December to Remember Surf Report

[Tex]

Today should have been the day for me....had the green light for dawn patrol, I knew the high pressure was going to set up some ideal conditions for this old man, I knew I would probably get some peaks mostly to myself. And yet, I didnt pull the trigger. I am tired, been full time dad with the boys home on Christmas break, been at hockey rinks almost every day, been trying to get some extra work done at work during the dead period. Also, wanted to maybe catch the last Seahawk's game of the year.

Plus I was lazy, do I really want to get up that early, was up too late playing Madden on my son's new X-Box. Plus I put on way to much weight from all the holiday meals.

I know that by getting out today I would have felt alive, rejuvenated, amped to be dropping in to some slick little ramps. I knew all of that and yet, I crapped out.

So I am ending 2017 with the lowest number of surf days in a year ever. Yup, I have officially hit rock bottom OSP. Its dark down here....good thing it cant get any worse than 2017....well, maybe it could be, I could actually surf zero days in 18.

[smithgrind]

No shame in that claim, Tex. It's work to pull off a dawnie when you have the responsibilities of being a family
man during the holiday season. Most of us simply want a break from having to do anything when we hit that wall.
I wasn't feeling it yesterday either. I came up with a few dubious excuses that I knew were simple lies to avoid setting
the alarm clock and doing that drive once again. I avoided texts from the bros even though I had kinda said I was thinking
of going. I finally gave in when asked directly if I was going or not and could I offer a lift. I wasn't feeling the stoke and I had
a small window of maybe two hours of water time before having to race back to the city before clocking in to what was going
to be an eleven hour shift at work.
I went anyways because I felt guilty about blowing off a bro. Got out to the coast and wasted a solid hour looking for surf that was right in front of us. Even did the loser kook move of suiting up in the lot and walking down to SS to simply turn around and walk back up and drive around to spot check still fully suited, gloves and all. I considered how shitey it would feel to drive back to the valley still in my wettie just as an act of penance for not being in bed and having a free morning. I'm 53 and still making decisions that leave me wondering what the fcuk is my problem.
We ended up at a spot that we didn't bother to check in the first place and ended up getting some decent surf. I pushed my window out further to get an hour in the water and reconnected with a board I hadn't touched in years. It was worth the effort and I can look back on the last day of 2017 as one I won't forget.

[X-squid]

I'd say I had a pretty good 2017 surf-wise. Hit a lot of new (to me) spots on the central coast and had an epic warm water trip to Japan. Thought about going this morning but once we decided to hit the neighbors NYE party I knew dawn wasn't happening. I've got the entire week off though so tomorrow's on.

And yeah... life, man. Kids, work, and that responsibility crap that gets in the way of surfing. Just when I think it's too much effort to drive since the stoke has worn off - just when I think I'm about to say 'eff it and put surfing back on the shelf, I'll get a session in that pegs the meter again.

Starting a new job this 2018 - looks like it has the same kind of flexibility as my current (almost former) gig, so hopefully this year is another good one.

[Spent]

Sunday got to see Smithg driving around in a wetsuit which was worth the price of admission in itself. Spot I haven't surfed for years but should. Tricky at first, strong offshore and shifty peaks, finally glassed off and shaped up for a nice 45 min window. Had it to myself for awhile. Long carvable rights. Then the outgoing tide killed it.

Then drove 2.5 hours south to see Prag and fam via a quick skate sesh in LC. Was in bed NYE by 1030pm, but still got lazy and slept in until 7. Prag made my fish burrito for breaky and off we went to the old standby across the river. F*ck me it was picture perfect. Sunny, light offshore and peaky. It looked like an easy paddle and not too big but I decided on taking out my bigger board b/c that beach can require some peak hunting. Made the right call. Badly timed my paddle out and thought '2018 is sucking already' but then re-found the channel and finally lined up a nice right that Prag described. If you played your cards right, you could take off pretty deep into a nice hollow first section and then a very workable wall and finally a little cutback section until you were safely in the channel. Of course, getting caught inside was inevitable when you weren't paying attention but damn I love that beach break...

On the way back north I stopped at some spots and was stoked to see lone warriors scoring solid glassy and very shapely peaks to themselves in the LC vicinity. Stunning start to the year.

And now a week of absolute bullsh*t in work....

[Tex]

I have been seeing some pretty impressive posts on insta from the weekend in OR. Even some guy in his suit driving his beemer....one of you fellas? If so, the waves looked epic and the wetsuit while driving was also classic!

[smithgrind]

That would've been me, Tex and you can thank Spent for that one

[Major Lazer]

We ended up at a spot that we didn't bother to check in the first place and ended up getting some decent surf.

