April 29, 2013 Monday

Bolinas	Patch
9:40 am to 10:40 am	6 inches, sets to 2’
Low tide (-1.2 ft at 9 am)	No wind to slight offshore breeze
Bright sunshine – heat wave conditions	Exercise session

“Hey you have to wait for the sets,” Jacek yelled to me after I missed another wave at the inside right peak at the Patch.

“That was a set!” I responded.

There were no waves; the sea was FLAT. It was questionable about going out. Stormsurf forecasted a 5 ft swell at 9 seconds from 310 degrees, which was too north to get into Bolinas. The site also predicted a new south would start this evening and build over Tuesday and Wednesday. What little swell we did see must have been the start of the south swell from New Zealand.

The weather had shifted again and a new high-pressure front had locked in over the Bay Area setting up a week of higher than normal temperatures. The Weather Channel predicted a high of 81 degrees for Bolinas – beach weather, warm sunshine and light winds, swell or no swell I had to go.

Only a few cars were in the parking area when I arrived. Jacek the tattoo artist was walking up the ramp from checking the waves. He gestured that the waves were tiny by pinching his finger and thumb together.

“We’re too far out there, here take my lens,” he commented as he was suiting up and I was on my way to take some photos. He handed me his 400 mm telescopic lens – a two-foot piece of equipment that weights about three pounds, which I gladly accepted. The lens helped but the waves were still tiny. I did catch a flock of migrating ducks cruising a few feet above the water in the above photo. Notice the horizon, I believe that white spray is the sprout of a whale.

David who rides the Becker board and Frank the stand-up guy were out beyond the outside rock. Due to this morning’s minus tide, all of the Patch reef rocks were exposed. David and Frank caught a couple slow waves that peaked around the rock. Jacek paddled outside to join them. He too connected on a couple of slow ones and had to use all his surfing skills to stay in these powerless ripples. Only skilled surfers can do that. It’s like sailing – only the best sailors can keep the boat moving in light winds.

When I paddled out Jacek was way inside. He claimed there were some decent inside right waves near the rocks and that the push from the rising tide would improve the waves. It never happened. After thirty minutes David drifted inside to join us. A few ripples would come through, Jacek could catch them but I couldn’t. I got into three of them, jumped up to my knees and leaned forward on the nose to keep my board in the waves.

After an hour, we gave up and went in. But we both agreed that it was not a waste of time. The beautiful morning with its bright sun, blue seas, warm water (relatively speaking – warmer than last week), and ospreys and ducks flying overhead made our day.

I topped off the morning by having lunch at the Parkside Café in Stinson Beach and writing this up.

April 24, 2013 Wednesday

Bolinas	Patch
9:50 am to 11:30 am	Consistent 3’, sets to 4’
Mid upcoming tide	NW cross breeze
High fog to overcast – June gloom like	Good session

The heat wave broke last night at 9 pm. A cold west breeze started up bringing the fog with it. Overcast had set in this morning in Mill Valley. I broke out into bright sunshine going over the mountain and descended into a thick cloud on the road to Stinson Beach. At Bolinas the cloud was a high fog with a cold onshore breeze that put a texture on the surface of the water. June gloom had arrived in April.

A few of the regulars were out at the Patch: Mary, Martha, David who rides the Becker board, Paul, Hank (on the day before heading to London) and Frank the stand-up guy. Jacek was suiting up when I pulled into the parking area. He said there were waves at the Channel and the Patch and that he was going to the Patch because he likes going right. All the waves at the Channel were breaking left. He entered the water while I was taking photos and quickly stroked out to the line-up. Within seconds he was on a nice right peeling wave close to shore. That’s him in the above photo on a steep shore break curl.

While I was suiting up, Jacek returned to his car. Short session – what’s up? He was changing boards. He put his 9’ 4” Fresh Pineapple longboard back into the car and pulled out a small hybrid (7’ 0” my guess). This was a good sign; the waves must be steep and fast for him to switch to a smaller board. When I was walking down the beach towards the Patch, I watched Jacek stroke into a four-foot steep right wave and cut up and down the face like a skateboarder in an empty pool.

Seven surfers were out at the Patch: David and Jacek and five others that I did not know, and these five were all good surfers. All the other regulars had left. To beat the crowd I headed to the north side of the peak to go for the lefts. My first wave closed out in front of me. My second one had good size, shape and speed, but as I stepped to the middle of the board I dug a rail and fell. A few minutes later I connected on a better one. This time I managed to lock inside rail under the lip of the curl and shoot through a fast section. For a brief second I felt that the old form was back.

