pushingtide
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sea Smoke

Early week big dumpy swells. Slowly turning into later week shapely walls.
Beachbreak lovin'. I've missed my winter spot. Not many around, bars fixin' up and still warm water.
Got the bonus of a deep foggy morn today. Wish it could be foggy every morning. Keeps people away and keeps them on their cells talkin' "well bro, I can't see the waves yet so I am gonna stand here and keep drinkin' coffee" as I'm out getting the foggy goods.
5.7 @ 14secs from 305
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Whoa!




All photos by Randy Wright. Pictures and story of a shark breaching off Sunset!
I'll paraphrase " On October 3, 2009 Randy Wright of Horizon's West Surf Shop, Santa Monica, was kayaking 320 yards off Sunset Beach.... Still looking towards the point area, at 9:00 AM exactly, I noticed some movement towards my left and quickly turned the camera and fired off 4 shots of something, I wasn't sure, airborne and then splashing. As I was not originally looking in the same exact direction, I did not see what it was, it happened so fast, but I assumed this was a shark, since I did not see any dolphins in the area surface and breathe afterwards...... At exactly 10:00 AM I heard another splash on my starboard side, towards the Bel Air Bay Club, but missed the animal breach, but shot the remnants of the splash. I did not see any other breaching by the time I left at 11:23 AM arriving back at Horizon's West Surf Shop at noon. Two friends, Carlos Pires and Paige Heatherington watched me unload my camera from the SPL Waterhousing and download and go over the photo's I shot that morning over the 4 hour period that I spent observing. Our jaws literally dropped when image #73, 74, 75, 76 appeared, for his was the legendary breaching shark in mid-air! This was what I saw and luckily captured.”
Gnarly!!! Hopefully it will eat some SUP kooks!
Read more here: http://sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm
2.5 @ 14secs from 200
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Hmmm

On the cover of the Journal. Surprised. Kinda sucks but that's life. It mostly looks like this though. Shitty and small and no shape and very rocky.
Such good memories. Cool locals in and out of the water. Horses runnin' on the beach. Deep green brush meets super white sand meets turquoise water. No one 'round for miles of sandy coastline. Traveled there a coupla times and will travel there a coupla more. I'll shut up now.
2.4 @14secs from 185
Friday, September 18, 2009
Out West

Rollin' bones this mornin'. Like my man Biggie Smalls.
Shifty beachie. Lots of longish rights. Lotsa closeouts. Speedy sections. Fast walls. Old wintertime spot all week. Good to see it's shape is fairly good for so early in the season. Even saw speed-walkin' lady go by. I've seen her out there for 10 years or more. Crazy dedication.
Love sunny warm morns where you roll the bones, turn and drop, see whatcha got.
4.8 @ 12secs from 310
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Power
Today was perfect. Chest high leftovers with no one out. Just as I thought. Well, one other dude came out, but not 'til 7am. By then, I was tired of the long peelers.
Wow, what a swell. I'm battered. I'm stoked out. Haven't felt that power since a couple winters ago. Paid for it on the early part of this swell though. After a month of being too sick, too lazy, too much late night revelry, and no surf...my arms were slow to paddle. Feet were slow to set. But when they did, man it was wooooosh.
RIP wedge surfer Mr. Valantin.
2.2 @ 14secs from 195
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Think and Hunt

Pulled up in the foggy dark just as this irie Burning Spear song came on called Happy Day. Yes indeed! Skankin' in the dark in my wetsuit always starts my day right.
Don't draw violence...
Think for yourself...
Solve your own problems...
You can be a trip to know...
Love the words.
Huntin' around always helps on these hyped swells. Still couldn't be alone after 7am though. No matta 'cause got nuff long rides for the two hours before that.
But had to yell at a dude, first time in a long time if ever. Big outside set comes in and I am paddling out behind him. He ducks and lets his board go. "Hold yer board!" and he looks at me and continues to paddle. Next wave of the set and the fucker does it again. "FUCKYOU! Hold onto your fucking board. It ain't that fucking hard". So pissed. Don't want to miss out on summer because I have a gash on my head from some kook longboard fuck. Well, guess I didn't totally heed Spear's good words but it was necessary.
4.5 @ 17secs from 190
Monday, April 06, 2009
GLSA


Punchy south the last couple days. Good to get some souths again.
Mostly had to be confined to gross, touristy, dirty Hollywood. Saw a yellow pintail gun in a tourist shop up on the wall. And it seems like the G.L.S.A., lead by the Marshall Brothers, were in town there recently as well! How the hell did they shimmy up that high up sign to throw that sticker?!
Good to at least feel some surf in the middle of soul sucking Hollywood.
2.8 @ 17secs from 195
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Soces

