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A nice relaxing drive
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driftwoodŽ
Jan 21, 2001, 3:26:05 AM1/21/01
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after hearing all of the talk lately about big surf and then people like
john singer and will b. posting about pretty epic surf north of the gate, i
had to head over and take a glance for myself. since i haven't been surfing,
i also haven't been over to the coast so this was much needed. i brought the
camera (with only 4 shots left on my last roll of film) and some music and
ventured off to the sonoma coast.
the drive from lake county down to santa rosa and then over to the coast
was pretty relaxing and the weather was looking like this storm would hold
off for another day, so i was happy. the russian river canyon was blanketed
with light fog and the guernville temperature gauge read 32.
when i caught my first glimpse of the sea just south of jenner, there
didn't look to be any surf breaking at the rivermouth, but once i finally
got the overall view of the beach the swell became very visible. long
corduroy lines were rolling in off the horizon and the shore pound further
south was pretty heavy, but the rivermouth itself had a few waves that lined
up for some good wedging peaks.
i really do believe the sonoma coast shines on a big swell and with the
combination of strong offshores, it made for an amazing sight. there were
several right points breaking along the edge of steep cliffs (almost exactly
like the photos SURFER has run of ponto jardim in the mid-90s). most would
be borderline surfable and so i was stoked because i figured the mendo coast
would be going off.
there were a bunch of really good waves all the way up to sea ranch. the
banana belt region around gualala was nice and sunny, but the sandbars here
never seen to work. i am also going to have to go back down that way on the
next good swell and check out this wave i have been keeping my eye on for
the last few years. it breaks along an open stretch of coast and is almost a
longboard-style wave on the smaller days.
unfortunately the winds weren't so favorable around the saunders reef
area. the rights were still freight-training across the reef, but the entire
shelf was breaking all over the place. couldn't tell you how big it was, but
it certainly wasn't huge. one of will b.'s favorite haunts wasn't breaking
too well on the southerly winds and the parking lot was empty except for a
few tourists.
since i still have four shots left in my camera, i stopped at a vista
point and checked out black bart rock. this was the only spot along the
mendo coast that had big, clean waves. the place was shifty with the
exception of a right reef breaking next to the rock itself. the outside
broke over two large boulders but rolled smoothly toward shore afterward.
the sun made a brief appearance and colored the water an irish green while
the darker storm clouds darkened the horizon. i wish i had another roll of
film to shoot and hope the four photos i did get turn out well.
i didn't bother making any more stops to check the surf at certain
locations until i reached mendoland itself. sea rock was big and breaking
further away from the jagged pillars and i was surprised the locals weren't
out taking advantage of the good waves. caspar was the next and last stop
before i drove onto willits, and there were about six guys and one yakker
out in low tide, waist high breakers. it looked really fun out there and
made me jones to get back in the water.
there was a kid standing in the shallows and jumping to his belly when
the smaller scraps passed the others and then would jump to his feet as
quick as he could. most of the time he was too far back on the board and
missed the wave, while other times he managed to ride for a few seconds. it
reminded me of me when i first really got into surfing.
the creekmouth looked small and ugly and i have a feeling that maybe the
breaks north of town were just as junky... well maybe not mackerricker.
john singer and will b. posting about pretty epic surf north of the gate, i
had to head over and take a glance for myself. since i haven't been surfing,
i also haven't been over to the coast so this was much needed. i brought the
camera (with only 4 shots left on my last roll of film) and some music and
ventured off to the sonoma coast.
the drive from lake county down to santa rosa and then over to the coast
was pretty relaxing and the weather was looking like this storm would hold
off for another day, so i was happy. the russian river canyon was blanketed
with light fog and the guernville temperature gauge read 32.
when i caught my first glimpse of the sea just south of jenner, there
didn't look to be any surf breaking at the rivermouth, but once i finally
got the overall view of the beach the swell became very visible. long
corduroy lines were rolling in off the horizon and the shore pound further
south was pretty heavy, but the rivermouth itself had a few waves that lined
up for some good wedging peaks.
i really do believe the sonoma coast shines on a big swell and with the
combination of strong offshores, it made for an amazing sight. there were
several right points breaking along the edge of steep cliffs (almost exactly
like the photos SURFER has run of ponto jardim in the mid-90s). most would
be borderline surfable and so i was stoked because i figured the mendo coast
would be going off.
there were a bunch of really good waves all the way up to sea ranch. the
banana belt region around gualala was nice and sunny, but the sandbars here
never seen to work. i am also going to have to go back down that way on the
next good swell and check out this wave i have been keeping my eye on for
the last few years. it breaks along an open stretch of coast and is almost a
longboard-style wave on the smaller days.
unfortunately the winds weren't so favorable around the saunders reef
area. the rights were still freight-training across the reef, but the entire
shelf was breaking all over the place. couldn't tell you how big it was, but
it certainly wasn't huge. one of will b.'s favorite haunts wasn't breaking
too well on the southerly winds and the parking lot was empty except for a
few tourists.
since i still have four shots left in my camera, i stopped at a vista
point and checked out black bart rock. this was the only spot along the
mendo coast that had big, clean waves. the place was shifty with the
exception of a right reef breaking next to the rock itself. the outside
broke over two large boulders but rolled smoothly toward shore afterward.
the sun made a brief appearance and colored the water an irish green while
the darker storm clouds darkened the horizon. i wish i had another roll of
film to shoot and hope the four photos i did get turn out well.
i didn't bother making any more stops to check the surf at certain
locations until i reached mendoland itself. sea rock was big and breaking
further away from the jagged pillars and i was surprised the locals weren't
out taking advantage of the good waves. caspar was the next and last stop
before i drove onto willits, and there were about six guys and one yakker
out in low tide, waist high breakers. it looked really fun out there and
made me jones to get back in the water.
there was a kid standing in the shallows and jumping to his belly when
the smaller scraps passed the others and then would jump to his feet as
quick as he could. most of the time he was too far back on the board and
missed the wave, while other times he managed to ride for a few seconds. it
reminded me of me when i first really got into surfing.
the creekmouth looked small and ugly and i have a feeling that maybe the
breaks north of town were just as junky... well maybe not mackerricker.
anyway, i really can't wait for this week to be over so i can wax up my
board and start surfing again. after having a good december, even three
weeks of being out of the water has me bummed. i know, i know.. i should
have waited until summer to get the tat finished.
i'll post the photos if they turn out well.
---
driftwood dayz
http://members.nbci.com/waveslider/
- a misguided ferret production -
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