1. Rincon, all of it, January.
   One wave does not a session make, not usually. This one was Rincon, the whole Rincon, from the outside of the Indicator to past the call box and storm drain on Highway 101. Cranking the turns and my stoke-meter in double overhead surf on my 7'2" pintail and then having to deal with the pounding to get back outside before being washed up onto the seawall. Just a couple of waves in the cove later and my session, up to that point an exercise in frustration with botched drops and too many guys on ridiculous 10' guns, was an all-timer.

2. The Rocktober Swell, October 9th.
   Not the one that made Mavericks go off (on the 28th), which here was junked-out and not very big. This was a solid combo punch of southern hemi and moderate, steep NW swell. Surfed all day. AM session backdooring fast grinding overhead rights. Midday was the best, at Secos, with a thick but mellow crowd taking turns on the setty overhead waves. Dialed into three in a row the length of the point, the third one the biggest and best. I tried to give it away but nobody would take it. Rode it with a casual enthusiasm that is very rare at the crowded breaks I frequent, probably something I hadn't experienced since New Years of 1997. What if you'd already gotten so many outstanding waves in a day that this one just didn't matter? Who cares if you fall? What if you toyed with it uncaringly, but despite that, instead of falling, every turn was perfect?

3. Rincon in June.
   Classic clean cove conditions on a 9'6" leashless singlefin. The whole day flashes of memory from media, from 3-decade old footage by Bruce Brown to the "Queen of the Coast" poster to "Free Ride." Here comes the sandbar, hook a quick stall and then step forward for the coverup, repeat. On a smaller one Shaun Tomson does a quick spin from the shoulder to go behind on me; we share the barrel.

This list took me a while to sort through, there were many A-plus days out there to choose from, despite it being a relatively weak winter and summer. As with every year, surfed a few new spots, got barrelled a few more times, and rode waves a few feet bigger; those are always savory.