Vax Sessions

[Howly Wolf]

Seemed to be a good weekend to put the CBTF to the test, but mine continues to wait in the wings. Opted for the ol' utility short board instead. Swell quickly went from weak wind swell to blown out LP close outs. Water was warmish tho. Tried again the following day and had a bit more luck in the windshadow-- swell was winding down, so a bit more manageable although still mostly closing out. I've just decided to embrace subpar surfing as a way of life, based on what I've been finding up & down the coast, as well as my own abilities when the surf does get good. Is the struggle its own reward? Sure, yeah, maybe. Beautiful weather at least and not especially crowded despite that development. Beaches could use a few more channels on their bottom tho.

[BOX]

Got out last night for a good session. Wind was picking up. First stop looked pretty turbulent with no heads in the water. Drove a bit more north and was worth the trip. Fun, friendly vibe and good weather with the wind being somewhat blocked from the headland. Not as big as I expected but enough fun sets coming through to keep things enjoyable. Definitely not a bad day in the water.

[Major Lazer]

Your 8 board quiver will not save you from the Oregon

[Howly Wolf]

Personally, I enjoy being frustrated in new and novel ways.

[Major Lazer]

New? How long have you been surfing over there?

[Howly Wolf]

When it comes to surfing, I don't know squat. But regarding close outs, I'm somewhat of a connoisseur... my 8+ quiver allows me to explore the nuances of frustration when dropping straight down the wave face into the impact zone.

[Tex]

my uncle turned 65 on Friday and he invited me out to play a round of golf with him in Manzanita on Sat. He was staying in town for his birthday weekend. I said sure, it had only been about 25 yrs since I played that course last. The buoys did not give me much optimism for surf but I threw the suit and board in the back just in case. Tee time was at 3:00 so I had a lazy breakfast and meandered my way out of PDX around 10:00.

I pulled over at Needles, it was smallish looking but there were two surfers out and I figured I didn't really have time for hikes anyway. As you all know, open beach breaks are a bit different than protected coves. Zero consistency unless a bar has been built up and the conditions can change pretty quick. What started out as some cute looking peaks transitioned pretty darn quick. I made it out over the first sandbar with relative ease....picked a spot that was generating a nice looking right. Waited....then watched the other guys start padding further out, then saw what they saw....a larger set coming through. Scratched over the top of the first, made a sweet duck dive under the second one and was trying to time the duck dive under the third but no dice, a thorough pin down with a sweet rag doll to top it off. Made it back out, and closeouts became the rule, not the exception. Kept refining my duck dives and white water riding skills. I was in the water for about 1.5 hrs. It was warm water, the sky was blue, I had nothing better to do. All in all, I was in the water having fun and kooking it up royally.

Stopped at Muhies- watched the best application of a SUP in the surf as I have ever seen in person, from highway. Only dude out, waiting for the outside set, stroking in and getting 25-45 yrd rides. Damn near convinced me to try the SUP...he was slaying in.

Drove past SS, cars parked a mile north of the lots, pure mayhem.

Met up with my uncle, played a fun 9 holes with some glorious drives and some drives where I basically dribbled the ball off the tee box. Putting was atrocious but still, great weather, chillin with my uncle, giving zero f@*ks about a score.

i am exploring options for the big 5-0 birthday board....please tell me how awesome Murdey shapes are and that of course I should get a custom mid from Murdey.

[Major Lazer]

Despite having a few features to break up the monotony that plagues any chance of a legit beachie, CB is one of the most unreliable fickle stretch's of beach I've ever bothered to check. That said, I've had some good ones over the years, but can almost never put my finger on it.

[Howly Wolf]

i am exploring options for the big 5-0 birthday board....please tell me how awesome Murdey shapes are and that of course I should get a custom mid from Murdey.

I'll tell you what you want to hear, if you stop naming spots lol

[Major Lazer]

Buddy was keen on getting one before the impending storm so meet up at the carpool spot and blasted over the range for a blue collar sash. 1st view coming down the hill indicated no white capage, so pulled in off the 1st exit with some hope. Once again as mentioned above no hay nada...... textured and to much swell. Maxed on a 5' swell. Common WTF Guess this old dog cant learn old lessons.

Smaller, cleaner swell, and much peaker than Sat with a light crowd, but as we were suiting 3 pack of bros shows and some other after work regs started to walk out to the waterline. Still quitter than the summer crowd. Glassy assy punchy and fast lefts. Every other one had some weirdness to it. Couple goofies pulling into small little barrels surprisingly. A bennie for the frontsiders of a little to much sand perhaps IMO. Seen more head dips per usual recently. Sharbard felt a little boggy even with the quads in? Hayden fronts still in the Ghost so perhaps it was the flat AM2s up front? Or maybe shoulda been on a fish like my buddy who was putting together some good ones per usual. Fookin goofys. Still way better than the cumbersome mid on these waves.

Still shartbard felt good on the handful that stood up nicely and allowed 2 solid turns to the beach. Buddy commented on sprayage and some fins out the back on one wave, so backside attackage ego was stroked Handful of right, but per usual petered out after good drop sigh..... One of the 3 pack bros was being an annoying menace. Guy could surf, but kind of couldn't, and was hasteling everyone one for their waves. 20 something, kinda short, thin build, Vans boots and Xcel comp suit riding a shortboard. Ended up doing the same to him paddling for any wave he was deeper on trying to snowball the lip. Fuking douche. Seen him once before. Prolly PDX Cali tranny. Chill brah. Smoke him if you see him! Eventually froze out in my 4 mill having gone buoy status toward the end of the session. Nothing seemed to be coming to me. Ended on a drop to close out and enjoyed a still dusk before the storm. Hoping the rain moves around some sand up and down the coast.

[Howly Wolf]

Recent surfs at shorties have belied a dark energy that I haven't really experienced there before. Have you lifers noticed a shift in the vibe or am I just tripping?

[Tex]

i bet there are some surfers that see the crowds (exponentially larger throughout COVID) as an imminent threat which could generate some of that dark energy. i have not experienced it myself, nobody at first light throws that shite around at SS.

[Howly Wolf]

i have not experienced it myself, nobody at the pickleball court throws that shite around.

Fixed it for ya, Tex.

The low frequency vibe I'm referring to is more about a preponderance of f@#K f@#K games... just general hassling and lack of etiquette. Happens occasionally at first light too. Maybe it's a demographic shift idk.

Dark energy was the sea itself yesterday. Meaty swell. Brutal inside/Gash outside. The one other guy who poked through was cool, but he didn't stick around long. Big ol' close outs

[Major Lazer]

Always been pretty competitive. Can remember scraping for waves in a bit of a crowd in the late 90s. More recently it's definitely become combat surfing and more disregard for general etiquette. Level has increased as well...... and well I'm getting old too. Used to be more local groms down there, which were all cool kids that have moved down south. Now it seems like a new crop of twenty somethings have moved over from the valley and surf down there more than most locals do. Prob cant surf the other spots without hastles? Who knows. Kinda honed my skills living in "Nor Cal" for 8 years and can still scrap with the best of em. Or at least I like to think so. I prefer to surf elsewhere, but you know how it goes........

[Tex]

I think you are a comedic genius Howly, love your shite talking bro.

I was reminded of a session maybe 8 months ago, pretty sure I recounted the story here, had to call this dude off my priority wave like three times, yelling, I GOT IT, I GOT IT....he perched on the lip and watched me basically ride under him. This was at SS. I might have missed an earlier take off, making him doubt my ability to stick the drop, who knows. Sometimes that pressure elevates my crusty ol game.

Also, should we go back to month specific reporting? If so, who wants to name the October session posting?