Poo Patrol

Steve sent me an e-mail with a link to a news article on the Camp Pendelton sewage spill.   http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/53360/  Today there were warning signs, still went for it.   Hey, I've never gotten sick at Uppers yet.   It was tad smaller but just as fun.

Uppers Beach Break

Lots of sand, no more seaweed, belly to shoulder high and a nice off shore flow.  Saw several waves spit.  The water is still pretty muddy, looks like toilet water; YUK!   Out by myself in the bay for a good part of the morning (see last pic).

Christmas Glass

It's a glassy day today, not much surfwise.   Stayin' home with the Family.

Merry Christmas

Muddy and Nasty

Muddy, beach breaky and good.  Lots of "stuff" in the water?   Pooey, I hope I don't get sick.

Muddy Waters

San Juan Creek this morning, it's going to be muddy for awhile.

Yeah, I can do that

In my dreams.   Found this on Vimeo:


Mickey Brennan Shippies from Surfing Life on Vimeo.

Glassy, South Wind, Rain, Glassy Again

It was just Jeff Q and I in the water this morning, too bad the surf was not happening.  Waist high slow moving swamped out junk.   But I managed to get a couple of waves that were….. nah it was shit.  I probably would have passed had I been the only one on the beach.   I blame Jeff.

Well Well Well

Mother Nature finally provided a few waves for the surf starved multitudes, emphasis on few.   There were inconsistent waist to chest high waves today and thankfully only a handful of guys out at uppers.   Wind was SE and water was around 58.   Lowers looked much bigger and consistent, but was seriously crowded; I quit counting at 32 when a set came through.  

If I Were Only One Foot Tall

La Nina Continues

Flat:

a : having a continuous horizontal surface
b : being or characterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions
c : having a relatively smooth or even surface
d : characterized by no significant rise or decline from one period to another
e : lacking in animation, zest, or vigor : DULL
f : having the major surfaces essentially parallel and distinctly greater than the minor surfaces
g : utterly ruined or destroyed: resting with a surface against something

THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES

Too busy on the weekend to surf, didn’t look like much anyway when I checked the buoys and cams. Couldn’t resist this morning, took a ride down just in case. It was a beautiful sunrise. Surf-wise, there were only a couple of thigh high sets over the course of half an hour with thick kelp in the line-up.

A few people paddled out at Lowers

Persistence

Left work early today and had another go at it.   Sat a little north of the point by myself and caught some decent waist to chest high waves.  Not real consistent but at least I got wet.   Here's a few foggy pictures.

The Shadow Knows

In the last three weeks I’ve left uppers dry more times than in the past couple of years.   What the hell is going on?    All the forecasts for today and the buoys showed there was swell in the water.   And the place was flat this morning.   Just a little too steep for uppers, look at the CDIP graphic for the shadowing affect.   It may pick up later today but this is not a good sign for this two day swell.  

WTF

I fully expected it to be flat this morning, but the pugs woke me up and WTF may as well check it out.   You never know.   Arrived at 5:40 and was stunned by the number of cars parked and people milling around.   Started riding down the trail and there were several cars/trucks going up and down the trail.   It turns out that some high schools from Newport and Costa Mesa were planning to take over uppers for a surf contest.  There were probably 50 -75 people; high school kids, parents, grandparents etc.   What a circus.   I hope they don’t show up tomorrow.

A Public Service Announcement

I remember reading in one of the magazines not too long ago that 75% of surfers pee in their wetsuits and that the other 25% are lying. That being said, I was putting my booties on one morning last month and got a whiff.

That smell would chase the pigs off a gut truck!

So during this last flat spell I began a search to remedy the stink in my booties. My wife told me to use anti-bacterial soap; while that made sense and it helped, the aroma was still very noticeable. The internet has a product out there but I was determined to not spend any money on this if didn’t have to, plus the reviews were not impressive. Then I thought I’d try a water/mouthwash mix; that only added a minty tint to the stank. So I asked my daughter, the mother of two young children, what she uses to clean the grandkids clothes when they have a blow-out diaper.

Woolite.

This is the answer my friends, just a half ounce or so in a bucket of water, let it soak for an hour or two (maybe more if you’re big on urinating in your wetsuit) and voila the smell is gone.   Invest in a good hanger too, they'll dry faster:  $9.99 on Amazon

High Tide Blues

A little swampy today with the high tide; emphasis on little.   Air and water temps tolerable with a 4:3.   I think I caught 5 waves if you count the faceplant after hitting a kelp speed bump.   Can't make it tomorrow, early morning meeting with European colleagues.  See you Wednesday.

Late Post for Friday

Working like a rented mule all week then had a chance to go out on last Friday.  Had a quick lonely session.  Almost didn't go out until a waist high set came through.  What can I say, hard up.   Caught a few waves and went to work.   Spent the weekend in Santa Barbara, it was flat up there.   Looked like a few waves came through over the weekend in south OC, I missed it.   Tomorrow looks like it may be surfable.   See you there.