Not bad, not bad at all

Waist high, peaky, and inconsistent. Light easterly breeze right now and 14 guys out. Shape is fair and wait is long between sets. Sun should be on the water in about 10 minutes.

The sting rays are still hanging around; had one follow me out through the shore break the other day so watch your step!


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

I've Seen Better

1-2 feet, west wind, very bumpy surface conditions; in other words, not good at all. Even Ken and Chuck passed on it this morning. Not too much more to say about it except you should have a distraction free (I wonder if the surf is good, should check it on line; that call from my boss can wait) day at work.


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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The Gloom is Back

Soft and mushy. Knee to waist high mixed up rollers. Glassy surface conditions and a peaky swell mix. 15 people out including Chuck (I'm going out no matter what), John (look out here I come) and Barbara (I hope I can make through the shorebreak).

It looks like there could be the occasional corner but there isn't much to it after the take off. What the hell, I may go out anyway.


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Steep Swell Angle & Wind

Most of the southerly energy is pushing right on past 15th street. 2-3 feet; waist to shoulder high sets with poor+ to fair- shape. Slightly textured surface conditions due to a moderate WNW breeze. 40 guys out and more arriving every minute.

Should improve with more tide. Right now the best waves are the lefts in front of and just south of the lifeguard tower.


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Moonlight Surfing?!

Knee to waist high with slightly lumpy surface conditions. At thus tide the shape is poor+ to fair. About 20 guys out; widely dispersed from the reef to just south of the lifeguard tower. No wind.

Kenny reports that he was in the water at 4:15 this morning moonlight surfing and said it was awesome. Me, I'm going to wait for the other light source in the sky. Some people really like moonlight surfing but it creeps me out.


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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From out of the mists...............

Great job, no?

Hung around for a while and the misty haze burned off.  The tide filled in a bit and the wave quality improved.  The wind backed way off; got even better glass and the number of doubled up waves diminished.  Some great rides out there this morning.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

The left just south of the lifeguard tower

Same wave, further along

The left in front of the ramp

Misty Morning

Heavy veil of mist this morning; what I imagine looking at the world through cataracts is like.

Two major swells on the water this morning; a short period WNW and a longer period SSW producing some waist to chest high waves. Sets are larger but closing out. Sort of like yesterday only worse All in all, it could use more tide. When that happens it may be fun for a while.

Clean surface conditions and about 20 guys out.

Have a good one


Aloha
Gary



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Sunday's South Swell

Paul, recently back from Java

Looks harmless enough

Well, the south swell showed up this morning but it had some competition from a NW wind swell.  The swell angle was pretty steep so a lot of the energy went right on by Del Mar.  Still, there were head high and some plus sets every so often.  The shape wasn't great but there were some corners if you were patient and could keep up with the constantly shifting take off zone.  Bumpy surface conditions, doubled up waves, cold water, sting rays and a typical Sunday crowd made for only a fair day in the water.

Even so, the crew was making the most of it.  Check it out:

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

Barb, charging a left

A Little Mixed Up

Swells coming from every direction this morning, none of them dominate. 2-3 ft, inconsistent, doubled up and crowded.

Lumpy surface condition but calm wind. Some nice sections on the inside but the outside sets are just rolling and tumbling through, disappearing and then reappearing on the inside. Water temp is still cold so a 3/2 full suit is not too much rubber.

Nice to have the sun out but it makes it hard to spot the guys on the inside. BTW, Kurt and Chuck tested one of the fundamental laws of physics (two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time) in the water proving without a doubt that when Chuck says he doesn't care if he runs into and or over someone in the water, he means it.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Crowd is Back

From me, myself and I on Monday to 30+ people today! Glassy conditions, sunny beyond belief, big, fat waist to chest high sets and not much in-between. Perfect long board day.

Water temp is creeping back up to mid 60's and soon it will be spring suit conditions again. The green slime is Still here, working it's way into a frothing green foam ball.

Here's a photo of Greg Noll, Mickey Munoz and Mike Hyson yuking it up at last weekends Sacred Craft expo.


Have a good one
Aloha
Gary


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Somewhat Smaller

Not as consistent either but conditions are great and the waves are shapely and about waist high. Chuck, Luke and about 12 others are out.

Water temp is still in the low 60's but the soon to be abundant sunshine should compensate for that.

Time to get wet!

Have a good one.
Aloha
Gary


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BRIGHT AND CLEAR!

