surf

october 2004

» surf archives

Location	Date/Time	Conditions
DMJs	10/31/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 4'+ Arrived at Swami's at dawn to pretty lack luster surf. Looked like some south was running but not quite hitting Swami's at the proper angle. Ty suggested a run to DMJs. Glad we did it. Inconsistent but the new southern hemi with a tad of north west wind swell was peaking and barreling up and down the beach with the strong offshores. Some fast and crackable lefts while some of the rights were barrelling hard. Stuck myself into couple nice ones. Ty got a couple of beauts too. Good.
Swami's	10/29/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	1 - 2'+ Beautiful offshore conditions but the lingering wind swell was fading fast. Fun at first with a few good insiders but as the tide rose it became almost unsurfable.
Swami's	10/28/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 3'+ It dumped over 4 inches of rain in San Diego and the water was looking like chocolate everywhere. A beautiful right hander breaking into the outflow at Cardiff for the toxic warriors but no takers. Swami's actually holding up well on another extreme high tide. Combination southwest wind swell and a tad of north west ground swell sneaking in. Some good lines on the inside and a few from outside sneaking all the way through. A pretty good window before the tide got too high of some strong tidal push. Fun.
Scripps	10/27/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	2 - 3'+ Dumping rain and howling south east winds not making for a very desirable surf. Fortunately, Scripps and Shores were holding up due to it blowing offshore. Some fun peaks at Scripps on the novelty southwest wind swell. Mostly lefts but a few soft rights. Tide was coming up fast to a 6 footer at 9:00 so it was really beginning to bog down. OK.
Nusa Dua, Bali	10/22/04 7:00 am - 9:00 am	3 - 5'+ Last day and the swell is down again and lumpy. Tide is high so decide to head out to the corner again. Was good for about 45 minutes as I caught a few screamers but as the tide shifted and started sucking out quick, it was shutting down. Caught a few good ones way inside and paddled all the way to the main channel in. OK. As a footnote - later that day sitting on the airplane I could see Airport Left and it looked small but fun and squeaky clean. Never did surf the west side of the Bukit. Next time.
Nusa Dua, Bali	10/22/04 8:00 am - 11:00 am and 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm	4 - 8' some 10'+ Swell bigger today but super inconsistent. Seeing more swell I checked Sri Lanka first this morning. Sri Lanka is about a 15 minute walk north of where we were staying, which when on, breaks like a reverse Padang Padang. Almost breaking but not all that surfable. Head back to Nusa Dua and the outside is macking. Somehow,I miraculously make it out back with a dry head. Once outside I sit in the lineup with about 15 guys and we all proceed to get swallowed up by an enormous set. Totally unpredictable and shifty this morning. Think you're out far enough but it's so inconsistent you're lulled into the wrong spot and worked. To make matters worse it's backing off and jacking super hard. Saw some gruesome bowls go unridden. Didn't get a wave for almost 45 minutes and that was a huge close out. After about an hour and a half I get a good one and end up past the bend in the reef. I notice it's actually smaller but more lined up in this inside section. Surf the inside for another hour and get some fun waves. An Aussie joins me and while we're bantering the wave of the day comes through just outside of us and proceeds to spin a perfect 4 foot tube all the way down the reef. By now I'm exhausted and the current is sweeping so I let myself drift to the end of the reef and catch a small one in. I'm not done however. Swell seems to have peaked so don't want to miss it, so I go back and have lunch with the wife and then head back out at peak high tide on this inside corner. High tide is where its at on this reef when it's big. A light east wind really not affecting it(Ulu to Legian probably light offshore or glassy). Some amazingly long lined up and thwackable waves through this section with some sick tubes. Unbelievably while everybody is trying to surf double overhead mush burgers outside, I'm all by myself surfing well overhead point like surf on the inside that's just pouring through on the high tide push. I get tons of waves for about two hours. Suddenly with a drop of the hat the tide turns and shuts it down. So good while it lasted.
Nusa Dua, Bali	10/21/04 7:00 am - 10:30 am	4 - 8' After a complete day of flatness on Wednesday in which me and the wife did some sight seeing, Thursday dawned hot and clear with what looked like a change to the dry season pattern of zero wind switching to a light north easterly to east. New swell on and super clean with puffy offshores. Low tide going high. This is what I came to Bali for - big, thick, powerful waves throwing off the main peak good for some big turns and some really fast speed burns. My 6'5" just humming. A few bowls to be had but they were high and tight. About 8 guys out but all friendly Aussies and some older dude on a 9' gun just charging. Just getting better as the tide filled as I surfed and watched some flawless waves. After about 3 and half hours I was getting burnt and caught a really long one in. On the walk back to the hotel the right in front of the main channel starting to break with no one out. Good verging on excellent (Anywhere else this would hav been an all time day).
