February 27, 2012 Monday

Bolinas	Channel
9:40 am to 10:40 am	1' to 2', sets to 3'
Low upcoming tide	No wind to NW cross breeze
Sunny, clear and cold	Exercise session

Today we froze!

A new blast of cold air came in last night and sent temperatures dropping all over Marin. I had to scrape ice off my windshield before heading for the beach. Frost covered all the houses and grass along Brighton Ave in Bolinas. I was ready to use the cold as my excuse for not going out. By the cars parked along the tennis courts, I could tell that David who rides the Becker board, Marty, DB the Safeway checker, Ray the Petaluma fireman and stand-up surfers Frank, Russ and his brother Larry were in the water - thus there must be some waves. But the San Francisco buoy stats were mediocre - 8 ft swell at 11 seconds, a north wind at 21 knots and 48 degrees water temperature, that's cold.

As I walked to the ramp with my camera in hand and wearing two hooded sweatshirts, Larry came up the ramp from his session.

"How was it?" I asked.

"It's cold."

"Russ how was it?" I asked as he came up the ramp.

"It's freezing."

"DB how was it?" I asked her as she walked along the beach.

"My hands are frozen. I can barely move them. But it is getting better, the sun finally came out."

At the Groin, I watched David, Marty and Ray struggle to catch infrequent two to three footers that were beautiful little fast peeling lefts - note the waves in the above photo. But they broke too fast. By the time they caught a wave and stood up, the ride was over because the wave had already broken twenty feet down the line. Since I hadn't surfed in twelve days and needed the exercise and since tide was coming up and the sun was out warming up the air, I decided to join them.

Out in the water everyone bitched about the cold. For the first time I saw David wearing a hood, no gloves - just a hood for added protection. Jason, a young shortboarder, was out there with no gloves and no booties.

"Jason, your toes must be cold."

"They're numb. I lost all feeling in them long ago." Boy if that happened to me, I wouldn't be able to stand. But Jason continued to skillfully catch wave after wave.

David had the waves wired. He knew where to line-up and caught everything he paddled for. The rides were short but David was in constant motion - catch a wave, paddle back out, turn around and do it again. Maybe that's why he could stay in this freezing water for three hours. Jason moved way inside and north to catch the edge of these small walls. I watched him successfully get locked into several nicely shaped curls. The trick was to get into the waves quickly, stay at the top, position in the curl and shoot down the line. But for us old guys, by the time we stood up, we were at the bottom of the wave and the ride was over. My technique was to remain prone, turn sharply into the wave and cruise through the first section, jump to my knees and then jump to my feet. The idea was not to lose any precious seconds standing up. Nice try Lorenzo, but it only worked once. Most of the time the waves would close out in front of me while I was still lying down. On one wave I got barreled lying down, for a brief second - I turned sharply into a two-foot curl, locked the rail under the lip of the wave, watched a sheet of water curl over my head and then the wave buried me.

After an hour, my hands and toes were feeling the cold - time to go in. I moved inside and connected on a good one. I stroked into a three-footer, stayed prone, turned into the wave, stayed high in the curl, jumped to my knees, shot through the first section, jumped to my feet, cruised through a second fast section and cut back as the wave broke in shallow water. Nice ending to an exercise session.

To get warm, Marty and I went into the Coast Café, purchased a couple of coffees and then sat in front of their classic pot-belly gas heater. A half hour of good coffee, good discussion and a good heater toped off the morning.

February 22, 2012 Wednesday

Point Arena	Arena Cove
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm	8' to 10', sets double overhead
Low tide	Stiff NW cross breeze
Sunny, clear and cold	Photograph session

Yesterday (February 21) the surf was non-existent so I went for a long walk on the beach at Stinson. When I returned I had a long chat with Robbie the Stinson local. Robbie, who told me he was 59, has been surfing northern California for a long time. He easily rattled off all the surf spots from Santa Cruz to the Fort Bragg.

"Robbie, have you ever been to Point Arena? And what is it like?" I asked. "My wife and I are going on a brief trip and will stay at a bed and breakfast place there."

"Yes, I've been there. Small cove with a fishing pier with breaks on both sides. The main spot by the point breaks like Sunset Beach in Hawaii."

"Like Sunset!?" I had read that Point Arena could get big. "You mean BIG?"

"Yes. It is one of the most premier spots in all of California."

