Aaaahhhh, there is finally swell! El Salvador aside, this is the first session I had without my wetsuit. Wore B's thermal vest though, which was really helpful. It's amazing how much slipperier and more unstable you are without a wetsuit. B was on the beach taking piccies as he is on crutches, but we didn't get anything good. Well, that's a lie. I got my first awesome sequence. Watch me (looker's left) miss what is probably the wave of the day. Guy on long board is stoked ... for a second.

Oh yeah, then there is this one of me doing a sick "bottom turn." If you can call it that (you can't):

It was tough out there, man (for surfer and photographer alike)! Much more challenging than it looked. It was pretty choppy, really high tide, and the current was going about a mile a minute. Still caught a couple nice lefts though and managed to throw in a couple turns. Plus, about halfway into the session, a pod of dolphins and a random seal swam up; they must have been about 3 ft away. So cool! The swell is supposed to pick up over the next couple days too, so we'll see.

Blue Mondays

Despite partial employment, I seem to be doing Monday sessions only these days. I'm sure July 4th weekend killed some of the motivation as well...

Last Monday. B & I drove down to San O (sorry pup, we had to abandon you for the day), since the 3-4ft S swell was going to miss El Porto completely. It turned out to be a good decision; the water was clean (blue even), waves were relatively glassy, and since the NSSA comp came to a close, the crowds were all at Lowers. We surfed Uppers, which was seeing some pretty big peaks roll through. Considering it is summer, that is. As is my usual steez, I found a spot on the shoulder that picked up rando waves and had the spot virtually to myself. Tried to take pics, but neither B nor I were willing to give up our 1st couple waves to get the job done right. Ah well, next time...

Today. There was some decent-sized swell coming through El Porto this morning/noon, so B & I went out for a couple hours. I took the Dan C out for the first time in ages, and I love that board! It's a workout, but throwing turns on it is SO much more fun. I caught one left and B told me he saw the biggest spray I had ever thrown. I totally nose-dived, belly-flopped, and got the wind knocked out of me, but hearing about the spray made it all worthwhile. B's last wave was pretty sick... He caught an outside set, and managed to make the drop as the wave reformed and a new face came up. It's always so satisfying when you can get that to work.

Blue Crush, Part II

Went up to Santa Cruz a couple weeks ago. Of course, we missed the week of 3-5ft surf by a day, but I got the chance to take my girls out and teach them to surf. (B, surf instructor extrordinairre provided the lessons, I was the lurk) Here we are, out at 38th.