Reporter: Valerie Johnson, vjohnson@capousd.k12.ca.us Date/Time: March 29th Location: C-Street, Ventura, CA Conditions: Stayed glassy until well into the afternoon. Surf Vehicle: Velzy 9'0" Food: Burgers from Carl's Jr. Surf: About shoulder high on the best sets Comments: We had a great little birthday party (my 41st) at the picnic tables, myself, my parents, my sister, and my nephews aged 3 1/2 years and 7 months. It was the first time my older nephew had seen me surf or realized what it was. I hope to get him on a boogie board in a couple of years, after his ear problems clear up and he can take swimming lessons. Hope I didn't create a frustration for him, just being able to watch for now. The good conditions were a blessing since I wanted to spend time with my family first. When I did get out there it was fun, I had not ridden a true longboard in quite some time (I'm a "hybrid" fan) and thought I might kook out, but caught waves easily and had fun. I also met a very nice woman who was originally from Germany, learned to surf at Tourmaline, and is now living in Bakersfield. She'd also made the drive to surf C-Street that day. Reporter: Nancy "Fang" Travis, fang@surfergrrl.com Date: Saturday, March 29th Location: Somewhere in Marin County Food: Hog Island oysters and Lagunitas Red Ale, not a bad life. Surf: Saturday, warm filthy windless huge swell. Comments: The Saturday am buoys were bizarre; its been very big 8-12 feet with short intervals, everything south of San Francisco sounding shitty...just the one amazing 11 foot at 20 seconds reading at Bodega Bay so I went north. Checked the softest spot first on account of the size and it was a full-on circus, head high mush with dozens of longboards in the channel. So up to the reefs. Its meg, the swell marching with huge steaming backs into RCAs and the Point just sick on the low tide, almost the entire reef still exposed. But there's no one out. I wonder why? Then the Doctor showed up with a mate. They had just finished surfing Bo's and still quite hungry. As they rolled in, the set from hell twisted the horizon and jump started my heart. Its breaking way out to China, halfway to the Farallons. The Doctor is sick, he's smiling. I have a similar illness. I'm dancing down the cliffs to certain death, tippy toes down the water fall, through the golden poppies and the purple wildflowers. Against the Doctors advice about paddling out at the Point, I go directly out off the reef and punch through the closeouts. Possibily the most fun was the weightless underwater interlude. Thanking my angels I have the short board so I don't get dragged around too bad. One wave was good enough for me and I surfed it right up until I hit the reef. With enough water in my ears to last a week, I crawled up on the beach to watch the Doc. He's just gotten outside the safe way but there's nothing makable. He's a marker. His mate tells me the Doc shattered his ear drum here recently. This would be the place to do that. Yeah its a good spot. I hate to tell ya about it B-) Reporter: CafeMojo, cafemojo@aol.com Date/Time: Saturday, March 30th, morning Location: Just south of Sandbridge, Virginia Beach, VA Weather: Invigorating and cold as hell Comments: Man, what a rippin' morning! Not much swell, but it felt good nonetheless just to be on a wave, even a small one....I gotta get a wetsuit though....burrrrrrahhh :-) Winter is finally dead here, and Spring in starting ta get fired-up. Reporter: Foondoggy, wfover@nist.gov Date/Time: 3/30/97, 10 am Location: Foondoggy Homebreak, Delmarva Peninsula, Mid-Atlantic Weather: Clear,sunny, and 15mph winds. Air/Water T: 60 F / 47.7 F Conditions: Sloppy, Choppy, closed out kneeslappers Crowd: None (plenty of Easter Sunday stollers on beach) Food: Denver Omelette, with homefries, Starbucks Java Roast coffee. Surch Distance: 153 miles Surf Vehicle: Toobs BC Drive bodyboard Swell: 3.6 Feet, SSE, 7 seconds Surf: Poor quality Comments: Happy to be here in spite of the poor conditions. The weather is just delightful, but the surf is not cooperating. Put on the 3/2 Oneill Legend and went in barefooted (except for fins) and handed just to say I did it. After initial numbness and shock, stayed for a while to paddle up and down the beach several streets in each direction. Cursed the fact I could have been in Wrightsville Beach this Easter but had to stay home to entertain relatives. Reporter: Alley Oop, rmw@dsc.com Date: Saturday, 29 March 1997 Location: Rincon - 1st Point & Bay Weather: Sunny & Clear Air/Water T: shorts friendly / too warm for the 5/3 Conditions: unusually clear water; tide on the high side Crowd: not much of one & very mellow Swell: from the west Surf: 2-3 feet; shoulder-high at max, but with plenty of power and glass Food: Goleta's "Cajun Kitchin" midway on surfari Surch Distance: 60 miles RT Surf Vehicle: 1990 metallic gray Toyota 4WD V6 truck w/ camper shell Comments: Knowing full well that I would incur the derision of the Ryncon Ryders who dawn patrolled it that morning at Mussel Shoals, fully expecting me to be there with them, I opted instead to