Thanks to Clayton for shooting these last Monday.  This first one of me getting axed in the Cape is, I’m afraid, all too emblematic of the sort of conditions we’ve been getting lately.  So don’t believe them if they try to grind you about what you’ve been missing out this way.    

        And here you have some shots I snagged of Steve heading out on his six for late sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.  Dude’s been catching it a lot at the river mouth.  Love the “speed ditch on ramp” on his way out to catch surf.  He was getting some nice waves in the Cape Saturday too.    

   It’s good to see the crew emerging from their long Winter’s sabbatical and out getting tuned up for the coming seasons.  It is officially Spring now and it’s even been blowing out of the North all week.  Well, since Monday anyway.  Here you go a few I grabbed while I was on a break for lunch Tuesday.  That’s Greg taking some air, throwing some spray and then Clayton digging in at the bottom for another run at the lip on his blue/black Northwave 4.7.

   Yeah, and apologies to Clayton that I was a little early on the shutter with this one.  It got a lot better just a moment later as he leveled it out. 

  This next offering comes thanks to Tigi shooting at the Jetty on Friday.  Still a lot of current and the March high pressure kind of chill in the air with just enough size to make you pay if you weren’t on game.  But this day was far higher on the satisfaction spectrum for sure with a filled in wind situation for a sweet change.   The crew was out in force and sailing strong.  Jason and Roger have been hitting it hard.  Scott’s been all over it.  Kenny and Greg in the house too.  That’s Roger, AKA:“Crash”, on the yellow Hot sail.  I’m on the white Goya.  Susan was shooting too and posted great shots on the facebook page South Coast wind and wave. 

    And next, also thanks to Tigi, it’s the late show at the jetty after some lunch and a warm up.  Sure it was getting light on the inside but ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the wind shifted direction more offshore and I do so love the evening clean up.   Yeah, the late light through the backs of the waves, that blissful feeling that washes over you when you push yourself, and the pure stoke of being out there for last gifts of the day. 

    So let me wrap this offering with some shots from the Cape Saturday (3/22) that also come to us thanks to Tigi who was so sweet to stay an extra day and even come out on the beach for quite awhile to suffer the full brunt of what was rather considerable wind (4.2s and 4.5).  All to bring you the more intimate perspective you get from the lower eye point and closer proximity to the action.     Especially at this far more civilized wave height.  

So I was purely jonesing to get out there by the time I showed up for the evening sesh.  Yeah, I’m sure you understand that I wasn’t feeling the time to fool with the gear at all.  Turned out I did have time though, as it blew way late that evening and lasted longer than I did (see the last photo set for that sesh).  Especially after such a solid week of such mean wind.


    So it’s been a fairly slow for other local news.  It was however cause for much gratitude to come on so strong here in the last week, wrapping the Winter up with 44 days sailing.  Sure I’m still fairly despondent about missing a shot at Nelscott Reef last Sunday a week.  But I’m getting past that and it helped to get word of a couple brand new boards headed from Maui to the south coast.   One’s a fresh 84 LS quad for Clayton and the other happens to be my new big wave weapon -- details and photos of which I’ll be completely stoked to reveal in the next blog for sure. 

    Well, as always, thanks for reading me and a huge, heartfelt thanks as well to all the photographers for coming out and taking the time to shoot.  I’ll be working on some fresh content and of course, more photos as soon as I rally a couple looming deadlines.  So I hope you’ll understand if you don’t hear much from me until around the middle of April.  It is after all, Spring right?  And it’s been blowing pretty much the whole time so I’m way, way behind on a couple projects. 


                                                                                                                                                                            With respect and gratitude.  

                                                                                                                                                                                             _______________________\_ 

“Perhaps four really is just one too many.”

                                                                   -Max Shredroom

 

44

    - The number of sailing days I caught last Winter.  22 of them in the salty water, three sand sailing (one was a double with some surfsailing) and most the rest skatesailing my new favorite skatesail. 

    Got some rather squirrely 5.0 in the Cape Wednesday, but was too caught up in sailing to shoot anything.  And here’s my only postcard from Thursday.  That’s Scott warming up on the first wave of the day.  I was already in my suit and scrambling to get out there too, so it’s the only thing I shot this day.   I’m sure you must understand.   Sure it was still pretty streaky, wacked out kind of wind this day, with massive current.   Aahhhhhh but the waves, ....