Sorry, couldn't keep it to less than 5! It was nice to go through all my surf reports and relive the year. It was quite a year for me with lots of improvement and growth and as always, tons of fun! This was my third full year of surfing having bought my first surfboard in January of 1996 after having sponged since April of 1995!

1. 5/8/99
   Surfed Pleasure Point from 6:30-9am or so on an overhead south swell. Only 10 guys out spread between 1st and 2nd peak. Solid chest to head high with sets coming in bigger. As usual I was paddling all over the place for waves, which fit well with the shifty lineup and lumpy peaks.

   By 8 it was pretty crowded, with probably 30 guys spread out. Overall, it was a great session for me. Cross-stepping is becoming easier and easier and I'm starting to work on my smoothness and even attempting some off-the-lips and floaters. Got a few late drops with no paddle or one-stroke take-offs which came in handy on those crossed up peaks.

2. 6/4/99
   Arrived at Pleasure Point at 6:15 on a 3.5' south offering 1.5X sets. About 15 people were already out. I guess I got the jump on most everyone yesterday morn, but word got out on this swell. Still not too bad though as 1st peak had 6-8 shortboarders out and 2nd peak had 8-10 longboarders. A light offshore wind blowing.

   About 6:45, a set of the morn rose up outside of the kelp beds. Sitting outside, I stroked even further out and spun for the talk off. A nice OH and a half, one wave set and I was lucky enough to be ready for it. This wave walled up perfectly and I got 3 long carving S-turns working from top to bottom squeezing as much speed as I could to get down the line of this fast wave. This was my longest ride of the day as most of the waves closed onto the now exposed inside ledge of the point as the tide drifted down to zero. This one held up for quite a ways.

   Another 1/2 hour went by with fun sized surf and then we got another 1 wave OH + 1/2 set. But things were on the rise, next set was a 5 wave OH + 1/2 and after a couple more of those we started getting monstrous double o sets breaking in the kelp beds.

   The lineup had been sitting about 10 yards from the kelp beds with me and my floatatious log out closer to the edge. Then these huge sets rise up and you're trying to paddle through dense kelp without getting tangled up and just scratching over the top of the waves. I punched through 3 lips, on the last one I started feeling a tug backwards but one last stroke kept me from a trip over the falls. The fourth wave was a little smaller and I managed to get into it through the kelp. I saw it bowling up just down the line so I set a high line to get speed but I couldn't get through it so I dropped down to round it and ended up loosing it in the whitewater.

   Between sets, it was fun watching the 5-6 surfers take on the double-up sucking bowls at Sewer's Peak. 1/2 the takeoffs ended in trips over the falls as the reef would suck up and throw out from about 1/3 of the way down the wave while the surfer was stuck up top.

3. 9/3/99
   Having watched the weather models and buoys for the past 2 weeks, Friday was to be the day to be in the water. Weekday crowds and the peak of a solid South West swell.

   Dave and I were to hook up at 6am for a full day of surfing having called in sick. I ended up sleeping straight through both my alarms and popped out of bed in a panic at 6:06am. Crap!!!

   Gathered my stuff and jammed to the Hook parking lot making it by 7. I saw Dave's truck and broke into it to get the camcorder out. Taped the Hook action for 20 minutes before I couldn't stand being dry another minute.

   Paddled out at the beach just north of the Hook's little point to avoid a paddle through shorebreak and I got lucky and somehow got out dry headed. I was scanning for Dave and figured he was down at Sharks. So I took a wave off the first set that came through and got a couple turns in before it shut down on me.

   On the sets, Sharks was basically a 200 yard speed run racing the lip the whole way before it closed out into the cove. 5 minutes after catching my breath from the paddle over, I saw a set pushing up on the horizon and stroked outside. I let 3 go by to avoid getting caught inside at the beginning of a set like I am usually and took the 4th one of an overhead set.

