StokeReport User Surf Reports

Back in the saddle

marklukach — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:38:37 -0800

I haven't taken photos from the water in almost two months, but tonight turned out to be a very good night to do it. I will be uploading pictures to my blog over the next few days, it was a bit dark but things still looked good. I'm pretty stoked on the picture I've posted here, came out better than I had hoped.

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:04:38 -0800

Oh yeah. I went ahead and gave this morning a "great." Bodysurfed the middle and loved every second of it. Got the longest barrel rides I've ever gotten on my hand plane. There was a crowd in the middle and some serious shredding going on but everyone was stoked to have such fun, clean waves. Wind got on it around 9. Still rideable, but the early bird scored today!

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:50:10 -0800

The anti-Monet out there. Looks terrible from the dunes, but in the water the inside section was about as fun as it gets for bodysurfing. Not a person in sight, I felt I had the whole Pacific to myself. Only a short session with a very high wave count. Looks like this turned out to be a good week for my school to have vacation. Wahoooooo!

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:37:41 -0800

From the lot it looked like a Fair-, but from the water it was more like a Fair+. Some decent outside waves, a bit sectiony and weak but otherwise a fun drop. My buddy who was surfing scored some great drops, while on the handplane I had my fair share of fun walled up waves. The highlight was one wave where I hit a chop on the drop and got some air. The safest thing to do in this circumstance is dive through the face, rather than try to keep riding, which I tried to do...but didn't really succeed. All I know is that I ended up getting ejected skyward by the wave like Goose in Top Gun.

(Submitted via the Web)

Just In Case You Haven't Read Enough About Mavs...

marklukach — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:02:36 -0800

I was at the contest in the morning, and then suffered through watching the webcast for the latter part of it. The constrast between being there and the online broadcast was so striking I had to write more on it at my blog. So, if for some tragic reason you are not outside on this gorgeous sunny national holiday and want some reading to break up your work day, click the link.

King Philip Shipwreck is back

marklukach — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:42:19 -0800

In 1878 the King Philip wrecked just south of what is now Noriega St at Ocean Beach. The remains have been buried under the sand, but every now and then due to erosion, some of the remains are unearthed. I remember seeing the wreck in 2007, and a quick internet search shows that the last time the boat was visible before that was in the 1980s.

Town Hall Meeting on Sloat Erosion

marklukach — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:38:28 -0800

Last night a town hall meeting went down to discuss the erosion at Sloat, and how it can be resolved. Surfpulse has already posted a solid summary of the issue and the different approaches discussed, thanks to them for the quick reporting. The key point to recognize is that the city council is meeting today at 2pm, and it's an open meeting for people to raise their concerns.

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

marklukach — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:05:32 -0800

Bodysurfed some decent waves with the sun going down, slamming pretty hard with little to nowhere to go. Got into some fun barrels but also went over the falls, which my dad on the beach happened to capture on film. Sometimes you get a good one, and sometimes you don't. Nice contrast to Judith's wave at Ft. Point today. There is a tad bit of redemption with the photo below.

(Submitted via the Web)

Town Hall Meeting for Sloat Erosion

marklukach — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:31:42 -0800

Hello one and all stokereporters, whether you be a reporter, a reader, a local, a newbie, whoever you are:

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:45:14 -0800

Today's inside high-tide session didn't materialize like yesterday's. Still some fun ones, but it's pretty sporadic and at times very soft and mushy. Guys on boards getting the occasional good ride, for me bodysurfing was a lot of drop in and get pounded. Only a few that really lined up like yesterday. Still, it was nice to get wet before the rains come and really get us wet, and I also briefly got to chat with @redtim in the water....always enjoy meeting other stokereporters.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:57:28 -0800

Had a fan-frickin-tastic bodysurfing session mid-morning, catching thumping waves on the inside during the high tide. Outside was total mush burger, but the inside was heaving and offering some epic barrels if you were willing to go for it. I had a world-class wipe-out...flew down the face and saw it hollowing out in the most unforgiving way, so I chucked my hand plane and went fetal. My buddy who was paddling back out said he saw me spitting through the barrel curled up like a baby. But beyond the wipe-out some very very very fun waves, looked decent for surfing too.

