who here has been surfing this week?

OCMD this afternoon. Head high plus NE swell with a 15 mile NE wind. chunky surf, but with the size, and the wind coming from straight behind the swell direction the faces were clean. Just me and a buddy surfing the biggest waves i've been out in since late March.

Got stuck inside after one ride and was just pinned on the sandbar for what seemed like 10 minutes paddling and duck diving until i was losing energy. Proned it to the beach and had to sit for a minute before punching back out and getting a couple more.

Felt fun to ride a *somewhat* normal shortboard shape.

Really good workout dealing with all that chaotic energy.

 

So I'm at my place in upstate PA this weekend to do some largemouth fishing. A tree had fallen over and had taken out my target backstop on our shooting range. Upon further inspection, the tree had been pushed over by a bear. From the size of the claw marks and foot prints, it looked like a biggun. So, an hour or so later I'm loping off some branches to prep for the chainsaw, when I look behind me and there he is; a 500 pound plus black bear staring me down at about 30 yards. He can cover that distance in about the time it takes a man to sneeze. I woulda fired in the air if I had my 45 but it was 100 yards away on my picnic table. Not an option. I hold up the parrot beak loppers out in front of me and slowly start backing away. About halfway back, he starts moving towards me, real slow. I pick up my pace but don't panic. I get to the gun, he steps into the firing range. I fire a round into the air. He looks at me for second and then slowly walks off. It's the second time in a year that I have been stalked by a predator, the first being coyotes. Not a surfing story but I thought I'd share since I nearly shit my pants.

 

Yikers!

 

Swell starting to fill in from Chris this morning. It was too deep early on at sunrise but after 90 minutes of paddling around on the LB I finally got a wave and it was about chest high. It was a nice long left that line up perfectly and had some juice behind it. Too bad I had to leave after that, being responsible sucks sometimes. I can tell it was about to start firing. Who ever is off today will score! I’m gonna check it again after work.

 

Ha you old bastard. Im staying in Isla Verde but driving all over the island. This week I'm reviewing some sites in Morovis, and then next I think it's back to Orocovis. I'm here overseeing the restoration of the electrical grid sites to make sure theyre stabilized properly...

 

Arrived at the secret inlet around 6:30 Saturday morning to find only two cars in the parking lot. I began to think that my two hour drive was just be foolish and I would be getting skunked. But as I walked out to the beach I could hear some surf breaking and I found a small but clean wave.

Like last weekend it was knee to thigh with the occasional waist high clean up set. Water was cool and there was evidence of the sargassum that has been inundating our local beaches to the south. Everybody was playing nice and of course Betty and some of her crew were out as well. I surfed for almost four hours and got quite a few really fun rides. I finally left when it had become impossible to surf without risking decapitating an oblivious swimmer on the inside. Waves were gone by then anyway.

Besides some fun surf I had a cool wildlife sighting. As I was at my car getting prepared to get in the water I spotted an animal walking through the parking lot. At first I thought it was a racoon but quickly realized that it was an elusive bobcat. I rushed to get my phone to snag a few pics but the feline was spooked by my presence and made a beeline for the cover of the woods. Regardless, it was still cool as I had never seen a bobcat or any large (non-domestic) cat in the wild.

Currently anticipating the possibility of some swell from Chris making its way down here. It is starting to show to the north. It all depends on the swell angel with our narrow window. If it does show up it will be the first surfable waves we've had in well over a month. I just hope I don't have to spend my entire session pulling five pound clumps of sargassum off my leash. The stuff is piled up a foot or two deep on the beaches and has turned the water a brown/black coloure.

I feel sorry for people that don't surf.

 

Super fun, glassy waves yesterday morning... sets in the chest high range. Had it all to myself, too. This morning... smaller, but still clean and light offshore. Logged it.

 

If a tree falls in the swell info forum, and there is nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Long boarding Larry on some ankle biters. Need some tropical action for waves and water temp.

 

Sat am drove down south and got some sloppy, chunky waist to chest hi peaks. Took out the Hobie and my simmons and it was frigid with 20+ mph wind. I had just made the executive decision to turn my old 3/2 into a john. Bad idea.

As Lbcrew stated, sun a.m. was a lot of fun and much warmer up north. Got out just after sunrise with a buddy and we had a peak to ourselves all morning. It was shortboard worthy waist to chest and just really clean. No wind. Lots of lefts with good sections to carve up.

Lot of rays out in the water right now.

 

Fun longboard waves this morning
Waist high

 

2 hour drive? is that one way or round trip? i can't remember where yer located in FL, but dang that seems like a hike for a FL resident, unless yer a West FL guy. when ya talked about that inlet, i didn't imagine you was driving that far. what's yer dilly?

 

Some 4-6+ here friday, onshorey in the afternoon, broke my last poly board on a clean up set. Same size next day...

 

It's aboot two hours each way. I live in Hollywood between Ft Lauderdale and Miami, deep in the Bahamian shadow. If I want to surf this time of year then I have to make the trip or else sit at home and wish I had made the trip. To it's their own but I prefer to get some water time even if the waves aren't all that big. When we do get waves down here my break is only 15 minutes away. At least I don't live in Iowa or some shit.

 

Thanks for doing that. Isla Verde is my "old stomping grounds".
I learned to surf at Pine Grove, which is now condos or something similar.
Probably flat today there....

 

That is heavy dude. Did you talk to him while you were backing away? The one that approached me in the woods last season wasn't that big (guessing 3-400)...big enough. I just kept saying hey bear in a calm voice and he nodded his head then walked off...glad you came out unscathed. you should check out a chest holster for the .45…

 

Hah, I didn't talk to him, I just met his stare. I've had numerous run ins with bears before but they were by chance while I was hunting, usually with my .270 Winchester in hand. This bear was different. I could see in his eyes and his manner that he had ill intentions. Then again, at the range he was at when I first saw him, he probably could have mauled me easy before I even knew he was even there.

 

I haven't talked about surf on the forum in quite a while, but while I"m posting about the redesign stuff, here is a Delaware update:

2-4 ft semi glass ones this afternoon. A little on the weak side, but that water is feeling sweeet right now, so it makes up for the weakness!

Looks like fun little ones all week... For July, I"ll take it!

 

Surfed Saturday am - short period tall and disorganized but still caught a bunch of lefties and closeout “oh shyt” drops getting closed out on the newest addition

 

Im such a boart whore kook

 

Swell filled in nice today and there was an hour or two that really lined up. Peaky lines up and down the beach with light offshores. Thank God we have waves again.