Venturing

It doesn't seem like winter wants to leave just yet.  A bunch of swells coming from the north are marching there way towards the California Coast, hitting it with some good raw power and lines that would make any surfer call in sick or ditch class.  But one of the two keys for good surf seems to not want to cooperate:  The Wind.  It's Spring's turn to take over the command center, and she is having a difficult time trying to push Winter out of the captain's seat.  So what we have is strong pulses of some great winter surf but south winds that chop it up.  Instead of clean lines, we have wobbly & inconsistent waves.  I find myself lining up just off the regular launch points at reefs, waiting for that one crazy set that is going to swing a little to the north or south because of our presently bipolar Pacific.  But there are waves, and who is complaining, right?

I decided to venture out yesterday since there was a decent swell rising. I surfed three different spots and paid attention to how all three spots were effected by tide, swell height, period and wind.  The first spot was pretty intense.  Big sets, sectiony and some unduckable waves.  Yeah, I think the first spot got the best of me that morning even though I did catch a few waves.  But waiting on the inside on a rising swell isn't a great idea.  And to be honest, I brought the wrong board and was pretty under gunned. 

The second spot, the famous "Swami's", was half the size of the first spot.  I waited patiently for parking in the lot for about 15 minutes and got a great spot.  As I pulled in, the guy on my left smiled and I said excitedly, "Scored!" because finding parking in the lot is just as hard as catching a wave in the big crowd that congregates in the line up of Swami's.   I recognized the guy smiling after a second.  It was Rob Machado in his famous surf van.  I smiled back and carried on. I checked the waves for a few minutes and decided to paddle out deep and play the old man's game, but just south of the regular peak.  Within 10 minutes, I caught a bomber all the way to the inside.  I like Swami's a lot.  Pretty fast wave, faster than most in San Diego, and the thing just peels.  But the fact is, if you catch one deep, you have to play Qubert with the crowd.  But I learned how to surf crowds at The Hook where you have to become a Qubert master, so I was cool.  I caught a couple more, but those rides combined didn't amount to the fun I had on the first good one.  After two hours, the south wind kicked up, and I decided to head back south to my regular "Cliff".

Venture Crossing.

I hit my regular reef and found that the South Wind wasn't as strong as it was in North County.  However, the waves weren't as big and consistent as I thought it would be.  I grabbed my biggest board, "The Webbster" which is 6'6 x 21.5.  I call it my high performance long board.  It's a "two strokes your in" type of board.  I commenced to catch a bunch of good waves.  There was one set that sent me and a few friends down deep into the dark sections of the abyss.  One wave decided to close out the entire channel between the north and south peaks.  It also decided to dump directly 5 yards in front of my face.  I had no fucking chance on that wave.  I just held on for the ride.

The lineup.

Spring was in the air yesterday with all those crazy winds.  But the water, unnaturally, was pretty warm.  Spring winds usually cause upwelling which is the cause for cold water temps between March and June.  But the water has been warm enough during the last few weeks to cause some to choose board shorts.  Maybe tomorrow I'll ride in some shorts.  Who knows.  These crazy winter/spring days are making me bipolar.