Mellow rockin'

It was rockin' and a little mellow, just like this old CSNY pic from their backyard up in Laurel Canyon during the late '60s. You can see Young back on the keys. Man, if only to be transported back to that yard.

Pre-pre-pre dawn. The stars were still out. Orion. The fake little dipper. Tons of stars. Caught two nice ones right away by following the faint blue tint on the waves from the faint pre-dawn light. So fun. More consistent than yesterday and only me out. One other guy showed up. A buddy. And it was back and forth on waist high niceness for the rest of the beautiful morning.

Love my little cut down egg board. Thinking my next shape, at least for this point, is going to be similiar. Love the feel of the single fin. Love walkin' up to the nose. Love the feel of the small roundish shape.

2.6 @ 14 secs from 215
1st out

Waitin' and Scorin'

Saw a fun band until midnight last night, power woke up at 4:30 ready to get some slides!





More inconsistent but big on the sets still.






Down to my last board, a cut in half egg board that comes out to 5'9" X 22 X 2 1/2 now. Chopped off the three fins and now it is a single fin. Singles are made for long points. The board is such a beast, as you could imagine a cut down longboard would be. Love it though, very challenging, catches waves with ease, ride the nose (only got 5 on it this morn), makes flat sections.

Seal popped his or her head up. Morning was good.




2.8-3.3 @ 14 secs from 185-195
2nd out

Losin' a Friend

She was a friend, a friend til the end.

We woke up early together. Got scared together in the big swell pre-dawn darkness. Enjoyed many long rides, many cutbacks, many insane speed runs.

Now I am afraid she is past being repaired. Been fixed too many times. Past her lifespan that she pushed for so long. Towards the end, yeah she was getting slow, getting tired, getting beat up, but she fought on and still gave me just enough for the needed bottom turns, the needed speed through the sections, one last powerful turn in the pocket. All with her beautiful two fins.

And now she will rest in my garage. With the other old and retired boards. Trying to enjoy the dry life. Her template will go on to many other offspring. Their lines a little more clean than hers. Their dimensions a little more true. Their rails more dialed in.

But she’ll always be my first homemade board....and she fuckin’ worked!!

4.1 @ 17secs from 180

Eve and Morn

both stunk, at least if you base it on wave heights alone. Other than that, they were two more beautiful sessions in the ocean.


Surfed a rare evening session last night and it seemed to be picking up at dark. So I go home, set the early alarm and am back out at the point before first light. Seems to be okay. Then the light comes and the waves don't. A lot of sittin', thinkin', rem
iniscin', loiterin', and borin'.


Too early for the South to hit apparently. Oh well, got 4 more waves than I would have had I stayed home. And saw the local seal up close for the first time. She popped up about 5 feet from me, stared, said "looks like they ain't no waves", and went on her way.

By the way, seemed a little red tide was sneaking in already. Tasted and smelled funky fishy.



2.6 @ 12 secs from 200 degrees
1st out

Northern Dreams

Reminiscin' about a trip late winter. Windy redwood lined roads. Camp. Big fire. Talking about waves. Some girl pickin' a banjo versus the harmonica wailin'. Someone brings up a hidden point they heard about years ago. Never found it, and if they did, it wasn't working. Interests are peaked in our foggy heads. Fire dwindles as our plans grow.

Dewey tent as I hear sticks being tossed at it. Grab a banana and a bar and hop in the truck. Three of us keep last nights dreams going. Green, purplish, gray, twisting road to the coast. Silence except for the strains of Garcia's pickin' from one speaker. Park behind a tree on the shoulder. Backpacks and surfboards become lighter as the joint comes around for another visit. Beautiful, calm, dense, alive forest. Ammmpin' by now. Skipping to the edge. Eyes bug out!

Score.

Quiet.

Didn't miss my hometown at all that weekend.

Dead Swell

East winds a blowing. Choppy, punchy, small, gray, surf. Point felt like a beach break. Fun to be challenged to race the non-stop sections. Big loud kooks were out again yappin' and getting pitched. Seems a huge fat 10ft, 4" thick board doesn't race down the line fast. Who'd a thought.

Beautiful reminder that a new season is coming.


2.3 @ 14 secs from 190
1st out

Lessons Learned.

Oh yeah, that is how head high waves feel like. I forgot. Good consistency. Good size. Good angle. Good power. Good vibes.

Rode my 5'10" thruster again, the fish is still dead. It is so interesting to turn exactly where and when I want to, to power out of the bottom turn, to not catch my front rail, etc. Never realized that the board that I made was such a dog. Well, shouldn't say dog, because it worked well. Just not that well. I understand how much of an art and a craft it is to build a surfboard. Much respect to the shapers.

