E's Surf Report: back from Mendo

FUUCKK!!! i just found out about a terrorist attack in Kuta Beach, Bali!! over 200 people dead!!! Two popular bars/nightclubs.. one called Paddy's and one called the Sari Club.. I TOTALLY hung out at both these places as they are the middle of the nightlife scene at Kuta Beach.. Most of the people injured or killed were Americans/Australians, Brits and other western surfers and travellers!!! Those of you who have been to or are familiar with the Indo scene know how frightening and shocking this news is!!! Kuta Beach is not some remote, out-of-the way Indo destination.. it's more like Huntington Beach meets Disneyland. Tons of surf shops and bars and bikinis and travelers and surf.. This is very very sad and disheartening and shocking for me.. I spent much time in Kuta Beach and am morbidly invisioning the scene that must have went down.. SOOOO SAD!!!!

What up surfers! seems that there is a 3ft 15sec WSW swell running right now.. combined with some NW wind swell.. Conditions at OB are supposedly junky but rideable.. i actually took the morning off as i returned last night from a three-day surfing/camping road-trip up into northern Mendo with my moms.. I found some fun waves at Mendocino Bay on Saturday and then at Alder Creek yesterday, which is just north of point arena.. Moms and i camped on the beach one night and then in the redwoods the next.. it was fun.. I checked out some other surf breaks up there too.. like Mackerricher state beach, Virgin Creek, Irish Beach and the mendocino reef.. The natural beauty up there is inspiring and grandiose.. Huge trees, huge mountains, huge rock outcroppings in the water.. huge kelp beds, huge ganja colas! We met some cool surfers from Oregon and also had the highly unusual pleasure of having a local see us looking for surf and come up to us and tell us about some random spots that might have waves!! very cool..

Mendocino bay is a rivermouth into a bay with big headlands surrounding it.. with little fjords and mini-bays attached.. A big swath of kelp on the outside keeps conditions glassy and the rivermouth-nature of the surf-break ensures that sandbars will be plentiful and shifting.. the waves were small but fun.. little glassy peelers breaking in 2 or 3 feet of water.. gentle, soft afternoon air and sunlight.. girls in the water surfing on longboards with their boyfriends.. mellow scene.. bonfires on the beach.. giant bleached-white redwood logs that had drifted down the river from the thick forested mountains behind... good fun..

then alder creek is a wild/open beach/rivermouth break just north of Manchester Beach, which is just north of the point arena lighthouse. surfed all by my lonesome (mom on beach) in head-high, peeling/closing-out beach break conditions.. had to paddle through 3 or 4 rows of whitewater to get to the outside and my moms was worried that i'd be "swept out to sea!".. some fun, glassy little sections and drops but nothing to write home about.. beautiful beach though.. tons of egrets and vultures and beach flotsom and jetsom.. grand vistas in all directions.. wind offshore at the beginning of session then turned to a mild onshore during session..

we checked point arena but it was disapointingly flat..

i'll post pics tomorrow or tonight..

pic of Mundaka from Sunday

sick!!