9/14/02- This seems like
a good time to start since it was the first time I surfed
in a long time and the first time I have ever surfed at
my new home of Central Cali. Me and Emily surfed Morro
Strand (above the rock). Surf was about waist to chest with
the occasional set. Good fun! Water is a lot colder in Central
Cali. Long boarding. Quote of the day:
Emily: Look at all the seals.
Me: Seals bring sharks...haven't you ever seen those National
Geogr.....
Emily: SHUT UP!!!
9/15/02 - Same spot with
Emily's brother John. Definitely a fun day. I got over my
fear of Marine Life within close proximity to me. Surf
was about waist high, really crossed up due to filling
in nw swell. Quote of the day: "Surfing isn't about what
you can do on the wave or even about the waves at all,
it's about hanging out with your friends having a good
time." Most memorable moments: looking to the right and
seeing 30+ seals coming toward us. Surfing a right, looking
down as I'm about to cut and seeing a seal riding the wave just
under me. Long boarding
.
9/18/02 - Surfed with Drew Bobs and Kyle
from my physics/auto cad class. I was short boarding so I finally got a taste
of how out of shape I am. We surfed south jetty. Swell was at least 6 feet.
It's kind of creepy paddling across the harbor channel. Not only are there
some pretty serious currents, but there's also the threat of a boat emerging
from the fog, GREAT WHITES, and of course those pesky seals that tend to
bring sharks. Once you get to the other side you have to walk over one jetty,
down a long beach and then when you get to the sea wall you have to climb
over that. The swell was really powerful and fairly cold. I hope I look back
on this later and laugh about thinking this was a horrible ordeal. Anyway
I didn't get a single wave. I was only in the lineup for about 5 minutes....
clean up set came in and I was over it. 6ft+ Short boarding.
9/20/02 - Pismo pier with Rico (my roommate),
Drew Bobs, and Brian (Bricepts). Surf was about waist to chest. It was closing
out unless you took off right at the pier...which meant you needed to be
competitive. I figured out two things today. #1) I suck compared to the days
of old. # 2) I am not really that competitive in the surf anymore. Oh well.....I
was short boarding. Oh and Brian Roberts is freaking good....I wish I had
stuck with it....not that I would have been that good but still.
9/21/02 - Ok surfed morro bay with Rico. It
loooooooooked good, but the tide was way too high. It would have been the
best long board day ever but me and the whole stinking short board thing.
Anyway it was about waist high and really fun LOOKING. The day was foggy.
When we left we saw Ricos friend Nick and Nick's girlfriend Shusha (sp?).
They were up from San Diego with a boat and a desire to surf.....hmmmmm I
smell Ranch and I'm not talking about the dressing. So we made plans to surf
the ranch the next morning.... btw they said it got a lot better as soon
as the tide went out.
9/22/02 - DA RANCH......YEA THAT'S NO MISPRINT
WE SURFED THE RANCH AS IN THE SERIES OF POINT BREAKS/ REEFS ABOVE GAVIOTA
STATE PARK AND POINT CONCEPTION....YEA THAT'S RIGHT THE RANCH. We showed up
at 8:30 and launched, which was fun because we had to BEACH LAUNCH a 17' boston
whaler...hmm why did we beach launch? Oh yea, GREEDY SURFERS WHO HAVE PASSES
OR REGULAR ACCESS TO A BOAT sabatauge the Crane. From what I heard the crane
is out of operation more often than in operation. So we had a pleasant boat
ride. The surf was really small and inconsistent however. But when you got
one of the set waves....it was sooooooooo good. We surfed Perko's, which is
a point break with a rock reef bottom. I long boarded so it was perfect. I
haven't surfed a wave that predictable for as long as I can remember. You
could tell exactly when it was going to break and get in position. The only
damper on the day was when about 5 mid teenagers came into the lineup. I swear
to you they dropped in on every wave I got when they were there. It really
ticked me off. I mean honestly were surfing the ranch, there's waves a' plenty....if
you drop in on me at least don't look right at me before you do. Oh and guess
where they were from.....Newport. Yea I knew that form of disregard felt
familiar. On a lighter note, the ranch is soooo beautiful. The water is clear
and with a snorkel you could easily catch lobster off the reef. Putting the
boat back up on the trailer was a chore but it wasn't that bad overall.
