March 4, 2011 Friday

Bolinas	Channel & Groin
9:15 am to 10:45 am	3' to 4', sets to 5'
Mid upcoming tide	No wind to slight NW breeze
Sunshine with a few high clouds	Fun session

What a difference a couple of days make. Last Wednesday Marty and I had to collect water samples for Surfrider’s water testing program and we were the only ones here. The wind was howling and the rain was blowing sideways. The storm started Tuesday afternoon and continued through Wednesday morning. The ocean was a mess with white caps and choppy seas that sent froth blowing up the ramp. This morning conditions were ideal: no wind, the seas had calmed down, the surface glassed off and consistent well-formed three to four-foot waves were coming through the Channel. Finally we had some decent weather and waves. February was one of the worst months on record for surf. Everyone was starved for some decent waves.

All the regulars were in the water when I arrived. Out at the Patch were Mary, Hans, Mark the archaeologist and Robert the Terra Linda carpenter. David who rides the Becker board, Marty, Novato Pete, Jacek the tattoo artist, Martha, Matt and stand-up surfer Russ were at the Groin. Ray the Petaluma fireman was on the Seadrift side of the Channel connecting on some decent right curls. He was the only one over there and he couldn’t understand why no one else was out there with him.

After the long wave dry spell of February, everyone complained about their arms being out of shape. Arms are the first body parts to go south due to inactivity. Ray’s arms were spent. He caught a good wave that took him all the way to shore on the Seadrift side of the Channel. He ended up in one foot of water, decided to call it a day and walked across the mouth of the lagoon instead of paddling back out to the line-up. Several times David commented that he was feeling it in his arms. But as usual he got his share of the waves. He started out on the Seadrift side, moved over to the Channel and ended up with me at the peak near the Groin wall. With my weak arms I paddled for and missed several waves. David didn’t; he caught everything he tried for and I don’t know how he does it. He complained about his arms being spent, but I didn’t see it. But he kissed it off after three hours instead of his usual four-hour session. Marty had to give it up after two hours due to exhausted arms and I was spent after one and a half hours.

I started feeling it when I first paddled out to the line-up. After a long ride all the way to inside the Groin wall, I struggled getting back out battling a continuous pounding of one wave after another. I commented to David about the effort to get back out. He too had just struggled to get back out. He reminded me that the tide had turned and we were battling the incoming flood tide as well as the short-period wind swells. I checked my navigational points on land and yes the current was strong and was pushing us south and in towards the lagoon.

The waves were good, not great, but good. But after our surf dry spell, we considered the waves great. Everyone caught several and felt good about the morning session. Jacek was out at the furthest peak at the Channel on a shortboard. I saw him catch a few. I was not paying attention but he went in and twenty minutes later came paddling back out on longboard. The man with the quiver had changed boards. I asked him about it, he quietly said he wanted to catch more waves, and catch waves he did. Three times I saw him screaming across head-high walls, crouched down mid-board, high in the curl tucked just below the lips of the waves.

On my best wave, I bellied down the face. I took off late and didn’t want to lose momentum by standing up so I remained prone. I dropped down a four-foot face, leaned my shoulder in the white water of the breaking wave, pushing left forcing myself back into the swell. I jumped up to my knees and then to my feet. While prone the view was spectacular; I watched the lip of the wave come over me. On I went all the way inside the Groin wall. What a great ride. I went up onto shore and walked around the wall to avoid paddling against the current in the impact zone.

After an hour and a half I was spent and called it a day. All of us felt good about our sessions, finally some decent weather, glassy conditions and consistent three to four-foot waves. Tomorrow another front with rain and south winds would come in and last until next Monday. The wave dry spell might just start up again.