August 13, 2014 Wednesday

Bolinas	Patch
10:45 am to 12:15 am	Consistent 3', sets 4', occasional head high
Mid upcoming tide	Slight onshore breeze
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 62 degrees
Overcast to patchy sunshine	Good session

In an email yesterday, Jack wrote - "See you tomorrow... 11 am."

That did it, I was going. The surf has been "iffy" for the last couple of months. I went to Bolinas last Monday, it was flat and I didn't bother going out. I was undecided about today, but Jack's note pushed me into it. Jack's an excellent surfer who has been surfing for over fifty years. He knows conditions and he only surfs on upcoming tides. He schedules his week around raising tides. I checked the Tidelog for August 13 – 1.1 ft low tide at 7:51 to a 6.1 ft high tide at 2:39 pm. Thus 11 am was exactly mid-tide. When I arrived at Bolinas at 10 am, no body was in the water and the waves were flat. Hank had just finished his session and said only a few small ones came through at the end. I took a few photos of the empty waves at the Patch and the Channel to capture conditions. Jack was already suiting up when I came up the ramp. He hadn't even bothered to check the waves – he was going out no matter what.

You know what? Jack was right. We hit a window of good waves. They started at 11 am and continuously kept coming until 12:30 when the fast raising tide killed them. For an hour and a half Jack and I and a few others scored on one long right peeling wave after another. We took off at the furthest peak, dropped into well-formed curls and rode them all the way to shore. We would then make the long paddle back to the outside peak and within a couple of minutes would do it again.

Jack was in good form as usual. That's him in the photo above from last Wednesday (Aug 6). Today he scored several similar waves. I followed his lead. He would sit at the furthest peak, just a little on the north side of the Patch reef at the point where the waves first broke. From there I could go either right or left, though most waves broke better to the right. On one left I managed to climb high in the curl, step within a couple feet from the nose and work the board up and down the face. I loved the lefts but after I drove through the middle of fifteen surf school campers, I had to stop.

Dan H. was out there when I arrived at the line-up. While paddling out after a good one, I watched him hum down a perfectly formed right curl to the shore. After a half hour Rob, Mr. Malibu, paddled out with his 8-year old son. Rob walked the nose Mickey Dora style on one two-foot wave after another. Following in father's steps, his son scored on some fast inside shore break curls. Back at the cars after my session I met Martha who went out to the Groin and had a fun session. The window of waves appeared there also and died at about the same time as the Patch. Bill from Berkeley told the same story.

While suiting up, Oliver, who I have not seen in years, stopped by. Oliver used to be the manager of the German Hiking Club on Mt. Tam and lived on the premises with his wife. Three years ago they moved to Petaluma when his wife became pregnant. He introduced me to his curly haired three-year old son who was tagging along behind him. Though he hasn't surf much lately he was out there at the Channel this morning and had a fun time.

At 12:30 Jack came by after his session to let me know that "the window had closed." Too much water from the high tide and the waves had died. Thanks to Jack, our timing was perfect. 

August 8, 2014 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 10:45 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid upcoming tide	Slight NW breeze
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 65 degrees
Overcast to patchy sun – fog on the horizon	Fun session

I had high expectation for waves today. Last Wednesday was fun due to a decent south swell that had just arrived. The swell peaked yesterday and was still running today – 5 ft north wind swell combined with a 2.2 south swell at 15 seconds. I got up early, packed the car and was on the road by 7:15. When I arrived at Bolinas all the parking spots at the tennis court on Brighton Ave were taken, except one, a good sign that there were waves.

Several of our crew was out there today. All were starved for waves after the total lack of surf for the whole month of July and with the first sign of some decent waves everybody came.

Martha with her new Dewey Weber board was coming down the ramp after I had checked the waves.

"Which way?" she asked referring to the Channel or the Patch.

"That way," I said pointing to the Patch.

I asked her about her trip to Maui. Today, as we spoke, Hurricane Iselle was hitting the big island of Hawaii and was forecasted to move onto the other islands. Behind Iselle was Hurricane Julio that was predicted to pass by the north side of the islands next week. These storms had formed two pulses of south swells for California. They had formed off the coast of Mexico and then turned NW to march across the Pacific to Hawaii. Fortunately, Martha's trip was in two weeks, so they were going after these storms. That's Martha paddling into a small one at the Patch in the photo above.

Doug was at his car changing after his session when I pulled up. He went to the Seadrift side of the Channel and connected on some excellent rights.

Larry, Russ the stand-up guy's brother, also went to Seadrift. At first the tide was too low and the waves were just dumping over in shallow water. They improved as the tide came up and the water filled in.

Jack the Dave Sweet team rider was walking the nose on two-foot curls on the inside rights at the Patch.

