Turn On It, Tune Out, Drop In

N WIND 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 3 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

After a deep, deep Central Willamette Valley mode morning meeting on Tuesday I scrambled for the Central Oregon Coast in hopes of finding some sunshine to go along with the forecast 3 foot swell. I wasn't overly optimistic due to the 25 knot gusts, the 5 foot wind swell and the 3 foot swell that had dropped to 1 foot.

Then my low hopes were dashed upon arrival at Newport as I sighted the whitecaps frothing on the horizon. Cursory checks of north wind protected headlands up the coast yielded sub-miniature dribblers that offered little chance of propulsion despite proper preparation of bringing a 10' 6" single fin log.

Spot after spot checked with windswept bays and beach breaks continued to crush spirits as darkened coastal taverns beckoned and looked increasingly tempting. At Tillamook, I bagged and headed east on Highway 6 resigned to my valley fate. As the dairy farm stench wisped about me I rebelled...hung an illegal u-turn and resumed my northward trek up Highway 1.

At the last ditch spot I pondered just hiking in with survival supplies [beer] and hydrating in the sun. But, being sensible, I lugged the heavy longboard down the trail knowing failure to do so meant surrender on my part and I could not stomach it.

Upon arrival on the sand, I was greeted by an empty lineup...empty of surfers and empty of waves. After a few moments, as I battled the steady wind to trudge forward, I saw a mysto peak break about 20 feet from shore in about 10 inches of water...solid shin to knee high and perfect.

Making it to 3rd creek I deposited my Kings of Beer in the frigid waters and watched the north end. Sure enough, a peak showed and a right reeled off in deeper water that looked small but surfable. I suited up and paddled out. The waves were tiny but perfect little offshore peelers with a fun little noseride section.

After about an hour and a half of fun in the sun and surf by my lonesome, the switch was thrown and the little peaks turned off. I paddled south in hopes that a new wave would materialize but no such luck. Once I entered the wind tunnel unprotected 2nd creek area, I opted to head in and consume my beers on the beach.

All in all, coulda been better but it was almost much, much worse.

NOAA is forecasting "VERY STEEP WIND WAVES"...
I don't think I've ever seen that forecast...
I hope they're right...
But I have a feeling I'll be doing more fishing...
Than surfing this holiday weekend.

S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. LOCAL GALE FORCE GUSTS TO 35 KT POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 9 TO 11 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.

Hell, put away your surfboards maybe...
Although, you never know...
There might be some waves to be found...
But, looks a little windy the next few days...
45 knot winds forecast for Monday...
And a little big 16 to 18 foot combined seas...
Perfect Oregon conditions in other words...
Might have to look for some protection...
Or maybe something completely different.

NW WIND HOWLING. COMBINED SEAS 7 TO 8 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 7 SECONDS...IT WAS SMALL...3 FT, MAYBE 4 FT.

Grow up to be surfers...
They'll do things like...
Spending Earth Day...
Driving 100's of miles...
Looking for surf...
On a blown out coastline...
And then find it.

Just posted this pic last month...
But it applies.

Surfed on Tuesday and Wednesday at PC...
Following on the heels of the Cole Ortega incident...
Lots of talk about what to be done...
Who's to blame...
And talk of buoys, lifeguards & regulations...
I feel bad for the boy...
But you can't regulate everyone's safety...
It's an inherently risky endeavor...
Although getting hit by a boat...
Isn't a risk you generally consider.

Tuesday's surf was pretty dismal...
Quick closed out shorebreaks...
Wednesday, paddled out with HD...
He wanted to go drink coffee...
But I used the Jedi Mind Trick...
To persuade him to surf...
And keep his surf streak alive...
Once we got out, he said...
"Bigger than it looked"...
I answered...
"And crappier than it looked too"...
We caught a few and hung it up...
He went to drink his coffee...
And I went and surfed the closed out shorebreak again.

Later that day, I paddled across the above river...
In misbegotten hope of surf...
I made it about halfway through the flats...
Before the force of the wind...
Drove me backwards...
I stashed the board...
And struggled forward to the beach...
The nuking north wind...
Needles to say, had destroyed the surf...
And the blowing sand storm...
Sent me packing quickly.