SUP,Surf

[C36]

S13 - SUP - Long Beach (2022 July 30)









Photo Shoot. We found sun peaking through a hole in the sky over Incinerator Rock. Took to the water with ULU and then ULU dawned fins and took some water shots. Another fun session and the sun was a bonus!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S14 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 July 31)



Something. We opted for a road trip of surf checks after checking out the morning conditions at Cox Bay. Wick (rolly), Flo (no swell, but used the low tide to check out the new rock garden south of the stairs), North Chesterman (no swell), South Chesterman (not enough), before returning to Cox Bay. ULU went out but was had low expectation (as did I). This was exploded when he caught the largest wave of the trip and the mid-bombs kept coming!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S15 - windsurf - Long Beach (2022 July 31)







In between. We found sun peaking through a hole in the sky over Incinerator Rock, again. This time there was enough sea breeze to prevent ULU from SUPing and not enough for me to wave sail my windsurfing gear. So close – small south swell, mid-tide, and NW wind (just backed to early). Still nice to get wet trying! Easy prep dinner at Surfside Grill.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S16 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Aug 1)



Last one (for ULU). Quick morning session on ULU`s travel day. There was visibility and waves so the rest was up to us. Rides were had and smiles made! Nice way to cap off ULU`s stay.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[C36]

S17 - Cox Bay - SUP (2022 Aug 2)



Shopping. It was my last morning at Surf Grove. Surf didn’t look great at first, so cleared out the site and parked in the front lot for extra cars by 10 am. Did some surf shopping - North Chesterman (small and off shore), South Chesterman (south swell + wind chop), Rosie’s (clean rights), Cox Bay south end (big, clean, fat). I’d give it a B-. Thanks to ULU for lending me the Go Pro paddle mount so I could try a new camera angle. Last outdoor hot shower at Surf Grove just past noon might have been the best part!

North Chesterman



South Chesterman



Rosies Bay





Cox Bay



Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S18 - Long Beach (2022 Aug 2)



Golden. Picnic lunch in town. Pistachio gelato at Chocolate Tofino (no line up given the cool weather). Set up camp at Long Beach Campground. Stopped for a look-see at Incinerator Rock, but it looked a little iffy with the NW wind so checked out Flo first. Word in the parking lot was long waits for modest waves – I wasn`t so sure when I saw it from the viewing platform, but it was breaking close to shore and wind usually backs at Long Beach, right? So back to Incinerator it was. Once on the water I traded some waves with Ben. Some range in size and angle so both rights and lefts were on offer. This one turned into a super fun evening surf at Long Beach! One of the regulars had a cold so was watching and said it looked like it was “prefect” while I was out and swears I caught 50 waves!!! Sunset dinner atop Incinerator Rock was the icing on the cake for the day!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S19 - SUP – Florencia Bay (2022 Aug 3)



More than half way. Evening session at Flo with some of the locals. Tide was high and medium south swell made for some heavy (for me) waves in long cycles. Gradually came to terms with the main peak and worked my way to catching more than a few from more than half way up the beach between the stairs and the look-out. I still find this spot a touch sketchy at times on certain days. I found myself further north on one paddle back out than I would have liked passing over some of the bigger rocks in the rock garden (thanks to the high tide). On another paddle out I was just far enough south to creep out past the end of the break unscathed – the local to my left also let out a sigh of relief after the last wave passed! I was pleased with the progression tonight! Took advantage of the last campfire (restrictions starting tomorrow) to cook dinner over the open flame! Yum!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S20 - SUP - Flo (2022 Aug 4)



Mean spirited. I arrived for a repeat morning session, but the tide was mid (1 m lower than last night). A few looked, but most drove off. I was the only one out at first. The sets I saw from the viewing platform all looked pretty tame. Once down on the beach some heavier sets were rolling through and I just about aborted while trying to paddle to the outside. There were some potential consequences today. Kept at it and scored a few waves on the main peak and the second peak down (at the boiling rock). One other surfer joined me, and then quickly aborted for yoga on the beach as I exited. Photo shoot in the parking lot when I left. Bit of a shaky start to the day.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S21 - windsurf - South Chesterman (2022 Aug 4)













