Waves Of Discontent

Running on empty

2010-01-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm done. Really this time. I've got nothing. Thanks for your patronage. WOD is over, but I'll leave it up for historical, if not hysterical reading.

Snoopy Shreds!

2009-12-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

Snoopy 1 Cross-stepping, hanging ten, a 360, and gets barrelled into a handstand!
Snoopy 2 Go to the 2:54 time mark to see Snoopy ripping!

The Annual

2009-11-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Another year has come and gone, and today marks the 29th anniversary of my surfing life.
What a ride.

California Surf Festival is ON!

2009-11-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

2ND ANNUAL CALIFORNIA SURF FESTIVAL TO HIT SAN DIEGO
A weekend of surf-themed movies, posters, music and more, put on by the California Surf Museum in Oceanside... check it out! Click the title of this post to redirect to their site.

Picture of a man

2009-11-11T09:42:00.001-08:00

In Honor of my grandfather, Col. Kenneth "Mac" MacKillop, on Veteran's Day.
He served in WWI and WWII, but was not a career soldier. He served only when duty called. After the Korean war he went back to civilian life as an accountant until he retired. He lived to be 80 years old.
He was overseas almost ten years of my fathers childhood.
He sacrificed a lot for his country.
He would never talk about it.

Oh Please!

2009-11-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

OP used to be THE surfwear company in the '70's and '80's, sponsoring riders like Tom Curren and Kelly Slater.
Now they sell at Walmart exclusively, and "sponsor" "celebrities" who have no surfing affiliation at all.
Happenstance, or blueprint that too many brands are following these days?
"Surfwear" means nothing anymore...

Well done!

2009-09-14T14:15:00.001-07:00

Very nice burn on Hollister, the bullshit "surf" company using one of our sacred spots as a marketing tool.

This makes me a little afraid

2009-08-25T12:21:00.001-07:00

Click here

Joel speaks the truth

2009-07-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Joel Tudor explains why leashes, shuffling, arm flapping, and bunny hopping longboards is taking LB'ing in the totally wrong direction. Clicky click

I really pestered my mom to take me surfing as a grom, but jeez!

2009-07-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

CLICK Prosecutor: Teen severely beat mother for not taking her surfing

Michael

2009-06-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

R.I.P.

Goodbye Bob

2009-06-16T13:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the tunes that always made me think of surfing. You will be missed.

Snatch the pebble from my hand

2009-06-04T09:25:00.001-07:00

David Carradine, you will be missed.

33 Strikes back!

2009-06-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

So "anonymous" posted a reply to my post about Stoked/33Degree pop outs.
I am re-posting the comment from anon here, and responding for all to see, my responses in bold:

You guys are fools who worse seem to think you own the waves like other locals who have no life ! Self proclaimed experts who ruin the very soul of surfing with your negative attitudes ... Funny the top surfers never feel the same as the local losers ...

Who said anything about owning waves? I have no problem with beginners either. I was one, we were all one once. I never disparaged the people who might buy one of these boards, just the marketing of them.
Self proclaimed expert? Never made the claim, but I think I might know a bit about surfing since I've been surfing, building and repairing boards for 30 years.

Plus anyone with a brain knows all the brands get their stuff shaped over seas ... since I have been to the places and seen the names ... so go spread your false crap to others who can't logic.

Really? My boards are made here in California, every one of them, so are all the boards that we glass for other shapers, as are the ones glassed by Sugarmill, Moonlight, Diamond, Waterman's Guild, G&S, Hobie, Takayama, Ambrose, Zamora, Xanadu, Skip Frye, Josh Hall, Mandala,Surfboards La Jolla, Mirandons, Rainbow, Swift Movement, Bunker, Sharp Eye, Mitzven, Rusty, Channel Islands (wha?, you mean that giant factory that Al Merrick built in California doesn't build boards????, Cooperfish, Tyler, Wave Tools, Kane Garden, Joel Tudor, Murphy.....
Even the ones that come out of a shaping machine are coming out of a shaping machine here in the US, and are scanned from original hand shapes by the shapers whose name is behind the label. Surftechs don't count, they are pressure molded, not shaped and glassed.
"who can't logic"? You need to work on your grammar too.

"Plus 5 minutes with the owners of degree 33 and you know they are total class and a young couple just starting a business to not have a 9 to 5 job to live the beach life and to actually not be controlled by the MAN ..."

Never said anything about the character of these people, although I do find it funny that they stated on the Stoked site about how the surfboards in Cali are overpriced because of surfshop middlemen. Is this couple involved in shaping, glassing, sanding, plugging, coloring, etc. surfboards, or are they simply distributors? Doesn't that make them just middlemen themselves?

"funny you would make fun of them for having corp jobs i bet and now you make fun of them for coming into your world to escape the suits and to work as a couple .. truth is you are nothing more then greedy capitalist who are upset your business model is not working ... and you have the mentality of a 5 yr old thinking you where here first and that is all that counts :) plus you lie about most of the locals boards being not made over seas at the same place ( hypocrite )"

I made fun of them for having corp jobs? I don't see that anywhere in the post.
I'm a greedy capitalist? No I'm a craftsman who has dedicated my life to learning the art of BUILDING a surfboard, start to finish, by hand. The 33 couple are the capitalists who are importing a product and selling it as retailers. They build nothing. That makes them the greedy capitalists, no?
I noticed that they are selling accessories, such as leashes and traction pads, board bags etc. I also notice that you aren't selling them at wholesale prices, but at a markup. Darn greedy capitalists!
"Local" boards are indeed made by local shapers, and glassers, whether it's the US, Australia, the UK, Brazil, France, Mexico. Local means local. Locals know the local breaks and conditions, and what work in them. That's why you should go to a shaper, not a surf shop to find a the right board. I'm not endorsing xenophobia (look it up in the dictionary) to promote my "business model", I'm endorsing it because surfing is NOT a one size fits all situation. And it's a lot more than just the size of the board anyway.

word to the wise don't fall for negative google bombing folks its just a sad way to try and hurt the new comers ........ the boards are great for new people and intermediate ...

You still don't get it, I don't care that they have "entered the market". They are not surfboard builders, they are "surfboard" and accessory retailers, and the claims they are making about the characteristics of the boards they sell are absurd. The design elements that go into a board cannot and do not uniformly make catching and riding waves a guarantee. Putting the right board in the hands of someone is more than handing them a certain size. There are too many variables, such as where they surf, how they surf, weight, height, experience, and where they want to expand their skill set to. Saying that the "Stable Surf System" will improve your surfing is patently false. What shaper's designs are the plugs based on? Who did you work with?
I noticed that they now have a money back guarantee that you will "love your board" instead of "catch every wave you go for" as previously advertised. Hmm.... guess you can't really guarantee that waves can be caught despite the catcher's abilities.

So all that being said, that original post was to point out the falsehoods behind the claims, and to continue to promote hand shaped surfboards by local shapers and glassers who have dedicated their lives to building quality and innovative surfboards based on hard work, experience and local knowledge, period. Here's to the craftsmen!

And for the record, here is my original post from when these people first appeared as "Stoked" surfboards: Am I Too Harsh?

Flat as a...

2009-05-28T07:55:00.001-07:00

for the foreseeable future. *SIGH*

Get ready for Summer

2009-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Time for some lessons to impart to the hordes that will inevitably descend upon once it warms up. Note that the left hand paddler on the shoulder better be waaaaaay wide!

They're baaaaack!

2009-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Our good friends from Stoked are back with a new name, peddling pop-outs to the uninformed in your town! Apparently they've developed a system that lets you "catch every wave you go for"! Miraculous! They've even engineered these boards to eliminate such problems as pearling and digging a rail. Wow!

Just watch the video on their main page:
Clicky Click Degree 33 Surfboards

I'm prepared to buy one, paddle for a wave, miss it, and sue them for false advertising.

Remember to send them an email letting them know how you feel about it!

Neighbor Scotty's photo found!

2009-03-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Surf photog / cinematog Scott Kassenhoff is a friend and former neighbor. He took this shot of me at K38 somewhere around 1998.
Check out Scotty's work in such fine films as One California Day and Single Fin: Yellow.

Warhol comes to Malibu

2009-02-08T08:02:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Ken for the photo!

'08 Closes Out

2008-12-31T13:55:00.000-08:00

Strange and difficult was 2008 in the land of Discontent.
Here's to a better 2009 for all.
Happy New Year!

Kicking Out

2008-09-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm done. As you can see I haven't been posting much, and I don't intend to anymore. If I do some writing in the future it will be for print submissions, so maybe if I'm lucky you'll see me in the mags.
Thanks for reading.

Wow

2008-08-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Amazing

Gone but not forgotten

2008-08-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

Midget Smith passed away Sunday morning August 23rd 2008.
May your soul surf on eternally.

Croc O' Bush

2008-08-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought he couldn't be any more of a douche...

It must be stopped

2008-07-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

Matthew Mcdonkeyhey is in a new movie coming out.."Surfer, Dude".
God save us.

Now that's thinking!

2008-07-29T10:45:00.001-07:00

Harnessing surge energy isn't a new idea, but it is totally underutilized.
Maybe this will spark a trend?

Olde Time Footage

2008-07-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Nice footage from the early days of Hawaiian big wave surfing.

91X is retarded

2008-07-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

In their continued effort to keep original, quality, alternative-to-the-norm music off the air, 91X has fired Chris Cantore and Makeda Dread.
Two of the last old skool voices that harkened back to the adventurous days that made 91X so popular, this is a real tragedy.
Especially galling is the fact the Reggae Makosa was hosted by Makeda for 25 year FOR FREE!
What corporate numbnut thought that this was good idea? Oh, station program director Phil Manning. Duh.

Article here

Good Karma Hobie Elephant Gun

2008-06-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Restore of a unknown (probably late 60's) big wave gun. 10' 10", at least 40 pounds, probably more.
Great story on this one; older gentleman who currently owns it. It was given to him by a friend who passed away a few years ago. Now that friends son is getting married, and older gentleman is giving him the board restored as a wedding present. Fantastic.

