This past week was really busy with work and also very windy. I got out on Saturday with Jacob, Chris and Nikki and it was still not the best conditions. We checked all the spots and ended up at the Jetty. It was really choppy waist high surf.

I decided to take out a 6 foot twin fin fish shaped board. Luke is letting us borrow this board and another shorter board. I felt like a fish out of water and completely out of my comfort zone. I had to paddle extremely hard and also kick my feet to add extra power to catch waves. I only caught one legitimate wave and when I stood up it was really shaky. I felt like I was learning how to surf all over again. I have ridden Chris' 6'4 hybrid board but it was a lot different because it super wide, thick, floaty and easier to catch waves with.

I am glad that I took it out and test it out. It was mostly fun and sometimes frustrating. I will probably try it again but next time with better conditions.

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

4.13 - Chest High LM
Jacob and I took my friend, Sarah surfing early in the morning at Linda Mar. Ever since her surf session at the Jetty, she has been really excited to go surfing more and more. The surf was a lot bigger than it was at the Jetty and she wasn't prepared for the strength of the current. She caught some white water, but decided to relax on the beach. Jacob and I caught some really nice chest high surf. It was actually pretty good for LM.

4.14 - Bunnies!
Cynthia wrangled up the surf gang (Luke, Darren, Jacob and me) and we met at Bunnies (south of JT). Darren also brought a new friend, Noah. He just moved here from South Florida and was excited to get into the cold water. It was really cold and I was glad that I wore my gloves. It helped me last longer in the water. The surf was shoulder to head high and we all caught some fun rides. At first it was a little mushy, but as the tide dropped the waves got cleaner, steeper and bigger.

4.16 - Surprisingly fun at LM
We planned on surfing at LM with Luke for his birthday surf session. When we arrived it was foggy, crowded and thigh high. Jacob and I didn't really want to surf there with so many people. We were about to leave to check other spots, but Luke arrived and said others were going to meet us. We decided to stay and it was a good decision! Nikki, Darren and Jason (Luke's friend) surfed with us too. We found a really fun peak and we all caught a ton of waist to chest high waves! We were all killing it and really enjoyed ourselves immensely.

After the surf session, we all gathered at High Tide Cafe for a birthday celebration for Luke's 30th birthday. Jacob and I made Luke a special hat for his birthday and he seemed to enjoy it!

4.4.11 - Montara Mess
Jacob, Shiva (Jacob's cousin from Los Angeles, CA) and I went to Montara because every other place was too small and didn't have any waves. Montara was really messy and mushy. Jacob caught the best wave on the outside. I didn't paddle out that far because I really didn't think it was that good. The current was extremely intense and I was just catching smaller ones on the inside. Shiva caught a couple on the inside and a bigger one on the outside but he wasn't as far as Jacob. Montara is good when it is small to flat everywhere else, but when we went the wind was really heavy.

4.9.11 - Clean, Windy, Clean Jetty
This weekend Jacob had a Code Conference for work. I had all weekend to do whatever I wanted to do. I met up with Luke, Beth and Nikki at the Jetty. I got there a early and caught a bunch of clean waist high waves. Once Luke, Beth and Nikki got in the wind started to pick up and it was blowing out a little. After about 20 minutes, the wind calmed down again and the swell picked up and was clean again. My last two waves of the day were my best. They were shoulder high clean rights. A really nice guy said he saw one of my rides and gave me a nice compliment. People in California are so nice! Thanks!

4.10.11 - Teaching Sarah how to surf!
I met with my friends, Sarah and Denise at the Jetty. Sarah mentioned that she really wanted to learn how to surf. She said she tried it once before but didn't have that much fun. I told her that I could teach her if she wanted to try it again. Denise over heard us and was really excited and wanted to go surfing too. Denise has lived in Hawaii and has surfed for awhile too. Sarah got really excited and said she wanted to try it again.

