Don't know what it was with the moon this month; was great while it lasted. Full moon was large and bright, illuminating the night landscape with a dominant bluish glow. Further, Luna waxed to the complete disk and persisted in the full state for several nights with no apparent waning. Recent rains had washed the atmosphere clean, there were no substantial winds, absolutely no fog, and best of all, swell was in the water. A perfect scenario for night surfing.

Surf conditions are fickle; "You shudda been here yesterday!" Decided to take full advantage of the situation and nailed five night-into-dawn sessions in six days. Whatta run!

Thursday, March 4: the start of it all took place at the Playground with tides running high, ocean a bit confused, even sick. Swell was inconsistent and unpredictable, overhead and extremely mushy. Was difficult to line up; wave shoulders petered into big foamy nothings. Still, with the moon growing more orange by the minute on the western horizon, the sun glowing below the opposite horizon and otters in the water it was a worthy start to the string of dawn sessions. Rode a few and got out of the lineup early, eager to try it again Friday.

Friday, March 5, Dave's Place. This time the moon was a touch higher in the sky, in conjunction with Jupiter. The sun lurked below the edge of the cliff to the east, while the ocean was way sick. Swell was more powerful, but even more confused and disorganized. Got bounced around quite a bit, held down and dragged. In between tortures, was able to catch some rights down the reef and connect a few sections. Nothing to brag about, but it made the workings seem acceptable. Toward the end of the brief sess another surfer paddled out and tried valiently to go left from the tip of the reef. As we both changed out of rubber in the parking lot he told me, "First session in a long long time with a wave count of zero!" At least the DogMan wave count was positive.

Then it blossomed: Saturday, March 6. Back at Dave's place and in the water by 5AM. Impossibly the moon was just as full, but even higher in the sky. Jupiter was sinking solo toward the western horizon. The ocean surface had settled into frosted glass. The waves had decayed in amplitude, but increased in beauty by many orders of magnitude. Head high peelers scored the edge of the reef offering rights of 100 yards and more. The angle of the swell was perfect for the angle of the biased reef. Happy DogMan! Many drops, many rides, many maneuvers, and many long extended paddles occurred in sequence, over and over. But as it sometimes is, Saturday was chore day. DogMan had to get the dogs across town by 8AM for monthly grooming, then race home to meet the treadmill repairman at 830AM. So the session was cut short. Can tell you directly it was difficult to leave the lineup and drive away from Dave' Place to that rendevous with responsibility. All day Saturday this gnawed. Plan for Sunday shaped, resolve hardened.

Sunday, March 7: Payback was sweet. Got wet at Dave's Place at 430AM. While waves weren't as beautiful and the ocean was not quite as smooth as Saturday, conditions were still fantastic. The sets were more consistent; the shoulder high waves offered excellent rides going right. There were a few mediocre lefts on the other side of the reef, but why bother with them when the rights were so much fun?

Close to three hours DogMan surfed solo. Many weekend warriors parked and checked, but none came out to play. Beachcombers combed, dog walkers walked dogs, even a few fishermen cast their lines and caught loose floating kelp chunks. Sun climbed out of bed, moon stayed high and full even into the light of the morning. After 150 minutes the paddle arms noodled and floundered. Still a few more waves begged to be ridden. Finally, exhausted and blissed, it was time to prone to shore. And the dam burst. Within minutes the lineup filled with close to 20 other surfers. Changed clothes and sat on the rocks snapping still pix and videos. The stills illustrate this column.

Monday, March 8: Another day of responsibility and no surf. BooHoo!

Tuesday, March 9: Back at the Playground, this time with the moon clipped and visibly waning for the first time. Tide was low, but this spot pumps rideable waves even at zero feet. Jumped into it at 530AM, and paddled way over in front of the point. Rode a seldom-surfed peak hereby dubbed "Hermanita;" it's the little sister of the adjacent shore feature we call Big Brother. Another wave rider came out to play, but we never spoke. One was always paddling back to the lineup while the other was riding a wave. It was that good. Connected a few walls from Hermanita all the way into the main peak in front of the cove. Also rode a few larger outside set waves all the way into the cove where the Death Rock rules. Improbably, it seemed to be getting better with each passing minute.

Another workday beckoned, another sunrise loomed, another otter ate seafood for breakfast. And so it went. As beauty waves went unridden, DogMan rode the shoreboat into the cove, climbed the cliff, ran the trail back to the road, pulled on the work clothes, raced for work, basked in the stoke.

Can't remember the last spell of such successful surfing. What will tomorrow bring? Summer will shut down the NW swell action soon enough. "You shudda been here yesterday!" At least this DogMan can say that indeed he was here yesterday, and five of the last six yesterdays. And for now that's quite enough, thank you.

CU Out There,

DogMan