Better Late Than Never
A week of waves

This is the rock at Campus.
Saturday morning, January 17th, 2009. The morning that everyone was waiting for.
The morning that the “big swell” was scheduled to arrive.
This was a set wave.
The ISF moved it’s scheduled contest from C street to Campus Point because the waves
were going to be too big. All week, we had been getting phone calls and text messages
about the incoming swell. The Aleutians were firing, Kauai was pumping. Surfboards
seemed to be on top of every other car starting on Thursday. If you questioned the
accuracy of the reports, you were ridiculed.
The hype machine was in full swing.

So the big day came. And it fizzled.
Some kids wished they were at C street.

But at least there was surf. That’s more than we’ve had in a while.
And the kids made the most of it.
This is Nick Eggemeyer, enjoying a wave post heat.

Michael Furukawa was enjoying the swell, despite the contest.
So now, the talk turned to how fast the swell would build. We decided to head to
a better suited locale to receive the incoming onslaught of epic waves the
Internet had promised us.

Did we mention what a beautiful day it was?
Gorgeous weather. Close to eighty degrees. No wind, clear skies…..
Perfect conditions.

And there was some surf. Chest high sets with long lulls. But good, clean, surf, nonetheless.
And we were happy to get that, to be sure. It had been way too flat for way too long.

Sunday, January 18th, 2009.

The swell was slowly growing. As were the crowds.
Sixty cars at Naples and a Highway Patrol officer that pulled onto the shoulder to say,
through his loudspeaker, that we would get a ticket if we crossed the freeway.
That was enough to get us to go to good old Devereux Point.

The waves were picking up and the afternoon sunlight made for some pretty pictures.

Check out Santa Cruz Island!
Looks like the painted back drop in a museum exhibit.

The crowd was pretty thick, but not nearly as thick as the kelp.
Our lack of winter swells has allowed the kelp to flourish, tangling up a quick turn around
and grabbing at your fins down the line.

And then there are these guys……
We are trying to get along with “the New Wave” of surfing, but here are two different reasons
stand up paddlers are upsetting a lot of surfers.
Common courtesy would go a long way here.

Overall, a beautiful, fun filled day in Goleta.

Monday, January 19th,
Martin Luther King Day

Day three of a unseasonably warm holiday weekend.
Also, the third day of waiting for the swell to really kick in. So with school out and lots of
folks off work, in the lineup was the place to be.

And while there were waves, the lulls could last up to half an hour.

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

We missed Tuesday, which of course, every one said was awesome. So we made a point
to get out Wednesday, and we were not disappointed. The waves came much more
frequently and the size had increased noticeably.

Bobby Morris

Adam Rondepierre

The weather had also changed. A storm was moving in, and while it
looked ominous, it was very warm and tropical. The wind was on and
off again, but not a factor. There were fun waves to be had and the
crowds were thinning out.

So it looks like our winter surf has arrived!
A solid week of waves and more on the way.
Viva Goleta.