(Submitted via the Web)

Going Big at Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:01:20 -0800

I have 4 seasons of riding big waves at Ocean Beach under my belt, and as I bobbed around in the water today, I formulated some thoughts on the big wave riding experience. I've posted a somewhat lengthy (1500 word) essay on my blog. The opening paragraph follows.

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:42:55 -0800

I'd give the conditions good, my surfing a Fair-. My head was not into it, and in big surf, that adds up to a whole lot of No Good. Brutal paddle of about 40min at Rivera St, caught one DOH right...decent. Talked to one of the notorious OB Hellmen in the water about not being mentally into it. His words: "f---ing charge it. Take your nuts out of your sack, and go." I did just that on a very big, late left and got obliterated. Free fall down the face, landed and got annihilated.
Now I'm home, nuts back in my sack, nursing my wounded pride.
Powerful waves today, literally and metaphorically.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

marklukach — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:24:57 -0800

I'd have to call the surfing fair, but the bodysurfing somewhere between good and great. I watched OB for a while deciding whether or not to take the plunge, but it just seemed a bit too unruly to be worth it. So I headed down to LM, swim fins and hand plane in tow, and caught close-out after close-out. Very high wave count. Found a little peak in front of the showers that was lining up, but otherwise it was just pull in, hold the line, look at the little green man, and then get thumped into the bottom.
There ain't no cure for the closeout blues like bodysurfing with a handplane.

(Submitted via the Web)

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:03:28 -0800

3 hour session at Noriega from 2:30 till dark. It was incredible and just got better the whole time. The barrels and the light blue water made it look like Indo. So many guys getting shacked. I was out hand planing and had the time of my life. Saw some of the potential Mavs competitors practicing on their big guns, getting ready for the possibility of the contest.
Overall, magical afternoon at OB. This is what this place is all about.
Stoked!

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:03:05 -0800

Decent waves out there. Not a ton of size, and a lot were closing out, but very beautiful conditions. I bodysurfed with a hand plane for about an hour and must have caught two dozen waves, then I swapped out for the camera and got a few pictures. More will be available at the site soon.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:00:06 -0800

Cleaned up nicely with the rising tide. Solid off-shores, lots of hollow waves. Size seems to be dropping quickly. It was a bit inconsistent with long waits, but when the goods came in, they were good. Got a bunch of nice pictures from the session. Gonna go ahead and plug my new site where I will be posting pictures from my water photo sessions: http://surfthisart.blogspot.com.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:35:04 -0800

Beautiful clear morning with the mostly full moon still hanging around. Offshore winds. Swell has dropped a lot...waves look to be headhighish. Tide is killing it. Inside is too jumbled and inconsistent, while the outside is trying but isn't really breaking, and should only get weaker. The higher tide could make the inside work later, or of course there's always the evening session.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

Artistic Renditions of my Surf Photos

marklukach — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:21:19 -0800

I am hooked. I spent all afternoon looking through the pictures I took earlier today, and played with Photoshop to add an artistic edge. Check out the blog for more...9 in total. Taking and editing photos turned out to be a great way to spend New Years Eve.

Water Shots from Noriega St, 12/31/2009

marklukach — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:49:46 -0800

Trying to keep up with the terrific water photography of @citystoke, I threw on my fins and brought out my wide angle GoPro to take some pictures of some very fun and hollow waves today, from about 11-1 at Noriega Street. I've posted a few pictures here, but many more are on my blog. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:55:31 -0800

Back from NYC and eager to get some waves, I paddled for an hour today in the middle of the beach. The wind backed off and it's smooth, but it's really shifty out there. I caught a few waves on the inside, but there were some good looking waves on the outside. Problem is, they were harder to get into than a Jonas Brothers concert.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:55:53 -0800

