4.17.2012 High Tide in Oside ïïï100TH POST!!!

I need to take care of some business, since this is my 100th post on this blog.

First, a big FU to all the haters. Yeah, you know who you are. (Editor's Note: There aren't any haters that I'm aware of as I'm convinced very few people besides me read this)

Oh, I almost forgot, a big FU to OPEC and their "tensions in the Middle East may cause oil production problems in the future" excuse for raising gas prices to the mid $4 level about six weeks ago. It's come down to the lower $4 range now, but still!

On to today's session...

I blew it by not getting up as early as I should have. The high tide, which has been the kiss of death for quality sessions in the morning, was peaking just before eight o'clock, which meant I had to get out there at sunrise to have any shot at quality waves from this swell. I didn't get to Oside until about 6:40.

I gave Pier a polite glance. It stayed true to recent form and produced nothing but shorebreak, unless you count some fat rollers on the "outside".

I was really jonesing today so it was going to take some really dismal conditions to make me drive back with dry hair.

A guy out there on a red airbrush board was tearing apart the left that forms off the jetty. It looked downright decent. I U-turned, parked and suited up.

A guy named Larry was parked a few spots down from me. I recognized his van from sessions of yore by its haphazard sticker placement. He told me about surfing a spot off Barking Sands, which I recognized as a military base on the westside of Kaua'i. He said he saw Laird Hamilton out there. I was going to break into my I-almost-got-run-over-by-Laird-Hamilton-at-Outside-Hanalei but couldn't find a break in the chatter.

I finished suiting up and paddled out, after much consternation, in front of the condo building. The good news was the water surface was smooth, the crowds were relatively light and the sun was out. The bad news was the waves were inconsistent, mostly small and fat.

I caught a wave within eight minutes of paddling out. I got up late, saw that it was closing out, and didn't bother to descend the wave. I kicked the board in front of me and let the wave wash over me.

Bad timing. No, I didn't get throttled by a monster set. My faith was instead tested by a three-stage development of ice cream headaches, each wave of the set making the pain progressively worse.

It made me think, what is a bigger stoke killer than ice cream headaches (barring major injuries)? I decided belly rash is the biggest stoke killer I've experienced. I've gone in during amazing waves because of belly rash, but not for any other reason (other than work appointments, so one could argue that's a big stoke killer too).

I caught another left and this one had more of a line to it. I decided to make a drawn-out bottom turn to have a better look at the crashing lip but chose the wrong wave. The section I'd been eyeing crashed about a second too quickly and I didn't react quickly enough to turn a lip bash into a foam climb. Bummer.

I caught a little right that I got some speed on. I went for a lip bash and semi-succeeded. I climbed up a bit and the wave batted me down. I rode away clean, but I will get no calls from the surf scouts on this wave...!

I caught another left which fattened as soon as I popped up. I did what I consider the sickest soul arch (longboard move) of my life, even incorporating my arms while looking up at the sky. I did get some pumping in, but it was for naught.

I was paddling about twenty feet parallel to a logger, though a bit inside of him. He missed the wave, so he called me into it. I couldn't catch it either though. It looked like it might have had a solid smacking section but I guess I'll never know for sure.

The waves got fatter and fatter and my stoke was inversely affected. I went in, desuited and hit the road.

4.9.2012 Another Solo Mish to Oceanside Harbor

Everything seemed to be lining up perfectly for a great session this morning. The swell had a dominant SSW angle and a bit of NW cross, which could mean peaky and consistent conditions. The wind was going to be calm, which at Oceanside Harbor means offshore, thanks to the funneling action of the Route 76 valley to the east.

I timed it well, arriving about twenty minutes after the bottom of the low tide. My thinking was I would be suiting up in time for the walled-up faces to be opened up by the incoming push of the eventual high tide.

I barely glanced at Pier once I dead-ended after traveling west on Mission. I knew the low tide would turn any waves into late-breaking close-outs. My presumption was correct, and I didn't give it a second glance.

Harbor didn't look great, but it had some promise, especially knowing that it would only improve with the tide push.

I parked in the free lot and suited up. I walked to the edge of the jetty and surveyed both sides, electing to take the north end as it seemed more consistent.

I paddled out and sat. Then sat some more. Twenty minutes passed before I caught my first wave. My introduction to the session wasn't great, after the right finally let me in, it let me pump once before it closed out. I did do a cool sailor dive off the back though.

My next wave took ten minutes to arrive. It was a left, but with a similar result to my last wave, this time with no pumps though. I kicked my board up and penetrated through the water.

Finally, a doozy came. I caught it and started pumping. I spied a guy on the shoulder paddling for it, oblivious to my being on it and zooming down the line towards his head. I whistled and got no reaction. I yelled and he pulled back just in time to not completely wreck the wave for me. My initial yell morphed into a hoot and I went for a sweet angled floater. Unfortunately, I lost my board in the wash.



