Small Saturday

There wasn't much out there today wave wise, but the conditions were really nice - there were clear skies and offshore winds. If you want to do other beach activities besides surfing, today would be a perfect day to do so.

Stoke Killer

There are only a few things that will kill my stoke faster than a flat spell. At this point, my stoke needs to be resuscitated. Hopefully we'll get at least a little bump soon. However, word is we might not see any decent surf well into the first week of February. That's too long of a wait if you ask me. Oh well, here's to a bunch of exercise sessions in the upcoming week.

Back to my Roots

Ever since I got my new digital camera, I've been more focused on taking pictures rather than bodyboarding. In fact, I've had sessions where I've put my board and fins on the beach altogether just so I could focus on taking pictures. However, today I went back to my roots and focused on bodyboarding. It felt good, especially since I haven't been in the water for almost a week (yesterday's five-minute session doesn't count), and also since we probably won't have decent surf for the next few days. Of course I couldn't help myself and I had to take a few pictures.

Choppy and Sloppy

If you missed a sesh this afternoon, don't feel bad - you didn't miss anything. You want proof?






I told you

After the Rain Video Version

After the Rain

I decided to skip a sesh today since I was paranoid about getting sick from the recent rain runoff. However, I couldn't let today go by without at least checking out the waves for myself, especially since a new swell was supposed to arrive today. With that, I ran down to the beach to see what was good. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw (and what I didn't see); the waves looked fun and the water was clean (at least it was free of trash and other debris). It made me wish that I had brought my gear. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

A Little Change

I decided to break the MB monotony today and head to where a couple of my fellow South Bay bloggers have scored these past few days. The waves weren't nearly as stoke-inducing today as they've been during these past few days, but I still had fun. I stopped by Alternative Surf on the way home, and the store associate said that the waves were "insane" late yesterday.

Speaking of Alternate Surf, if you have the time and the means, support the shop. Ron Dog could use the support.

Surfing with Flipper

Today's sesh was almost exactly like the sesh I had yesterday. The only difference was the waves were a little smaller.

I had a pretty cool experience as I was paddling out today - I was just about to dip under a wave when a dolphin shot out of said wave. I later saw a bunch of dolphins surfing really close to where I was. I would have taken pictures of those dolphins surfing, but I was too preoccupied looking for one of my fins that I had lost on an earlier wave. I'm glad to say I found my fin.

Still Sticking Around

I had a really late sesh today, and from what I saw, the swell is still sticking around. The shape seemed to be a little better than this past weekend, but it's still not up to par to what I was hoping for.

I didn't have enough time (aka light) to get any good surf-oriented pictures, but here are a few that I quickly took just for the sake of taking pictures.

Walled

I did a spot check for most of the South Bay (I even went to Playa Del Rey), and the common denominator of all those spots was walled waves. There were corners to be had, but they were few and far between. On any other day, I probably would have gone out for a sesh, but since I was expecting the waves to be a lot better, I was very disappointed and, as a result, I decided to stay dry instead.

Much Ado About Nothing

Hoping that the much anticipated swell had finally hit the South Bay, I made sure I arrived at the Pier early this morning to greet it. Mother Nature had other plans, however, and I was left hanging. It's a good thing I wasn't expecting too much from this swell - a lot of other S. California surfers were saying that this swell was over-hyped to begin with.

Since the waves weren't good, I decided to end my sesh early and try my hand at videography. That didn't pan out too well either as the lighting was very poor.

Today's session wasn't entirely disappointing, though. As I was leaving the Pier, the waves were noticeable bigger than they were when I had initially arrived. Could be a [good] sign of things to come tomorrow and on Monday.

Photo Session

I ran down to the Pier this afternoon in hopes of catching a quick session, but, unfortunately, the South Bay decided to do its best impression of a lake today.

Not in the mood to waste an otherwise beautiful day, I went to El Porto to take some pictures.

The Calm Before the Storm

I went from "I can't wait to surf this afternoon" to "The waves aren't good, so instead of surfing this afternoon, I'll just take pictures from the pier" (after checking surfline.com) to "The waves suck royally; I'll stay home and eat instant ramen instead" (after checking Sal's blog and Nick's blog.)

The lack of waves isn't all that bad, though. Alright, it is, but the good news is the waves should be picking up tomorrow, and by the weekend we should see some good surf. That's a good thing, since I can only handle so much ramen.

Shorebreak Session

I caught an early session at the Pier today. It was so early, in fact, that I was surfing by moonlight for the first 10 minutes of my sesh. The waves had potential, but the really high tide swamped them out. There were some fun shorebreak waves coming through, though. They made for a fun photo session. The waves might be pretty good this afternoon as the tide rolls out and as the Santa Ana winds kick in.

Thanks to Sal for the sick pic of Nick on the knee. Thanks also to Brandon for hooking me up with some extra parking meter time. Which reminds me, the parking meters at the Pier will now give you only 10 minutes for each quarter (as opposed to 15 minutes for each quarter)