September 28, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
8:00 am to 9:40 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
High tide (4.7 ft at 9:05 am)	Offshore breeze to NW cross wind
High overcast - fog covering the ridge tops	Fun session

Fluffy the Shark

“I saw my first great white shark last week,” Hank said while we were suiting up.

“Where?” I asked

“San Onofre,” he answered.

Hank and his wife Gail had just returned from a four-day trip to Laguna Niguel, which is a few miles north of San Onofre where they surfed every day. Hank had just exited the water and was toweling off at the car when he saw a fin darting through the water twenty-five feet from shore. To him it looked like a shark. This beast then attacked and chomped into several fish. It broke them up and circled around to consume the parts. The seagulls quickly arrived and dove to pick up the scraps. By now Hank knew it was shark, he felt moved to run down the beach screaming “shark,” but that wasn’t his style. However, another woman, who was also observing the whole event, did run down the beach yelling “shark” and the water cleared.

Thirty minutes later Hank and Gail stopped at the Killer Dana Surf Shop, one of their favorite establishments, chatted with the owner and related the tale of the shark.

“Oh you met Fluffy,” said the shop owner. “It’s a young great white shark who has been hanging around here for about a year. The paddle boarders and stand-up guys often report seeing it.”

“How long was it?” I asked Hank.

“About seven feet,” he said. “It’s just a young one, but often young ones are dangerous because they are more aggressive.”

The crew at San Onofre has a strange sense of humor. Can you imagine giving a small killing machine a cute name like Fluffy? So the next time you are surfing at San O keep an eye open for Fluffy.

From the seawall at the base of the Ramp in Bolinas, Matt and I watched six surfers sitting out at the Groin like buoys. Marty, Mary, Kathy the biology teacher and Jack the Dave Sweet team rider were out there. Every once in a while, a rideable set would come through and then it would go calm again. What a disappointment. I had high hopes that the north swell that came in Saturday would still be running this morning. According to Stormsurf, a swell generated by typhoon Choi-Wan off the coast of Japan arrived late Friday, peaked Saturday and Sunday (6 ft at 17 seconds), was fading today (5.6 ft at 14 seconds) and would be gone by tomorrow. Despite the small waves, Matt and I decided to go out.

To our surprise the waves were better than they looked and they seemed to be picking up. With the offshore breeze, the surface was smooth and the shape was good. All of us grouped at the one peak straight out from the Groin pole and waited for the sets. Waist-high peelers broke in both directions with the lefts faster and longer than the rights. That’s Marty in the above photo taking off on a good left. Jack sat way outside waiting for the bigger waves. He has an excellent sense for the waves. If he started paddling out, I would paddle out also. If paddled north, I would paddle north. He would take off on the first wave of the set and I would go for the second one. Today the first wave was the biggest wave of the set and Jack was always on it. I would look back and see him crouched down on an inside curl just ahead of the breaking part of the wave. I had some success following his lead. On my second wave, I started down a waist high wall that broke in front of me. I plowed through the white water, climbed back into the swell, stepped to the middle of the board and cruised through a fast section.

The frequency of the sets picked up and all of us managed to connect on some good curls. I watched Matt work a sizeable one all the way to the shore. I got a good side view of Marty coming down a well-formed curl. Hank sat outside with Jack and I and connected on a couple of four-foot walls.

Last week Mary, Cathy from the Russian River area and couple other women had camped at New Brighton in Santa Cruz and surfed 38th Avenue for four days. Per Mary the surf was good, the crowd reasonable but it was cold due to fog and wind. She stated that it was great to be back home: at our break, Bolinas, with beautiful fun waves, a small crowd and good friends. There’s nothing better.

September 25, 2009 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
9:15 am to 10:30 am	1' to 2', sets to 3'
Mid outgoing tide	Onshore breeze (south wind)
On the deck fog	Exercise session

Definition from Lorenzo’s Dictionary: “exercise session” – the surf sucks! The only reason one ventures out is to get some exercise. It’s important to keep in shape, so when a good swell does arrive you are prepared, especially arm strength. You don’t want weak, limp arms in eight-foot waves.

