Weekdays Rule

Oh man I believe I picked the right spot this morning. Big decisions of where to go late last night and then called an audible at 4am. No West beachbreak thumpin's for me this morning. Head to a southie point instead. Irie mellowness and foggy. No one really out, especially at dark o'thirty. Long fishy rides to long paddle back outs. Noodley arms and noodley brain. Solo. Relaxing. Offshore a bit. Good small swell. Foggy. Lovely.

What a big fun swell early this week after headin' North. Holy shit, heart-racing-thumpin'big sloppy drops Monday turned into a clean meaty offshore barrels on Tuesday to a playful fun perfect day on Wednesday. All up north of me and out of my usual comfort local zones. Good to feel non-LA power. Then back Thursday to a local under the radar left and today at the southie point.

Some pics around thee ol' surf blogs help explain what I lived better than my lame words.

Warrrbbbllles heavy thumpin' Monday....


WarmJet barrellin' Tuesday.....


Raw Waters in Cedar sunny clean Wednesday...


Sailertrash lefty Thursday....


Stoney Joe Friday...


OH YEAH!

3.2 @ 17secs from 225

See ya.

It's 8pm and 22.7 feet at 18-22 second intervals from an angle of 286 degrees.

Keep on surfin'

Sad news that Bill Holden passed away in early February. He was a classic shaper back in the days of Velzy and Bing and Yater and on and on. My second board was one of his shapes, a 9'6" single fin, all white, with that classic big Holden logo of the stoked guys running to the curlin' wave. I actually saw him speak several years ago and he seemed just so down to earth and special. Still a stoked ol' surf dude. Would have loved to pick his genius shapin' brain a little more.

His quote on his art really sums him up “It’s like sculpting. It just gets in your blood”. So fuckin' true Bill.

Was actually fun in the offshore windy rain this morn'. Was actually not fun gettin' dressed in the offshore windy rain after the session.

9.1 @14sec from 305

Sickening

Sad display of a corporate surf company's disregard for the beach and ocean. This was the aftermath of a surf contest Volcom put on at El Porto last weekend. Picture by the dude that runs the informative site, Swellmagnet.

I bet the Volcom people go around claiming to live "green" and "organic" and "lessen their environmental impact" and all the other buzz words of the day. What bullshit.

Yeah, it could be a couple bad seed surf bro brahs that think they are too cool and don't need find another trash can but still the Volcom organizers should be in charge of leaving nothing at the beach. Pack up what you pack in. Should be the easiest thing to do in running a surf contest. Pathetic.


Waves have been looking okay from the beach and then you get out there and there is just not much shape. Wierd warbles and backing-off-until-they-closeout kinda waves. Can't complain I guess. At least it has been not windy and rainy and stormy.

7.1 @ 14secs from 295

Hidden Gem

Hmmm. Where is his house? Marshall told me to meet him on Phillip Island, in a little bay but I don't see anything. Just rocks and grass and nice right pumpin' thru the bay. Fuck Marshall, who cares, I can't change into my wetsuit fast enough. Solo long lined perfection that bend into the bay. I get a couple hours until the winds come up. Wind is really howlin' now so I spin and drop into a bumpy one and milk it almost to the beach. As I paddle in I notice a strange black line just above the black rocks, and then I see a figure in the reeds wavin' me up the hill.

Turns out to be Marshall, nods to me saying "You got some fun ones, mate!". He then takes me around a corner and I see this concrete structure buried into the dunes, with ragged tufts of dune grass above it. That's your house?! The house is a long thin concrete box, set along one edge of a large square courtyard contained by six feet high black concrete walls with dune berms ramped up to roof level on three sides. On the open ocean elevation, windows are sized and positioned within each room to act as picture frames to the views. His house is completely hidden from the landward side.

His courtyard offers protection from winds and is a north facing sun trap in winter. Here we sit and enjoy some tea in the warm sun while he tells me of the countless rides at the point in his front yard. He builds his boards specifically for this spot. Always fiddlin' and changin' up his shapes to get the most out of perfection. That evenin', I am put up in an ocean facing room where I mind surf the point as I drift off to sleep. Wake up, surf with Marshall, thaw out in the courtyard, eat a huge Aussie meal, surf the windy afternoons...and repeat for two weeks straight. It is heaven.


Back to real life this mornin'...it was fat, weak, slow and cold. Good to be back.
6.9 @14secs from 320

Windswept

Lots o' wind lately. Blustery. Even when it wasn't really windy today it felt windy. Got some time off and went to visit my negative low bar. Was readin' my Feb. '07 write ups and I was glowin' and gluttonous over this spot. Need to see what the rains and swell have done. Beautiful sunny crisp day.

Today the water was kinda choppy and bumpy but still had that afternoon glassy feel. Close interval swell meant a pathetically long paddle out. Out of shaped paddlin' pullbacks. Huffin' and puffin' rip currents south. Kooky bottom turns and barrel crouches. But it all felt grand.

Bar was pretty rough however. A lot of closeouts. Seemed a lot of sand moved out to sea. Up to my armpits I could stand at the take-off spot. Suckin' out hard on a couple sandspit-like grindin' hollow barrels. Those were a blast.

I am still hopin' that it was just the messy-ish swell and not that my bar has changed owners from last year.

9.1 @ 12secs from 295

Apparition

Cool new lil' shortie from Kidman. "The Ghosts Are Calling". Hope you ain't burnt out on all the love for him lately but there is a reason for it all. His shit is incredible.

A far-off unknown buddy shapin' a crazy multi channelled board. I take the long flight over there and he shows me his shapin' shed hidden in the back corner of his land and I drool. He lets me glass the top and then he fixes my mistakes. We drink some home brewed ale and talk local surf story as we wait for the resin to dry. Long into the night we bike down in the cold night to this cove he has been watchin'. "Sweet lefty down there".

Next morning I awake to the sounds of his cows and look out my little cabin window to the beautiful green rolling hills with the sun tryin' to peak over them. Bangin' on the door makes me jump up. No one there except a cup of joe, some herb and a video camera with a note "Sweet lefty down there".


I enjoy the mornin' air and scenery and start to make my way down the trail, past the cows and through the hills until I see the penguins. Over the bluff I am stoked at the sight. I'll have to wait and video for hours until my buddy gets out of the ocean. But it'll be worth it once I get my turn. "Yep", I said around the fire later that night "that is a sweet lefty!"


All snaps grabbed from his new flick. Hope he don't mind my ramblin's.

11.8 @ 12secs from 315

The Long Wait

Still been on and off sick. Forget what it is like to be 100%. Forget what it is like to drop into a meaty wave. Forget what the ocean tastes like. Snuck in a couple short surfs though. Feelin' that turnin' point soon. Know it'll be a stellar February. Calmer air and cleaner swell.

Jay Alders paintin'. Longin' for those nice warm summer peaky groundswelly daze. Meanwhile. TSJ readin'. Uke fiddlin'. New board makin'. Stayin' stoked.

6.8 @14secs from 310