June 2, 2011 Thursday

Bolinas	Channel
9:50 am to 11:50 am	Consistent 3', sets to 4', occasional 5'
Low upcoming tide	Onshore breeze
Overcast with light rain	Good session

“Hey Loren, check this out.” It was Dexter showing me his latest wound. He held his hand up to my face so that I could get a good view of the ten Frankenstein size stitches at the base of his thumb.

“How did that happen?”

“I got hit by a set of fins. Some kid took off right in front of me when he should of never had taken off.” Dexter was paddling out when the kid caught a head high wave five feet in front of him. Dexter bailed off his board and put his hands in front of his face for protection. The board’s three fins hit Dexter in his hands, slicing his thumb and putting a major bruise on his arm. His thick 5 – 4 wetsuit saved him from having his arm slashed open also.

“Where did this happen?”

“The Hook.” The break at the end of 41st Avenue in Santa Cruz is known as The Hook. It is the next point south of Pleasure Point and is also a popular (that means crowded) surf location. Dexter had been spending a lot of time in Santa Cruz, so much so that the locals had adopted him as one of their own. Of course the doctor told Dexter to stay out of the water, but a few stitches were not going to keep him from surfing.

“Look, I put a surgical glove over the stitches, wrap it with duct tape and wear a surf glove over it. That keeps it dry.”

“Of course you’re not worried about the seal shit, the otter piss and the raw sewage that’s in the water at Santa Cruz.”

“That’s right. I don’t worry about it.”

I was suiting up while chatting with Dexter. I hadn’t surfed in ten days and was anxious to get out there. Stormsurf’s swell #2S (meaning second major south swell of the season) arrived Tuesday, peaked on Wednesday and was going to hold through the weekend. Monday was Memorial Day, a holiday, so I stayed home. On Tuesday the rain and wind hit the coast, and I knew it was going to be terrible, but being the eternal optimist I loaded up the car and drove to Bolinas. I was right, it was terrible, and no one was there. I purchased a coffee and drove home. Wednesday I was hopeful. The south swell was going to peak and besides I had to collect water samples for Surfrider’s water testing program. Coming down the Panoramic Highway I passed four cars with boards on the roof going the other way. Not a good sign. Creighton went by, I recognized his green truck. He often surfs early before going to work. Maybe he went out this morning. Then Jacek the tattoo artist drove by. He takes surfing serious and if conditions aren’t just right he will sit in his car and wait for conditions to improve (tide, wind, swell or whatever). Or he takes off for other beaches searching for better waves. With him driving in the wrong direction that meant Bolinas was not up to his standards. Then David who rides the Becker board drove by; that did it, Bolinas must be terrible. The surf fanatic, who goes out for four hours regardless of conditions, was driving home at 8:15.

At Stinson Beach the rain started. By the time I put on my booties and waded out into the water to collect a water sample the rain turned into a downpour. The surface was peppered with sheets of raindrops. At Bolinas, Marty had already taken a water sample, and we walked into town for a coffee and then headed home.

This morning the Internet data looked promising: 3.6 ft south swell at 17 seconds and a NW wind at 5 knots. I had to go. Four surfers were at the Channel including David, Paul and two others. The low tide made for small fast peeling left waves, maybe a little too fast. I didn’t see any decent rides from the crew in the water. At the Patch, four standup guys and one prone surfer sat way beyond the exposed outside rock. The waves were bumpy, confused and all over the place. The prone surfer was Jacek and I waited patiently to get a picture of him. He caught three waves, all of them small, mushy and slow. It didn’t look inviting.

Then the rain came. I tucked my camera under my sweatshirt and headed back to the car. I decided to wait to see if the rain would let up. The tide was coming up thus the waves should improve (eternal optimist again). I read two New York Times articles on my iPhone while listening to the rain pelt the windshield. After twenty minutes it let up. I walked through a light sprinkle to the overlook above the Groin. Six surfers were now at the Channel and the waves had improved. Jacek, who had paddled from the Patch to the Channel, stroked into a four-foot wall, cleanly cut left and cruised down a long well formed curl; that did it, I was going.

The waves were peeling left with speed and power. With good wave selection I managed to connect of five fast long rides. The waves were consistent and the sets were frequent. I was constantly moving: catching waves, paddling back out, turning around and doing it again. Jacek also connected on several long fast waves. Jeff the Dillon Beach boat mechanic joined us. I had not seen him in a long while. He told me that as usual his business was up and down. The cold weather did not help him. I watched him connect on a good four-foot left. He stroked into it late, coasted over the edge, jumped up to a crouch, grabbed the outside rail and dropped down a fast steep curl. On he went, calmly cruising left with his back to the wave until it closed out on the inside.

Two younger surfers who I had never seen before paddled out to the far Channel peak. I could tell by how they glided through the water that they knew what they were doing. Both had no gloves, booties or leashes. One rode a vintage Yater glassed on single fin board. The other had a modern Dewey Weber longboard. These two dominated the peak. They could see the sets coming, quickly paddle to the peak, swing around, and stroke with great speed into every wave that they tried for. I had to maneuver around them and wait until they took off before I could catch a wave. But despite this I caught plenty of waves.

After two hours I was exhausted, invigorated, cold, hungry and glad I went out.