E's Surf Report: waves. a little bumpy.. but.. waves!

yup. Sunny skies, temperate clime and dry wetsuit conspired to kick off the morning right. Drove two blocks down to the local and caught a handful of enjoyable waves. OB looking a bit topsy-turvy but well within the range of surfability. It was fun to catch a few with the 'Stah, even though i was in heavy kook mode this morning and even dropped in on everyone's favorite surf forcaster on this one right. oops. But.. let's see... the best waves were slightly overhead rights that would lurch, grope and chug along down the line for some quick, high-performance action. My first wave may have been my best as i dropped down and then hugged the wall for a few mouth-of-the-barrel milliseconds. The surface was a bit bumpy and the swell would often cruise in all fugly and frumpy.. but sometimes when a wave would begin to suck-out the face would clean up and you'd get a slick little pocket to work with. Then toward the end of the session i just couldn't put it together and plummetted into the anti-zone. The Anti-zone is basically a state-of-mind where you're unable to tap into that native, elemental flow of movement and harmony. Everything is off-balance, off-kilter, stilted. ugly.

but.. a beautiful day out there. keep an eye on the wind, grab your stick and go hit it.

also.. photographer Elizabeth Pepin took the last pic of Bad Vibe Bob in that interview. i wanted to post some of her good-vibed pics up today but i couldn't copy them based on how her website was coded. Check it out

Jocular Jake kicked me a pura vida email from the southlands.. i'll excerpt some of it here:

It sounds like the swell is oddly similar between SF and Puerto Viejo,
where I am today. We get big juicy short period windswell here. Today was a little too big for the beachbreaks... I ended up paddling out by myself,
dodged heaving closeouts for half an hour, finally pushed myself over a ledge,
raced a wall, dodged a thumping barrel, and kicked out to safety before
riding in. One and I was done. Salsa Brava was going off... but it gets pretty
crowded, and a crowd is the last thing I need to worry about when trying to
charge that Heavy Hawaiian wave.

I have scored a few fun rides there... it's not terrible to paddle into... one of those waves like Ulu's where its perfectness makes it more approachable...
Not that it breaks in a consistent spot... it is a shifty, thumping peak of a Barrel... I approached it with respect initially, then grew a false sense of confidence, and finally had it teach me a serious lesson about the respect it
deserves. I kicked out of a wave to see an 8 foot bomb about to explode 2
feet from my face... the rag doll wasn't so bad, but the holddown was a little intense, only because I feared what other bombs might be coming behind it... you know the kind of holddown where you are scrambling to get a breath before the next wave of the set. turns out there weren't any waves behind it, but if I ever thought that the wave was undeserving of its reputation, this showed me I was wrong. It's seriously fucking easy to get caught inside... I think I have to change the way I approach it... none of this sitting a little
inside hoping to pick off some scraps kinda mentality... cause you really don't want to be in the wrong spot when a thick double O barrel comes rampaging
through. I went and fetched ice this morning for a bro from Florida who smashed his knee on the reef after getting caught by a 3 wave set on the inside.

woooooord. Enough on the gnarleyness of Salsa Brava. Just wanted to
share some surf scoop with ya. Otherwise, bro, shit is FUCKING TIGHT down
here. Can't complain about the life I've been leading over the last month... it is
the dream... finally living a life that is about as surf filled as it could be (after anticipating it so greatly all during my last year at Stanford). Well you know what it's like to live at the beach, even if you have to go to the office during the day. What an awesome feeling to be out at night, knowing as well as you can that surf awaits you in the morning, and all that is between now and then is comfy times in the land of sleep. You're stoked as hell for Nicaragua, and I am too! It's definitely my plan to make my Visa Run up there at the end of April... maybe around 4-20? Keep me updated on your plans. Get ready for waaaaaaaaarm water. I really hope I haven't lost my NorCal Core... hopefully a new wetsuit will have me ready for Cali again when that happens.

But for now, it's Pura Vida. I've met some cool people... chilling with some
Euro surfers, some Pot Wizards of Colorado, cute Argentinian girls living next door... The people and the Country are superb. Always rediculously sweet to be out traveling and meeting people, meeting new ideas, finding Moments of Eternity... feeling the Love.

