surf

december 2004

Location	Date/Time	Conditions
Swami's	12/31/04 7:00 am - 8:30 am	1 - 3' some + Another front moving in. Just left over south west wind swell and weak at that with the strong south winds not helping either. A few weak faces to work with but overall pretty poor.
Swami's	12/30/04 6:00 am - 7:30 am	2 - 4' some 5'+ Southwest wind swell hanging in there. Kind of soft and warbly but a few gems to be had off the corner. Stiff offshores settled down to a glass off. Nothing great but surfable.
Scripps	12/29/04 6:30 am - 7:30 am	3 - 4' some 6'+ Big sloppy southwest wind swell in the water from the large front that passed through. South winds howling side shore but not helping the tattered swell. Supposedly all time here yesterday but not seeing it today that's for sure. Some pretty sizable waves coming through but not a lot to work with. Managed to catch a couple of decent lefts towards the pier but the wind continued to shift more south westerly really blowing it out. Poor.
Rincon	12/25/04 6:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 4' some 5'+ Swell just keeps on coming. Kind of crowded for Christmas morning at first light. Tide really high today but the cove still handling it and the Indicator through the Rivermouth looking tasty. Caught a bunch all the way to the freeway right off the bat but then got shut down. Saw the Indicator throwing some good tubes so headed up there. Just made it to the corner of that lineup when a big set rolled through. Missed the first one but got the corner of the second one and ran for my life all the way to the freeway. First time ever I've connected all three sections! An amazing wave!
Rincon	12/24/04 6:30 am - 2:00 pm	2 - 4' some 6'+ Swell had filled in more overnight. Still inconsistent but a very strong and groomed north west swell. Tide high but this is the first time I have seen the 'Con handle it so well. Some smoking waves pouring off the top of the cove all the way through to the freeway. Positioning was key as the logs could get in early so you had to be inside of them or hope they wouldn't make it. Long rippable walls and barrels. Seemed better on the high tide as low was a bit more sectiony but still awfully good and ended up double sessioning it. If it was more consistent I would call it excellent.
Rincon	12/23/04 9:00 am - 1:00 pm	2 - 4' some + New very long period north west swell. Glassy conditions with the Santa Ynez mountains blocking the strong offshores. Inconsistent but hardly that many people out coming off a fat high tide. Surfed the top of the cove with just a few heads. Trading off some sets that would wind all the way to the freeway on the bigger ones. Pretty rippable stuff. As the tide dropped became almost unbearably crowded with logs but much more hollow. Nabbed a nice back door barrel on a set. Shifted more inside where the smaller waves were throwing super fast little barrels. Fun.
Swami's	12/22/04 7:00 am - 9:30 am	2 - 4' Much cleaner today. West swell hanging in there. More off the peak with the tides becoming fatter in the morning. Pretty carvable overall although a bit soft at times. Fun.
Swami's	12/21/04 7:00 am - 9:30 am	2 - 4' Some west ground swell mixed with a predominant north west wind swell. A little soft coming off the high tide but once it started moving out the inside was pretty carvable. Light crowd making it that much more enjoyable. Tide drop later had it getting soft so went in. Fun.
Newbreak	12/20/04 7:00 am - 10:30 am	2 - 4' some + Leftover swell with a small west coming up. Inconsistent but super clean with strong offshores. Mid tide so just me and few guys sharing waves. What a pleasure compared to battling at Swami's. Tide started really moving out and taking the punch out of the waves so I ended up paddling to Abs for a few lefts in. Fun.
Swami's	12/19/04 6:00 am - 9:30 am	2 - 4' some + Swell backed off and the crowds had dispersed overnight but still some waves coming through. Tide perfect at a 2.5 footer, which is just enough water to cover all the reef for very long lined up waves. Super squeaky clean and very rippable. Caught a few that would connect the outside with the inside and do the horseshoe bend and barrel. Nice.
Swami's	12/18/04 6:00 am - 10:00 am	3 - 6' some 7+ The swell has finally arrived but once again not the macker all the surf forecasters were calling for. Same swell that they ran the Eddie on in Hawaii. Swell was from to far away in my opinion. What that does however is make it super clean. Some really rippable waves coming through. I seemed to be in the groove getting whatever I wanted so it was really fun. Not super hollow but just very down the line speed tracks and lots of face to work with. Really good.
Swami's	12/17/04 6:00 am - 8:00 am and 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm	2 - 4'+ Let the hype begin. Surely the most over hyped swell ever in my days of surfing. Calling for 10 foot today and its barely cracking four. Parking lot jammed with all sorts of clowns traveling as far as from the OC. The one good thing is not too many people out. Lots of hemming and hawing and disappointment that it's not macking. Good I say, split and leave it for the regulars. Anyhow there were some very long period lines showing early and coupled with the howling offshores some insane waves at first light. Then the swell settled down to pulse maddenly inconsistent. Just myself and a few other regulars on the corner waiting for the sets to swing wide. Very zippy and lined up. Had to split to take the wife to the oral surgeon. Came back around 1:00 and it is howling offshore. Waves don't look much more consistent and have actually moved more to just on the peak. Insanely crowded with long boards. Managed to pull down a few but the strong offshores kind of holding it back too much. Oh well.