Solo (at first). Wind started to puff at the campground under the clearing sky so decided to check South Chesterman on the way into town. Arrived to find it was slog-n-ride wavesailing conditions for windsurfing gear already. Tide was low and flooding and wind usually picks up later in the day, but I decided to jump on the early stuff. François stopped by for a look-see on his way to work and mentioned there were some nice sets rolling through. I had the place all to myself at first (except for the novice surfers along the inside on the east half of the beach). The waves were clean, modest-sized south swell – most 1+ and done. Some offered up more. Wind was light at times and just right at others. Others soon joined in the fun and the swell got a little fat on the rising tide, but those with foils didn’t seem to mind. I must be getting better on my SUP as I was missing the higher number of turns and hits on each wave. Still awesome to get out wavesailing on windsurfing gear!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

Three short sample videos

S22 - SUP - Long Beach (2022 Aug 5)




Fin test. OEM fins on the Hypernut came with four asymmetrical fins and were feeling slow (high-drag) on larger or faster waves. I decided to do a back-to-back fin test with some we had bought for Ethan`s shortboard (two asymmetrical and two foiled fins). Ethan`s fins set felt faster and looser (he may have lost them). Funny how quickly the waves melted away on the ebbing tide. Good testing conditions, but I need to try them in larger or faster waves now.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S23 - SUP - Long Beach + South Chesterman (2022 Aug 5)



1+1=1. Long Beach looked so inviting – long, clean, open waves that looked like Cox Bay on a “good day”. But I should have known better, once out on the water South Carolina John was calling them “mush burgers” even though he was repeatedly ripping them apart. Between the wind, wind chop, and fast waves I was burning a lot of energy and not catching many waves. I was exiting when I saw John rip another left and that motivated me to give it another try – big mistake using someone very skilled as your benchmark. OK, that was it.



Pulled the plug and headed for South Chesterman to make sure I hadn’t missed out. Paddled for about an hour in the warm evening sunshine, but same story of frustrating set-up and limited rides – far from the classic small punchy wave small south swell can offer here.

These two tries are counted as one session as I left my wetsuit on during the drive up (BWD crew rules).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S24 - SUP - Long Beach (2022 Aug 6)







Last dance. Super warm, clear, dry morning made to easy to take down and pack up the tent dry. Chatter on the beach was this morning was similar to last night (bad). Lots of locals on the peak off Incinerator Rock too. Still decided to give it a go before driving up to Cox Bay (Plan B, if needed). But once on the water it was a gem! Just enough size and shape today to offer up way more rides that losses! Super fun glassy waves! Had my fill and then took getting rolled after the drop on a set wave as my queue to start driving. Great session to end the trip on!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[C36]

S1 - Lake Nitinaht (2022 Aug 27)







Travel day. I was thankful both ferry trip and the drive in were uneventful even pleasant. Arrived to sun and wind and after setting up the tent hit the water with Ethan. We got the punchy wind (fog to the west, but clouds in the valley to the east) but both were able to make it work (9m/TT and 5.3/116/23). Dinner on the beach! Fun was to start to the trip!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S2 - Lake Nitinaht (2022 Aug 28)







Mixed bag. Early start to the wind. Got out on 5.3/116/23 to start, but there was lots of wind on the far side of the lake so sized down to 4.5/92. Trouble was wind was super light on the near side of the lake, so switched back to the 5.3/116/23. Ethan joined in after lunch and the wind had steadied but was lighter – he could make the 9m/SB work but no Bueno for me. I resigned myself to come in and take pictures, but then decided to give it one more try on bigger gear (6.1/116/29) and was glad I did – I could now play too! Saw DaveB Jr ripping carve 360’s on the wing (some shots on the gallery)! Golden hour dinner on the beach again!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S3 - SUP - South Chesterman + Cox Bay (2022 Aug 30)

Sampler. Blue bird morning. Much to my surprize Ethan was up at 9 am so we got a low tide morning session in. Felt warmer than 20 degrees in the still sunshine! When we arrived last night neither Flo, Wick nor Long Beach drew Ethan onto the water, so after a quick surf check at Long Beach we headed north. Ethan wasn’t keen after seeing South Chesterman, Rosies Bay, and Cox Bay but we headed out anyway. There were pulses of south swell at South Chesterman and rides were had. Tide had come up enough that Rosies was now too sketchy for us so we paddled around the horn and dropped into Cox Bay. There was some large west swell rolling. Tough to catch, but rewarding when you did. Mid-beach inside shore pound was pretty tough if you came in too far. We exited at Cox Bay. Nice variety session and pleasantly surprised by the size at Cox Bay.

