Better than Presents
Surfers in Goleta must have been good little boys and girls, because Santa dumped a
bucket full of waves down their chimneys. And that’s what we all really wanted.
The swell was “forecast” to arrive the 27th, so we went on the 26th and had a lovely
session with only one other human, and a multitude of friendly pinnipeds.
The next day, we returned to the same remote location, to find 20 cars at the crack of dawn.
Five years ago, this was unheard of.
Two years ago, this would have pissed us off.
Today….we expected it…. I guess we’ve given up.
Anyhow, it was Christmas, and there were plenty of waves for everyone!
We saw a lot of odd sights.
Like this guy giving his female friend surf lessons over jagged rocks on one of the bigger
swells of the year. We also saw a family running across the freeway with two toddlers and
a baby in tow. Where were they going to hang out while daddy surfed? There’s no beach,
just waves, rocks and cliff…I guess this is the new Campus Point.
Despite the crowd, we still saw some familiar faces.
Goleta local Ralph Brassachio got his share of the goodies.
We checked some other spots as well; above is Devereux Point.
Another strange event this day…..Sands was empty at 1:00 PM !!
Nobody out, and surfable. Weird.
Rick Hayes and Toma Ledbetter got shaka-shakas all day by themselves.
Bobby Morris got lots of presents at a couple of his favorite spots.
The afternoon brought a light breeze, but still great conditions and plenty of swell.
Daniel Durbin giving thanks and praise.
Some guys aren’t bothered by a crowd…..
We heard they had spotted a shark out here earlier in the day.
We didn’t know about the shark, but there were definitely some rocks.
Rick Hayes didn’t seem too worried about either one.
Bobby Morris
Rick Hayes again; away from the crowd but right in the slot.
For sunset, we took a drive up the coast.
Pretty much everywhere was surfable, and the wind had died for a beautiful glassy ending
to the day.
This guy milked his last wave all the way into the cove.
What better way to end your day.
The next day was Monday. Everybody back to work, right? Not so much.
Every turnout on the Gaviota Coast looked like this. Even the tractor driver paddled out.
Pretty sure that’s him.
And in front of every turnout, there was a scene like this. Beautiful winter waves.
Our lunchtime tour took us to good old Devereux, where the crowd was thin and
the conditions were perfect.
Up at Sands just a couple of guys were out, and the sets were thick and closing out.
But they didn’t mind.
Oh to be young and invincible….
So it was, Christmas weekend, 2009.
A great Christmas for a lot of tired surfers. So go back to your couch, climb into
your new snuggy, and rest up. There’s more on the way….