Wave Stoke: Fall Opener brings a nice end to summer.

Sure, summers are great. In other parts of the world. But around here, most folks are waiting for fall. Even if you do not surf, it is hard to not pine for the sunny mornings, offshore breezes and hot afternoons that is October weather. But, for those of us who do enjoy splashing around the ocean, there is no better thing than the beginning of fall. The north Pacific stirs, storms form, and consistent, powerful swells start to pound our coast. The days of summer, waiting for the south swell that never really shows, and chasing up and down the coast to find a spot that will turn that tiny, weak, wind swell into something worth riding are over. For at least a few months. For now, many of us start to look for swells with heights greater than five foot and periods more than 13 seconds. Any less, and we might be busy. I mean, we all need a hair cut sooner or later.

You know fall has arrived when Middle Peak starts to show at Steamers Lane.

Bottom turn.

Top turn

While Middle Peak was far from large, it had plenty of wave action.

Even the lefts were working on Monday morning.

And just up West Cliff a little bit, Swift Street started to show. Now we just need a swell twice as big to make it rip.

Its not that we can't enjoy the lower quality waves. It is we don't have to. But the Opener is more than that. It is a reminder of what we love to do. Some ditch their bikes or their kites for the first time in months. Others finally put away that longboard or groveler that has made summer bearable. And others finally come home. I call the season opener this past Monday, the last Monday in September. Not just because it is in the first few days of lunar autumn (so, like, officially autumn) and not just because there was a swell out of the north Pacific. Hell, there was a fun little northwest a few weekends back. But it was not enough. Now, this past swell was far from being a big swell. But it was enough. Enough for town to have overhead waves. Enough for Indicators to start to run a bit on the lower tides. Enough for Swift to show for a few hours. Enough to make Scotts start squaring up on the outside. Enough for a few boards to snap. Enough for many of us to paddle out, and have something happen that makes us go, oh. I had a fin box get dislodged. Others had worse. But that was all okay. Because it was surf season again.

Tuesday morning had too much tide and a bit of sickness at Middles. It did not lack in size.

Warning: While surf may be wonky, it is still fun. And can deliver a punishing.

Just up the coast a ways, Tuesday afternoon delivered.

Some sections were slower than others, but every surfer came to the beach with a smile.

Strong bottom turn.

Strong top turn.

This is were my little guy wanted to play. So today, we bought him his own board.

Monday night and Tuesday morning were the best of it. A light seabreeze in the afternoon made for light texture up north of town. But not too bad. A high tide plagued a lot of spots in the morning. It was not epic, or all time. But it was damn fucking fun. Did not here a complaint form a single one. Folks up on the cliff, watching the Lane. Stoke level high. In the water all smiles. On the walk back from 4-Mile nearly every surfer stopped to say hello to my 16 month old son. Not just because he is super charming, but because of the simple fact that the wait is over. Fall surf has arrived.

A sign that the swell was fun sized. The Slot had good form.

Another sign it was fun sized. 2 out of 3 surfers don't even bother to look at a nice shoulder high wave.

Stalling...

Covered.

Low light on Tuesday made the weather feel like Summer. Middles was looking more like Fall.

All in all, we got a two day swell, with left overs, followed by a little south swell, and then another weekend plus of northwest. Now we are waiting to see what happens next in the Gulf as another good late season south keeps us paddling. This week looks good, and the forecast is not grim. It is not a non stop flow of waves for the foreseeable future, but it is a far cry from drought. Small NW energy gets a boost this week, as does the south. And in the mid term, it looks like things could perk up again. Regardless, it has started. And today, as I right this, it is 88F over on Pleasure Point. And there is surf. Welcome Fall.