Going Surfing

The effort to add a Beach Boys song to this blog seems more work that paddling out on a big day. My mutant teenage son says that big days are seldom at Doheny and I would agree but we have seen it happen. Yesterday was small but rideable, with sun mixed with cotton clouds, hardly any wind and few in the water considering it is one of the many different spring breaks.

The water temperature is around 55 degrees which according to my math is 23 degrees above freezing but if you go in once or twice a week you get used to it. Yesterday was the first time in a while than the van had passengers that didn't have four legs and three boards were in the back. Occasionally the van has a kayak or couple of boards in the back but the plan was for all three boards to be in the water at the same time so the passengers would need to get wet too. And what made the trip extremely rare was mutant was going to ride something longer than six feet or not his usual sponge but my yellow Weber which is 7'6". His sweetie, which had only tried surfing once in the past, was going to receive instructions and brave putting up with us. Her starter board was not the typical blue foam board that start popping up when the temperatures go up but my 9 foot Stewart which is rather thin and will not float me. I would love to say my instructions were responsible for her getting up and really doing a great job but the credit goes to her. It doesn't happen often that a beginner would catch so many waves. After an hour my son got out of the water and we didn't know what he was up to but he came back to the water edge with my camera to take the pictures you see here.

My mutant teenager know how to use a camera but he never shoots the old man so my surfing pictures are very very rare. Although I have three boards my inventory only included one leash so we scrounged one off of a 6 foot Lost and I went without. My winter booties also were loaned out as the bottom there has little sand but lots of rocks and mutant is used to sand beach bottoms like Salt Creek or T-Street where he sponges.

Surfing and sailing required cooperation from Dame Nature as tides, water depth and wind all change the wave size and shape. Urban water run off from rains and water wasters pollute the water so it is best to stay out after raining. Yesterday the weather forecasts was for afternoon rain but they were wrong and last night there were some sprinkles so surfing today is a iffy matter. There are surf-cams that will allow you a current video stream but until you drive there and see first hand the condition can you go in the water safetly after raining.