the "love birds" thing with Miya, instead. Her son was out of town on a field trip and we had the weekend all to ourselves with no other schedule but to hang out together and surf and that's what we did... First checked a secret spot my son and I were turned onto by the famed local surf artist Lorenzo back in the mid-'80s. No go... After breakfast at the "Cajun Kitchen," we drove down the coast to our home break of Rincon and found it not only uncrowded, but beautiful in every respect. Miya got some rides in the Bay on her G2 and I got a few off of 1st point on the BubblePuppy. One particular ride I had made me real proud, as I successfully pulled off a number of different manouvers on a 3-footer that took me all the way through the Bay from 1st Point. Date: Sunday, 30 March 1997 Location: Rincon - 1st Point & Bay Weather: Gray with a strong breeze Air/Water T: needed a jacket / not too cold for the 3/2 Ripcurl zipperless Conditions: a fair amount of bump on it Crowd: typical Sunday afternoon at the 'Con; a bit crowded, but everyone was respectful Swell: from the west; tide on the high side Surf: 2-3 feet; shoulder-high at max; more power to the waves than yesterday, probably due to the wind Food: Your Place Thai restaurant, 2 hours prior to Rincon commute Comments: Rincon was surprisingly more crowded this afternoon, with waves that were not as good as yesterday. Miya got some rides in the Bay, on her own, and I assisted with a push-off on one or two. Got on a couple of 1st Pointers, myself, but liked yesterday's waves much more. Tested out the newly purchased Ripcurl 3/2 zipperless and found it to be the most comfortable wetsuit I've ever worn. Because of the wind chill factor, I was occasionally reminded of the cold. Reporter: John Shumate, john_e_shumate@non-hp-sandiego-om2.om.hp.com Date/Time: Friday, March 28th, 5:30 am Location: Swami's, San Diego, CA Surf: 2-4 feet. Comments: Very unimpressive day surfing. Small waves and everybody fighting over them. Got out after 1 1/2 hrs. Reporter: Tim Mason, moa206@worldnet.att.net Date/Time: Saturday, March 29th, early morning Location: Folly, Eastside Santa Cruz, CA Weather: Sun out, tide on the rise, SW winds to 20 mph Water Temp: Warm (67 F!) Conditions: Clean, very sideshore Surf Vehicle: The trusty 9'0" Surf: Mostly-waist-high-waves, some decent sets Comments: After grabbing a few blown out peaks, I drifted into some guys I always run into on weekend mornings. They did not know about WSD, but were stoked to hear the details. Did a couple of drift sessions (due to the moderate current) and called it quits for the day. I was happy to get wet since I did not get out during last week. Decided to put in some quality time with the mostly-dead yard at my new house, and hoped for more correct weather forecasts and west winds on Sunday.. praying for an Easter swell. Reporter: jason foat, jefoat@physics.berkeley.edu Date/Time: 3/29, 5:40-6:40 pm Location: wedgey rural spot 20 mi. n. of santa cruz Weather: clear skies with light fog Air/Water T: 60 F / low 50's Conditions: glassy w/ a light bump Crowd: none Food: Gordo's in the Richmond Dist., an SF surfer's staple! Surch Distance: 40 mi. Surf Vehicle: short boards Swell: 10 feet out of the NW Surf: head high to barely overhead, closed out comments:I hooked up with a friend for a session late sat.. OB was huge and blown out, so we headed for the protected reefs N. of S. Cruz. Unfortunately, we ended up in a race w/ the setting sun. We stopped at the first reef we found that was protected from the winds. I had surfed this spot the day before on a head high south. That was really fun, but Sat.. was a mess. A big NW swell had shown up and and the wrap was getting in to this spot and messing it up pretty bad. We rode close outs until the sun set. We hiked back to our vehicle and checked out Hale-Bopp in the darkness. That was probably the best part of the session. Anyway, we kind of blew it because we probably could have driven 10 more minutes and ridden another reef that would have handled the NW swell better, but I just don't know those reefs N. of S. Cruz that well. Hooked up w/ Leo Dagum (whose knowledge of the reefs is starting to approach guru status) the next morning and scored (see his report), so all's well. Reporter: the Sandman, whammer@whammer.com Date/Time: Saturday, all day Location: Washington Weather: Sun Air/Water T: cold/cold Crowd: crowded until I started screaming at people Food: nuts and raisins and bark when the chips are low Surch Distance: 120 miles Vehicle: AMC Pacer (hummer was in the shop) Conditions: see --v Swell: see http://www.whammer.com/wasurf/sandman97/wsd97/WSD97.htm Surf: see --^ Comments: The Sandman has become a pariah of sorts here in the frozen North. Only the bold need apply to surf with the Sandman Witness World Surf Day at designated secret spot. Word got out that the Sandman was surfing at said secret spot. One gentleman went so far as to pick up a nice sized rock and threaten me with it... tsk, tsk... Another day in the life. I told him to give me his best shot. Don't know if he pitied