A Cruel Vision of Paradise

Southern California has had some marvellous weather. I can only imagine what it was like, oh, say back in the eighteenth century -- or 14th century -- before all the yahoos got here. But the last 5 or 6 weeks has probably been the greatest spell of perfect weather in the history of meteorology. It was so nice this weekend that Yorba Linda spontaneously combusted and nearly burned to the ground.

A photo of Oceanside today:



Almost impossibly perfect. In truth, the surf was rather small in most spots. But just big enough here. Impeccable atmospherics. And me, stuck in purgatory, twiddling bit operators. Quo vadis?

If I Could Be Anywhere in the World Today

This is where I would have been:



Somewhere in Oceanside.

October Perfection

This the kind of October I dream of. Warm, smoky Santa Anas at the beginning of the week. Indian summer paradise at the end. And how have I taken advantage of it thus far? By showing up at the office each day like a clown.

What I missed today:


Cardiff-by-the-Sea


Oceanside Harbor


Life sucks, even when it's not that bad.

October: Why I Live in Southern California

The weather today is why I live in Southern California. Look at this:



85 degrees at the beach. 66 degree water temp. Fun chest-high combination swell.

So how did I take advantage of this miraculous day? Sat in my office and look at it on a computer screen.

A fellow developer was laid off yesterday. I almost envy him.

Surf Report: 2-4', 5' sets, Fair

A bit gray. A lot of water. Water just on the verge of ice-cream-headache cold. Steady walled lines on the south side of the Pier as we drove by. Some shoulder high sets. Some Yahoo was talking about Jeffrey's Bay after a pretty good right washed through.

But most waves were too fast and kinda tricky to catch. Surfed about an hour. Caught 3 or 4 waves. A couple decent ones. Nothing fantastic.

A fair approximation:

Surf Report: 2-3' High Tide

Surveyed from River Jetties to Bolsa Chica around 9am. South of HB Pier looked most surfable. River Jetties small and walled. Bolsa Chica looked tempting on the sets. But tide too high (6'+ around 10am). Too much water, not enough swell, did not surf.

Surf Report: 2-4', Fair+

Fun session this morning. The way the last week has been going, I needed it.

2-4'. We arrived right at high tide. (I'm sure because Dan called the HB Lifeguards' surf report from the beach to find out what time high tide was and it was peaking right at that very minute!)

Breaking kinda close to shore but the good ones would line up all the way inside. I didn't get many of those. But a couple fun ones.

Water warm. Skies clear. Wind started to spoil things just as I was getting out around 11am. Surfed for about an hour and a half.

Photo below Ponto Jetty is a fair reference, as I suspect the lineup is a lot like Bolsa #19:



Looks a little bigger at Ponto and this was later closer to low tide.

Surf Report

2-3' occasional 4' sets with long soul-crushing lulls. Not unlike the photo of Del Mar below. But brother and I were about 100 miles north at Bolsa Chica. Water has chilled. (Mild ice-cream hand-ache but comfortable in full suit.)

Surfed around 10-11am. Things sort of shutdown around a quarter to 11. Finally got a 2' wall in.