Liquid Lunch Checklist

• Lots of wind - check (beginnings of liquid smoke, and not too off-shore, so the slog/swim to the windline was only about 5 minutes or so)
• Reasonable temps - check (air and water both right around 50F)
• Appropriate gear - check (5.0 and 80 liter board; a bit overpowered but good)
• A reasonably well-timed hall-pass - check (rare, as lately wind has either happened at night or when work interfered in all sorts of nasty ways)

==> Nothing standing in the way of a great session, right?

Except after about 20 minutes of hunting all over the bay for a patch of water that wasn't too infested with driftwood, I bagged it for safety's sake and made my way back to shore. The flooding we've had here in NW Washington lately has left a lot of dead wood in the water, and with up to chest-high swell and lots of confused chop (not too mention the spray flying everywhere), it was exceedingly hard to spot those obstacles. Bummer!

Hopefully, this stuff will settle down on the beaches soon.