South Chesterman






Cox Bay








Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S4 - SUP - Wickeninnish (2022 Aug 31)





Demo. Ethan demo`d the Quattro Carve Pro 109 courtesy of Jesse at the www.dirtymermaidwatersports.ca. The board was a big step down in size from his 8’8” x 29.25” 119 L Fanatic Pro Wave, but provided a stable platform for standing and paddling. Jesse tried out my HyperNut while he waited for the wind to come in and was on Ethan’s. There were some nice medium sized waves around Lot A courtesy of the background south swell and rides were had, but the SE wind made positioning and dropping in challenging for both Ethan and I. Jesse gave me some great feedback on my Hypernut as he rigged up his light wind windsurfing gear and gave it a go, but the wind backed. Fun session and lots learned!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S5 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 1)



One-star forecast. Mid-afternoon, flooding mid-tide, one-star forecast session with Ethan at Cox Bay. All the other beaches had two-star forecasts, except Cox Bay with a one-star forecast. The funny part was after a round of surf-checks we decided on Cox Bay. The combination of sun and glassy small to medium waves drew us out. Playful session with size increasing as you moved north. Capped the day off with a memorable dinner in the Great Room at Long Beach Lodge!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S6 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 2)



Delayed. Ethan’s flight got delayed twice so that made for enough time for a hike at Windnsea. It also delayed made my first session at Cox Bay from Surf Grove a sunset session. After spending two sessions on Ethan’s SUP, my Hypernut was feeling a bit new-to-me again. The wind chop, roll, fat swell, evening twilight, and my full stomach were also contributing to feeling more than a little off. Saw Jake out ripping wave after wave so it must have just been me. Caught a few small ones at the south end, and a few mini-bombs mid beach off the main house, but the north peaks were too busy for my liking so left them for another session. Nice to get wet before the day was done!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S7 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 3)





Wake-up call. Sleep-in a bit, then took to the water before breakfast on ebbing mid-low. I was looking for a bit a redemption so jumped on the smoother waves and slightly off-shore wind. Comfort, wave count, and fun factor were all higher. Great way to start the day!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[C36]

S8 - SUP - Florencia Bay (2022 Sept 4)



Wildlife. SE wind and HEAVY rain overnight had stirred things up and the afternoon W onshore wind had most of the beaches looking pretty messy, except Flo. Trouble is everyone seemed to have the same idea – the overflow parking was all the way back to the first pull-out! Chatter on the beach was it was worth it, but more of a longboard wave today and starting to glass off. I took a quick look from the platform and the top of the stairs and decided to give it a go. Once down on the water there was a river of current in the first rip and some reflective wave which unsettled me a little. It was busy on the water too. There were two groups out on the water – main peak above the stairs and just above the river mouth. I paddled down to a secondary peak off the river mouth and surprisingly caught a few soft left shoulders – that was fun! Then I paddled up to the main peak and scored one right to exit at the stairs.
I saw a Pacific Dolphin proposing while I was in the water and a black bear crossed the road when I was driving to Wick for a post-session surf check. Beautiful evening to be out on the water!

I notice there were a lot of parking tickets issued for no park parking pass on my walk out, luckily I renewed my annual pass last month.

I stopped at Wick and Incinerator Rock on my way back north and Wick was still all stirred up but Incinerator Rock had cleaned up nicely on the high tide and had some size to it. I saw Shaggy pumping laps (pumping out on his surf foil to the next wave after kicking out) and “making it look easy” as one person watching said. I just about went out again, but left satisfied with my session at Flo.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S9 - SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 5)



Morning rollers. West swell was pumping, but a touch fat on the slack high tide so you had to be fairly precise with your wave selection, positioning, and drop-ins. I worked the main break for the most part. Waved to Jake out coaching someone on SUP to the south. Paddled up and grabbed one from the right to the north, but got greedy and rode it a little too far inside and got punished getting back out (the joys of an eight second period at Cox Bay). Finally got out the seam off Maltby and waited and waited – too fat now. So headed back to the right peak to the north and rode one in. Great way to start to the day – hitting the water just as the sun broke the horizon!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S10 – SUP - Long Beach (2022 Sept 5)



Double header. Super fun evening glass off session with Francois and White Water Matt!

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S11 – SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 6)



Pretty sure I heard a bear walking around and snorting about 4:30 am at Surf Grove (in the woods between the campsites and the ocean). I was just about to move to the van and all went quiet.