Well said

2008-06-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

For whatever we lose
(like a you or a me),
it's always our self we
find in the sea.

e.e. cummings

My Favorite Malcontent

2008-06-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

George Carlin, May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008

Further Proof

2008-06-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Click here
and Here
I tell you there's more in Musica Surfica than you think. I have seen the whole video, this is only a fraction of the insanity that takes place... the closing credits sequence is mind blowing.

Proof

2008-06-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

It can be done. The positioning. The concentration. The man only has one eye for Godssakes. Derek Hynd finless in Southern Australia.

Maiden Voyage

2008-05-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

I test drove the Niblet concept finless in chest high surf.
It was, unfortunately a failure. Although I could catch waves and stand up successfully, the problem came in right after takeoff.
The tendency for the board to spin caused an unexpected consequence due to the thinness of the board itself.
Upon takeoff, the board would invariably rotate 180 degrees, then when the tail section would contact the transition at the bottom of the wave, the tail would plunge in and buck me off the board. I have a feeling that this would not occur if the bulk of the board was thicker than 2". Remember the Niblet dims are around 5'x 21" x 2"
Since this was only an experiment, I used a "second" blank, I think it was under 7 feet. It just didn't have enough volume to begin with. Without flotation, the board sinks to much, even at planing speed.
I'll have to start with a LB blank that'll leave enough foam after cutting the contours into it.
Oh well, it was a start, and it was a fun attempt.

Riding Giants Redux

2008-05-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

I watched Riding Giants again yesterday. This was my second time viewing it, and a couple of things struck me much harder this time around.
First of all, the pacing and narrative are fantastic. The movie is so wholly engaging on so many levels, that I was spellbound the entire time.
Secondly, although the Jaws and Teahupoo footage of Laird is awe inspiring, as always, I was more impressed when I ruminated on Greg Noll, and Jeff Clark, surfing giant, frightening, and unknown waves, but doing so without any kind of rescue available, nor indeed, hardly anybody, if at all, watching.
Noll, especially, was riding relatively primitive equipment, with no helicopters, jet skis, life jackets, nothing. Pure balls, and despite the tie to marketing an image for his surfshop, he ultimately went because he had to, personally.
I think every surfer can relate to that, pushing ones own limits, outside of the scope of media hype and documented glory. We all put ourselves into a situation where we test our own outer limits, and find that test very revealing about ourselves, and what we're made of.
Not everyone is going to surf 30 ft. Waimea, but we have our own personal Waimea that scares the shit out of us, yet we go anyway.
I'm not sure if I've reached my outer limit yet, but I am compelled to surf when it's as big as it gets here in San Diego, provided it is rideable. I don't train for it, and I should, and I don't have a 11' widowmaker. I don't know that I really need one here in San Diego. I guess I'm not a true "big wave surfer". I certainly respect those who are. They are on a whole different trip, and that's fine. That's something that comes from inside each individual, and if you don't want it, you don't want it. There's no shame. I like big waves, but I don't think giant waves are for me. Who knows, maybe the time will come for me when my focus changes. Given the opportunity, I can't say that I wouldn't try. For now, however, let's keep it under twenty feet, OK?

Don't do that!

2008-05-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

Don't schedule a high tide right at dawn with size in the water and cleaned up conditions.
Again, the surf was ready with all the elements, except a super high tide came and squashed it.
Outside peaks that should have given long roping rides through to the inside, were instead peaking, breaking, then immediatley backing off until closing or fading out on the inside. So frustrating.

They're at it again

2008-03-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

People are just bent on trying to pave the beach over for profit.
From Defenders of Wildlife newsletter email:
The California Coastal Act is our state’s most powerful tool to ensure our coasts and our living oceans are protected. But one state senator is pushing a bill to weaken this vital law. We need your help to ensure it remains strong.

State Senator Denise Ducheny (San Diego) just introduced SB 1295 in an attempt to strip the Coastal Commission of its right to appeal bad development proposals that violate the Coastal Act.

The Commission's oversight ability is a cornerstone of the Coastal Act -- and, without it, our oceans, coastal communities and the wildlife that depend on healthy ecosystems will be put at serious risk.

Ducheny's bill is headed for a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee in early April.

Take action to stop it. Send a message to Committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg and your state senator right now urging them to block this bill by voting NO on SB 1295.

Under current law, local governments are required to notify the Coastal Commission when they issue development permits giving Commissioners the chance to raise a red flag and appeal bad decisions within 10 days of being notified.

If local governments aren’t required to notify the Commission of their decisions, many terrible development deals could slip through the cracks and do permanent damage to wildlife and their habitat.

Some local governments may even become more emboldened to approve destructive development plans because they know no one is likely to stop them.

SB 1295 is a disaster in the making for our coastal communities, our beaches, important marine habitat, and the animals that depend on us to protect them.
Click here to complain!

In other news, I've been perfecting my drop knee turns, a long held and not easily achieved goal. I've got it down pretty good now, and I love the way it feels.

I've been eyeballing surf mats as a nice Summer diversion. I was shocked at how much they were coming in at (250-350 big ones!) when I researched them.
However, there is a guy at homebreak who's been on one recently, and I sidled over and had a look and asked him some questions. It sounds like fun, so I might drop the cash from the windfall tax return checks going out for the "stimulus plan". The 4th Gear Flyer is the lower priced option, and I'm sure that'll be more than adequate. If it's good enough for Greenough, it's certainly good enough for the likes of me.

I skipped the AB3 event this year. part of me wishes I hadn't, but another part of me just wasn't prepared to show up with my meager offerings, and I certainly was glad I didn't witness the board police debacle in person. That's just the sort of shit that send my BS-omoter into the stratosphere. The finger that Ambrose was giving in the photos would have been the mellow part of my response!
Next year I'll go (if it's on) with some finless stuff to demo.

I still haven't actually posted anything to the KOOK MAGNET blog, but it's coming, trust me...

What's that smell?

2008-03-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

This morning the water smelled really bad.
With no warnings about contamination, I'm wondering that maybe it's a precursor to warming / algae blooms? Might we be in for another bad red tide year? The water is still really cold, so maybe I was surfing in poop? I hope not...

Footloose and fin free

2008-03-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

I attempted a finless surf (finally) today.
It was small and backwashy mega high tide day, and since the surf was essentially crap, what better day to try it out? I took out the Skoolbus, sans fin and leash. I figured I was bound to eat it frequently, but with all the spinning going on in Musica Surfica, I was scared I'd strangle myself if I wore a leash.
Paddling out had a little extra wiggle in the tail. Clayfin commented on this, so I wasn't too surprised.
Sets were infrequent and erratic, but I caught my first wave pretty quickly.
I tore it up, I was killing it. I am lying.
I stood up, shocked that it felt relatively stable. Then I attempted to direct myself (turning would not be the right word)down the line. Faceplant.
I had lots of faceplant time.
When you paddle in, you have to face straight in, if you try an angled takeoff of any kind, the wave spins you around and spits you right out the back.
Once standing, getting too upright is also a no-no. Low center of gravity is essential.
Turning is kind of counter-intuitive. Everything about direction is turned upside down without a fin to provide lateral hold. So for instance, you drop in frontside, you'd normally lean into the wave, driving from the fin. So how do you get back up to the top if you can't turn and drive to the lip?
You have to let the wave catch you up. It was a real eye opener about staying with the energy of the wave rather than running out in front of it and turning to get back into it. You have to stay with the wave the whole time, or you burn your momentum, then the wave catches you and dumps you on your ass.
I only got two waves that I was able to ride down the line for a while, a right and a left. Super weird feeling it was. I gently waggled the board around to and fro on those waves, and did a litle sideways fade for a while, but most waves I attempted spinning, which always ended up in a wipeout at some point in the rotation. You need speed, and a fairly fast moving wave. Mushburgers didn't cut it.
It'd probably help to have some sort of bottom texture or something to give bite, but it was a good experiment. I'm going to try to build something specifically finless, rather than try to surf a "normal" board without fins. There's just no lateral resistance, and I feel like you have to have at least something that'll grab the face.
I ended up surfing for about four hours, the last hour on the butter bonzer, which felt great even in the mushburgers. Maybe it was just having some drive (and control) again.
People probably thought I was the biggest Barney. "Look at that dude, doesn't even know he's supposed to have a fin"! I certainly didn't impress anyone, but it sure made the morning surf more interesting than normal! I'll definitely try it again.

Warm up

2008-03-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's gotten warmer overall if you haven't noticed.
This morning the high tide was shutting most spots almost completely down, but I was prepared to go surf finless as a lark.
When I arrived shoreside, the amount of people streaming into the lineups at all the breaks I checked was disheartening. Also disheartening was the number of soft tops heading out.
Considering that the surf was very mediocre at best, it was inevitable that the beginners would be taking advantage, but damn, I'm making a prediction.
THIS SUMMER WILL BE OUT OF CONTROL.
Yes, SD is no longer any different in my book than OC or LA. Or anywhere else for that matter. It's fucking crowded, all the time, no matter what the conditions.
Etiquette is right out the window, and tensions in the lineup are high.
Every available peak had people all over it, and even though only a wave or two every 15 minutes would come through, and last maybe for a turn or two at best, the hordes kept coming in a steady stream.
With the high tide still being 2 hours off, things would only get worse. I opted to skip it. I'm not about to test my abilities to surf without fins in a crowded, inexperienced lineup. A better opportunity will present itself, but mark my words, this Summer will be a bummer!
This is not a rant, this is reality. If you haven't noticed, I'm starting to simmer. When I hit the boiling point, the Kook Magnet blog will be launched. Trust me, it'll be a doozy.

Short 'n' sweet

2008-03-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

Got in a quick hour long session on Lucy in knee to waist high glass.
It was just steep enough to get some walking and nose time in. At 10:30 the wind came on with a vengeance, and the whole deal shut down.
My last wave in I dropped in, swung up to the top, walked it to the nose and back into a cutback, swung around as it steepened again, to the nose again until it deposited me on the sand. Walking up the beach an old lady who appeared to be in her 80's, maybe 90's said, "That was a good one"! I don't think I've grinned so much in my life.
***Note: 10:30 you say??? Yeah, I ditched work again. My bad.

A funny thing happened on the way to work

2008-03-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't go.

Unlike Saturday, my Sunday session was terrible. The waves just weren't cooperating, and it blew out early.

