Not that it’s Surfline’s fault, of course. The buoys did report slightly deceiving swell data. But coming from someone that surfs more often than I get “Surf Alerts”, I was certainly looking forward to putting away the retro fish in preparation for a serious winter swell. Unfortunately, I was not alone. Driven by a forecast that ended up making the evening news on Friday night, I’ve never seen such a scene. I can say with absolute certainty that half of the “surfers” in the water this weekend haven’t so much as smelled Sex Wax since Thanksgiving. The sheer number of convertibles with 10 foot longboards hangin’ out in the wind would make Your Daily Donkey‘s site crash.
Both Saturday and Sunday of the “First Swell of the Winter!” I was in the water before first light, eagerly awaiting what I thought was an imminent head high swell. I was desperately trying to beat as many of the fair-weather-surfers into the water as possible. However peaceful till the sun rose, with the sun came the crowds. Now I’m not going to say that I have a problem with crowds, but pre-Surfline, the crowds were usually directly correlated to the conditions. Unfortunately for every barney with a board, the forecast was a bit off. Although it was certainly better than it’s been all month, and the conditions were prime, I saw no 7 ft + sets and the bigger sets were at least 25 minutes apart.
I have not however, given up hope. As I finish this, my first entry for Daily Stoke, I’m off to optimistically hunt for somewhere that’s not closed out, kooky, or crowded. I hope all the readers have better luck than I’ve had. Unless of course…the top is still down on your porsche convertible.
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Luckily for everyone that still had the energy to paddle out for a 4th time, the swell certainly did arrive in full force by Sunday evening. I guess patience IS a virtue.
-P.K.
Keep Leucadia Funky