StokeReport User Surf Reports

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:03:39 -0700

Much better than I thought the low tide would be. It's small, there are looooooong lulls, but with winds are southerly and things are clean. You're gonna want plenty of foam to cruise the soft thigh-waist high waves and the water's a rather funky brown so you're gonna want to avoid gulping any down. Fun enough for me, the whales took a pass and headed south.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:26:41 -0800

Small and clean this morning with light offshore winds. There are long lulls, but some fun shoulders and plenty of sunshine to soak up. Took my 7'4 out for a practice day and was still able to get a handful I'm happy with. Other folks might prefer more foam to accomodate for the Waist high waves and the soft high tide.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:04:56 -0800

It's cleaned up quite a bit from earlier in the week. There is swell, it's not junky, but expect closeouts and long lulls. Swinging wildly from Knee-Chest high to Chest-Head. Workable with patience.

Sun's out. Light winds. Froggies singing over in the marsh.

I've got a warm fuzzy layer of extra stoke this morning after dusting off a board that's been sitting in a corner for well over two years. A friend gave me the board when I'd only been surfing maybe a year and a half. It's a floaty 7'4 round-tail thruster. In fact, this is the very board I took out the first time I ever surfed with Greacen (my log was in the shop.) I flailed around on that board so hard. Every wave I got I pearled. I was really surprised he kept surfing with me. I was terrible. After a particularly kooky day, I put the board in the back of the rack and decided to focus on the basics on my log before trying again. Today I tried again. I was expecting to burn a day but turns out the board is kinda fun now that I've got half a clue how to use it. It was nothing pretty (I was rocking newborn-deer style pretty hard,) but hooray for slow and steady improvement.

(Submitted via the Web)

Isurus I-Evade: Durability Review

tracey — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:55:05 -0800

I get questions about my Isurus all the time. “Those guys are local, right?” “Yup, they’re local” “Is it warm?” “Very warm.” “Is it light?” “Very light.” “Yeah, but how well is it gonna hold up?” “I’ll let you know in a year.”

Now, almost a year later, I can tell you with some confidence how well it holds up.

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:52:35 -0800

After two weeks dry, I picked up a double session today. Fair in the morning with no wind, good shoulders holding up, and long mellow waist high waves. Fair- in the afternoon, deteriorating with the tide. Still pretty smooth and clean with no wind, lots more pep and push, but more clouseouts. Waist-Chest high with some larger waves hiding in sets. Both sessions were plenty fun with pretty reliable sets (after lulls.) Holiday crowd was all bunched up waiting for who-knows-what, so I had a little room to breathe. I'm stoked.

Oh and my personal stoke-influenced rating would be a Fair++. Reined it in to Fair sliding to Fair- (and probably well into poor- by now) for those of you looking for something more objective than: "YAY!"

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:40:30 -0700

I got there late and stood in the fog watching closeout after closeout. There were big booms from somewhere I couldn't see and a hugh pack huddled up in the place I could see. Slowly the fog lifted and around the time the morning shift was packing it up, a Fog Bow appeared. What was closeoutcity fogfest became sunny prettyworkableville. There's some size out there for sure, things swing wildly between waist high and just above shoulder high. There were still plenty of closeouts but also a good bit of fun. I have lots of sand in my ears, but overall happy with the morning.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:58:47 -0700

I'd forgotten what it was like to squeeze lemonade out of stone cold closeouts. Hooooo ouch. There were makeable open face rides hidden away in the wash, but it was still a lot of thumping, grumping, and fog. Everything from Shoulder High closeout to Waist High mushjunker. As I left, it looked like more tide was helping with the close out problem, but swamping things entirely. Bring low expectations and plenty of sugar.

(Submitted via the Web)

Saw "The Art of Flight" Tonight. Giving it a good+ [video]

tracey — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:04:23 -0700

I know you've seen the trailer. It's been posted on Stokereport what, three times now? There was a little bitty screening of it this evening and thanks to the always generous Chezwhitey, I got to watch this film.

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:21:05 -0700

Looked better than I'd expected and, given that I was taking a very long scenic route back from a way too early client meeting, I gave it a go. Surprisingly not awful. I've surfed way worse. Wasn't junky, wasn't too closed out, it wasn't all that bad it just wasn't all that great. The sun was out a while and there were even a few moments the onshore winds stopped blowing and I got a couple smooth waves in. huh. Thank you, o ocean, for a little bit of something in an otherwise desperado session. Worse as I was leaving, but hey, less crowded for you late afternoon desperados.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

tracey — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:37:20 -0700

Every time I get a little air on a longboard it tends to be accompanied by a considerable amount of surprise. Usually me getting air on a 9'4 means something weird is going on. Something weird was def going on at the SMOTspot I was at this morning. LOTS of backwards reflection jacking the waves up to pretty steep closeouts. Today's surprising air move was brought to you by me catching an outgoing wave while paddling out, ramping the incoming closeout at pretty good speed, and launching myself back into the lineup. If you want exciting, ungraceful chest high waves, they're out there. If you want something a little cleaner, spend more time hunting.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:59:24 -0700

