thesurfbot

Surprisingly fun surf today in spite of wind and mixed swell. There was a bit of chop but I got some fun waves in the mix. Last week was busy and before that, the Bay area had a week of rain and wind. I was jonesing for surf and even today’s mediocre conditions made me super stoked. Low expectations are awesome that way. Max tried out my 10′ board and was having a good time and his shoulder injuries may be fully recovered (fingers crossed)! Afterwards, I brought my Harbour over to Dan to check out a pressure ding and slight crack on the back of the board. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to fix, but in the meantime, it might be fun to try Max’s 9′ Harbour Banana or my old Mitsu.

#150 / 2pm

[3-4 ft waist to chest high occ. 5 ft. POOR TO FAIR CONDITIONS.REGIONAL SUMMARY: This afternoon a WNW groundswell holds steady with the better exposures generally in the chest-shoulder-head high range, as some sets hit up to a couple of feet overhead at top exposures. Light onshore winds in the early afternoon for mainly clean to textured conditions.]

Tyler Warren on a 4’10 mini Simmons.

Fun left. Photo by Max.

So much fun today! Felt like SoCal. Not only was it perfect, mellow, knee to chest-high waves and a clean 12 seconds west, I finally got my rhythm back. Waves were nonstop on the south end. Even though the lineup and beach were packed on a sunny warm Saturday, once I paddled out, I found a sweet spot (in front of the “river”) where it was just myself, two longboarders and a SUP. There were plenty of waves to go around. Lost track of how many fun rides I had. So stoked. Max is resting his shoulder/trapezoid and took the photos from the beach. Wish he had been able to surf today. He would’ve loved it.

Small, sweet right. Photo by Max.

#149 / 3pm

[3-4 ft + waist to shoulder high. FAIR CONDITIONS. REGIONAL SUMMARY: WNW(280-300) groundswell on the fade today but still offering up plenty of decent-sized waves for exposed areas. Head high to overhead+ waves show early, while top breaks can occasionally see sets to nearly double overhead. Expect these sizes to wind down as we move through the day. Offshore wind early for smooth, clean conditions.]

Beautiful conditions today. It was about waist-high with light offshore winds and no closeouts! It was a welcome sight. While we were suiting up, I spotted a section that broke left and lined up near TB, but I never managed to catch one of those. I did get a fun left a bit farther south. Today was another milestone in Max’s return as he managed to paddle out and sit with me on the outside. Woo!! The current was pushing up south so we paddled north. I got another few short rides before the next lull between sets. Great time.

#148 / 2pm

[2-3 ft + knee to chest high. FAIR CONDITIONS. REGIONAL SUMMARY: Old NW swell fades while minor South swell mixes in. Most breaks across the region are in the waist-chest high range, with open exposures still pulling in some shoulder-head high sets at times. Conditions are clean with offshore flow and a dropping tide helping the overall shape at many locations.]

This day at Teahupoo – Aug 27th 2011 during the Billabong Pro waiting period is what many are calling the biggest and gnarliest Teahupoo ever ridden. Chris Bryan was fortunate enough to be there working for Billabong on a day that will go down in the history of big wave surfing. The French Navy labeled this day a double code red prohibiting and threatening to arrest anyone that entered the water.
Kelly Slater described the day by saying “witnessing this was a draining feeling being terrified for other people’s lives all day long, it’s life or death. Letting go of that rope one time can change your life and not many people will ever experience that in their life.”

All images where shot by Chris Bryan using the Phantom HD Gold camera. To see more of Chris’ work check out his website. WWW.CHRISBRYANFILMS.COM

Music: Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun’ by M83.

Via MPORA