East winds and small swell....... always a good idea to cruise through town before committing to the walk of shame... Decent chunk of sand and have had a few OK ones there recently. Heard you guys were on the hunt. Had a small window that AM and was kinda set on rando bar that's been delivering the goods and some on occasion, but we shoulda checked that one.

Ratted out hans solo (no fam) almost every week of December doing 2-3 day stints surfing a handful of rando sand bars here and there and one regular spot all within a 2 hour range of home. Big tides made things tricky this past month and had my share of maintenance sessions even on days when it shoulda been pretty good with east winds and manageable swell. But when the swell was just right a few HT sand bars offered up fairly quality to epic fun sized waves.

2017 ended 100% better than it started. Fall 2016 - Summer 2017 might of been one of the worst runs of surf I've seen in a decade.

[Tex]

Last time I drove in my wetsuit was back in 04....we were finishing a session in Feb up in WA. No way in hell I was getting changed on that beach....jumped right in the ride, wetsuit and all.

[Major Lazer]

I used to drive home in my wetsuit and change in a hot shower all the time living coastal, we called it salt dog'ing it. A few weeks back was working from the coast at a buddies place. Timed a lunch session, which turned out to be so so. So another guy and I decided to check another spot close by and I kept suit on. While humming and hawing about waves at 2nd spot got an email from a PM I am working for. Something semi urgent had come up and wanted to conference and share screens. He was leaving for the day so time was of the essence. Had to drive back to my buddies suit on and then conference for 15 minutes in my friggen wetsuit. Kinda sucked.

[Tex]

I wish TO GOD I had a job that I could conference call in with suit still on.
BALLER....Bro...BALLER

[BOX]

Is driving back in your wetsuit bad? 'Cause I do it like every time. I live less than 10 minutes away from Agate (maybe 15 to Otter) so I never considered it a big deal. I just hose off and hop in a wet shower right away. If I had to drive back into the valley, though, I'd definitely be using one of those new changing rooms the city recently built there.

Didn't get any surfing in over Christmas with too many work and family obligations going on. Spent New Year's down in the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay area. Unfortunately I did not get any surfing in, but I saw folks catching phenomenal waves the whole time I was there which made me quite jealous. The waves looked so pretty I thought even I could catch them

Seriously, though, I know conditions can change daily (or hourly), and what I saw for a couple of days doesn't necessarily represent how things are 24-7, but do they have different waves down there? I made a point to compare the waves I saw with the ones in OR when I got back, and I swear the ones where I was at in CA tended to travel in a swell a whole lot longer before crashing, while the ones up here in OR seem to swell up and curl over right away. Seems like that would make a lot of difference in catching & riding them. Don't know if I'm expressing that well enough in my newbie-speak, but wanted to run that past you all to get your thoughts/opinions.

2017 literally started out pretty rough for me with all of those winter storms, but by summer I was getting in the water weekly or every other week pretty consistently. I still have a long ways to go and a lot to learn, but I feel good about my progress. Looking forward to a good 2018. Happy new year to you all.

[Major Lazer]

I made a point to compare the waves I saw with the ones in OR when I got back, and I swear the ones where I was at in CA tended to travel in a swell a whole lot longer before crashing, while the ones up here in OR seem to swell up and curl over right away. Seems like that would make a lot of difference in catching & riding them.

Hahaha YES! Not so much the waves, but the spots, bottom contour, and geography. That zone is laden with point break after reef break after beach break. Spent 8 years down there after a few few living in your zone and it was the best time of my life hands down. If you live to surf or you can swing it, I highly recommend living in that zone. One of the biggest mistakes I made in life was moving to Portland. This place blows for surfing and have never gotten why people keep moving here that surf.

[Major Lazer]

BALLER....Bro...BALLER

I wish.... in debt and living pay check to pay check for the most part. Surfing hasn't really helped my career to much and I cant seem to find a better job, which is prob a combo of age and fierce competition. Every fooking joeshmo wants to move here for some reason now. But I do have a flexible schedule and can work remotely on occasions. Honesty though I'd give it up for a better gig.

[Tex]

Yeah....living in debt and paycheck to paycheck is exactly where I am at....no way to live man....that is not what we are on this planet for.

I have to say, I started surfing when I lived in Seattle. That was even more strange....people would literally pull up to my car (with boards on the racks) and tell me there were no waves in Greenlake or Lake Union.

We had to drive out to Westport or down to Oregon....pain in the @ss but we loved it and didnt have many other responsibilities so it was no big deal. Sometimes we would hit Hobuck on a day trip....now that is a haul.

Anyway, Portland has much better access than Seattle. However, in 10 years, they are going to have to build a viaduct on 26.

[Major Lazer]

Yeah the tunnel is a massive bottleneck! The Silvan traffic is maddening, just straight evil. Glad I dont deal with it on the daily but its no fun anytime.