August 4, 2014 Monday

Bolinas	Channel
9:50 am to 11:10 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid outgoing tide	Slight onshore south breeze
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 60 degrees
Fog and drizzle to humid overcast	Exercise/fun session

Finally some rideable waves. July was a horrible month for surf, there wasn't any. The last time I was in the water was July 7th, 28 days ago. My arms and legs really felt it after such a long time of inactivity. Internet forecasts were not optimistic – 3.2 ft North swell at 8 seconds combined with a 1.5 ft south swell at 15 seconds. But the waves at the Channel looked good.

When I arrived at Bolinas, Martha's car was there with her board off the top of her car, meaning she was in the water and that was a good sign. She was at the Patch, the only one there, and no decent waves came through in the few minutes that I watched her. After her session, Martha stated she had fun. She had no expectations and discovered the waves were frequent and better than they looked.

Mary and Frank the stand-up guy were the only ones at the Channel. While standing there, a set of sizeable four footers came through. Then another set came through. That's Mary on one of them in the photo above. The waves were definitely bigger and more frequent at the Channel. Frank and Mary came in after that and now no one was in the water except one stand-up surfer at Seadrift.

"You either have an obligation this afternoon or the waves are lousy for you to be getting out so early." I greeted Mary.

"Hey I have been out since 7 am." It was now 9:00. She explained that she started out at the Patch, but it was terrible, she then paddled to Seadrift, which is a long paddle, and then ended up at the Channel. The waves were best at the Channel.

No one was at the Channel when I paddled out, but by the time I left the crowd had swelled to twelve. I didn't connect on any memorable rides and the waves deteriorated as the tide went out and the wind picked up. I did manage to get a couple of fun little lefts near the Groin wall. My main accomplishment was exercise, something I had not had in all of July. I exhausted my arms and legs, but my spirits were up. It sure felt good to be back in the water again.