Just a few snaps to share from a couple days ago…
We were expecting a solid NW pulse to arrive at some point during the day, so we decided to wait for it at a place called Naples (west of Goleta). Unfortunately for us, the pulse only started to fill in solidly when we got out. Typical!
Still, we did manage to jag a few waist to shoulder high sets on the dropping tide.
One big issue at this and many other spots in Santa Barbara is the heavy kelp in the surf breaks. At low tide most rides are like having someone tap the breaks every few seconds, and if you hit a particularly big lump of the stuff you get thrown off the board. Once they get a couple big winter swells through, the heaviest weed will get ripped out and low tide will get a bit more surfable.
(Below: the setup as we hiked back out. Naples reefs are in the distance. To the left of the picture is a right-hander called Seals and further east from there are various other reefs and even a small point.
(Below: forerunner set wave lines into Naples)
(Below: there were a few forerunner sets, including this tidy one between Seals and Naples)
(Below: your webmaster on apparent collision course with a California Brown Pelican at Seals – pic by Roberto)
