Smashing Pumpkins (HMB Jetty)

Posted on October 24th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions.Today's semi-monthly mass surf meetup was to be followed by skating. At the suggestion of my surf coach, I just bought a skateboard, a Sector 9 Orange Crush. I've never had a desire to ride a skateboard, since falling on pavement is significantly more unkind than falling in water. But Barry rightly pointed out that not much of a surf session is actually spent riding waves, so a good way to get more time on my feet practicing turns would be to do that on a skateboard. So OK, I'm in. I was surprised to learn how many of my surf buddies also skate; in fact, it's most of them. And a couple offered to show me the ropes this morning.

Unfortunately today's surf 'n' skate plans kind of fell apart, so it's a good thing I bugged my coworker David into giving me some skating tips in a parking lot near work Friday. Still, several of us met up at the Jetty to surf. By the time I finally arrived, Luke, John, Heather and her husband Eric had already suited up, and I was badly in need of surf, determined pumpkin seekers having turned my normally half-hour drive to the Jetty into a trek of more than an hour and fifteen minutes. I checked the traffic to the beach on 511.org before I left, and it falsely showed yellow, just a little slowing. In real life, the line of cars started backing up on Highway 92 before I'd crested the mountain, and it was stop-and-go black almost to the coast road.
When at last the pumpkins came into view, I fantasized about driving my car through the field, smashing the lot of them. What insanity drives people to sit in such ridiculous traffic, just to pluck a pumpkin from a slightly muddy field, when they could buy one with their groceries at the supermarket for a lot less hassle? It defies comprehension. Needless to say, I was ready to scream by the time I pulled into the dirt lot at the Jetty. I knew the waves would be small there (and in fact had suggested relocating to a venue more open to the NW swell), but I needed to get wet ASAP and enjoy the company of my friends.
The traffic frustration started to wash off as soon as whitewater splashed my face on the paddle out, and disappeared with my first ride. We had fun party-waving the (at best) waist-high peelers. "Low Tide" John called me into waves with "Go, Flea!" The waves were tiny but offered shoulders, and I rode a bunch, almost all rights, despite being on my 7'0" when my friends were all on longboards. After Luke and then Heather and Eric left, Andy joined us, followed by Erin on her brand new surfboard when John switched off babysitting duties. The little girls rode my old 5'8" Xanadu Rocky in the whitewater. It was a gorgeous summer day in October, warm air and not-too-cold-water for a hoodless and gloveless experience, and I enjoyed the sensation of cold water flowing through my fingers once I got used to the shock of the chill. Waves, sun, friends - who could ask for anything more? (Well, some bigger waves, but that's what I get for hanging with longboarders!)

My old 5'8" Xanadu Rocky, resting on the beach in the left foreground

Surfline: Short-period NW (295-315) swell continues as small SSW (190-210) groundswell begins to ease. Things looks fairly soft/inconsistent initially as the tide approaches a 5'+ high. Decent breaks see knee-waist high waves, while top spots get inconsistent larger sets (especially as the tide begins to drop). Conditions are nice with light wind. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 5.2 ft at 7.7 s NW 88 / WIND WAVE: 1.3 ft at 4.0 s NW / WVHT: 5.6 ft / APD: 6.6 s / MWD: 325° (Met) WSPD: 2 kts / GST: 2 kts / WVHT: 5.6 ft / DPD: 8.0 s / WDIR: 110° / ATMP: 61.7° F / WTMP: 57.7° F. Tide: 3.5' falling below 2'.

In the Good Company of Strangers (HMB Jetty)

Posted on October 17th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. Last night I watched Soul Surfer, fast-forwarding through the religious parts. While the shark was on camera for probably less than a second, the image of it surfacing to bite off young surfer Bethany Hamilton's arm stuck with me. I'd heard Montara was good yesterday but with all of my buddies unavailable, I wanted to surf somewhere with less of a sharky feel. The Landlord was seen twice at Mavericks last week, but the Jetty seemed safe enough and I expected it to be picking up the south swell. I was happy with my choice, since when I drove by Montara later it looked as crowded as Linda Mar but with better waves.