Puerto Viejo is a cool town... there is a ton of Positive energy here, although there are some negatives. There's a bit of a crack problem, and some
aggro vibes here and there... class - racial strife a little bit... but the True Rastas do flow with Jah Love, and the ubiquitious Live Reggae is a truly DOPE thing... Acoustic Love, Flowing Energy... you know my feelings about the relation between surfing and music. Pura Energia, Pura Vida.

Dude, Captain ZERO. Lives in Puerto Viejo. He found me my first night in town, and now we're pretty tight. I hang with him a bunch, enjoy some silly stories, buy herb from him and puff down... Captain Zero! It's a trip. (He
is essentially the guy the book was written about, and he's been sucked into this town for the last 14 years). I got sucked in too... came for a few days and will have spent about 3 weeks here before leaving... it's lush tropical jungle on a gorgeous coastline... when the sun shines, a multitude of vibrant colors radiates though life... Caribbean.

So here's the rest of my Surf Scoop: I got here. Went to Tamarindo for 3
days. Did not really like the town there (super touristy, super Norteamericano), the swell was down, the beach was for beginners. I'm sure there were great spots, but I wasn't going to pay for Witch's (at least with no swell) and I felt fairly trapped without a car to get to the spots further down the Nicoya Peninsula. I did get a tip from a surf shop owner where I picked up a fast little 6'4 board about a secret bay on the Nicoya... have to check it out one day. So I checked the Swell Report, saw some big stuff headed for the Caribbean, and the next day I went from one corner to the other of the country. A serious trip with my not so light baggage. But like I said, I've been stoked on the paradise like life of this town... and my first two weeks were great. The beach break south of town is Playa Cocles, and I dig it. It's not huge, but it's suuuuuuuuper glassy in the morning, and I've had some awesome seshies there. It's perfect when a big swell is starting to back off. When the swell is big, it's maxed out, but there are a few other spots, like mushy Punta Uva to hit when it's big. The Caribbean has been really consistent, and Cocles always has a wave as it pulls in all available swell like OB. It is a hollow, fun wave... though I've seen it snap
about 7 boards on its shallow bars. I've had different board injuries, but
have received good ding repair... I started to move in to this guy's house
where I was gonna help him fix it up in exchange for my room... it ended up not
being the right move, but he is a good shaper, and even shaped me a new glass
Futures fin after I ripped one out of my Retro Phish with my leg. Pulled into
one too many closeout barrels. Otherwise, the town like I said is cool... mad
travelers come through here... there are big parties on Monday and Friday night... Reggae Night... it's fucking happening, and I enjoy the great dance vibes 100 yards away from Salsa. A sick day to score Salsa and then dance at
Bambu's on the shoreline. It'd be like having a great bar and party right on
the beach at Pipe. Maybe there is one, but this scene is obviously much
smaller and more intimate than the North Shore.

Wrapping things up.... a friend came from NJ for the last week... a nonsurfer
so it was my big touristy - mostly mountains week... But we did hit up Mal
Pais, and that beach is FUCKING FUN. It's huge, as big as OB, and there must
have been 300 surfers in the water spread out over a mile... last monday I
scored a triple session dream day there, with big 8 foot, soft not toptobottom
peaks coming in and giving 100 to 200 yard rides... soooooooooooooooo fun.
Had to leave, but that's a great scene up there.

And on March 10th, I'm moving to Dominical. I swung by that town right before
my friend came, and I got a job at the San Clemente Bar and Restaurant... that
was about the only lead I had coming down here, I had talked to the owner Mike
over email... Well I showed up and they needed someone right away for the
Internet Cafe... I work 6 days a week, from 3pm to 10pm... so that's mellow,
leaves me plenty of time to surf. They give me my room, a few other perks
like half price food, and a tiny bit of cash... but it's enough to make this
life very sustainable... my expenses to live on the beach down there should be
only 100 to 200 dollars a month. The town is super tranquilo... although
popular with tourists and traveling surfers, it is a hundred times more mellow
than Tamarindo, or forsaken Jaco... so I'm getting stoked on settling in there... it's near beautiful mountains, and I'm ready for some time spent playing guitar, writing, meditating, living, loving.... and surfing!

Dominical's beach is also huge... seems like a very interesting, exciting break... it is famous for being hollow, and infamous for snapping boards... we'll see... I'm already looking forward to the notsobig playful days there.