I connected on a series of good long lefts that put me in the sand area north of the rocks of the Patch reef. This meant I had to paddle back through the impact zone. Twice while paddling out I watched Jacek and David connect of long – long right waves. The rights were definitely better than the lefts, and with the rights you could paddle around the break without having to go through any white water. So I drifted south, caught one good right wave that put me on the right side of the peak. From then on, I went for the rights.

After an hour the crowd swelled to nine surfers, all going for the rights and all of them excellent surfers. David and Jacek were the only Bolinas regulars in the bunch. Then Rob, Mr. Malibu, showed up – another excellent surfer. We were all jockeying for position. Fortunately the waves were consistent. Each set contained five or more waves. I would sit inside and wait for the sets. If someone outside missed a wave, I was on it. Both David and I used the same strategy with great success. By taking off late I was immediately in the steep part of the curl and with luck could blast through the first section, sail out onto the shoulder, cut back, let the wave build up again and drop into the shore break. It was great fun.

From the side, I marveled at Rob’s rides. On wave after wave he would take off late, glide into the top of the curl, sharply cut right, run to the nose and literally plant five toes over the tip of his board, run back, switch stance (putting his right foot forward with his back to the wave), and hang a sharp left turn as the wave collapsed near shore.

I was feeling good and having fun so I pushed myself to stay out for an hour and a half, like I used to do before my operation. I hit my goal, but my arms were feeling it and I had to go in. Both David and I felt it was a great day and were looking forward to doing it again.

April 22, 2013 Monday

Bolinas	Patch
9:40 am to 11:15 am	2’ to 3’, occasional ‘4
High dropping tide (4.6 ft at 9:30)	No wind
Sunny and hot – heat wave	Fun session

A Heat Wave had engulfed the Bay Area. The big winds of last week had subsided and a high-pressure front had settled in. The Weather Channel predicted a high of 83 degrees for Bolinas at 3 pm with light NE winds. Eighty-three degrees in Bolinas! That’s unheard of. Stormsurf forecasted a local north wind swell of 5 ft at 9 seconds from 310 degrees, combined with a fading 2 ft south swell at 14 seconds from 175 degrees and a water temperature of 49 degrees. I knew the north swell was too north to reach into Bolinas, but a two-foot south swell could result in decent waves at the Patch. I didn’t surf at all last week due to the lack of swell and the big winds, which were normal for this time of year. Thus I was determined to go out day.

I stopped at Stinson to check the waves since it was high tide and the swell was small. I watched the lone surfer out there connect on a good shoulder-high wave and thought if Bolinas was flat I would return to Stinson.

As I pulled up to the parking area at Bolinas, the cars of several of the usual suspects were there: David who rides the Becker board, Mary, Hank, DB the Safeway checker, Frank the stand-up guy, Jacek the tattoo artist and Jack the Dave Sweet team rider. DB was coming up the ramp after her session with Jacek who had just checked out the waves. DB said it was fun and Jacek confirmed there was some small waves at the Patch and that he was suiting up to go out. Six surfers were out at the Patch as I walked down there to take some photos. The long, high quality rights impressed me – small, yes, but fun waves. Above is Mary and Hank sharing one of the fun ones.

When I first got out there, I set up on the north side of the peak to go for the lefts. I caught few and they were ok. Then I watched Jacek get one of his classic long rides; he took-off late, quickly cut right, glided under some white water sliding down in front of him, climbed back to the top of the swell, stepped to the nose and cruised all the way to the shore break. After seeing that I too drifted south to go for the rights, which were clearly better than the lefts. For the next hour I connected on one small clean right wave after another until I was thoroughly exhausted.

“Jacek how was your trip to San Diego? Did you get any waves?” Two weeks ago he told me about his planned trip down south to visit friends and to surf every day. Jacek lived in San Diego for several years before moving up here.

“I surfed three and a half hours with a friend at Cardiff by the Sea and then drove to Swami’s and went out there for another two hours,” he said with a big smile on his face. The big winds of last week blew out all the spots in San Diego, so he crammed a week’s worth of surfing into one day. Being several hours behind schedule, he jumped in the car and drove north on 101. He didn’t stop at VG’s Donuts as I had suggested. North of Los Angeles he cut down one of the canyons to check out Malibu. Now we’re talking about late afternoon. “I couldn’t believe it, hardly anyone was out. I went out and had a great time. It was my first time surfing Malibu. Afterwards I thought I was only an hour from Rincon and was tempted to surf in one day the three great point breaks of California – Swami’s, Malibu and Rincon.” But the late hour, reason and exhaustion convinced him to push on home.

“Rob, we have Malibu conditions this morning,” I greeted Rob, Mr. Malibu, as he paddled out at 10:30.