So was Rob, Mr. Malibu. He was hanging five on these perfectly peeling two-foot curls. I watched him milk one all the way into shore, paddle back out and immediately turn around and do it again. His board looked different to me. No he told me, he had patched it and he had ordered a new board  – another Pearson Arrow, the ones he always buys. The new one will have more nose-riding area; can you imagine that? Coming from a guy who is on the nose on every wave.

Mary was exiting the water as I was walking toward the Patch with my board. She was at the middle peak (the one by the outside rock) and had a good session.

DB the Safeway checker and Francine were at Ladies Left, the peak north of the Patch reef. Both of them caught several waves.

Robert the carpenter who now lives in Terra Linda was also out there connecting on his share of long rides. I asked him how work was going. He was doing fine and was about to start a new project. The recession had hit most of the construction guys hard, but not Robert. He was already on a major project in the wine country of Sonoma when the crash hit. This big house job lasted for two years, carrying Robert through the recession.

Julie the Bolinas local who works in the planning department of Mill Valley paddled out on her beautiful new blue and white longboard. Today was her birthday and she was taking the day off. She loved her new board and connected on several good waves.

Robyn from Fairfax joined us at middle peak. I had not seen her in a couple of years. I asked about her family and her kids. Her son was about to enter UCSB, my alma mater. She was curious about her son having a couple of longboards in the dorm. Being a big university with hundreds of surfers, I was sure that this issue had been worked out.

Dan, another Bolinas regular who I had not seen in months, was out at the Patch. I asked him about Dan Jr. who graduated from UC San Diego and who is an excellent surfer. Dan Jr. was in his third year as a lifeguard for the county of San Diego and has a new daughter, Dan's first grandchild.

What a great day – finally some fun waves, beautiful weather and a ton of friends in the water. 

August 6, 2014 Wednesday

Bolinas	Patch
10:30 am to 11:45 am	2' to 3', occasional 4'
High dropping tide	No wind to slight onshore breeze
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 62 degrees
Overcast early to patchy sun	Fun session

Happy birthday to Jack the Dave Sweet team rider (age 70) and Russ the stand-up guy (age 68). Again the Bolinas Surf clan gathered to celebrate our brethren.

Check out the attendees in the photo above (from left to right): Larry (Russ' brother), DB the Safeway checker, Ann from Bolinas (Jack's friend), Jack, Russ, Susan without her sunglasses, Mary, Frank the stand-up guy, Don from Bolinas (Ann's husband), and Steve the Bolinas local.

Again congrats and thanks to Susan for putting on a superb spread: home made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, a big plate of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, one gallon of Starbucks dark roast coffee and a quart of orange juice. Jack's wife provided a tray of sliced fruits – strawberries, cherries, cantaloupe and watermelon.

Again we scheduled the gathering at 9 am – that time period between the dawn patrollers and us of the gentlemen's hours. But today I was the only one on gentlemen's hours. Everyone else was in the water early and came in for our celebration.

"Susan, the cake is great. Is it Betty Crocker?"

"Betty Crocker?!" she responded with some force. "No way. I made that from scratch." Later on Susan explained that she had Googled "the world's best chocolate cake recipe," and up popped the one she used, a dark chocolate cake.

Again, everyone ate well, had a good time and agreed that we should do this more often.

The surf at the Patch was good and conditions were ideal – consistent 2 to 4-foot right peeling lines, no wind to light onshore breeze, smooth surface to slightly textured and only a few people out. Stormsurf.com explained that two storms (a hurricane and a tropical gale) south of Mexico had turned northwest towards Hawaii and were sending two pulses of south swell our way. The first arrived this morning, would peak tomorrow and fade over the weekend. The second would show up early next week. We were looking at a consistent string of 2 to 4-foot lines hitting the Patch for the next seven days. Today's prediction was 2-foot south swell at 15 seconds. Mary, Jack and Larry were on them this morning before our celebration. I watched Mary connect on one at the furthest peak and continuously stayed locked in the curl all the way to the shore. Jack did the same on his last ride. He loved the inside rights. He was on them for three hours yesterday and for three hours this morning.  

"Loren, my board will be shaped today," Jack greeted me as he exited the water.

"You're getting a new board?"

"Yes. John told me he would shape it today?"

"John?"

"John Moore," he responded. John is Mystic Surfboards and the former owner of the 2-Mile Surf Shop. "It will be a Patch board. One especially made for the Patch: 9' 6" in length, 3.25 inches thick, 23 inches wide, 19 inches in the nose and a 7 inch square tail. I need something that will get me into the waves early."

"Thus one with little rocker, a paddling machine?"

"Yes, and you should get a new board also." Jack had finished his painting job in Bolinas, had been paid and was treating himself to a new board. It should be ready by the end of August and he promised to let me try it out.

