January 5th, 2016
The weather experts were calling for 2016 to be welcomed by two solid weeks of rain and surf.
Expectations were high, and surfers were on high alert.
The meager offerings this evening weren’t much to write home about,
but it was a sign of things to come.
Goleta Surfing Legend Randy Rodstoker was on hand to get some fun ones.
Rainbows came and went with the passing showers,
but the real rain was predicted for the coming days….
….and the surf was supposed to increase as well.
Time would tell.
January 6th, 2016
Wednesday morning brought some heavy rain and Old Town Goleta got flooded temporarily.
The creeks swelled with chocolate water and moved along nicely.
They fed into the slough that filled up real nice, before releasing it all into the ocean.
And throngs of surfers were eager to paddle out into the runoff to greet the
increasing swell.
The forecasters were right, it was pumping by the evening.
And virtually every spot had a crowd.
We found the local crew just after sunset and managed to get a few photos
before it got completely dark.
Paul Franzen.
Trevor Scoggins.
Colin Schildhauer.
After the sun had gone down, my lens was struggling to capture the action in the darkness,
but the guys just kept on surfing.
Bobby Morris.
The photo quality is lacking, but the waves were good…
Guner Tautrim.
Wednesday night ended with some satisfied surfers, but they all knew Thursday was the day
that the swell was really going to hit. Would the stormy conditions ruin it?
Hasta manana…..
