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When:
Where:
Weather:
Winds:
Surf:
Tides:
Who: |
Sat/Sun,
03/22-23/03
Along the DelMar Coast
Cool air: mid-50s and
sunny; Water-44F
Light, mostly offshore
Waist-Shoulder, some
larger
Low early
Kirk, Chris Smith, Todd,
Paul; Foon reporting from the Bunker; pics by Doug Rhodes |
Tubette
South Bethany |
Friday Night Pre-Report:
Significant Surfage
Whhhooooweeeeeee.
Rolled into Uptown OC tonight on the very tail end of Winter and a clearing
front as it brought winds around offshore. From the moment the hurricane
shutter went up I could hear the fun. As the three quarter moon came up
I could see
it. Waist to chest lines
rolling and peeling with a nice kind of smooth symmetry.
It was dead high at 10 or
so and I was still seeing some top to bottom surfage cleanly breaking 50
yards off shore. AT HIGH TIDE. Our winter sand bars are still in
place will not much of the old beach filling in since February. Local forecasts
call for sunny and warm temps in the 60s. West winds 5-10 and waist to
chest surf. You polar bears should have a great time no matter where
you go in. More reports on Saturday. Low tide is 3 or 4 a. m.
-Foon
This exactly what I wanted to hear... just
not while sitting in the living room. Full on kid duty today as the
wife's team competes somewhere in Jersey. Its good to know that a
few of our boys are down there today making the most of it. Please
provide a late day report with an early Sunday prediction. I plan
to head down tomorrow with Kirk and any other interested folks. I
hope there will be some clean leftovers. This will be my last surf
before Costa.
Neal
Uptown OC Saturday morning.
Dawn patrollers got a real
treat today. Perfect waist to head highs at mid tide with a very gentle
offshore breeze. Within pissing distance of the Bunker balcony (and considering
my prostate that's pretty damn close) one sandbar was throwing up really
nice A Frames that provided longer rights than lefts since the swell seemed
Southish. Nevertheless I saw at least three dozen chest highs peel reasonably
well (with some quick sections) about 100 yards or more. All of North OC
has good sandbar setups. From the balcony I counted at least 6 breaks on
down through 125th that offered good surf with easy paddle outs and enough
lulls to prevent getting
slam dunked. Surprisingly in the entire morning only two guys went out
within sight. One was a skilled and experienced shortboarder who obviously
had not been out all winter. His timing and wave judgment were off, but
once he got a few tune up waves and a couple of flushings he wised up and
had a lot of fun. With the Southward swell there was just a hint of drift
North, not enough to keep you paddling to stay in place, but enough that
if you just sat you'd drift a street or two in 30 minutes or less. It really
didn't matter if you drifted either. One beach break was as good as the
next today. My lone ranger walked back down the beach 4 times in 2 hours.
OC is empty again today, I saw no boards on or in cars during my morning
errand run. Where is everybody? It's sunny and gorgeous on the beach today!
Even as I write this around
noonish with a slight onshore push it's still glassy and rolling. We have
a nice outside break reminiscent of some Outer Banks bars that can roll
all the way in and offer a reform at lower tides. The water is clear clean
and cold. But I logged a toasty 72 degrees on the Bunker Balcony this morning
at 9:00 am while I ate my breakfast and watched one lone rider catch all
the waves he could manage. As of now the swell has dropped a bit but there
are still chest highs on sets. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit cooler
and partly cloudy so wind may not be a factor early. If I was planning
a trip I'd hit it early with the incoming tide. The only uncertainty is
whether the swell will hold up.
Another report tonight about
the afternoon conditions and forecast.
Surf on.
-Foon
Uptown
Lowdown
At dead low tide right now
it is partly sunny and low 60s. The wind never really came up so conditions
remained mostly glassy throughout the afternoon. I stopped by 48th to find
15 guys and gals in the water enjoying a very pleasant waist to chest session.
I finally started seeing cars with boards mid afternoon as many of the
late arrivers started to check several streets in OC. As of now most of
the beaches have experienced a noticeable drop in the swell yet I just
witnessed by way of powerful binoculars two guys getting chest high cover-up
quality waves at 119th. If it's true the swell is dying there could be
nothing in the a.m. But the weather conditions should be ideal for a trip
to the shore. Sunny and West winds are forecast. Worst case scenario is
a nice ride, no waves and a beer on the balcony if you catch me in. The
phone is off until 8;30 by orders of you know who. Low tide is 4:30.
Sunrise a couple hours later.
Should be a nice day downie shore. Another report tomorrow if there's
anything to mention. Rod, do your taxes! There are no waves here for you.
-Foon
Very Comfy
2-4' occ 5- maybe 6'. Lots
of guys out, lots of guys floundering to drop in on hollow but gutless
waves. Was a tiny bit drifty and very inconsistent breaking in all kinds
of places. More later.... water is up to 44. Very comfy (comparatively
speaking).