Yesterday the forecasts were all alight with calls for great conditions, and I did my morning DP run expecting to score again with conditions similar to Saturday.
The offshores were brisk to intense, but the waves were swamped by the tide.
The potential was there for epic conditions though, and I knew that about the time I would be buried in work, things would really be kicking in.

Therefore, to keep my head from exploding, I called in sick, and waited out the tide.
I started checking spots in a leisurely way.
I pulled up to spot X, that I rarely check. As I did, a guy on the bluff turned and was staring at me. He kept staring as I approached and I was thinking "what's this guy's problem"? since the break is not one of the highly localized spots.
Discomfort gave way to surprise as recognition kicked in.
It was my friend and neighbor from my PB days, who I'd lost touch with and hadn't seen in nearly ten years. My only pro water shot of myself was taken by this guy. Last I'd seen him when he moved away, he was still doing surf photography, and was on his way to Costa Rica.
Well, in the intervening years, I'd somehow dropped his last name from my memory banks and I simply could not recall it, though I'd racked my brain for years trying so that we could somehow reconnect.
It was a great reunion. We got caught up, surfing together for about three hours.
The wind was offshore all day, and the waves chest to occasional head high.

He's been doing commercials as a cinematographer, along with being cinematographer for a couple of little surf films, maybe you've heard of them: Single Fin: Yellow and One California Day?
I about dropped dead when he told me. I love those films!!! Of course, I didn't really pay attention to who shot them, I was interested in the subject, and never read the credits. If I had, I would have instantly remembered his last name and we could have reconnected long ago.
Anyway, his name is Scott Kassenoff, and he's a great guy, and obviously, a great cinematographer. What luck to be checking a spot I almost always bypass, on a day I'd normnally be at work, and that he was there, waiting for the post office to open. He keeps a P.O. box in SD but now lives (in between assignments) in LA. I easily could have missed him entirely.
Great seeing you Scotty!

Hold the phone

2008-03-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe I'm not done.
Today I almost fulfilled my quest. The waves were chest-head high, glassy, clean and totally rippable. The butter bonzer rode like a dream, and I got some incredible rides. Best of all, the magnet was off, and I had my pick of anything and everything that came through. It was absolutely on fire.
Also, despite a 3 three hour session, my hands still functioned when I got out. That means things are warming up. Yep, Spring's in the air.

Last night I was graciously allowed to view Musica Surfica, and Mick, be proud. I found it to be extraordinary, and inspiring. Derek Hynd is a god.
I also got to view some other "lost" video footage from various sources to remain unnamed here, but also very good stuff. All in all, it set me up for a very a stoked assault this morning.

So why am I back, you may ask...
I realized that the problem was not the blogging, but the mishmash of stuff that I posted here. I don't want to mix my "business" with my crotchitiness (is that a word? Let's just say I'm crotchety).
Therefore, I have started the Salted blog, to post the "biz" stuff, sans personality quirks.
WOD will remain as a general day in my surfing life type blog.
Finally, for those enjoying reading my vitriolic spewings against the absurdity and stupidity of mankind in all it's forms, I will be launching my rant blog, Kook Magnet.
You'll be able to read to your hearts content (hopefully with a grain of salt)about my disdain for the human animal. Look for the link in the near future. I'm saving up some serious bile for the initial public offering.

Done

2008-02-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

Last coupla days had bad to good surf sessions.
Rode both the BB and the Fusion. Not much news there.
I'm really happy with my current quiver, but I still have more boards to build for myself.
Which brings an end to WOD.
As I focus on posting Salted boards, my already stated intention of posting only boards and extraordinary surf sessions has morphed into, well, posting only boards.
So... thanks to all my past and present readers for your comments and support, and check out the new blog.

No time

2008-02-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

Big, but not THAT big.
Rideable shape, but relentless intervals, so the paddle out at anywhere but a point break or somewhere with a channel to the outside made most breaks inaccessible.
The rips were brutal too.
The one point break in my vicinity was, of course, packed to the gills with pros, regulars and locals, and the waves were OK, but not that great.
Everywhere else I saw people were giving up in futility trying to get outside.
Not the best kind of day for a quick pre-work session.
By the time I would have gotten outside and figured out the lineup, with a bit of luck, I would have gotten one wave before having to head in and off to work.
I don't like Mondays....
Things should be organized and surfable tomorrow.

Thanks to the Prez

2008-02-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

President's day rules!
Surfed late morning after the tide peaked and started to recede.
Started out small and weak ankle to waist, but built slowly to chest high and really fun.
Adjusted the fin a bit more, and oh, how the butter bonzer goes! I love it.
I got to really feel it, and push the limits, resulting in some very controllable tail slides. Snapping off the top is nice and fast, since it's basically a single fin pivot.
I surfed with the friend who owns the original, but I did not get a chance to ride his at the same time for comparison.
I did see what I did differently, and where I can improve next time, but the diffs are small, and have no apparent detrimental effect on performance. I still need to do the same-day surf comparison to verify that, however.
By 12:30 the wind was up and the tide was again putting a hurt on things. I was really stoked to catch that window. I wish I had the freedom to surf at the optimum time every day!

Second look

2008-02-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Better session today, less closeouts and more frequency.
I still didn't get any really good waves, but I did get plenty of open spaces to get more familiar.
The BB holds great, is really fast, and still loose. I had moved the fin about a 1/4" forward as a test, but I have moved it back after getting out. In fact, I moved it a 1/8" back from where I was yesterday. I think it will be a big improvement.
My best wave of the day, unfortunately, I got dropped in on, and the guy wouldn't get off. I know him a bit, and I don't really think he knew I was there, but it pretty much ruined the wave for me. Argh!
The magnet was off the hook again, even though it was far less crowded than yesterday. I'm getting really sick of people again.
More tomorrow...

Maiden Voyage

2008-02-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Paddles great, and it's F A S T !!!
Lots of closeouts today all around the county, and some good ovehead sets from time to time. Lots of deceiving lulls. Did I say lots of closeouts?
I got very few rides in 3 hours. I only got one where I could really judge how the butter bonzer really felt. Buttery. Mmmmmm. And fast, extraordinarily fast.
More testing is imminent, but I get the feeling this may be the fastest board I've ever ridden, faster than my other bonzer.
It was frustrating to not have many waves to open her up on, but at least I got a chance to get aquainted. I did make a pretty insane drop that I would've expected to spin out on when I hit the transition, but she held fast.
Loose, and fast. Bonzer. Me likey.

The thwarting continues

2008-02-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

I was pumped for this morning's session, this was going to be it!
Ah, but it was not. Erratic pop up peaks that would disappear equally a fast as they showed up, mixed with backed off closeout walls. Argh!
I checked multiple spots, all of which were most of the time devoid of any kind of wave activity.
When the waves did come, there was absolutely no consistency.
I saw very few rides, and I saw none that were any good over the course of about an hour and a half.
Dejected, I went home and gently caressed the butter bonzer until it was time to go to work.
Tomorrow, tomorrow.

Is this some sort of cosmic joke?

2008-02-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

Have I done something to get a karmic beat down?
The days I was slavishly working to get the Butter Bonzer (thanks for the name inspiration Ted!) finished, we had rideable waves and all day windless conditions with warm sun blazing.
The morning of the should-have-been maiden voyage, there's a nasty South wind and crumbly closeouts, followed by this morning's monsoonal destruction. We weren't even supposed to get any rain, but at this point I may need the board just to get home!
I don't give a damn about water quality, if it's surfable tomorrow, I'm going.

Mellow Yellow Fellow

2008-02-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

Completed last night. It's not perfect, but I like to pick nits, and it's pretty good for my first full board resin tint. And besides, it's my board so I don't care that much. It's good to get bugs worked out on my own equipment so that I can be perfect when I do for others.
As my usual luck prevails, this mornings DP run was shut down by totally shitty waves. C'est la vie. There's supposed to be a nice swell run lining up for the end of week into the weekend. I sure hope so, I'm dying to get out on her.

Too much work!

2008-02-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

The bonzer is close, but not yet done.
As usual, a day in the shop when I should have been alone and able to work my personal projects soley, turned into a non-stop request for service instead.
"Hey, can you sand this for this guy to pick up tonight?", "Hey, can you have these ready for Wednesday?", "Hey, come and meet this guy, he's the one making such and such boards that we're glassing for him".... on and on.
On top of that, every step of the way kicked and fought me. Those bonzer glass ons are a super pain in the ass.
I have no progress photos, but it'll be done in the next couple of days.
As a final capper, my home PC HD took a dump, and so I had to go through the histrionics of trying to install a new one after getting what data saved that I could. It's not going so well, and I finally relented and I have the wife taking it down for some diagnostics. The HD just won't format successfully, and the DR. DOS booter locks up doing communication checks. Eek. I'm not a hardware guy, and I'm more than far behind in keeping up with the latest technology, so I'm crying uncle and letting someone else f**k with it.
Amidst all the activity, I got in one surf session Saturday afternoon in the gorgeous conditions. The waves, although they looked good from shore, were less than stellar, and I basically got one decent move in on the borrowed Octafish before I gave up and went back to work on my own version.
I'm going to work like crazy so I have my copy ready to surf while we still have some swell.
I can says that it's looking pretty cool, aside from the fact the it's not anything like my original color scheme.
Updates coming soon...

VICTORY!!!!!!

2008-02-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

By Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 7, 2008

K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
More than 3,000 supporters and critics of a tollway project attended a public hearing in an exhibition hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds yesterday. The tollway would have run through an Orange County wilderness reserve and San Onofre State Beach.

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K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
Surfing legend Shaun Tomson (center in jacket) listened to California State Parks Foundation President Elizabeth Goldstein speak against the tollway yesterday.
See more photos from the hearing

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After hearing testimony and deliberating for more than 12 hours, the California Coastal Commission yesterday voted 8-2 to deny a proposed toll road that would cut across a habitat reserve in Orange County and San Onofre State Beach next to Camp Pendleton.
The panel decided that certain aspects of the project failed to meet California's coastal regulations. Their vote prohibited transportation officials from creating the first tollway to run through a state park.

More than 3,000 people attended the public hearing in an exhibition hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. It was the largest turnout for any meeting in the commission's 36-year history.

Many supporters and critics of the tollway project carried signs and shouted slogans. They included mayors, construction workers, commuters sick of traffic jams, conservationists, state parks officials and surfing legends such as Mickey Munoz and Shaun Tomson.

