I went surfing this morning on the shortboard. The swell had picked up and the set waves were coming in about head high. I did manage to get to my feet three times to make quota, but none of them were spectacular. The swell would build and build and then break quickly, partly due to the onshore wind. I did not have the quickness today to make it to my feet on the faster board. Yesterday was much better. The swell was a bit smaller and there was no wind. I made three good sections yesterday and got a confidence boost I needed to keep going on the shortboard.
Part of my sluggishness this morning was due to my active weekend. I surfed Saturday morning, if only briefly, and then went of a charity walk/5k with the family. I ended up running about half of it pushing two kids in a double stroller and wearing flip flops. Then I surfed Sunday, worked in the yard, rode a stationary bike and ran on a treadmill. I felt a little stiff in the legs when I woke up this morning and with the swell and the chop my arms felt the worst while I was in the water, but when I got out I definitely felt the fatigue in my legs. Unfortunately for me, the swell is supposed to continue throughout the week so I may not get a day off for a while.
Oh yeah, one more thing. There was no-one else near me. There were two guys about a quarter mile north and two girls tried to paddle out in about the same spot, but didn't get through the inside surf. The water was grey and choppy and I was on a short board (more sea lion looking from the bottom than a longboard). All in all it rated 7 fins on the sharky scale. I got out early and was at work by 7:30 again.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Huntington vs Baja
I went surfing this morning at 17th street. When I woke up this morning and looked at CDIP it showed 3-5 from the north. Some of the set waves were maybe 5 but the bottom seems a bit uneven and so they look like they are going to break then flatten out. I was on the short board, got my three waves and was at work by 7:30. I was happy just to get three waves on the shortboard. There was not the crowd that there was at Newport. Freddy was out there, but maintained his usual distance and just before I left two more guys showed up but were still a peak away. The water was a bit dirty and had a faint odor. Curious since there has been no rain for over a week. After only two days surfing at home, I still compare everything to the first day in Baja where we had everything almost perfect, so on a short crappy day with dirty water Baja wins.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Newport vs. Baja
From an email to Travis 5/10/05
*****************************************
Baja..............................Newport
Clear Water.......................Could not see my knees
6 people = crowd..................6 people = empty (there were a lot more than 6)
No work after surfing.............Work after surfing
I stopped at 17th this morning but decided it was not worth paddling out. As I drove to work I decided to paddle out anyway, so I went to Newport, paddled out into a crowd of prepubescent boys and was reminded how fast that wave is. I was on my short board.
After the trip, I decided that I needed a new goal for this summer. My goal is to learn to ride the 7’2” no matter what. To that end I will be shelving the longboard until I either break the shorty or get desperate for some easy surfing.
Rebecca mentioned that you guys checked out a bunch of spots along the coast. Did you see anything good? Any good spots near a hotel? I think if we go camping, we should go south of Ensenada.
I found your book. It was hidden in the middle of the floor in the office. It was completely in plain sight and I have no explanation as to how I could not see it before. It describes the road we took and mentions Punta China, but nothing about CEMEX. Apparently the road at the mouth of the river continues north and there is some sort of spot there.
Brett
*****************************************
Baja..............................Newport
Clear Water.......................Could not see my knees
6 people = crowd..................6 people = empty (there were a lot more than 6)
No work after surfing.............Work after surfing
I stopped at 17th this morning but decided it was not worth paddling out. As I drove to work I decided to paddle out anyway, so I went to Newport, paddled out into a crowd of prepubescent boys and was reminded how fast that wave is. I was on my short board.
After the trip, I decided that I needed a new goal for this summer. My goal is to learn to ride the 7’2” no matter what. To that end I will be shelving the longboard until I either break the shorty or get desperate for some easy surfing.
Rebecca mentioned that you guys checked out a bunch of spots along the coast. Did you see anything good? Any good spots near a hotel? I think if we go camping, we should go south of Ensenada.
I found your book. It was hidden in the middle of the floor in the office. It was completely in plain sight and I have no explanation as to how I could not see it before. It describes the road we took and mentions Punta China, but nothing about CEMEX. Apparently the road at the mouth of the river continues north and there is some sort of spot there.
Brett
Monday, May 9, 2005
Mexico, Finally
Travis has been trying to get me to go surfing in Mexico ever since we have been surfing (5+ years now). Well, this past weekend it finally happened. We drove down to Ensenada with our respective wives and kids and shared a rented house in Punta Banda, just south of Ensenada on the southern end of the bay.
Although the house was on the water, it was in the bay away from any break. So we loaded our longboards on the roof of my car and headed off in search of legendary Baja surf. We had second hand information that there was a spot at La Bufadora, at the end of the peninsula that formed the southern shore of Estero Bay. Since that was the closest spot that is where we headed. When we got there we found a tourist town with one major street lined with shops similar to TJ, but no surf. We turned back and after a short foray on a dirt road along the peninsula, we came to the conclusion that we had to go back to highway 1 and head south.