Nusa Dua, Bali	10/19/04 7:00 am - 10:00 am	3 - 5' Swell up a bit more today but chunky. Winds cooperating a bit more with it actually blowing offshore. Decided to surf the 6'2" instead of the 6'5" which was pushing it. Nusa Dua is a deep water break that is thick and shifty so a bigger board is almost a must. I've never surfed Sunset Beach but a lot of people compare this wave to it. Tide really low when I first paddled out and got out with just a slight drubbing. Some peaks lining up for some speed burns and some lips. Lots of mush burgers also, so selection critical. More people out today because the west side was flat again. Apparently this place breaks no matter what. As the tide filled in the main peak started to really come together. Some nice steep drops with some big face to work with. Unfortunately the south westerlies were picking up just when the tide was right. Scrambled to get some more peaks that were getting super rippable. Fun stuff.
Nusa Dua, Bali	10/18/04 7:00 am - 10:00 am	2 - 4' Got in about 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon. South winds up but looked like there was some solid surf on the outside reef at Nusa Dua so was hopeful for the next day. Unfortunately by morning the swell was way down and wobbly. Clean conditions but the minute I trekked across the reef and paddled out a south westerly wind whipped up and blew out the mediocre waves that were on offer. My first time surfing here so wasn't so sure about the paddle out seeing there is really no discernible channel on low tide when it breaks way out back. You just launch off the reef and duck dive basically. After a quick little thrashing on the inside got swept into a rip that pulled me out. Decent waves around the bend in the reef that were lining up and some sets pouring through in what looked like the main peak but hard to tell in the junky conditions. Just me and two other guys out. Apparently the west side of the Bukit is flat so no one really surfing today accept for the desperate. Pretty mediocre.
Diamond St.	10/14/04 7:00 am - 10:00 am	1 - 3' Unfortunately for Jack visiting from DC, the southern hemi was on the way down.(Should of been hear yesterday!) Super high tide again but swell a bit weaker so not really lining up like yesterday. Looked like a very small pulse of west every once in awhile that was throwing up the odd end section right. Wind started coming up and thrashed what little surf there was. OK.
Diamond St.	10/13/04 7:00 am - 10:00 am	2 - 3'+ Bump up in southern hemi a bit. Inconsistent but super clean and zippy lefts. Pretty crackable and fast. Not a heck of lot of people out either adding to the enjoyment. Really fun.
Reed St.	10/12/04 7:00 am - 10:00 am	1 - 3'+ Finally had a little solitude for about an hour today as I paddled out just after light. Zippy little lefts and rights up and down the beach with beautiful oily conditions. Solitude didn't last long as a whole slew of guys joined in but at least everyone could surf, had etiquette, and spread themselves out. Fun.
Swami's	10/11/04 6:30 am - 9:00 am	1 - 3'+ Conditions cleaned up remarkably overnight. Light offshores grooming the leftover northwest wind swell. Inconsistent but a few beauts off the corner. Too many people out again for what was on offer. Crowds are at an all time high this year and for what? 1-3 foot waves. Unfucking believable. Too many beginners with not a clue on etiquette. Anyhow, the tidal push was key to getting the far inside working again. OK to fun depending on the crowd.
Swami's	10/10/04 6:30 am - 10:00 am	2 - 3'+ Southern hemi fading and a new northwest wind swell filling in. Pretty sloppy with some south east winds on it. The tide push finally turned it on a bit with some good double ups on the inside. Crowds down at first because of the windy conditions, but climbimg through the morning to silly proportions. Borderline fun.
Swami's	10/09/04 6:30 am - 9:30 am	2 - 3' Southern hemi a bit more filled in overnight. A tad of north west wrapping in but that's all it is, a tad. Super crowded and inconsistent. Some pretty good benders off the corner but it was a constant battle with the long boards who love to hop the shoulder. As the tide got higher better waves on the very inside as it seemed to pulse a bit more on the tidal push. Maddening to fun.
Swami's	10/08/04 6:30 am - 9:00 am	1 - 3' After a very long week of flatness the ocean has come back to life...slightly. Small and inconsistent southern hemi in the water with clean conditions. At peak high tide there were some pretty good sets on the corner lining up for a few good cracks. Crowd a bit out of hand with every long boarding goon in the area out. Better than nothing.
Swami's	10/01/04 6:30 am - 9:00 am	1 - 3' South swell peaked the day before. Looked like some good ones rolling through but it was the last gasp of the swell. Very inconsistent and crowded with long boards. Managed to get a couple decent ones through the inside but overall kind of weak.