At 8:00 am Mark the archaeologist, Hans and I stood on the seawall at the base of the ramp in Bolinas trying to decide if we would bother to go out. We watched four surfers at the Groin paddling for weak two-foot waves. Every once in a while a rideable three-foot wave would come through and we would get excited. Martha had already made up her mind. She was back at the car suiting up. Work had taken Mark to Bakersfield for a couple of days. He drove back last night and was anxious to get back in the water. So he decided to go out and left to suit up. Hans and I were more hesitant. We both had things to do.

“Hans let’s do it for the exercise,” I said. I was determined to exercise this morning, either surfing or jogging on the beach at Stinson. Why not go out, get in some paddling and be out there with my friends? So I decided to go and Hans chose to join me.

This morning’s buoy report had six-foot swells every ten seconds and wind from the south. At Bolinas that translated into two-foot ripples, choppy surface and an ebb flow coming out of the lagoon that knocked down the waves, not good conditions.

We all managed to catch a couple of decent waves but nothing spectacular. Mark caught the wave of the morning, a three-foot wall that produced a left curl that Mark rode all the way to the shore. Martha sat north of the pack and picked off the set waves for some decent rides. Hans had the misfortune of people dropping in on him. First I dropped in on him, it was a mistake. I thought he was going right but he didn’t. I took off late, fell and my board hit Hans’ board. Later a good set wave came through. Hans was in position and paddled for it and so did another surfer. They both caught the wave as I paddled over it. “Bonk!” their boards collided and apologies followed. Later Hans admitted that it was a good wave and what a shame the other guy took off even after he saw that Hans, who was deeper in the peak and had right-of-way, was going for it.

After an hour I caught a decent wave that took me near the shore. That’s it. I was ready to call it a day. For exercise I started paddling from the Groin to the ramp. Half way there I noticed that Martha had decided to do the same, she was about fifty yards in front of me. When I reached the ramp my arms were tired and Martha was still paddling on. Thirty minutes later, I had changed and Martha dripping wet came back to her car. She had paddled from the Groin to the Patch, which is a long, long paddle, caught a couple of waves there and paddled back to the ramp. She claimed she had a good session. Just paddling was fun, and boy she did a lot of it this morning.

“So Hans, how was it?” I asked when he got out of the water. “Was it worth it?”

“Of course it was,” he responded. “I caught a couple of good waves and it was fun out there.”

Spoken like a true surfer who would never admit that the waves sucked.

September 23, 2009 Wednesday - Part 2

Bolinas	Groin
8:45 am to 10:45 am	2', sets to 3'
Low upcoming tide	Offshore breeze to no wind
High fog	Fun session

After an hour the guy who was giving his daughter a surf lesson paddled out to where Matt, Russ and I had been enjoying the perfect two to three-foot glassy waves at the Groin. I had seen him several times before in the water at Bolinas.

“Surf lesson over?” I asked.

“Yes, she got tired and went on in,” he said.

I introduced myself to him. He was Jeff from Dillon Beach. I know Dillon Beach, a beautiful spot situated on the north side of the entrance to Tomales Bay. Kate and I rented a beach house up on the hill there for a weekend a couple of years ago and had a great time. Thus Jeff and I chatted about Dillon Beach, the surf conditions, the reefs, etc. Jeff’s favorite spot was a reef called Junior’s, which is between the Shark Pit and the outside reefs. Junior’s is in-between territory, not too small, big enough to make it interesting but not terrifying. Surf can get huge at Dillon. Jeff talked about riding twenty-foot waves on his jet ski in the 80s. That was before they outlawed them.

“Where do you live in Dillon Beach?” I asked.

“Within Lawson’s Landing,” he replied. “Right on the water’s edge in a modular house. I work there.”

Lawson’s is a campground, pier, boat ramp, store, snack bar, and general beach recreational facility. It’s one of the last private beach campgrounds in Northern California and has been there since the 1920s. The current owners are in a major battle with environmentalists, the County and the California Coastal Commission over sewage, noise, cars, dogs, expansion and the snowy plover. The County recently forced them to rebuild their septic system and to remove 40 campsites.

“What do you do?” I asked.

“I run the boat shop,” he answered.

