who here has been surfing this week?

same with Friday evening here, turned up to shoulder hi, some head hi ones. One of the busiest crowds I've seen, but i didn't get run into too much problems. I'm pretty communicative, saying "going left" or giving ppl a yeww to let them know i'm dropping in. Didn't work on one of the teens, but wasn't a big issue - waves were pumping. Took my ol 6'4 perfection and switched it halfway with my buddy's skinner 6'2. Like said, it was packed at Washout, but def one of the better canes to blow thru this year likely in regards to how clean, size goes. I did trek the next morning -early- for leftovers, bringing the 6'9 loehr fish. It was waist hi, long line goodness. Crowd wasn't as bad, and they would lump together so i moved from side to side at the break. Energized up at the house, aka bong rip/oj/clementine, then went back down the street on the falling hi tide with the LB to get The last of Henri. Again, plenty to ride with less crowds - school i guess -, more clouds, and no lifeguards. Took to it for an hour. Def one of my better riding wknds, had plenty of waves and got a lotta playful ones with good size and lines while also prolly having the most fun among ppl nearby. Def enjoyed Henri's goods while also making time with an ol college friend and his wife staying nearby on Folly. Looks like I'm on Folly til end of September before i make the move into the house off the beach. Should be rideable this week, keep it coming

 

Offshore for 3 days , Sun had a great wave ratio with excellent surfers . Peaks reeling rights and lefts in warm water and overhead sets. Looks like Manik and Rhodey has power issues.

 

Lot's of people in the water, not many of them paddling for the good ones

Great stories. Love the surfing thru the decades vibe with the boards. Be safe my dude!

Picking up where I left off Friday morning. Stuck at my desk for 8 solid hours following the morning surf. Watched the cams as the tide dropped out and the waves get really good around noon. I was frothing to get out there but the work kept coming. Also had some huge career developments, and made possibly the most financially consequential decision of my life. Stressful day but it's all positive and good.

Anywho, wife gets home around 5:30, I finish work at 6, and she's loading up the van for round 2 as I wrap up the week. Head down to the beach and the tide is crazy high. The water is a foot from the top of the seawall on the soundside, almost made me nervous about parking on the street, but it was dead high and should be dropping.

I paddle out on my 9'6 expecting to have a repeat of the morning, but there's more raw power in the water this time. I pick off a couple bombs but have to straighten out and take the beating. On my 3rdish wave my leash breaks and I make the long swim in. I have to walk back to the van anyway so I take the LB with me and swap out for a 5'6 twin fin fish. This turned out to be a great choice.

I come back over the dunes and see my wife in the distance paddling out her 7'6 Vernor Egg between sets. She's in the lineup for no more than a minute and turns around for chunker. She's behind it, super late and I expect her to pull back but she jumps over the ledge and grabs rail. The wave is frothing overhead and ribs are coming up the face but she's holding on for dear life and makes it a good 100ft or so down the line before she gets axed. I'm laughing my ass off while the tourists look on in horror. We meet on the beach and I give her props but she tells me I missed the bigger, cleaner one she got while I was switching boards. Pretty special moment to share with my significant other.

At this point it's getting a little intense for the tourists so most are on the beach, and I'm picking off waves by myself as it gets dark. One rule of surfing on the east coast, when there's waves you surf, never count on tomorrow. Logged 4+ hours that day.

I had big plans Saturday morning and the van was loaded and ready to go. I decide to head north to a less crowded spot but about 45 minutes into the hour drive the van starts pulling hard to the right. I pull off the road to check but before I can even get out I see smoke billowing up out the the front passenger wheel well and smell the unmistakable smell of brake pads. The caliper is locked up AGAIN. I just dropped 2 grand a couple months ago to have the whole thing rebuilt with new parts. 30 year old van life, it's all good (and half expected).

So, I turn around and limp it home. Get back to the house another hour later because I was driving slow. I rally and load up the Honda with a couple boards and jet down to my local. The parking gods smiled upon me and someone was leaving just as I got there. No waiting at all. Paddle out for an hour until the tide bottomed out and wind came up. I drink a beer on the beach, then another, and paddle back out on the foamy to kook it up a bit. Still waves coming in. Eat a late lunch then go out for a beer and watch this cool local Dead cover band called The Clams. It's not storming or anything but the power goes out on the second to last song of the set. They're already half packed up by the time it comes back on. Super anti-climactic way to end a show. I was feeling for them.

By Sunday morning it was tiny. I head out to catch a few. Surf for an hour and it was whatever. For a sunny Sunday the beach was empty. It's like Henri passing by was the last hurrah of Summer. Fall around here lasts for about 3 months so I'm happy to see it come around. I head home to nurse my wounds and rest my back after a big weekend.

I guess I need to decide what to do about the van now...

 

Yeah, lost power yesterday but thankfully got it back last night. Lots of limbs and trees down.