I had a ball out there today. I brought my bigger board, the 9' 4" Becker, which is longer, wider and lighter than my Haut. I immediately felt the difference in paddling speed and caught a ton of waves in the 90 minutes. Earlier I saw the surf campers heading our way. "Oh no! I just got out here," I said to myself. Fortunately the instructor took them to the north side of the reef – where the little kids had a great time. Steve from Encinitas, another surfer and I were the only ones on the inside right peeling peak for over an hour. We shared wave after wave.

When I left at noon it was sunny and warm. I had that surfing glow from vigorous exercise and the prospects for the next few days looked good. I bought Kate some flowers at the Farm Stand and listened to classic surf music from my iPod as I took in the sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean at the top of the Panoramic Highway. It was a great day.

Click on the link below to view this morning's photos.

Bolinas Aug 6 2014

August 4, 2014 Monday

Bolinas	Channel
9:50 am to 11:10 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid outgoing tide	Slight onshore south breeze
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 60 degrees
Fog and drizzle to humid overcast	Exercise/fun session

Finally some rideable waves. July was a horrible month for surf, there wasn't any. The last time I was in the water was July 7th, 28 days ago. My arms and legs really felt it after such a long time of inactivity. Internet forecasts were not optimistic – 3.2 ft North swell at 8 seconds combined with a 1.5 ft south swell at 15 seconds. But the waves at the Channel looked good.

When I arrived at Bolinas, Martha's car was there with her board off the top of her car, meaning she was in the water and that was a good sign. She was at the Patch, the only one there, and no decent waves came through in the few minutes that I watched her. After her session, Martha stated she had fun. She had no expectations and discovered the waves were frequent and better than they looked.

Mary and Frank the stand-up guy were the only ones at the Channel. While standing there, a set of sizeable four footers came through. Then another set came through. That's Mary on one of them in the photo above. The waves were definitely bigger and more frequent at the Channel. Frank and Mary came in after that and now no one was in the water except one stand-up surfer at Seadrift.

"You either have an obligation this afternoon or the waves are lousy for you to be getting out so early." I greeted Mary.

"Hey I have been out since 7 am." It was now 9:00. She explained that she started out at the Patch, but it was terrible, she then paddled to Seadrift, which is a long paddle, and then ended up at the Channel. The waves were best at the Channel.

No one was at the Channel when I paddled out, but by the time I left the crowd had swelled to twelve. I didn't connect on any memorable rides and the waves deteriorated as the tide went out and the wind picked up. I did manage to get a couple of fun little lefts near the Groin wall. My main accomplishment was exercise, something I had not had in all of July. I exhausted my arms and legs, but my spirits were up. It sure felt good to be back in the water again. 

July 7, 2014 Monday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 10:30 am	3' to 4', sets head high
High tide (3.6 ft at 8:30 am)	Stiff onshore (south) wind
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 57 degrees
Overcast – June gloom	Exercise session

Check out the photo above – a flag on the cliff above the Patch blowing straight out.

All the elements had come together but one – Wind.

• Swell: 3' to 4' ft south at 16 seconds,
• Tide: moderate high tide (3.6 ft at 8:30 am),
• Weather: high cloud cover resulting in reasonable air temperature,
• Crowd: low, four at the Channel and 10 spread across the Patch,
• Wind: out of control south onshore blast.

Stormsurf labeled this south swell 2S, which arrived on the 4th of July, meaning the second major south swell on the season. South swells come right into south facing Bolinas. The tide was high enough to cover all the rocks of the Patch reef and put plenty of water into the waves. The weather in the rest of the Bay Area, including Mill Valley, was in a heat wave. Bolinas was a desirable exception at a mild 65 degrees. Only a few bodies were in the water, but the wind screwed it all up.

Doug, Ray the retired Petaluma fireman and Jack the Dave Sweet rider claimed that earlier the surf was great before the wind arrived. Jack was in the water at first light at 5:30 am. The wind had suddenly picked up and that did it. Given the decent size swells rolling in and the ugly chop, the Patch had that "Victory at Sea" look.

Why did I go out? I don't know. The wind spun me around carrying my board down the ramp. Exercise! That was why I went out. I didn't catch any waves worth talking about but I did burn up a ton of calories. Others out there were: David who used to ride the Becker board, Hank, Martha and Jim on their new Dewey Weber boards, and Bill from Berkeley. 

June 30, 2014 Monday

Bolinas	Patch
10:30 am to 12 noon	2', sets to 3', occasional 4'
Mid upcoming tide	NW cross breeze to no wind
Air temp: 65 degrees	Water temp: 57 degrees
Sunny with high clouds	Fun session

Birthday Tribute to Mary

Susan who always wears sunglasses in the water organized a birthday celebration for Mary, which turned out to be a gathering of our surf tribe. Susan set the time for 9:00 am, that period of overlap between the dawn patrollers and us of the gentlemen's hour.

