A messy surf day on Kachemak Bay

One month ago to the day
we surfed Kachemak Bay.
A nearby storm left the waves a mess,
but for a desperate surfer they passed the test.

Steaming hot ocean...compared with the air temps anyhow.

Alaska Surf Kayaker Randy Kellar

The second of two days we had last week out on the Homer Spit. This break was its usual deal with steep relatively hollow waves that mostly close out. Occasionally it gives you time for a bottom turn, and if you get lucky you might find yourself on one of the odd peaking waves that will give you a super fast wally several second run. I had a couple nice 100ft rides and saw some of the other guys get a few longer ones as well. But mostly it was a great day of exciting drops with lots of quick rides. The waves were cleaner than the day before and I was having fun actually being able to see inside the barrels before getting pounded.

We are loving the warm water and air temps. It’s hard to know when to stop. Usually the cold drives you back to the shower, but this time of year with a 6/5 wetsuit 3-4hrs isn’t a problem.

Some snapshots from the beach before and after my 3.5hr session.

Snake chasing

A quick pre-surf snap of break before 10/8/08 3.5hr surf session.

October is traditionally the time that weather patterns begin to shift around my hometown of Homer, Alaska. Along with a bunch of rain, cold weather, and slush, October brings the first real westerly winds that push waves into the Kachemak Bay. After about five months with very very little to no surf, all of a sudden there’s a chance of a lump rolling onto the beaches.  This is a great time of year to surf as much as possible in Alaska since the water is relatively warm (just above 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and you can’t complain about the air temps either.

I just returned from a week of surfing in Yakutat (more on this later) where it’s much warmer both in the water and out. After a nice two day break for my sore back and arms, Tuesday (10/7/08) brought some head high faces crashing into Homer. There was a record number of surfers in the water despite the close-out beach break conditions. The photo above was taken before I ran down the beach and paddled out. As the tide rose and the hours ticked by conditions improved and we actually ended up with some pretty nice clean barrels. Fast steep drops followed by a nice cool water sinus flush.

The next morning was even better – that report is next.