January 11th, 2009 by admin

Adam, Rich, Kelly and I left Nanaimo at 6 and got to French Beach around 8:30. The road to China Beach, Sombrio and Port Renfrew was closed. Apparently there was a giant sink hole that opened up and took the road right out.

The waves looked pretty nice at Jordan River A and B but there was a ton of giant drift wood and other debris floating around out there in the waves.

We all suited up and hiked down the path to Frog Beach, once we hit the beach we hiked along the shoreline and portaged across a couple of (freezing cold) rivers including the Strait of Juan de Fuca until we got to a real nice point break.

I sat on the beach for a while and examined the break, the best line to get out through the waves and the best spot to catch the swell for the longest ride. The waves were beauty, anywhere from 6 to ten footers probably the biggest waves I have ever surfed to date. I was a little intimidated to paddle out through the waves but once I got out and actually did it there was nothing to it, it was surprisingly simple. We stayed and surfed in this spot for a while, I got a few real nice rides out of it. Right before we decided to leave the break and venture further down the shore Kelly got cracked in the face with his board and instantly got a lovely black eye and a giant goose egg on his cheek.

We hiked down the beach a little further and portaged across another icy river until we reached China Beach. The waves were awesome! They were rolling in perfect sets, not too close together and smooth as glass there was absolutely no wind. Everyone was getting some real stellar rides in. It was nice to ride some decent sized fast waves, it took a little while to adjust but I could feel everything click once I did.

We surfed at this break for an hour or maybe a couple hours before we decided to pack it in and start the long walk back to the truck. We left at just the right time, the tide was coming in and if it was any higher there would be no beach to walk on and we would have had a hell of a time climbing over logs and pushing through the rain forest with our boards.

January 10th, 2009 by admin

Adam and I were hanging out and we had to make a pit stop in Departure Bay. We pulled in to the parking lot right on the beach and got out of the car. The South east wind was blasting in and was making some pretty decent sized waves right in Departure Bay. They were too small to actually surf but they were coming in nicely.

Adam decided that seeing these waves was enough of an incentive to go check out a few spot up the coast that could be paying off due to the wind speed and direction.

We arrived at the first beach and saw a lot of potential. The waves were almost there. We hopped back in the car and got to the second beach. There were 3 guys out there floating around on their surfboards.

There were about 3 to 4 foot waves and they definitely looked surfable. We stood and watched the guys who were already out there, it looked like they were having a pretty difficult time. Yes, there were waves that could be surfed but there was absolutely no rhyme or reason in which the waves were coming in and where they would be. So, it was pretty much a game of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

By this time we were quickly running out of daylight by the time we went and grabbed our gear and suited up it would definitely be dark. I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to hit the water but more fired up at the idea of finding a brand new place to surf when the wind is just right.

January 3rd, 2009 by admin

The craziness of the holiday season is over and I finally got a window of opportunity to get some surfing in. I set out for Jordan River around 8:00. On the drive there big flakes of snow were coming down pretty heavy. I got to Jordan River a little after 9:00 and the waves looked pretty decent, although any waves would look good at this point considering a haven’t been able to get out for a few weeks. The waves were about 3-4 footers and were coming in from the Northwest. There was very little wind. I decided to get right at it, so I suited up and hit the water. Due to the waves not being terrific I had the whole bay to myself.

While I was paddling out the sky opened up and huge flakes of snow began to fall again. There were dark gray clouds directly overhead but the sun was poking through some blue sky and was reflecting off the snow capped mountains on the horizon. I paddled right past a family of 6 seals wrestling and playing around. On the opposite side of me there was a big curious sea lion who had decided to come right up and investigate to see what I was all about. He hung around and watched me surf for a couple of hours. A few times he infiltrated my comfort zone and got within 10 to 15 feet away from me so I’d hold my board straight up in the air and let out a few loud grunts. I don’t know if this was establishing my dominance or if he just thought I was a crazy lunatic either way he never got too much closer to that.

I surfed until about 1:30 the waves pretty much flattened right out by then so I decided to hit the road. I got quite a few good rides in, the waves weren’t huge but as always they were fun.

The time spent out in the water surrounded by nature was absolutely surreal, one of the most memorable trips to date.