StokeReport User Surf Reports

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:01:26 -0700

Stopped at LM to survey the mess. Didn't look so hot. We took the scenic tour of the local backroads and found progressively better conditions as we meandered southward. Picked a good-enough spot and found a WH peeling right that kept on giving. Pretty fun!

Overcast, occasionally breezy. Nobody else in the water.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:41:57 -0700

This is a late post from my early am session. Quite a bit bigger and wilder than yesterday. Wind was up a bit too. Still plenty of zippy low-tide leftiness to enjoy. A few more people in the water, but plenty of waves (and mega-close-outs) to go around.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:15:27 -0700

I got an early start on the morning, took a peek and passed on SMLM. I headed south toward one of the off-the-grid spots which looked good enough to give a taste-test. The waves were CH, heavy, and pounding./dredging right a the edge of a sandbar. I had my ass served back to me on a paper plate. Decided to trek back up toward LM and paddle off the shame. To my surprise, I found a nice glassy WH peeling left. The fog even cleared and let the sun come out. Pretty damn fun.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:47:40 -0700

Pretty windy down here. Found a spot that should have been totally blown-out, but wasn't. Plenty of chop, but there were waves. Shifty. Larger sets were SH (and remember I'm a giant, that might be HH to you). Worth the paddle.

Sun, whale spouts in the distance. No human beings in the water ('cept me).

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:08:54 -0700

Some bumps coming from the west at one of the points over yonder. Pretty shifty, but when they lined up, hoo-wee.... fun stuff. Pretty long lulls, but that's when you could be learning cribbage.

Occasional HH drops into long CH lines. Sunny. No wind during our early shift, but it picked up as we left.

Observed: crowds.
also observed: a baby otter. so cute!

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:35:09 -0700

Poorplus or fairminus... hard to say exactly. Things that worked: offshore breeze, sunny, a little bit of swell. Things that didn't: low tide at the closeouty-spot, chilly, long lulls... We went in, caught a few short drop-&-bail closeouts, then paddled toward a spot that was working. By the time we got there, the beach was empty (another plus), and that spot was indeed working. Found a few fun lefts.

Walking back toward the lot, we saw a big pile of meat. Yep, the head was ripped right off, as was most of the skin/fur/blubber. What is so damn tasty about those pinniped heads?

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:33:32 -0700

Very little of the good stuff we found yesterday. Cleaned up quite a bit between 6:30 and 9 even though the breeze turned onshore a bit. The sun popped out for a little while... maybe it'll stick around. Sampled the goods at a few spots along the beach and found some fun moments. You will too!

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:46:54 -0700

Oh hi. Pretty fun this morning, huh? Those WH-CH peelers were indeed a blast. Almost glassy at times. Yeah, pretty crowded... but heck. Worth it. I certainly had fun. You looked like you snagged a bunch of fun ones... Good for you!

overheard: "it doesn't get any better than this"
overheard: "I've surfed this beach 30 years and this is the best I've seen it."
overheard: "Is that a loon?"
overheard: "lergy and gurch be damned!"

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:12:14 -0700

Your choice: small, occasionally hollow waves breaking on rocks... or SH, drop-and-dive-for-cover close-outs. Both under sunny skies and nearly no breeze... What do you do?

Curious what it'll be like once the tide comes back.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:29:20 -0800

Pretty fun out there this morning. With the breeze dialed back a bit, the chop calmed down and some of these bumps had a chance to stand up and do their thing. The tide was right to set up a few WH-CH peaks which peeled in each direction. Pretty fun stuff. By 9, the size dialed up a bit and the crowds were starting to grow. The sun/sand was so nice I wanted to nap on the beach post-session... maybe next time.

observed: a few CG helicopters circling LM, RW, and Mori Point. Anyone know what was up?

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

good surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:24:31 -0800

"Drizzly otter picnic under a rainbow." Everything in that statement is fact, truth. Except for the rainbow. It was a little too cloudy for that. Oh, the waves? Funny you should mention that. Yeah they're there. A little warbly at times. We paddled over to that one point and caught a few oh-gonna-remember-this-for-a-while waves... the other spots were more modest, chest-high. But the lulls... looooong lulls. Better to enjoy the otter company.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:08:21 -0800

I got a late start because of the bleeping bridge again and it probably worked in my favor as the tide came up. Pretty mixed up out there still, but there are moments to zig and zag into some fun steep stuff. WH-CH, with occasional HH closeouts. Some chop though barely any breeze. Lots of sun.