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What's next

The tollway project's coordinators, the Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies, could submit a revised proposal to the commission.
The agencies, a state-created joint powers authority, could sue the commission. Such litigation could take years to play out.

The agencies also could ask the U.S. secretary of commerce to overrule the commission's decision.

There was a spillover crowd, with some people craning their necks to hear the proceedings inside and others milling about the fairgrounds' concession stands.

“I've never seen anything like this,” Peter Douglas, the commission's longtime executive director, said of the overall gathering.

The hundreds still left at the hall last night cheered for minutes after the vote, which was taken about 11:15 p.m.

Pat Kruer of Rancho Santa Fe, chairman of the commission, voted against the toll road. San Diego Councilman Ben Hueso, the other commissioner from San Diego County, didn't attend because he was sick, the commission's officials said.

Hueso's alternate, Lorena Gonzalez, was advised not to cast a vote because of a potential conflict of interest. Gonzalez is CEO of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, and many trade unions have supported the project mainly because of the estimated 20,000 jobs it would generate.

The second absent commissioner was Monterey County Supervisor David Potter, who was traveling in Eastern Europe.

“This project drives a stake through the heart of the Coastal Act,” said commissioner Sara Wan of Malibu. “I do not accept that there are no alternatives.”

Wan upbraided the tollway officials for using “pseudo science” and “false and misleading statements.”

Commissioner Larry Clark, a councilman from Palos Verdes, called the project “fatally flawed” and contended the highway is intended to accommodate high-end housing development at the expense of less wealthy park visitors and campers.

“I think we need to seize the moment and articulate that this project is dead,” Clark said.

But the commission's decision probably won't be the final verdict on the proposal.

Tollway officials said they would immediately appeal to the U.S. secretary of commerce to overrule the commission's vote. The California Attorney General's Office also has two lawsuits pending against the Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies, the state-established joint powers authority overseeing the tollway project.

For years, the agencies' leaders have wanted to build the final leg of state Route 241 and call it the Foothill-South toll road. Their 16-mile route, chosen from 39 options, would start at Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita and end at Interstate 5 at Basilone Road near the northern boundary of San Diego County.

The tollway would run through the Donna O'Neill wilderness reserve and San Onofre State Beach. These sites contain rare and endangered species, and the San Onofre park has grounds considered sacred by American Indians, a pristine stretch of San Mateo Creek, popular campgrounds and world-renowned surfing spots.

The tollway would have four lanes, with the right-of-way for two more lanes. It would take three years and at least $875 million to complete.

Supporters of the project said the tollway is desperately needed to relieve congestion on Interstate 5 between Camp Pendleton and Mission Viejo, a city near Rancho Santa Margarita. They cited transportation officials' projections that traffic along this stretch will increase 60 percent by 2025.

“This is not a 'build it and they will come' proposition for Orange County. They are here and they are coming,” Carolyn Cavecche, mayor of the city of Orange, told the commissioners yesterday.

Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates said, “We live at ground zero in a nightmare of choking traffic.”

AdvertisementThomas Margro, chief executive of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, said false claims have been circulated about how the freeway would pollute the San Mateo Creek's watershed, harm imperiled species, force the closure of the San Mateo campground and affect the waves at the Trestles and other nearby surfing breaks.
“The planning for this project was not done in a vacuum,” Margro said.

Critics urged the commissioners to see through what they described as false assurances from tollway officials.

“This road is the result of an ideology that views the world and its resources as a commodity that must be exploited,” said surfer Chris McCormack of San Clemente. “It's an ideology that puts the drive for profit ahead of people and the well-being of our environment.”

Representatives of several Indian tribes said the road would disturb the site of an ancient village called Panhe.

“I ask you to save this sacred ground,” said Rebecca Robles of the Acjachemen Nation, who joined other members of her tribe in serenading the commission with a traditional song.

Some tollway opponents accused the Transportation Corridor Agencies of trying to bribe state regulators. Officials for the agencies offered to donate $100 million to the state Department of Parks and Recreation if the Coastal Commission approved the Foothill-South venture.

The financial incentive doesn't erase the project's conflicts with the state Coastal Act, said Ralph Faust who recently retired as the commission's attorney and now works with the tollway's foes.

“You cannot buy compliance with the Coastal Act,” Faust said. “There is no legal or factual basis to approve this project.”

In September, the commission's staff had recommended denial of the state Route 241 extension. The staff report said the proposed route was the most environmentally damaging choice possible. It also outlined alternatives such as adding lanes to Interstate 5 in southern Orange County.

“This toll road project is not only inconsistent with the law, it also raises fundamental questions about what kind of environmental and social future we want for our coastal communities, our families, our children and theirs,” Douglas, the commission's executive director, said yesterday.

Tollway officials said the state doesn't have the money to widen Interstate 5. The undertaking would cost up to $3 billion, they said, and force the condemnation of 838 homes and 382 businesses.

Leaders of the Transportation Corridor Agencies said they selected their preferred alignment for the toll road because it is the most environmentally friendly from among eight options that were scrutinized over six years.

Wow

2008-02-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of people at the CCC hearing!
It warmed the cockles of my heart I tell ya!
Glassed the bottom of the bonzer, it came out more neon yellow than apple green, but still, it looks good for my first resin tint attempt, some straining issues aside.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get the red clears, and I don't feel like takig ht time to make my own,so I'm going ahead with opaque white everything. It should be done by the end of this weekend. Yippeee!

Why must it do that?

2008-02-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

Of course, the morning it clears up and there is still some swell in the water, there has to be a mega high tide that just kills the DP session. As the tide times change over the next couple of days, the swell will disappear.
This morning would have been really fun, and I still have my friends Octafish to ride, but nooooooooo.... gotta have the Uber Tide. Argh!
Well, the five billion or so of you out there that dont' have jobs and can surf around 10 am, you'll probably have some nice stuff left. I'll be in my prison cell, er, cubicle, listening to some asshole tell me that I have to fix what he fucked up because it's a "bug". Hooray.
I was able to test some resin tinting out to see if I could get my desired color.. I can! I will try to glass the new board tonight and post more pics later this week.
See you at the CC meeting to save Trestles tomorrow!

Super Sunday

2008-02-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Slept in late, winds outside howling.
Popped down and finished the bonzer. It took me four more hours, yikes.
This was a real tough shape to copy, with multiple tripping up points.
Flutes, the e-wings, the concaves, all needing to blend together as a water channeling system. Difficult, and I approached slowly and cautiously. I did a boatload of measuring, marking, and triple checking.
I got really lost in it, and I was surprised when I finally looked at a clock.
I was able to use the planer a lot more than I would have in the past. I'm getting pretty comfortable doing the bulk of the work with the planer. The hardest part was keeping the thin edges and points of the tail from getting banged up. Those e-wings go down to almost nothing as it tapers off the back.
I'm really looking forward to finishing this off with my color ideas, and I can't wait to ride it.

Get off my back already!

2008-02-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

This morning was mediocre chest high mixed up windswell. Rode the Fusion. 2 hours and only one good ride, a couple of short ones, a couple of closeouts, and a whole lot of cold.
Finally the planets aligned for me to get started on the Octafish Bonzer.
My friend had dropped off his CB in the morning, so I was ready to make a copy of it.
Bought the blank and headed over to the shop.
After about three hours I had templated it out, using three different templates to get the desired shape, then checking against the original laid on top, and am basically done with the bottom contours. It was slow going checking those two heavy concaves and the funky wings.
I'm ready to do deck and rails (hopefully I can sneak away tomorrow).
I've had a color scheme all picked out for some time now. I want to do a sour apple green clear resin tint on bottom and rails, with a white deck w/ red pinline. I also want the fins all clear red, so I called True Ames and asked if they can do a custom run, since they only offer white, black and clear. If they can do it, then I'll do the box and leash cup black.
If not, I'll do opaque white fins, like my friends' board, along with the fin box and leash plug.
This will be my first attempt at a clear resin tint and my first bonzer, so I'm pretty excited. It'll also be my first board made for myself that'll have the Salted logo on it. Damn! that's another thing to get taken care of... I wonder if they'll print a one off in red from a full run of black? They'll probably charge a lot. We'll see.

Friends and Neighbors

2008-02-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

The current issue just arrived at home of The Surfers Journal.
Contained within I found the Richard Kenvin article that has been in the works for the past year or two. It's amazing how long an idea to the printed goods takes.
Anyway, it chronicles the exploits of workspace neighbors Nick and Bear Mirandon.
As I've said before, i'm lucky to be able to tap this resource pretty much at will, and even better, to surf some of the shapes shown in the article, though I've actually yet to take that advantage yet.
When I do get around to it, I'll report my findings.
I also finished reading "West Of Jesus", and I'll say this:
Starts interestingly, bogs a bit in the middle, leaving you wondering where it's all going. In the last third it picks up the thread, and finally resolves rather nicely. Grade: B+
I am feeling ready to attack creating my Octafish Bonzer, though I'm sure I'll be buried before I actually get in the shaping room. I can't go near that place without someone pestering me to do some work on their boards instead. Guess that's a good thing?
I need to start shaping at home or a secret, undisclosed location.

Early Bird

2008-01-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

Today was the only day that looked like there might be a window of opportunity before the bad weather comes rushing back.
The low tide was just before dawn, but it wasn't very low, and it wouldn't be long before it was going to be very high.
Against my body's wishes I was awake for a DP run. I really wanted to stay in the warm bed and sleep, but I forced myself up and out.
First stop at homebreak showed a smidgen of potential, but since this was as good as it would get here I moved on.
I stopped next at the BB I surfed during the car repair fiasco.
It was only looking OK, but I knew I had little time before the tide would do damage, there was absolutely no one out, and the next few days are going to be VAS conditions.
I suited up full bore: 4/3-hood-gloves-booties. It was cold, the offshore blowing was really cold, and the waves worth catching had a wait time that guaranteed I wouldn't be sweating from paddling much.
I haven't been getting much workout from paddling with all the bad weather/wave conditions, but I've been doing a ton of sanding on boards and resin paintings, so gratefully my arms weren't dying from the rubber load.
I got in right at 7 am, totally solo.
Within 15 minutes I had 5 really good, fun chest high waves under my belt. It was way better than it looked from shore. Stoked!
I remained solo for the first 45 minutes or so, then it slowly started to fill up, but not bad since the windswell was producing pop-up peaks everywhere. I kept my own peak up until the last 15 minutes or so.
After the first hour the tide started eroding the quality and frequency, and after two hours it was all but gone, but this bird done got his worm.
Back to the rain we go...