I got a bit of a late start for almost-dawn patrol and was surprised to find there was already traffic at 7 am on Highway 92 for the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. Still, no one was out at the Jetty. The ocean was glassy and there were some fun-sized waves to play on.
Friday in Santa Cruz I was fine without my hood and gloves, so I left them in the car. As soon as I started paddling I realized I'd made a mistake on the gloves. The water was decidedly colder than in Monterey Bay. Forcing myself to put bare hands in the chilly sea, I caught a small right and rode it to shore, setting my board above the tide line and crossing the street to my car. I passed a couple of guys suiting up, and I think they may have been snickering when I said I was going back for my gloves. When they joined me in the lineup a few minutes later, cursing the cold water, they told me I was right. Soon after, their buddy paddled up. All three were friendly and cheery, nice company in the lineup.

A pod of dolphins cruised by just outside of us. It's always a treat to see them, but unfortunately I didn't have a camera since my Pentax Optio W90 decided to malfunction after Friday's session. I'm giving it a good dry out to see if it will come back to full life, but may be shopping for a new waterproof point-and-shoot soon. For sure, it will not be a Pentax.
I rode a few lefts and a couple rights, happy that a fair number of waves were holding up shoulders. I was already going for a shoulder-high right when one of the shortboarders called me into it. It was my best wave of the day, peeling almost to shore. Back in the lineup, the same guy said "Nice wave!"
A long lull followed, so I asked the next surfer to paddle out if he'd put a quarter in the wave machine. I guess he must have because it picked up after that, and I rode a couple more, chatting with the also-friendly new guy in between. With a set wave incoming, he said "This one's all yours if you want it," and then "It's coming right at you," such that I felt I should paddle for it, although I thought I was too deep. Should've listened to my own judgment, because I was, and the wave broke on me, flipping me over, my core muscles tightening to protect my back which nevertheless cracked lightly. (I read about a surfer who had his back tweaked wiping out, and later another wipeout put it right again. But no such luck; the chronic pain lingers on.) I then learned that the guy was on his second surf after being out of the water for five years. He complained about choosing closeouts this morning and was on a fish too, a poor board choice for the steeper waves on offer. And I listened to him why? While my wave judgment isn't great, it's decent and getting better, and I need to trust myself more.
I waited through a shorter lull until another wave came for me. Paddling right to get into position, I popped up for a nice chest-high drop and kept on the face until the section closed, then took a foamy white-water ride to the beach. Stoked!

Surfline: It's a mix of old NW swell and fun-sized S-SSW (180-200) energy that's good for knee-waist high+ waves at decent exposures. Top breaks hit chest-shoulder high on the better sets. We're dealing with generally light wind early for smooth surface conditions now. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 3.9 ft at 14.8 s SSW 86 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 3.7 s SSE / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 7.6 s / MWD: 208° (Met) WSPD: 8 kts / GST: 12 kts / WVHT: 4.3 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / WDIR: 160° / ATMP: 58.8° F / WTMP: 57.7° F. Tide: Just under to just over 3.5'.

Pomponio State Beach looked fun in the afternoon and these guys were ripping. Someday...

Of Men and Mavericks (Pleasure Point/Hook)

Posted on October 15th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Sessions.

Bunny Slope (38th Ave)

Posted on October 14th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. Two of my buddies bailed on me for dawn patrol, but I finally managed to coax my coworker David into the water. He'd told me it had been a while since he last surfed, but I didn't learn until this morning that it's been two years, during which time he said his wetsuit apparently shrunk a little (ha!).
Although they weren't filming until noon, the 41st lot was blocked off for the "Of Men and Mavericks" crew so we had to park on the street. The Hook looked fun if lully but was already packed before sunrise, so we paddled out at 38th where conditions were more suited to my rusty friend.

David's sole wetsuit is only a 3/2, but the water and air were so warm this morning that he was fine. I was toasty in my new Xcel Infiniti 4/3, but not uncomfortably so, although I did have to put my hood down after a while.