My next wave was a very quick one, but I did a really cool-looking attempt at a layback smack. It's very fast, so if you want to see what I'm describing in the rest of this paragraph, you'll have to prime your trigger finger on the pause button. I went out a little more in the flats than I normally do, which allowed for a more vertical trajectory. I angled up the face and leaned back and absolutely SMASHED it. For some reason, I released my grip on my board with my back foot and came oh so close to pulling it, or so it felt.



The two waves gave me a much better feeling about the session's prospects. I paddled away from the crowd, a bit more towards the south jetty, but sat/paddled for thirty minutes with nothing of note coming by. My optimism slowly shriveled in the prolonged dry spell and I was over it.

I waited another ten minutes before a wave washed me in, happy to realize the air on the walk back wouldn't be nearly as cold as it was on Friday.

3.14.2012 Oceanside Harbor: One Good Sesh Deserves Another?

Given the best session I've had since January the previous day, I decided to not gamble on any other spots and shoot straight up to Harbor. I did do a cursory check of Pier, only to get a feel for the swell. It looked a little bigger than yesterday. PUMPED!

I parked in the free lot, suited up to the sweet sweet sounds of David Lee Roth courtesy of my GuyPod.

I ran down to the sand, then north towards my spot from yesterday. I saw a sick A-Frame during my three minute or so run, but other than that, nothing amazing. Hmm...

I caught a right and did really fast "shimmy" pumps, but it was for naught, as there was nothing for me around the corner.


I then caught a right that seemed to be hollow. I set up in an actual pigdog, no crab grab, but gave up after about a second. The too-quick act of righting myself made me plop over on my back.

Then, I caught an ok left which allowed me to do my wayback snap. In other words, a layback snap in which I splayed onto my back but didn't recover.

The wind came up, not in a good way, and the water surface started texturing. Word must've gotten out from yesterday's quality, as there were at least twice as many people.

I caught a left and pumped my brains out ( I was going to write 'ass off' there, but it just didn't seem right). There was no payoff, as the lip shut down. I managed to get most of my body underneath it, avoiding the penalty for my misplaced loyalty in sticking with this wave for this long.

My next wave was a nice one. Steep drop, followed by a long line. I pumped, then pumped. I pumped again. Finally, the section I'd salivated over approached and I smacked it hard. But I wasn't even close to making it.



My last wave was a left that was racier, and ended with me smashing through the wave to get away from the lip.

3.13.2012 FUN Solo Mission to Oceanside Harbor

After several no-go's last week, I was jonesing HARD. I made the decision the night before to get up early and suit up at home. I also took a water with me. Combining the two pretty much commits me to surf as I will have my suit on AND I'll have to pee.

I did so, and shot up the 5. I figured Wisconsin, Tyson and Pier wouldn't be all that great due to the low and still dropping tide. I was right, but there were some signs of life. I hit the gas with a smile on my face and the knowledge that Harbor loves a low tide.

I scanned S. Jetty and saw a little bit of a crowd, but more importantly, some swell. I drove down to the boat ramp and spotted some bangers. YES!

I parked, finished suiting up and walked to the beach. There was a bit of a crowd north of the jetty too, including a couple of rippers. Rather than compete with them and getting vibed (Harbor is notorious for localism, probably the most localized spot in N. County), I opted for an empty peak in the middle of the beach, parallel to the big condo complex building.

I didn't put on my booties as I didn't think I'd be out for very long.

I wasn't finished paddling out all the way when I caught my first wave. It was a very racy left whose lip hit me in the shoulder. I made it around a section only to be rewarded with closeout.

Three minutes later, I caught my second left of the day. I pumped hard a few times found a section and managed to turn a standard snap into an unplanned layback. I didn't make it.

My next wave was a right. I was having a hard time catching it and once I did it closed. I got half-covered up and pulled out the back.

Another right came and I got up slowly. I pumped quickly around the first section but there wasn't anything there.

Yet another right came. I had to lean hard on the front of my board to combat the offshores. I caught it and bottom-turned on a fat-ish face. I did a nice cutback, made it, but the wave was done.

C-C-COMBO BREAKER! A left came. I caught it, but was off-balance. I recovered and pumped like a madman, dueling with the lip the whole time until, at last, I was defeated...



I caught a decent left and I did my usual smack to bog to on-my-back, though I did get hung up on the lip. I like my bottom turn trajectory and the spot I picked, I think I'm just leaning too hard on my back foot for too long. If anyone has some tips for me I would appreciate it...!



I was getting really cold and my toes were going numb. It was time to wrap things up.

I caught a right and did an ok smack on it, the wave surprised me by quickly steepening upon my descent from the smack. I rushed another smack into it but was overcome by the crashing lip while up high on it.

