Hooray for the Combo Swells of October.

Earlier this month, I strolled up to the Lane to let my son run around on the grass, play with dogs and greet everyone who walks by.  I was pleasantly surprised by the surf.  It was pretty much going off.  Super clean, lined up, head high plus surf was rocking the Slot.  Not too crowded, but everyone was surfing.  No buoys as far as I could tell.  Had I not  boy to wrangle, there was some great surfing to shot.  Still, I got a few.  What made the surf truly amazing is that the swells in the water were not really all that big.  There was one that was just about two feet, and another that was just a bit bigger.  And a third, tiny one.  Thing is, they were coming in and comboing up just perfectly.  It was on.

I'd say this spot seems to like a combo swell.  October in Santa Cruz.  Sun and surf.

It is always nice to roll up for a surf check and to see that things are working through the inside.

But it was the outside that was the real surprise.  The bouy reading was about three feet.

While small, there were two or more swells running in the water.  A small SW and a small NW, plus just a touch of another NW.

I like how the Slot is about to pen wide right here.  Nice three footer.

This guy was the most stoked of all.  Just showed up from North Carolina.  

He was awed by the waves.  Nothing like back home.  He was hootin and hollerin.  Pure stoke.

What a great morning of surf.  Super clean and lined up.  Head high plus.  Sunshine.  Warm.  No wind.  Sick.

I have a spot I like to surf.  It is not very good, but it is good enough.  It has barrels.  And ramps.  But it is not perfect.  Not by a long shot.  It is not a big fan of the south swell.  I mean, you can ride an egg on it on those days, but it ain't the same.  Yeah, it really prefers the northwest wind swells.  The bigger ones, up above six feet.  Fun little wave when it's working.  Thing is, some times we get these small wnw ground swells.  By themselves, they are okay, but just too small to make this spot light up.  It is kind of tucked, so not really exposed all that well to the northerly swells.  But if you get one of those running at the same time there is some small long period south swell in the water, things begin to turn on.  Funny how that works.

Lots of way to enjoy the ocean.  Some are a bit more kinetic than others.

When the waves are pumping, it is good to have a decent duck dive.

Or not.

It is fun to slide that tail around from time to time.

The surf has been up and down all month, but has been hanging in the fun range.

The sun was out a good part of the time, and the Slot was doing its thing.

This is what October is all about.  It is not the large surf that we get in the winter months, but it is not summer.  And while we can see some sort of smaller combo swells in spring time, the wind too often are an issue.  Not only do the small swells show up more often this time of year, but the winds are pretty mild.  There are some great spots right here in town, but the nice thing about this time of year is how much you can spread out.  Lots of breaks working all up and down the county.  The past few weeks have been fun.

A few days were good enough to get the big guns out.

Commanding the Slot, this guy got his share of waves.

Seriously, does it get much more fun than this.

Crowds can be a factor when the waves get good.

Unless you never look around to see them.

I mean, you can be having such a great time enjoying a shoulder, that your mood is not ruined by the guy behind you.

Ripping it up.

Did you get that on film?

Up the coast a ways, the reefs were enjoying the taste of October.

kjMore pics soon.  The waves just keep on coming.