This morning Kate and I began an excursion to Mendocino and Point Arena. We drove up Highway 101 to Highway 128, made the beautiful drive through the Anderson Valley, passed Boonville, and turned north on Highway 1 to Mendocino. We strolled around the quaint town for a couple of hours, had a great lunch at the Mendocino Hotel and then drove south down Highway 1 to Point Arena. I had never been there before. Through an Internet search we landed a reservation at the Old Coast Guard House. As the name suggested, this place used to be a Coast Guard station that provided housing for the officers and had been converted to a bed and breakfast when the Coast Guard left. I had no idea where the fishing pier and surf spots Robbie had mentioned were located. I was in luck - the Old Coast Guard House overlooked the Point Arena fishing pier.

From the front porch of the main house I saw waves breaking and something floating in the water.

"Are those pelicans out there?" I asked the proprietor.

"No those are surfers. They surf here often."

I looked closer. Ten shortboarders were bobbing up and down among these massive swells. One of them took off and dropped down a face that was at least five feet over his head. The wave crashed and he drove out in front of the rushing white water onto a slow shoulder. He cut back, the wave jumped up, he shot through another overhead section and coasted out on the shoulder and over the top as the wave crashed on an ugly looking rock shelf.

Kate and I walked out to the end of the pier. She checked out the surrounding sights while I gawked at the ten surfers battling the strong currents to get into position for these waves. The break was outside a high bluff point - three hundred yards out and north of the pier. A series of rock ridges ran perpendicular from the high cliff of the point out a hundred yards to the break. The big set waves broke over a reef another fifty yards outside and would reform where the surfers were positioned. They would break again, build up for an inside line-up and break a third time, peeling to the right to finally die in a deep channel that ran into the cove up to the pier. Like the ride above, the surfers dropped down the large faces of the second break, cut back into an inside curl and pulled out as the waves got close the rocks. It was obvious that if one got caught inside they would be in deep trouble of being smashed on the rocks.

I came back an hour later with my camera. By then, only one surfer was still in the water. The wind and chop was picking up. I stood at the end of the pier focusing and focusing as this guy battled the currents and swells for thirty minutes before catching the wave in the above photo. He came in after this ride. Note that according to the Point Arena buoy the swell was 10 ft at 14 seconds.

I was determined to be out early in the morning to capture some more shots. But the wind howled all night and into the morning. I was there early with my camera but white caps ran from the cove to the horizon. No one ventured out into the water. Hard-ass fishermen milled around with hard-ass surfers smoking and drinking coffee staring at the rough seas. Robbie was right, Point Arena broke like Sunset Beach on Hawaii's north shore. I don't think I will be returning, instead I will stick to the friendly waves of Bolinas.

Meanwhile, Kate and I had a great time. I highly recommend the Coast Guard House; it was comfortable, reasonable and the food was good. We visited the lighthouse, climbed to the top and hung on while the wind vibrated the tower. We then had a pleasant four hour drive down Highway 1 all the way home.

Here's a brief description of surfing at Point Arena from one of the first books on surfing in California -

Surfing California - a complete guide to the California Coast by Bank West, copyright 1973, pgs 26 - 27.

Point Arena - A small, mellow town along Hwy 1 having two nice breaks near an old fishing pier.

The Point: A concentrated peak. Steep, hooking takeoff followed by a thick right shoulder. Spits across inside reef. Kelp bulbs mark the paddling channel. Needs a 2 - 10 foot winter swell and a medium-high tide. Caution: Razor sharp inside reef - leashes a must!

The Channel: A peak left, south of old pier. Breaks 2 - 10 feet on winter swells. Medium tide. Lines peel next to deep channel. Exposed rocks. Comment: Like Ala Moana (the fast left tube break at the entrance of the Waikiki Harbor) but not as tubular.

February 16, 2012 Thursday

Bolinas	Patch
9:30 am to 10:30 am	1' to 2', sets to 3'
Mid dropping tide	Slight NW cross breeze
Sunny and warm with high wispy clouds	Exercise session

Surfers are eternal optimists. "Give it a little time and I think the Patch will start happening." Hank was suited up and had his big yellow paddling machine under his arm as we stood on the seawall checking out the waves.

