I was stuck in the Bay Area for a day between meetings and contacted Bob Ostertag, another mid week paddler, about going surfing in Bolinas. The predictions from the day before had suggested very mild surf. Not being at home I didn't check the current conditions on the WEB before driving out. The waves were larger than I expected and we had a challenging time getting past the breakers in front of Brighton Avenue.
These conditions were apparently very good for a Coaster like Bob's boat, and he had a very good day. He stayed in his boat the whole time! He also says that he felt more in control of the boat than ever before. He got long rides and was able to pull off the waves before he got too close to shore.
I had an educational time with my new boat. I had my new Necky Narpa touring boat with me and wanted to get a feel for how it behaved in waves. The Narpa is not as long as I had thought, only 16 feet, and is a very wide 24". It does not accelerate well. I was also nervous about having it pitch-pole (dive into the water nose first) so I was very conservative in the surf this time. Most of the day I spent trying to accelerate to catch a wave and then failing to get up to speed in time. Afterwards it occurred to me that I should have started farther out, tried to predict the big sets, and started moving long before the waves arrived. A long boat like this should have a higher "hull speed" than a Coaster so it would eventually get up to speed to catch a wave. I'll try that next time.