- Kirk
Red Meat Offered Up
Well after talking to those
who caught it today, I have decided to pass on the Sunday morning session.
Today was the day and tomorrow wont offer much. Even BW is indicating
1-3 at dawn and nothing by afternoon. It would be a good bunker beer
day but It would also be a good day to take the boys fishing. I hear
the blue gills are biting which is a load of fun for the 5 and under crowd.
I guess my next wave will be of Latin American origin. Spent the
sunny day de-waxing the boards and seeding the lawn.
Foon - I appreciate
the time you put in on the balcony for our surf reports. What's your
favorite cut of steak?
Neal
Report Saturday, Hope You Got Some!
Caught Henlopen hotel around
11:30 am, waist to chest right tubes breaking out beyond the jetties with
the occasional short left into the jetty. Really as good as Rehobeth as
I've ever seen. Light to no apparent offshores cleaning the faces, bright
sun. Some of the more hardy of our group even had to take their hoods off
part of the time! Broke consistently great for 3 hours and was still great
when we had to get out since we could no longer move our arms! Days like
that make it all worthwhile...
paul
Saturday...
I wonder how we didn't see
you guys! Chris Smith, Todd, and I hit the Henlopen Hotel around 8:15am,
and it "looked" really great from the parking lot. Waist-chest+ barrels,
not really long lines, but pretty clean. The tide was a little low, which
made it a little drifty, and the wind was weird. At one point it was offshore,
then later it came onshore for awhile...?...we surfed the main jetty and
two others before settling on the main jetty and trying to get it wired.
A lot of other guys were
out at the next jetty south, their sessions appeared to be like ours---lots
of paddling for waves that didn't ever *quite* break. Still, we all got
some nice fun rides, and Chris got some screaming rights on his longboard.
I learned that
my new 7'4" (which, at 20.5"
x 2.5" has about 1/2 the total volume of my 7'8") paddles kind of like
a shortboard in that you have to kind of pick your spot and wait for "your
wave" to come to you. There's no paddling 20 yards to pick off a shoulder,
not in the
powerless waves we surfed
in.
We saw a lot of guys come
and go (most of them frustrated) while we were there, but I don't think
I've ever seen a weaker hollow wave. Totally gutless. Once the tide filled
in about 11:30am the drift finally quit, but the surf got pretty inconsistent
and breaking kind of close to shore. We also had total spaghetti arms.
The sets (shoulder high+) still occasionally came through NICELY, which
is probably what Paul was referring to.... I think you guys got the benefit
of the wind too. Mitchell from DE said something about the air temp/water
temp differential causing onshores on spring mornings.... guess he was
right?
All in all a fun session
with some decent rides and pleasant water temps (44!!). Capped it off with
a visit to Doug's beach casa in Bethany--the post-surf hospitality was
a huge bonus! Free beers, snacks, and a place in the shade to hang out
and warm up!! Hard to beat that!
Water temps are just starting
to climb, so all you 3/2 owners should be back in the water in another
4-6 weeks once it climbs up around 50.....
One more session until Costa.....
-Weekday
Uptown Last Call LCL
Another sweet day weather
wise but even the early risers were faced with a brisk North West breeze
that rippled the long crumbling lines (LCL) that stretched the entire
length of uptown OC. A two hour observation put the very biggest wave at
waist high with most barely breaking. It was pretty though. In the doldrums
of summer every one of you would have been on it just to practice catching
slow crumbly surf and the occasional floater or punch through rail grab.
Paddle outs would be dry headed and falling off would have put you in thigh
high water. Nice as it is down here I guess I'll have to go back tonight.
I didn't win the Powerball
AGAIN! Having read Paul's and Kirk's reports I am envious of their pluck
and equipment. I'm not sure I would have lasted three hours though. Maybe
two with an hour break in between. Looking forward to breaking out my 3/2
as early as possible so long as the conditions were as nice as yesterday.
Definitely worth the discomfort.
-Foon
Saturday... Reply
I think we might've seen
you... there were three guys that left soon after we got there. I was the
unfriendly guy on the big-assed Bic, Mike was the unfriendly guy with the
Aqua colored HP Harbour TufLite thing, and Paul was the unfriendly guy
with either the blue and white SurfTech longboard or the bait... I mean
"fun" fish.
The unfriendliness is a defense
mechanism that is a result of our getting vibed out all fall and winter
by unfriendly locals whose snickering at equipment and ability has really
gotten old. I quote: "Pffft". One ******** stands out in particular.
The borrowed 10' log I'm
currently riding was PERFECT for yesterday. Two and three strokes and I
was up. It apparently got kind of obnoxious for my companions. Poor guys.
Pulling my hood down kept me comfortable, except when I got stuck on the
inside, which wasn't much.
Plenty of looong nose rides
on Saturday will make me smile all week.
Mark V. |