Sets were inconsistent and when I found myself inside of a bigger breaking wave, I decided to hop on and ride it hopefully into a reform. It didn't, but I got a long whitewater ride nonetheless, and then had a long paddle back out. The rest of my waves were all green, many missed by the longboarders sitting outside. The skill level of the competition was decidedly down from recent sessions at the Hook. I caught a bunch of looong rights, with lots of time to turn on the face. The waves were slow, mushy, and only about chest-high. It took David a few to get the rhythm again, but then he was up and riding.
It was a fun session on a beautiful warm summery morning, but I found myself looking longingly at the bigger waves at the Point, and if I'd had more time would've relocated to the Hook after David left to make a meeting. I think I need to be a little bit scared anymore in order to get a big burst of stoke. The size of my desired waves keeps getting bigger, and I'm curious to see how high it will eventually climb.
Tomorrow, I'm an extra in the Mavs movie, along with 1000 other surfers who will re-create the paddle-out for Jay Moriarty at Pleasure Point. Should be an interesting day.

Surfline: Knee- to shoulder-high. Clean, lined up surf working through. Inconsistent, but still a few okay corners to be had. Healthy WNW (290-310+) groundswell steadily backs down. Better exposures are good for more chest-shoulder-head high waves, as standout NW breaks offer up lingering sets running 2-3' overhead. Look for shape to stay pretty good through the morning with the incoming tide push, before eventually slowing down approaching a 5'+ high late this morning. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 8.5 ft at 12.9 s WNW 83 / WIND WAVE: 2.6 ft at 5.3 s NW / WVHT: 8.9 ft / APD: 8.6 s / MWD: 303° (Met) WSPD: 12 kts / GST: 14 kts / WVHT: 8.9 ft / DPD: 11.0 s / WDIR: 320° / ATMP: 57.9° F / WTMP: 57.4° F. Tide: Just under 3' rising to almost 4'.

Coaching: Putting it All Together (The Hook)

Posted on October 8th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Sessions. We've had an early and unpleasant taste of winter this week, with a couple of rainstorms sweeping through ahead of a cold high pressure system. That brought sunshine for dawn patrol but also air temperatures only in the upper 40s F (less than 10C). I paddled out with Barry at the Hook just after a beautiful sunrise. The set waves were overhead, clean with a light offshore. It wasn't too crowded, but most of the surfers in the crowd were pretty good.

I caught an overhead right and as I took the drop, I saw someone on the wave behind me, so I bailed, ungracefully. Turned out I could've stayed on; it was only Barry, who said he was blocking for me. The next wave was all mine, a 6-footer in Barry's estimate; I made the exciting drop into an immediate backside turn on the mid-face and rode the green until it closed out ahead. Stoked!

There were long lulls between sets and the high tide was slowing things down. I rode another right, then waited, shivering, for the next one. (I returned my Insulator wetsuit to Rip Curl for repairs, but unfortunately they didn't deign to fix all of the busted seams.) While I missed a few waves I paddled for, spray from the offshore sometimes blinding me, I didn't wipeout during the session.

Surfline: Looking a little shifty/warbly, but offering some good, lined up corners at times. Sets are running 1-2' overhead. SW (205-220) groundswell tops out today as old NW (290-310+) mid-period swell fades. Better exposures are still in the waist-chest-head high range, with sets running 1-2' overhead for top exposures. Conditions are mostly clean with light Northerly winds. The tide peaks around 8:30am, so expect a lot of spots to be a little sluggish early. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 8.2 ft at 10.8 s NW 81 / WIND WAVE: 2.0 ft at 3.8 s NW / WVHT: 8.5 ft / APD: 7.6 s / MWD: 315° (Met) WSPD: 10 kts / GST: 12 kts / WVHT: 8.5 ft / DPD: 11.0 s / WDIR: 330° / ATMP: 56.8° F / WTMP: 57.7° F. Tide: Rising slightly to 4.5' high.

Lure of the Dolphins (Teslas)

Posted on October 3rd, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions.

