Santa Barbara Area Surf Reports

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The long drive to Ventura for waves during a solid south swell. Saw it driving up the coast yesterday but couldn't stop. Sunset, Topanga, Sequit, County Line, C-Street... all lined up in a row and going off. Then as soon as were past Emma Wood it was as if a giant wall was erected to block all energy northward. Rincon had not even a soul out and for good reason, 180 degree it does not like. So today take the 45 minute drive down from Goleta to find something. K-dog had been out along the PCH at lunch and said it was great. Kevin called and I was going to try to meet him, but I had the fish and when I pulled up there was no way I could catch anything with my fish and the tide was too high to walk to where I'd of wanted to go. Unkle's red jeep was parked in the spot we park in on our long lost Saturday Longboard sessions, but I didn't see him in the lineup. He may have wandered beyond eyesight.

So I head further south and it gets a little windier but I paddle out at Emma Wood. The big sets would break way outside and closeout. The whole lineup was in at the inside peak, picking off waist to chest high reforms or energy the outer bar didn't take. I hung outside playing on the big sets that normally took me nowhere. I'd catch one on a hairball drop and see a dozen kids inside waiting for me to fall on them. Later in the session I headed to the inside section where I got longer waves and much better turns. Took one of my most intense turns on the fish. I got the fish planing super fast down the line and took a few pumps when a little section was building up so I put everything I had into a big cutback where I tried to really keep my feet behind the fins and "skate" the back out. I dug so deep and the transfer of energy felt so good until something didn't work out and I ate it, in the middle of the biggest turn ever on this board. It's not like the giant twin fins couldn't grab enough water. Perhaps the tiny center fin came out of the water and the back of the board skated out beyond my ability to control it. Either way it still felt great. A few more waves like that, with lots of super fast pumping down the line and big energy sucking turns and it was well worth the drive.

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My 3rd or 4th Bay Street session near Blade's house in Santa Monica. One doesn't realize how clean it is surfing up here until you surf in the middle of Santa Monica and you can't paddle 4 strokes without hitting a plastic bag in the surf. It was disgusting, just a sea of plastic bags and trash, the water so dark you can barely see the board you are sitting on. It was warm though, I actually busted out the springsuit, which is surprising considering how cold it is in SB right now. I had the fish, and it was just me as Ron O'Neill ran on the beach. I think I saw some naked guy walking on the beach, either that or he had a skin colored speedo on. Half way thru the session a surf school rolled up and got right in front of me. The instructor was really loud. I also forget how lucky I am to surf nearly empty and sprawling beachbreaks along in the Tri-Counties. Once you get down here you need to forget about finding a quiet peak where you can settle the mind. The lineup requires as much constant attention as driving down the 405 does. Still, some good folks out there. Many women that were learning, all quite friendly and although learners, they seemed to understand ettiquette. Perhaps the loud surf school teaches that.

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After a surpringsly fun yet small evening session yesterday I head out around lunch today and see almost nothing out there. However thats how it looked last night, so I trunk it with a rashguard for about 20 minutes. I discover that, yes, there were no waves. I caught about 6 waves for a total riding length of 50 feet or so. Water felt good but still too chilly for a long trunk session. Lot's of kids at school getting enjoying the beach, making the working stiffs jealous.

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It looked like there was nothing out there but I had to go out. There was only a couple of others out further to the East. I waited in the lineup further up coast, which meant standing in chest deep water waiting for waves. I caught a ton of small waves before I started to realize that I was catching a few fun ones out there, that occainsonaly came in almost towards waist high. Almost. A couple of longboarders came out near me and started to reduced my wave count until I re-positioned further down coast as those guys left. One longboarder had really good style, getting the best waves and taking them the longest, getting to nose quickly and with great board control.

Soon a kid I see out there all the time came out. I still haven't made up a name for him but he some college aged kid that is always there when I am. He pulled a few moves that I don't even know the names of, which was good considering how small it was. It was so small that often I didn't get the fish going fast enough, but other times I'd race into turns and off the lip. Feet placement of upmost importance.

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Down to the Mesa again during a high tide, which is never a smart idea because of being attacked by dogs and their effluent. The Santa Barbara lifestyle keeps many couples from having children, and it's my theory that with our country under a home buying and nesting craze, Santa Barbarans are flocking to dogs to make up for their lack of children. It was ridiculous out there, where dog owners let their dogs feelings trump all others. Dogs can come attack you on the beach and leave you smelling like a wet dog and the owner will stare you down as if you abducted their kid. I thought of a bumper sticker: "Tax Payers Against Off-Leash Recreation" to let these starry eyed dog crazy people realize that there are people who go to the beach to enjoy the beach and not to be stalked by their dog.