me or maybe thought the Sandman was some computer geek with spindly arms and then came face to face with reality? Everybody wants to kill the Sandman until they meet him??? Another mystery of life Who'd a thunk it? Good surf on World Surf Day. And I mean good. Had to double up. Got a good helping of 'Secret Spot Pie' in the morning. Just 4 or 5 people out and waves for everybody. Had a hunch about another break. Arrived to find a legendary spot dealing-up the best waves I've seen there in a long time. Burned 2 cigars that day. I have a habit of lighting up a cigar after a successful surf session. Kinda like Red Auerbach used to do after a Boston Celtic victory. Actually, he had the audacity to do it even before the game was over, sometimes. I've found that to be somewhat impractical, as the stogie tends to become extinguished in monster barrels with huge spit. Notwithstanding the day's semi- surf related incidents, I'll have to say that this was one of the better days of surf that the NW has offered yours truly this year. Reporter: Rob Cummings, barney@interport.net Date/Time: Easter Sunday, March 30th Location: Jones Beach / Robert Moses, New York Weather: Air/Water T: 60's F / 42 F Conditions: Combed nicely by an offshore wind Crowd: A crew of five surfers, working the peak in tight rotation; Fifteen guys at Robert Moses Swell: 2 feet from the SE, 3 ft westerly wind waves Surf: Waist-shoulder high Comments: Easter Sunday broke fine and fair in NYC. I called Digital Dave over in Hell's Kitchen at about 7 am. He picked up on the fifth ring. "Well, whaddya think? NOAA has the Fire Island bouy at 5 feet." "Yea, but these west winds, I dunno," Dave didn't sound very impressed. "Here let me check their web site. . . Yea, says right here under detailed wave data: swell is 2 feet from the southeast, wind wave is 3 feet out of the west. That's what's making the bouy go off." "So, no go, huh?" "Not today. We'll talk to ya later." Dave hung up. I stared at the board and wetsuit sitting on the living room carpet. I called the surf report at Lido. "Longboardable," it said. Hmm, longboardable is better than noboardable and, unlike Dave, I didn't have a bodacious new bride waiting in my bed waiting for my return. So, why not? There was no traffic on the LIE, an unheard-of state of affairs for a road also known as "The World's Longest Parking Lot." And it was a beautiful day. The forsythia was in bloom and thru the trees on the side of the road I could see that pale wash of green that signals spring in this part of the country. The walk out to the jetty at the West End of Jones Beach is a long one, usally made longer by the clouds of mosquitos that rise out of the swamp grass like an ill wind. But not today; those airborne bloodsuckers haven't hatched yet. Unfortunately the tide was too high for any of the sandbars to break. The waves rose over the bars, tantalizingly close to feathering, and then disappeared into deeper water before walling up and collapsing on the beach. The only spot that was working was a small peak hard by the jetty. It was a brief righthander -- a bottom-turn, a top turn, and it was over. I sat on a boulder to watch. The Army Corps of Engineers had been busy: the jetty was twice as long as it was last year and hundreds of boulders scattered across the sand suggested more work to come. One of the surfers got out of the water and walked up to where I was sitting. He was a big guy; definitely trouble in a bar fight. "Hey what time is it?" he asked. "Around noon," I said. "How was it this morning?" "Not bad, except for the crowd. This must be the heaviest spot on the whole coast and it's because of those four guys right there. They're just mean." I shrugged and looked at the quartet of surfers still in the water. They didn't look mean. They looked sort of fat and clumsy in their 5mm suits and they weren't exactly shredding. I turned to say as much to the big guy, but he was already walking back along the beach. Well, I thought, let 'em have it. That wave wasn't worth fighting over. Out at Robert Moses the sandbars were working fine. A knot of 15 surfers was sitting on a peak right in front of the lodge at Field 3, and a crowd of families and kite flyers were already on the beach. People still dressed in their church clothes arrived at the edge of the sand, took off their shoes, and walked down to the water. I felt like a pagan crawling into my rubber skin, but I was here for a different kind of service. I paddled out to a bar about 200 yards from the pack and waited for it to break again. It did, but in the wrong place. And just as quickly as the wall appeared, it disappeared again as it slid off into deeper water. Maybe, I thought as I paddled for and missed another wave, the pack was right. So I paddled over to check it out. Got launched on the first wave I tried for; dug the nose in and went right over the handlebars. That's my standard opening move. The pack, I noticed, gave me a little more room. The next wave was better -- a fast lefthander that broke in two sections. I made the second section, but rode