Mailbox at Teslas

Ever the optimist, I put on sunscreen before I left the house this morning - and was rewarded with sunshine burning off the fog by the time I reached the beach. I checked Kelly first, but the closeouts looking whomping and the shoulders few. The closeouts at Dunes were smaller and more manageable, but I had a feeling the two guys out might soon depart, leaving me uncomfortably alone at a deserted spot in the state park. Too bad none of my buddies could join me at the Church of Surf this morning. The Jetty was smaller still and breaking close to shore. As I pulled my surfboard out of the car I reconsidered; if I don't push my limits, I'll never push past them. The Jetty felt safe and familiar, but I wouldn't find much of a challenge in those tiny waves. And I didn't want to fight the pack at Linda Mar for scraps again. Linda Mar isn't crowded because the waves are better. I turned the car around and headed back towards Dunes, checking a couple spots along the way. The dolphins at 'Teslas" lured me into the water there, though I didn't see them again.
Although no one was surfing at Teslas, it's in a residential area so there were frequently people walking and biking past, enough to make me feel comfortable paddling out alone. Since I'd parked in front of Kyle's house, I texted him in case he wanted to come out and play in the waves.
The waist- to chest-high waves were mostly closing out, as everywhere in Half Moon Bay, with a few short-lived shoulders popping up here and there. It was a good opportunity to practice wave judgment and positioning. And I couldn't cheat off of other surfers because there were none. I started slow but got better as the session went on, riding a bunch of those quick shoulders toward the end, both lefts and rights.
It was a glorious warm sunny morning and I could think of no better place to be than in the glassy ocean catching waves. Stoked!

Surfline: Mid-period NW-WNW (280-300+) swell on tap this morning along with small-scale SSW energy for 3-4'+ surf. Top breaks get sets around shoulder-head high. Light wind. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 4.9 ft at 9.1 s NW 80 / WIND WAVE: 1.0 ft at 3.8 s W / WVHT: 4.9 ft / APD: 7.0 s / MWD: 308° (Met) WSPD: 2 kts / GST: 4 kts / WVHT: 4.9 ft / DPD: 9.0 s / WDIR: 130° / ATMP: 58.3° F / WTMP: 58.3° F. Tide: 3' rising slightly.

Mixed-Up Mutants (HMB Jetty)

Posted on September 30th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. Another pop-up NW swell filled in the night before last and is on the fade today, plus there's a small SW swell in the water. The combo produced some mixed-up, sloppy and shifty peaks at the socked-in Jetty. While Jenn worked on the basics in the whitewater, Luke joined me in the lineup with a few other guys. We both aborted paddling for one wave that Luke said "just went all mutant on us," contorting into an unrideable shape.
Any day that begins in the ocean is a good day!

Surfline: We have a mix of mainly easing NW-WNW (280-310+) swell and some small SSW groundswell running this morning. Better exposures are good for waist-shoulder-head high surf, with sets up to 2-3' overhead for standouts early in the morning. It's hard to get a look at most breaks with patchy dense fog settled in along the coast. Winds are light/variable from the South, so conditions are likely pretty clean. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 6.6 ft at 12.1 s NW 79 / WIND WAVE: 2.0 ft at 4.5 s WNW / WVHT: 6.6 ft / APD: 7.6 s / MWD: 305° (Met) WSPD: 12 kts / GST: 16 kts / WVHT: 6.6 ft / DPD: 13.0 s / WDIR: 150° / ATMP: 57.7° F / WTMP: 56.7° F. Tide: Less than 2' rising to 2.5'.

Salad with Loggers (Linda Mar)

Posted on September 26th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. Sunday services at the Church of Surf were scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Scott and I arrived a bit late at the south parking lot, where he detached his bike from the MINI's roof rack and peddled off on the bike path. This being Linda Mar, many congregants were already gathered in the water, but my buddies were nowhere to be found. I suited up but was not looking forward to paddling out alone on the south end; the bigger, emptier waves to the north looked more enticing.
As I texted Luke for his ETA, he pulled into the lot in his shiny new blue Subaru WRX, and said that Emily and Max had followed him but turned into the north lot. Finally, I would get to meet a couple of Twitter friends I've been conversing with online for over a year. Sure enough, as I walked to the beach with my board under my arm, Emily appeared on the sidewalk. Odd that, meeting someone in real life for the first time, you'd hug like old friends, but that's how it is in the internet age.