"It was all private land then and fenced off, but Phillips tolerated us climbing through his barrier to surf and dive as long as we didn’t disturb his cattle and other livestock on the beach. No other surfers went there. His house was where the lifeguard building is now. We eventually changed the name to Sequit after the Arroyo Sequit canyon that meets the beach there." - Mr. Porter
Surfed four points. Two different homemades. And one spectacular South. Did my part by not blabbing, 'net nor cellphone. The super dawn going to low tide darkish blue mornings blew my mind. Solo. Alone. Pumpin'. Only shared with others once 6:45am came around. Consistent enough for waves and smiles all around. Beautiful sunsets burnin' smog. Obviously Monday was the best.
2.4 @ 11secs from 225
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Presentin'
The Present: Cool 16mm film feel but a very clunky feel. Weird voiceovers that didn't go together or say anything new. Songs that would stop mid wave. Good waves with cool angles, but were sped up to nonsense. Nose cam of Rasta's mouth hanging open for 5 minutes. No thanks. This was not the movie I was so hyped on way back when this trailer came out. Shit back then, I was so stoked I even did a quick drunken late night awful remix of the trailer. I think I'd buy the trailer on DVD, but not the movie.
Five years to make this? Seems like a thrown together side project mishap that happened to come from a very talented guy.
2.8 @17secs from 170
Monday, March 09, 2009
Magic

Love board design. Love tryin' new things. Love tryin' old things. Love combinin' both. Love surfin' both.
Fun weekend testin' out my latest. It came out very close to "The Magic". Eerily close although I just found this pic.
Lookin' so forward to testin' it out on a couple nice Souths. Can't fuckin' wait.
4.1 @ 10secs from 310
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Aura

This morning was refreshing. Smaller. But more shapely.
Love to listen to KZSC Santa Cruz every Tues. and Thurs. from 10-noon for some irie roots tunes.
The riddims and ambience make me feel like I have been transported back to that amazing area. Just got out of a kelpy fun reef session and pick up a breakfast burrito on the way back to a buddy's homebuilt trippy little cabin in the SC woods. Burn a couple down on the porch with the KZSC reggae show blastin'. Tweakin' boards. Repairin' dings. Talkin' smack. Chillin'. Getting' pumped up for the afternoon glassy surf. Ahhh, the life.
3.1 @ 14secs from 310
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Get It

Just good skankin' fun out there today. Head high and fresh. The 5-6 hour was hard offshore, the 6-7 hour had a slight bump to it, and the final 1/2 hour was blown out and junky. Felt like I surfed 3 different spots today. Cool to see the lifeguards going out in a dingy just as I was getting out. They looked stoked as they were blasting through the whitewash.
Love surfin' in the the rainy mist. Some good juice to the swell.
4.1 @ 17secs from 205
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Life

Grandfather's hands. Just turned 96. Full life. Hardcore carpenter and whittler. In his late years he would still go to whittling conventions where they would say, here is a block of wood, make a ____ out of it in 2 minutes. Amazing almost lost art.
He surprised me one year with a wood carved surfer. Not some cheesy stanced typical surfer Cardiff style. Nope, his was of an ancient Hawaiian, no trunks but a loincloth around his waist, even had him standing on a wave made of driftwood. Incredible to me. Should post a pic of it one day. Hopefully I picked up an ounce of his talent and drive and life.
My grandmother, his wife obviously, died recently and he is devastated. 76 years(!!!) of marriage will do that to you. Rad. Sad.
Need some cleansin' today. Keep on truckin' Grandpa!
4.1 @ 12secs from 295
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Island Cane

Island style. Prime Primo. Ono.
Dude said that was the last sixer of his shipment. It'll help my homemade glassing go a little smoother today.
What is better than gettin' some decent waves this morning and then finishin' up your homemade while you try hard to imagine you are on the Islands instead of in your cold garage? Ha, not much.
3.1 @ 14secs from 290
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Lucky



Joe snaps. Surprisingly fun rainy stormy weekend. Had small windows both weekend days to surf and mostly drove down just to check it. Whoa! That looks good. And crowded. People jonesin'. Get me sick from runoff, don't care. Need waves. Repeat on Sunday.
Guess I lucked out although I heard some even better tales from the better spots.
4.2 @ 12secs from 310
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Soon

Feels like just yesterday I was out waitin' for the final lumps of the final South of the summer. That turned into being stoked for Winter who was on her way.
Bigger lumps!
Cold bruisers!.
Beachbreak beatdowns!
Well that didn't really happen this season. Oh well.
Now I am back jonesin' and thinkin' about this sunrise view again. Super early dark sessions waitin' for dawn to break.
Shortjohn lovin'!
Warm peelers!
Pointbreak fishin'!!!
Well I hope that happens this season. Soon come.
1.1 @ 12secs from 310
















