SUP Long Beach weekend

[Michael]

Nice wave forecast for Long Beach this weekend. No wind so I'm heading over tomorrow for some wave SUP action. Dave is going to go for the weekend as well. I'll be at Incinerator Rock!

[george]

TR please. All the sticky details are needed. Looks very good on paper!

[Michael]

TR please. All the sticky details are needed. Looks very good on paper!

Looked good on paper but was not what I expected and that seemed to be the consensus on the beach. It was BIG no doubt, but very closeouty as the locals were saying.
There were some surfers out killing it but when I talked to them on the beach they all said they got worked. I went up past Incinerator Rock as it would have been insane trying to get out any lower with a SUP, just too much white water to get through. With the long period swell came long breaks between sets and if you were patient you could get out up where I was but I got caught on the inside a few times. I did catch some nice rides though and I managed to get in a few cut backs, which is what I wanted to work on, I just started doing those so I was stoked when I was able to get one. The pictures below are form the after noon session at Long Beach on Friday. Saturday morning was a bit of a disappointment, I got to Long Beach early but there was no one there, the beach was empty, which made me nervous, so I went to North Chesterman's to check it out and that's were everybody was. I went out expecting some epicness but was denied. It was closeout city for the most part and where there was a good section there was also about 50 surfers. I didn't think it would be a good to plough through them with my SUP, I was the only SUP out there and was getting all sorts of looks when I paddled by. I found a section at the North end of the bay that wasn't bad and managed to get one ride but there was so much water coming into the bay that it was super choppy I could hardly stand on my SUP. I decided to try the South end where I started but after catching one massive closeout that pounded me hard I packed it in. I went back to Long Beach but just as I arrived I got a call from Dave who was very excited about Florencia Bay, so I went down to try and get in one more session before I had to leave. Dave was waiting at the look out when I arrive and was exited at what he had seem. There were some massive waves on the outside but they were barely breaking so we weren't sure if they would be ridable. Only one way to find out so I changed and headed out there. I have to say it was beautiful and terrifying when I got out there. The big ones were massive and the only way to catch one was to get right under the peak as it was breaking. To top it off this big sea lion came shooting out of one those Mackers and scared the crap out of me! It was having a blast surfing out there. I must have tried at least 10 times to catch a ride but they were so big and round that if you weren't at the perfect spot they would just roll on by you.
I was thinking the only way to catch one would be to tow in but I finally got it right and what a ride! So much speed and it was super bumpy that I thought I wasn't going to make it but I hung on and made it out to the side which was like a soft shoulder and then you could roll of the back. Funny thing was I bumped into Jesse just as I was leaving Long Beach and he said "ya Florencia can be awesome, it can set up like Maverick's, a big middle section that totally mellows out on the sides." I as sceptical when I heard that but being after that I was thinking now I get it. It took me 2 hours and I only caught 2 waves, one left and one right, so I was feeling it wasn't really worth it but looking back now it was. Wish I had of gotten some gopro shots of that but my camera was dead, waisted on the morning session. Anyways it was a fun couple of days, punishing and frustrating at times but that is the sport and I find wave SUP is really helping my wave sailing so the more I get out the better.

[C36]

TR please. All the sticky details are needed. Looks very good on paper!

...I went back to Long Beach but just as I arrived I got a call from Dave who was very excited about Florencia Bay, so I went down to try and get in one more session before I had to leave. Dave was waiting at the look out when I arrive and was exited at what he had seem. There were some massive waves on the outside but they were barely breaking so we weren't sure if they would be ridable. Only one way to find out so I changed and headed out there. I have to say it was beautiful and terrifying when I got out there. The big ones were massive and the only way to catch one was to get right under the peak as it was breaking. To top it off this big sea lion came shooting out of one those Mackers and scared the crap out of me! It was having a blast surfing out there. I must have tried at least 10 times to catch a ride but they were so big and round that if you weren't at the perfect spot they would just roll on by you.
I was thinking the only way to catch one would be to tow in but I finally got it right and what a ride! So much speed and it was super bumpy that I thought I wasn't going to make it but I hung on and made it out to the side which was like a soft shoulder and then you could roll of the back. Funny thing was I bumped into Jesse just as I was leaving Long Beach and he said "ya Florencia can be awesome, it can set up like Maverick's, a big middle section that totally mellows out on the sides." I as skeptical when I heard that but being after that I was thinking now I get it...

Maverick's paints a good picture of what the central peak looked like on the outside break when you were out there - more singular than the lines shown in my pictures below.

Florencia Bay (2017 Oct 28)


Gentle giants. Arrived just before noon and took quick look-sees at Flo (big, soft and easy to get out) and Wick (cove looked OK on the inside but the beach north of the rip looked huge and punishing - for kids of all ages). Tsawwassen reported that North Chesterman had been punishing earlier in the morning and that Long Beach was looking big, but doable up at Tinies. So Flo it was. After all I have stopped here dozens of times and never seen anything like this before. Waited for Tsawwassen to arrive and it seemed to lull a bit. He agreed it looked soft (maybe a little too soft to catch), but agreed to giving it a try.