overheard: "Strategy won't work. Let's just paddle out."
overheard: "luck of the Irish"

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:29:17 -0800

Sunny, light breeze, and steady WH mush. A few ridable nuggets in the mix (thus the plus), but you gotta put up with some stuff. Needed a get-wet and got it.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:29:23 -0800

Fun in the sun this morning as we toured the highs and lows of the one side of town. We saw and slid down the steep OH peaks at that one point (just before those peaks slid onto us). We slid along a few fun CH ones at somethingoranother street. Then we let the current carry us (for freeeeeee) to some other spot near our cars which had some long peely fun action. Took a wave too far and ended up getting pushed around yet another corner, but I was ready to get out. Had to paddle waaaaay back around... and well... you get it.

Conditions were mixed: there's a fair amount of warble on those faces. Bit of a crowd at points. Barely a breeze though, sunny. Fun.

I was denied my pastry of choice this morning. They were "out" yeah right.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:22:09 -0800

Swell has dropped a bit but there are some fun ones out there. A bunch of waves with a bunch of friends is not a bad way to start the day.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:05:01 -0800

Wow. Lots of smiling folks paddling around, but I think there were even more waves than people. Beauty-eous HH+ lining up all along this little neighborhood of the coast. Peelers that go on and on and onnnnnn... the paddle back to the take-off-zone was loooooooonnng (and totally worth it).

Caught a looooong sectiony wave from ### to ### (is that vague enough?). Saw @T blast across a steep pumping wave and land gently in the impact zone just before a realbig set steamed through. Boom! At least it pushed us back to the parking lot.

Sun, hardly a puff of breeze... Wow.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

greacen — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:06:47 -0800

Checked a bunch of spots from Pacifica down through HMB. Not a whole lot happening, unless you like wild whitewater and dumping close-outs. Settled on something small and somewhat glassy and found a few moments of fun.

Sunny, offshore breeze, not-too-chilly!

observed: Some folks suiting up at a cove that seemed pretty hairy. Are you reading this? Did it work out?

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:54:24 -0800

Small bumps coming in. The ones that don't just crumble and die all seem to jack up and immediately collapse. Face-time for the lucky.

Beautiful morning though. Breeze is offshore.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:18:46 -0800

Fun stuff out there this morning. WH-CH peelers, occasionally walled-up. Not a lot of wind, but the ocean was a little bumpy. Lots of smiling faces.

observed: MOON!

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

good surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:33:59 -0800

Quality, not quantity. Pretty dang fun in the sun tho. HH+ on the larger sets. A little texture on the water but barely any breeze. The crowd was in good spirits too... LOTS of smiles. Calling it G- because it could still be better, and you need a little minus-y doubt, don't you.

Observed: a flight of cormorants swimming around.
Overheard: "I need to lose 50 lbs."

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:28:15 -0800

Remarkably junky this morning with the low tide. Possibly getting better as it rises tho. Couple of fun moments tossed in there just to tease. Go see for yourself.

overheard: "the sandbars are crap."
observed: fog

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:44:43 -0800

Enjoyed the last few moments of this swell. Bye bye. More riptide madness and ob-junior currents to paddle against. Mostly WH breaking on each side of the rip. Found myself in the right place at the right time (a couple of times) and called it a day.

Moderate offshore breeze. Sunny! Not a whole lot of people in the water.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:55:42 -0800

Smaller than yesterday, but still pretty fun. WH-CH peelers. Breezy, but offshore. Southbound current reminiscent of a mild day at ob, kept the arms flapping. Funky rips kept me on my toes. Sunny!

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:32:20 -0800

Moments of glassy glory tucked between whopper close-out sets. SH-HH The tide is helping. Overcast, light offshore, small crowd. brrrr

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:29:12 -0800

Something breaking at all the usual spots on the beach. Breezy, sunny, choppy... couple of quick rides... couple of steep thumpers... WH-CH hardly any crowd. Would do it again.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:41:28 -0800

You know the drill-- big thumping close-outs as the tide dropped. A few shoulders/faces/rides for the bold. Mostly drop and dive tho. The sun, and beautiful windless morning almost pushed it into the fair range. I'd do it again.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:27:25 -0800

Deliciously grim conditions this morning: overcast, howl-y offshores, rain, and oh yes- the weekend warriors came out to play. Plenty of HH closeout dumpers of course (it's SMLM for chrissake), but in-between were some really fun WH-SH zippy faces. I had a blast.

observed: a grown man put his wetsuit on inside out, chasing an unwaxed board with no fins as it blew across the parking lot.
also observed: amazing churning barrels off Pedro Point.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:16:51 -0800

Lots of dumpers but plenty of zippy WH-CH face-time if you found yourself in the right place at the right time. Sunny. Windless. Heck, I'd do it again.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:27:07 -0700

Hi. Long time no see.