Ok
now for my little rant on localism... If you live in a ranch with secluded
reefs and point breaks but yet still feel as though you need to cuss people
out, cut anchor lines, and constantly sabotage the crane
for boats, get in fights over waves, and , YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A COMPLETE IDOT
AND DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT DESERVE
TO EVEN USE A SURFBOARD FOR ANYTHING ACCEPT MAYBE A WALL DECORATION.
Referring to my previous paragraph
about how I was upset at how someone could constantly drop in on me is clearly
different. I did not do any of the things
I listed above. I simply wanted to be able to do a turn on a wave I had already
been riding for a good 5 seconds before someone decided to drop in
on me. LOCALISM SUCKS, GET OVER IT. Now that said if you live on a private
beach like locals of the ranch, I can see how you would want to
guard it. It is really beautiful, and considering the
prediction of a solid city from santa barbara to san diego, you have every
right to be scared. I truly am as sad
to see a place like the ranch and reminisce about how southern california
was like it when my Grandpa moved to LA During the 40's. THE
BOTTOM LINE: REMEMBER
THE PAST AND PRESERVE THE PRESENT, BUT DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT COULD PHYSICALLY
HURT SOMEONE ELSE IN YOUR QUEST TO
PRESERVE. ALSO, LEAVE THE FREEEKIN CRANE ALONE.
9/23/02 -Checked it... not really worth the paddle. I did figure out where
hazards was though. It's actually a really cool break. A few long boarding
locals were telling me that when it's going off, hazards is the best break
around.
9/24/02 - Surfed Sandspit. It was really nice out; sunny, super
light wind. Surf was occasionally overhead with most waves in the chest range.
Supposedly it was an insanely good day...I agree. I got a really good right
that was reminiscent of back in the day. I hate the walk to the beach in
Los Osos! Due to the large cliffs, there's always a trail of some sort going
to the beach. The elevation rises from South Jetty area, and stays elevated
until Pismo, I think. I saw a person that I knew from polly and said hi.
He was really cool and seemed just stoked to be surfing,
9/25/02 - I surfed Morro today. I saw that same lady that was at
sandspit the other day out at the rock today...(she was the one telling giving
me the countdown on the time till I had to get out of the water and to class).
I didn't get much of anything today. Mostly due to my paddling strength (which
is nil; I got no perseverance). This was the first day I was really cold
in the water. For some reason I always seem to be at the rock. I guess wearing
the same old 3/3 aleeda you had since junior year of high school doesn't
cut it up here. (remember I dropped surfing, The wet suit is still good other
than a few cuts). Surf was about the same as the day before but a little
sloppier.
9/26/02 - Session 1) Surfed w/ Drew Bobs and Brian today. Showed
up at the Mc Donalds parking lot at 6:45AfreeeekinM. We surfed a spot we
called "Cable Landing." It gets it's name from a sign on the cliffs that
reads, you guessed it, CABLE LANDING in big yellow letters. I still haven't
figured out exactly what that is yet. The break was right in between Hazards
and Sandspit. We were originally going to surf sandspit but the entrance
was closed until 8. There's some trails just past the entrance that lead
to Cable Landing. If your out of shape like me, NEVER surf here. The paddle
was ridiculous, but the surf was really good. I unfortunately could not stinking
paddle, so I only got one closeout. I nearly died on the walk back up in
loose sand, which takes about 15 minutes. The surf was really nice and Brian
got an insane barrel (as well as 10 other mini barels/other waves). We all
thought it was amazing that the surf could be this good and not have that
many people riding it. Back in SoCal everyone and their grandmother would
be at the beach trying to get a piece of it.
Session 2) I went down the the wavelengths outlet around 3 to look for a
decent wet suit at a fair price. I didn't find any of those, but I did find
a killer price ($99.99) on a 4/3 Quicksilver w/ hood that was normally
$349. So I went to the rock to try it out. I was soo warm, conditions were
nice w/ a sunny sky and light wind. I actually felt like I was surfing back
at home. Surf was chest to head on the sets. Something finally clicked with
my surfing as well. I gave the waves more of a paddling chance and got 3
really good rights. They were pretty predictable....pump pump slash. So I
had a lot of fun. I'm glad I went for sure.