Upcoming events

2008-01-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Check out the Surfing Heritage Foundation's website for updates on the upcoming photo series Through a Liquid Lens: The Masters of Surf Photography.
Shows are on the fourth Friday of February, March and April of 2008.

FU

2008-01-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

Saw (finally)the mighty Fu Manchu Friday night. Great show. Good opening acts too. It's Casual had a startling assault for just two people, and Get Your Death On were good for the 2 songs I saw. Packed audience. Really fun.
Sunday morn I got on the Tyler again for the first in a while. My first wave was a really long noseride, then things slowly decayed from there, but not bad overall.
Looks like we'll be getting some rain on our parade for the next few days. Oh well, we need it.

Corporate Schtick Part Deux

2008-01-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

This display board we created for Cricket Wireless Coprorate HQ was, get this, stolen by a disgruntled employee! So we had to make them another. This time there is no leash or fin plugs as a preventative measure.
Wasn't it's high profile a deterrent enough?

The good with the bad

2008-01-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

What a mixed up day.
Did my normal DP check, but the battery warning light on my dash console that's been going on and off for the past week or so was now on full time from home to my first stop. Uh oh.
Stopped and checked the waves for a while, thinking, "well, I've got to get it checked out, so that means I have to take the day off, which means I can take my time and surf first".
This was of course because I had been watching chest high waves coming in, but they were backing off only to close out on the inside. I needed the tide to drop. If this was a normal work day, I'd have gotten bupkus before it was time to get out of the water.
So... back to the car, which started, but a bit reluctantly. Uh oh. Definitely the alternator or something.
Checked another spot or two, risking stranding myself, but the light was back to intermittent mode, so I was getting some charge again. Both spots were better, but still needed less tide.
Idea. Let's go to get a diagnosis, then proceed from there.
Got the diagnosis after about an hour and a half. Alternator. Shit.
"We can have it here in about an hour or two".
So... I had them order it, and said I'd be back in a while.
Checked one of the two better spots from before. Hmmm. Let's go look at the other. Bingo!
A frames from the crossed up swell, chest to occasional head high, pitching, and uncrowded.
I was in the lineup just before ten. It was very, very fun.
Fast, punchy waves, occasional brief cover ups available. The wind was ever so gently onshore, so that the surface was a sea of sparkly stars when you faced towards the sun. Gorgeous.
Rode the twin and had a blast for about 2 1/2 hours.
Went back to the shop, they spanked in the alternator, and I was on my way.
Kind of a weird and expensive way to get a great session, but it sure coulda been worse in more ways than one!

Brain dead litter bugs

2008-01-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

Man, I still sometimes can't believe how some people have total disregard when it comes to litter and pollution.
This mornings DP check was disappointing in two ways:
1) the low tide at dawn turned the still decent sized waves into unrideable closeouts
2) my vantage point apparently looked like a trash can for some fuck nut(s).
Yep, at my feet from where I was checking the swell were:
1 empty can of Rockstar energy drink, 1 empty plastic Taco bell cup, 1 empty water bottle, and 2 cigarette butts. The trash was in it's own little pile, so it was obviously left by one person or group of persons at the same time. Fifty feet behind me was a trash can. WTF?!?!

On a side note, another disconcerting trend at my home break; SUP's are becoming a regular sighting instead of a random occurrence. At this rate, people are going to start riding one of these to up the ante:

Y-N-Y

2008-01-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Friday evening's glass off session was really spectacular. Chest high sets pushing through consistently, and I rode Bloo.
I caught some very tasty lefts, was surfing really well and left on a total high.
Had about two hours before it suddenly just died away. I had high anticipation for the new swell for the morning.
When I got out of the water there a message on the celly. Two boards had been promised that night, one of them a gloss and polish, could I please do final sanding (and polishing)tonight?!? It was already six, and I hadn't eaten, walked the dog, or anything. Damn.
So I rushed home, walked the dog, skipped the food, and went to work. The second board done, the gloss and polish, was finished and picked up at 9:45. By the time I got home, showered, and got caught up with the wife, it was well past ten, when I should have been dozing fitfully.
And the wife was watching TV in bed, which causes me trouble getting to sleep. That, and being jibbed up from working and anticipating swell, well, I didn't get to sleep probably until 2-3 a.m.
No biggie I thought, the swell should be holding and building all day, and the wind should hold back most of the day.
I slept until 8 or 9, but I was feeling like shit. That's one really sucky thing about getting old: if I mess with my sleep schedule, I'm worthless.
I ended up going down and checking, but I really felt like crap. On top of that, the tide was slowing things down big time, and the lulls were long and deep.
This of course meant that everybody and their dog who came down to surf could get out no problem. And everbody and their dog DID come down to surf, it was a freakin' zoo.
The shape left much to be desired, so all that together made me skip it. Even though it was head high, with some pluses, it wasn't worth the effort. I ended up going in to the shop and working on some more boards.
I got good sleep Saturday night, and was up for a DP run, back on schedule.
I was one of the first in the water, and things were hitting much harder and much more frequently than what I watched the day before. It was also freezing cold, air and water.
I managed to get a window through after about 10 mins. of hard paddling. When I got outside and was pleased to see that the best sets were several feet overhead, and many of them quite makeable. I rode Bonzo, the speed demon bonzer. Great board.
There were only a few others out, and there were many panic stricken looks on their faces when the larger sets would darken the horizon. Most got out after getting a could look into the pit.
One dude I'm on chatting terms with who's always out when it's overhead got pitched on his first two waves, but hung tough and scored some really nice lefts.
By now almost everyone had scrambled back inside during the lulls, so I was able to settle in and be super choosy.
I scored a long grinding right first off, then got a bunch of screaming lefts (me or the waves?) before another right into shore. After two hours I was jelly armed from the brutal inside drubbings, and I was getting a rash in the armpits, which is a sure sign that I've been paddling too much.
I got out with a big ol' grin on the face.
I went home and watched a copy of "Chasing the Lotus" that SlowPolk lent me. Great film, super interesting.

I love the way surf films used to be, with a storyline or concept, and real cinematic flair. They're so unlike much of what's made now, where it's just rapid fire shots of moves, with no story, no vibe, incomplete waves, just money shots.
CTL is the story of two such early filmakers, Spider Wills and Greg Weaver. It's great that these stories get told, so people understand that surfing has a rich and varied history that owes much to innovative and imaginative pioneers who had no guidebook for so much of what we now take for granted.
This vid gives you an idea of how different the surfing lifestyle was back then.
I wish I could have been an adult during that time.
The footage of Buttons spinning 360's like it was nothing was enlightening, and the Occy at J-bay in the '80's footage is a must see. Check it out.
Should be fun surf all week coming up, enjoy it.

Hey Zeus

2008-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Swell is up, and it's going to keep getting bigger. DP this morning was already shoulder to head on the best sets, but swamped by the tide. The next couple of days promises booming conditions. Wheeeee!
For those inclined to peruse tomes of the non-digital kind, I started this book and so far have to say that it's a great read. I'll give a full review when I'm done...

Kickin' out of 2007

2007-12-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

A sigh of relief as this year comes to a close.
Waves were sometimes very good, but again, another overall lackluster year.
Had my last surf of 2007 this morning and it was pretty sweet, which is hopefully an omen for the new year.
Rode the wasp in waist to chest semi walled but very fun conditions.
I'm really getting this board figured out, and with the addition of a tail wart, am really finding it's maximum benefit.
This board surfs very nicely when using hard, round turns linked. It's also fast down the line. You can break the tail free if you want and slide it in ways that you can't on a thruster, at least, not without a lot more wave power.
It'll hold when you want, and it'll slide all you want. It just depends on your footing and the amount of pressure you apply. It does take a while to get fluid when driving front foot, then transferring all your weight rear for a full bore turn, then transition forward again for the front foot drive.
It's a very active and limber way of surfing, which is what I think I've been trying to achieve when I'm mind surfing.
Anyway, I digress.
The point I was getting at is that I was surfing really well in really fun waves with almost no-one out, and I hope that that's what a new year continues to bring for us all. That and looking forward to having W, et al, out of the White House!
See ya in the lineup in 2008....

It's the thought that counts

2007-12-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

Had the 27th annual Christmas Surf in less than anticipated conditions. There was some decent size, but the shape and tide made it a hit or miss kind of day.
Rode the bonzer in waist to shoulder high stuff that was sometimes holding up, sometimes not.
This extreme angled north is kind of pinching all the local breaks, either serving up a peak that tapers off too quicly, or a wall that sections out and fails to break top to bottom before closing out on the inside. There was a lot of waiting time for the good sets.
Still, it was uncrowded, and traditons must be kept.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Logo test

2007-12-21T07:14:00.001-08:00

Late, but not too late

2007-12-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

I slept poorly last night, with my slumber punctuated by a wonderful dream in which I was released from my crappy corporate position. Perhaps an omen?
Consequently, when I woke up, I was feeling unmvotivated. When I checked the palm fronds outside my window (my personal windsock), it seemed to indicate blow out.
Coupled with the 6' high tide at dawn, I wrote the pre-work DP session off and went back to sleep.
When I woke up, the morning reports were trumpeting a much different scenario than I thought. Of course! Now it was too late...
Or wait, was it? I had a 9 am dentist appt, so I quickly devised a plan. I called work and advised that my dentist appt would not allow me to get into work until noon.
It was actually over at 9:15... yippee!
Headed out into chest high and clean conditions with just a couple of others out, including a friend, by coincidence. Had a fun, relaxed and friendly session and went into work much refreshed.
Maybe they'll read this and fire me. One can only hope.
On the way into work, I saw something I haven't seen in a very long time. A funeral procession was passing on the other side of the freeway, at the same time "Tiny Dancer" was playing on the radio.
Got me thinking about how unimportant most of the shit we stress about really is. A sense of well being and calm overcame me as I continued towards work. I've been low key all day, and I'm going to keep it that way. It really helps the stress levels when you just don't care anymore...

