9.14 - 9.18 Friends, Surf, Fog Fest

 9.14.11 - Sunset in Santa Cruz
Cynthia and I planned on going to Santa Cruz to find new wetsuits at the Rip Curl Outlet. I scored a new 5/3 Insulator and new 5 mil booties. My old booties have a giant hole in them and my 6/5 is still in ok shape, but too hot for these waters. I will probably wear it on the colder days during the winter months. Unfortunately, Cynthia didn't find anything and still on the search for a new suit. My new suit and booties kept me nice and warm and a couple times I had to dive into the water to cool off.

After we were done at the store, we headed over to Steamer's Lane and found an uncrowded spot on the middle peak at Indicators. The waves were really clean, waist to chest, but the water was full of kelp! I took off on my first wave and had a nice drop in going down the line but then BOOM, I was flying through the air like Super Woman! It was crazy! I adjusted and paddled over to a less kelpy area and tried to navigate my board through the waves. Both Cynthia and I caught a couple really long lefts that were kelp free. Cynthia and a seal had a close encounter but the seal was quick to dive out of Cynthia's way. It was a great uncrowded session with a sunset. 

J-Bird in Santa Cruz (picture taken by Cynthia)

9.17.11 - Long Lefts
Jacob had to go to a conference for work, so I joined Cynthia and Luke for a session at Rachel's Point. When we first got in, the waves were clean and head high. I set up a little on the outside so I wouldn't get crushed by the peak of the wave and caught 2 really nice clean long lefts. After awhile the waves were coming from two different directions creating choppy unpredictable waves. I tried to catch some, but wasn't as successful. I would almost catch the wave but then it would redirect me in the direction I wasn't paddling. It was frustrating. I am glad I got 2 good ones before the swell decided to be messy.

Luke brought out his new 9'6 high performance Carton board that he won at conference. Whenever Jacob and I go to Costa Rica, we have rented Carton boards. They are great for high performance waves. Luke caught a couple nice ones on his board. Cynthia was on her 7'0 and said she got the spin cycle, but I saw her catch some.

9.18.11 - Fun in the Sun
Our friend John mentioned that we should gather our local surf friends and have a good time in the water once a month. I thought that was a great idea and took the initiative to gather everyone. We had a great turn out!  Luke, Cynthia, Jacob, Nikki, Darren, Heather, John, Adrian, Noah, Denise, and I were there early. Stolte, Avi, and Tim arrived a little later.

We met at the Jetty and the surf wasn't that great, but we didn't really want to go to LM because it was super crowded. We all decided that we could have fun in small waves and we sure did! Sometimes surfing isn't just about how awesome the waves are, but about who you are surfing with and having fun!

Almost every wave was a party wave and a couple lone rides. All rides were knee to some waist high waves. I tried 2 different boards, Luke's 9'6 Carton and Stolte's high performance 8'4. It was a beautiful and sunny filled day with lots of laughter and smiles. At one point, a bigger set came through and I tried to take the wave, but I was caught on the inside and the wave clobbered me. Everyone saw it and John did the best impression of my face when I was going over the falls! I was deemed, "Best Wipe Out of the Day!"