Emily, Max, and Luke, who's wearing seaweed

I paddled out alone at the extreme south end by Boat Docks. The seaweed was heavy just off the beach, but for strength training purposes I paddled halfway out towing a pile of it on my leash. It's amazing how much drag a small hunk of kelp can create. I soon found my place well inside and closer to the peak than the few longboarders who'd taken up station there. The rest of the beach, except for the north, was clotted with surfers and closeouts, but happily Boat Docks was less populated, and I was the only one not on a log. I was perfectly positioned to pick off the waves the longboarders let slip by, especially as most didn't seem to notice the current kept pushing them too far outside. I was ever on the move, staying lined up with the deck of the last house on the hill and the sloping wooden boat ramp extending from a beach house. Goofyfoot joy, it was all lefts, and I caught a bunch. I rode the first too far inside, falling off flat into what seemed a watery salad of chest-deep loose seaweed. I towed my heavy leash outside of the vegetated zone before clearing it from my board and body. After that I tried to turn out before reaching the salad bar.

Emily and Max

Luke, and then Emily and Max, paddled out some time later. Max's board is a 10-footer and weighs 60 pounds! (That's 3 meters and 27 kgs for my friends outside the USA.) The waves were more suited to longboarders, waist-high+, mushy and slow, and the offshore was working to push me off them before I could get over the lip, but I challenged myself to be in the right place to ride on my 7'0". For sure coaching has increased my wave count; I'm getting better at predicting the peak and moving to that place, and I'm turning up my speed to get into waves. As I paddled for one next to Emily, I was closer to the peak, looking over my shoulder to see how the wave was forming up. I said, "I don't think I'm going to get this one - it's too mushy," assuming she would take it on her longboard, "but I'm going to try!" I kicked it into high gear, catching the wave, pushing the nose down against the wind, and popping up with my weight forward - surprising myself that I was riding. Later, as light rain began to fall, Luke repeated something our buddy John had told him, that when you get to a certain skill level, you can ride anything with anything, i.e. any wave with any board. (My surf coach disagrees, saying that while you can more quickly adapt once you reach a high level of wave judgment and body/board awareness, you'll still kook it up for a while on a new wave-riding device.) I've a long way to go, but I feel that I'm moving toward that place.
It was a fun morning, all the better for the presence of friends and for low expectations that were more than fulfilled.

Lining up on a boat ramp

Afterwards, Scott and I stopped by J-Bird's booth at Fog Fest in Pacifica. I'd forgotten to bring a t-shirt to put on after surfing, and she hooked me up with a nice one from her Birdswell line.

Surfline: NW-WNW (280-310+) swell on tap along with small SW groundswell. Decent exposures see shoulder-head high waves, while standout areas get overhead+ sets. SW-WSW wind early for some very minor surface texture (S wind protected areas offer up some cleaner waves). Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 7.5 ft at 10.0 s WNW 78 / WIND WAVE: 0.7 ft at 3.7 s W / WVHT: 7.5 ft / APD: 9.1 s / MWD: 296° (Met) WSPD: 8 kts / GST: 10 kts / WVHT: 7.5 ft / DPD: 10.0 s / WDIR: 160° / ATMP: 57.4° F / WTMP: 56.3° F. Tide: 4' rising to 5'.

Coaching: Poaching (The Hook)

Posted on September 23rd, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. Our first WNW groundswell of the fall season filled in overnight. With the buoy showing 12' @ 16s, I thought the waves would be much bigger than they were, and so did a lot of people. The Hook still had nice size, shoulder to overhead, but the crowd had turned out for more. Barry led me around from the second peak to Sharks and back again, looking to poach some of the smaller waves from the pack.
On a spacecraft, there's a mechanism that's used to position the reflectors. It has two components, one coarse to get the reflector in the vicinity of the desired location, and another for fine-tuning to the exact spot. Barry helped me to be in the right general area, and his break knowledge and experience were invaluable in the crowded conditions. But then it was up to me to be in just the right place at the right time, when traffic would allow me to get a wave.

For a while I wasn't having much luck, but ended up with four solid rides. On one, I was following Barry right to correct our drift, when he said, "Are you going to go for this one?" The wave was almost upon me and I sat up quickly, slid back, spun around and paddled right into it for a nice drop and ride. Woot!

