who here has been surfing this week?

The last couple days have been freaking fun. Yesterday it was waist - chest with fading swell and offshore wind conditions.

This morning was a little better at a my local sandbar. More waist - chest waves but they had more juice behind them than yesterday. Maybe it had to do with the cold front that is making its way through FL. There is talk of snow flurries around here lol WTF?

Tomorrow will be big and blown out but Wednesday looks huge with offshore wind. Rest of the week looks to be fun sized and offshore. Between this last week and the upcoming week I think we are in peak season here in CFL.

 

DP: Sounds like waves are typically bigger up your way and that you’ve really been having a blast! I like how you’re out there almost every single day and find ways to make it fun.

Six of us showed up today to Toast the new year and paddle out in 2-4’ clean waves. A bud carried the board, and another wheeled me in the wheelchair to the water. It was cold out (55F) with cool water @73 (sorry Barry), so I was worried the coldness would seize up my body. But I knew the crew was there just in case, so paddle out We did.

These were my kind of waves, but somehow I just kept missing them. I popped up in a few, but they just died. Timing was off. I think I was too close to the shoulder out of fear of getting slammed at the peak, and not knowing if the cold water would kill me during a wipeout. The muscles already misbehave in the best situations, who knew what cold water while twisting around underneath it could do? From today, I learned not to let fear take hold. Fear can kill you, and more importantly, can kill your fun.

But then a perfect waist high Came my way. I paddled hard and caught it and just about ready to pop up, it would’ve been a perfect beautiful left, best of the last Month, I was so stoked! but here comes a stranger dude screaming in from my left. He was going right at me. It was his wave, I somehow just hadn’t seen him, so of course I had to bail. And apologize ...It’s the wave that got away.

A few more meh waves, and the body was done.

But it was just so great to be out there! Beautiful beach, beautiful friends!

Each day is a blessing Buoys, don’t waste it

 

Its been really fun Betty, glad you’re hanging in there and still paddling out. Keep it up!

 

Well the good news is that I noticed that it's light till about 5pm now! That's an improvement from 430!

I think the last time I surfed was sometime around thanksgiving- maybe a week after we had some head hi surf?? I don't remember. That's at least a month! Bummer cause I had off work for a few days... back to work tomorrow...

I did have time to wash /rinse out some of my wetsuits (3/2 and 4/3)- figuring I wouldn't be done with the 4/3 now... used the wetsuit shampoo stuff, works great- makes them feel and smell new!

 

Yup... days getting longer... nights getting shorter... Spring is right around the corner! Just gotta drone through the next 6 weeks, hope we get a few/half dozen decent swells, and next thing you know it will be time to plant the garden.

 

It's down to PR and Costa at this point, only because they make the most sense location wise. Has to be somewhere that's a relatively close flight out of both New Jersey for and California, where the other couple of friends are out of. Really want Oahu (haven't been in 4 years and it's KILLING ME!) or maybe a new spot like Barbados, but I only have 4 days (and two of them will be spent on the plane for at least part of them), so it's gotta be somewhere quick and relatively convenient!

I'm just excited to get out of this cold. I'm gonna be out of town on business this week and it's still cold pretty much everywhere east of the Arizona/Nevada when looking at the current temps map! Even Florida is unseasonably cool right now!

Keep warm, guys!

 

PR airport in San Juan (SJU) is open and pretty regular. However BQN in Aguadilla is not; if you chose PR, keep that in mind. Despite what is said by those surf business persons, please make sure you know, outside of San Juan, it is still sketchy--many of my childhood friends from there post on my FB and inform me "the real story". PR is do-able, but it will be a challenge in many areas. Rincon area may be one of them, on and off, so to speak. Make sure you get a car reserved BEFORE getting there--go with a reputable company (Hertz, Avis, et al)
Good luck and have fun--and rip a wave or two for old Barry!! I am freezing up here.

 

For 4 days PR is perfect coming from NJ. I only go to the Aguadilla area though and those flights are tough to get right now. I feel like a CR trip is tough to pull off in 4 days but hey, 4 days anywhere other than here is a win with this brutally cold flat spell.

 

Have some co-workers who just got back from disaster relief deployment in PR and were stationed in the Aqudilla area; said Rincon was fine. Power still sketchy, but its mainly the central mountains that are lacking power. Buddy said he scored marias at chest high with only 4 lb-ers out last week.

 

Pretty sure I did a 4 day CR trip the last time I was there a few years ago. I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't a week- I think it was a long weekend. Had buddy passes for a year from a friend who was a pilot, so did a lot of short trips to various places. It actually felt like just the right amount of time there, but I did know my way around and what swell would work at which spots... cruised mainly around the hermosa area, which as I recall is only about 2 hrs from the airport? I just don't think this is the best time of year for CR??

