Big Kelly Surprise

Last weekend was example of how living close to the beach got me in the water. The weather was beautiful - off shore and warm - so Sunday morning (Thanksgiving weekend) we took the kids to the beach to play. (we live four blocks from the beach now, here in Half Moon Bay) I had my camera and snapped some photos of the surprising waves.






The swell was bigger than ideal for our beach. The tide was high, which is not great when the waves are smaller. Most waves were closed out. But it was offshore, sunny, a few guys were out, and they were getting corners and some really good waves.




On my way home I ran into an old friend from San Fran who said it was supposed to get bigger in the afternoon - meaning it was now or never if I wanted to get some.



It was nap time for Hendrik and quiet time for Noah and Anke was sick so not wanting to go exercise. SOOO I had to go. By the time I got there the waves were a bit bigger and much dumpier as the tide had dropped so the waves were unloading on the sandbar. No one was out anymore.

I got out and got some really good waves. One other guy joined me. He caught a wave, got caught inside, and broke his 4 week old board - bummer!! Good thing I was riding a Hess. I actually dropped straight into a gaping tube on the wave that broke his board.


The waves were big enough to be quite thrilling for my rarely surfing self. I had some epic late drops, some good turns, a couple long racy rides, rights and lefts, and a couple closeout barrels - one that set up on the inside after a long ride and one that I dropped straight into. Four other guys tried to get out but failed.

A few waves under my belt I was ready for the next week (at least) of no surf. I have averaged one surf every two weeks since we moved to the beach - painful but a reality I am at peace with as I know that my job is the hardest this year that it will be, since I am creating a new curriculum from scratch. Plus in not too many years the family will be able to surf together!

my fall by the beach

Images below: fall was off to good start at Kelly Ave. Early September barrels of which I got none - I was sick but glad to know my new home break has potential!

see below for summary of my surfing fall.







Well it is a bitter sweet irony. As soon as we moved to the beach I became so busy that I hardly ever have time to surf! I have surfed less since moving to the beach than any time in my life (except for my year in Korea when I surfed only once). Creating a new curriculum and teaching it to 72 7th graders is taking the majority of my time and then what is left over is mostly spent with the family.

The good thing about not surfing much is I can pretty much remember every wave I caught this fall. There was a movie when Nat Young was watching his son surf and he said that it takes less waves to make him happy. At the time I doubted that could be true for me but of course it is. When you surf everyday,, once a day doesn't seem like enough. When you surf every day a week of no surf seems like a long time and a month of no surf is unthinkable. But once you are not surfing everyday for long enough, you think less about it and don't miss it in the moment as much.

Of course I miss it but it is different. I do get hit every once in a while by the longing to surf. But when I do get to surf it does satisfy me for longer, like Nat Young said. I can ride the high from a good session for a number of days. Then I get sucked into my busy life and don't think too much about it.

So we moved to Kelly Avenue in Half Moon Bay last August. We live four blocks from the beach which has good surf at times. The spot is about as fickle as my ole home break - Chronchite - in the Marin Headlands. It is very tide dependant, lacks consistent sand bars, and is often closed out. But it does get very good and is usually uncrowded so I am happy with it as my home break.

I said I have not surfed much. For instance I only surfed twice the entire month of October !!! Once in September, three times in November. And people are saying November has been all time - mostly at the point breaks but OB as well.

That being said I would not have surfed most of those sessions if I did not live at the beach for I truly have not had time to travel for surf. I have only made it to OB (30 minute drive - same as when I lived in Marin) twice. My other sessions were quickies at Kelly Ave. When my brother Matt visited we went down for a junky powerful winter session one morning. No one else surfed but we got waves - I had three really good ones which was a pleasant surprise considering the conditions.

One time living close to the beach payed off was one evening the week before my brother visited. I had a few minutes before the family got home so I rode the bike down at 4:30 to look at the ocean which I had not seen in a week. It was overcast and super glassy and to my surprise - going off. Just overhead, peeling, picture perfect waves with four or five guys out. I rushed home, through on my wetsuit as fast as possible, was in the water by 4:45 and had 30 minutes of super fun surf before it was too dark to see.

Last weekend was another example of how living close to the beach got me in the water. The weather was beautiful - off shore and warm - so Sunday morning (Thanksgiving weekend) we took the kids to the beach to play. I had my camera and snapped some photos of the surprising waves. The swell was bigger than ideal for our beach. The tide was high, which is not great when the waves are smaller. Most waves were closed out. But it was offshore, sunny, a few guys were out, and they were getting corners and some really good waves.