Now I remembered where I had seen him before. A few weeks ago I was chatting with Josh the fisherman and Nick, one of the previous owners of the 2-Mile Surf Shop, when Jeff joined in. They began a heavy discussion about boat engines. At one point Josh paused, turned and looked right at me and said, “Jeff is the best damn boat mechanic on the coast.”

“So how are you weathering the recession?” I asked.

“I’m doing fine,” he replied. “There is plenty of repair work. We’re not selling anything new. We have a couple of new engines that are not selling.”

“So who are your customers?” I inquired. “Those who live at the landing?”

“No,” he said. “In the summertime most of our customers are from the Central Valley. Those guys pull their boats out here to get out of the heat and to do some fishing. They need repairs and we fix them. In the winter, the local fishermen like Josh Churchman and Jim Ellis have us do their repair work. Nowadays most guys are fixing up their old boats instead of buying new ones. Thus for me, I have regular customers who keep me going.”

“How long have you been there?” I asked.

“I started in 1982,” he replied.

“That’s 27 years,” I exclaimed. “That’s a career.”

“Long enough to raise a family,” he said. He then ticked off his kids and where they are now. One daughter was on the beach, another daughter was in college in Boston and his son was a musician living in Marina between Santa Cruz and Monterey.

“Dillon Beach, what a great place to raise children,” I said. “The beach, the hills and the trails.”

“Well they complained about it in the teen years,” he continued. “They claimed it was boring and there was nothing to do. But they now keep coming back because the love the beach.”

Boy I can believe that. Once the beach is in your blood you never want to leave it, and Dillon Beach is unique with a huge sand dune, small entrance to a long narrow bay, and scenic high hills to the north and south. Jeff and I had a great time sharing the waves and reminiscing about local politics, the recession and Dillon Beach.

September 23, 2009 Wednesday - Part 1

Bolinas	Groin
8:45 am to 10:45 am	2', sets to 3'
Low upcoming tide	Offshore breeze to no wind
High fog	Fun session

This morning the weather radio reported five-foot swells at 13 seconds and a NW breeze. That’s pretty good. It’s about the same size as last Monday’s. The Bay Area was in a high pressure, low humidity spare-the-air day heat wave. But this morning we had fog on the ridge, Mill Valley’s air conditioner. Kate and I rejoiced, finally relief from the heat. Driving over the mountain, I went through drippy fog, complete with wet streets and the wipers on. Bolinas was under the fog, a slight offshore breeze created tabletop glass conditions and nobody was here but Matt. He was the only one in the water. That’s him in the above photo on a good small curl. “This is like Monday but better,” I thought to myself. Monday the waves were about the same size with good left two to three-footers at the Groin, but not clean like today. Monday the waves were bumpy and sectioning. A south wind had put a texture on the surface and twelve surfers were out at 8:00 am. Today it was glassy smooth, clean, well-formed peelers and only one person in the water, Matt.

Hans was at the top of the ramp when I returned from taking photos. He was trying to decide whether to go out.

“Hans, it’s like Monday but only better,” I said.

“I know,” he responded. “But the wind should hold, the tide will be higher later and I have an errand to do in Novato. I’ll come back later.” And he jumped into his car and took off.

Russ arrived and he and I entered the water at 8:40 am. Another surfer who I have seen at Bolinas several times before was giving his twenty-something daughter a surf lesson on the inside. Russ and I went out to the peak at the Groin to join Matt. The waves were beautiful two to three-footers, glassy smooth and peeling neatly to the left, maybe peeling a little too fast. We had to find an edge to be able to make the first section. Like I often do, I lined up with the lighthouse white structure on the top of the cliff. My first wave closed out, but my second was a great ride. I paddled at an angle, jumped up quickly, stepped to the center of the board, then took another step closer to the nose and stood there as I trimmed through a steep, fast section. It was a knee-high curl, my type of wave.

Russ commented how shallow the water was as he stood at the peak in chest high water. We picked up quickly that the swells jumped up when they hit the shallow water of the sandbar. We had paddle for the waves when the swells were flat, pick up board speed and glide into them when they jumped up. Thus we had the location, lining up with the lighthouse structure, and the technique for catching the waves. All three of us caught plenty of waves this morning.

