January 11, 2012 Wednesday

Bolinas	Channel
9:50 am to 11:20 am	3' to 4', occasional 5'
Mid upcoming tide	No wind
Sunny and warm	Frustrating session

Mill Valley was cold and clear this morning and as I approached the ocean the temperature rose. It was at least five degrees warmer at Bolinas and the added warmth made a big difference. The last couple of nights I took Nyquil to fight a nagging cold. Kate recommended that I kiss off surfing and nursed my cold. I wavered - thinking I would just take the water samples (on Wednesdays Marty and I gather water samples for Surfrider's water quality program and take them to the Branson school where a team of students run the tests). Thus I would get the samples, chitchat with the crew at Bolinas and head home. But once I felt the warmer air and saw the glassy conditions, I knew I was going out.

In the parking lot, the early morning crowd was hanging out after their session. Dexter pointed to the green pointed-nose shortboard on the top of DB the Safeway checker's car.

"That's my fish!" DB had just downsized. She said it was her first time on a shortboard and that she had fun and was excited about trying something new. Frank the stand-up guy had also just downsized. He showed off his new Blair 8' 6" stand-up board.

"Do you find it easier to maneuver?" I asked - thinking a smaller board facilitates turns and cutbacks in the curl.

"I'm still getting used to it. I caught several waves and the board wobbled back and forth," Frank gestured with his hand that the board snaked through the water. "And then I would fall off."

Mary, Hank and one other surfer were out at the Patch. The waves looked slow, but after his session Hank said he caught several long rides from the outside peak all the way to the shore. Ten surfers were out at the Channel, including David who rides the Becker board, Jacek the tattoo artist, Marty, Martha and Josh the Bolinas fisherman. The waves were beautiful, clean glassy peaks that peeled in both directions. I stood at the Groin wall with my camera at the ready and quickly captured a dozen classic shots of surfers locked in the curl. Check out the above photo. There was no doubt in my mind where to go - the Channel was the call.

Dexter recommended I head for the Patch because with the upcoming tide the Channel waves would become soft. I elected to take my chances at the Channel. But Dexter was right. By the time I suited up and paddled out the waves had died. Martha asked me if I had checked out the Patch. She was considering moving because nothing was happening here. From a distance, Jacek gave me that "Where did they go?" hand gesture. David talked about how good it was earlier - wave after wave, all good peeling lefts.

The waves were still breaking but they were difficult to catch. They had to be breaking before I could get into them. On my first wave, a four-foot wall broke outside; I turned and caught the incoming white water. The wave was powerful and I bounced along prone for several yards, then I jumped up hoping the wave would reform - it didn't; it just died. Next I paddled out to the furthest peak and sat in the middle of foam from previous waves. I was all by myself and in the half hour that I was there, I stumbled on four sizeable waves - all hard to catch and all of them walled. By the time I stood up the rides were over.

I worked my way back north and inside to join David and the others. David, who usually catches numerous waves, was having difficulty catching these waves. I did manage to connect on a couple of decent rides. But after an hour, my cold was zapping my strength. I missed a few more and then caught a fast four-foot left curl that I rode for several yards before it closed out. I straightened out and milked it as far as I could. I ended up twenty yards into the lagoon from the Groin pole. Time to call it a day.

The cold water, the sunshine and the exercise felt great. Surfing is always a good remedy for kicking a cold.