Sea Lions and Rabbits and Cats, Oh My (Melon Camp)
Actually I saw only one of each critter: a curious sea lion, pushing his head and upper body out of the water to stare at me; a timid rabbit, hopping off the path and pausing briefly under a bush before dashing away; and a friendly fluffy cat, who kept…
Kicks (Hook/Sharks/Privates)
After about a week of flat surf and/or bad weather, and on a holiday weekend to boot, the Hook was predictably loaded with surfers. As I paddled around the pack on the outside, looking for a more open spot farther east, a nearly head-high wave started …
Bonding (HMB Jetty)
Full moon at dawnOn our third session this morning, I really clicked with Emm, my new 7’0″ Ward Coffey surfboard. The waves at the Jetty were fairly clean and chest- to shoulder-high (waist- to chest-high relative to Luke), but a bit jumbled and funk…
A Couple of Coffeys in the Morning (HMB Jetty)
Luke found his narrower and thinner Coffey (left) on Craigslist around the time I ordered mine.Quite a difference in climate from my surf sessions last week in Hawaii. It was only 48 degrees at the beach, with the water slightly warmer than the air, an…
Do We Really Have to Leave? (Pinetrees)
Since our flight home wasn’t until 2 pm, there was time for a last surf in the morning. I skipped the paddle to the reef in favor of the closer beach break in Hanalei Bay. Every once in a while a head-high cleanup set would come through, but mostly the…
"Magic Will Sing" (Cowells)
“Magic will sing at Cowells tonight.” That was Luke’s prediction when we chatted earlier in the day about our planned sunset surf session, and he was right. I got a bunch of fun rides, long lefts and even longer rights, with plenty of time for wave-dan…
Happy Halloween (Linda Mar)
The perfect wetsuit for surfing on HalloweenLinda Mar was offering up lots and lots of small fun waves this morning. Quite a few even had short shoulders, and the high tide was forging the usual pitching closeouts into gentle mush. It was crowded of co…
Kelp Slalom (38th Ave)
Although the late afternoon low tide was probably perfect for Cowells, westside Santa Cruz has been taken over for an entire week by the Coldwater Classic surf contest. Grrr. So we ended up doing the kelp slalom on the eastside.Luke brought the latest …
Sunrise Service (HMB Jetty)
Attendance was sparse for the sunrise service at the Church of Surf, just me near the front and a couple of dolphins in the back pew. Today’s sermon: When life seems mixed up, your troubles are doubling up and washing back at you, and opportunities are…
Third Time’s the Charm (Waddell)
This morning our little surf posse formed up in Half Moon Bay and we drove in caravan down Highway 1: Luke in his big truck, just-arrived-yesterday East Coast transplants J-Bird and Jacob, me and Scott, and Nikki in her new Subaru. We checked Tres Roca…