Little windy, little bumpy, plenty crumbly with the typical amount of closeouts and wash. Waist range with a few chest high waves. Rideable, but more suited for the desperado temperament. I had fun, saw other people have fun, but you may very well not have fun.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Other

tracey — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:14:15 -0700

Spent a lot of this morning on the bottom of the sea contemplating life and how I was going to get the sand out of my ears later. ("Never" might be the answer to the ears question.) SUPER funky, jumbled, but with some rideable shoulders that jacked into booming closeouts. G got some cruising big ones. I mostly got wash. Wind not as blustery as other spots I checked, but waves not any cleaner. Sigh.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Marin - Bolinas

tracey — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:16:09 -0700

Plenty small and foggy this morning. Thigh high set waves that slowly got a little glassier and held up a little better. Certainly not epic, but all I was looking to do was help my little bro catch some waves so I was pretty happy. For a while the lineup consisted of G noseriding every little peeler that came along, my bro stoked as he caught some fun mellow waves, and me trying out a 7'0 stubby longboard I got last week. Not bad. Although I'm not sure I'd recommend the hike unless it was your birthday, you had at least a 10'0 board, or you wanted to be really late for work. :D (sorry G!)

(Submitted via the Web)

When the wind is up on the Indiana Coast

tracey — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:04:31 -0700

I've made it no secret that I'm from the midwest. I grew up in cornfield in Michigan. A few years ago folks moved to a stretch of the coast of Lake Michigan known as the Indiana Riviera.

In 2009 I was fortunate enough to be home during a good windy stretch and was able to surf. It was little and sloppy, but the wobbly tiny rides were fun and I'll surf knee high waves any day.

poor surfing conditions at Marin - Bolinas

tracey — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:10:05 -0700

Happy 4th! Went up north for a little parade and picnic action. Waves were rideable, but barely. Thigh high rogue waves and knee high sets. Warm, sunny, friendly. Ditched the wetsuit a while. Surf was poor+ barely there, but summer was good+ in full force. :D

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:58:40 -0700

Crowded, thumping, looked like a mess from the lot but MAN did I have fun. Picked off some good sized waves in the Leftorium with frequent waist high waves rolling through. Plenty of waves held up on the inside right into the closed out shorebreak. WHOMP. Rest of the beach looked like Chest-Head high angry wave soup. A few people were working it for all it was worth though, saw some great rides on the occasional clean shoulder.

Other than that, friendly folks, sunshine, picnic on the beach.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:04:03 -0700

Winds are blowing just right to get those little knee-waist high waves peeling. Little slow, but not too shabby. Fun with foam, patience, the usual things. Also fun with giant pastries.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:46:33 -0700

Moments of glimmering hopefulness and long grueling spans of closeouts. Waist-Shoulder high corners looked obtainable, but mostly mushy to pitching to mushy to pitching waves. G snagged some nice ones. I grumbled about picking my less foamy board and spent the session hacking up bits of seaweed after drop and wash rides. Sun's out, winds were light, a better tide could make things more enjoyable.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

tracey — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:21:00 -0700

LM was looking pretty sloppy so we went on a SMC break tour. Not a lot happening out there. Cleanest at the usual small wave spot. I was sporting some awesomely fluffy slept on hair and went for the paddle out anyway despite tiny tiny waves. Was actually pretty fun in a small wave laughing at yourself kind of way. Saw G steal quite a few long rides from those hungry looking knee high closeouts. He got the wave of the day for sure. Bring foam, optimism.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:25:50 -0700

Sunny, shifty and a bit lumpy out there. Mix of knee to chest high waves. Some nice clean little corners for fun long rides and plenty of slow soft closeouts. Handful of folks out. Was shaping up a little with the tide change. North current on the inside, south on the outside.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:58:30 -0700

Sunny, warm, and a little crowded. Some April-fools style chest high waves that look like they are dead set on going left, only to hold up right. Few whopper++ close out cleanup sets coming through. Nice warm offshores. Hard to leave the warm sunny sand for the office.

(Submitted via the Web)

Jumping into Powder [video]

tracey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:21:17 -0700

I've been stoked all morning watching this vid. Some friends of mine were up at the cabin this weekend and got restless waiting for 80 to open. This is how they entertained themselves.