Setting things in motion

2007-12-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

I have begun putting out the feelers to get the hell out of my current position.
If I can make enough money building boards, I'm going to take the plunge.
It'll be scary walking away from the security of a corporate job with bene's, but it's worth the risk to be able to walk away from the misery that is starting to enshroud me a little more each day.
Surf's still weeeeaaak.....

Shot from Thursday

2007-12-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

An aquaintance came into the shop and said he had shots from Thursday. Here's the best looking one. Hard to believe it's San Diego, huh?

Home sweet home

2007-12-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

I'm back and very, very glad to be so.
Yesterday woke up and checked the reports in anticipation that the swell would be hitting. The enthusiastic morning details were killing me, knowing that I'd be spending the day on a plane, but at least I was heading for home.
Got delayed for an extra hour and a half waiting for my connector in Phoenix, so I didn't get home until 11:30 pm, totally exhausted.
Since the tide was dead high at 6 am, I knew I had some time to sleep a little extra.
I finally got down to the beach just before 8 am, and watched and timed the sets for about an hour. By 9 I was getting my feet wet.
Naturally I hit a non-stop inside pounding despite my calculations, but then got my break after about 10 minutes of hard paddling. I dashed to the outside, only to be almost caught by a super set, sneaky bastards!
After that I settled into getting the lineup figured out. I didn't get anything for the first 20 mins or so, then I got my first right, a closeout that I had to kick out of quickly. Lots of water moving, and speed to burn.
The I started getting in rhythm, and got a lot of really good waves, mostly rights.
The majority were head high plus, but the two best were double overhead and cranking.
On both those biggest ones I hit a ledge about halfway down on the drop, almost digging a rail, but fortunately I was able to slice though, and the rest of the wave was a long, deep carving joy ride. It was pretty gnarly hitting those ledges backside since I felt the drag and with my back to the wave, I couldn't be sure if the lip was gonna catch because of that little pause.
After about 2 1/2 hours I was stoked, tired, and the wind was starting to turn on pretty hard from the South. I got out smiling, and only a little sad that I missed THE day yesterday.
Rode the 7'2" pintal semigun thruster.
Guess tomorrow's gonna be VAS, so I can catch up at settling back into home, where it's great to be back!

Told ya!

2007-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll miss opening day, and day two :-( but Thursday is on!!! Perhaps I'll get lucky and the swell will be late, as it tends to be. I seriously considered changing my flight back home to a coupla days early, but my 'rents would be so dissapointed...
Until I get back, I've been shoveling snow as a way to stay in shape.
Woke up to a picture perfect blanket of untouched snowfall. Haven't shoveled in many moons. I'll be happy to let twice as many moons pass before I do again. Snow is pretty to look at, but a pain in the ass to live in. It's currently 19 degrees outside.

Came across this photo of myself in one of my parents photo albums. This was my first board (which I would love to have back), and my first wetsuit, made by Hawaiian Wetsuits (now defunct).
In retrospect, Hawaii is the last place I think of for wetsuit technology, but at the time I thought it was the shit!
I believe this photo is sometime in 1981, December or so. I was freezing my ass off.

Prepare for swell

2007-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

I am going on landlocked vacation.
There should be kick ass waves arriving right about when my flight departs tomorrow, and should last until I get back the following Wednesday night. Thursday will be flat, like today.
Speaking of that, I hightailed it this morning to try and get one more surf in before I leave. I went straight to one of the most consistent and shape holding spots nearby, which of course is also one of the most consistently crowded.
It wasn't completely flat, but it was close.
The pixies at Surfshot were reporting it as poor-fair and waist high, but then proceeded to enthuse on how rideable it was. I watch it for a good long time, and there was dick to ride out there.
Even the two first light SUP's were just floating around listlessly, catching nada.
I am going to expound on this for the last time, I've covered it before; what the hell is the motivation to report what doesn't exist?
Moreover, their reporters need to realize that longboarding requires more than an open shoulder. If the board is longer than the shoulder section, it's probably not very good longboarding conditions. "Corners" are not particularly useful when riding a log.
But, since most of their reporters seem like pop-out riding novices with little wave experience, it's hardly surprising.

Now onto other things.... cell phones + driving = crappy driving.

Costco is not the state fair.
If you want to have a day out with the family eating samples, waiting in line, and clogging lanes, go to Disneyland. I mean really, why do ten people need to go do the job of one? Oh yea, that's right... to make it take me ten times as long to get in and out of there. Thanks a lot.

Finally, my favorite motto that bears repeating: Fuck your sense of entitlement. FUCK IT!
We as a nation move further towards infancy with each new generation. What a bunch of whiny babies! My latte is not hot enough! I don't want to wait my turn! My life is over because I can't get my botox appointment before the big party! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Shut the fuck up.
Demanding instead of simply earning your place in this world is what we are teaching and they are learning big time. Pretty soon the whole USA will be made up of little Britneys and Lindsays.
Devolution is real, and it will bring this nation down. Fight it, teach your children manners and critical thinking. Use logic and reason. Define the difference between self confidence and boorishness. Make clear the difference between reality and TV. Save us, save yourself.

See ya when I get back....

Another year has passed

2007-11-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today marks my observed 27th anniversary of my surfing career.
Going from a wide eyed newbie just stoked to be in the water to a grizzled old grumpus has been a long and interesting journey.
A lot has changed in that time, and a lot has stayed the same.
I've learned to make and repair my own boards, and to surf any type of board.
I've grasped (but no where near mastered) the art and science of swell prediction, and the effects of all the variables that dictate the best spots to surf at any given time.
I've stepped on a stingray, collided with a dolphin, nearly drowned, and somehow only broke one surfboard in half, although I’ve had to retire many, many boards will full deck delams.
I’ve surfed allover California, in Mexico, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and New York.
I've never hit anyone, but I've been hit a handful of times. I've spent an ungodly amount of cash, time and gasoline in my pursuit of the wave.
I've made friends, seen friends drop out of it, and just about lost my mind at times.
Lineups have swelled, and etiquette has declined. More over, we’ve seen the system of trial by fire and mentoring break down.
The old system of paying your dues to EARN respect and a spot on the peak has been largely crushed under the sheer weight of the numbers that have decided to join in.
You'd go out and fight for a wave at a break where the best surfers rule, and when your wave comes, go for it, or be forever shut down. Hesitation was the kiss of death. That's not that different now.
Respect, determination and courage are the true tests that will allow you to advance the pecking order.
Used to be, you didn't have to be good, but you did have to have balls. I think that’s probably it in a nutshell. You don’t have to have balls to surf anymore, at least to a certain degree.
All that shit about surfing being “just fun” to share with your friends on a sunny summer day at the beach is pie in the sky from the 40’s and 50’s, when less than a hundred people TOTAL were surfing in Cali.
Yes it’s fun, yes it’s cool to do with a friend, and yes, there can still be camaraderie in the lineup, but it’s not as simple as the “old days”, just like everything else in our manic SoCal playground. Damn, it's a major pain in the ass just to try and go to the store or bank.
Unfortunately a sense of entitlement, a lack of historical perspective and the sheer crushing numbers of enthusiasts egged on by the mags and websites have all but overwhelmed the surfing world.
One used to have to work to put it all together to become a competent-to-good surfer. Now most of the legwork is already done for you, and it shows. People rush to the best reported breaks just in time for the swell whose arrival is trumpeted weeks in advance.
Still, moving beyond the basics of standing up and angling in prove confounding for a large portion of the surfing public. Surfing well is not easily or quickly achieved. I still struggle for consistency in my performance. I'm not a "natural", that's for sure.
I read an article that stated that the U.S. has a population of 2.4 MILLION surfers, and that around half of them have been surfing for 3 or less years.
That's a lot of people who are just gaining real board control. And that means a lot of people who have not gained a lot of real knowledge, or respect for the community that pioneered the various elements that relate to surfing.
This knowledge has been disseminated to the many, and credited far too little to those who deserve it.
We've reached a homogenized state in surfing that is spawning a revolt of sorts, by people determined to pursue surfing outside the current rules.
Rules are good, like "don't drop in", but they can be bad too, like "ride a thruster cuz Kelly does".
The "surf" companies and magazines have done a lot of damage to the overall roots of the sport.
Yes, technology has improved our equipment, but it's stifled the simple pleasure of man, board, and wave.
Now it's hyper competitive, image conscious, egotistical, and commercial.
It's a commodity, another passtime or hobby to people who don't truly cherish and respect it.
Actually, it’s been all those things since the 60's, but again, the sheer numbers have pushed their effect into the stratosphere.
When I started surfing was still pretty much considered a haven of losers, outlaws and burnouts. The world really didn’t give surfing much respect overall, it merely considered it a curiosity and a bemusing movie joke. What a difference a few years and a gazillion marketing dollars make, huh?
The only thing we have to rely on now is the humbling power of the ocean that will crush those who fail to respect her.
All you can really do is seek your place on the face and relish the moment.
Here's to another 27 years of moments.....

On that note, I’m burned out on the maintenance of the blog.
I’m going to restrict updates to showing off new boards I’ve shaped, pressure relieving super rants, and only the most outstanding surf sessions. Thanks to all who have expressed interest and offered comments and insight. I’m happy to have met a few of you and this is not signing off, just a reduction in overhead.
To take from another community’s motto: PLUR
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. Live it.

WWWW

2007-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Weak waist-high wobbly walls this morning in my pre-work radius.
Looks like there are still a few spots around the county doing a little better.
It's getting colder....

Shaping Up

2007-11-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

Had a pretty good session today.
Head high with an occasional plus, fair to good form.
The sets were kinda slow in coming, but things picked up steam as the morning wore on. The wind killed it hard in the end though.
Rode the bonzer, which wanted more steeps, but worked well racing the sections and jamming roundies.
I'm considering putting a traction pad on this one to assist full bore turns and as a guide for foot placement since I shift my back foot around depending on the intensity of the turn.
Stayed out for almost three hours, then went skateboarding a few hills.
Looking forward to tomorrows session.

Thud

2007-11-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

The sound of another dud swell arriving.
Weak, slow motion closeouts. Onshore flow right off the bat isn't affecting the surface or the shape (what little there is) yet.
Maybe after the tide turns around....