"When the tide drops, the waves will get steeper and those lines that peak way out there will start breaking," I chimed in. I had my camera at the ready to capture the conditions. Hank was deciding where to go out - the Patch or the Channel. No one was at the Patch. Frank the stand-up guy was just out there and now was paddling back to the ramp. We could see lines stretching across the Patch reef that would peak but not break. Only the small shore pounders were breaking.

The Channel didn't look any better. One surfer was out at the furthest peak. I thought that was David who rides the Becker board, and two surfers were at Seadrift going for the rights, that must have been Doug and Jim the jazz guitarist. None of them caught any decent waves in the ten minutes that Hank and I stood there. A few minutes later, Doug and Jim had given up on Seadrift and were paddling back to the Channel.

"I'm going to the Patch. I'm positive it will get better." Hank turned and headed across the seawall towards the Patch.

"I'll join you," I called to him. That's Hank paddling out to the far peak at the Patch in the above photo.

Hank and I had the Patch to ourselves for an hour and the waves didn't get any better. The tide continued going out, exposing more and more rocks, and the waves didn't get any steeper. The surfing became more precarious as the water became shallower. We both caught several waves, but nothing to write about. They were difficult to catch, difficult to stay in them and they were slow with no force or punch whatsoever. After an hour, we worked our way in to try the small rights near the shore. After a couple of attempts, we gave up on those and went in.

"Hank, this is what I call an 'exercise session', meaning the waves were lousy."

"But we got in the water and that always makes it a good session."

Hank was right. The elements were beautiful - clear skies, warm weather, and a glassy blue surface with pelicans gliding over the water. I wasn't cold, my arms weren't tired and I had that good feeling that comes after a brisk workout. Yes it was worth it.

February 10, 2012 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 10:00 am	4' to 6', sets overhead
Mid upcoming tide	Onshore south breeze
Overcast with constant light rain	Short but thrilling session

In my one-hour session, I only caught four waves - all were thrilling rides - maybe a little too thrilling.

The big swell that came in Wednesday (14 ft at 17 seconds) was still pumping. On Wednesday, it was bumpy and all over the place. Yesterday it settled down a bit and was clean. Today a new small low-pressure front came in bringing clouds, light rain and a south onshore breeze, but the swell was still strong - 10 ft at 17 seconds.

Marty, David who rides the Becker board and Mark the archaeologist were suiting up as I pulled up. I walked with them with my camera in hand to the Groin. Six surfers were bobbing up and down in rough seas on the north edge of a huge peak. The waves were a combination of two or three swells that were pushed together to form one exploding torrent of white water. The shape of the bottom forced all waves to peel to the left. The tops of the waves were flat. Surfers had to glide down the flat portion to drop over steep edges into powerful fast breaking walls of water. Most waves closed out, but for those who made the initial section were in for a thrilling ride. In the above photo, this lucky guy pulled it out, made the first section and locked into a fast curl.

When I entered the water, the pack sat straight out and north of the Groin pole. I stroked outside and watched Mark come down a good one. He took off late on a sizeable wall, crouched down with his back to the wave, cut left, stood erect, cruised down an overhead face and straightened out as the wave collapsed in front of him.

Given the size and power of the waves, I kept a close eye on other surfers in the water. Wave selection was challenging; deciding on what waves to go for and choosing those that no one else went for. I paddled around and tried for several waves for thirty minutes before catching one. I worked over closer to the peak when a medium size wall came through that no one was going for it. I turned around, dug hard and was into it. I went straight for a moment, pushing my weight forward and dropped over the edge down an overhead steep face. I positioned mid-swell and shot through the first section. I eased up a bit to let the wave build up again, but I waited too long before cutting left again. The wave jumped up and folded over. I was caught at the bottom trying to stay in front of the fast breaking curl. I didn't make it; the wave closed out in front of me and I dove into a mountain of white water.

Jim caught a good one. He often goes out in a kayak, but today he was on a long board. Jim was transitioning to surfing and this morning was a challenge for him - as it was for all of us. After forty-five minutes of paddling around, he decided to just go for it. A set wave came through and Jim was in position. As I paddled over it, I watched him skillfully drop down a perfect left peak. I turned around to watch, Jim disappeared, I didn't see him for several seconds and thought he had eaten it. No, Jim popped out screaming ahead of the breaking curl. On and on he sailed. The wave had size; in the shore break all I could see was his head peeking above the back of the wave.

