May 2, 2012 Wednesday

Bolinas	Channel
9:50 am to 11:00 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
High dropping tide	Stiff, cold NW cross wind
Sunny with high clouds	Fun session

I stopped at the Parkside Café this morning to chat with Scott the chairman of Surfrider Marin. As I was about to leave, "Loren, don't run off, I have something for you." He stepped around the corner into the dining room and came back with a flat square box.

"Here, for your birthday." He handed me a dozen freshly made donuts by Maxine and the crew at the Parkside. They make them every morning and were they good. "Hand them out to the crew at Bolinas."

Scott knew that today was my birthday because he had it marked in his calendar. He grabbed a sugar one and wished me a happy birthday. I thanked Maxine and headed off to Bolinas. I had a grand time handing out donuts to my surfing buddies.

"Ray, have a donut, it's my birthday." Ray the Petaluma fireman was lacing up his shoes after his session as I pulled up. I wouldn't accept any diet nonsense. Every surfer needs a shot of sugar after a surf session.

Jaime and Mary had just walked up the ramp dripping wet and boards in their hands when I forced a couple of donuts on them. Russ the stand-up guy gladly accepted one. I received some diet talk from Frank, but with a slight twist of the arm he took one. Don my Kahuna Kupuna Surf Contest buddy grabbed one as he was heading to the beach with his board and his dog. I pushed one onto Hank as he was drying off after his session. Some other guy was suiting up nearby, someone I didn't know, but I offered him one and he gladly accepted it. Walt the photographer took one while he was trying to warm up after being in the freezing water. Marty was the only one who refused to have a donut after surfing. Donuts were off my diet. I managed to give most of them away, I had diet concerns also, but I did eat a chocolate one on my drive home, and was it good.

From the 2-Mile Surf Report for May 2nd - Favorable conditions at the moment - 60 degrees, sunny, light wind, and small waves peeling throughout the area. Channel: 4-6 people with fun thigh plus high waves peeling left and right off the middle of the Channel. Tide is dropping thus get it while you can.

The San Francisco buoy reported 7 ft NW swell at 9 seconds with a 2 ft south swell at 15 seconds and NW winds gusting to 27 knots.

I walked down to the Groin to take some pictures. The waves were better than they looked. Twelve surfers were out at the one left peak at the Channel. That's Paul in the above photo on a good set wave. After Mary and Jaime left, no one was out at the Patch. Others at the Channel were: David who rides the Becker board, Marty, Paul, Jeff the Dillon Beach boat mechanic, Shu-Shu from Dogtown and my Kahuna Kupuna Surf Contest buddies Don and John the architect.

I paddled out to join the crowd and managed to catch four good fast lefts. I saw one guy lock into a really good ride. He was inside and north of the rest of us and he knew what he was doing. I was standing in waist high water after a great ride, a set of good waves were coming through. This guy watched an approaching wave; it had already broken at the Channel and was peeling across the impact zone. He hung there, swung around and with one stroke was into the curl as the wave was breaking. He skillfully kneeled down in the center of the board, hung onto the outside rail and sailed down the steep face just in front of the fast peeling wave. I wish I had a camera.

Met my old surf companion Mark the plumber in the parking area after my session. He was chatting with another guy about his old red panel truck. I mentioned to Mark that I remembered seeing that truck and him in 1988 - over twenty years ago. He said that was the year that he bought the thing from his uncle. He still has it, and it still runs.

1988 was the year that I got back into surfing when my son Kevin (then 12 yrs) bought his first surfboard and I joined him. After surfing Stinson several times we discovered Bolinas and I loved it. At that time Mark, Eddie and their leader and great surfer Pat were regulars at the Channel every weekend. Pat would stay out for hours; he would knee paddled from peak to peak, catching the biggest wave of every set and smoothly cruise down one big wall after another. Mark would show up with his 12' ft paddling machine that barely fit in his beat-to-shit red panel truck. This threesome worked hard during the week - Mark being a plumber on large development projects, and Pat and Eddie were stonemasons. They would surf for hours in the mornings and then heft a few at Smiley's in the afternoons. After a few years the group broke apart. Pat had a stroke and couldn't surf anymore, Eddie got a new job and drifted north and Mark now spends most of his surfing hours at Dillon Beach. I asked Mark about Pat. Mark hasn't seen him in a couple of years. Pat's girl friend, Shelly, won't let anyone near him.

I miss Pat and wish him the best.