March 28, 2011 Monday

Bolinas	Patch
9:20 am to 11:00 am	2' to 3', no sets
High dropping tide	Offshore breeze to no wind
Sunny and warm with high clouds	Fun session

The weather had changed. Today was sunny and warm, the first time in two weeks. Yesterday it rained all day, steady forty-five degree downpour. I stood at the overlook on Terrace Road enjoying the warm sun and the beautiful spray arching off the tops of the waves at the Patch due to an offshore breeze. There were no waves but that didn’t matter. The weather had changed and the Bolinas regulars were at the Patch to enjoy it. Mary, Ray the Petaluma fireman, Jaime the starving artist cartoonist, David who rides the Becker board, Hans and stand-up guys Russ and Frank were going for the barely breaking two to three-foot waves. I watched with camera at the ready for ten minutes, but nobody caught a wave. Then Hans, who was sitting way inside, caught a small right wave that he worked into a good shore break curl, just like he had done two weeks ago when I last saw him here. Mary connected on a waist high left and cruised over the shallow Patch reef for fifty yards. Jaime stroked into a slow mushy right that died after twenty yards. That did it, I had to go out; it was a beautiful day, I needed the exercise and my friends were out there.

I paddled out, chatted with Hans, waved to Frank and Russ who were heading in and continued out to the next peak to join Mary and Jaime. David was further out and north waiting for the Big One. It felt good to be back in the water. The view was spectacular, the hills were green due to the recent rains, spray was coming off the waves at the Channel and a huge container ship was on the horizon. I stroked into a decent left wave and traveled a long ways before it closed out over the shallow rocks. A few minutes later I connected on a long right. The waves were gentle and forgiving. No fear factor today and nothing trilling to write about.

Last week’s storms had removed a ton of sand from the beach. The top layer of loose small grain sand was gone leaving on the surface piles of small worn pebbles. Because the sand was gone, waves were breaking straight out from the ramp and all along the north seawall for the first time in two years. After thirty minutes, Mary and Jaime began working their way in and started trying for these shore-break waves. I paddled over to join them. The waves were walled and broke fast, but due to the offshore breeze they held up for a second or two before closing out. Mary and Jaime caught several of them and went on in. David came over to join me, and a few minutes later Sam stroked out on his brand-new board. For forty-five minutes the three of us had this peak to ourselves. Nothing spectacular but these small fast curls were fun. They had that classic surf-magazine look, blue-green walls, sunlight through the curls and spray coming off the tops. We dropped down numerous three-foot faces, cut right, held on for a couple of seconds until the waves collapsed in front of us just a few feet from dry sand.

Susan who always wears sunglasses in the water came out and did her normal routine of paddling out to the furthest peak and patiently waited for the Big One. After longs waits she managed to catch a couple. Then she made the half-mile paddle to the Channel. When I got out at the Patch, she was exiting the water at the Groin. I don’t know how she did on the waves there, but she definitely got her paddling exercise in for today. David had entered the water at 7:30 am and went out at the Channel. He then moved to the Groin and then made the long paddle to the Patch. He ended his session with Sam and I at the shore-break peak at the end of the north seawall, just another four-hour session. I don’t know how he does it.

“So what is your assessment of you new board?” I asked Sam after our session. “You certainly caught plenty of waves.”

“Great, it felt great!”

Sam had made this board and this morning was his first time using it. He had finished it a couple of weeks ago but due to poor surf conditions and lousy weather he hadn’t gone out. With the break in the weather Sam was determined to try his new board. Sam is a good craftsman. The board looked beautiful: a classic ten-foot longboard with three stringers, laminated wood tail block, wide rounded nose and three inches thick, a real paddling machine. He told me that he made it from a kit. He had buckled his old board at Ocean Beach and considered having a custom board made. But custom londboards with three stringers run from $1000 to $1200. Instead he located on the Internet a fiberglass company back east that offered kits for under $400. So he bought one. His biggest hassle was the shipping it, that cost him $100. Sam had done a super job and I’m sure it will last him for a long time.

After my session, I sat on the seawall soaking up the warm sun, sipping a coffee that I had bought in town, eating an apple, feeling good about the exercise and enjoying the first sunny morning in a long time.