Hit the usual spot this morning and found some unusual things: Sunny but foggy above us. Glassy but choppy surfaces. Small but big waves. Found plenty of fun moments while riding a surprisingly persistent south current. Seemed to get a little better as the tide filled-in (as seen from the parkinglot). Beautiful morning.

Observed: BIRDS!! OMFG SO MANY BIRDS.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:44:19 -0700

Bootsy Collins would have been very comfortable out there because it was FUNKY. Plenty of chop at the bottom of low-tide. Got some push as it started to rise again. Plenty of chances to find the FUN in the FUNK.

observed: @t attacking a very large wave on that stubbthing.

also observed: that grom was killing it on the inside.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:22:13 -0700

If you like zipping through sections of shoulder-high munchers in 1ft of water on a 10' log, this is the place for you. Kinda reminded me of my skimboard days back on LBI... Even with the mixedupness of the waves, the youknowwho sniffing around out there, the sand in my wetsuit, and the overcastness, I had some fun.

Got a little lamer/tamer as the tide came up.

overheard: "See? Surfing IS a hopeful sport. I hope it gets better tomorrow"

observed: a bird splashing. that was JUST A BIRD DAMMIT. A BIRD.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:29:53 -0700

I saw glass early, but by the time I got into the water, the wind (and texture) had come up a bit. Some fun stuff out there. WH-SH zippyness through the chop. Kinda crowded at times, but still plenty to go around. Trending better as I hit the road.

SUN!

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:31:38 -0700

Ocean lady: you cray-cray. You serve up hoppers, bombers, whoppers, dumpers. Wind man: you cray-cray too. Why you blowin up all this junk? After 2 hours soaking in it, now I cray-cray too: because that was FUN. I'd do it again and again.

Stokereport: Birthday!

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:49:36 -0700

Full-on good for a little while: glassy shoulder-high peelers with plenty of carvable faces. Oh man. Very fun. Kinda peetered-out (no, not peters-out like the recent GWC story) after a little while. Wind came up and brought some texture and funk. Still, a wavey breakfast of awesome.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:00:26 -0700

I guess it wasn't that hot really. But with moments of glass and sun, we could ignore the closeout whoppers. Making the most of the 'riptide is your friend' lesson, we found a few moments. Would do it again.

observed: a flock/gaggle/school of SUPs tearing it up

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:31:35 -0700

Looked like poor+ (the gentleman's F) from the lot: some energy coming in, but very disorganized. Mostly closed-out yet there was kind of a crowd in the water. I went in and found some SH-HH drops in front of a whomp of closeout. Paddled down toward that end and found a right that gave some good face and kept on giving. Real fun. Maybe even fair+ fun. At 9, the beach emptied and @t and I practically had the place to ourselves.

Sunny, warm. Kinda hazy. NO wind; flags pointed straight down.

overheard: "hard to leave the beach." Indeed.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:10:48 -0700

Found a few fun loggy waves this morning. Mostly KH-WH peelers, occasional sets in the CH range.

Sunny. Startlingly clear water. Light winds that didn't mess up the action too much.

Didn't want to leave the beach. Looked like it was getting better.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

greacen — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:02:55 -0700

Hit a spot that's not in my usual SM repertoire (because the rest looked liks crrrrrap) for a solo session (only car in the lot, only one in the water) and found waves with decent size and oomph. Plenty of chances to practice making a steep drop, turn, and scoot. The ocean was jumbly and lumpy, very disorganized. Still, there were a few large-ish (SH+) bumps that came through. Pretty fun if I lucked into the right position.

observed: 2 of the hugest dolphins I've ever seen.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

greacen — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:55:01 -0700

Overcast and breezy. Every once and a while, something would punch through and deliver a drop and quick ride. Not a whole lot happening, but for me, worth the get-wet after a few days out of the water. Could get a little better as the tide comes up a little bit.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:44:14 -0700

Pretty fun morning even for a pretty low tide. Caught a few knee-slappers on the mild side with the Bernal Real Estate moguls. Then we paddled up the beach a bit to find some real fun zippy rights. The weekenders and grom-schoolers arrived by the time we had our fill.

Very sunny, very nice day to be on the beach. Go do it.

overheard: "C'MON!"