   What a ride! Pumping and driving maintaining a high line on the top third of the wave...yahoo!!! I got reacquainted in a hurry with the drive of my tri-fin setup, loving every second of it. My regular 11 footer is in the shop getting fixed up so I had my battered but functional Pearson 10'6". Kicked out in time to avoid the closeout into the cove and paddled back out furiously to avoid getting slammed by the next wave.

   Surprisingly, I got back to the lineup and the waves were still coming in. So I paddled into another one, which must've been the 14th or 15th wave of the set. Another screamer, but this one opened up a little more giving me opportunity to rise and fall over the face of the wave.

   Spent the next 2 hours getting more of the same. Only 6-8 guys out with most of them avoiding the sets. Towards 9am, a couple more came out including Johnny Rice which crowded up the lineup. The waves also started closing out more often as the tide continued to drop.

   Dave and I headed over to Zachary's in downtown Santa Cruz for a quick refuel on a tasty sausage and mushroom omelette, home fries and homemade bread. Really good stuff and it got to us about 5 minutes after placing the order!

4. 10/8/99
   Permaglow! Not like permafrost, kinda like permagrin. My body is floating right now bathed by popping adrenal glands and overflowing endorphins!

   I checked the Hook about 8am and it looked a little crowded but some nice overhead to OH + 1/2 mackers coming through. But most sectioned out. Sharks and Privates looked really crowded for a Friday morn sesh so I ended up out at 1st Peak PP.

   Took my 10'6" today, which turned out to be a good choice. I was going to take the new gun, but I didn't want to jump into really big surf so soon after acquiring it, since I was still feeling out its intricacies.

   1st Peak had sets about every 10 minutes or so and then a 20 minute lull every now and again. Sat outside 1st Peak about even with Sewers with 2 to 3 others. My wave choice was not very good as I seemed to either pick off the closeouts or the mushy ones that would look to peak outside but then backed off as it lost touch with the reef.

   Got caught inside way too many times but I did snag a couple really fun ones which made the morning ok. The biggest wave of the morn, easily double-o broke about 10 yards outside of me, luckily it didn't break top to bottom but rather top to about midway down. Nonetheless it ripped the board out from my hands and then held me under enough that I had to open my eyes (kept close to keep my contacts in) to look for the surface.

   I got out around 10:15 and called Wavslav and he was about to head out for a sesh so we met up at the Lane with intentions of heading north.

   Driving along West Cliff a set popped up on the Point and looked really nice. About 5-6 waves in each set running double overhead, but about 1/2 closed out while the other half were ridable but only by sitting way outside and wide of the normal Point lineup.

   So we suited up and jumped off the point and paddled beyond everyone to the spot we had been eye balling from the cliffs. Not 5 minutes later, I was dropping in on a perfect double-o wave with a huge wall out in front of me. My board chattered along due to the speed and I could barely turn my board off its line. Kicked out around Middle Peak proper with a huge grin on my face!

   That was the biggest wave I caught all day and maybe even ever. But I got lots of other overhead+ to OH + 1/2 waves with lots of face and nice sections. An awesome day!

5. 12/21/99
   Got out around 2:30 from a sesh at the Lane and headed over to a Westside Santa Cruz reef. Watched beautiful head to overhead peelers just reel off all the way across the mini-bay/cove/point setup with only 2-3 out, light offshore wind.

   Let my shoulders rest a bit, ok'd the late return with my wife and paddled out. Super clean but not as easily makeable as it looked from the cliff with lots of bowls and speed sections. I made 2-3 waves all the way from outside! Each wave allowing nice top to bottom carving with bright green backlit faces.

   One other guy on a longboard shape took one from way outside all the way in. Awesome waves allowing straight speed runs playing up and down the face, flirting with the lip and occasional stalls to get a coverup (only got one) all right in the pocket. Everyone commented about these being the best waves they'd gotten in a while. By 4:15, the place got discovered and about 6 others paddled out.

   Stayed out one wave too long just as a 10 minute lull came through but was treated to another beautiful sunset over the ocean horizon to the East while the full moon rose over the mountains to the West. Picked off one last wave before heading in at 5.

   I had never seen that spot breaking as good before nor since.