’s two-foot glassy walls were breaking cleanly to the left. “If Bolinas isn’t happening, I’m coming back here,” I said to myself.

When I arrived at Bolinas Marty was in his car reading. He jumped out and stated, “There’s not much there. Ray and I have been walking up and down the beach for an hour killing time hoping conditions would change with the tide.”

“Marty, let's take a sample and go to Stinson,” I responded. “There’s a good small left peak in front of the showers. Let’s go.” When we returned Robbie was walking back to his truck, board in hand.

“How was it?” I called.

“There’s some waves,” he shouted and hustled off. We met Jimmy exiting the water.

“You’re getting out so soon?” I asked.

“Yes, it died,” he responded. “It must be the tide change, deeper water or something, but the waves just went flat.”

Marty and I stood in front of the showers and watched. Small waves rippled in. Then a set of three-foot waves came in and neatly broke left into the hole north of the showers.

“Marty, let’s do it. It’s a beautiful warm day, we have the break to ourselves, it’s glassy, we can walk out to the break, and there’s no fear factor,” I said to him. “We’ll go for an hour. It’s near 10:00; we’ll come in at 11:00 am, our normal exit time. What do you say?” He half-heartily said ok.

The waves were small but fun. We caught wave after wave, each one a good left curl ride. Knee-high curls, I was in my element. My new board responded well to these well-formed waves. On one wave I paddled to my right to get into the peak, the board picked up the wave early, I angled for a moment to the right, swung left, and in a smooth single motion I dropped to the bottom of the peak and climbed up to the top of the curl without losing any momentum, stepped to the middle of the board and cruised down a fast section.

I noticed three young guys watching us. Surfers are like lemmings. If someone is catching waves within a short period of time others will join them at the same spot. After a while these three came out to where we were. A few minutes later two other long boarders joined us. Ten minutes later, Laura, another Stinson Beach regular, came out on her boogie board. Seven people at one peak, and the incoming tide was changing the shape of the waves. The inside began to collapse in small walls instead of continuously breaking towards the hole.

At 11:00 am, Marty and I went in. For forty-five minutes we had the place to ourselves. How invigorating: warm sun, glassy surface, perfect two-foot curls, great exercise and no one else out. What a great morning.