Off to Cali

I'm off to California soon. I'll be stepping out the door quickly. I'm hoping to catch some good waves in SoCal, hopefully the airlines won't restrict the my boards from getting on the plane. Continental Express only takes up to 80'' boards, my board bag is 102'', hope they don't notice! Otherwise it'll be rental time. I did pick up a nice Billabong wetsuit from Innerlight, I'm looking forward to seeing how it checks out. I'll have some pics up as things go on; time to put the gulf coast to shame on California waves!

Foggy beaches, large choppy waves. Wednesday 9 Dec

Red flags were up at the beaches today. Also, a warm front pushed through today, making weather in the 70's. Much nicer than the 50 degree weather we've been having in Pensacola. When I first got to the beach, I could barely see the water. There was a massive fog bank that enveloped most of Santa Rosa Island. I wanted to go surfing, but there was no way that I was gonna go out with all the fog. It'd be too easy to get disoriented and if I got into trouble, there would be no one to see and provide assistance. Luckily, half an hour later the fog bank lifted and the sun came out. The conditions were pretty choppy, and, unlike the summer, there was really only one place the waves broke. Sets varied between smaller peeling waves to more or less closed out barrels. The barreling waves were pretty nasty looking, so I waited for smaller sets to walk out to the area the waves were breaking. The water was a nice depth. It was easy to get out to the waves, but not so shallow that I had to worry about bottoming out, or hitting the sand if I wiped out. Still, the waves were pretty choppy so it only allowed for short rides. All in all, a good day to get out and refresh my skills. I'll be having to get a full length wetsuit before I head out to California over Christmas break. Hopefully, I'll be hitting up the breaks in San Diego.

Gloomy Sunday, Angry Barrels

The waves today were pretty unpredictable. There were large barrels coming in, probably up to 7-9 feet. While watching the waves, it was really hard to predict whether or not a waves would make a nice peeling barrel or just crash simultaneously across one hundred yards. I really didn't have too much luck getting out the waves. I brought my 7'4" fish, which floats enough to make duck diving difficult, and not enough to make it difficult to paddle. I decided to go down to by the Catholic church further down Pensacola Beach, I probably should have just stuck to the Cross, even though I don't know what the sea bed is like after Tropical Storm Ida tore every thing up. The waves today were just a little to big for my experience level, also, they were breaking about 150 yards out from shore, which also made things interesting.

Post Ida, glassy waves, planes, wind, and fins

I took my NSP 8'7" down to the beach to try to ride what looked like decent waves from the cross cam. There was a strong northerly wind that was pushing the waves down and the water out so there was a some good sandbar interference. I also made the mistake of untying my surfboard from the roof of my car and leaving it there while I was putting on my wetsuit. A strong wind blew and now I have a nice sized lump on my head from getting hit with my board. The beach was unlike I've ever seen it before. It was littered with shells and sand dollars pretty far back onto the beach. It was beautiful, the beach was pretty much deserted save the few surfers and shell collectors out.
Waves were glassy and breaking in nice lines, the problem was that there were the old sandbars out 50-75 yards out from the shore that got really shallow. There was several times that I dug my fins into the sand bed before even catching the waves. Sometimes the waves will be powerful and tall enough that shallow sandbars won't be a factor, but it wasn't true today. Also, the northerly wind both reduced the size of the waves coming in and pushed the water back into the gulf, making water levels lower and causing these shallower sandbars. It was really amazing how much effect the wind had on the water level. There was a time when the wind stopped blowing and, before I knew it, the water level jumped from 6"-3' to about 3-5" over the sandbars. The waves started increasing in size, and I was actually able to ride several ok waves before the wind picked back up and knocked everything back down. The waves would have been ideal for surfing in they had been bigger. I also saw a dolphin cruising around about 200 yards from the beach. I dismounted my surf go pro cam and snapped a picture. It really didn't turn out, the dolphin was half submerged by the time I got the pic, and the fish eye lens distorts it, so it is about as sketchy as a big foot photo. I'm also attaching a video of probably the best ride of the day, which isn't saying much as you'll see.

Hurricane Ida Inbound

I hit up the beach today to go see how big the waves were. There's no way I'm getting in the water, even with only a single red flag. Those waves were ridiculously huge. Here's some pics.

Saturday Waves

The waves today were fairly choppy. While they weren't the tallest, the broke very strongly against the shore. There were surfers at the beach, but not many actually out in the water. I was able to catch several waves, I had a few good wipe outs as well. After taking a surfboard to the face, I figured that it was enough for one day. Most of the waves I caught, it was really just the waves catching me, and I was able to stand up briefly inside of the whitewater. Hurricane Ida is headed straight at Pensacola. I'm planning on heading down to the beach on Tuesday, just to take a look at the waves. Forecast is calling for 15-20' waves! I also have been experimenting with my go pro hero camera mounted to my board.

Friday, Fire on the water

Beautiful afternoon and sunset at the beach today. There were probably more surfers at the Cross than I've ever seen. The waves are supposed to pick up, all the way up to 9' or more come Monday. Waves were pretty good sized today, anywhere from 2'-3' to larger waves that were 5-7'. There were also several sandbar points that made a pretty good break; still, its been flat for the last week, so it took a little bit to get back into things. Should be even better tomorrow morning.