Waterspout at Ocean Beach [video]

tracey — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:02:11 -0700

I'm sure now that I've posted this sick vid of a waterspout punting airs, kook waterspouts from out of town are gonna crowd the peak. :(

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:03:11 -0800

Fair--/poor++ Started out looking pretty closed out and unpleasant. Took a little surfari around the beach trying a number of peaks. The waves that held up were surprisingly good. I got some long long lefts. Ranged from mellow knee high to solid shoulder high. Course the shoulder high ones were the ones looking to close out right on ya, but I managed to get a nice unintentional bodysurf out of one of them.

Sun came out as I was leaving, sadly pumps also turned on as I was leaving. Ew.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:11:59 -0800

Mellow bite sized waves out there with plenty of sunshine. Several peaks working to spread the crowd out. Waist high lefts and rights holding up. Bring some patience tho, little bit of a wait between those gems.

(Submitted via the Web)

good surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:16:02 -0800

Windy and really dang fun. Waist-shoulder high waves with some larger ones here and there. Surprisingly clean and with a little bit of zip and a little bit of punch. Super fun with the longboard but enough steepness the shortboarders weren't left out in the cold. Was expecting storm slop so I'm beyond stoked. :)

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

tracey — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:40:32 -0800

After two weeks out of the water for this work trip, I found myself with a nice day off and a need for some super mellow sunshine waves. Yeah, it was small (around knee high with some waisties rolling through) and yeah it was slow (naptime on the longboard) and yeah at one point I was on the inside staring at a firing squad of softops ready to run me down...but it was still pretty dang fun.

(Submitted via the Web)

San Francisco - Other, Portugal

tracey — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:23:32 -0800

I'm chilling in Portugal for some very exciting (not exciting) work functions. So far I spent a few days relaxing in Cascais (waiting patiently for my luggage and wetsuit to arrive) and a few days working in Lisbon. The coast in Cascais was stunning and supposedly has a few decent surf spots. I found mostly rocks and one wave working over those rocks in Estoril.

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:44:13 -0800

Fun out there although a little inconsistent. Waist high and holding nice through "wtf, you've got to be kidding"-sized closeouts with plenty of lulls in-between. Zippy and sunny with a crowded but good spirited lineup. Happy New year. :D

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Other

tracey — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:31:15 -0800

Inconsistent and a little textured today on the east side. Knee-Waist high waves at the peak I was at, Waist-Chest at the main peak. Still plenty fun, but lots of waiting. Crowded on the main peak. Light/moderate wind.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Steamer Lane

tracey — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:23:51 -0800

Eastside was mellow and on the smaller side today. Waist high with decent shape. Lots of waiting. Got better (when it does that vague thing that it does that makes that place better) than it was when I took the picture. Fun enough for me and a big ole longboard. Good way to spend a day off.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

tracey — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:23:39 -0800

Headed south to escape the jumbled up, junky stuff blowing around in the usual places. Cleaner, knee to waist high waves. Still plenty of texture and plenty of jumble. Not awful, but lots of closed out, doublestacked waves with a sideways wave in the middle. Catchable on a longboard with some patience.

(Submitted via the Web)

Oxbow Wave Sliders - Highlights from the Finals [video]

tracey — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:05:47 -0800

If you haven't had your fill from Slater's 10th World Title at the Rip Curl Pro Search, or didn't get enough competitive surfing in watching the HIC Tripple Crown during breaks in the Rip Curl, then do I have the vid for you. The Oxbow Wave Sliders competition wrapped this week in Makaha featuring some agressive longboarding on some powerful waves.

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:44:31 -0700

Finally managed to break free of work this afternoon (nice to have light for pre-session photos.) Little bit of a mixed bag. Lots of mushy waist high waves turning into closeouts with some shoulder high cleanups and head+ whompers up where waves whomp. Onshore/sideshore light to moderate winds. Spent a little bit of time trying to will a messy right into something before giving up for the leftorium. Better, but requiring lots of patience and foam. Did I mention patience? It was still 100x better than the project I was trying to wrangle this morning. Relatively sweet, but not quite lemonade.

(Submitted via the Web)

Lake Michigan Storm Swell - 10/27

tracey — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:41:51 -0700

I called my dad yesterday. I knew a storm was coming and I knew there would finally be some swell on Lake Michigan. My dad says to me laughing: "The gales of November are early :D"

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Steamer Lane

tracey — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:02:35 -0700

Headed south to eastside SC for a friend's BBQ and picked up a few waves along the way. Medium+ crowd, chest-shoulder waves with some larger standouts. Started out less than clean: sectiony waves and liberal closeouts, but mellowed and glassed with the changing tide. Sun peeked out a bit. Had a nice time. Followed things up with some grilling in the fog and a little bocce.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:10:47 -0700

Very mellow evening, but there were a few somewhat clean little waves out there. With a lot of patience and some good float the soft knee-waist+ waves were catchable and fun. Nice evening to watch the fog come in.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

tracey — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:08:54 -0700

Little bit warbly afternoon session with some doses of closeout and mush, but warm and sunny can easily bump meh waves up to a poor++/fair-. Saw a dolphin catch a short left on the inside and a sea lion lazily pass on an outer right. Good to be back in the water.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:27:04 -0700

