First decent swell of the summer was finally starting to show yesterday. Plus, being the 4th of July “Weekend” (even on a Monday), the beach was PACKED. Took about 15 min to find a parking spot. The lineup was just as crowded. I waxed up the new board (a beefy 7′6 Russell thruster) and paddled out. There were definitely sets rolling through about head high, but it was really hard to get into anything. I dropped into 3 waves in a row but didn’t make bottom turns (either I screwed up or the wave closed out) and ended up caught inside next to the jetty a few times. Pretty scary with my brand new board. Swell backed down with the tide, then I ended up sitting toward the inside and snagging a few waist-high waves to end the session. Turned in early for next morning’s DP at Trestles.