Water 'as been cold lately?

Lake Erie. '05.

Cleveland, Ohio.

Good 25 knot wind.

2 hour wind swell window.

Paddle out before it ices over later on in the Winter.


New year, new waves. Happy.

6.1 @ 17 secs from 298 on its way.

Simple

Don't you love the simple life down in the South.

You can always find it when you want to.

And most of the time you can get it to yerselves.

Utter stoke in my bones.

6.9 @ 12secs from 315

Celebration

Hope you all get some liquid gifts.

I'm off to Baja soon.


7.1 @ 17 secs from 290

Pier Local

Not much gets said about the kids back in the East. Keith Noonan, Frank Walsh, Matt Keenan Dean Randazzo, and Sam Hammer. Jersey. Love Hammer's style. He grew up in Lavellette and was a Casino Pier local . Surfed the best Jenks wedges of course. Made several under the radar trips to Iceland and Norway to pioneer his own waves.

Anyway, here are some twenty year old snaps scrounged up by a good buddy back East. Somewheres around where Sammy grew up. Think I need to pay a visit to my ol' buddy.

Ode

Didn't surf today and have no creativity. So I will try my hand at bitin' Doc's cartoon stylee. Who has one of the best surf sites around... Informative, stokin', talkin' stories, historical passages, old beach snaps and each day has an altered style with that cool Oregon method.

"When the swell died, the board's magic seemed to go with it." - Doc's


And it's not bone-chillin' down here. It's not blustery down here. You're not as numb as you could be. Your feet aren't frigid as it could be. Suck it up. You ain't up North.

And because of that, we all miss out on a lot of livin' life that way it should be done.

3.0 @ 12 secs from 295

Abstruse

Off into the shadowy cold morn'....And stoked.

5.3 @ 13 secs from 295

Fishin'

Damn. Love this fishin'

Maybe if I cut my 5'7" down two inches I could rip like Wardy.




3.3 @ 11 secs from 305

Misty Murky

After all this whale and PV talk, I decided to take advantage of my late Friday morning work call. Up at 4am and off into the murky world. After I pulled up, I'm preppin' my bag and board for the long walk down. I was thinking of the cool article in the newest TSJ on Doc and Granny. Two old South Bay surfers in the 30's. Pics of them actually driving down this windy trail to the paddle out spot, pics of them out alone riding these huge homemade wood plank boards. In their own world. Knowing the feeling of stoke before most. Knowing they found something special.

I hear a couple people around and feel the rumbling of the outside peaks. Can't see shit. And lovin' it. Lovely deep fog paddle out over the inside rollers. Thought I was out far enough but still had to paddle more. Some bombs coming through. In my own little foggy and misty box as I only see some other heads when I paddle back out after my waves. My pick of waves. Fun drops. Powerful thick rollers. Mostly lefts into the abyss.

End of the session the fog starts to lift and I can make out the majestic cliffs, the sun trying to burn through, the green trees watching over me. Catch the longer right of the day and milk her for all that it is worth and still a long paddle back in. Refusing to wear booties, especially at spots like these, are tough on my feet but they are used to it. Feet know it will be over soon. Come away with only a couple small foot cuts. Worth every scratch. Beautiful, amazing morning. Not a concrete structure in sight.

Pic if from a perfect December day in 2004. Offshore and 80 degrees.

4.7 @ 13 secs from 305

Whales Tails

I know this is nothing cool to our up North neighbors but we don't get to see many whales down here often. Fin whales have been spotted super close to Palos Verdes lately. Packs of 10 feedin'. Supposedly if they are feeding on krill, this will bring the Blue Whales a huntin'. Orcas are also being spotted off the coast of Anacapa Island. Down in OC even. Humpback and Gray whales are being spotted too! I usually see them off of Point Dume. Never at Palos Verdes. I remember a bunch of surfers reported a whale breaching about 10 yards out in the South Bay last year. Sea life. Unseen sea life happening all around us out there.

Got to get over to those beautiful cliffs of PV. Quietly. And alone. As to not ruffle up the rich local land whales.

Or maybe I will just go back to Whale Bay.

4.3 @ 13 secs from 300

Muscle

With more time free I would have loved to travel to a Northern point this mornin'.
With more free time I would have loved to hunt and peck up and down the coast.
With more free time I would have waited out the work DP’ers and hit the opening.
With more free time I would have loved to try to get barrelled in this 16 sec energy.

With more free time I wouldn't have driven to work this morning bone dry.
With more free time I wouldn't have wrote this in a non-surf-stoked state.

Ahhhh, if only I had more free time....

9.5 @ 15 secs from 310

Wild

Ummm yes.

Saturday was super fun. Powerful. Clear. Windless. And sunny.

Off to check a summer spot that I heard was nice on Saturday. And with more West, hmmmmm.


7.1 @ 14 secs from 305

South

Buddy teasin' me with Nica pics. Jungles. Bugs. Offshores. Exploring and scoring.

Won't show me his maps unless I go down with him next time. Those maps are worth more than gold.

Lookin' forward to explorin' the coast this Winter again. And maybe this weekend.

Hope you all get some!

1.1 @ 10 secs from 270 (but comin')

Minus Tides

Weekend. Negative tides. The spot. Great shape. No one out. Leashless. Sunny. Warm.

Bliss.

2.4 @ 6 secs from 310

Bummer

Stoked all week that a last little swell is coming from the south. Know the tide will be way up but that keeps the crowd done, or none at all. Checking the buoys all day yesterday, starting to get a little worried that it is not hitting yet, or will be very small. Stoked dreams of long solo point waves. Pop up in the dark cold morning and drive. Stoked. Last chance to say goodbye to my summer friend. She was so good to me this summer. So giving. So lovely. So pure. No one on the country road in, no one at the spot, no one anywhere. Suit up in the heated car and make the long run down. Still dark and don’t hear anything, certainly not the tell-tale crashing sound. Who cares, always long lulls here. Paddle out, worried but stoked being caressed by her waters. Her taste and smell bring back vivid memories of sessions past.

Then I sit. And sit. And take in the crisp beautiful sunset. And sit. Pick off a miniscule one that barely propels me forward. And sit. Start laughing and laughing realizing nothing is coming from the still horizon. Swim around a little and take the last day in. It was still worth it to say goodbye and goodnight to her. We’ll meet again.

1.4 @ 14 secs from 225
(1st and only out)