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.