I caught a left, pumped, then went into my typical smack, which turned into a layback. My ass dragged in the water, but thanks to my overtime glute work in the gym, I managed to muscle it out and stand back up. FINALLY! I think this counts as a layback snap!



After I came up after ditching my board, I got hooted by a random dude. YESS!

I rode in on my belly after this wave, and admired the various shades of purple in my toes.

12.5.2011 Oceanside Harbor with Forrest: A No-Go Denied!

I met Forrest at his place at 6:10 and we suited up. The air was numbingly cold.

On the way north from Forrest's Tamarack-area pad, we checked assorted Carlsbad beach breaks and we saw NOTHING. I've seen Lake Tahoe this big (and with more juice). The brunt of the swell was coming from the SSW so we figured Oceanside would be better.

It was, but not by much. We paused at Wisconsin Street and thought about doing the ultimate in no-go's: taking off a dry wetsuit. We decided to check Harbor and call it a day if we weren't convinced. I silently made mental plans as to what to do with the extra time I'd have from not surfing.

While going over the new-ish bridge southeast of Oceanside Harbor, we saw something that excited us. This is all relative, mind you. If we'd just had a week of mind-blowing surf, we wouldn't have slept in based on the forecast. Since we were groveling, any ripple became titillating.

We pulled in to the parking lot and decided to go for it based on just the two-wave set we saw from the road. After much ribbing from both Forrest and Missed-It Mike, I elected to leave my gloves in the car. This was in an effort to see if I really was being a pansy.

Big mistake.

We got to the water and waded in. I made my best effort to not get my hands wet as the stiff offshore would make them shrink with frigidity. I succeeded until I made the difficult to decision to mount the board and begin paddling. Normally this time of year, the water will be comforting as it's warmer than the air. But with the strength and direction of the wind, today would be different.

We both made it out with dry hair and I caught two right away. I made sure I'd caught both before standing up, putting in an extra couple of strokes each time. All I accomplished is going straight for maybe ten yards before each one petered out (Man, it must suck to have the name Peter. First the phallic interpretation and then the verb).

I caught a right into the risen sun and was able to pump to keep pace with the wave, but not much else. Both times I faded off the wave in such a way so as to no get my face wet as it was still a virgin from the evaporative freezing effect of the offshores.

A nice set came, but I was out of position for it.

I sat for about twenty minutes and I started shivering a little. My hands were really cold and I consciously kept them underwater to shelter them from the wind.

A left came and I caught it late. I pumped twice, aware of its speed-killing fatness and attempted to lay into a cutback. I opened my shoulders back to the wash while twisting my gaze to meet it and aborted halfway through. What was meant to be a roundhouse cutty turned into a classic EddieP hack. Not bad, considering.

Within five minutes, another left came and I was in a great spot. I took off, pumped and met the oncoming section with a hit. Unfortunately, I blew it. I'm still not sure which bad habit of mine made me go underwater.

I hinted to Forrest that we should think about going in. He agreed and we walked into the gaping maw of the warmth-robbing offshores. As each second passed, my hands became number and more pained. When we got to Forrest's car, Forrest said he couldn't tie his board down as his hands were too cold. We huddled in the car (without touching, you pervs) to escape the wind for a few minutes. Forrest got out and we went back to his place with the faith-restoring space heater and hot shower.

9.7.2011 Oceanside S. Jetty, First Ice Cream Headache of the Season

All of Oceanside looked flat today.  The high tide was drowning the swell.  There were some shorebreak racers but they were looked so fat they weren't worth it.  I saw a promising set at Buc's but then ...radio silence.  I checked Harbor and just south of the south Jetty, I saw some peelers come through.  Not wanting to make it three times in a row of driving without surfing, I was on it!

I got down there and saw some clean little 1-3' peelers with a couple of heads per peak, not too bad...!  I saw an empty peak south of them and I paddled out.  The water was extremely cold for the time of year, I would guess 62, maybe 63 degrees.  Are we done with summer?  I trunked it twice and froze both times!

I managed to get the rip to take me too far out for the third session in a row.  I turned my head to look at the rest of the crowd and they were way inside of me.  I paddled north and in and was too inside of a decent one.
I paddled out a bit more and dodged another set, three waves this time.  I scampered back and forth until finally I was in position for a wave.  I caught it and as I was popping to my feet, the section closed and raced off without me.  I tried to pull back but the wave had other ideas.  I jumped off my board towards the beach and took one spin in the cold cycle.

I paddled back out and waited about ten minutes for my next chance.  I caught a wave and watched as it closed out in front of me.  I jumped over the foam.  I came up and something felt wrong.  There was no tension on my leg.  My leash rope had given out and I had the pleasure of swimming to get my board.  I got to it and it wasn't dinged up by the rocks.  If that had happened I would have questioned God's unconditional love for me.

I was disgusted with the cold, the gutless waves and my equipment issues.  I packed it in and bailed. No more morning Oside for me until this morning high tide goes away :o(