But I would still pick riding the homemade board over the others anyday.


2.6-2.8 @ 17 secs from 185
1st out

On it.

Wow, what a morn. Blindly catch 4 or 5 before it was even pre-dawn. Consistent, highish tide chesites coming thru. All alone. Beautiful warm morning. Perfect sunrise and then it was another 15 minutes until a buddy paddled out. Snag many, many more as the morning went on. Swell was coming in good, at a good angle, very consistent.

Love when the local surf sites put up that “it might not show until later today or tonight”. Yep yep.

2.7 @ 20secs from 200 degrees
1st out.

Wha' happen'?

So fun yesterday. Today, more heads in the water and less waves. Consistency was gone. Big set waves were gone. Still snagged a good one but a total of 3 rides in 2 1/2 hours isn't too hot.

The two tools were out there again. Yappin' away about this and that. Nonstop yappin'. One said "Oh all the surf sites I look at didn't mention the good swell yesterday. They lied". I replied, "Yeah, wish they would always lie."

One of the kooks bought a new Aipa longboard, 10 fucking feet long and 4 inches thick. Popout, of course. Now he not only goes for every wave, but never misses. What fucking fun is it to just stand there on your huge door? Why do you yell "Party Wave" before each one. Some of us like to surf alone on a wave, call us crazy. Go home KOOK! Sorry, I am calm now.

Wish I lived back in the time of this pic that was taken of the Malibu area.



2.6 @ 17secs from 190 (but it sure di'int feel like it!!)
1st out.

Thick Foggy Love

Niiiiice. Swell still hanging on. About a 1/10 of the people.

Paddle out first in the thick, thick fog. Barely can make out the lineup points. Chesty comes thru and pump it for a long one. Get back out, another one comes, repeat nonstop.


Used my old 5'10 thruster. The Fish got injured out at the last session. Thruster is tougher to get into waves but flies and moves around a little better. Probably because it isn't homemade like my Fishy.

Two other heads join me and are mellow. Everyone trading waist to chest waves for 2 1/2 hours until I had to catch a long one in to work. Damn work.

So fun. Hope you all is scorin'.


2.6 @ 14 secs from 185-195
1st out

Sunday Funboardbay

Only 4 of us trading long low tide rights until 7am. Got a good hour plus of beautifulness. And then everyone starting waking up. And coming in threes. And coming with 9 foot plus boards. So dangerous by 8am. Most people I have seen at this spot. The fact that there was a contest down the street contributed to this and that it was a Sunday morn.


Hitting at the palm trees, closing out at the white house. Too much west in this swell for this spot? Too low of a tide from the full moon? Too many kooks making the ocean angry?

2.9 @17secs from 200
3rd out

Buoy Lyin'

What happened? Stoked at the early morn' buoys. Down coffee, make the dark drive, suit up in the car, listen to a great Marley live song "The Heathen". Stoked. Then paddle out. Catch a good one. Dawn light comes, a couple heads paddle out, we sit, and sit, and sit. Maybe one more chest high set. Then we sit, and sit, and sit. Three hours later, I am almost late to work and have to paddle back in. Couldn't wait for a wave any longer. Pathetic.

Did this little swell top out overnight? Damn. Not surf stoked sittin' here at work tired.


3am: 2.8 @20sec from 210
10am: 2.0 @14secs from 185
1st out

Foggy Solo Point Pants

Suit up in car. Very dark. Scamper down the stairs and beach. Wait a bit. Solo thoughts. Warm dawn. Pre-light paddle out. Small. Waist high set comes. Ride it nice. Biggest wave all morn' was a chesty and luckily I snagged it instead of waiting/hoping for a bigger next wave. One wave sets. Every hour. But I was alone. Getting small medium length rides. In LA. From 5:30-8am. Little slice of perfection.

Burning sunrise through the fog was insane this morning.

1.6-1.9@14-17secs from 190

Dirty Windswell

Cool snap courtesy of Rhys (www.flickr.com/photos/jonasphoto/).

Oh man, surfing after a big beachy holiday weekend is not the best for the immune system. Potato chip bags, capri sun bags, trashbags, towels, suntan lotion, anything and everything floating out in the lineup. Plus you have to deal with the 1,000 summer holiday kooks flopping around. Disgusting tasting beautiful ocean water.

So I high-tailed it to a low key jetty. A little peakiness. Little quick drops. Waves would fizz out fast making you wonder what happened.

Beautiful morn.

2.1@12 from 305 degrees