“Great,” he said and immediately turned his Pearson Arrow nose rider around and with two strokes glided into a nice three-foot glassy right wave. Rob sits inside and catches the smaller waves until the sets come, then he paddles out to meet them. He catches twice as many waves as I do. Skill in surfing is determined not by the number of hours in the water, but rather by the number of waves ridden, and thus Rob is honing his skills twice as fast as the rest of us. He agreed with me that the waves were good. Better than yesterday.

“So was it crowded yesterday?” I asked, thinking that a Sunday during a heat wave would results in wall-to-wall surfers in the water.

“There were hundreds of cars. They closed the parking lot at Stinson. The beach was crowded but not in the water. I came about three-thirty and there weren’t too many people out. I went down to the Groin and connected on several good lefts.”

This morning was a classic summer day for me. Hot weather, no wind, glassy surface, well-formed rights peeling at the Patch and only four surfers on the peak. It doesn’t get any better than this.

April 5, 2013 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:20 am to 10:40 am	2’ to 3’, sets to 4’
Mid dropping tide	NW cross breeze
Dense fog to overcast with light rain	Fun session

“Loren, don’t bother taking any pictures. You can’t see anything.” Russ greeted me at the base of the ramp, dripping wet with his big board in his hand and his paddle sticking in the sand. Russ was right I couldn’t see a thing – just a wall of white due to a dense fog.

“So how were the waves?”

“Good. I caught some good ones.”

“How big were they?”

“There’re waves. Some were shoulder high. The whole crowd is out at the Patch – Mary, Marty, David and Shu-Shu.”

I walked to the north edge of the seawall. Out of the whiteness I could the outline of the bluff, the downed tree and the shore break. I took two pictures just to historically record the conditions.

Jacek showed up. “Well?” he asked.

“Russ tells me there are waves, shoulder high, so I’m going.”

“Me too.”

Russ drove by while I was suiting up. “I’m going out because you said it was good,” I commented to him. “If it’s crappy, it will be your fault and you’ll be the subject of a future blog post.”

“Have a good time,” and off he drove. Fortunately Russ was right – the waves were good and I had a great time.

From the shore I couldn’t see anyone in the water. It was eerie paddling out. The whiteness shrouded out everything after the shore break. I paddled blindly towards where I knew the break was. After a few moments I saw a rider coming down a good inside wave. It was Shu-Shu. She cut back, let the inside curl build up and then turned into the shore break. I blindly continued paddling on and in a few more moments I encountered the crowd. It was like entering a room and I slowly continued until I could see everyone. There was Mary, Marty, Martha, David who rides the Becker board, Jacek the tattoo artist, Bill from Berkeley on his wave ski, Dexter the Bolinas local and DB the Safeway checker.

Since everyone was taking the rights, I had the lefts to myself. On my first wave I probably should have gone right, but I was anxious to go left, my comfortable side. I dropped down a fairly fast face, trimmed under the white water that was sliding down from the top of the wave, swung back into the swell and cruised. What a good ride; I knew I was into a good session. That was the first of a series of good left waves. I felt that I was back in the groove – climbing high in the curl, stepping to the middle of the board, crouching down and gliding across several steep faces. Near the end of my session I took a couple of rights and began working my way towards shore. Martha was on the inside connecting the good shore break right waves of Robinson’s Reef – named after the Robinson family (Martha, husband Jim and son Woody). Our tactic was to catch the waves over the Patch reef rocks and cruise right towards the sand south of the reef. When we connected the waves were great, but the wait between waves was long.

My last wave clobbered me. I connected on a good one over the rocks, was up early and quickly moving towards the shore break. My confidence was sky high; I was feeling like I was eighteen again, thus I was going to milk every inch of this wave. I pushed myself into the shore break and imagined myself running to the nose to trim across a fast shore break curl. The reality was I shuffled to the middle of the board and was caught in “no man’s land” when the wave sucked out; dry sand appeared below me and I free fell into six inches of water. I bounced off the top of my board, rolled spread-eagle off of it and bounced off the bottom. The wave was strong and threw me around under water and my board hit me in my calf. It hit me hard; reminding me that getting hit by your own board is the cause of most surfer injuries. When I surfaced the leash was wrapped twice around the tail of my board and I couldn’t get it loose. The next wave hit me and rolled me around some more. I had to pull the leash scrap off my ankle before I could stand up. Fortunately I was ok; but I was lucky.

To top off a fun session, I stopped at the Lunch Box in Stinson Beach and treated myself to my favorite sandwich, the BLT. I ate it driving over the mountain and stopped at the Bay Model in Sausalito to check out Surfrider’s Ocean Plastic Art Show. The show was opening tomorrow and it looked great.

It was just another beautiful morning in Marin.