Little dash down the point

With a storm looming off the coast, I waited till mid morning to venture out and was glad to find the cold temps kept the crowd at bay, even for Christmas Vacation. It was a little lumpy and bumpy, but I still managed to pick off a few fun ones that Lower Trestles manged to shape up into a respectable little dash down the point.

Duck and cover tubes.

The traditional Christmas swell missed by a day, but it was worth waiting for. The head high waves at Lowers met a strong but chilly offshore wind to make a wave most just dream about. There were tubes and turns aplenty! The the crowds even left me alone so I could just go off wave after wave. I might be suckin' down aspirin today ( maybe tomorrow), but for one of the best sessions in recent memory, I really don't care, as I will think only of the 100 yard racetracks filled with duck and cover tubes.

I am definitely warming up

Frickkin' 30 degree mornings sorta put the sunrise surf out of the comfort zone, so I opted for a later go out and was greeted with only one guy out and lots of waves. It was fun and games until 25 people showed up within 5 minutes, turning Lowers Point into a cross with the 405 freeway and a game of dodge ball. Still, early on I got a few little tubes and felt less like a kook like last time. After a big couple of waves and a final 10 yard floater, I can say I am definitely warming up.

I got a few

Holy Crap! There were waves today. Too bad I was out of shape from sitting around waiting for the ocean to get it up again for what feels like weeks, (if not all year). Still, 5 guys out at Lowers in offshore sunny conditions is a thing of beauty. With 3 swells to choose from, it was like a buffet of 3 foot barrels. Sadly, more of them got me than I got them. But I got a few.

The wave of the day

Me, myself and flat paddled out today in beyond perfect conditions in the rather optimistic hope that Lower Trestles could work its magic. Thankfully, old Lowers pulled out a few just for me, which I sorely needed after weeks battling travel and the flu blues. I got some fun ones in between long lulls, where I really enjoyed floating around watching the birds fish and a few paddle boarders work their way up and down the coast looking for waves. Eventually, the tide pushed up some real waves and, lo and behold, I did a in and out tube and some nice little flirts with some other tubes that opened up for me and sent me down the point with classic style. All things considered, it was just what I needed, and I also got, for my troubles, the wave of the day!

Seriously wicked wave

Holy Crap! It was perfect today, just perfect. Overhead big swells pushing into a stiff hot offshore wind. The only drawback was the crowd because everyone KNOWS it is perfect today thanks to all the Surf Reporters and Surfline. The other thing was the winds brought some awful dust and grunge to all the surfaces and even the air. Still, I got a few waves today that were flawless from start to finish at Dogpatch. Overhead and just slightly slower than closeout, they were just rocket launchers when you could fight your way down the face with the strong offshore winds. Once you did, though, you got a seriously wicked wave!

Monster waves today

Lower Trestles is usually a cupcake of a wave to surf. Not today, though. It had teeth and claws and was just plain mean. Two deep water swells were crossing it up making really hard to paddle and just get out into the lineup. Also, all kinds of juice was kicking in and tossing lips, peaks and lots of surfers all over the place. I got my cookies crunched, but not before I made some spectacular waves, literally flying over the surface of the water at break neck speed. I did better than most, as boards and weekend warriors tumbled over the falls and got chewed up in almost every imaginable way around me in the surf. It was very entertaining to watch at least. Then, the Santa Ana winds kicked up, and made the waves have 30 foot plumes of spray and picture perfect. I just got out and enjoyed the 85 degree heat on the beach as I watched. As the 25 mph offshore hot winds made it almost unridable, but terribly fun to watch, It was an early trick or treat as everyone took turns and got chewed up by the monster waves today.