September 2, 2011 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 10:30 am	3' to 5', sets overhead
Low upcoming tide	Slight onshore breeze to no wind
Low fog to sunny and warm	Good session

After yesterday's good session I knew the word would be out on the Internet. The south swell was peaking today, the wind had dropped and everybody knew it. I emailed Marty to be there early due to the crowds, even though the low tide would turn at 8:30 and the waves would be better two hours later with the upcoming tide. The buoys reported an incredible 5 ft south swell (190 degrees) at 20 seconds. Let me summarize: biggest south swell in years on a Friday before a three-day holiday with lots of sunshine in the forecast - yes it would be crowded.

All the parking places around the tennis court at Bolinas were taken at 8 am. I drove around the block and ended parking halfway to the post office and I didn't recognize any of the cars. Twelve surfers were bunched at one peak between the Groin and the Channel. From the overlook, I could see lines of swell marching in. The surfers struggled to get into the waves - they were hard to catch. When they did stroke into these walls, they would drop down overhead faces and would immediately be buried in a ton of white water. In the ten minutes I stood there, I didn't see any one get a decent ride.

Thirty surfers - that's right 30, I counted them - were spread across the Patch. The swell was definitely in and had cleaned up from yesterday. From Terrace Road, I could barely see the furthest group of surfers - specks on the horizon. I estimated they were at least 500 yards out to sea. A big set came through and these lines of water filled the horizon. I watched two brave souls streak down an overhead peak. The waves were big, fat, clean and rideable - no bump like yesterday. Mary and Jaime the starving artist cartoonist were at the middle peak half way out there. I watched both of them connect on overhead waves. The waves were "soft" meaning flat on the take-offs and forgiving, and would reform on the inside for a second nice curl. My strategy was set - I would head for the middle peak to join Jaime and Mary.

While suiting up, Doug drove by, stopped and rolled down his window to say hello. "Doug, this weekend is do or die for the Giants. They have to sweep the Diamondbacks." Doug is a big Giants fan.

"You got that right." He shook his head in frustration, the Giants were sinking like a stone and the D-Backs were coming on strong.

"Doug, where did you go out?"

"I went out at the Channel, caught two great lefts and that was it. I was the first guy out there - I had it all to myself. After my second good wave, I looked at the beach and I swear ten shortboarders were paddling out. I moved over to the Seadrift side to join Creighton. These huge waves were coming through and breaking in one foot of water. Well, I would like to stay longer but I have to go to work." Doug had retired from thirty years of teaching a couple of years ago, but continues doing small construction jobs and off he drove.

The middle peak was a long ways out there. I had to entered the water at the first seawall instead of at the Patch reef due to the big shore break. I paddled out to join David who rides the Becker board, Mark the archaeologist, Martha, Rob from Dogtown and numerous others who I didn't recognize. Yesterday's strategy of catching the white water and working the waves while they reformed didn't work today - I couldn't push into the reformed waves. I watched Martha stroke into the initial break of a wave at the middle peak. She turned into a nice right curl, cutback, let the wave build up and swung right again into a fast curl.

"That's how it is done." I moved over to join her and immediately caught a good left with a decent curl. On my next wave Martha and I collided. I was sitting at the middle peak watching an approaching swell build. It jumped up and was about to break. I quickly turned around, stroked into it, turned left and here was Martha coming right. We hit - the nose of my board went over the top of hers. The boards became entangled and I dove over the top of them. Fortunately, no harm no foul. I had decided to go for a wave at the very last instance without looking around and didn't see Martha going for the same wave. For the rest of the session I paid close attention to what was going on around me.

A few minutes later Mark and I score on a good wave together. We took off on the same peak; I went left and Mark went right. I sped down a head-high curl toward the breaking part of the wave, and swung around right into a reforming steep right curl. Mark was ten yards in front of me, the wave broke in front of me and Mark continued in the curl. I swung around left into a nice reforming left curl and worked that curl until it broke on shore. Mark did the same on the right side. I ended up in waist high water fifteen feet from shore and looked for Mark - he was twenty yards south in knee high water carrying his board to begin the long paddle out to the line-up, how about that - two long rides on one well-formed wave.

Like yesterday, the stand-up surfers were having a field day. From a distance I watched one guy stroke out on his knees. I knew I had seen him before. He was the one with the Hawaiian style and who was good. As I got closer I knew it was him. Pure Hawaiian, he was on his knees, butt resting on his heels, hand firmly positioned just above the head of the paddle, three strokes on one side, then switch hands and three strokes on the other side. The guy caught everything he went for, cruised down the faces, cutback, turned back into the wave, cut up and down the face and crouched down mid-board to shoot through the curls. He was the furthest one out there and caught at lease one if not two waves of every set. I sat there and admired his big drops, sweeping turns and locked in the curl rides. Twice he hung five - true hanging five with toes (he didn't wear booties) wrapped over the nose of his board - which was not easy to do on a thick stand-up board.

After surfing two hours yesterday and one and a half hours today, my arms were spent. Both sessions required a lot of paddling - long paddle out to the middle peak, long paddles back out to the line-up and continuous moving around to position for the peaks. While I rested between sets I looked around. "This is ideal," I thought - warm sunny day, no wind, warm water, and a five foot twenty second south swell rolling in. It doesn't get any better than this.