Santa Barbara Area Surf Reports

Location:		Gaviota Coast
Weather:		Sunny with light onshores
Conditions:		Slight Texture outside, clean inside
Swell:		7.7ft @ 12s @ 305°
Surf:		Thigh High

Comments:

Up the coast a little bit to a spot I surfed like an addict a few years ago because of it's quick access to beach break waves. Since then the access has been significantly hurt because of parking conditions and what used to be an easy check has been more difficult. Every time I do check it the sand is all wrong so I haven't been out here. Today I was heading up to SLO and couldn't do the long walk to Sands so just stopped by to get wet real quick. A lot of cars and boards in the parking lot so I figured there was something so headed out blind.

The lineup was filled, almost 90% longboards although the waves came down with some authority. I had my shortboard and managed to usually get up in time to duck into a closeout pit or hit the lip and fall. Water is still cold. Sunset was amazing. Crowd was good people, this lineup certainly represented more a cross section of our surfing community than does sands with people of all ages and sexes.

Favorite wave was yet again a left. Are lefts my favorite because I am sketchy going backside and so it is just exciting? This one was a late takeoff on a peaky bump that was funnelling off of a sandbar near a rip. I dropped in and ducked down, outside rail grab and my board compelety lost all grip as I slid sideways down the wave as it came over. I gave out a solitary hoot because I thought it was all over but somehow some fin grabbed and I headed down the line towards the sunset in a rollercoaster race for the shoulder. I wasn't fast enough and the lip folded up and landed on me, splaying my body across the surface of the sea and then pinning me against the soft sand bottom like a flyswatter. Yep, not much as changed in the year since I surfed this beachbreak. I'll be back again soon.