Fun clean waves this morning in the middle of the beach. Shoulder high for the most sake. First 45min were a total Conveyor Belt* but as the tide filled in, it slowed down a bit. Should be a good day of surf, which I'm grateful for because I leave for NYC tomorrow for a week. As such, it should get really good starting about 7am tomorrow, just as I take off. Happy Holidays to everyone!
*Conveyor Belt = ride a wave, turn around, paddle out, turn around, ride a wave, turn around, etc etc.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:42:52 -0800

Very fun day in the water. Bodysurfed the high tide for about 45 min with half a dozen close-out barrels, and then surfed the late afternoon session as it started working on the outer bar. Really turned on out there, I was surprised because the inner bars got really junky. Gorgeous sunny day with fun waves, so it's hard to not be stoked. I was out demo-ing a Danny Hess board so that just added to the magic of the moment. Good time all around.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:51:56 -0800

Another big wave session at OB. Not as epic as yesterday for me, still had some great waves, but the offshores are blowing hard, the size seems to be up (15ft faces at least), and overall there is more of a sense of power and fierceness in the water. Not for the faint of heart. I got stuck inside twice today, and now my arms feel like jello. The type of stuck inside where you start asking yourself "Why Am I Doing This?" and then the second you acknowledge that question, you force yourself to keep paddling, because this is what we do. Still stoked after scoring some good bombs.

(Submitted via the Web)

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:21:53 -0800

As far as I'm concerned, I just had the session of the year. High wave count (almost a dozen waves), 3-duck dive paddle out (are you effing kidding me?), and 4 epic barrels. Super steep and fast drops, sets at least 2xOH, and lined up waves begging you to bottom turn and fade into the barrel. This is winter surf at its finest. I paddled out at Sloat and drifted to Quintara, shifting from empty peak to empty peak. Lots of great looking rides happening up and down the beach, especially the middle. The pix that were posted earlier...let's just say it looks even better from the line-up. =) STOKED!

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:05:49 -0800

Left the board behind and went bodysurfing at Kellys Cove from around 9-10:30. Had an absolutely phenomenal time. The surf was dumping like the Wedge with meaty, punishing barrels. Had a dozen rides, each one slotting me in for a tube section before closing out. Things were picking up and getting heavy throughout the session. Middle of the Beach looks to be pretty good right now too. Get it before it shuts down!

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:39:16 -0800

From the Gospel according to @duckdive, @st1cker, @cryptomail, etc:
Blessed are the dawn patrollers, for they shall avoid the wind, no matter how unexpected that wind may be, which may show up from the north, bring with it an equally unexpected and dense fog, and make the surf stranger than a David Lynch movie.

Shoulda gone this morning.

(Submitted via the Web)

Offshore or Calm?

marklukach — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:06:41 -0800

I was thinking about this after duck-diving under an outside bomb today and the 10-second monsoon from the offshore spray that followed, and had to open the floor to the Stokereporters.

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:39:43 -0800

Similar to yesterday, with more of everything. Definitely more size (sets double overhead+), much more offshore wind, similar low-wave count due to the difficulty of lining up the waves, stronger current, but more epic.
Snuck through a channel at Moraga and drifted to bombs at Pacheco. Saw a guy way down at Judah, otherwise it was just me. Got one great wave, then took a clean-up set on the head and dragged back to shore. Waves weren't fully top-to-bottom so the poundings weren't as bad as I expected considering the size.
As @cryptomail would put it: I got my one-wave quota, so I'm stoked.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:11:12 -0800

Today was all about the unexpected.
-Paddle was much longer than I had expected.
-Once out, the wait between waves was much longer than expected. Combination of offshores and shifty waves made it very hard to line it up, but I snuck a few bombs in at Sloat.
-Combination of lots of ice cream and turkey over the last few days, thrown in with too much couch time, left me in much worse shape than expected. I'm really tired.

In general, a typical big OB day. Only a few guys out, lots watching from the lot, brutal paddle, shifty, low wave-count, but big and beautiful when you get one.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:24:07 -0800

Swell is building quickly. Sets coming through are solid, very powerful. I was under-gunned, got a few smaller ones but couldn't maintain my speed on the sets. Swell should just keep building too. I scored a lucky paddle, didn't have too much trouble.