On my way home I ran into an old friend from San Fran who said it was supposed to get bigger in the afternoon - meaning getting some was now or never.

It was nap time for Hendrik and quiet time for Noah and Anke was sick so not wanting to go exercise. SOOO I had to go. By the time I got there the waves were a bit bigger and much dumpier as the tide had dropped so the waves were unloading on the sandbar. No one was out anymore.

I got out and got some really good waves. One other guy joined me. He caught a wave, got caught inside, and broke his 4 week old board - bummer!! Good thing I was riding a Hess. I actually dropped straight into a gaping tube on the wave that broke his board.

The waves were big enough to be quite thrilling for my non-surfing self. I had some epic late drops, some good turns, a couple long racy rides, and a couple closeout barrels. Four other guys tried to get out but failed.

I did get one classic fall day at OB. It was big - double overhead - offshore. One of those perfect looking days. Breaking way out on the outer bars, the sunset was gorgeous providing orange and pink colors which were reflected off the glassy water. Everyone was out so it was quite a reunion. There were dolphins and sea lions surfing and frolicking with the rest of us, just to add to the perfection of the situation. But it was also a classic OB day in that the waves were hard to get. They didn't let you in or they broke too early, or there was already someone on it. It was hard to be in the right spot. I only had two waves before getting caught inside (I actually paddled all the way back out and got caught inside again). But one of my waves was an epic big long left - oh so good!

And of course let's not forget that I did get to go on a Duck reunion camping trip with my college buddies to Big Sur where we had a couple days of VERY fun surf without any resposibilities - all we had to do was eat and surf and we found a bit of time for beers and bocci as well!

Chronic sunset sesh

Just found this picture I took at Chronchite in January '05

Ocean Beach Jan 17, 2009

Well today was one of those good big days at Ocean Beach. The wind has been blowing offshore for the past week or two, it was sunny and warm, and the swell was a solid 7 feet at 17 seconds. The sets were easily triple overhead. Look in the photos below ans see how small the people look.

I did not spend much time snapping pictures, the lighting was awful, folks must have gotten sick shots in the morning!

I paddled out near Ortega and spent a solid 25 minutes paddling without ANY progress. I was BUMMED. What a mind trip to get denied like that. Then I got out and walked up to a different spot. I found the rip and was got out in about 15 minutes. By the time I got to the outside I was exhausted!

What a treat to be out on a beautiful day when the swell is pumping. Big swells pushing in, pitching, and peeling, the offshores feathering back the lips, rainbows in the spray.

There was only one other guy out in my vicinity, there were about ten guys on peaks further south.

The coast gaurd came to play in their47 foot long motor lifeboats. They had a crew standing on top and they backed into the impact zone and took the waves head on. They actually came very close to us, close enough to smoke us out with their exhaust. They had waves crash completely over them and came up through some, going vertical as they jumped out the back of the waves. They took big waves, obviously what they were built for. It was cool to watch and reminded me of the day before when the dolphins came to play and one launched about 15 feet high out the back of a wave - the highest I have ever seen one jump! Epic. I must say I prefer being surrounded by dolphins over coast gaurd boats.

I caught five set waves, one right and 4 lefts. They were EPIC. I took off on the peak and as it pitched out above/next to me I dropped into the monsters - they were so smooth and perfect. What a feeling to turn off the bottom and look over your shoulder to see a fifteen foot face pitching out above you.

I went most the time without any thrashings but finally took an extra large set wave on the head. I came up just in time to snag a breath before the second wave got me. After that I got caught inside two more times, the third time I went in having no more energy with which to fight my way back out.

A very satisfying surf with only 5 waves.