a little too far in and nearly got hammered into the sand. The crowd thinned out after an hour, and as the tide drropped the waves got hollower. Pulled into a couple of closeouts and came up laughing. Stayed in for two hours, most of it with the hood pulled down on my 5/4/3 Body Glove. The waves got a little smaller, but with the wind steady WNW, they held their shape. Not bad for a day that was supposed to be barely "longboardable". Afterwards, I sat on the sand watching the only guy still in the water. He took off on a steep one and pulled a faceplant. But his next wave was a hollow shoulder-high righthander. He stayed right in the pocket and finished the ride with a nice floater. Then I was distracted by this barefoot blonde bopping down the strand. She was wearing a set of headphones and tight bluejeans, and the way she moved under her fleece shirt hinted at wonderous new worlds as yet unexplored. Yea, spring is here; I just saw April walking down the beach. Reporter: Ben Tye, b.s.tye@shu.ac.uk Date/Time: Saturday March 29, All Day Location: Lleyn Peninsula Weather: Clear, Sunny, Warm. Air/Water T: 10-13C / 8C Conditions: Flat as a pancake or gentle onshore mush at variuos spots. Crowd: Me and the dog Food: Early easter egg. Surch Distance: 450 mi round trip Surf Vehicle: The wife's Peaugot 106 Swell: My ankle which I sprained mildly whilst skimboarding. Surf: None Comments: A poor day surfwise, although I did manage a 360 on my skimboard which was a first. During the evening it glassed off to a millpond so I went wakeboarding with my Dad who had a cold so I got all the rides. Reporter: Flipside Films, fside@pacbell.net Date/Time: Saturday, late afternoon Location: The Hook, Santa Cruz Comments: You ever have one of those days? The conditions were just right , but I couldn't seem to get in sync. Saturday, 3/29, went out for a late afternoon session at the hook. I guess I took the relay from Da Hulk, getting out there just about the time he was comming in (though I don't know who he is). Despite some pretty tasty conditions (saw some great waves and some awesome rides) I couldn't help constantly flailing. Started out at first peak, but the typically overcrowded, overly agressive vibe helped decide me on heading south a spell. Well, to make a long story short, aside from catching a few very poorly chosen closed out faces, I spent most of the session fighting the southbound current. Wound up down at sharks cove, got caught inside twice in a row during a couple of grinding sets. Overall not an ideal day, and nothing to blame it on but myself (very frustrating :^( ). Here's looking to the next WSD. Reporter: fishy, a.best@barnsley.ac.uk Date/Time: Sunday March 30, 1000-1700gmt Location: secret spot/Whitby Weather: Clear, Sunny, Warm. Air/Water T: 10C / 7C Conditions: 2/3 ft off shore clean. Crowd: Nobody. Food: Sarnie/Marsbar/chrisps/winegums - good balanced diet really. Surch Distance: 280 miles round trip Vehicles: Ford "family car" Mondeo Swell: 2/3 ft. Surf: yes Comments: Why did we have the event on a bank holiday weekend when everybody and their grandmother rolled out the their beatup/brandnew cars and drove at 30mph every where. Went in at a not so secret spot reef break on the eastcoast betwen whitby and Saltburn. The photog's were out so the left was crowded with wanabes plus the usual locals, went in on the point sets were coming through every ten mins or so from a good clean northerly ground swell. the reef was producing good clean 5ft faces of black water, creased my board on first wave!!!!! Went to Whitby in the afternoon but the swell had dropped, still lined up but lacked power. Reporter: Tim Maddux, tbmaddux@engineering.ucsb.edu Date/Time: Saturday, March 29th, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm Location: North Santa Barbara County, CA Weather: Warm, slightly hazy, calm winds. Air/Water T: 60's F / 50's F Conditions: Fair, no chop but a lot of warble and lump from the outside. Swell: 7 ft. 14 s. from the WNW Surf: Inconsistent and punchy, head high to double overhead. Comments: Big closeout sections shoaling up far outside and then dumping hard in big bowls on the inside reefs. Pretty sketchy for a while, totally alone in the lineup save for two other guys who got washed in to the sand just as I got outside. Saw a big male sea lion raise his basketball-sized head above the water surface for a few moments about 50 yards inside me, and a pod of dolphins racing the sections about an hour later. Mainly stuck to taking off on the shoulder of the big peak and then bottom turning into the next big bowl. Some small influence out of the southern hemisphere kept it peaky and difficult to line up properly, but the makeable ones were a blast with big hollow faces sucking out over boils, kelp, and rock. Eventually some grommets paddled out, way undergunned on sub-6' boards, along with a fellow on a 9'6" gun who had an easy time of it. Stayed out until they all went in and I was alone again. It took signals of starvation from my belly and pain between my shoulder blades to get me out of the water.