Poor-. Disorganized, junky all around mehness. Upside, wasn't windy and there's some sun. It's rideable but it ain't pretty. Plenty of fat, wobbly waist-chest high waves that close out. Caught one, headed to work.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Steamer Lane

tracey — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:29:54 -0700

Spent a very nice long morning catching some clean knee-chest high waves southeast. Pretty long lulls between sets, but some fun energy even as the tide filled in. Plenty of longboard waves with a few punchier sets for fish and funboards. Def well into the +side of fair today, good- with a little more frequency and consistency.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:43:48 -0700

Yeah, it was junky. Yeah the wind was on it and warbling it up. But hey, it was pretty dang fun. Poor+ for wave quality but def fair for a good time. Like most Linda Mar summer days, it favored those with foam. One spot breaking pretty well but we went for the surfari and rode the current up the beach checking out a few more. Knee-Waist with Chest high standouts. Some good shoulders. Much crumbly crumbling.

(Submitted via the Web)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:52:32 -0700

Fun little afternoon at Lindy. 2-3ft waves with occasional larger inconsistently spaced sets. Somewhat sectiony/crumbling and a bit textured with the wind but the sun was out and the rides lined up in to the beach. Kinda crowded until the surf shops started closing for the day. Pretty fun on a longboard.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Linda Mar

tracey — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:08:29 -0700

Teeeny tiny, but clean during the early morning at Linda Mar. Waist high if you're lucky, but lots of fun with patience, a longboard, and a good sense of humor. Pretty long rides for how small the waves were. Feels like this summer is going to be all lefts at Lindy. You shortboarders might want to roam around San Mateo county further south, Lindy was pretty much logs only. Fair-- clean if you like small waves, but outright poor if you're sporting anything thinner than 3 inches and shorter than a 9ft log.

(Submitted via the Web)

Stormreport: 80mph+ Winds, Hail, Lightning at the Beach

tracey — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:54:23 -0700

I'm back on lake Michigan for a few days. It's been hot and humid. Any corn-fed midwesterner knows long hot days mean thunderstorms. A BIG storm system came through about an hour ago with gusts reported almost up to 100mph and hail up to quarter inch around. This is a photo my brother took as beach goers fled the approaching front.

180° South - Who doesn't love Adventure Porn? [video]

tracey — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:26:04 -0700

Caught 180° South at the Victoria tonight. Sure, it's adventure porn and not surf porn but it was an all around good time. Funny, beautifully shot, nice storytelling, and lots of breathtaking places along the pacific coast.

Longboard takes the day off, becomes a kite. [video]

tracey — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:14:42 -0700

Picaresque is one of my favorite surf movies. The clips on youtube and vimeo don't really do the film justice. They kind of make it seem like it's your typical "oooo isn't longboarding so pretty and mellow" movie when the finished work actually has a ton of energy, great music and some sick longboarding, single fin, and fish surfing.

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

tracey — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:17:26 -0700

Picked up a little sunset session at the Jetty. Water got pretty glassy but the small wave/high tide combo made picking off waves a lot of effort for a warbly swampy reward. Friendly folks getting in some stellar rides on the set waves tho. Little more oomph or consistency and it would have ranked fair. As always, happy to be out, extra happy to sneak in a second session to round out the day.

(Submitted via the Web)

What does 19 feet at 18 seconds look like? How about $50,000.

tracey — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:50:51 -0700

The 10th Annual Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards will be given away tonight in California, in seven different categories: Ride of the Year, Biggest Wave, Monster Paddle, Monster Tube, Verizon Wipeout, Surfline Performance and Billabong Girls Performance. It has been an epic, El Nino fueled year with a mind-blowing list of nominees.

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Half Moon Bay

tracey — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:10:00 -0700

11:30-3:30 at the Jetty. Knee to Shoulder high peeling little waves. Great sunshine. A little cleaner and it would have been good. Fair+ but lots of fun and beaut weather.

(Submitted via the Web)

poor surfing conditions at Santa Cruz - Steamer Lane

tracey — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:22:20 -0700

Checked 38th, blown out. Checked the Hook, it was working but disorganized and windy as hell. Cowells was relatively empty but sporting Knee to Head high disorganized all over the map waves. Windy, choppy, confusing. Surfed from 12:30-4. Around the lowest of low tide it started to clean up and by 4 it was looking like a kind of hungover version of it's usual self. I got a few good long face rides in, but mostly long aimless sort of rights trying to stay with a shoulder that jacked and faded like it wasn't sure if it wanted me to ride it or not. Sun came out, made it worth the beating.

(Submitted via the Web)