@waveglider, I got that number. will email you.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:32:14 -0700

Overcast and breezy this morning. Plenty of energy sloshing around out there. Even the mild-side had some SH-HH stuff rolling through at times. Plenty of warble, these waves hit all the points in the mushy to meaty spectrum. Still, found plenty of long lefts that dropped me into a frothy, salty wakame salad.

observed: jellyfish. Lots of them.

Cherry fritter.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:46:53 -0700

WH with occasional SH stuff coming through. Crowd was friendly and small-ish... Plenty of fun loooooong rides rolling through. Worth the price of entry.

Overcast, low-ish tide, a little texture from a slight breeze.

Pastry explosion afterward. Still brushing off the crumbs...

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:08:51 -0700

It's a mess, really. A mess of sunny, messy waves. Lefts that worked better to the right, rights that should have gone left... Occasionally glassy, always warbly... Still pretty fun though. Always be charging.

observed: stealth coconut.
observed: @gamed! Great to see you!
overheard: "Your life is one cheech away from a Cheech & Chong movie."

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:11:39 -0700

Sunny, not a lot of wind, a beautiful morning. I played the drop, turn, and get buried by a closeout game for a bit. Then took a walk on the mild side. Worked ok even with the low tide. I know it shouldn't but it almost seemed to clean up as the tide dropped...

Also, someone found your keys.

Drove down the coast on my way into the office this AM and here's my 1-sound report for each spot I checked:
* meh
* pfft
* blech
* yawn
* meh

You're not missing much.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:55:46 -0700

Was a pretty low tide for a Bloomsday morning. Everything was looking pretty kelpy. Hit a few of the long kneehigh rights (long lulls, lotsa folks), then peddled over to a few fun drops on a lesser peak of the bigger break. Real fun.

overheard: "W00t! Now THAT's COWELLS!!!"

overheard: "What's that smell?"

Post-pastries: Morning bun, Croissant. Traffic on 17 was AWFUL.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:08:52 -0700

Welp. Plenty of good stuff this morning. Here's just a brief sampling:
* waves. plenty of them. long lulls between the sets, but real nice when they arrived. WH-SH. One HH+ set that bombed through.
* meeting lots of familiar faces: @tracey, @nicoleslaw, @cali, Matt, Debbie
* @nicoleslaw's first few waves on her new stick
* momma otter playing with baby otter (awwww)
* dolphins!
* TWO morning buns AND a sticky bun (ok, I'll skip lunch)
* conducting some business via phone on the drive back over the hill (what did we do before cellphones?)

Overcast. Windless. Fun Fun.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

greacen — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:07:10 -0700

Checked a few places to the north and they were a mess. Headed south and saw a few cleanish bumps here. @t and I were the only ones out when holy cow, a few SH clean sets came through. Then a long pause, then a few more. Steep drops, quick bowly sections over shallow water. Real fun. Given the dismal scenes earlier on the drive, this exceeded expectations.

No time for post-pastry.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:33:17 -0700

Solo knife-sharpening session this morning. Yeah, Linda Mar at low tide isn't so hot. Here's what made today worth it for me: cross-steppy practice on zippy little peelers, suicide-drop practice on the occasional set that blew through, paddled through at least 5 rips up and down the beach, checked all the sandbars on the beach (don't worry, they're ok), watched and hooted at a few groms as they WENT for it (w00t!). Was gonna call it poor plus, then got a few that pushed the session into overtime (just one more wave like this please).

Beautiful morning. Bring your log.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

greacen — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:19:39 -0700

Hit the road by a few after 5 and made it down in record time. The tide was still pretty dang low, but we decided to head toward the 41st St. parkinglot and see how things looked. They looked fine. They looked nice. They even looked kinda whomping at moments. We suited up and went for it. Lineup was kinda crowded, kelp was thickest in all the wrong places... but those waves were super-fun. T was all over it. N took her time getting used to her brand new board. B carved his initials all over those things. I caught one of those top-10-gonna-remember-this-wave-for-the-rest-of-my-life waves. #stoke++

WH-CH+, glassy, almost no wind (offshore puffs), sunny. Everyone is smiling.

Epic morning bun and 4xlatte to seal the deal.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

greacen — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:04:40 -0700

We went for that pre-storm window. Some fun stuff out there this morning. KH-WH into the breeze. Kinda mushyswampy shoulders, but plenty going on for the loggers. Very chilly water good for "making ice-cold lemonade"

Overheard: "we'd be drier in the water."

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)