| Santa Barbara Area Surf Report | |||
| October Overview | 1999 Overview | ||
| Date/Time: | Friday, October 29th, 6:30 am - 10:00 am |
| Location: | Stables |
| Weather: | Warming dawn with moderate offshores switching around to onshore by late morning. |
| Conditions: | Excellent water surface, disorganized swell, overall fair. |
| Swell: | Holding NW swell, 16-18 ft at 17 s from 295 deg. West Channel, 9 ft at 17 s East Channel. |
| Surf: | Solid overhead to overhead and a half. Consistent but shifty and crossed up. |
| Comments: |
Stood in the cove at Rincon at first light and watched
a couple of shoulder high waves slump through. With
15 cars in the parking lot and a steady stream of more
coming in, it was obvious the crowd would squelch any
attempt at a fun session. Moved on for something bigger.
Stables had the size and the offshores but the shape was definitely funky. Debated the pros and cons for a while before finally deciding I had all day and could always try somewhere else later. Suited up and paddled out by dawn. Took most of the session to get used to the way the waves were shifting around. None of the usual lineups were working and it wasn't until I stopped paying attention to them that I started getting some waves. Oh yeah, this is what I'm here for. Surfing, not paddling. Had the 6'6" roundtail and it handled the steeper, offshore-held drops well. I like this board a lot but unfortunately can't compare it well with my other 6'6" which has gotten heavy and slow (anyone want a slightly used Channel Islands?). Once the wind shifted it only took a few minutes for the thought of a cool shower and a burrito from Johnny's to get me back to my car. |