| Santa Barbara Area Surf Report | |||
| January Overview | 2000 Overview | ||
| Date/Time: | Monday, January 17th, 10:30 pm - 3:30 pm |
| Location: | Rincon |
| Weather: | Grey skies with drizzle, no wind. |
| Conditions: | Glass water surface. Waves a little weak and backed-off. |
| Swell: | Surprise pulse of swell, 7-10 ft at 13 s on outer buoys. |
| Surf: | Setty, shoulder to head high. |
| Comments: |
A surprise up-close pulse of waves off the same low pressure
system that gave us surf last week. I
wasn't expecting anything more but rain from this one and the
buoys caught me off-guard as I reflexively checked them while
getting things started in the lab. I was in the water within
30 minutes.
One of the longest sessions I've ever had of continuous water time. Had to be that long to get a decent wave count with the sets so sporadic. I knew I should have gone down into Ventura to get more size, but I really wanted to surf here. So, 5+ hours it was. Most of that was spent with the pack at the very top of the indicator, looking for the peaks on the outside bar. The inside waves were more consistent but had no juice, or not enough for someone like me who hasn't been surfing much the past month. Fun drops and fast sometimes unmakeable walls on the outside peaks, the best of which would link up through the flat sections into the rivermouth. Negotiated all the drop-ins and people paddling for the shoulder for a handful of really good waves. Best set I saw was from the beach in the rivermouth after I went in to shore. 2 or 3 waves, each one an overhead barrel running for 25-50 yds. |