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Better than Presents

Better than Presents

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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.

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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.

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The next day, we returned to the same remote location, to find 20 cars at the crack of dawn.

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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.

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Anyhow, it was Christmas, and there were plenty of waves for everyone!

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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.

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Despite the crowd, we still saw some familiar faces.
Goleta local Ralph Brassachio got his share of the goodies.

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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.

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Rick Hayes and Toma Ledbetter got shaka-shakas all day by themselves.

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Bobby Morris got lots of presents at a couple of his favorite spots.

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The afternoon brought a light breeze, but still great conditions and plenty of swell.

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Daniel Durbin giving thanks and praise.

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Some guys aren’t bothered by a crowd…..

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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.

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Bobby Morris

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Rick Hayes again; away from the crowd but right in the slot.

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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.

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This guy milked his last wave all the way into the cove.
What better way to end your day.

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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.

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Pretty sure that’s him.

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And in front of every turnout, there was a scene like this. Beautiful winter waves.

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Our lunchtime tour took us to good old Devereux, where the crowd was thin and
the conditions were perfect.

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Up at Sands  just a couple of guys were out, and the sets were thick and closing out.
But they didn’t mind.

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Oh to be young and invincible….

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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….

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