The most striking part of the session was the lack of people in the water. There are almost a dozen reports up here from this morning, and yet I had Sloat all to myself for an hour. So much for the "surf reports = crowds" theory...at least on big days.

(Submitted via the )

Are we actually in NorCal?

marklukach — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:45:54 -0800

I noticed today that Magicseaweed has changed Ocean Beach from a Central California surf spot to a Northern California surfspot. Surfline has called us Central California forever. Surfpulse is clear (tagline: Feel the pulse of Northern California surfing), and the boys down in Pacifica who tagged the NorCal surfshop pretty obviously think that we are in Northern California.

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:07:07 -0800

Gotta disagree with the King. 2 hour session at Sloat, and I had a blast. The paddle was brutal, no watch to confirm this, but it felt like it was 30min+. Sure, there was some waiting around for sets, but when the bombs came through they were fantastic. Lots of energy, very walled up with long lines. My last wave took me all the way to the inside, at least a 100yd ride.

Got out as the storm clouds were showing up around 2:30, and the wind. Not too brutal but it seemed to be mushing things up.

Maybe it just looks better when you're coming down the face than it does in the parking lot...

(Submitted via the Web)

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:56:34 -0800

To be brief: it's mind-bogglingly good. Clean, hollow, just a tad overhead. Ocean Beach has become a barrel-factory. For those that are at work, your Monday just got shittier, because you're missing one of the best days of fall.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:26:47 -0800

Not too much to say that hasn't been said. Good waves, overhead at sets, a strange onshore crumble despite the lack of onhore winds. Surfed the Middle from 10-12:30...had to get out twice to walk back to Ground Zero for action. It's not epic but there are some great rides to be had. Pretty glorious weekend for conditions that were supposed to be "between swells." I wasn't the only one finding the random barrel put there.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:51:38 -0800

Very marginal surf. Chest high sets at biggest, no real shape or organization. In general, it looks like summer, and during the summer, you sleep your ass in.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

A Seal Farted On My Friend

marklukach — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:39:12 -0800

I think the title says it all. He left me a voice mail with the whole story. I can't upload mp3's here, so I posted it on my blog. It's absolutely hilarious.

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:52 -0800

I think OB is was about as good as it gets from 10-12. Surfed Noriega, solid 2x with some sets pushing 3x. I think I had the best left of my life out there. Dropped in very steep on a macking set wave, and after getting to the bottom I held a line that slowly faded me up the face and into a barrel the size of my living room. I'm so stoked I'm a bit incoherent.

Wind seems to be picking up a bit, but this morning was a gift from OB.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:14:30 -0800

It's starting to materialize out there. Baby steps are being made. Size is still big, waves are top-to-bottom and look heavy, but there are more makeable shoulders. The way outside mysto-bars aren't breaking. If you like it big and hairy (that's what she said), today could be the day. My surf window isn't for a few hours but I will share a report after I get out, because I'm set on paddling today. Too much watching, not enough surfing lately.

About 4 lines of white water set up a good ole fashioned paddle marathon. Put your hood on for the ice cream headaches that await and have fun.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:30:40 -0800

More of yesterday's slop out here today. It's a bit cleaner, a bit smaller, but the marginal increase in shape doesn't make it surfable.

Another early season big swell appears to have passed OB by.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0800

Surf is big but very jumbled. Waves are folding on themselves, there's the occasional shoulder that you could work but then you'd get crunched by the close-out section. Unfortunately these early season big swells seem to be arriving with a lot of wind out at sea, so they are quite jumbled.

It's always fun to watch big waves break though, especially when the mysto-sandbars are breaking way out at the horizon. And it's sunny, so it's worth coming to watch, just be cautious if you paddle out.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:47:14 -0800

After dilly-dallying through the morning, I finally pulled the trigger and paddled out at Noriega. Paddle out wasn't terrible, but not easy either. There is a lot of water movement and energy out there, although the waves aren't huge, there is power. I had a couple of very fun lefts before lining one up all the way to the inside, and decided to cut the session short to avoid paddling out again.

