January 7, 2011 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:15 am to 10:45 am	3' to 4', sets to 6'
Mid upcoming tide	Cold offshore wind to no wind
High fog to patchy sun	Good session

I was suited up, board in hand, running in front of the retaining wall of the house on the south side of the ramp when I heard,

“Loren! Loren!”

“Someone is calling you,” said a surfer walking in the other direction. I was heading to the Groin and the upcoming tide was beginning to shoot spray up to the windows of the house. I turned and there standing at the top of the steps of the seawall was Jack the Dave Sweet team rider with water dripping from his wetsuit. I headed back towards the ramp.

“Jack, what’s the call?”

“The Patch! There are too many short boarders at the Groin. Go to Robinson’s Reef. It’s great, that’s where I went and I got some great rides. Head to the Patch and avoid the shortboarders.”

Change of plans. I had oscillated on where to go, finally settled on going to the Groin, but if Jack said the Patch was the call then I’m going to the Patch. The surf forecast this morning was positive. The NOAA weather radio reported 8 ft west swell at 17 seconds, NNE wind, 52-degree water temperature and an upcoming tide. Claude and I had arrived at the same time. We went up to the overlook above the Groin to check conditions. I hadn’t seen Claude in weeks. Like me, he had only surfed a couple of times in the last month due to the weather and the holidays. Twenty surfers were bunched together at the Groin. The waves were big and fast, maybe a bit too fast, and glassy with offshore winds blowing spray off the tops. The above photo is some lucky soul getting barreled. Claude decided to beat the crowd by going for the rights on the Seadrift side of the Channel. He took off to suit up and I went up to Terrace Road to check out the Patch. The waves were smaller and mellow with only six surfers out. The inside rights (Robinson’s Reef) looked good.

I saw Jeff from Mill Valley connect on a fast four-foot curl at Robinson’s Reef. That looked inviting. I met Creighton toweling off as I walked back to my car. He had a great session at the Groin, lots of fast curls. I passed Doug as he poured warm water, which he had brought from home, over his head. He too reported that the Groin was great. After suiting up and walking to the beach, I met Novato Pete who had a good session at the Patch. I chatted with Russ who had a good standup board session at the Patch. Mary walked up and stated that the waves were good everywhere and that I couldn’t go wrong no matter where I went. I passed Mark the archaeologist who recommended the Groin. So I decided to head for the Groin until Jack changed my mind.

Susan who always wears sunglasses in the water was waxing up her board on the beach at the Patch. Susan was the story this morning. We entered the water together and she paddled to the furthest peak at the Patch while I stopped at the inside break. Thirty minutes later I noticed Susan paddling to the Groin. I have seen her do this before. Paddling from the Patch to the Groin is a long ways, at least one-half mile. Thirty minutes after that I saw her paddling back to the Patch.

“It’s better over here,” she said when she arrived. “It’s a long time between sets, only a few big waves came through and it’s crowded.”

Again she paddled to the furthest peak outside and north of the pack. She was still out there when I got out of the water. Susan is in great shape. To paddle over and back from the Patch to the Groin and to continue surfing for another hour is one hell of a lot of paddling. I could never do that.

At Robinson’s Reef I joined Hank, Jeff from Mill Valley, Robert the Terra Linda carpenter and one other surfer. The set waves were big and stretched across the whole impact zone. At first I thought they would close out, but I was wrong. Hank proved that. With his big paddling machine he could stroke into all of the waves. Time after time, I would paddle over a wave, turn around and from the back watch Hank scream cross a head-high wall with spray blowing off the top and his head streaking ahead of the fast breaking curl.

Only by moving over the reef into the middle of the impact zone could I catch waves. My first one was a good one. I stoked into a set wave as it was breaking. I thought for sure it would close out. I took off, dropped to the bottom of a head-high face, cut right, drove under white water sliding down from the top of the wave, briefly climbed back into the swell, the next section broke in front of me, I tried to push through the white water, but the lip collapse on my inside rail and sent me flying. Now I had the take-off point figured out and managed to connect on two long, fast right walls.

Claude paddled over from the Groin. He said his first wave was exceptional, a big right curl on the Seadrift side of the Channel, but that was it. The set waves were closing out and the crowd drove him nuts. A few minutes later I watch him streak down an overhead face, bottom turn right, climb mid-swell, set himself mid-board and cruise on and on until he pulled out in the shore break.

For an hour the four of us had the inside peak to ourselves, sharing the waves and enjoying each other’s company. What a great way to spend a beautiful Friday morning.