Swami's	12/16/04 6:30 am - 9:30 am	2 - 3'+ Swell on a major down turn. Beautiful conditions but the swell had become really weak overnight. Still a few smackable lines to be had but a wee bit to many long boards out for what was on offer. OK.
Swami's	12/15/04 6:00 am - 9:30 am	3 - 5'+ New west swell in the water. Kind of inconsistent and a bit soft at first. Was riding the 6'5" which seemed a bit much at first but ended up needing it as the swell filled in. Crowd not too heavy because of the pea soup fog obscuring the line up. Tide push had the swell filling in more and hitting the inside sections of the reef well. Lots of good waves on the inside of the peak going all the way through to the inside and pretty darn rippable. Once the fog lifted crowd started pouring in and I was out of there. Fun.
Swami's	12/14/04 6:00 am - 8:30 am	2 - 3'+ Fading west swell with a tad of southern hemi. Some good waves on the inside at dawn with the medium tide. Pretty rippable and not too many heads. Tide really started filling in around 7:30 and almost completely shut it down. OK.
Swami's	12/13/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 4' New small west pulse keeping things going. Some super clean high tide lines that were super playful. Light crowd for once making for a much more enjoyable session then when it's big here. Tide finally got too high and started mushing it out. Fun.
Hermo	12/12/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 4' Swell out the window. Just weak remnants. Swamis looked weak so head to the point. Point was breaking until the south wind off the marine layer kicked up blowing it to bits. Some surfable waves on the inside at Hemro on the huge 7 foot high tide. Good for mostly round houses and the odd lip but nothing great.
Swami's	12/11/04 6:30 am - 10:30 am	3 - 4' some 6+ Swell backed off overnight but cleaned up. Another monster high tide shutting it down for awhile but once it turned it came alive. Some extremely rippable waves with a few bowls sprinkled in. Crowd much more mellow but some dick head on a huge red 70's retro throwback downrailer was cutting off people constantly. Finally had a run in with him and was close to socking the guy. He stayed away from me after that. Tide pulled out more and it just got better with beautiful glassy conditions. Fun.
Swami's	12/10/04 7:30 am - 12:00 pm	4 - 6' some 8+ New swell filled in overnight. Pretty sizable but with a bit of a wobble. Extremely packed beyond belief. About 30 groms out for "surf PE." Their instructor should be hanged, drawn and quartered for bringing them here. Not real hollow again today but really rippable coming of the morning high tide. Stayed out forever trying to get the wave count up. Definitely got some good ones with the highlight being a solid tube through the inside. Got more sectiony as the tide really started moving out but still looking pretty sizable as I left. Surf A, crowd F.
Swami's	12/09/04 7:30 am - 9:30 am	1 - 3'+ Cleaned up again today after yesterday's heinous south winds. Tide coming off a big 6 footer and waves were a bit fat at first but as the tide pulled out some nice rippable double ups to be had. Fun.
Swami's	12/08/04 7:00 am - 9:30 am	2 - 4'+ Rain had moved in overnight and with it some heavy south southeast wind. Not too blown early with it actually blowing sideshore. Tide a bit high but there was some energy out there. Not too many takers so I hit it up. Some soft waves at first but as the tide pulled out some inside reforms were pretty schwackable. Wind progressively turning more south and really junking it up. Still some worthiness though.
Swami's	12/07/04 6:30 am - 9:30 am	2 - 4'+ A major decline in swell overnight. Still quite a bit of southern hemi with left over north west. Good waves early with conditions very clean. Peaky waves peeling off the peak and the inside. Got progressively weaker as the tide started pulling out. Fun.
Swami's	12/06/04 6:00 am - 8:00 am	4 - 6' some 8+ After yesterday's downpour some solid swell has finally appeared. Pretty large and pretty shifty. Thankfully I took the 6'5" pinner which is the perfect machine for this size. For some reason tried surfing the peak. Wasn't sitting deep enough in the crowd so was getting denied so sat a bit more inside waiting for the swingers and the ones that would horseshoe. Slung myself into some pretty tasty head high to overhead ones. Not real hollow but a lot of face to work with and some power underneath foot. Fun stuff.
Swami's	12/03/04 7:30 am - 10:30 am	1 - 3'+ More very steep north swell filling in. Inconsistent as hell but oh so squeaky clean when they came through. Crowd not to bad at first so I was picking off some pretty good little waves from the long boards not making the first section. Crowd up top must of saw me get some goodies and all decided to head out ruining everybody's day. I would say at least twenty goons on long boards paddled out - no kidding. Still managed to get a few corners but it was like Beach Blanket Bingo Malibu out there.
Hanneman's	12/02/04 8:00 am - 11:00 am	2 - 4'+ Another day of super clean but freezing conditions. Started my journey at OB Jetty hoping the very steep north swell was hitting OB. It was but not big enough to really wrap into the jetty. Next was the Cliffs. Not big enough for the medium tide so headed to the La Jolla reefs. Inconsistent but at least picking the swell up and the tide going high was good. Some sectiony rights at Sewer Line but got really bored with the inconsistency and paddled over to Hanneman's. Some lined up lefts that had a weird wobble to them on the take off but if you choose wisely you would be rewarded with a pretty smackable left. Some sneaker sets toward peak high that were pretty powerful and rippable - it was just a matter of waiting patiently in the right place for them. Nothing great but surfable.