B


O

Thanksgiving swell 08

Well we often have a clean big swell for Thanksgiving and I often miss it since it is a family holiday. I scored fun surf right at the beginning of this one but missed the sizable days. The day these photos were taken they claim it was the best Mavericks ever. It was pretty awsome to check it out from the Headlands. Here are just a couple shots to give you a taste, the point bonita light house shot is a classic.

swamis (Swiamea) vs Ocean Beach (the abusive lover) - 2006

Hi Everyone,
I spent two and half weeks in Southern California for Christmas vacation. Pretty much the whole time we were down there it was raining and flooding back home in the Bay Area while we were enjoying the warmth of the So Cal sun. The storms that brought floods to the north sent waves to the south. The biggest waves anyone had ever seen hit So Cal in fact. Clean conditions, sunshine, offshore winds, and 12 to 18 foot waves made for quite a circus at the spots like Swami's that hold big waves. Imagine 100 people in the water, as many as 7 people on a single wave, lifeguards on jet skis, news helicopters, 300 people on the cliffs watching, backed up traffic on the coast HWY. All of this resulted in 85 rescues in one day at Swami's, countless broken boards and leashes (one wave was said to break 7 boards), and a buzz around town that lasted for days.
I did not surf the biggest day. Not because of the waves. I have learned to love waves in that size range and I get to surf them throughout the winter back home at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I didn't surf because I can't stand crowds in the surf and on this day it looked incredibly dangerous. If Ocean Beach is that big you will be lucky to have 7 people in the water with you, as far as you can see. The reason for this is that OB is not an easy place to surf when it is big, as I was reminded upon my return to Nor Cal.
I love Ocean Beach, it is my favorite place to surf, and I consider myself lucky to have it as my home break. Anytime I am away from the Bay Area I miss the waves at the beach. If the conditions are good OB can have fun waves at 2 feet or 20 feet. It has an infinite variety of moods from weak longboard days to small rippable short board days to heavy big wave days. It usually has lots of power as it gets the swell straight from the open ocean and is often hollow enough to nab a few barrels while you're out. So of course while surfing with the crowds in Southern California I was dreaming of my return to OB. Yesterday I had my return and I was reminded that you have to earn your waves up here. There is a reason it is uncrowded.
I had one hour before work to surf. It was sunny, offshore, and only about 10 to 12 feet. Noone was out as I drove the 4 miles of beach. I picked a spot where good waves were breaking on the outside and the paddle looked pretty easy. It was a short interval swell which usually makes for a tough paddle and yesterday turned out to be no exception. The paddle out took me a solid 30 minutes of nonstop paddling. I ended up getting out at the same time as one other guy. What a satisfying feeling once you are finally outside, sitting in the ocean, thick swells passing underneath, offshore spray raining down the backs of the waves, 'A' frame peaks breaking off in the distance up and down the beach. As I waited for one to come to me I took in my surroundings and enjoyed the sunrise.
To catch the thick fast moving waves you need to be in a spot where it seems as if the thing is gonna land on top of you and you have to commit yourself and paddle as hard as you can. When a big wave at OB is coming towards me my first reaction is always fear and the thought that I don't want anything to do with it. Then I remind myself that the reason I am out is to ride such waves so I forget the fear, turn and commit myself. More often than not if you are in the right spot the take offs are actually quite easy when it is big and the ride so thrilling and fun that I turn around and paddle out for more. On this particular day the first waves that came to me seemed like it was gonna close out so I pulled back at the last minute. After it passed I realized it would have been a good one so I vowed not to back out again. The next wave to come to me I caught, had a fun drop, and then it did close out. I kicked out, began paddling back out and took the next wave of the set on the head. I tried to duckdive but got totally annihilated. After my thrashing I came up to the surface to find my surfboard in two pieces, snapped completely in half. Damn it!
Having to fight multiple rip currents the swim in to the beach took quite a while. I returned to my car, got changed and snapped a few quick photos of the perfect waves, none of which I was to ride that day. In the parking lot one other guy walked past me cursing because he had just had the same exact experience as me. While I changed I saw two other guys give up without ever making it out and return to the beach defeated. Ocean Beach makes you earn your waves. Days like this one make me feel a little like a person who continues to love someone who abuses them. I guess the fact that I am still in love with OB after days like that (which are not so rare) says something for how good it is when OB shows some love and lets me get little.

