Big Wednesday...Not!

Today wasn't "Big Wednesday" due to big surf, but being the last Wednesday of the year, it was a big Wednesday for me. With that in mind, I decided to catch a session at the Manhattan Beach Pier. I had a fun, albeit short, session (I decided to try out my recently purchased spring suit, which was a bad decision because it didn't keep me sufficiently warm). I had an especially fun time taking pictures, even though the lighting was poor and I had problems with water drops on my camera's lens.

What a Difference 24 Hours Make

Yesterday, the waves were decent sized, but blown out. Today, on the other hand, the waves were small, but they had good shape. The only thing that kept today's session from being more fun was the high tide; it was swamping out the waves which made the waves soft.

Wind Chill

Although I had no intention of going out today since I thought the water might be contaminated due to the rainfall that we had yesterday, I decided to take a look at the MB Pier anyway. There were a few nice sets that rolled in. However, it was windy and cold which made me feel perfectly okay being high and dry.

Much of the Same

First, the good news: an uncrowded lineup, glassy waves, light offshore winds, and a sandbar. The bad news? Small waves. Today's session felt like the session I had this past Saturday, except the water was a little colder.

Surfline.com forecasts 4-7 feet waves, with 8 feet sets for tomorrow. Early April Fools joke perhaps?

Two Words: Very Windy

Free parking courtesy of the City of Manhattan Beach (Get your free surf sessions while they last!)

I thought about catching a session this afternoon. However, after checking out the surf report on surfline.com, I decided to stay dry. I'm glad I did, too; the strong onshore winds made the waves blown-out. If that wasn't enough, potentially surfing in poo due to the rainfall earlier today was.

The Waves Must be on Vacation

Offshore winds? Present. Sandbar? Present. Uncrowded lineup? Present. Clear sunny morning? Present. Waves? ... Waves? ... With all the right elements in place for an epic session, the most important element was absent - the waves. At least good-sized waves, anyway.

Better than I Expected

I decided to check out the Pier this afternoon since I heard that a sandbar had formed. When I got there, there was no denying that a lot of sand had been displaced. Furthermore, the waves were a lot better than I expected (although that's not saying much). I'll catch a session this Saturday (I'd like to catch a session tomorrow, but I'm paranoid about surfing right after substantial rainfall [like the rainfall we had yesterday] and getting sick).

Rained Out

"Rained out". A phrase more associated with baseball games than surfing, but that's exactly what happened to my session (or lack of) today. Actually, I had planned to go to the Pier this afternoon to test out my new digital camera, but after one look outside, I knew I wasn't going to go anywhere. Still wanting to test out my new camera, I took pictures of some of my gear.

My first shot at videography. The footage was taken in summer 2008.

One Word: Windy

I had a session at the Pier yesterday. Although the waves were better than I thought they'd be, the conditions were poor. It was very windy, which caused the waves to be really choppy. It wasn't all that bad, though; the poor conditions deterred a lot of people from going out, and the lineup was uncrowded. In fact, there was a time when I was the only person on the north side of the pier.

Tis the Season

I've heard the waves have been pretty good in the South Bay for the past two weeks. I wouldn't be able to tell you first hand; during my sessions last week and this past Saturday, the waves haven't been anything worthy to write home about. They were, however, worthy to blog about. These are pictures from one of my sessions from last week.