Elk 11/20 Ugly day off of Mendo Coast

I looked a Bouy 14 and it was supposed to be a nice day out there...NOT.  I took a couple co-workers and my friend's dad who was a 100% newb and it wasn't the right day for it.  The swell was big, and with LOTS of power.  As we launched a whole peanut gallery of touristas formed to see if we would make it. My co-workers have been out before and did an excellent job launching through the surf.  With the long period it was doable, you just had to really get on the gas before the next one came.  My friends dad, who is and older, but active guy got spanked twice attempting to launch....just not enough hustle at the launch.  I was doing everything I could to help him, and I eventually got him off of the beach. 

Once outside it was big and cunfused.  Swell was at least 8-9 feet and lots of noise reflecting off of the rocks.  All of the spots we fished for the tourney were off limits yesterday.  We headed out to deeper water to to find a cleaner swell and the ocean was better but no fish.  Finally found a decent school of fish to the south, but in shallow.  When we found fish the bite was excellent, but drift control etc. was tough.  My friends dad (Jim) had the newb luck and boated several nice fish, and lost a few dandys.  My co-workers enjoyed a steady pick, I missed almost every bite I had...distracted.  As I was fearing, poor Jim stated turning green, and was getting tired from all of the paddling.  He was also nervous about the fog that was rolling in...so was I. I offered to take him in and he reluctantly accepted after he started puking...he is a dedicated fisherman.  By the time we got back to the launch it had gotten MUCH bigger.  We stored everything below decks.  Jim again suffered as he couldn't quite beat the next set and he got pitched onto the sand.  He had the one thing we couldn't stash, a net, in a flush mount and the handle snapped clean off!!  I told Jim to leave his stuff, and we would sherpa his gear.  He headed home with a limit of lings and hopes for calmer seas next time.

I was now nervous about my co-workers and set off to find them, and bring them in. On the way out I saw more unsettling things, like a herd of knot head sea lions fly past people fishing...sea lions on the run...great!  The fog was getting real heavy, and I was REAL glad to have GPS on board. The Matrix 67 worked beautifully and the peace of mind was worth the dough.  Fortunately, MIke and Joe had decided to head in and they weren't too far out.  We fished a messy patch just off of the sand in 40 feet of water.  We got steady action for the next 20 minutes.  I kept things I would never keep normally, as we were headed to Leahs moms for dinner, and I needed something to cook.  Finally the gods smiled and I boated a HUGE vermillion and a couple decent blues and blacks and dinner was on board. 

While we fished the swell turned up yet another notch and the swell was now rolling over the south reef.  Yikes.  We went to the convergence at the south end of the beach and waited patiently.  I haven't sprinted for the landing that hard since the day me, Erik and Stu got seduced into 9 foot swells at hole-in-the-fence.  We all manged to stay upright, but we all got soaked.  I started to get hypothermia and was shivering uncontollably...geezus this day went sour.  I drug Jims abandoned yak to the bottom of the trail, and then got the cart for my yak.  We made a three yak train and me and my co-worker Mike hauled the huge load up the hill.  The hill felt REAL big!  But I wasn't cold anymore!!! Thank god Mike is a strong young dude that loads sides of beef for his second job (really).  When we got to my momsplace behind the ECC I changed into dry clothes, and it felt like nervana.   

As I left lower Elk for moms place up the hill, I could see a few surfers had moved into to where we landed.  I have never seen this spot so big.  Tough day on the water, I was exhausted by the end of the day...I slept like a log last night!

Sean,
Last I heard we were meeting at Stillwater. I showed up there around 9 and didnt like the looks of it at all.
I ended up just driving back along the coast to Bodega, saw some waves come out of nowhere at spots.

So no launch for me. Cee you next year when the water cooperates..
MAtt

Wow.... what an adventurous day!
I'm glad you guys scored some fish without anyone getting hurt.
Hopefully, you didn't scare Jim from coming back.

Thanks for posting the reality check, Shawn.  But, ain't it amazing what you can catch on these dangerous days?
Pat

What a day!  Glad to hear you guys caught some nice fish despite the conditions.

It was a definite reality check kind of day.

I wasn't planning on Stillwater, sorry if there was some confusion.  Regardless, you made the smart call!

long period.

wave speed in miles per hour is about is 1.75*period in seconds (I think)

notice linear with period.

20 seconds, twice as fast as 10 seconds. also, way more water under the curve
with a long period. So a 4 foot high 20 second period wave has way more
energy than a 4 foot high 10 second wave.

I'm pretty sure the swell was nice and west.

you got the science in the practical edition.

I surfed moss landing on saturday. long long wait, but nice waves when they came.

glad everybody is good, I'm sure karma will get you a big fish for taking care of everybody
like you do.

Sean, your day isn't what I like to hear right now. I'm glad you made the best of it and your buddies out safetly though. I'm planning on heading up to get one last dive in for abs. Big swells isn't sounding too good though. I hope that it calms down by turkey day. Goes to show... you can't trust those buoy reports until you get out there.

Freddie

I think it was a bit more mellow down south at Stillwater, though not stellar conditions. Per Sean-Blond Stallion's report, we did catch some fish (a nice ling C&R for me) and popped some abs. When I got into the 15' stuff diving the surge was mighty. Too dicey to check out the beautiful deep structure there.
When we got back to Pacifica it was quite calm. Must have been a northern thing!
Glad you guys made it out OK. Winter's here I think; the water knows it even if the sky still thinks it's summer!

Sure glad everything worked out ok for you guys, I almost decided to drive up there but then my friend bought a yak and wanted to go somewhere with no swells.   

Another excellent report, Sean.  NIce work, and it's typical at this point that you spent much of your time being not only a guide but a yakking divemaster-equivalent!  "Yak-Master"?...  WTG. 

Jmairey--you're right on regarding the long period swell phenomenon--I'm preaching that to my mates all the time, and we definitely noticed it up here over the past several days.  The south and west swells with the long period act differently than the usual north swell pattern and have the potential to really surprise you in a familiar and usually waveless channel when a big set comes in every 5-10 minutes.

Another thing, Sean:  I saw how the forecast for Cape Mendo to Pt. Arena held at 5 knots and low swell all the way to Saturday night then mentioned 5-7' picking up iin the afternoon.  Then on Sunday, as I thought I'd be sitting home hating the fact that the ocean was epic again, I noted that it picked up on all buoys to around 7' and blowing more than predicted.  As you said earlier in another thread, the north coast winds and weather are much much more volatile than elsewhere...  WTG again on getting some fish.

Yeah, I was reflecting on this day while I caught up on honey-do's.  I was still tired and hungry the next day.  I spoke with Jim, and after he got over the cold and the sea-sickness he was just the opposite...wanting more.  He called yesterday excited as heck about his lings, and he had his whole family over for a fresh fish dinner.  He has been on the water around here since the fiftys, and he said that was one of his funnest experiences ever..he just needs to take his Bonine next time.  What a spirited old salt, I thought for sure he thought I was trying to kill him!  Glad to know what I can look forward to in my retirement years...more fishing!

I also saw Mike yesterday as he was getting ready to paddle a 13 mile stretch of river looking for Chinook redds.  Glad to see his young butt still dragging like mine.

Thanks for the input jmairey, your explanation does a great job of demystified the mojo.  Llooking back at the bouy dat I think it was a combination of the period and direction that combined to make it so hectic at this spot on this day.

Freddie-Good luck brother, and be safe.  The vis when we were out was about zero.  Take a compitent buddy and stay together.