The week after I wrote this I had another chance to get some big ones. With a similar paddle out as before I made it out and was the only person I saw surfing anywhere, even though it was a sunny afternoon. On my first wave I dropped in behind a big section, pulled up high on the wave as the thick lip pitched out over me. Under the lip I dropped down into a barrel big enough to drive the Burning Van through. Inside my biggest barrel of the winter time slowed down as it does in the tube. Eventually the end of the tube closed off and I was in a giant pressure chamber. By this time the water around me was brown from the sand being dredged off the bottom. It was amazing how long I was able to stay in the barrel even after it closed out. Finally the whole thing collapsed and I was washed all the way to the inside. To catch another wave I had to do the tough paddle again. I got washed in again after my second wave and after 15 minutes of paddling with absolutely no progress I gave up hope for a third wave. When I got to the beach I noticed the leash had pulled through the tail of my (friend's) board.
[That was Billy's 7'6" SF - to be broken eventually at the Ranch on a legendary swell]

Ocean Beach Magic with Darrick (06)

Anke, Noah, and I have just ended two and half weeks of family sickness. Of course there are many hard things about such a situation, feeling bad, having those you love feel bad, not being able to sleep, being kept up all night by a sick child, missing work, missing parties, and worst of all... missing the surf!
The first week we were all so sick I didn't even miss the surf. You know when you are really sick when you don't even think about doing fun stuff. Then as you start feeling better you get anxious to return to the activities you enjoy. When I was finally close to being able to surf I began paying attention to the conditions which were good. Days of good waves. I had decided to wait longer to let my lingering cough get better. Finally it was my day to return to the ocean, but no. Anke was sick so I had Noah. Luckily my frustration was relieved by my friend Dave who offered to hang with Noah on the beach while I jumped in.
The frustration quickly came back Ocean Beach style. The waves looked great but they were very hard to catch. After being too far out to catch any I moved in to find myself too far inside and a set washed me all the way in. That happened three times in a row, once I got pounded super hard and my board hit me in the back so that a week later it still hurts. Then I caught a close out and got washed in a fourth time. I decided to go in and then my leash broke causing me to end my session by swimming in. A frustrating session but at least I got in the Ocean!!
Then I worked a few days and returned to the beach to surf again to discover that the week or two of good conditions had ended and the ocean was cold and stormy. Days like this went by. My next possible surf day was today and the forcast looked bleak. The morning report was dismal but today my luck was to change.
Monitoring the bouys I could see the potential for a wind switch and good conditions in the early afternoon. I did some chores, ran some errands, and drove to the beach to find 6 to 10 foot waves groomed by offshores winds an no one surfing. Not only were the conditions great but there were whale spouts just outside the line up. I got a hold of my friend Darrick and he rushed down to join me. While I was talking to Darrick a hump back whale repeatedly breached, jumping out of the water and making giant splashes with its massive body.
The surf was great for an hour and half and then just after Darrick got out to go to work the Ocean Beach currents kicked in, washed me into the no wave zone, the ocean got junky, and I called it a day.
I had a number of fun waves but there was one that sticks in my mind as one of those special moments when everything comes together and from my perspective everything in the world was perfect.
The swells were coming from a couple directions, causing a wedge effect. The trick was to be in the exact spot where two swells crossed up over the sandbar forming a big jacking peak. The right spot was just inside of where the wave peaked so that you could catch the wave under the lip. This kind of positioning is a psychological game because it seems like the wave is gonna land on top of you and if you decide to go you end up nearly air dropping into the pit. So on this wave I was just in the right spot to go left (backside). After a steep drop I cranked a bottom turn and looked over my shoulder at a perfect pitching wave. The lip was feathered back and held suspended by the offshores, the wave was backlit and turned from blue to green about half way up. I came up on the face and as I tuned below the lip I could see how much room there was below the lip. I usually have a kinda lame style of bending forward when I surf but this wave called for me to stand up tall. I stood up strait, arching my back as if I were channeling Gerry Lopez, and for a moment felt one with the wave as I leaned back and looked up at the bowl all around me. Even thought I was turning half way up the wave I had tons of room under the lip. Just as I did my under the lip soul carve my buddy Darrick gave out a huge hoot as he was on the inside of me paddling out. Having a buddy witness a moment like that makes it all that much more special and tangible, less like a dream.
Besides us there was only one other surfer out as far as you could see. In fact there were more whales in the water than surfers at that time. The picture of me standing tall under a green lip groomed by offshore winds while my buddy was paddling out and no one else was anywhere to be seen is one of those rare surfing moments. If someone saw that picture in a surf mag they would think, oh my god, where is that spot! Luckily it is our local spot and if are willing to put up with the frustrating sessions the beach can offer up, you will occasionally be blessed with perfection.
And after being out of the game this was the best possible reentry to replace my frustration with stoke.