Matt caught the wave of the day. Paddling out I saw him stroking into a well-formed three-foot wall. I stopped to watch. Matt quickly positioned himself mid-swell with his back to the wave. He crouched down in the middle of his board and cruised through a long fast section. He then stood up and by shifting his weight he worked the board up and down the wave keeping him in the steepest part of the curl. He hummed by me as I paddled through the white water of the wave, I looked back and there was Matt crouched down shooting through an inside section. He worked the wave and drove his board right up to the shore jumping off within ten feet of dry sand.

My last wave was a good one. After two hours I was tired and ready to go in. A set wave approached, I stroked into it, jumped up quickly, stepped to within one foot from the nose, trimmed through the first section. Like Matt’s wave this swell kept unfolding in front of me. I stepped back to the middle of the board and shifted my weight to climb up the wave and leaned forward to drop down the line. I milked this wave all the way to the shore break, stepped off the board in knee-high water and called it a day.

For the rest of the day I had the “glow” Professor Steve talks about that comes from physical exertion and the satisfaction of a fun session.

September 18, 2009 Friday

Pacifica	Linda Mar
9:45 am to 10:40 am	3' to 6', sets overhead
Mid upcoming tide	Slight onshore breeze
Sunny and clear	Fun session

“Seal!” yelled an older gentleman standing in front of his RV at the south end of Linda Mar.

“Seal,” he repeated and pointed towards the water.

I had just taken a few photos of the surfers and was heading back to my car with the camera around my neck to suit up when this gentleman looking straight at me yelled seal. He had seen a photo opportunity and was alerting me to it. I turned and saw a large seal amongst the small rocks and sand of the beach, nose pointed towards the sky waving its head back and forth. I gave a wave of thanks to the old gentleman and moved slowly towards the seal for some close-up shots.

Seals don’t usually come ashore on beaches occupied by humans unless they are sick or dying. A small crowd was gathering around. This beast continued moving its head back and forth, stayed in the same spot and paid no attention to the people around it. The seal had a foot long gash in its hind flippers. The wound was not deep, more a scrape, but it was fresh and covered with blood. You can see the wound in the above photo. I took a few shots then headed back to the car to suit up. By the time I came back with board in my hand the seal was gone. It must have returned to water. I had no idea what happened to it.

Today I was going to have lunch with some old work buddies in Foster City. Good excuse to surf Linda Mar before meeting up with my friends. The swell had come up, Stormsurf predicted four to six feet waves and they were correct. Ocean Beach was big, bumpy and ugly when I drove by. A couple of surfers were trying for stormy looking waves at Rockaway Beach. Coming over the ridge at Linda Mar no one was surfing at the north end. Usually surfers are spread across the entire cove. When the waves are big, the north end closes out and the surfers move to the far south end where the waves are smaller. That’s what was happening today.

I watched big walls come in and crash as solid 50-yard curtains of water. Nobody was getting any decent rides, merely big drops down head-high walls. It didn’t look inviting. Due to my lunch plans, I was committed to be somewhere down here for the next three hours. I thought about heading south to Montara or Kelly Ave in Half Moon Bay. But those breaks would be huge close outs also. Maybe I could just take photos there. Standing at the south end I observed a young woman who had the right strategy. She waited for lulls to paddle out, positioned for and took off on the smaller waves between sets, cut right and traveled a long ways before the waves closed out. She was good, walking up and down the board, trimming high in waves, cutting back and dropping down the faces before the waves unloaded on her. “I can do that,” I thought to myself. “That’s my strategy.”

Following her lead, I too went for the between set waves with some success. My first wave was a head-high wall. I cut right and went a long ways before straightening out. After a half hour I realized that the waves looked more threatening from shore than in the water. They did not crash from top to bottom. Just the opposite, the waves crested, white water would slide from the top and slowly roll to the bottom. You had plenty to time to gently cruise down the face and coast out in front of the white water of the fully broken wave. My confidence built up as I connected with more waves. At the end of the session I was comfortable in the water, sat inside, waited until white water began to form on the top of the walls, stroked into the waves, cruised right down head-high faces and calmly straightened out when the waves closed out.

