June 1, 2012 Friday

Bolinas	Channel and Groin
9:40 am to 11:35 am	2' to 3', sets to 3.5'
High dropping tide	Slight NW breeze
Overcast	Fun session

"Hey in an hour it will get good -- offshore, glassy with a great right peak," said John, expert surfer and owner of the Parkside Café.

"Where?"

"At the Seadrift side of the Channel. It has been there all this week and it has been fun."

With high tide at 10 am and a small west wind swell (5 ft at 8 seconds), I stopped to check out the waves at Stinson Beach before heading to Bolinas. But with John's encouraging report maybe I would just immediately paddle over to Seadrift and not waste my time at the Channel.

This morning, Julie the Bolinas local who works in the planning department of Mill Valley greeted me outside of Peet's Coffee. She raved about the good rights she got yesterday evening at the Channel. With an upcoming tide and a west swell, a peak forms in front of the Groin pole that peels right following the contour of the Channel -- known by the locals as "Malibo Rights."

Jacek the tattoo artist was coming up the ramp from checking out the waves as I was heading there with my camera in hand. I flashed him the thumbs up or thumbs down. He responded with the with the half way gesture.

"Well are you going out?"

"Yes. There's a good peak and the rights are there also. I'm going to get a longboard and sit inside for those rights." He also mentioned that last Monday evening he too connected with good Malibo rights.

Eight surfers were bunched together at the Groin including Mark the archaeologist, Hank and stand-up surfer Walt the photographer. I got a photo of each one of them on their last waves. One by one each exited the water. That's Walt on his last wave in the above photo. All three reported that the waves were not spectacular, small but fun and that it was better earlier. The crowd grew to twelve by the time I suited up.

Walking down the beach with my board in hand I looked for Jacek. I figured that our resident expert would know where to line up. He was way outside and north of the crowd. A sizeable set came through. The first wave broke twenty yards outside of the pack. Jacek turned and with one stroke caught the white water. He was up and quickly driving left through the soup to the swell. Another guy took off in front of him. Jacek moved up close to this guy and spooked him. He pulled out and Jacek sped by him and was instantly back into the swell as the wave was reforming. Jacek locked his inside rail under the lip of the curl and stood there mid-board calmly cruising along. He cutback, the wave reformed again, cut right and dropped into a perfectly formed Malibo right. On and on he went and ended up way on the inside of the lagoon channel. The wave broke and he rode the white water to the shore, got out and walked his board back to the Groin wall and re-entered the water on the north side of the Groin pole.

"That's how it is done," I said to myself -- catch the white water, work your way into a Malibo right, go as far as you can and then walk your board back to the Groin and re-enter the water there.

I executed Jacek's strategy and connected on several small fun waves. My best wave was a long right. I went for a set wave that looked like it would close out. The wave crested and broke. I stroked into the white water, jumped up and angled right. The wave reformed and I was soon standing at the top of a three-foot fast peeling curl. I stepped to the middle of the board and cruised through a fast section. I could see that the wave was building up again. I dropped into a new section and continued on. Again and again I worked that wave until I finally was in one foot of water. I stepped off and carried my board around the Groin wall to re-enter the water. What a great ride.

After two hours my arms were spent, the wind had picked up, the crowd had swelled to twenty and the current was beginning to pour out of the lagoon -- time to call it day.

With the glow of good exercise around me, I drove to Stinson Beach to see "Marinade" -- Surfrider''s photo exhibition and to purchase a soup and salad at the Lunch Box. The photo exhibition, which included one of my photos, looked great -- twenty-five excellent, professionally done photos of Marin's surf scene mounted on the far wall of the Stinson Beach Library.

I'm writing this sitting in the warm sunshine at a picnic table in the park. I chatted with Lee and Rachel of the Lunch Box, paid them for catering the opening to Surfrider's photo exhibition and pick up a bowl of split pea soup and a local greens salad for lunch that was excellent. What a great way to end another fun filled beautiful morning in Marin.