Barry noticed that I'm paddling stronger back to the lineup, so all those swim sprints must be doing some good. My wave judgment, timing and positioning are also getting (incrementally) better; today my ratio of waves paddled for to waves ridden was high with no takeoff crashes like the last coaching session. There were a few I missed because I wasn't deep enough, but I didn't go for any that were clearly too steep/deep.

There was a bold sea otter in the lineup, putting on a show between sets just a dozen feet away. When he bent forward to scratch his upper back, he curled into a spinning otter-ball, rolling head over heals, 'round and 'round in the water. I don't bring my waterproof camera out on coaching sessions because I want to focus on surfing, but I wished I had it then.

When it was time for just one more, I stroked into a nice head-high right and turned quickly on the shoulder for a little face time before it sectioned. I kept riding, all the way to the beach. Stoked!

Surfline: New NW groundswell peaks with chest high to 1-2' overhead waves at good spots. Standouts go 2-3'+ overhead on sets. Small S-SW swell blend mixes in with 2-3' sets. Light winds early. Patchy, dense fog possible. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 14.4 ft at 13.8 s WNW 77 / WIND WAVE: 2.3 ft at 4.8 s NW / WVHT: 14.4 ft / APD: 11.3 s / MWD: 302° (Met) WSPD: 12 kts / GST: 16 kts / WVHT: 14.4 ft / DPD: 14.0 s / WDIR: 300° / ATMP: 54.1° F / WTMP: 56.8° F. Tide: Peaking high at 4'.

First In (The Hook/Sharks)

Posted on August 19th, 2011 in California, Half Moon Bay, Surf Reports, Surf Sessions. This morning was one of those times when I made the long drive to the beach in the dark, hoping that dawn would reveal some rideable waves. It was too dark to see anything when I arrived but I could hear waves, so hope continued as I suited up and paddled out in still-dim light. There was no one else in the water for at least 10 minutes - oh, delicious solitude! - and the sea blessed me with a pair of nice waves, the second one just as another surfer reached the lineup. Then we waited. And waited. After 15 minutes I asked if he'd forgotten to put another quarter in the wave machine before he came out. A couple other guys joined us, including a Softtop-riding greybeard I see almost every time at the Hook. (He actually surfs well, despite the equipment.) Finally a set came, and the most recent entrant caught it. Then flatness returned. Looking to the horizon, Greybeard declaimed, "What?! Only one? But we need four!"

I could see waves breaking at Sharks, so I moved over there after half an hour at the Hook. Before I could sort out where to be when the rare sets came through, I was caught inside and pulled off one ride but not a second from the whitewater. After more waiting, this time out far enough, I was paddling for a nice set wave and just about to pop up when the kelp reached out and grabbed my board. Darn seaweed. Sad when the wave passed by, for they were few and far between. Many more minutes later another came; I was ready and got a good little ride.
Shivering now after an hour of little activity in 50-something water and drizzly air, I thought that might be my last wave, but I'd head back to the Hook via the ocean instead of the beach to see if anything else might come my way before I got out at the Hook stairs. As I stroked over, a harbor seal and I surprised each other, only four feet apart. The crowd on the peak had grown to about 10, scrabbling for scarce scraps. It was nice to see Darren, who shaka'd and smiled from his longboard as he reached the lineup. Finally I caught a tiny wave to the beach, thankful that I'm a morning person. So worth it for those first two waves, all by myself in the glassy sea.

Surfline: Weak, dribbly little lines working through. Long lulls. Small, steep angled South (170-180) swell holds this morning, mixing with minimal NW windswell wrap. Most of the region remains either flat or close to it, as top exposures pull in a few 2-3' occ. plus Southern Hemi sets. Conditions are mostly clean, there just isn't much of any swell to go along. Buoy 46012: (Wave) SWELL: 3.0 ft at 14.8 s S 66 / WIND WAVE: 3.3 ft at 6.7 s NW / WVHT: 4.3 ft / APD: 5.3 s / MWD: 184° (Met) WSPD: 16 kts / GST: 19 kts / WVHT: 4.9 ft / DPD: 15.0 s / WDIR: 320° / ATMP: 56.1° F / WTMP: 56.5° F. Tide: 2' dropping slightly.