Huge waves, Glassy conditions

Yesterday, Wednesday had some nice glassy conditions and big waves, some bigger than last Tuesday. You could see the larger sets coming in from a distance, and they really hit hard. I used the same sandbar that I've used for the past several days, it is really essential, especially for boards that don't float the best. It also helps to go out in between sets. Probably the most fun part of the day was being able to catch the wave then cut sideways to ride the wave. Bigger waves give you a lot more flexibility on what you can do on the wave.

Stormy Tuesday

I went out to the Cross and did something I've never done before. When looking at the crosscam, I couldn't decide which board I should bring, so I brought both. The waves were getting continuously bigger the whole time I was out there, so there is a good chance that they'll be huge tomorrow. There was a period of time with a good chop caused by wind blowing to the east while the waves were traveling west. I found a good sandbar that let me walk out and get in a good position to catch the waves. This turned out to be essential for using the fish. It was just too deep to either side of the sandbar to get past the breaking waves. In the past several days, I've been watching some surfing films such as Billabong Odyssey and Hollow Days. I found that it is possible to surf a longer board in big waves, and I tried it with some success today. I didn't have to much success with the fish, it was just rode so different from the longer board, that I switched back. Good times. We'll see if I can get out tomorrow.

Smooth, glassy waves

After yesterday's huge waves, the size has dropped of significantly. The air temp was a little cooler, so I rocked my shorty wetsuit, even though it probably wasn't necessary. The waves were coming in about every 5 minutes in decent sets, it made for some nice longboarding after riding the fish so much lately. The waves were breaking in nice clean lines, and you could ride the waves pretty far, unless you bottomed out on one of the sandbars. I was surfing the area between the Cross and the Holiday in. I followed some of the advice from the link I posted the last entry, and looked for the foam that was created as the waves broke. This really helped me catch and ride the waves better. I've also found that I have the tendency to rush when a wave is coming - such as when I'm standing in the water next to my board so I can get a better view of the waves - that when I hop back on my board, if I don't allow the nose to stabilize and get above the surface, I'll pearl for sure. When I gave myself that extra second to stabilize the board, then start paddling, everything worked out much better. The sandbars today were pretty pronounced. It was really necessary to wait for the sets to come in as opposed to try to ride the smaller waves that broke over the sandbar. I also found that the sandbars extend out like a "V" into the water, I was most successful when I would position myself the either the left or the right of where the wave first broke (during big sets of course), and could avoid the sandbar. There were part of the breaking waves that didn't barrel, but just sort of folded and foamed over; I found that I could catch a wave when it was barreling, and then ride it sideways away from the sandbar and still be able to ride the wave when it was foaming but not barreling. I also found that standing up as soon as you can without falling/lagging behind the wave works better than waiting until you are well established in the wave to stand up. Waiting too long results in being to far ahead of the wave and you loose thrust. Also, I tried out Ms. Palmers Cool Weather wax. It worked well, I stayed out the whole time without coming in so I ended up rubbing a bunch of the wax off. I still had the warmer temp wax on the board below the cool water wax, so I had to use my finger nails to make more traction in the wax. My other leash has a mini wax comb that would've been handy for today.

First Red Flag

Today was the first red flag out at Pensacola Beach since I started surfing back in the middle of June. I broke out my Yancy Spencer 7'6" fish, I've been learning to surf this board since August. I was using a longboard before this, but it lacks the maneuverability to ride down the pipe. I was out between the Cross and the Holiday Inn. I was able to catch some smaller waves that were breaking after hitting the sandbar (Pensacola Beach tends to have 2 sets of waves - there is a sandbar off the shore that can make the water pretty shallow, sometimes 6 inches or less! - and the waves crashes and rolls at the beginning of the sandbar, then dies down, then breaks again closer to the shore) These shore waves usually aren't all that ride able (you risk grounding on the beach), but these were breaking further out and were pretty large. I spent a good amount of time trying to get out past the break, but I was unable. The waves were way to big and were constantly crashing, as opposed to coming in sets. I did find a sandbar in front of the Holiday Inn that did allow me to get out to the waves. I did some research after I got back, because I've been out with the big waves before, and I wind up spending most of my time trying to get out past the break. Here's the site that really has some good info for getting out to the break. I also found that my wax (I used to be a fan of Bubblegum, but I found that Ms. Palmers is easier to apply and stays on better) was to hard and didn't provide enough traction. I purchased some cooler water wax the next day I went out, and it worked much better. I improvised by using my wax comb to put a good 6 or more directional crosshatch pattern in the wax where I needed the most traction. A wax comb is an essential piece of gear for roughing up your wax after it is applied, and for stripping wax of the board when you need to clean it. And no, you don't apply the wax to the bottom of the board! Every time I teach someone to surf, I have to stop them before the start waxing the bottom of the board. Surfing is probably the only activity where you use wax for traction and friction, as opposed to making things smooth or sleek. Also, there is not need to wave past the part of the board which you'll be standing on. As for my progression on the fish board, it is still much more difficult to catch a wave than on my longboard, and I find the board is much more sensitive to rider position as well. Too far back and you won't be able to catch any waves. I'm yet to use the traction pad, I've been told the traction pad is used for sharp turns and I have found that you shouldn't stand on it during regular rides.

Welcome Friends!

Hey ya'll; I've been surfing as much as possible here down in Pensacola, Florida. I've been surfing since June '09 and I absolutely love it. The purpose of the blog is to share my experiences of learning to and improving my surfing technique. I'll be talking about the weather and waves, the gear, and the techniques and lessons I've learned. I look forward to sharing my love of surfing with you. -Steven