Give up the funk

2007-11-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

Did a DP run yesterday to try and squeeze in a short session before heading into work, where I've had to go in early for training courses all this week.
Being that sunrise is so late, and I had to be at work at 7:30 meant that I basically had to check the nearest break or two, get in and get my waves in 45 minutes or so.
The swell was looking like a dud with the high tide, and after spending ten minutes waiting to see what the sets really had to offer, I was already out of time. Besides, the waves looked pretty weak.
On the way to work 92.5 was playing a streak of tunes that were a stoker for me.
I'm a big fan of real funk, from Prince to James Ulmer, Dazz Band, Blowfly, etc., I dig it, and they were bringing it. Nice consolation prize.
They played some Off the Wall MJ, Midnight Star, and something else I can't remember right now.
One of the few good things about radio is when they get into a group of songs that you like, it's like hitting a rich vein in a gold mine. Stuff you maybe weren't thinking of at the moment, but you really like and haven't heard in while can come up and surprise you, and you don't have to turn away after one or two songs.
After work I jammed back to my favorite reef/beach combo spot and was stoked to see dead calm glass and chest high sets. Not the greatest shape, but I really had to wash the work day off. All sorts of stresses this week, including having to replace the home water heater. Ouch.
Anyway, I headed out on the fish since it was a bit slopey and fat. Had a good time and caught a good number of rights and lefts equally, all the while a beautiful sunset was going down. Best of all, it was uncrowded and I had a peak all to myself.
After this week things will calm down again and hopefully we'll have some real Winter action.

Picture of a man

2007-11-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

In Honor of my grandfather, Col. Kenneth "Mac" MacKillop, on Veteran's Day.
He served in WWI, WWII, and Korea, but was not a career soldier. He served only when duty called. After the Korean war he went back to civilian life as an accountant until he retired. He lived to be 80 years old.
He was overseas almost ten years of my fathers childhood.
He sacrificed a lot for his country.
He would never talk about it.

One Wave

2007-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

One wave of note today.
Had a short session after the tide dropped a bit, in ankle to(rare) waist high, with clean conditions.
Got one of the rare waist high ones at the peak, dropped, hooked back up, to the nose and all the way to the sand with five over, about ten seconds total.
Sweet.

Talkin' Pipe

2007-11-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

I waited out the high tide and had a late morning session in weak waist high waves, that were OK. Did some walking and continued to get acquainted with the new fin on the Fusion. It's really so much better than as a tri...
In the evening I went down to the "Talkin' Pipe" event at the Cardiff Patagonia store with my wife.
Watched the slide show narrated by Jock Sutherland and Gerry Lopez, and got to meet them afterwards. They were both extremely gracious and chock full of Aloha despite enduring dozens of autographs, photos and general gushing adoration.
Really enjoyable, despite being really difficult to hear the narration. Great stories and nuggets of wisdom, humor, and insight to the early community that first explored the limits of Pipe.
My wife took some photos on the phone cam. The poor quality leaves me relatively anonymous, gratefully. You can still see a big ol' goofy grin on my face anyway.
Gerry and me
Jock and me

You learn something new every day

2007-11-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

I learned a new slang term recently, probably the funniest I've heard in a very long time; "Muffin Top".
From the NY Times:
The fashion world is a fecund, fruitful and fertile source of metaphoric phrases. (Funny, that all these synonyms for ''productive'' begin with f.) In 1999, an outbreak of bare midsections in the fashion world led this department to a midriff riff: I expressed my preference for the informal term bellybutton to be written as a single word, on the analogy of bellyache; this stand was opposed by a legion of navel-gazers who preferred a two-word usage, on the analogy of belly dancer. The dispute has never been resolved.

We now turn to a related locution spawned by the sight of as much as three to six inches of stomach bulging out below a short blouse and above hip-clinging ''low-rise' jeans.
When the wearer's abdomen is flat, a display of flesh above and well below the bellybutton produces an eye-catching picture of what The Scotsman in Britain has called ''the Britney belly-flash.'' However, when the wearer's midriff is flabby, a vivid culinary metaphor is used: muffin-top. As every baker knows, a muffin is a small cake that rises above its metal container. When removed from the pan, its shape is round, with the top hanging over the base of the cake like a small, harmless mushroom cloud."

I am now going to die of laughter. Well done, NYT.

Coastal Shutdown

2007-11-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

I was indeed sick today.
I slept in and let the tide drop, and I hoped that the pre-work sessioners would be getting out when I arrived.
Well, it seems everyone else was sick too. The coast was swarming with people looking for or looking at waves.
This swell has been closing out almost every spot I've checked North of Black's, with a couple of noticeable and highly noticed breaks. Even the West facing bb's were closing out in small and mushy scale.
I checked a few before hitting well-known-reef-break-in-full-view-of-PCH. It wasn't all time, but it was pretty darn good. Overhead on the sets, fast and powerful. It wasn't breaking non-stop down the line, but rather in big connecting sessions. Almost exclusively lefts.
The fly in the ointment? Crowds, as expected.
The parking lot was abuzz, many video cams and long lens photogs, gaping looky-loos... on and on.
I was assessing the consistency and the take-off zone, when one photog asked me to hand his gear up to him as he climbed a lifeguard tower, and we chatted and joked a bit. He noted that this was the best spot by far he'd seen on his way down from O'side.
He finally said, "Are you gonna paddle out"? I couldn't say no obviously, especially since this was the only game in town.
I headed out on a 6'4" thruster. It felt like a tiny nothing compared to what I've been riding the last few months. I can't remember the last session I had on it.
The paddle was farther than it seemed from shore, but easy as pie.
The crowd was heavy, heavy, heavy. When I got out some guy with binoculars asked how it was surfing one peak with 52 guys on it. "52"!? I asked. Yep, he just taken a head count. 52. One peak. Gnarly.
In the lineup it was full concentration to stay in position, dodge rogue sets, fend off the hordes, avoid the obstacles, or avoid being one. It was mentally and physically exhausting, but well worth it. It got cold during the sometimes very long lulls too, while the crowd dilated over the boil. After 2 1/2 hours I was spent.
After getting out and having a bite, I headed Northwards to see if maybe there was an oddball spot working the low tide without a crowd somewhere. I scanned from O'side back to Black's and saw nothing (save the spot I had just surfed and one other overpacked break)of any useable shape. There were occasional corners, but nothing of any quality, just very brief one pump then kick out wobblers.
I'm sure glad I met that photographer, or I would have wasted the whole morning doing what I did post session.
I think I'll be ill tomorrow too.

Where's my shape?

2007-11-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

DP run this morning, local breaks all closed out.
Headed North for more size, and hopefully more shape.
Checked well know South catching jetty. Closed out. In fact the entire strip of beach was closing out. And a funky North wind was chopping things up a bit.
Headed back South for some wind protection and hopefully more shape.
One break only really had shape, and of course, it was packed.
With the lulls, the mish-mash of good and bad shape, the crowd and the fact that I screwed myself time-wise looking around, I ended up just heading in to work dry.
Of course, the wind never really blew it out all day (since I was working and not "sick"), and things improved slightly for some breaks.
Checked things out locally again at sunset for tomorrows session, but conditions were pretty much the same, and not nearly as big as I thought it would build too.
Tomorrow I will be "sick", and it better stay as clean as it did today or I'm calling myself cursed and hanging it up.
Oh, and did I mention I really hate my job? Today I had a long conversation with my managers manager, and everything he said to try and assure me of improvements to address my grievances ended up having the opposite effect. Now I feel completely unmotivated to stay with Giant Corporate Entity.
Therefore, tomorrow is a surf day, not a work day.
Lastly, Midget Smith needs our help. Having shaped at least one killer board in my quiver, I feel compelled to give back. If you'd like to, you can too, just click here.

Copper Wars

2007-11-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

It's just one thing after another!
Friday night a couple of new age banditos climbed on top of the shop and stole all the copper electrical wiring, without killing themselves unfortunately, so now the shop is without power.
Sheesh.

Not boy, buoy!

2007-11-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

I was a buoy today. So was the entire surfing population of planet.
Conditions somewhat similar to yesterday, but a little smaller and less consistent.
There were very occasional nice ones, and a whole bunch of crap in between.
All day there words f*&% and S*&% were heard repeatedly. They were hard to get into. Most closed out. Then every now and again, a miraculous wave or two.
The tide was killing for most of the early morning, then things disintegrated further as the tide dropped.
I was at the wrong break, that's for sure, and my bet that the dropping tide would improve this spot did not pay off.
I was out for almost 3 1/2 hours and my first wave was my best. Nice shoulder high wedge that peeled down the line allowing me to jam a shoulder into the pocket and keep stalling all the way down the line.
Other than that, I got a bunch of closeouts or semi walled lines for short rides.
And, as mentioned before, a lot of sitting. I caught maybe twenty waves in that time period. Weak.
It was crowded as F*&%, too. Everywhere was crowded to the gills. Totally ridiculous.
Rode the MP3.1.

Where's my Santa?

2007-11-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Santa Ana that is...
Finally got back into the water today after days of justnot feelin' it with this swell mix. My local breaks haven't done well with it, and the short time frame from first light to having to get out and go to work has left me with limited options.
I opted for "no thanks" until today.
Headed Northward where I'd have the chance to get both swell directons working for me.
Met up with a friend and we had waist to occasional head high semi closeouts to work with.
Well known break just North of us was coming in solid head high, but completely closed out.
I chose the Fusion since I wanted to test out the new fin on it, a Velzy Classic 10", which worked great. It has more mass at the tip than a Greenough 4A, and more flex in the tip too.
The Fusion is so much better as a single fin, especially with this fin. Good projection, decent noseriding capabilties, and snappy, knifey turns if you want 'em, smooth if you don't.
Got one good left that gave up good tip time and speed. Other than that, it was mediocre, about the same as most breaks I checked heading back home.
I was hoping the forecasted Santa Ana would be enough to at least keep the winds calm through most of the day, if not offshore, but the wind started blowing hard from the North mid-late morning, and by noon things were onshore and blustery.
I was out about 2 1/2 hours, and I could have stayed out longer if not for the winds adding another layer of not-so-hot to the conditions. It was fun overall though, and I was really happy with the fin. It's a keeper.
On the way home I dropped into the Longboard Grotto who are now carrying new Bings. They had a Gold Standard in there done with the same silver cloth that they did my neighbors' fish with. It's very beautiful. There was a Jaocbs in there too with gold cloth.
Man, boards are just getting crazy nice.