 

buddy gave me the heads up last night he would post up early at 6th E. Bout a handful of surfers out there, took the LB. Thi hi to waist swell, lil disorganized. Had to rewax the LB halfway thru, but some short decent rides i guess. Didn't get me in the best mood, but something to be had

 

Thursday: dipped out of the "office" for an hr at 2pm and surfed thigh-waist longboard waves at the local spot with all the grade school kids and a couple other WFH dads;
Friday: hit a different nearby spot at dead high 7am, and it was flat, except for every 10-20 minutes a shoulder-to-OH 6-8 wave set pushed thru. Only 4 other guys out which made it awesome. Surfed hard for 3.5 hrs then met a client for early lunch at a classic NY style deli. Came home and slept on the couch for 3 hrs.
Saturday: the bite is always hot right before a big storm and this was no exception, limited out on Fluke and added a few nice Black Sea Bass, Porgy and a triggerfish to the cooler. Raced back to the barn to beat the storm, checked the surf on the way home from the dock, and it wasn't worth paddling out in - maybe chest high and onshore and weird shaped.
Sunday: checked my local at dawn and it was maybe chest high, maybe. Started some home improvement projects. Of course it got much better but I was otherwise committed. Plus it was insanely crowded, I know it was a great day but left it for the weekenders and Instagram heroes.
Tuesday: surfed thigh-stomach super clean waves at the same spot I surfed Friday. No one out but me and a couple neighbors. Traded off waves for 4 hrs. Now at my desk at the office eating a Ham and Meunster on Rye bread that I picked up at the deli Friday.

 

Glad you fared relatively OK!!

I got out for an hour this morning. Some disorganized but surprisingly powerful surf. Rode my 9'6 but a fish would have worked fine.

It's just not the same, driving my Honda to the beach after vannin for almost 2 years.

 

Tide dropped for the aft session Sunday

 

I has pastrami and my client had brisket and we shared, also, we had a knish, and of course multiple bowls of pickles and cole slaw

 

Of course you say this on the day I skip lunch yummmmm

 

went out yesterday afternoon to Washout. Not much of a crowd out at all, forecasts were kinda all over the place. For those out there, we made the right call. Was glad to see the waves were bigger than i thought (work's been sucking, so i just closed the laptop, rip to the dome and loaded up LB) when i paddled up. 10 min later, i'm thinking man do i wanna smaller board. Steep drops and ya wanted to pump to get to the outside, somewhat dumpy. Knew most of dem out there, so it was still pretty sweet to share some rides. This morning down the street on 2nd E, chunky n disorganized. Wind was on it good, drift south. One ride in and out. Would've done the swell lunch, but i gotta job interview cuz work's been shitty for quite a while for my liking, kinda like the F&B industry - short-staffing problems you could say. Not the best idea when i'm in the home loan process, but maybe i can convince em to wait a while...maybe not, i'm just feeling it out. Waves tomorrow tho, cleaner but less powerful conditions presumed

 

B Rooney , photo by Tim .

 

Friday and Saturday were chopster, chunky drifting south swell. There were some open faces here and there, but you had to have time to burn. Had some Saturday that I was able to get around with on the 6'4 alchemist; not that many ppl in the water at Washout. Sunday took old roomie's 7'2 Peli board, turned into a waddly twin set up. Lil more crowd, conditions stabilized giving cleaner waist hi vibes. I was able to get on one side of the jetty with a couple ppl nearby but plenty of room not to have to share waves. Lineup next to ours emptied on my way out. One of the older surfers (+65) was getting CPR treatment, ambulances on way when walking out. Was tough seeing that guy, didn't look good, heard he got pulled out of water - maybe dehydration - didn't stick around. Def knocked the wind out of my sails from what was a good morning

 

That's tough, seeing a fellow surfer down like that. Sorry man.

I surfed for almost 3 hours Saturday, and maybe an hour Sunday morning.

Saturday was knee to thigh at best but had some push behind it. Kooked it up on my 5'6 foamy. Caught a ton of waves, a couple of them had a little face to work with. I had tons of time to kill and the waves kept on coming.

Met up with the wife after I left and we had lunch at an awesome vegan diner in town called "Sea Level City". We aren't vegan, but I have tried most of the menu at this point and it so damn good. No compromises on flavor or texture. They have a deep fried buffalo "hotdog" with kimchi ranch sauce that is out of control, and local beers on tap. Highly recommend if you're ever in my neck of the woods.

 

that's a good name for a eatery in your neck of the woods.

 

Monday 6 - 930 - chest+ east swell, no wind, low tide at dawn, kinda weird. Took the log out. The waves at the beach I went were breaking nowhere close to their normal spots. The best waves of the day were caught and ridden completely randomly by those who just happened to be in the right spot. Crowd was a bit annoying, 30+, but of course as usual in the higher-profile spots, 10% of the surfers got 90% of the waves. Ate Chinese food at my desk for lunch and put in a full work day from 11-7.

Tuesday 6 - 8 - knee-thigh east, longboarded, again no wind. More of a normal condition set - little peelers that if you caught right delivered 20-30 second rides. Went to the lower-profile spot and surfed with 3 other people.. in the office by 9. Went to run an errand at lunch and stopped at Olive Garden by myself, had their unlimited soup and salad lunch, had 3 bowls of salad and one each of their soups - Chicken & Gnocchi, Pasta e Fagioli, Minestrone, and Zuppa Toscana.