The tide continued to rise causing the white water of the waves to roar up the rock embankment at the south end. Getting out could be tricky. I paddled north pass the end of the embankment to where a few patches of sand appeared amongst the hundreds of small sea-worn rocks. To come in, I caught a small wave, straightened out and lay down on my board to ride over the rocks to a patch of sand. It worked and my board only “bonked” once on a rock.

In the patch of sand that I was aiming for, a longboarder about my age was sitting on a rock rubbing his knee.

“So did you get some good ones?” I asked.

“You know I did a really stupid thing,” he answered. “I was coming in on my belly when a wave picked me up and turned me sideways. I dropped my legs in the water to slow the board down and to gain control. I hit a rock right on my knee-cap and it hurts.”

“You need any help?” I asked.

“No, I will be alright,” he answered. “I’m going home to put some ice on it and have a beer.”

It was just another beautiful day at the beach.

September 16, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Groin
8:50 am to 10:30 am	3' to 5', occasional 6'
Mid upcoming tide	Offshore wind, later NW breeze
Sunny with high clouds	Great session

Why was everyone getting out of the water?

At 8:10 am I was walking on the beach at Bolinas with the camera around neck towards the Groin watching eight surfers connecting on some well-formed left curls. Mary caught a good one took it all the way in and picked up her board and exited the water.

“Mary, it’s 8:15 am, the waves are great and you are leaving,” I commented while she wrapped the leash around her board.

“I have a good reason,” she said. “I got my fill. I caught a lot of waves out there this morning. And besides I’m going to be with my daughter. She’s going back to school.” I accepted this excuse. Mary’s daughter was starting her senior year at Stanford.

I took some good shots of these fast breaking curls. Hans got a long ride and ended it by lying down on his board and bellying it up to the shore. Then he got out.

“Hans,” I exclaimed in surprise. “Why are you getting out the waves are good?”

“I caught plenty of them,” he said. “Beside I have things to do.”

Laile completed a long ride, paddled to shore and got out while Hans and I were chatting.

“I got a shot of you on a great wave,” I greeted her. The above photo is Laile locked in a good curl. “The waves are good, why are you getting out?”

“Daddy’s at home with our two year old,” she said.

“Mother obligations?”

“Yes,” she said. “My husband takes Wednesdays off, thus Wednesday is my only day to surf.” And off she went.

As I was entering the water, I observed another good ride. This skilled surfer took off at the peak, streaked across a steep curl with spray from the offshore wind arching off the top of the wave. He cut back, let the wave build and then streaked across an inside section pulling out ten feet from shore. Then he too wrapped his leash around his board and got out.

“Great ride,” I said to him. “The waves look great. Why are you getting out?”

“You are right about the waves,” he answered. “But I have things to do.”

“Obligations?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I have to take my mother to the doctor at 10:00 o’clock.” And off he went.

The crowd of eight was now down to four as I paddled out: Lou the boogie-boarder, Captain Kip, a girl wearing a red baseball cap who was a good surfer and one other guy.

The swell was a surprise: five feet at 14 seconds; underneath was a 2.5-foot 17-second south swell, which was unexpected. No one predicted that. A combination of north and south swells, offshore wind and an upcoming tide, all the elements coming together to produce some beautiful long curl rides.

Professor Steve paddled out on his 9-foot longboard. He usually comes out on a shortboard. But because lately the swells had been small and powerless, he switched to his longboard. Shortboards perform best in steep hard breaking waves. Good choice for Steve caught several long left power-glide type waves this morning.

Lou on his boogie board paddled around way outside optimistically waiting for “The Big One.” The waves came in flat and then would jump up when they hit the shallow sandbar. Only when Lou finally drifted in to the edge of the sandbar did he finally connect with the waves. And then he got some locked in the curl long rides.

“Lou, how is that recession proof business of yours doing?” I asked. Lou owns The Mat, a coin operated Laundromat in Fairfax. He told me a couple of months ago that his business hadn’t seen any affects of the recession.

“Great,” he said. “It usually slows down in the summer months, but not this year. We’re doing fine.” We concluded that the summer remained steady for two reasons: Staycations – people staying home and not taking vacations and people doing their own laundry instead of going to the full service Laundromats.

