Tag end of the incoming tide greeted the dawn patrollers this morning. Mostly cloudy, not much offshore breeze, fairly peaky, head high, nearly glassy and at best inconsistent. But there were some notable sets throughout the high tide morning. Sets with several clean sliding overhead peaks. Never more than a handful in the water. Both main breaks working – Tortilla Flats and Pyramis. While the day brightened above it dimmed below – without a breeze things got hot midday and the water stayed glassy and mildly clean but got small. Midafternoon low tide was forgettable but the late session was shaping up nicely until the stage went dark and the actors went home. Not much of a sunset but some long streaking shoulders got ridden and maybe there will be more tomorrow.
~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

The six o’clock high tide under clearing skies looked promising but didn’t produce until it started to drop around eight. Bigger set waves well overhead with the occasional top to bottom dumpers scattering the small crowd. Before the wind kicked it around too much there were some sweet long rides and it was mostly peaky and only mildly dirty from recent night rains. Not epic conditions but a pleasant change of pace from the last few sketchy morning sessions. High noon low tide was unproductive but the weather was pleasant; partly cloudy, patchy blue sky, breezy and fresh turning to a dazzling electrical storm instead of a sunset. Intermittent torrential rain with full thunder and lightning accompaniment. The river is behaving. It’s muddy but not terribly swollen. It’s fast and dirty but the mouth is wide and no doubt getting wider. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

Full high tide at daybreak; mushy, not very steep, not very big (still in the four foot range) and while not very inspiring to begin things brightened up as the tide dropped and the sky cleared. Wave angle steepened and people started dropping in. The improvement was short lived however and the bulk of the day was in the basement with the tide low and the wind distressing the already small junky waves. Full high tide just before dark rescued the incoming late session with the wind dropping and the waves cleaning up and building in size. A few nice clean sets finished the day with some overhead walls and fun shoulders setting up for the small crowd of mostly locals. Again, a pale, pastel, creamy, cloudy sunset decorated the the western sky till dark. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

High tide going low, in this case going nowhere. Small, junky surf, mild cloudy weather, no crowds, no excitement to start the day. The day cleared somewhat which helped a little but wave size dropped as the tide rolled out and then the south wind gained strength and the lineup grew squalid and junkier still until everything finally turned around and began to improve with the returning tide so that by early afternoon it was still junk city out there but it was at least a little bigger and a little more worth the paddle out. The odd set contained a nice wave or two. Four or five footers with a chunky shoulder to work on now and then. Another pale but subtle and pretty sunset ended a long day of nowhere beach conditions which at least didn’t disappoint a big anxious crowd. It was a small, unexpectant crowd that was left hoping for a better day tomorrow. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

At least 8 people paddled out for the early shift this morning mainly to celebrate the bright blue sky and golden early morning sun. Surf was not quite head high and mostly closed out. It was peaky and brown and shifting and torn up severely on the inside. The offshore breeze was stiff and the spray was beautiful but looks were deceiving for the morning session hopefuls. Size and shape got hauled out to sea by the ebbing tide while a southern breeze started chopping up the leftovers. There were some finer moments on the incoming tide which filled at 4pm and turned around for the sunset hour, dropping slowly out of sight with the tropical nightfall. When the wind took a pause in the late afternoon the lineup relaxed and some of those roaming peaks cleaned up some and connected a little and while it wasn’t glassy it wasn’t too fuzzy or fractured and a small crowd got treated to some surprisingly nice waves under some softly threatening skies. Overall a fine spring-like day with some acceptable off-season surf and a quiet rosy sunset. Pura Vida! ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

Early morning still dripping after a stormy downpour half the night. Low clouds and brown water and lumpy but rideable surf. Five feet, semi-glassy, far from clean, inconsistent but every set at least one wave would line up just right and stay open all the way to dry sand. Like yesterday – messy on the inside but fairly organized outside. It was all over by eight am. Approaching high tide the waves quit breaking outside and ended up as giant shore break crashing on dry sand. No place for surfers or swimmers or waders or bathers. We’re living with a strange beach configuration. The mid-day outgoing tide session turned a big mess into a smaller mess. Smaller waves but just as windblown and off color and lumpy and fragmented and useless for certain local purposes – beautiful as always but not very surf able. Darkness set in early, mid-afternoon the sky darkened and the mist floated down and before long the rain was steady and the day was done. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

Another crazy shore break morning. Incoming tide fills up the bowl like usual but now the sand is shifted inside leaving the impact zone too deep and the inside too shallow so the waves don’t get steep enough to catch in the impact zone, they just roll through and dump on the inside. In shallow or no water. Dawn patrol this morning had better luck with the incoming tide lower and the waves steeper with fair shape and size; some close to overhead but inconsistent and ragged around the edges. It was a moody and restless day around here. Threatening cloud movement, short lived but intense wind squalls, distant thunder and lightning. The lineup too was restless, changing color from river discharge, from current disturbance, from cloud reflection, from wind chop…winding downhill until the sunset hour which took on a soft buttery glow filtering through mountainous cloud formations. When the darkness came the sky cut loose and we got drenched. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

A rainy night that dribbled into a drippy morning which cleared into a sparkly day. The early high tide scene was still slow with too much water and not enough drop. Handsome at first light the sets were clean and tidy, nearly head high but slow to steepen. Longboard style. Nobody out, longboard or otherwise. A dropping tide all morning meant diminished size and conditions tho not without some fun waves here and there. The sunset hour was soft. Heavy clouds rolled in. The light got dim. And the waves got better. Not great. Fairly glassy at the end and mildly peaky with some strong long sections unfolding. Then it rained. ~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

Again not breaking on the outside during the early morning high tide session. Two surfers out, one at the north end one at the south, both having trouble dropping in. Most waves holding up, not getting steep until it’s too late to get any distance. Nice clean shape otherwise; fairly peaky four footers, consistent and well spaced. A partially clear sky to begin the day and clearing further as the tide dropped. The waves dropped in size with the outgoing tide and conditions decayed with the flowering of the south wind. A pretty choppy afternoon never regained much status before nightfall. The waves were lumpy and bumpy and formless till dark. Then came the rain.
~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com

Early morning low comedy at high tide. With recent sand dredging by currents leaving deep pockets on the outside edge of the lineup and a concurrent buildup of the sand bottom on the inside edge the high tide result is waves not getting steep enough to catch until it’s too late; breaking if at all on dry sand. A half a dozen or so paddlers were out enjoying the early morning sun and waiting for the tide to drop. Mid-morning, mid-tide, there were some scrappy sets, 4′, wind tossed, quite bumpy and yet some fun waves came and went and with another light crowd some not so fun waves just went. Dead low and dim at high noon. Mostly cloudy all day then the squalls arrived. One after another – a blustery wind pulling a fierce black cloud dumping it’s massive load of rainwater for half an hour then moving on. Not much color in the sunset but enough light was available to give great depth and texture.
~Steve at www.jazzysriverhouse.com