Beautiful summer-like afternoon and easy getting out, but hard to make it work coming in. By the time we got out on the water the ‘outer’ break was more concentrated into a central peak just south of the river. Set waves were the only ones breaking out there and they would leave a ‘runway’ of sea foam in their trail. I caught a glimpse of Tsawwassen getting a right, but didn’t see any other rides, so assumed a lot of patience, positioning and timing were likely required.

I stayed near the stairs with the boys getting my bearings and making sure they were going to be alright. I was surprised to see how much current there was pushing them north and how far along the beach they had been pushed before they reached the outside. Once outside near the stairs the waves were also round and hard to catch. They seemed to be releasing all their energy at once in an often punishing dump. There seemed to be a rather abrupt transition from deep water to the shallow bank that concentrated the wave's energy all into one spot. I choose to roll off more walling waves than I dropped into (too much all at once). I fully committed to one that I thought was ‘doable’, dropping in and cranking right along the steep face, then a split second later got sucked up and over the roof and around the barrel into spin cycle the hard way into what Ethan called the ‘cork screw’! Odd mix of swell angles, peaks and sizes with some roll for good measure made for a unforgiving set-up. Edward caught a few (AllWave 146). Ethan (ProWave 119) didn't catch a single wave but got worked more times than I can count going for it.

Ethan wanted to head out to the ‘outer reef’ but just as we started off in that direction, we saw Tsawwassen headed our way so we decided to go set up camp and look for something else for an evening session. I finally caught one open wave right on my last ride in and found the reform inside was rather soft and carried for a long distance. In hindsight the boys would have likely had more fun ‘playing’ there. The next day Udder mentioned that he doesn’t really care for Flo as he finds it can be dumpy and a guy I work with latter told me despite it being his favourite spot he had one of his longest hold downs ever there. The good news was the rest of the weekend would likely seem ‘easy’ compared to this given the diminishing forecast.

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Long Beach (2017 Oct 28)


Sunset. Ethan was feeling a little tired from the morning session and limited stamina from being in the air cast for four weeks so wasn’t too keen on doubling up the first day, but in the end decided to come out. Good thing, as the waves were more consistent and offered some open rides; some nice rights. Even though it was diminishing, there were still some bombs rolling through. The boys and I all really enjoyed the sunset session! Water above Lovekin looked really unsettled (waves had moose knuckles), so we decided to walk north from Lot 3. With the Incinerator Rock parking lot and Lots 4 and 5 all closed for the washroom reconstruction we had Tinies pretty much all to ourselves. Beautiful evening, hardly anyone out, some great waves (even though still a mixed bag and pretty rolly at times). Stayed on the water until twilight and needed headlamps when we got back to the van. Hot showers at Green Point were well received. The boys were so hungry they were clambering for their dinner (good thing I prepped it in the city before we left to speed things up).

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Long Beach (2017 Oct 29)


Last call. Let the boys sleep in until almost 10 am (the 5:30 am start the day before made them feel a little like astronauts sent to a different planet). French toast. Broke camp. First stop Long Beach. Looked similar to the sunset session, but more settled. DavidM and Udder were already out at Incinerator Rock, so this must be the spot! There were some sets that held the boys on the inside, but the highlight of the session was watching Ethan drop cleanly into a well overhead wave from a front row seat as I paddled out. The amazing part was just as my internal voice said “step forward”, that was exactly what he did and ripped a super clean line as he dropped in! The only trouble was I was right below his natural line and it was going to be close. Really close. When he saw my eyes get really wide the closer he got, he wisely decided to bail before taking us both out. Amazing wave, glad I saw it, but sorry it ended that way instead of the ride all the way to the beach that he had earned. Awesome to see his ear-to-ear grin and chat about it as we paddled out together! Also got to chat with DavidM and Udder. Shared party waves with the boys and Udder. Lots of fun to go around! Grabbed three Tocofina burritos to go for the drive home. Kennedy Lake and Sproat Lake were both glass and highlighted with fall colours as we passed.

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[george]

Thanks for the TR's boys. Sounds like an adventure! All part of the journey, so no flies on you guys. Corkscrews are ok as long as all orifices stay snapped shut.

[AlexK]

Great write up Michael and C36.
Really enjoyable read!
I have been sup'ing there too and nice to see more people out there constantly. Yes, Incinerator rock seems to be the most popular place but often breaks a bit fast for me.
Kennedy Lake. Great spot for summer foil or formula. I was out there all alone for 3 weeks in August. Sureal feeling having the entire lake to sail. Warm water 12- 15 regular winds between 11- 4 pm.
Don't let the kiters know...

[Michael]

Great write up Michael and C36.
Really enjoyable read!

Glad you liked it Alex. Hopefully we'll see you out there sometime. You're right Incinerator does break fast, it takes some getting used to. The first few times out there I couldn't seem to catch anything and I got worked a lot. I'm getting better at it though and that keeps me going back! Wish the ferry ride was cheaper though.