Dawn surf check released angry, dumpy mid-tide shore pound and cool air temps so delayed my morning session until 10 am for softer waves in slack high tide, calm wind, and warmer air temps. Mix of small, medium, large, and extra large swell made for tricky wave selection and positioning. Caught a few!

Moving day. Good-bye Surf Grove! Hello Long Beach Campground!

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S12 – SUP - Long Beach (2022 Sept 6)



Beautiful! Jesse was just leaving the water after a slog n’ ride windsurfing session when I arrived. But I scored a beautiful evening session with classic longboard Long Beach waves! Shared with White Water Matt (prone surfing tonight), a couple from Quebec on SUPs and a group of local long boarders. Lots of stoke on and off the water in gratitude for the conditions, moon rising, and sun setting!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S13- wavesailing - Long Beach (2022 Sept 7)






photo credit Jen Carlisle



Guaranteed - Shaggy was very confident on this wind event happening, going so far as to guarantee it the day before. I wasn’t so sure, but happy to be proven wrong.

Beautiful clear sunny morning here. Local guy testing the water in the campground this morning said “best weather of the whole summer”!

Long Beach was still glassy mid-morning with some NW flow in the outside. By 11 am South Chesterman was already blowing sand well (looked like top end of 5.3/116), but was flat (no waves, only shore break). Then word came that the crew was rigging at Long Beach. Pete was ripping around on Wing. The windsurfers slog n’ ride. I joined in the party and had more power than I was expecting on the water (some planing out and a couple of jumps throughout the session). Some memorable rides including a party wave with Ryan. People of the beach seemed to notice the wind crew having fun (riders from White Water, Squamish, Burnaby, Ukee) drew compliments from tourists (“You’re good!”) and a local (“You guys got some waves!”). Special day for sure!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S14 – SUP - North Chesterman (2022 Sept 8)



Rounded out. Glassy low ride session at North Chesterman to get in session there on this trip.

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S15 – SUP - Cox Bay (2022 Sept 9)



Delightful. Evening slack low tide session that was pure fun! Paddled straight out from the north path to the main peak, but it was busy (20+ surfers) and take-off was really small so opted for the north peak at Pettinger Point (only four of us). Super fun - enough size and shape with clean, open right runners. Savored every ride!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S16 – SUP - Florencia Bay (2022 Sept 10)



Aquarium. Glassy playful waist to chest-high glassy waves on a flooding mid-tide. Only two, then three on the main peak. Beautiful warm, sunny day! Water was glassy, still, and clear so you could see straight through the surface to the bottom to a depth of well over 10’. Minnows, crabs, and more could all be clearly seen - like you were paddling across the top of an aquarium! Lots of fun and lots of stoke! Great way to get wet one last time on a travel day! Drive into the wildfire smoke in Nanaimo and the sun turned a wild orange.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[JonathanP]

Sounds like a great trip! I went to hoobuck on Washington over that weekend sep 9-11. Swell was only about waist high, but got some decent rides surfing and had some slight success pumping back out on the surf foil to barely make my first wave to wave connection. Next day the offshore wind picked up strong but extremely gusty probably 5-30knts. Was interesting to ride offshore conditions on the wing, probably the only tool I'd use for that, being able to pinch upwind well to stay near the beach and having the option to readily paddle back in if anything went wrong. Swell was only about thigh high so little consequence there, but not quite enough power to easily ride them in with the headwind. Not quite the effortless offshore out and back on a wave flagging the wing kind of experience I was hoping to get, but nice to give it a go. A bit more swell and less gusty wind might have made that work better. Last day was messy onshore with swell gradually picking up enough for a kiter to get out on a very long board but we had to head home after a morning surf.

[C36]

S1 – Oahu – Waikiki – Queens (2023 Mar 13)



Sunset. Long day of travelling. SUP and paddle were waiting in the terminal. Got checked in and enjoyed outdoor dinner on the patio. Then I finally got to the hit the water at sunset. Legs were asleep from all the travel, but really wanted to get wet. Paddled out past the inside lines at Canoes to Queens and lined up a nice clean right at Queens only to have a local surf foiler sweep onto it after pumping outbound past me to arch onto the face of it at the last moment. Still managed to get a few short rides before the streetlights had come on and it got too dark for me. Ran out of daylight and session was cut short. Beautiful sunset, warm water and glassy conditions were a treat!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S2 – Oahu – Waikiki – Canoes + Queens (2023 Mar 14)



Filler. Early morning session to try and fill in some of the gaps from last night. It looked good from the hotel, but the onshore wind had created quite a bit of roll and wind chop – it felt like a session at Wreck Beach. Started out at Canoes but there were so many people on the peak that a group of SUPs worked the left shoulder. Caught a couple then headed over to Queens but it was a struggle for me there as well. Turtle surfaced at Queens to say, “Aloha!” Not ideal conditions, but still a nice way to start the day.