Attendees: in the photo above (left to right) Creighton, Walt the photographer, Mary, Susan who always wears sunglasses, Frank the stand-up guy, Hank, Jack the Dave Sweet team rider, and Larry brother of Russ the other stand-up guy.

Other attendees: Martha with her new Dewey Weber board and Hans who just had his car broken into twice in the last two weeks.

Susan went all out. Check out the spread in the photo – foldout picnic table, two colorful table cloths with maps of California, two gallons of Starbuck's coffee and two homemade coffee cakes (blueberry and sugar), orange juice and bananas. With a lot of chatter about birthdays and age, the crew had their fill and cleared the table of all its goodies. General consensus was that we should have these gatherings more often. Happy birthday Mary and thank you Susan for putting it together.

"Check the calendar and check your watch, there has been a Jack sighting!"

I spotted Jack the Dave Sweet team rider coming up the ramp from checking out the waves shortly before the birthday celebration for Mary. I had not seen him in months. Per Jack a combination of lousy surf, fishing trips and a bad tendon in his shoulder had kept him out of the water. A small deck varnishing job for a friend, good weather and Mary's birthday had brought him back to Bolinas.

Over coffee cake we discussed the Kahuna Kapuna surf contest, the annual older guys contest held at Linda Mar in Pacifica. A few years ago, Jack talked me into entering the contest with him, which I did, and for three years in row we were there. We were in the same age group (65 to 69 year-olds) and were guaranteed a trophy because only five guys were in that age group. Neither one of us entered the contest last year or this year. Jack felt he was screwed out of first place by the local bias of the judges and thus didn't want anything more to do with these guys, and I wasn't going the enter if Jack was not there. Today we had a change of heart. Jack will soon turn 70 and so will I in May, thus we vowed to enter next year's contest because we would be the "young guns" in the 70 to 75 age group. Wish us luck!

After loading up on caffeine and sugar, Jack, Martha, Hans and I headed out to the Patch for a few waves. Fortunately the waves were good, especially the inside rights – a good time was had by all. 

June 27, 2014 Friday

Bolinas	Channel
10:00 am to 11:00 am	2', occasional '3
Mid upcoming tide	Stiff NW cross breeze
Lifting fog to sunny with high clouds and fog on the horizon	Exercise session

Wimpy waves with no size and no push – by the time I got up the ride was over. In an hour I caught four to six waves and only stood up on two of them. The rest I rode on my knees – leaning on the nose to stay in them.

I should have gone to the Patch. I spent a long time trying to decide where to go. Monday and Wednesday I had fun sessions at the Channel when a three foot 15 second south swell was creating some nice peeling lefts at the Channel. The south swell was still in and the sets looked good. The Patch showed promise. Mary and Mark had gone to Ladies Left (north of the Patch reef) and connected on a few good, long rides. Martha and Susan who always wears sunglasses in the water were heading out there. Bill from Berkeley had just exited the water carrying his wave ski.

"Where did you go?" I asked.

"All over. I started at the Patch and there were some good ones and then it died. I paddled over the Channel and then to Seadrift. Seadrift is your call."

That did it; I headed in that direction and paddled out to the furthest peak at the Channel. I didn't want to make the long paddle to Seadrift. The waves were frustrating and slow. I spent 30 minutes paddling around before I caught a wave. On Wednesday my hands froze, so today I wore my gloves – good move.

After our sessions, Martha claimed the Patch was good at first and then it died. "The last twenty minutes I just sat there."

When I entered the water Professor Steve got out and sat on the beach to watch his nine-year-old son Johnny, who is quickly learning how to surf. When I exited the water, Steve was still sitting there and Johnny was still in the water near the Groin pole going for the Malibo rights. I saw him connect on a good one. He took off by the pole, pushed into a right curl, jumped up and trimmed mid-board across the face of a long right peeling wave, and on he went until it collapsed on the sand at the entrance to the lagoon.

Steve and I chatted about the latest Shakespeare performances. He is a tenured professor of Shakespeare and poetry at Mills College. Both of us had read the New York Times review of Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth, currently playing in New York – a graphic production staged in a warehouse where the audience sits on a battlefield of dirt and fake blood flies into the crowd during battle scenes. It sounded great and we would love to see it. Steve is into all the Shakespeare movies; in fact in his course this past year he incorporated several movies and led discussions on the directors' interpretations of the plays.

The fog had lifted and the sun was out when I headed for home. The surf was lousy, but the scenery was good and the exercise and companionship were excellent.