Santa Barbara Area Surf Reports

Location:	Montecito Coast
Weather:	Hazy
Conditions:	Unruly further up, contained here
Swell:	16.9ft @ 17s @ 260°
Surf:	Overhead
Rip Curl Bomb Wetsuit Life:	13 Sessions in Replacement Suit.

Comments:

The Harvest buoy doubled in 12 hours, hitting 17 feet with 17 seconds from due West. I can't remember if I've ever seen that before. I headed to somewhere I thought I might actually be able to surf. Took photos and watched the reef for a half hour or so. I had the 6'3" and it felt small. A lot of guns heading out there, and it looked hard to get in those beasts. Some chop and junk was making it not quite epic conditions, but the size put a great buzz in the air. It was well overhead here, and the beachbreak just around the corner was even bigger. Two insane guys out there taking turns getting drilled on puerto escondido looking waves.

Headed back to the car, got the Fish for volume and walked instead to the pointbreak that is typically a longboard spot. Walked up the coast, waited for a lull and backdoored the point with very little duck diving. First set that came in I got an overhead wave that took me all the way down past the stairs to the rental houses. Got out, walked up, and did it all again. The current was insane, you had to be constantly paddling to stay in place. To gain ground was work. I gave up the walk back to the point thing after realizing I was pushing my luck on timing the paddle out. Instead it took 10 minutes to paddle back, and perhaps take a smaller wave on the inside if it was empty. 30 people out, but if you were a self starter you could have your fill. A lot of water moving meant a lot of people were buoys out there. MVP of the session went to a girl surfer who absolutely ripped and was wearing a bikini on the first day of Winter. I looked around in a sea of men in 3/2 rubber, half with booties, and then back to the bikini girl pulling into an overhead wave and I think she emasculated us all. Got out of the water around 10:30 but this would be a day of surf, stories coming in from all directions; Leadbetter looking rowdy, Rincon denying most people access to the outside, etc. A car full of guys in a suburban who parked next to me when I changed had been from C-street to the Gaviota Coast and choose here to surf. Way too big down south, crowded at their Gaviota location, giant current at Deveraux, junky elsewhere. It was a day of finding smaller waves for many.