So for two hours a small group of us traded waves, got several good rides, chitchatted about surfing and things in general and soaked up the scenery. It was another beautiful Marin morning.

September 14, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Channel & Groin
8:30 am to 10:30 am	3' to 5', occasional 6'
High upcoming tide	No wind, later slight onshore breeze
Low fog and low visibility	Great session

“Don’t bother taking photos this morning, you can’t see a thing,” Matt greeted me as I arrived at Bolinas this morning. “I was just down there and I could only make out two people in the water. But look everybody is out there.” Matt was referring to the cars of our surf companions: Marty, Hans, Mary, Doug and Jim were in the water. “On the deck” fog was in and it was thick.

That did it. I decided to surf first and take photos later when the fog had lifted. The above picture, which was taken at 11:00 am after my session, doesn’t do the conditions justice. But this woman who came out about 10:00 am connected with several good rides on her twelve-foot stand-up board.

“Mary, it’s 8:00 am and you are leaving,” I commented as she unlocked her car after her session. Mary usually stays in the water for three hours.

“Too much testosterone out there,” she replied. “Plus I have to be somewhere this morning. There are twelve surfers out there, all males and all crowded onto one peak. But the waves are good, get out there, you will love it.”

Stormsurf claimed that the north swell that came in this Saturday would still be running this morning: 6 ft at 12 seconds. Tomorrow and Wednesday the swell would drop to nothing, thus today was the day to go. The NOAA buoy report had north swell a 7 ft at 14 seconds and a 2 ft south at 17 seconds. South swell? Where did this come from? Nobody had predicted it. Less wind, less people, and south swell mixed in, conditions could be good. I had to go.

Like Matt had said I could only see a couple of people when I entered the water. Then I saw the pack: twelve of them bunched together at one peak. Fortunately there were plenty of waves, the surface was glass smooth and the low fog was holding the wind down. The waves were difficult to judge. The smooth surface and low visibility made the swells appear steeper than they were. I paddled for five waves before catching one. But my first wave was a good one, a long left curl ride.

“Bo – Bo at it’s best,” said Jack the Dave Sweet Team rider after an hour. The waves were great and the rides were long. All of us were getting plenty of good rides. Jack was all over the waves. While paddling out I got a view of him on a beautiful wave. When he took off, I stopped to watch. I knew this was going to be good. The wave lined up, Jack stood mid-board at the base of the wave, the curl was a foot over his head, he cruised down a green-gray wall of perfectly smooth water, cut back and then powered all the way to the shore.

Another time paddling out I watched a short-boarder on a perfect wave. In classic short-board style, he looked like he was on a skateboard working the walls of an empty swimming pool. Up and down, up and down, he cut up this beautiful wall of dark green water.

My second wave was a good one. I stroked into a four-foot swell, cut left, climbed high in the curl, stepped to the middle of the board and shot through the first section. The wave kept building and getting steeper. I stepped closer to the nose, gained speed, the wave got even steeper and I stepped closer to the nose. I was at the top of the wave dropping down a steep curl. I was as parallel to the wave as I could be, in fact too much so. My tailblock came out of the water and the board pivoted where I was standing and sent me flying. What a great ride.

I introduced Jack to Professor Steve who was out for his morning exercise before heading over the hill to teach his class. I mentioned to Jack that Steve, a professor of English, has a book on Shakespeare’s Hamlet coming out. I commented to Steve that Jack used to be on Dave Sweet’s surf team in the mid-sixties. Jack corrected me; he is still on the team. Team riders are members for life. Dave Sweet who must be in his 70s is still building boards and still has three riders on his team: one in Southern California, one on the east coast and Jack in Northern California.

“Can you believe this guy has only been surfing for a year?” Jack commented referring to Jim the jazz guitarist. It’s true that Jim is much better. He is catching a lot more waves that he used to. His timing, wave judgment and paddling skills have greatly improved allowing him to catch waves earlier and ride them further. Jim also has no fear and paddles for everything. Last year Jim got pounded from miss-timing all the monster closeouts that he went for. Jim still has no fear but now he successfully rides down them instead of taking them on the head. Jim was having a ball this morning, paddling for all the set waves and catching most of them.

