Cold Start
January 2013 in Goleta was cold, as far as Goleta goes.
And there were plenty of waves. Most every week brought another new swell filling in behind the last, giving locals more than enough surf to keep them in the water.
Vinny Leonelli
Ian Jenkins
Sam Harden
Water temps lingered in the 50’s, and lots of days brought some wind, so hoods became the fashion statement for the season. That statement being, “Damn, it’s cold!”.
Sam Harden
Vinny Leonelli
Ian Jenkins
The new year brought a huge storm out of the far north that had forecaster’s eyeballs popping out of their heads. Huge swells at extremely long intervals were reported, but to their credit, most realized it would not land on the shores of G-Town.
And they were right, for the most part. But we did get plenty of remnants.
With the long period, there could be some serious waits between sets, but if you were patient you would be rewarded. And the bonus was, lots of guys that were checking it came and left before the waves came through. That helped cut down the crowd factor.
This day we found clean sets with only these three guys out.
Ian Jenkins
Vinny Leonelli
Sam Harden
For the less patient, this is where a lot of time was spent. Chasing it.
We heard a lot of reports of epic C-Street, real fun Rincon and tow-ins at Jalama.
But us home bodies stayed right here in the Good Land, and we had plenty to ourselves.
This young lady was taking notes on the boys techniques…
Ian gave her something to write home about…
Vinny was raised on beach break closeouts, so he has no fear of taking it on the head.
Which results in tube time.
Another day, another place. Not so big, but perfect little waves,
and just a handful of buddies out, enjoying it.
Some of the most memorable sessions aren’t about the pumping surf, but more about
the scenery, being a part of nature and the friends you share it with in the water.
If you’ve ever surfed with this guy, you know he’s always one of the happiest,
most stoked people in the lineup.
No matter the conditions, Wayne Rich is having a blast.
Unfortunately, we didn’t capture it, but as this guy rode past Wayne,
he slapped him a high five.
Unidentified, squeezing into a clean little tube.
Here’s to a full year of surf.
Happy 2013.