It was equal parts cool, equal parts creepy to be the only guy out at the Middle of the Beach, on a day with energy in the water, misty fog, and boisterous sea life.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:27:47 -0800

Surfed Noriega this morning for about an hour. There were some promising looking waves, but really difficult to line up the shifty, peaky windswell that is currently in the water. It's always fun to get wet, but it should be more fun in the next few days than what we had out there this morning.

(Submitted via the Web)

Surfing, Surf Reports, and the Internet

marklukach — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:56:12 -0800

I've been surfing for just about half of my life, and although I'm only in my late twenties, my early days of surfing were in the time when the Internet was a strange, foreign concept, like Finland, or McDonald's chicken nuggets. I remember watching the weather obsessively, and making dozens of wrong predictions, getting out of bed at 5:30am to drive to the beach and be skunked with crap, yet to occasionally be paid of with gorgeous dawn patrol surf, relatively alone.

Oil-soaked bird feather found at Taraval St

marklukach — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:27:07 -0800

I was walking my dog this gorgeous afternoon and stumbled upon an oil-soaked bird feather in the tide line at Taraval. First oil sighting at Ocean Beach from the Dubai Star oil spill, as far as I have heard. I doubt that we will now get flooded with oil, but heads-up to one and all as they walk along Ocean Beach. As I'm sure many remember from the Cosco Busan spill, oil stays in your shoes, booties, towels, pretty much everything.

So, a fair warning to everyone out at Ocean Beach to keep your eyes peeled for oil.

great surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:16:31 -0800

If there was a "world-class" category, I would put it. Because literally some of the world's best big-wave surfers were destroying it at Noriega from 10-12 today. I was out bodysurfing, got my fair share of huge bombs, but these guys were off the hook. Surfing boards just over 6 feet, pumping coming down triple-overhead faces, and stalling out into massive barrels. Word is that Greg and Rusty Long were out. I had front-row seats!

If Surfing mag does an article on this, and there's a shot of Greg Long coming down the face and two swim fins sticking out....I'll be proud to claim those as me.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

marklukach — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:24:51 -0800

Fog is finally clearing enough in places to allow us to see the waves. There's size (head high-ish), which should only increase, but it's pretty sloppy and disorganized. I'm holding tight for the falling tide later today, hoping for more organization.

(Submitted via the Mobile Web)

BREAKING - Oil Spill in the Bay

marklukach — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:04:54 -0700

News is trickling out this morning that there is an oil spill in the Bay, about 2 miles south of the Bay Bridge. Boat is called the Dubai Star, early reports is that there is a one-mile sheen of oil noticeable in the bay. Apparently the spill happened during a re-fueling, not necessarily a collision. At least, that's early reports. Not much official reporting yet, but here are links to follow:
SFGate: http://bit.ly/2GNBw8
KTVU: http://bit.ly/2OFbVq

All coverage so far is minimal, and is mostly comparing it to the Cosco Busan spill of almost 2 years ago (Nov 7, 2007).

Staying occupied when the waves let you down

marklukach — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:16:42 -0700

We've all noticed by now that this October has been extremely disappointing. Expecting fall, with so many days of epic surf that your arms fall off, we've instead had spring-like surf, winter-like weather, red tide, sewage spills, etc, and I can count on one hand how many times I surfed this month. WTF.

So I've tried to stay busy in other ways. After breaking a longboard this summer at OB, my wife and I turned the broken board into a home repair project and made shelves for one of our bedrooms. Kept a bit of the surf stoke alive since Mother Nature wasn't providing.

The GoPro video from 4.19 is done

marklukach — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:31:02 -0700

A few days back I uploaded some photos from last Sunday's surf session. I have finally finished doing the video for it. You are welcome to check it out at the link below.
http://harakabaraka.wordpress.com

Hope you enjoy and thanks for watching!