Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Springsuit Surf Report

Ah yes, that wonderful time of the year has come when the water warms up enough to put away the 3mm/2mm wetsuit I've been wearing for the past several months, and get back out the springsuit! The water has warmed up significantly over the last several days, and if this trend continues, I'll be able to ditch the springsuit in no time as well!

Last week, the onshore winds were extremely strong in southern CA (10-15+ knots in the afternoon), which really kills the surf. Yesterday, I woke up and noticed that the wind wasn't blowing much, and took a Memorial Day jaunt down to Oceanside Harbor. The waves weren't great, but there was some fun short period wind swell with a few occasional set waves making a rare appearance. I surfed for almost 2 hours, and the overall weather conditions were amazing. I was wearing my wetsuit, and actually felt too hot as noon approached.

During lunch today, I broke out the springsuit and headed down to D street. Another beautiful day with playful surf, and the water just felt perfect. Of course, this means that the crowds will start to increase as well... ;<

Thursday, May 11, 2006

2006 Fish Fry


Last Sunday was the annual Fish Fry - a gathering of surfers and shapers who enjoy surfing fish surfboards. A "fish" surfboard is usually shorter and wider than your usual shortboard, customarily with a swallowtail. A standard fish has two fins (or keels), although more modern designs are now popular as well, like the quad canard fins on my GH board.

As I was getting ready to paddle out, with a crowd-induced grimace on my face, Mike Miller of ppb-photos snapped a rare picture of me. Note to self - need to cut back a bit on the red trolley ale...