Next stop was the local Pemex, for gas because we were likely bound for the middle of nowhere and a map because we had no idea where we were actually going. Luckily for us the map we got had little surfers at all the surf spots along the coast. All gassed up and ready to go, we headed south. We drove half an hour along the windy highway until we came to the dirt road turnoff. The road was in pretty good condition and the Honda Passport made good time. We had switched to four wheel drive, not so much because we had to, but because it added to the experience and allowed faster cornering on the dirt road. We saw cows, dogs, lizards, squirrels, burros, horses, had to ford a stream that had pooled on the road about 15 feet long and a foot and a half deep. We had stopped to assess the fording possibilities and were considering a path around when some locals in there beat up old Toyota pickup drove up and just plowed through. A little sheepishly, we got back in the truck and drove through. We drove almost an hour on the dirt road to get to the coast, not seeing any turnoff that looked significant enough to be our turnoff, and finally reached the coast. There was a beach, but nothing worth surfing. We backtracked to the first "major" turnoff with a beat up old sign indicating it was the way to Punta China. Ten minutes on that road and we came to a guarded gate for CEMEX. We talked to the guard, who was cleaning a rattlesnake skin, and got him to let us in to get down to the cove we had found.
There we were, standing on the rocky beach of a deserted spot in Baja. The cove was pretty small and it was directly facing the swell, so there was a right coming from the north and a left breaking from the south. Since there were rocks to the right, we opted for the left. After watching for a few minutes for any signs of strong currents, we paddled out. The set waves were coming in head high. We were right at high tide, so they were a little soft, but we did just fine with the longboards. We surfed for about an hour, made quota and decided we should cut it short, since we were already overdue back at the house. On our way out, we tipped the guard to thank him and told him we would return the next day. The trip back seemed much shorter since we actually knew where we were going, and just to make the experience complete, we stopped for fish tacos at a little roadside stand.
The next day we decided to spend more time surfing and less time driving by going north. We were up at 5:00 and on the road. We stopped at San Miguel where there was a nice looking wave, but with the morning low tide it was right on the rocks. We saw it later on the way home and it looked fun. We continued up the coast to Salsipuedes where we payed our mandatory 50 pesos to park and hiked down the steep rocky trail to the rocky beach. Being north of Ensenada, we had to endure the crowd of six people vying for two peaks. We surfed until our arms gave out (at least mine did) then packed up and headed back to the house.
We spent the rest of our trip, relaxing, eating, sleeping and spending time with our families. The sun and the surf had taken its toll and we were happy to just kick back and get some rest.
Although the house was on the water, it was in the bay away from any break. So we loaded our longboards on the roof of my car and headed off in search of legendary Baja surf. We had second hand information that there was a spot at La Bufadora, at the end of the peninsula that formed the southern shore of Estero Bay. Since that was the closest spot that is where we headed. When we got there we found a tourist town with one major street lined with shops similar to TJ, but no surf. We turned back and after a short foray on a dirt road along the peninsula, we came to the conclusion that we had to go back to highway 1 and head south.
Next stop was the local Pemex, for gas because we were likely bound for the middle of nowhere and a map because we had no idea where we were actually going. Luckily for us the map we got had little surfers at all the surf spots along the coast. All gassed up and ready to go, we headed south. We drove half an hour along the windy highway until we came to the dirt road turnoff. The road was in pretty good condition and the Honda Passport made good time. We had switched to four wheel drive, not so much because we had to, but because it added to the experience and allowed faster cornering on the dirt road. We saw cows, dogs, lizards, squirrels, burros, horses, had to ford a stream that had pooled on the road about 15 feet long and a foot and a half deep. We had stopped to assess the fording possibilities and were considering a path around when some locals in there beat up old Toyota pickup drove up and just plowed through. A little sheepishly, we got back in the truck and drove through. We drove almost an hour on the dirt road to get to the coast, not seeing any turnoff that looked significant enough to be our turnoff, and finally reached the coast. There was a beach, but nothing worth surfing. We backtracked to the first "major" turnoff with a beat up old sign indicating it was the way to Punta China. Ten minutes on that road and we came to a guarded gate for CEMEX. We talked to the guard, who was cleaning a rattlesnake skin, and got him to let us in to get down to the cove we had found.
There we were, standing on the rocky beach of a deserted spot in Baja. The cove was pretty small and it was directly facing the swell, so there was a right coming from the north and a left breaking from the south. Since there were rocks to the right, we opted for the left. After watching for a few minutes for any signs of strong currents, we paddled out. The set waves were coming in head high. We were right at high tide, so they were a little soft, but we did just fine with the longboards. We surfed for about an hour, made quota and decided we should cut it short, since we were already overdue back at the house. On our way out, we tipped the guard to thank him and told him we would return the next day. The trip back seemed much shorter since we actually knew where we were going, and just to make the experience complete, we stopped for fish tacos at a little roadside stand.
The next day we decided to spend more time surfing and less time driving by going north. We were up at 5:00 and on the road. We stopped at San Miguel where there was a nice looking wave, but with the morning low tide it was right on the rocks. We saw it later on the way home and it looked fun. We continued up the coast to Salsipuedes where we payed our mandatory 50 pesos to park and hiked down the steep rocky trail to the rocky beach. Being north of Ensenada, we had to endure the crowd of six people vying for two peaks. We surfed until our arms gave out (at least mine did) then packed up and headed back to the house.
We spent the rest of our trip, relaxing, eating, sleeping and spending time with our families. The sun and the surf had taken its toll and we were happy to just kick back and get some rest.
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