 

Friday in Jupiter/Juno was head high to well OH liners at the best peaks, kinda crowded, but lots of swell to keep it cool. I had a tad trouble breathing, it was the first day in the full suitte since March, it must have shrunk a bit. My timing was off, and by the end of the session I kooked out on the last wave, a real nice one, well OH, a long left. My legs just couldn't get under me fast enough, and when I finally got to my feet on the drop, I was too far back, and made the drop but burned off all my speed and came to a stop in the flats, then got into a full crouch as the wave caught up to me and blew me up.

Saturday, in Jupiter, was a bit smaller, chest to head high, nice swell. Got more used to the full rubber. I don't envy you guys up north, I'd give it up till summah. I used a fuller volume board, got lots of good fun rides, long lefts, and steep rights. It was great to watch all the kids and random folks get lots of good waves, it was a different spot just a bit north of the first spot, still a good vibe.

Today was VAS. Tomorrow is supposed to be epic, 8-12 foot faces, strong offshores in the pm cleaning up the wonk. Barrels you can drive a VW van through. I hope I make one! Same with Thursday, but it drops to head high plus. Life is goode.

 

Thanks, Barry! We would be going through San Juan, but do you have any idea how Rincon is right now? Will there be power? Can we even drive from San Juan to Rincon right now? My friend goes to Rincon every year, actually right around this time, maybe late January. He says everything is down, no power, he makes it sound pretty bad, but he can also be pretty pessimistic. He's going to Maui (or maybe it's the Big Island?) for a few weeks this year, instead of Rincon. Definitely would be using one of the reputable companies!

Definitely leaning towards Rincon, all but officially booked at this point!

Flights into Aguadilla from Newark/New York have been a hassle, ever since I started looking through them a couple years ago. Red eye flights, which waste a day on both ends, when all I have is approximately 96 hours, including flights.

 

The place I stay at in Rincon up in the hills has power. For now. Electricity is going on, then goes off for a bit as repairs are being made nearby, etc. If you are a couple guys going, no problem, I would say. Semi-adventure. But I cancelled my trip (early December) because it was still too sketchy for my wife, who has been going with me past few years.
Every week that goes by, it gets a bit better.
The concern would be eating, buying food in grocery stores, water, etc--I have no idea how that is outside San Juan. The drive to Rincon should be okay, but don't expect it to be hassle free, and don't rely on street signs being up on the roads.
Lastly, there is a bit of looting going on with a bit of violence along with it.

 

Just checked the cam...there is a wave out there!!
It is 1 inch, that's right, one inch high.
Think I should suit up and hit it?? I need to get ready for nor'easter waves about to blow through here Friday......

 

Looks like a quick shot of swell here in NJ late Thursday... but it will be windy, cold, and I'll be exhausted from digging out. We'll see for me... but I'm sure guys will be all over it before dark. Maybe some leftovers Friday morning, for those not going back to work.

 

Hoping to be one of those guys... pretty desperate right now. 3 decent sessions in all of December (cold war day, christmas eve, random wednesday lunchbreak session a few weeks ago), other than that nothing. I realize everyone else is in the same boat, or worse. Nice that there's a solid hour between leaving work at 4 and dark now. And if it snows I'll be working from home and can suit up while working (I try to change at the beach as much as possible but tomorrow's looking like one of those days where I'd be stupid not to drive in the wetsuite). Just hoping it cleans up enough to be worthwhile.

 

Got out for my 78th month in a row over Christmas. Wife actually watched and took a pic of me catching a decent wave. I know it's lame to have days in a row or months tallies but I was in a funk and almost didn't paddle out. Felt so much better when I did. A bit nippy but worth it!

 

Thanks again, Barry!

Gonna book flights today! The biggest problem for two of our friends that are coming, there's no non-stop flights from LA or San Francisco (where two of them are located, respectively) to San Juan. Luckily for me and the other three, we have direct flights from Newark to San Juan. I don't understand how a major hub like LA doesn't have nonstop flights to San Juan? One of them will be in Canada the day before the trip, and is giving a bit of consideration to flying out from there, which he'd also have to change flights in another city, he's gonna see if it makes sense. I think those of us from Jersey might get the rental car, drive out to Rincon, surf a couple hours before sunset, then drive back to San Juan to pick up our two friends coming from California, who will both be on seperate flights and might not be in PR until late evening!

Already sounds like quite an adventure will be on our hands! It'll be 4 males between 30-46 and two 19 years olds (my nephews), who are probably tougher than the older guys that will be there!

Getting pretty excited! A little concerned about the looting, but we've been travelled to some sketchy places before.

 

The old adage:
Good judgement comes from experience;
Experience comes from bad judgement.

 

How does the red eye waste a day on the way there? You land a 4:45 am and are waiting for the sun to come up. An afternoon flight is a waste of a day.