"Jim, great ride," I commented when he finally paddled back to the line-up.

"I could have gone right up onto the sand. It just kept going and going. That wave made my session."

Out there was a stand-up surfer who really knew what he was doing. He stood way outside at the apex of the Channel peak (remember we were sitting inside on the north edge). He started paddling further out and north - obviously he saw a big set coming. I looked out and a huge wall of water that filled the horizon was coming. I stroked out as fast as I could, looked left as this guy took off, cut left and crouched down with his paddle tucked under his arm. The wave feathered over his head as he casually screamed mid-swell down this seven to eight foot face. I had to scratch over the wave and lost sight of him. He didn't make it back out the line-up for a good ten minutes. I figured that he rode that wave all the way to the beach.

Marty mentioned that he was going to take one more. A coffee in front of the potbelly gas heater at the Coast Café sounded inviting. I agreed. I caught one more thrilling ride - dropping down another overhead face, straightening out as it closed out, dropped back prone on the board and rode the white water all the way to the beach. At the Coast Café Marty, Mark and I enjoyed coffees, muffins and the heater as we discussed the waves and bitched about PG&E's $75 charge to opt out of Smart Meters, the latest hot-button issue in Marin.

What a great way to end the morning - sitting around the classic old fashion heater with a hot coffee, a muffin and friends.

February 3, 2012 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
10:00 am to 11:00 am	2', sets to 3'
Mid dropping tide	Cold, stiff east cross wind
Patchy sun - high wispy clouds	Exercise session

Walking down the ramp to the Groin with my camera in hand, I spotted Hank coming towards me. I had seen his car in the parking area with his board still strapped to the roof.

"Well?" I asked.

"I'm going to wait it out for another hour. There's not much happening at the Channel. Yesterday I had a great time at the Patch, so with the tide going out, I'm hoping that it will start firing. There's nothing there now, but I'm sure it will pick up."

We walked down to the Groin to check out the rides of the seven surfers at the Channel. Some of the regulars were out there - Mary, David who rides the Becker board, Ray the Petaluma fireman, Mark the archaeologist and stand-up guys Russ and Frank. Hank was right. While we stood there, no one got a decent ride. The tide had turned a couple of hours earlier and already the current was flowing out of the lagoon. The only decent waves were on the Seadrift side - the other side of the outgoing current.

Hank and I walked back to the Seawall to check out the Patch. Not much was happening. Every once in awhile a set would come through looking like it had some possibilities. One stand-up surfer was out there - an older gentleman about my age. We could tell he was a beginner, but he did catch a couple of "ankle snappers" - small, slow and close to the rocks. That's him on one of the bigger ones in the above photo.

"Well I'm going to do it," Hank announced after watching a couple more sets come through.

"I'll join you."

Our theory was that while we suited up and paddled out to the far peak at the Patch, the tide and conditions would have changed and we would be in the water when the good waves started coming through. But it never happened. We paddled around catching the same ankle high waves that we saw an hour earlier.

I managed to catch two decent rights. Both were two-footers where the wind held up the curls and the wave continuously peeled to the right. Hank on his big paddling machine caught several waves. I caught a good sideways view of him on a good one - a set wave to the south of the Patch reef. Hank saw it coming, paddled south and was in position when the wave jumped up. He dug hard and coasted into a picturesque three-foot wave. He dropped down a translucent green peak, cruised across a waist-high face, cutback and then the wave died. One drop was all there was - which was typical of this morning's waves.

The real story was the COLD. Winter had finally set in. Before we went out, Hank had mentioned how fortunate we were with this warm weather. Here it was February and the sun was out, winds offshore and only a slight texture on the water. But once we paddled out, we felt the wind and it was freezing and it was constant. Cold air continuously moved over our hands, arms and bodies. Moving air causes evaporation - something I remembered from my high school physics class. And evaporation sucks the heat out of the under lying object - like our bodies. After an hour my hands were turning numb; I was ready to go in. Hank, who was fifteen yards south of me, gestured one more wave. I agreed and caught a small wave in the next set, rode it on my knees so that I could keep leaning on the nose to stay in the wave. Hank connected with a wave in the next set and rode it all the way in.

Of course, we agreed that it was all worth it. Good exercise, beautiful scenery and good company. Hank summed up the morning. "The hot tube is sure going to feel good when I get home."