The surfing, however, was fun. It once again looked like nothing was out there. I mean nothing. I headed down the coast to in front of the rivermouth which seems to have some the better peak this spring/summer. It was just me for awhile until two others came out. We shared lefts and rights all session and the waves were consistent. One time I was coming off the lip and my fins hit something and I completely ate it off the top. I thought it was kelp or something but as I was paddling back out I saw a dead baby seal floating in the water. It could of been a dead headless pelican too, but I think it was a seal, and I think it's what I hit on the lip. Best ride was my last which was a left that I screamed down and then went off the lip, into a turn and then tucked into a micro-tube, about as wicked of a combo as I do.

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Hadn't been to surf Ventura in awhile, but Pete asked if I wanted to head out. I took the fish and we drove to C-Street and walked up to the rivermouth. Paddled out there into freezing cold water and had a peak to ourselves. The waves were a bit shifty, but the sets hit on cue. There was a special spot where the waves hit a ledge and would jack up into a picture perfect pit. Neither of use got inside that pit. This was some of the best waves the fish has been in, and it was a great board to take out. Early entry and fast down the line. Occainsonaly rail dig or fall out the back, but only if I didn't have my weight in the right place.

Pete was shredding it up. He borrowed the fish and the I don't think the bottom of my board has ever seen so much daylight the way Pete was coming off the lip with fins out. It was a very jeoulous board when I got it back.

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After two nights in a row of rideable windswell along the Mesa, Petey and I rendezvous for a post-work shortboard session. Stepping out of work it seems breezy but Pete confirms our spot is sheltered. By the time I get there he's in the water as is the wind, coming out of the NW like a train. Typical SB summer beachbreak session with pop-up sets coming along every now and then that are waist high but usually milking much smaller ones into ankel high water. As the tide rose it seemed to break on a newer shelf that was much shallower. I was hitting bottom much more often on my blown re-entrys.

Pete took off but I was determined to milk an hour out of this session no matter how bad it got. One good set came in after he left and then it all broke apart, a washing machine of wind and bumps. My favorite waves were the lefts where I'd get a couple of turns in and then come up to the lip when it sectoned out and usually bury my nose in coming back down.

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After a noontime longboarding session at Leadbetter, it was time for some evening shortboarding fun further up the coast. Much bigger here than Leadbetter and much bigger then last night. But still small. By chance Petey was chilling on the beach with the lady and soon to be kid, but he had no board on him. I went out for 45 minutes while K-dog walked and studied flashcards for her last two finals. I still am amazed at how dogs have overtaken our lives these last few years. Since the po-po cracks down on dogs to the beaches further east, they've all consolidated into Wilcox and the surrounding beaches. On a high tide, this means about one dog per square foot. I looked in once to see K-dog sitting on the beach with one dog trying to lick her ear and another trying to get her to massage it's sore hips. It was dog chaos.

I had some real fun waves. I do now believe I am coming up after the low point on the Fish. I'm starting to learn how to keep it moving, and to not stall it by flat footing it. You have to keep the weight on one fin or the other, making rail to rail turns, or otherwise I think the sheer bouyancy of the thing jacks up the hyrdodynamics. Or maybe Dave doesn't give it enough Vee, or maybe I can't handle the responsibility of the fish. With great power comes great responsibility. The question is moot because I was catching waves and cranking down the line, and still falling a lot but also making it off the top and back down finally.

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Petey was out at Leadbetter with the longboard so I tried to meet but was too late. However there was only a guy and his young son out there and so what the heck. Water has taken a big cold dip after the May 21st weekend where it was so warm. Leashlessly I paddled into knee high conditions and gave the father-son dou plenty of space. Firmly establishing surfing stereotypes they were, with the dad waiting way outside for only the best waves while the young tyke was inside getting millions of smaller waves. The kid was probably 10 years old and had style. I was the rover, mostly sitting in the middle taking dad's scraps but if I was paddling out after a wave and saw one I'd spin around and go for anything. I took these things as far as possible, down to the end of the ramp even though they were 6" tall in 6" of water.

Hadn't been on the longboard in 1 or 2 months and so my first two waves were pearls. The fish allows you to paddle so far forward on the board that I forgot how far back you have to be on the longboard. Towards the end of the session 3 high school aged kids came out and the lineup couldn't support that many so I went in on a high note, catching some little scratcher all the way to end of the ramp. The older fellow with the boogieboard that I see walking all over town was just heading out. That guy rules.

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I had to get out, and there was one guy out down near the rivermouth. I paddled out west of that and was surprised how fun it was. The waves were so small, most beachgoers wondered just what it was we were doing out there. Mostly standing and floating around but sometimes getting a knee high wave all the way to shore.

Did this for almost an hour, somehow, someway.

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Walked out to Sands with Petey. Took the fish and didn't do so well on it. Lots of blown off the tops. Sands was nice and peaky, to be expected for windswell beachbreak stuff that we can only hope to get. Almost crashed into a girl with purple hair, she dropped in on me and went straight.

I'm hoping this is the fish's lowpoint because I seem to have gotten these bugged worked out.