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S3 – Oahu – Waikiki – Queens + Canoes (2023 Mar 14)



Rolly. Evening session but it was still pretty stirred up. Could barely stand on my board in the choppy wind swell. Every 15 minutes or so some ground swell would roll through. Caught one long left off the shoulder and managed to keep riding through the reform to get a second push! Personal best ride at Canoes! Even caught a compliment on the ride from someone learning on the inside. Take out Poke dinner on the hotel balcony and ice cream cone for desert.

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S4 – Oahu – Waikiki – Queens + Canoes (2023 Mar 15)


Suns back! Got up early to do a surf check and it looked like the onshore wind had backed overnight to let the chop melt away some. But the real draw was the sun looked to be peaking out. I was so exciting to get some Go Pro shots I forgot to load the battery – rookie move! Paddled right into my first ride of the day at Queens (a short right) then after a lot of wobbling around on my board before I finally caught a Queens personal best right that just kept giving! Sweet that! Paddled over to Canoes to give the left shoulder a try but there wasn’t enough power to catch anything meaningful.

Took the evening off after word from the water was conditions were “bad”.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S5 – Oahu – Waikiki – Queens (2023 Mar 15)



Settled. Semi glassy and flatter between the ground swell but there wasn’t much ground swell. Much easier to position sans the wind chop. Late start this morning to Queens was ‘busy’ with about a dozen out. There were four locals, one family and some old howlies. This made for a challenging take off as the local skilled longboarders were grabbing all the set waves (four of them joisting for three waves), the howlies on mals/foamies were grabbing the leftovers, and the light kids on longboards were snapping up all the rest. One of the locals was a teenager who had only been surfing for a year – unreal given how much style and grace he had! I was polite and honoured priority and this resulted in very low wave count, but still nice to get out. Checked out Canoes on the way back in, but it was even smaller.

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S6 - Oahu - Waikiki - Queens - Fri (2023 Mar 17)



Priority! Queens was smaller, but clean and fewer locals out meant less competition for the waves there and an increased wave count for me. I wasn’t complaining and left early so others could also grab their share. Big smile from that session. Dinner from the pasta food truck was a bonus!

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S7 - Oahu - Waikiki - Paradise + Pops - Sat (2023 Mar 18)



Paradise! Rented a larger board (Starboard 10’5” x 32” – no model name but might have been a Wide Point) to help work the smaller waves and go explore some of the other breaks further out. Got an assist from the Kona wind and rode downwind out to Pops and Paradise/3s. Paddled past the large mixed crowd at Pops for the larger waves and small group of SUPs/longboards at Paradise. Once I started to chase waves I was regretting not having the Hypernut as the rental board was tough to turn and sluggish to position and drop in. A few adjustments and I started to enjoy the glide. The wind started to puff and stir up some wind chop and the rental board offered some welcomed stability. Chatter on the water was the reef was shallow on the inside so I played it careful. Locals also mentioned 3s would be shallow as well on the low tide so didn’t venture over there solo.

Stopped in at Pops on the way back in. Fun using the new board to explore couple of new breaks. Caught a couple of rides and it felt softer and more user friendly.

Also caught one exit ride at Queens on the way back. Full morning!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[Michael]

Thanks for sharing Dave. Glad your gear made it unscathed! I sure miss those warm blue waters and fun waves. Looking forward to more posts.

