October 24, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 10:30 am	3' to 4', sets to 4'
High tide - 5.6 ft	Onshore breeze
Sunny and warm	Fun session

“Man, this sure beats sitting at a computer watching the market go down.”

An older surfer (about my age) who I had seen in the water several times before made this comment as we sat outside at the Patch waiting for the next set. The country’s financial crisis was in full swing and the stock market was in steep decline. It was a sunny and warm morning and consistent three to four foot, long, gentle waves were coming through at the Patch, producing mellow conditions and a perfect way to forget about the economic meltdown.

Good weather and a new combination of northwest and south swells on a Friday attracted a crowd. Per the surf websites, a north 5.6 foot swell at 12 seconds combined with a south 2.0 foot at 14 seconds to create nice long lines. A big crowd was at the Groin, including Lou the boogie boarder and Doug.

I decided to go to the Patch where the crowd was smaller and several of my friends were there. Mary greeted me when I paddled outside. Cathy from the Russian River was out there on her 10’ 6’’ tanker. Jim said hello.

Hank from Mill Valley was sitting way outside as he always does. I saw him earlier sitting in his car. I tapped on the window; he lowered it, “You going out?” I asked. “Yes, as soon as I get off the phone.” He was juggling work and surfing, squeezing in a few messages before heading out. Hank’s technique was to wait for the biggest sets. He sat and sat; I thought he was nuts, but finally a set of four foot waves came through, Hank connected with the biggest one and cruised down a long right swell. When he paddled back out he commented about how great it was to have the Patch breaking again, which has been flat for the last few months.

Later I paddled over to the guy who commented that he would rather be here than watching the market to decline. “Are you a broker?” I asked.

“I used to have a seat on the Pacific Stock Exchange,” he replied. “It closed in 2001 and I’m been on my own since then. But now the big money guys are manipulating the market.”

“Manipulating the market? How?” I asked.

“Bargains are out there. Last week I bought into a company whose stock was at an all time low. The company is sound, plenty of cash, pays big dividends and was about to announce strong earnings per share,” he stated with emphasis. “But the share price declined! How do you figure?” The old rules and guidelines for investing, the ones he had followed for years, no older apply.

I agreed with him that this beautiful morning, warm sunshine and mellow waves were the best formula for getting one’s mind off the crumbling economy.