@Johnnysmoke said:
I know, it’s a lot easier to stay in tune with the water if you’re near it, but I think you’d have to get out a bit away from Boston. We’re in Quincy, and all I can tell when driving Wollaston beach is if it’s windy or not, hard to figure out what’s further out. Boston harbor is fairly protected, other than the good old nor’easter, Hull and the islands block a lot of the energy. Maybe Winthrop would be a good spot?
Here’s a surf report from a bit south, can give you an idea of what’s coming up the coast. https://www.prosurfcoaches.com/eyeball-surf-report
The homebreak and 'tasket go off on the same swells and direction. We just have more consistent and better set waves at the homebreak. Last time session, I spent a lot of the time out on the outer reef by myself. No comp for waves. Not that it is a problem in the winter when we rarely have more than a handful of folks (mostly local) out there. Let me know, if you think you want to check it out.
Looks like knee highs forecasted, maybe, for this Saturday. If accurate/true (BIG if), I’ll go play with some longboat surfing again.
We are in the middle of a big pacific winter storm ( big for San Diego anyway). As it was approaching yesterday morning though, there were mild offshore winds and no swell whatsoever. Buoys were reading something like 6 inches. I went out for a SUP paddle up and down the coast in Lajolla. In the winter time I always dive under three or four waves to get adjusted to the “cold” water. Yesterday when I did this, there were no waves so I just dove under and swam for a few strokes and looked up out the water , which was crystal clear, I could see all the way along the surface of the water to what looked like the horizon, I’ve never seen a flatter calmer ocean here, and never had the same optical rush of seeing all the way to the edge of the earth on a sheet of calm, clear blue water. I paddled about three miles and as the storm started to come in some waves came too, and I surfed a bit and waited for the wind and the rain and wasn’t disappointed. It was like watching those old time lapse movies from the 50s and 60s about the changes of nature, It only took about 2 hours to go from dead calm and blue skies to a nice raging rain storm on the water, huge black swirling clouds, and sheets of rain, and turbulence on the water surface. Of course I was the only nut out on the water enjoying the show. Real Californians think they will melt like the Wicked Witch of the East if rain touches them, even when wearing a wetsuit and hood.
@SeaDart I recently moved to Ventura county and laugh at SoCal’s reaction to rain. (im from MN and was in the NE for a couple years so know what real cold and rain is)
I didnt have a jacket or umbrella yesterday and multiple people at my work asked me if I was nuts. It was cool out, but not bad in the office. I also laugh at the ~400 crashes around LA from the rain last week. Its like if the sky is not perfectly blue and dry no one can drive. Just saying, I thought the same thing about the wicked witch and water. lol.
I’ve been out paddling on the weekends and have only seen a couple outriggers besides the surfski friend I paddle with.
Early one morning on the coldest day of the year im going to go out paddling just to blow some minds. People here act like 60* water and 55* air is cold. Silly californians, cold water is solid and cold air turns boiling water into snow before it hits the ground. anything else is balmy
@MCImes Yeah I grew up in the Wasatch mountains of Utah, and have lived in Norway, Michigan, and Wisconsin . So California cold seems pretty funny to me . A couple of years ago during a real cold snap it was snowing on the hill that drops down into Carlsbad CA, people were stopping their cars and getting out to look at the snow. My wife inherited her family’s farm in a very cold valley in Utah; we will be headed back in a few weeks to make sure everything in the the main farmhouse, barns and sheds are OK so far this winter. It usually gets down to -20 F when we are there in January, I love the cold and snow in small doses, but it’s great to come back to my sunny garden and a nice warm, non-solid ocean for a surf.
@SeaDart said:
We are in the middle of a big pacific winter storm ( big for San Diego anyway). As it was approaching yesterday morning though, there were mild offshore winds and no swell whatsoever. Buoys were reading something like 6 inches. I went out for a SUP paddle up and down the coast in Lajolla. In the winter time I always dive under three or four waves to get adjusted to the “cold” water. Yesterday when I did this, there were no waves so I just dove under and swam for a few strokes and looked up out the water , which was crystal clear, I could see all the way along the surface of the water to what looked like the horizon, I’ve never seen a flatter calmer ocean here, and never had the same optical rush of seeing all the way to the edge of the earth on a sheet of calm, clear blue water. I paddled about three miles and as the storm started to come in some waves came too, and I surfed a bit and waited for the wind and the rain and wasn’t disappointed. It was like watching those old time lapse movies from the 50s and 60s about the changes of nature, It only took about 2 hours to go from dead calm and blue skies to a nice raging rain storm on the water, huge black swirling clouds, and sheets of rain, and turbulence on the water surface. Of course I was the only nut out on the water enjoying the show. Real Californians think they will melt like the Wicked Witch of the East if rain touches them, even when wearing a wetsuit and hood.
Sounds like it was one of those “appreciate nature” days.
Funny observation about “real Californians…” LOL! We are in the teens this morning. I checked the cams at dawn. Behold… 3 NE surfers sitting out there on the break, waiting patiently for a waist high “whopper” to catch among the plethora of knee highs. That’s serious fortitude… or DESPERATION!!! Think I’ll pass. Save the gas and wait for the arrival of the storm you just had. It’s in Texas now and will pass through the mid-Atlantic into the ocean sometime in early part of next week. We should see some decent waves from that ocean storm later in the work week. I have time to line up my work schedule…
Last time session, I spent a lot of the time out on the outer reef by myself. No comp for waves. Not that it is a problem in the winter when we rarely have more than a handful of folks (mostly local) out there. Let me know, if you think you want to check it out.