The quality of the waves held up and there were plenty of them. All of us caught several good long rides. Slowly the fog lifted, the wind began to pick up and the tide rose even higher causing the shape of the waves to diminish. After two hours I was exhausted. After riding a long one all the way to the shore, I decided to call it a day instead of making the long paddle back out.

I agreed with Jack, it was Bolinas at its best.

September 13, 2009 Sunday

Bolinas	Channel
7:20 am to 9:30 am	3' to 6', occasional 6'
High upcoming tide	Onshore breeze (south wind)
High clouds - rain storm coming in	So - so session

Yesterday about noon, Marty called to inform me that I had missed one of the best days of the year. On Saturday conditions came together for a perfect session: three to five foot waves peeling left from the Channel to inside the Groin, upcoming tide, no wind, glassy smooth and a small mellow crowd in the water. And the scenery was perfect also: lightning to the south, off and on light rain, clean-fresh air and rain clouds hiding the tops of the hills.

“You really missed it,” he emphasized. “And tomorrow looks like it will be just as good.” That did it I had to go. Since I have retired I don’t surf on weekends. But due to Marty’s report this Sunday would be an exception.

The weather had dramatically changed. Early Saturday morning Marin experienced the “Mother of all lightning storms.” Flashes of light awoke me at 4:00 am. I stood at the window and watched flashes in the clouds over the far ridge but I didn’t hear any sound. Slowly I began to hear murmurs of thunder in the distance. The length of time between the flashing light and the sound indicated that the lightning was far from us. Then it happened. The sky lit up, the thundered boomed in the same instant, the windows rattled, the house shook and the neighbors little girls began to cry. I thought it struck around the corner from us. The Marin IJ reported that this bolt hit across the canyon from us on Summit Ave about a quarter mile away. The lightning exploded a 200-foot redwood tree, turning a 100 feet of it into million pieces of bark, fir, branches and foliage, and it blasted a driveway creating softball size shards of concrete. Temperatures had plummeted from the 90s to the low 70s creating an explosive mixture of warm and cool air, something unusual for Marin County.

I hit the road early this morning, a storm front was moving in, the sky was dark with clouds and the wind blew from the south. At Bolinas the strong swell was still running. The parking places on Brighton Ave were full, but luck was with me, someone pulled out as I drove up. Judging by the number of cars and people, the whole Bay Area surf community knew the swell was up. Crowd was the issue today. When I entered the water at 7:20 am there were twenty-one surfers out at the Channel. Two hours later at 9:30 am thirty-eight surfers were out there when I left the water.

My surf companions were at the peak: Jack the Dave Sweet Team rider, Mark the archaeologist, Jim the jazz guitarist and Doug. Mary and Russ were out at the Patch. One method for dealing with crowds is to sit at the furthest peak and claim “right-of-way”. In surf etiquette, the one deepest in the peak has the right-of-way. Jack, the most experienced surfer of all of us, sat at the furthest point of the peak and waited for the set waves. I followed his lead. We had some success but not much. The size had gone down from yesterday, the south wind put considerable chop on the surface and the waves were bumpy. We weren’t able to connect across the impact zone. The waves would section and other surfers would drop in on us. Jack managed to intimate the others by locking high in the curls and screaming across the waves tucked in a tight crouch. I managed to get a few good rides but not many. I spent considerable energy paddling around the crowd to gain position. After two hours the wind was picking up and more and more surfers were entering the water, thus I decided to call it a day.

The front moved in, it rained all afternoon and I enjoyed listening to the patter of the rain and watching the 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals.

September 10, 2009 Thursday

Montara	In front of the old Chart House restaurant
9:40 am to 10:50 am	3' to 6'
Low tide - 2.8 ft	Slight onshore breeze
Thin fog - limited visibility	Fun session

Son Kevin and I entered the water at the south end of Montara in front of the old Chart House restaurant. We were going for the lefts coming from the peak formed by an outcropping of large boulders. Kevin jumped in, pushed through some white water and stroked cleanly to the outside. I stood there waiting for a lull in the shore break. I waited and waited, but the waves didn’t let up. Montara consists of soft coarse sand and a steep beach that drops into deep water, which creates a fierce backwash. Big shore break waves crash shooting water up the steep berm that comes roaring back as the next one sucks up the water of the previous wave. I slowly inched myself further out to waist depth. My feet sank into loose sand up to my ankles. A big shore pounder crashed, sent water up the steep bank and a river of current came rolling back down. I stood there board in hand and the current knocked my down.

