Mild MidWinter Holiday in the Park

There was some hope, early on, for a pretty good swell to arrive on President's Day.  However, as the weekend approached, the projected arrival of the swell was pushed back to later in the day Monday, and the strength downgraded.  Nonetheless, Monday was the only day with a chance of some surf for the long weekend.

Trying to balance concerns over a mid-moring high tide, the potential for growing onshore winds and the expectation that the swell wouldn't start to fill in until late morning, we decided on a 9:00 rendezvous.  On arrival, there was a little, sporadic, swell in the water under socked in skies, but a slickly glossy surface and clean conditions.

Matt was there, along with Mark Ghattas as we checked it out with tempered enthusiasm.  Despite the heavy coastal fog, the air was temperate and the water temperature reported at 60.  The tide didn't seem to be swamping what little swell there was, so we decided to jump in and see what might come.

I only kept the GoPro with me for about 20 minutes, but a good feel for the conditions comes across in this short (48 sec.) video (turn the sound off; it's messed up):

(PS - midway through the video, I tried shooting back at Ghattas as I lead him in the wave.  Interesting; worked for a while.)

Through the two hours, forerunners of the expected swell kept tempting us with shoulder-high waves and occasional fun rides.  But, as the sun fought to burn off the fog, the lulls were the norm.  It's always great to get in the water, with at least a little swell.  Warming air and 60 degree water in mid-February is tough to complain about.  I'll let photos do most of the talking for the rest of today's blog:

The sun had chased the fog bank well offshore by the time we exited around 11:30.

When the waves did some in , they were nicely formed and remained clean through the session.  The fact that we're looking at left, when the main swell was supposed to be NW from about 300, says much.

But the air and water were warm enough to entice bikinis and board short wearing holiday visitors into the water.

Meanwhile, the sun sparkled off empty corners,

while the waves that did come caught the surfers inside.

Gentle conditions enticed a number of novices into the water to practice their skills,

while a trio of teenage spongers had the most fun:

It got a little crowded at times,

but the sponge pod didn't mind.

Did we hope for better?  Sure.  But who's complaining?