I went to worship today at...

The Church of the Sacred Sand and the Holy Brine...

I went to Capitola to surf this morning. Downtown Capitola was a pond. It was still oh-dark:30, so could not get any pictures. I headed to the next break, here is the temp from there:

Oy. I took a look at the surf:
I call this particular low tide a "fin-breaking low tide". I usually avoid this particular combination of tide and reef.

I went further north. The morning was wearing thin as was the surf conditions. Amazingly, this wasn't half bad:
Okay, between sets. The crowd kept growing and the temperature here was a degree lower. Most folks looked to be riding 9'6" boards and above...

Here comes the Sun:
I usually prefer to be in the water to enjoy this view. Today, I was content to enjoy the warmth of the car heater...

This is the set wave:
It was actually a little better than this.

I don't care what anyone says, I have had more moving spiritual experiences in the ocean, including a near-death experience (Blacks...) than most people have in their lifetimes. They usually occur at a session like this one. Well, when I actually get wet. One of those was just 2 weeks ago when at one of these breaks, I was visited by a sea otter.

Now, to be true, I have had one wholly non-spiritual experience while surfing. But that was because I snapped my board. That was at Black's too. Yet, that is one of my all-time favorite breaks.