I instantly remembered that horrible drowning that occurred at this very spot at the end of June. Now I know how and why it happened. I had read about it in the paper and knew that Montara was a steep beach with a strong backwash. Montara is not a good swimming beach for little kids.

This poor mother came to Montara to enjoy the beach with her two daughters and three nieces. Two of the nieces wore wetsuits and were boogie boarding. The mother stood at the water’s edge with her daughters, ages five and nine. The nine year old got in trouble in the shore break. Holding the hand of the five year old the mother reached for the nine year old, but the backwash wept all three of them out into the impact zone. A moment of panic and a poor decision on the mother’s part and in an instant they were drowning. The nine year old made it back in but the mother and five year old didn’t. They yelled for help. A teenage boogie boarder tried to rescue them. The mother and child grasped the boogie board when the next set of waves hit. The teenage boogie boarder barely made it back in, but the mother and her daughter were swept back out. Rescuers found the mother, applied CPR but were too late. Thirty minutes later lifeguards in a rescue boat found the body of the five year old beyond the boulders of the south point.

On this cheery note I launched myself into the shore break, went through the white water of three waves and made it outside. Montara was the best break this morning. Kevin and I drove by Ocean Beach but the fog prevented us from seeing the waves. We parked at Sloat Ave and walked to the water’s edge to view the surf: small bumpy waves. We drove to Linda Mar and again walked to the water’s edge: small walls, the tide was too low. Montara had rideable waves, but the water was rough and bumpy with a lot of current. A strong backwash sent small one-foot waves back out into the impact zone.

Within a few minutes Kevin dropped into a head-high right wave, which quickly died after the initial drop. We moved around looking for the best take off point. We tried for several waves but didn’t catch them. We were too far out. The waves were deceptive, wind swells on top of ground swells. The wind swells would jump up looking like they were about to break, but they didn’t. We had to move in and concentrate on the ground swell portion of the waves.

I finally caught one, which was my best ride of the morning. I had missed a couple which put me on the inside. I turned to paddle back out and a five-foot peak was cresting in front of me. I turned and went for it. The wave jumped up and I dropped. My board went vertical, I stood on the tip of the tail block and thought the board would knife into the water and send me flying. It didn’t. The nose touched the water at the base of the wave, sent spray flying, bounced up and I made the drop. I turned, hit a bump of the backwash, I stumbled but remained standing. I looked down a well-formed line of water setting up to peel left. I positioned mid-swell, screamed down a head-high wave, cut back into the breaking part of the wave letting the shore break to form, turned left again, leaned into it and shot through the inside section. It was a great ride.

Kevin and I kept moving around and dropping into sizeable peaks. Some were lightning fast and others died after the initial drop. After an hour Kevin reminded me that he had to work today. Thus we played the “just one more” game. Then Kevin connected with his best ride. He stroked into a five-foot wall as I paddled over it. I looked back to see his head disappear as the wave broke. Three seconds later I saw his head pop out in front of the breaking curl. He cut back, maneuvered into shore break and drove his board right up to the edge of the steep berm of the shore. I caught a small one and also rode it up to the sand. We congratulated ourselves on having chosen Montara. It was a good session.

“Coming Soon – La Costanera, Peruvian Cuisine” read the sign on the window of the vacate restaurant. Two gentlemen were inside inspecting things. They emerged and were parked next to us. I inquired if they owned the restaurant. They did and commented that they planned to open in two weeks. This building was originally a Chart House and like all Chart Houses, it has a fabulous view of the ocean. Kevin and I vowed to return soon. Imagine surfing Montara in the morning on a classic big surf day and having a great Peruvian lunch sitting at a front window booth watching the beautiful scenery of the surf, ocean, cliffs, pelicans and boats. We have to do it.