not summer yet. we just had one of the best swells of the year last week. Hopefully we'll get 1 or 2 more good swells before the summer duldrums kick in.
Troipical Storm Barry, passing through at the very beginning of june last year....if i'm not mistaken, i recal some fairly insane overhead barrels going around for everyone to get a taste of
June can be decent, but generally speaking we dont see very large swells, unless we see the atypical early season tropical storm.
does the west coast get good summer swells?? ive been thinking about a trip over there during one of our summer flat-spells.
Hell yeah they are......And taken up everyone's parking including mine. That's how i know summer is near.
Had to dig up an old thread for this to make sense, cause I am usually not on the band wagon for complaining about summer and crowds. But yesterday, I was actually very entertained in a light hearted way with a few things I witnessed. First of all, the local shaper and the grom-pro crew was out teaching a surf camp. I was over talking to one of the guys. He was pushing this kid, probably 11 or 12. He was getting pushed into waves on a foamie. At a certain point, he paddles back out while I am talking to this guy and he says "Man, i thought surfing would be hard. This is SOOOO easy"... About 5 of us chuckled. I just looked back and smiled. Then the guys says, "Kid, you aren't surfing at all. We are pushing you into waves".... Fantastic. Then about 5 minutes later, a pack of tourists, who were not surfing, but just paddling around on SUPs all paddle right around me, they literally were inches away because they couldn't steer. As they passed, they sprayed water all over me from their paddles. Funny. Awesome... Then this poor guy. Had to be at least 18 years old. God bless him. He had apparently rented an SUP. He was out in the water, trying to just stand up and balance on the thing. I have probably never seen anything that entertaining in the water. I watched this guy tip over and fall about every way imaginable. He hit head first on the board at one point. The back flop. The head first dive. The pencil. He almost got upright at one point, holding the paddle straight out with his other arm out trying to balance. Almost got there and flipped off sideways. At one point, his SUP even tomb stoned. Didn't think that was possible. But man, I probably missed 3-4 set waves just enjoying the show. It was classic. Still, good vibes in the water. Everyone meant well. Even the little kids boogying on the inside, they cheer you on as you surf right at them, but they don't move... Ohh well, they "meant well" and that is all that counts. Just another summer day. Sometimes, instead of letting it frustrate you, turn lemons into lemonade and just drink it all in. I would almost pay the rental fee of an SUP and just give it to a pack of kids from Kentucky and just sit there and watch the show. It's amazing stuff.
The past two days have seen little thigh to maybe waist high peelers around here, with offshores and warm, crystal clear water. Been dragging the log out for some speedy nose trimming in what has turned out to be a really playful couple of days in the water. That's the good thing about really small waves during the summer... you can't take it too seriously. The comedy show around here is being able to enjoy watching people... kids and adults alike... trying to ride the most inappropriate boards imaginable. I've even seen pintail GUNS in the water the past couple days! ...tons of old school single fin shortboards... stingers... old logs... first generation thrusters... boards that haven't seen the light of day for about 30 or 40 years.. many of them with what appears to be an original wax job! I guess relatives "come down" to visit and they drag out a board from under the house... point down the street and say, "there ya go!"
i'm gonna start a thread on this. this really sticks in my craw. why? cause time and time again I DO NOT COLLIDE WITH THEM.....but to do so repeatedly DOES OCCUR TO ME but of course thats assault and i won't be baited so i wind up agged.....
Yeah, it happened. The whole day, there was a guy and his kid to my left, on a sponge. The dad just kept pushing the kid in front of me, he would go about 5 feet and I would just stall and surf around him. Then the family to the right with 10 kids, all staring at me as I fly towards them, but they stand their ground. Ohh well. The surf camp snaked me a few times too... But the guys that run it are friends. Its all good. To me though, this time of the year is never the time to be giving speeches out there. Even though I was at the 24/7 365 surf beach. It's all good. I had to be especially careful cause i was with no leash. It's all fun. Regardless of the kookiness of the masses, I still have a lifted spirit seeing so many people enjoy the ocean. I get to do it everyday, whenever I want. Most of these people see the ocean for 7 days per year, so I am all about them having fun.... If it was head high and any good, they wouldn't be out at all. It happens everywhere. CA is the worst. The old head locals sit there running their mouths, trying to "teach people lessons" and wasting their breathe explaining etiquette to some french kid who doesn't even speak English... Sit tight, it will all be over soon.
the other day i got the best parking spot at noon (!!) and on my way to the surf found money on the ground. adventures rock!
Since this thread got bumped, here's my rant...weaving through tourons, clogged roads, stupidity of the common man, to be expected this time of year. But f'n life guard whistles make me nervous...but then again i reckon I can't remember a time when i wasn't nervous.
to jump on the lifeguard rant. earlier this summer i did dawn patrol at south OCNJ and some of the philly prep kids must have thought it fun to put the lifeguard stand in the water. tide was coming in so I squat-rolled that damn thing up to the high tide line before surfing. later that day i went for a swim (inside the flags*) and got whistled in. why? because i was too far out and it might encourage others to swim out there too!!! my response: "isnt that why you are here? and by the way, you would be fishing for your stand if i hadnt lugged it out of the water" blank stupid looks in response from OCNJ's finest. * I dont know if this is standard but OCNJ uses the green/red flag system. stands are every 3-4 blocks. you can swim between the green flags where its guarded. the width changes with the conditions - when its rough, they narrow it to next to zilch. then they put the red flags ~100 yards either side of the greens. you cant be in the water between the green and red. finally you can do whatever you want between the reds of the adjoining stands. over the years, the DMZ(no-go) zones have grown, squashing all the fat swimmers (who dont want to walk 100 yds to swim), surfers, kayakers, SUP, spongers and fisherman (the biggest morons) into a smaller and smaller area. if you catch a long wave (esp on the SUP), you are sure to cross a line and get whistled at. all you hear is whistles for kids drifting outside the green, anyone in the DMZ - its like friggin times square! at least the forecast for the next few days is complete crap!