Thankfully, the Jetty was small and the waves were perfect for learning. The weather was really beautiful too. Sarah caught a lot of white water and stood a bunch of times which really encouraged her. She told me that she had so much fun and she wants to go again! It was really helpful to have Denise there too because she was helping me teach Sarah and really good encouragement. After surfing, we hung out at a cafe and talked and sat in the sun. It was a great way to end our surf session.

Last week, the wind was really intense blowing out a lot of the surf spots. I hope the wind holds back and doesn't over power the swell.  I also noticed the the water is FREEZING! People say that it is upwelling from Alaska. I didn't wear my gloves and I really noticed it because my hands were so numb after my sessions.

Here is to clean swell and a great week ahead!

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

On Thursday, Jacob's old co-worker and our friend, Monty visited us. We asked him what he wanted to do while he was here and he said, "Surf!" 

4.2.11
We drove down to Santa Cruz since Pacifica and HMB were blown out by the 30kts winds. He rented an F-Bomb wetsuit and booties at Sonlight and he borrowed Jacob's longboard. 

Monty in his F-Bomb wetsuit

We took him to 38th because Cowells was too high tide and nothing was breaking. It was a bit tough to teach him at this spot and he even hurt his toe…he said, "I BirdSwell-ed my toe on one of the rocks!"

BirdSwell-ed toe

Even though he hurt is toe, he continued and almost stood on the board. He said he had such an amazing time and wanted to try again. 

4.3.11
Even with his BirdSwell-ed toe, Monty surfed at the Jetty with us before his flight back to Boston. This time he had success! He stood on the board two times! His first ride was short but the second ride he got was really long and rode it all the way to the beach. He was so excited when he got out of the water and said I got to keep surfing. This is (f-bomb) AMAZING!

We were so glad he had a great time surfing and even stood up on his second time out in the water. We hope he comes back and continues surfing on the East Coast in MA (yes this is possible!)

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

From here on out, instead of posting an individual entry for each surf session, I am going to group my sessions into one post and post it once on Saturday (end of week). 

3.30 - Closed Out Linda Mar
I felt like I was in a funk with my client's design work so I decided to contact Dugen to see if he was going for a sunset surf. He said he was and I got packed up and scoped out all the usual spots. The wind was closing out all the spots, but I thought if I just get into the ocean and paddle around it will help clear my mind. 

Eventually, I met up with Dugen and his friends, Mark and Dan. We decided that LM was going to be the best option even though it was blown out. It was a tough paddle out and I only caught one ok wave. When I got out of the water, I was much more clear headed. It wasn't the best day by any means, but it was better than sitting at my desk racking my brain.

3.31 - Shoulder High Jetty
Jacob and I met up with Luke and Cynthia at the Jetty. We also met Luke's friend, Heather. She said it was her 10th time surfing. She was super nice and I look forward to paddling out with her again.

Swell was jumbled with some waves doubling up. I caught a waist high wave right away and then waited for awhile. My best wave was at the end when I dropped in on a nice shoulder high right and rode it all the way in. Jacob caught a bunch of good lefts and rights.

4.1 - My Best Wave at the Jetty thus far
I wasn't planning on surfing, but when the buoy read 20 second swell period I couldn't resist. On top of the great swell conditions, the sun was shining and 70 degrees. Luke and Nikki were already at the Jetty so I gave them a call to get the report. They said it looked a lot like yesterday, but cleaner with bigger sets coming through. I packed up, dropped Jacob off at the BART and headed down to the Jetty. 

The swell was definitely bigger than the day before, clean and beautiful. I caught a couple, but then I caught the best wave I have ever caught at the Jetty. The drop in was a smooth right into an over head and half wave that made my adrenaline pump faster than it has in awhile. After I got off the wave, a woman in the line up said, "Nice wave! I bet that wave will make your day!" I replied and said, "Thanks, you are definitely right! I will be replaying that wave in my head all day." 

I am really glad that I decided to go surfing as it did make my day. I can't stop thinking about it and made me fall in love with surfing all over again.

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird