September 3, 2010 Friday

Bolinas	Channel
9:20 am to 11:20 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
High dropping tide	Slight onshore breeze
High fog	Fun session

Twenty surfers were spread across the Channel at 8:30 in the morning. What gives? This is Bolinas, not Southern California. Friday before a three-day weekend drew a crowd. The regulars were out there: Mary, Marty, Mark the archaeologist, Novato Pete, Susan who always wears sunglasses in the water and Russ and Frank on their stand-up boards. Half were on the Groin side of the Channel for the lefts and the rest were on the Seadrift side going for the rights. The waves had the same great shape as Wednesday but were a little smaller.

Yesterday Marty sent out a glowing report of small, good waves on the Seadrift side, glassy conditions and a small crowd. His account got me excited for some good waves today. Surf forecasts on the Internet were so-so: 4 ft NW swell, no south swell, upcoming tide and little wind.

“The water is warm, 56 degrees,” David called to me as he rode by on his bicycle after his morning swim. Warm water was good news. David is an art teacher at the Bolinas School, sells concrete Buddha statues at the entrance to town and travels to Burma once a year for religious studies and to pick up statues. As he put to me a couple of weeks ago, David lives a simple life. Every morning, and I do mean every morning year-round, he rides his bike to the beach, strips down to his trunks and goes for a swim in the ocean, thus he is an expert on the temperature of the water. It wasn’t important that he was accurate. Last week he said it was 53 degrees. So today it was warmer. I thought it was closer to 60 degrees, similar to the warm water I felt last month in Ventura. The hot days heat up the water in the shallow lagoon and ebb flow at low tide drains it out to the Channel.

Marty, Mark and I sat at the apex of the peak at the Channel. The wait between sets seemed like an eternity. But when a set did arrive, four to five good waves would appear out of nowhere. Patience was the name of the game this morning. Tired of waiting, we would often move inside to catch the smaller waves; then a set would approach and we would be out of position. Despite all this moving around, all three of us managed to connect on some good waves.

“Mark what are you working on these days?” Mark does archaeological studies for a large engineering firm. His studies become part of the environmental impact reports for large construction projects.

“I’m still working on the Eureka airport thing.”

“You still writing the report?” Mark often surfs in the morning and then writes his reports at home.

“No, we’re wrapping it up. I have to meet with the FAA and some state agencies to get their concurrence.”

“Are the Native Americans fighting your study?” Mark’s studies report on digs at building sites for evidence of ancient Indian villages, especially burial grounds.

“No they are on my side. I have a good working relationship with them.” That was good news.

An older surfer paddled out. He was about my age, long graying hair, thin on top, big mustache, sun tan face and he knew what he was doing. A set came through, I paddled out to meet it and he stayed put. I turned, paddled hard for the first wave and missed it. He calmly waited and just before the wave broke he stroked twice, jumped up and flew down a four-foot wall.

“How’s your book coming?” Mark asked me.

“Good. I’m looking for an agent to help me sell it. Do you know any agents?”

“Only James Bond.”

“No, a literary agent.”

“You have written a book? What is it about?” The older surf paddled over to join our between sets conversation.

“Outsourcing.” I quickly explained about being laid off because my job was moved to India, how they had let us know four to six months in advance and about my keeping a journal and writing it up.

The older surfer had a similar tale about his job changing at a time when it was too late to switch to a new occupation. He was in the printing business and due to the Internet his business was drying up. They used to do two million pieces a year and last year they only did 65,000. He had graduated from Cal-Poly in graphic design and in his day Cal-Poly had a major printing facility. He went back recently and all the equipment was gone. The school now only has classes in packaging.

“You have to change your business plan, you know, reinvent yourself.”

“No way! I’m 63. I can’t reinvent myself. I’ll hang on a little longer and retire.”

He mentioned he grew up in the San Diego area and learned to surf down there.

“Where did you surf in San Diego?”

“A place called Swami’s.”

“Swami’s! I know Swami’s. I was just down there a couple of weeks ago. The SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP temple. I didn’t surf there but I did go out at Cardiff Reef.”

“I know Cardiff. There are so many good spots around there.” He ticked off a list of ten of them, places I never heard of and then commented on the crowded conditions and how nice it was here. He grew up on 4th Street in Encinitas Beach. Swami’s is located at the south end of Encinitas and Cardiff is a mile south of that.

“If you grew up there then you must know the best bakery in the world: VG’s Donuts and Bakery.” VG’s is located in Cardiff by the Sea.

“VG’s, of course I know VG’s! I love their donuts. We use to go there all the time.” Suddenly we had an instant bond. A bond not over a surf spot such as Cardiff, a favorite break for both of us, but rather over a donut shop; the best one on the California coast.

Meanwhile the waves were good, small, well formed and mellow. The weather was in transition. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year, today the temperature dropped ten degrees and the fog had returned. The NOAA weather radio had issued a fog alert for this morning, meaning low laying fog with visibility down to a hundred feet. It wasn’t that bad at Bolinas, but it was great to see that the fog, our old friend, the Bay Area Air Conditioner, had returned.