Humbling experience at HMB

Yesterday I went to Half Moon Bay for my first solo outing and second time on the ocean ever. Day looked good on the forecast, pretty flat and no wind so I hit the water early. By the time I approached the jetties the water started to feel choppy. As I entered the big blue I was welcomed by waves bigger than expected, I ventured out no more than 300 ft before realizing I was out of my comfort zone. I made the call to head back in the harbor. To not waste the day I started crabbing inside the harbor and as the day improved I ventured out again, not going far but getting used to the open water.
Ended the day with 4 keepers and the realization that I really need to learn to estimate waves from the shore.
When packing up I met another guy that went out crabbing and after telling him what happened he said: “you need a buddy”. I concur

sounds like a good day on the water, crabs, new friend, and new learnings

The goal is always to make it back alive and well.  Fishing, crabbing, and everything else are bonuses, never ever a goal.  Think about it this way, if you are alive, you can do it again.  And never ever forget that an accident happens, always unexpectedly.

Thanks for sharing your "humbling experience" Dan.

Good on you, man!  That's a great day on the water.  You'll get better at reading the seas from shore, but even then there are times where I launch and I'm not 100% certain I'm not going to turn back.  Turning back is a bummer sometimes, but it sure beats the alternative.

Knowing when to turn back is one of the most important skills on the ocean. I’ve done it more than once. I spent plenty of time on fresh water getting used to boat wakes and I made my first ocean trip at a tournament so I had plenty of buddies that day.

Good job Dan, I've turned back after going out the Jaws and wished I had tuned back sooner as well.

The forecast for Tuesday was showing for mixed swell from the the North West and the South West which combined can be hard to manage.

For example 2'@ 10 seconds from the south west + 4'@ 10 seconds from the north west can combine to be 6' @10 seconds.

Thanks everyone for your support! I guess I practiced my “turn back” game. Yes! It felt like a mixed swell, where can you get this detailed information? Also, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.65&lon=-122.36

Here is where I first look for point specific information. If you look at tomorrow it will show really good conditions for HMB, the wind is still down and the swell is about half of what it was on Tuesday.

Thanks! I need to spend some time on that website, it definitely has a learning curve and doesn’t play too well on the phone

I've not launched at HMB, but I have launched at Pacifica quite a few times. I kinda like a beach launch - if it too rough to launch, then it is going to be too rough in the fishing/crabbing area anyway.

Anyway, sounds slick you leaned some stuff for next time. Glad you turned back when you did before you got in trouble, and you didn't get scared off from another attempt on a nicer day. It takes fortitude to do this sport in the ocean, and a good measure of it to persist after a less than optimal experience.

What did the buoy reports say about the current conditions prior to your launch?  (hint, hint...)

Remember to dig in to the forecasts and to compare what several forecasts say compared to what you end up seeing in person - this is the key to learning about how the forecasts relate to what you will find in person and also how forecasts can vary compared to what you see in person.  If you're just using your phone and only using one or two forecasts, I don't think that's good enough.  Sit down with a big screen and multiple forecast windows, like Windy.com, National Weather Service, Stormsurf...etc.  I'm getting deja vu, bro.   

Yeah, I start to see that solely relying on Windy is not going to be good enough. I’ll spend some time on that.
I like that way of thinking about surf lunch, though I don’t feel ready for that (read: I’m not ready to lose half my shit  )
Where are you launching from Pacifica? The surf there is super rough!

I launch at Rockaway Beach. There is a little corner on the south side of the beach that stays pretty calm, and even in 5' swells makes for a relatively easy launch. 50' north of the spot would be 100% undoable though, haha.  I haven't flipped yet, but I am also pretty careful about which days I go out. I watch NWS coastal forecast pretty close, and correlate with Windy and local weather forecasts. I don't go if more than 4' seas and/or 10kt winds forecast.

I’ve definitely done the 180 back to the harbor at HMB.
Way to make the right move for yourself.