Slept in (thanks to blackout shades at the Fairfield) and waited for the 12:30 high tide to drop. Surf check showed there was some power behind the forecasted 18-20s mild 1-2′ SSW/WNW swell coming in. Tomorrow’s supposed to be 3-4 WNW. Saw the brown-haired woman longboarder from last year catch several nice outside rides. The high tide wasn’t swamping out the sets nor making waves break too close to shore. Bigger, steady waves rolled in and people were catching good fast rights. We ate and suited up quickly to get out there. Max was on his blue 6’10” BFD Junod. I’m happily back on my 8′ Revolver after the one sesh on the 6’4″ Stoker. Realized that right now I just want to surf and catch waves vs. learn how to surf the shorter, thinner, smaller Stoker. Plus, more water moving around today with the increased period and I was glad to be on the Revolver. Paddled out with Max and just two kids out – the chatty kid from another time was out with a helmet on. First set wave that came through broke on the outside and I rolled to get under it. Hello, new building swell! At one point, it was just Max and I in the lineup. On a Sunday! Wore 5 mm booties and 3mm gloves today and wasn’t cold at all. Paddling is so much harder with my gloves on, though. Not sure what’s up with that. As the tide dropped, more surfers came out until after about 20 minutes, there were at least 10 guys out. Today’s sesh was such a mixed experience – got two good drops and long, swoopy rights. Just like those ones from September. Long, fast, memorable rides – the ones I’m always trying to get. The ones that make you feel like you’re really surfing. Love pulling up high to where the speed is, zipping along, turning to catch the next section. Had some wipeouts and missed waves. Had an airdrop on an outside wave, made the drop but then skitted off the back. That was the one that steeped up from the outside middle so I moved farther south towards the shoulder. But then the shoulder wasn’t quite breaking. Tricky. Seemed like if you were too at the peak, a sneaker outside set would inevitably come in, break on the outside and you’d be caught on the inside of a long wall of breaking wave and foam. I did catch a nice ride off one of those steep breaking foamy waves, though. Saw Max get a good one early on, saw his takeoff and his turn, then disappeared behind the wave. Near the end of the sesh, Max was more on the inside getting waves there and some surfer apparently ran over him and he could feel the fins across his back and head. No visible injuries but he went into the beach to sit for a bit. So glad he’s ok. I wasn’t getting many at that point. Distracted by the crowd. Got a wave finally, but then slipped and wiped out while on the same wave as previously-overly-chatty (Manresa, OB, physical therapist) guy. Went in a bit womped. In spite of some rough ones and feeling slightly out of sync, gotta remember the good ones!
#290 / 1:20pm / 4′ dropping / 8′ Revolver
[Santa Cruz Afternoon Regional Update: It’s a mix of long-period WNW swell, old/easing NW windswell and small SSW swell this afternoon. Exposed breaks see chest-head high waves, while top spots go overhead on the best of sets. Shape is a bit soft/warbly at report time as the tide just hit a 4.21′ HIGH at 12:41pm. There’s also some SW wind along with a light bump/crumble to the ocean surface. Tide drops through the afternoon/evening.]
1-2′ @ 20s
1ft at 12s SSW (196°)
1ft at 18s WNW (283°)
1ft at 14s WNW (289°)