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Clairemont Bowl:

PB Point
Wave height - Overhead
Conditions - Excellent, not too steep, open faced

The wave didn't break too steep, but was still so fast and bumpy that I had to find a balance to slow down and not outrace it.

I got to the point before the sun rose when the air was still damp and the ocean was surrounded by the blue aura of night.  I didn't want to surf in the dark so I left to get a carton of milk and a breakfast bar before returning to reasses the situation.

There was a special camaraderie that day between strangers; a young, long-haired redhead asking me excitedly if I saw him bailing on that last wave.  I told him he shouldn't have closed his eyes.  Exchanging notes on the shifting conditions with a man closer to my age, his reminiscent exclamation to me recalling how we were catching wave after wave when we first paddled out.

After a few waves, I moved from what I considered north Tourmaline to the actual Point.

After catching another mushy right that faded away graciously after a couple turns without closing out, I made my way to the boil right in front of a steep section.  I ended up on the wrong side of a massive set, as usual, and endured a round of massive walls of whitewater.  

Made my way back out - and had the discipline not to go for the first wave that teasingly rolled through.  The one I was waiting for finally came, took it well past the point and unlike the first several I caught which were fast and furious - this one reformed for me and redeveloped for a few modest turns and a whole lot more time allowing me to stand - lean from one side to another - and bask in the glory of rolling across the water from the point well past the stairs where I had walked down that morning a lifetime ago.

BLACKS

Size - Chest-Shoulder Hi
Quality - Poor to fair

The air was crisp and the sky was of the bright and blue variety that I love so dearly.  Surfline reported the waves as "GOOD" quality, which I have not seen bestowed upon any break by them this year. 

12/4 was definitely not the best day of the year.  That honor goes to that one day in June or July I went w/ D.M. and Blacks was breaking big and open in the southernmost end of the beach with no one else but me and my buddy to catch epic, rights all morning.  This session, on the other hand, did not provide as open waves and the crowd, due to Surfline's report, was in full force. 

The most open, carevable wave I had was a solid right where I was forced through no fault of my own to one-punch a guy off of.  I have foregone the forearm shiver in lieu of the fist, but in so doing have vowed not to follow up the altercation with any verbal missives whatsoever.  I credit this development to a certain maturity I've developed. 

I felt bad after, as I always do, but not so bad given that I was similarly punched in the back the day before as a result of my own misconduct at the Ocean Beach Pier.  Either way, my wife still disapproves of such behavior.

She still reminds me of my attack on someone years ago at Crystal Pier, describing my actions as looking "crazy."

SCRIPPS

SIZE - Overhead

WAVE QUALITY  - Massive Closeouts

The few corners made it worth the effort - one of them served up a nice, carevable right and the other shoved me into a dark, cavernous barrel for a split-second before shoving me to the bottom of the sea. 

I would have stayed out there longer had I not wasted half the morning driving to the break from PB, only to realize that I had forgot my wetsuit, and then redoing the commute burning up precious, pre-work surfing time.

SWAMI'S

SIZE:  Head High
QUALITY:  EXCELLENT

The winds were blowing out the waves all across the county, except for Swami's which somehow seemed able to resist getting chopped up. 

Even better, the winds seemed to scare off most surfers who would have been out there leaving the break abnormally uncrowded.

The waves there consisted of long, thigh-burning rides that were very reminiscent of Las Flores in El Salvador.  Just like the point at Los Flores, the Swami's waves lacked a certain hollowness that was made up with by an open face.

Swami's is definitely the closest break we have to the plethora of right point breaks El Salvador has to offer, in terms of size, quality, and consistency.  I was glad to have had the entire morning for the long, 2-hour session.