Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Abominable


S WIND 15 TO 20 KT...RISING TO 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 10 FT BUILDING TO 15 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS.
This slab has graced the pages of this blog before...
In fact, it was the wave on day one...
Now it is outed...
As someone said...
"Only a matter of time"...
I never have and never will surf this beast...
I'll leave that to those with even less sense than myself.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

4 Days of Slop?


W WIND 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 FT. W SWELL 13 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
Monday begins a 4 day vacation...
Forecast not looking super hot...
Lotsa mentions of wind waves...
Combined seas and high winds...
Oh yeah, don't forget onshores...
Anyhow, hoping for some nuggets...
Amidst the messiness and mud...
At least there's always drinking.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Leave The Window Open

~photo by Cory @ Crowerks
~shopped by Doc @ here

NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...VEERING TO E IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. NW SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
I was pretty stoked to catch a fun little session on Tuesday...
Stoked to have Cory & Mark from Cannon Beach Surf snap a few pics of yours truly...
Stoked to see a potential open window today surfwise...
But making it there between weather, work & wisdom...
Remains to be seen.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Snow Steps

~photo by Brook @ Crowerks

SW WIND 25 KT WITH GUSTS TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT. NW SWELL 12 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
This was the view heading down to the beach Monday...
And to a slightly more melted extent on Tuesday...
I've rocked out to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"...
In Leucadia, I'd head down Stone Steps to surf...
I've pondered the impossible "Penrose Steps"...
In Laguna, I'd trek down 1000 Steps to bodysurf...
I've contemplated the meaning of "Jacob's Ladder"...
In San Francisco I've climbed the Coit Tower steps (no surf)...
I've stepped up the steps to my front door 1000's of times...
In Astoria, I ascended the Column (I could see the surf)...
But now I have descended the Snow Steps...
And I went surfing.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Snow Day

~Painting by Albert Bierstadt

NE WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
Surfed by some rocky headlands & offshore rocks today...
The waist high waves had that glowing green look to them...
There were no visible haulouts in action...
Although a few drive-bys and looks from local pinnipeds...
Surf was pretty small but fun enough...
With speedy rights and lefts coming through...
The lefts took you all the way into the shallows...
The rights actually built as they reeled along...
With some fun walled-up sections...
Small enough to leave the leash in the car...
And only had to make a swim once...
As the tide filled in the waves got harder to find...
And the cold air started to dig in...
So called it a day and drove home through the snow and ice.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Speck


E WIND 25 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT. NW SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Sometimes you can feel pretty insignificant...
Paddling out into forces of wind, moon & planet...
Sometimes you get off easy, dodging bombs...
Other times you pay the price...
Getting bounced, drug and spun...
Like a speck on the surface of the sea.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Cow Surf


W WIND 35 TO 40 KT WITH GUSTS TO 55 KT...VEERING TO NW IN THE EVENING. COMBINED SEAS 21 TO 25 FT...WITH DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 24 FT DOMINANT. SHOWERS. CHANCE OF TSTMS.

Looks good...
Or not.
Been putting together a few shirts for family & friends...
Here's one I kinda like...
Inspired/triggered...
By a post by Mick over at STS.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Bust Out


NW WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. W SWELL 11 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
Nothin' like alotta board in front of you...
I surf anything from 6'8" to 10' 6"...
Yeah, I should go shorter...
And longer fits the equation too...
But bustin' out a big ass board...
In solid surf is as satisfying an experience...
As any shortbord maneuver out there...
Only my cent and a half...
Because as time goes on...
My bank seems to be a little less flush...
Gonna keep keeping on tho...
Never give up...
Keep the fish...
Manage the spear.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Check Your Head


S WIND 15 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
I've missed the call the last few sessions...
I've gotten it right some...
But missed utterly on others...
Egregiously and...
Utterly stupid in some cases...
Scrambling in anticipation...
Only to founder...
To utterly fail...
To find surf of worth...
But then sometimes it seems...
I only remember the bad...
There was some fun mixed in...
Still...
Shouldas, couldas, wouldas...
Always creep in...
Uninvited.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Pretty Much


N TO NE WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
Pretty much sums it up...
Sloppy, bumpy, mushy...
Mixed in with some fun...
Head to over, speedy...
But still pretty bumpy...
Kept waiting for the wind...
To blow offshore...
And smooth things out...
But it never really came...
It got glassy in places...
But it was a warbly mess...
Overall....
Pretty much.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Walls

S WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 13 SECONDS.

What can I say?
Might as well have been...
No wind at all...
There wasn't.
That it threw a bit more?
It didn't...
Just big soft lines...
Swelling on the horizon...
Paddle in...
Sweep down the line...
Swing it back into the juice.
That I had more time?
Definitely...
Two hours?
Could have surfed four...
Or five, or six...
As I drove away...
In the dark...
I thought about it...
And wanted to park my car...
Aim the headlights on the peak...
Switch on the brights...
And surf into the night.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Work


E WIND 15 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 4FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
Some jobs are better than others...
I like my job alright...
Sometimes it gets in the way of going surfing...
But I'm pretty fortunate surfwise...
However, the job of helping starlets...
In and out of mermaid costumes?
Pretty hard to beat.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Network Tragedy



W WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS.

The Tillamook Bar claims 2 more lives in the sinking of the crab boat Network.
The same swell that provided big surf for the Nelscott contest earlier created standing waves of 15+ feet that swamped, spun, snapped and deposited atop the jetty half of the Network.
One man escaped onto the jetty. Two crewmen, apparently not wearing life jackets, perished.
Further south, at Proposal Rock in Neskowin, a woman apparently fell to her death.