Years end

Today is a beautiful day at the beach, it`s finally warmed up a bit and people are out biking, walking dogs , or just sitting in the sun. Perfect Chamber of Commerce weather for the Rose Parade tomorrow. The surf is so-so , chest high and a little slow but how can I resist. Enjoy your nice days when you get them. Plenty of guys in the water, the black-rubber brotherhood is spread thickly from Blackies to Bolsa Chica. I managed to squeeze my post-holiday gut into my suit without blowing the zipper and joined them for awhile this morning. Nothing great but a few nice drops and a turn or two is all I need to make it worthwhile. A wonderful way to wind up the year!

Blessings

This is the last Sunday of 2007 . I did my surf check in a coat and tie, as I helped with Communion services at church today. Year end always gives us the chance to look back and be thankful for our blessings, and look to the promise of tomorrow. With God as my guide the future looks bright.

Nice lunch

This week seems to be suffering from the Holiday hangover, it`s kind of broken. I got the guys working but had a hard time getting into the right frame of mind to be effective. It was realy pretty cold today so I waited for the tide to drop and the sun to rise before surfing. The water dropped to 54-55 degrees last night. HB was the place again and I had a fun hour go-out.

Late present

I had a hard time getting back into the work mode, checked Blackies early to find it thigh high while HB was head-high+. I got the job going and then told the guys I had "something else to do". The high tide didn`t stop the south side from being pretty good and I spent a nice lunch hour getting some exercise,aqua-therapy, on a warm, sunny day. A late Christmas present....

Merry Christmas

God graced us with a beautiful Morning! Truly a California Christmas , with warm skies and offshore winds. I spent the morning with my family and then surfed with a good friend at Blackies. Now I`m off for prime rib and more family Christmas.Count our blessings!

I was pleasantly surprised to catch this crowd roaring out of the pier parking lot about noon today. I pulled over to the curb to grab a few shots as they headed off. Surf was weak as the lowtide had drained it but Harley Claus made the trip worthwhile.

Christmas eve

I woke up and headed off to HB. It was an absolutely beautiful morning and warmer than it has been. The full moon setting on the water looked cool. That same moon was pulling a 7' high tide that had everything pretty swamped. The sandbar on the southside was good on the occaisional set, but still slow and inconsistent. I ran down to Blackies to see the same conditions but smaller. Pooch was out in only trunks and a Santa hat.

Windswell

Cold again this morning, and short period swell with a real fat tide.It had some decent sections sometimes but frankly, I was happy to go to work.The wind turned offshore later but I didn`t have time to go back down to get any. I got a lot done today and now am taking the next 4 days off. Hopefully there`s more swell coming

Missed out

Things looked promising early on. No wind, some swell, and good conditions. It only needed the tide to drop a bit and I`d be there. I went to work for a couple hours but by the time I got back down the west wind had messed it up by 10am. I hate when that happens!

Rain day

I didn`t surf today. The south wind was blowing early and a steady drizzle fell all morning . We actually placed some concrete today , which turned out well in spite of the weather. I pulled off to check the surf but decided I had better things to do with my time than chase the crumbly windswell I found.

wipeouts

No surf for me today. This is the first day in months that I didn`t even go down to look. I need to focus on work and get some projects done. The weather report isn`t helping either chance of rain almost every day this week. I`ll post this youtube vid as I don`t have any pictures of recent surf.

Sunday at the Cliffs

Still pretty cold this AM, 40 degrees at sunrise. Started at the river, looked at the HB pier but ended at the cliffs. It was considerably bigger up there,head-high on sets . Lots of guys suiting up in the lot and plenty in the water, but you could still get waves. The sets tended to wall up so rides were short, but a least they had some power. Shape should improve as the tide pushes in later.

Sunrise, Sunset

37 degrees and ice on the windshield early but a nice sunrise. Huntington showed some signs of life at lowtide. I had a busy day juggling 2 different sites but finished at 3:30 and headed down to surf, the wind never blew today and the sun was warm so I was hoping to just get wet.
I went out on the southside as the sun was setting, about 4 pm. The crowd was easy and there was the occasional chest high wave. I only got a few with any juice but that`s usually all it takes to make it worth it. The sunset behind Catalina was great and I caught one last wave to the beach as the pier lights came on.
I don`t think I got in more than 45 minutes of surf but that little bit sure sets your attitude right. I walked the beach back to my car glad that I`d made the effort .

Flat,flatter.flattest

I went to HB early and had eggs at the Shack, read the paper about politics and the recent debates. It`s hard to beleive we don`t vote for nearly 10 more months. I`m going to be tired of the bunch of them by November.
Still no swell locally and I guess that`s OK, it just makes us appreciate it more when it gets here

flat and flatter

I had time to surf today but there was literally nothing even knee high. I sat in the Blackies lot watching the sun come up and the town coming to life. Lots of action at dawn there, joggers, beachcombers and bar patrons waitng for the Beachball to open.

Tuesday

It was warmer this morning, 48 degrees as I left the house. There were lightning flashes over the ocean and rain squalls over Catalina, the wind was starting out of the SE. I decided to have breakfast at the Sugar Shack before work, as the surf was meager. It`s interesting to sit and listen to conversations there. Talk about last weeks swell, who was paddling in at Todos, etc. There were 2 guys behind me talking about some Baja right point 7-8 hrs south and plans for a trip soon. As I got up after paying my bill I noticed that the 2 guys behind me were in their 60's, yet they still spoke with a youthful enthusiasm about surfing. It suprises me sometimes how many people make surfing a part of their lives, yet I know I and my friends will be like those 2 old guys planning a surf trip soon.

Back Home

I was back at work this morning. I checked things early and conditions were perfect but a 6' tide was smothering what little energy made it through. I left work to surf about 10:30 but by then the wind had crumbled what little energy there was. Lately it seems that there isn`t much surf when I have the time and no time when there is surf.

coming home

We had an outstanding weekend in San Francisco.Good times with great friends. I`d not been to San Francisco since my teens and saw it from a different perspective.I don`t know that I could live there but on a sunny Saturday in Dec. it seems possible. I really enjoy visiting big cities and SF is really special and has a lot of history also.
The flight home went straight down the coast and I spent my time looking out the window trying to locate Mavericks, Santa Cruz, Rincon and the rest. Good to be home!

out of town

Going to San Francisco for the weekend. Debbie and I are going to meet another couple for a few days of cosmopolitan relaxation prior to the Christmas rush. I don`t think I`ll be able to convince anyone to go check out the surf at Fort Point or Ocean Beach. I`ll just have to let it go till I return.

Thursday and still trying...

I hit the cliffs for a first look, size is still up but smaller. There were 5 guys out but no one was getting very far, walled and bouncy at high tide. Back to Blackies to find the south wind had a crumbled high tide situation. I`m off to work but will check back after noon. It`s frustrating to have swell come in and not get any.