Calm, glassy and sunny! Can you believe it!? Shapely waist to shoulder high beauties rolling through this morning. The lefts are really working (speaking of work, skip it and come here instead) and the crew of 20 or so is making the most of it.

The tide is perfect, the waves are good; shaping up as a perfect SoCal surf day. Get on it if you can. It hasn't been this good in a while.

Speaking of good, check out this wagon here this morning.


Have a good one


Aloha
Gary


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Looking for a Weekend Event?

Then you might want to mark your calendars for the 17th annual Luau and Longboard Invitational surfing contest and luau on Sunday, August 22nd just south of Scripps pier. The longboard invitational pairs a surfing legend (think Skip Frye and David Nuuhiwa) with a team of four local surfers.  The event has raised more than $4.7 million as a fundraiser for the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Check it out!ions out there but there are some peaks to slide into every now and again. Water temps have not recovered and are hanging in there right around 60 degrees. But the lack of wind helps.

On to the surf report.  2-3 feet, with good (glassy) surface conditions.  A lot of different swell directions in the water but there were still some peaks to slide into every now and then.  I genuinely like surfing with the Powerhouse Surfing Association crew, but as I was walking down the ramp to go out this morning and saw that I was going to be the only one; THE ONLY ONE, in the water I couldn't believe my good fortune!  I had it all to myself (except for a few alien creatures) for about 45 minutes;  it was great, great, great.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

Tetraselmis

Translation; a bright green algae bloom. If you've been to the beach in the late morning or afternoon you've seen it. Hard to miss actually since it's day glo green color is smeared everywhere you look; on the sand, in the waves and in some places 400-500 yards offshore. "They" assure us that, while a bit slimy, it's not toxic. Why now and where does it come from? Good question, but I have noticed numerous whale spouts off shore this week. Hmmmmm, I wonder.

But I digress, what's the surf like, you ask? Knee to waist high crumbly, weak windswell. A slight bump on the water due to the brisk northwest wind already on it. Low tide and the Friday crew (some 20+ strong) is, well, paddling like crazy but not actually surfing all that much. Not really a surf day unless you are simply desperate for water time.

Have a good one and in the mean time keep an eye out for the Tetraselmis.

Aloha


Gary


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San O

Karen and I motored up to San O yesterday to hang out at Trail #6 and check out the scene at San O.  If you want rural beach experience in San Diego, I think trails is the best place for it.  I would advise against using trail 4 tho; there is a summer long surf camp set up there and the beach at #4 looks worse than 15th street in Del Mar on the 4th of July!  

San O is the complete opposite of trails; easy beach access, lots and lots of cars, the San O Surf Club guys hanging out, a VW Van coven, "assigned parking" at the primo spots (you can just tell which spots are for the regulars and which ones are for everyone else) and tons of people; in and out of the water.  There's just something about the place that, to me, defines summer in SoCal (all that was missing was Gidget and surf music).  

It has a time warp quality to it, I dig it!  The waves can be good too, but not yesterday.  Still there were about 50 or 60 people out at Old Man's jockeying and jostling for some things that looked a little like waves.  Judging from the wind indicator, the wind was from the northwest and was blowing out what little (and tiny) surf there was. 


BTW, have you ever taken a really close look at the San Onofre Surfing Club logo?  Check it out on the photo of the San O sign above; I think I know where a certain sculptor might have gotten his inspiration for a certain statue in Cardiff.



And that's not all this great surf and surf culture spot has going for it.  Aquatic creatures abound as well.  There were reports of whitey making his presence known at trails a few years ago but this video shows that they like San O just as much as the rest of us.  This video is especially for Barb, cause we all know how much she loves sharks. Enjoy!



Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.




Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

Wind is Back

A bit more swell (not much, but more than yesterday), a bit more wind and a lot less people. Knee to waist high on the sets; flat in-between. Clean conditions, poor shape and four guys out.

Not a surf day.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary

Why do we even need a sign like this?


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Location:Coast Blvd,Del Mar,United States

Meager

Dead calm, hyper glassy, low tide and flat, flat, flat. Perfect for diving or kayaking to the offshore kelp beds.

Patches of blue sky showing here and there but no actual sun (yet). 8 guys out. Looks like a good day to catch up on "stuff" that you've been meaning to get to.

Have a good one
Aloha
Gary
Pete's dogs guarding his bike while he's out surfing.


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