Ever surfed a crowded lineup? Yeah, me too. Ever struggle to get a wave with many surfers paddling for each wave? I have too. Ever seen a surfer who excels in these conditions, who gets multiple waves with ease, who seems unaffected by the rest of the people out there? I think we all have.

Ventura, the day after Christmas. A gathering of the clans took place, but at least one wave rider stood apart. A young surfer named Tyler Morris ripped the waves with abandon in the midst of a virtual tribe of surfers. After riding a few myself at a different break to the south, I stood on the cobblestone shore and snapped these pictures. I got some shots of other people riding waves, but all the pictures in this column are of Tyler.

Two days back, on Christmas eve, the weather was fine in Ventura. Clear, sunny and warm. Temperatures topped the mid-seventies, and it felt like summer. The conditions were perfect, except for one thing. There wasn't much swell in the water. I drove south; I drove north. There were folks in the water sitting on boards; there were even a few waves that were ridden. But the size was minimal, not worth the effort.

Then that evening, as Santa made his rounds, incredible winds began to howl. All Christmas day, hurricane-force gales blew from the north-east causing some damage, and blowing the modest swell absolutely flat. In Thousand Oaks the winds topped 100 miles per hour. Most people, including me, hunkered indoors and celebrated the holiday with friends and family. It just wasn't any fun to be outside.

But that afternoon a new swell sneaked into town. Waves slipped into the water, and began to pound the shore in spite of the maximum offshores. Stinging spray was ripped from the lips and feathered back through the air in huge arcs to pepper the ocean surface in front of the next approaching wave. Few ventured into the water in such conditions.

By sundown the winds began to abate. Along with hundreds of other surfers, I began to lay plans for a dawn patrol on the day after Christmas. As the Moon chased Mars across the heavens, I braved the raging high tide to ride waves along a sea wall in Ventura. The rights were shoulder high and flabby, but fun. Just one other surfer and I traded waves as the dawn approached.

After a breakfast of these waves, I exited as the high tide built even higher, pushing the waves dangerously close to the rocky groin. It was an easy guess that another break, a few miles north, would offer better riding conditions, given the circumstances.

And I was right. Too right as it happens, because everyone within four zip codes was already there. So I decided to play the photographer, and stood along the shore with the rising sun behind one shoulder. Soon I saw one surfer riding wave after wave; Tyler Morris. So that's how this column came to be. Tyler emailed me later, inquiring about the pictures. Every one of us likes to see photos of ourselves surfing, and this time it's Tyler's turn to enjoy the stoke. But of course he shares it with all the rest who read the DogMan Chronicles. Hope you got some juice on the day after Christmas, 2007.

CU Out There,

DogMan