Tsunami Scare

Posted on by Bluebird Surf 
...A TSUNAMI WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
   COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM POINT
   CONCEPCION CALIFORNIA TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MOVE INLAND TO
HIGHER GROUND.

TSUNAMI WARNINGS MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI WITH SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD
INUNDATION IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED.  TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF
WAVES POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERAL HOURS AFTER INITIAL ARRIVAL
TIME. ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL FOR SELECTED
SITES IN THE WARNING ARE PROVIDED BELOW.

CHARLESTON-OR    0715  PST MAR 11  SEASIDE-OR       0724  PST MAR 11
CRESCENT CITY-CA 0723  PST MAR 11  SAN FRANCISCO-CA 0808  PST MAR 11

Awoken by my wife at 1:30am by news of a catastrophic earthquake and subsequent tsunami generated out of Japan.  Half asleep and not having all the facts, we woke up the boys, grabbed essentials, packed the car, and were ready to roll until realizing it wasn’t supposed to arrive till morning.  Whew!  Texted a buddy in Hawaii who was busy packing his survival kit and readying as well.  Tried to go back to sleep, but the the images of the first waves coming ashore in Japan were haunting.  Didn’t sleep well….left TV on all night so I could half listen to any new updates.

Woke up at 6am glued to the TV again.  Some neighbors were up and readying their departure.  One of my neighbors in a downstairs apartment had been up since 4am packing his valuables in his truck.  ‘If this thing floods my apartment, I’m done’, was the first thing out of his mouth.  There wasn’t any panicking since SF has never had a big Tsunami, but it had people’s attention.  We left our apartment and drove up to higher ground where we could get a view of the ocean just to be safe.  I didn’t think anything was going to happen since it was supposed to only be a 2-4ft surge, but better safe than sorry.  I’ve seen the footage of Thailand, Indonesia, and now Japan and so didn’t want to risk anything.

We sat up on the hill watching the surf and every time we saw a big one feather out on the outer bars we wondered if that was the start of the tsunami making itself known.  We ended up sitting in our van with pillows and sleeping bags while we listened to reports of traffic on 92 out of Half Moon Bay and 17 out of Santa Cruz being backed up by evacuees.  We were wondering why no one was reporting what had happened in Hawaii or Crescent City….indicators for what was coming our way.  Right after we vocalized our frustration with the lousy coverage was when we heard about water surging out of Santa Cruz Harbor….and then surging back in a few minutes later.  We thought we could see the ocean receding from our vantage point, but was hard to tell.  45 minutes after it was supposed to have hit, we decided it was safe to venture back down and have a look to see what we could see.

Couldn’t see much except an exceptionally low tide and some good sized swell in the water.  Surprised to see as many spectators as I did all with the same burning curiosity.

Beautiful morning and was interesting to see the neighborhood so quiet.  Great Hwy was shut down and of course the beach, which didn’t deter a few of us.

It was a bit of an eerie calm.  People weren’t talking to one another much, but just staring out to sea or talking on the cell phone.

Based on the news I heard this morning, sounds like Santa Cruz Harbor was the worst hit in this area.  We are sending our prayers and best wishes to all the people affected by this horrible tragedy in Japan.  I have been through a bunch of earthquakes, including the one in Taiwan that killed 2,000+ people, but can’t even fathom what an 8.9 for two minutes would feel like.

Looking forward to getting some rest this weekend.

Hope all our friends in Japan, Taiwan, Hawaii and other affected areas are safe today.

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Spring has Sprung

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Today definitely felt like March.  Kiteboarders were out and the windy conditions that are so typical for Springtime were abound.  The perfectly groomed waves of weeks past seem soo long ago.  With the waiting period for the Maverick’s contest and Eddie officially over it’s hard not to talk about the end of winter, even though we still have a couple weeks left and could still see some good swell headed our way.  Early next week is expected to get up to 15+ ft on the buoys for example.  Don’t put away those guns just yet.

It wasn’t the most epic of winters, but we did have a bunch of epic days and many very rideable non-life threatening days…which you gotta love.  Still snapped a handful of leashes and did my fair share of swimming down to Davey Jones’ locker.  Had some of my best and biggest waves ever and even was happy about what I was able to capture behind the lense when I wasn’t paddling.

These shots were from February on a really fun day before a storm hit.  Got a great right hander from way outside at the top of a rip that is still burned in my mind like I just kicked out of it.  It was one of those sets that just break out a little further, stand up a bit taller, and toss further, with a bit of bump thrown in for good measure because the rip current runs right through it.  The kind that if you mess up the drop, the whole line-up to the inside is going to see you get pummeled.  So many good memories to reflect back on and hopefully a few more to come.

As the sun sets on another winter surf season, the days get longer and the winds start to pick up, it’s a good opportunity to finish up on all my board projects and repairs that have been sitting all winter long and start thinking about maybe taking a surf trip somewhere.  Thankful that I have the photos and rich memories to get me by till then.  Spring has Sprung.

Preoccupied

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

January has been a pretty incredible month for surf all up and down the coast, but especially in my backyard.  I’m a bit biased, but I love the challenge, the cold water, the always changing conditions and finding that diamond in the rough in our fully exposed wilderness that skirts one of the most visually stunning cities in the world.  I figured you can probably tell from the lack of posts here that I’ve been pre-occupied.  When the surf is good it can be quite consuming and thankfully I’ve been able to flip it and consume my fair share.  Yesterday  was no exception where I put in a good solid three hours before the storm hit.

As I got pulled north over the course of the session I was able to grab everything from nearly DOH peaks, to fast wally lefts and cruisy rights, to dumpy shorepound on the way to Kelly’s.  Got out of the water as the wind started to pick up from the south and the rain was starting to come in.

Long walk back down the beach with friends replaying all the good rides and good times.  Pressure drops and getting caught inside.

Sometimes you fight to stay in position but yesterday was one of those days that I just let the ocean have it’s way and let it take me past several very different types of breaks in about a two mile stretch.  Enjoying the variety and conserving energy at the same time.

The photos I shot here are not from yesterday, but taken over the past couple weeks.  I’ve been sitting on them because when I’m not working or tending to my familial duties I am gliding along like these guys above and below.  Looking at getting some more in today if conditions cooperate.  Sun is trying to poke through, wind is calm and the swell is up a bit.

Looks like we may be in for some more fun surf this week and weekend too.  It’s going to 15ft@15 secs tonight and then easing up till Thursday when we get another pulse.

Gonna go check it and I hope that wherever you are in the world reading this that Mother Nature, King Neptune, and Matsu are all being good to you too.

Rollin On!

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Rollin’ on into the New Year with a few days now of solid surf!  Tow-ins at South OB yesterday and perfectly groomed lines still pulsing today.

I’ve been pretty busy lately, but managed to get my own bomb of a wave before dark today.  Rode my buddy’s 8’6″ just to feel a different feel.  A bit overkill, but I was into them before they even hit the sandbar which felt pretty darn good.

Fun but Wonky

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

We’ve had a couple fun but wonky days this past weekend.  Yesterday was the most enjoyable with some little cover ups to be had here and there.  This guy didn’t punch through, which you probably guessed.

It was a bit too windy today, but you could tell it had that wonk to it.  Hoping for more goodness tomorrow.  Gonna be all about timing.