North West Swell #1. Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz.

The first swell of the fall/winter season arrived in Santa Cruz on Thursday, September 22.   That is just about on time.  Some may say a little late.  Some may say a little early.  Regardless, the NPAC is open for business and has been sending us waves for days.  And the next week looks good as well.  This first one showed at about 8.5 feet @ 16 seconds from 310 degrees.

Middle Peak eluding everyone.  

Thursday was a bit jumbled.  Waves were hard to pick off, but the few that were caught sure looked like fun.  I did not get a whole lot of pics, as my son had others interests, such as a diaper change, bottle feed and a good long cuddle home.

The rights were short and into the channel, but easier to pick off.  Overhead for sure.

The lefts were a bit harder to find.  This guy taking off just a bit too deep.  Still a fun drop.

The Slot had the most lined up waves.  This was average.  Some were thick.  Solid thick.

By friday morning things had settled down just a bit.  The current mellowed, so people could better hold their position.  At 9:30 the line up looked pretty thin.  By 10:30 it looked like an L.A. freeway.

Lots of folks enjoying the Lane in different ways.  It seems the swell also improved the fishing.

The best waves, and the best surfing, still seemed to be happening at the Point and Slot.

The left at Middles was a bit more manageable.  Still many eluded the crowds.

A few were down by Indicators, but most of the action was further up the point.

A series of out of focus off the tops.  The inside was offering up some nice lips to play with.

More inside action.

People were working the entire wave when they finally picked one off to themselves.

Inside Middles had plenty of fun waves.  It averaged three surfers to the peak.  One right.  One left.  One screwed.

The fog began to roll back in around 11AM, keeping the waves nice and glassy.

And keeping the lineup nice and full.  This was perhaps a 20% of the crowd.

The best action was happening at the Slot, with a well defined wall and an aggressive crew.

Dueling lip crushing.  It was tough to get a wave to yourself.  Or not get snaked if the crew did not know your face.

This guy snuck into a nice one and went looking for a cover up.

Just another day is (cold water) paradise.

Surfers were not the only ones enjoying the swell.

This has been a good start.  I was down in Asilomar over the weekend.  Both days had swell.  Saturday had a bit of bump on it, but really cleaned up for a sunset session at the Dunes.  Sunday morning was oily glassy with some sweet lefts at Asilomar's north end.  More waves on tap for the week ahead.  The first few days will see subsiding swell heights and period, with a nice bump arriving mid week.  I think it is safe to say that our season has opened.