[C36]

SX – windward (2023 Mar 19) + north shore surf checks (2023 Mar 20)



Spent two days checking out the windward side and north shore of Oahu – Haleiwa, Waimea Bay, Off The Wall, Pipeline, Ehuka, and more. The pictures of the biggest waves in the gallery are Ehuka (just up from Pipeline). Surf was pumping on the north shore and pros were ripping!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S8 - Oahu - Waikiki - Paradise - Tues (2023 Mar 21)



P-Nut. First time taking the HyperNut out to Paradise and it went well. Larger swell than my last/first time out there so I was glad I had the HyperNut! Chatter on the water was the east wind favours Paradise over the other breaks.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S9 - Oahu - Waikiki - Queens – Tues (2023 Mar 21)



Cool down. Enough wind that someone was out winging further up the beach so I stuck close to the hotel at Queens and Canoes. Nice to get wet in the evening light as the temps cooled off. Rain squall. Big rain drops. Rainbow over Diamond Head. SUPER busy even late - counted thirty surfers out at Queens so competition for waves was high and wave count was low. Still a beautiful way to spend the twilight!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S10 - Oahu - Waikiki - Paradise - Wed (2023 Mar 22)





Glassy. Dawn patrol yielded glassy conditions and more wave than yesterday. Paddled straight out to Paradise as it looked to bigger than both Pops and 3s. The concentrated peak took some courage to paddle into, but worked up to it and scored a few memorable rides! The first big drop I just froze in paddle stance to avoid knocking the board off balance as it kept accelerating down the steep face! Thought there might have been a code brown, but all was good.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S11 - Oahu - Waikki - Queens - Thurs (2023 Mar 23)









Rain squalls in the night had stirred up the water and had most people sleeping in so decided to take advantage of the small dawn patrol crowd at Queens and opt for convenience. The roll melted away as the first shift left the water and the second shift joined in. Fun way to end the trip on the same break as the first session, but with more size and power!

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

[C36]

S1 - MTB Steve Smith Bike Park ((2023 May 19)



Warm-up. Jump lines are very well built! Blue jump line is my speed (and great practice).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S2 - wavesailing South Chestrerman (2023 May 19)


Jeff Mikus photo credit


Jeff Mikus photo credit


Jeff Mikus photo credit







Birthday girl! Surf checks at Flo (big fat outside and mean inside), Wick (onshore wind chop), Long Beach (big waves of consequence and wind was too light), and South Chesterman (wind and waves just right for my energy level after a day of traveling). Chatter on the beach was the waves were ‘nice’! I was late to the party and took to the water about 6 pm to find Dan and Jesse – fun group! Waves were super clean, fun and made for sure catch (even with some operator error). The birthday girl closed the session off showing us all how it’s done! Third session of the day for her too! One for one wavesailing (sessions/days).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S3 - SUP South Chesterman (2023 May 20)





Smalls. Less power and a touch fat so you had to work for your rides. Clean when you got them! Larger down in the cove and in Rosies, but word was they were closing out.

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S4 - wavesailing South Chesterman (2023 May 20)







Repeat, sort of. Wind was similar and workable. Waves were more of a mixed bag with lullage (and some of the smaller waves got away) and sets of 10+ south swell – oh yeah! More competition tonight with kites, wings and windsurfers on the hunt. Quatro Power 115 demo had me going more vertical on the wave and even hit a mini-aerial early on! Thanks Jesse! Two for two wavesailing (sessions/days).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S5 - wavesailing Long Beach (2023 May 21)







Off balance. Whales spouting. Cool temps, no sun, wind was ramping up – something felt off. Waited for the peak of the wind, but got the peak of gusts. Knocked off balance by the chop and the outside gusts. Hard to time the waves with the spotty wind. Got my arms stretched by some gusts and square chop on bottom turns. Never found a groove. Three for three wavesailing (sessions/days).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S6 - wavesailing Long Beach (2023 May 21)



More of the same. Not sure why I was expecting something different. Four for three wavesailing (sessions/days).

Gallery (to view as a slideshow click on the screen icon top right)

S7 - wavesailing Long Beach (2023 May 22)







Much better. Long Beach classic – sun, workable wind, some big holes, fun-sized waves! Two washings from the brink of the outside due to uber light wind in the impact zone. Shaggy rescued Tsawwassen following a bladder rupture in his wing. Five for five wavesailing (sessions/days).

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S8 - SUP Long Beach (2023 May 23)



Orcas! Bear in the campground last night. Didn’t look like much from the beach, but it turned out to be fun – it glassed off some, and the swell picked up, party waves, and some variety! Sealion (who was way too curious for my liking) and a small pod of Orcas swimming offshore south (cool), then returning back north a little closer in (not so cool). The sun even popped out at times! Nice to get wet before starting the drive home. Glad I had a ferry reservation and avoided the two sailing wait!

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Incredible streak of NW flow! Great South Oregon Coast training camp!

[Simon]

Wow great pics and conditions! thanks for sharing Dave.