Stand Up Guy

2007-11-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here's one stand up paddler that I'm happy to see out in the water:
Tom Jones
He should finish his journey sometime in the next couple of days. Go Tom!!!!

Close but no cigar

2007-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

My local breaks were just shy of being fun this morning.
A little more oomph would have made for some nice longboarding waves, but they just didn't have the power, Captain.
Too bad the tide changes for pre-blowout sessions won't make much of a difference.
I'm sure there are some fun spots out there somewhere, I just can't get to them before heading off to work (who came up with that idea anyway!)
Maybe tomorrow will bump up.

Is it torture?

2007-10-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Yes it was, but the devices of torture have been removed from my teeth.
I finally got my geeky-ass braces off!
What does this have to do with surfing? Nothing, unless you count being stoked on not being the geeky old guy with braces in the lineup. Now I'm just the geeky old guy in the lineup.
Who's smiling now?!?!

Let there be flat

2007-10-27T08:42:00.001-07:00

And so it was...

KM King

2007-10-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

First I'd like to say fuck you to the asshole(s) who stole a board out of the shop today. You know who you are, and if we catch you, God help you. You cost the hard working owner of that shop probably over 600 bucks.
Yeah that's right. While he working in the back, someone came in the front, and stole an almost new Rusty squash tail thruster from the front that had just been repaired. Now he's got to buy the customer a brand new Rusty out of a shop. You know that's going to be pricey. Anyone who might help, it's an all white, with a black and white tailpad, with only the "R" logos on the nose and the "Rusty" logo on the stringer, towards the tail. I know, real distinctive...

Next I'd like to say what a bunch of jackasses FEMA are for this stunt:
Story Here

Lastly, I surfed after high tide, with the wind already on it. Not badly on it, but your basic noontime bump and crumble.
Occasional head high, mostly waist to chest. Fair form, sometimes pretty OK form. Got a few good ones, rode the Wasp.
Had a section (not exactly a peak) to myself. One guy 30 yards North, two kids 30 yards South.
Longboarder with leash, Webs gloves, booties, and China made Dragonfly popout paddled out and sat, I'm not kidding, five feet away, and starts up conversation. I was cordial cuz he didn't mean any harm, but Geez! Why me? He then followed me everywhere I went for the entire session. He was a capable enough surfer, but he seemed to be very needy. I would catch a wave and end up 50 yards away from him. He'd paddle and sit right near me. I'd go for another wave, or move to another section, he was right there. After finally positioning the two kids between me and him, I finally got some space. Until he caught a right that carried him towards me, past the kids. Then HELLO! here he was again.
I think I would have had to punch him in the face for him to get the hint.
Oh well, he didn't get in my way or drop in or anything. Still very annoying.
That's three very aggravating strikes for the day. I'm staying home and hiding under the covers until tomorrow.

Scorched

2007-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday waited for the Uber high tide to drop, and rode the Fusion as a single fin for the first time. The waves were only waist high, but the shape was just terrific, and almost no one out again. I got two hours in, and a bunch of nice rides that let me get a nice test of the new fin setup.
Like the MP3, it's an vast improvement. 3 fins and non-thruster shapes just don't mix well for me. I hate the tracking and drag of a three fin setup on a board that really doesn't benefit from it.
Anyway, I was using a Greenough 4A or "dolphin" style template, 10". It made turns more responsive and eliminated that annoying tracking tendency. It rode much better from the nose, of course. Another one that's going to be rode as a single from now on.
My last two sessions have been marred by the most egregious of Magnet behavior.
Tuesday near the end of my session these two kids on shortboards tried to take over the little peak I was on. They failed miserably, since they could barely get to their feet on the mushy peelers, and I had the fire power of Lucy. It was annoying anyway to have an almost empty beach and still have two people blatantly try and force you off a peak and getting in the way pointlessly when you're just minding your own business.
And yesterday, these two guys walked almost a mile up the beach (I'm not exaggerating), pull their suits on, then paddle out and sit 15 feet to my inside on the peak I had to myself, with about five identical empty peaks along they way they travelled.
It's not like we couldn't have shared the peak, there were usually two or three waves per set, but why was it even necessary to try?
Karma once again spanked these two, they couldn't even get a wave, and I kept grabbing wave after wave. That's what you get riding a shortboard in longboard waves, and seriously breaching etiquette.
They paddled away in frustration.
Afterwards we headed to see the home of my in-laws that had come to us after evacuation Monday morning. It had not burned, but it was a real close call.
They lost a few trees and a patch of herb garden, but otherwise escaped unharmed.
The ring of landscaping around the property is the only thing not black and brown.

Apparently this part of a palm tree burns first, we saw a lot of these burned just under the fronds

This is the pool filled with soot and ash
Their neighbors down the road who weren't so lucky

In the goop

2007-10-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

All is clear pretty much for my house. A lot of people haven't yet returned. I'm enjoying the emptiness and quiet.
Surfed just after the low tide for a couple of hours. It was smaller and weak, just ghosts of the past two days. It was windless and clean, and pretty good shape on a quite as few. There were about and equal ratio of closeouts and shape.
I was the only person out longboarding, and I was able to grab a couple of doozies on the outside, about chest high. I pulled into two clean little barrels. I pulled out of one of them :-) The rest was knee to waist, fast, but mushy.
I also got some cheater fives and some walking done. It was fun.
The water wasn't as cold as yesterday, I got to have a get-used-to session with booties, and I got a lot of waves. I rode Lucy.
There was a lot of soot in the water, and now embedded in my wax. I rinsed real good when I got out.
The air wasn't as smoky as yesterday.
There was hardly anyone on the roads. Spooky, but I like it.

Out 'n' In

2007-10-23T08:37:00.001-07:00

We were issued a mandatory evacuation last night.
We had plenty of time, and we packed both cars with essentials and took off, along with our in-laws staying with us who had already evacuated from their home less than 24 hours prior.
It was a good lesson in how to pack all my boards in my truck.
What? You think that I 'd leave them behind?
We headed to downtown SD to stay with another relative.
We were allowed back home under voluntary evacuation for our area this morning. Glad to be back. Still not in imminent danger, or completely safe either.
Waiting and watching is what we'll be doing for a while. Looks like a LB session is the call today.
What? I'll be able to get home in time to evacuate again if necessary! Geez!

Blazing Boards

2007-10-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

I woke at 4:30 am as my in-laws rang the doorbell.
They'd been evacuated from their home and were staying with us, for now. Their house is safe.
I had been intending to call in late for work, and take at least a half day.
Turns out I didn't need to. They closed down the freeway, and indeed the entire area where I work.
I waited for the tide to drop a bit, and headed out at home break.
Panties, glorious panties!
Screaming offshores, chest to head high, holding and opening up in both directions, virtually no one out.
The winds had blown all the warmer surface water away, and it was freakin' freezing!
I stayed out for a marathon session, and from the exertion, cold, and bad air quality, I was absolutely exhausted when I got home.
Rode the bonzer, again, and had a great time. What a mix of stuff though.
The winds would go from zero to howling, the waves would hold you up and you couldn't get in sometimes to save your life. The sky was alternately clear or brown, with a glowing orange sun. People were congregating in the parking as they fled their homes. Surreal, horrible, but also fantastic.
Other's nightmares coincided with my dream. I feel sorry for those affected, but I don't feel bad about surfing.
Hope everyone is safe. San Diego will recover. Did it before, it'll do it again.

Burnin' The 'Bu

2007-10-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

California's smoking hot today.
Yep, the hills are alive with the sound of burning brush once again. The Santa Anas I'd hoped for kicked into overdrive today, and the blazes are on.
Yesterday was such a different scene too, it's weird.
There was a heavy marine layer and general instability's in the morning, I waited for the tide to drop a bit before going out, shunning the DP session.
It was fair when I finally went out, with some chest high stuff, but it was wildly unpredictable, and a real bitch to get into.
Things got worse as the day progressed. I was on Bloo, and caught a few OK ones at first, then things disintegrated from there, until the end of the session when I swapped with my friend to give his Octafish a try again.
I might as well had borrowed an anchor.
I couldn't finally use able shape to save my life, as I tried to get just one decent ride on it before calling the session. One decent ride never came, and it was pure storm surf when I got a closeout as my last wave.
This morning anticipation was high.
I still waited out the tide a bit, knowing that we were highly unlikely to blow out today.
I met same friend at well known break that was producing nice size, overhead plus, but also no shape. Closeouts or fade outs.
I was surprised.
I ran into another friend who surfed it and said it was terrible. All closeouts for him.
We started heading Southward, visiting breaks, and seeing nothing too great, but at least good size.
A lot of breaks were looking really slow on it, and there would be huge crowds at those breaks.
Where it was steeper and more consistent, there were few people out, but also almost no reason to be out there either.
We ended up by mid-morning at my home break ands found it most satisfactory.
Head high plus, sometimes 2 ft over on the best sets. Hard to get into sometimes, but clean and powerful. Not all that steep though, but so much water moving was enough to keep you moving easily.
Rode the Bonzer, and had a pretty good and long (3 hours) session. No particular standout wave, but they were all pretty good. Bonzer felt good, almost scarily fast projecting turns at speed.
When we got out the Santa Ana's had been going for about an hour, and were reaching the point of holding you up so badly that you couldn't get a drop on a wave.
By the time I was home, there were ashes falling and the sky was turning orange. The winds were gusting like crazy, and the news started reporting all these crazy Cali fires.
Good thoughts to California, anybody endangered, and the Emergency workers.
Tomorrow I'm taking a half day, at least. It's going to be so much fun.....

Gackin' it

2007-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Went for an everning session last night.
No wind, glassy surfaces, waist to chest, clean looking stuff an hour and a half before sunset.
Looked better than it rode, and I was surfing like $h*#.
I can say the bonzer does not like mushy closeouts, for sure.
Lots of closeouts mixed in and I was surfing terribly. Oh well, it was OK anyway...