Whew. And I think that's it! I've been thinking of you while enjoying this blessed surf life, and wanted to give you a shout when I was in the middle of
my sickest run of consecutive surf.... stoked! But I'll be super accessible - in touch when I start my Internet job, and I can't wait to jam when you come
down to Nicaragua. Think about a trip by Dominical if you can swing it. Let
me know what's up with you... I hope everything is good in San Francisco and
you had a sweet month of surf in February (the Internet is horrible here, so I
haven't had a chance to check niceness before today).

I'm gonna sign off, but just for a little extra stokedom, I'm gonna throw down
a little descrip of my most memorable wave moment at the bottom of this letter.

Sending lots of Positive Vibrations your way.... Go Surfing!!!... One Love....
-Pura Jake

Wave: The glassiest, peakiest morning yet at Playa Cocles... mostly lefts... very exciting drops, drop in vertical off the peak and glide across insanely smooth glass, maybe 8 foot faces... time to turn a little bit, eventually dodge the closeout... Well on the wave of the day, I come in really late, angle straight down, flying fast, racing in the section, maybe pump turn on the face once, and then I crank a bottom turn and fly straight up into the lip as it starts to throw for a huge backhand snap... I think I may have broken my fins free, all I know is that as I started to turn the wave started to push and I had to apply great pressure to counter that, barely got my board around, and then the greatest moment happened of hanging vertical in the lip, paused up there for a few seconds before coming back down onto the face of the wave.
Stoked!!!! Aloha bro...

pink lady pimpin' it

sofia slayin' it

Rochelle rampaging

fuck yeah

Lisa A... pitted.

surf prep

good choice fellas.

surfed shmlindy this morning with steve. good to meet ya again. checked the beach and thought it might be a little better down there with the high tide and all. nope. a few shoulders to be had, but i'm sure the beach was better.

jake's living the dream!

Posted by: lerm at March 3, 2004 10:42 AM

Had some fun this morning, definitely a "utility session." But often on these lumpy frumpy windswellish days you get lucky if you time one right, and I got this one left that re-formed 4 times and took me almost all the way to the beach. Yeah! I had been ready to go in anyway, but that wave lifted me up enough to paddle back out to the line-up for a few more.

Grabbed one closeout in which e "dropped in" on me, but it was really a closeout, not a drop-in, I never made it down the line as far as e. So no worries.

Good surfing to you, and keep living the dream, everyday.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 10:50 AM

WOOHOO! Did the SC-4 mile challenge this morning. Got it really fun. Nothing epic, but definate fast, sectiony waves rolling in. The water was FREEZING! Couldn't cup my hands after 20 minutes. Very fun though!!

Posted by: Ian at March 3, 2004 10:58 AM

wrestler. cool story. thanks for sharing.

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 11:02 AM

Wrestler--that is one of the better stories I've heard in a while. Folks who head into other peoples' homes as if they deserve special treatment (so often Americans abroad) create some of the ugliest spectacles possible, sour sour stuff (even in my meager experience). So good to hear a tale of interactions gone right. Thanks!

Posted by: ben at March 3, 2004 11:02 AM

pics of Doran during the "brownie" session with Daily Dale (pics by Seth)

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 11:11 AM

gawd damn...jake is livin it. makes you wonder (at least it makes me wonder at the ripe old age of 34) why we let ourselves get so caught up in the maelstrom of things and essentially let life pass us by...wow I'm waxing philosophic when I think what I really want to say is: If you are young and relatively unencumbered GO TRAVEL!

cool Hawaii story as well.

Posted by: jdz at March 3, 2004 11:41 AM

being the selfish old grouch I have become, it only makes me jealous to hear people wandering earth surfing around. I'm sitting in my classroom full of raging puberty crazed 7th graders who today are pissing me off. I look foreward to this summer but I'm dreading the passing time until. I'm wondering why I'm flying to fricken China next month, and not surfing??? Just venting. Anyhow took my freshly plowed egg to Brett at Pacifica's Neptune surfboards, they glass boards there for anybody in need, 650-355-8281.

Posted by: mexisurf at March 3, 2004 11:54 AM

cool story wrestler, respect goes a long way.

blakestah, i think i saw your left (if you are goofy footed) it was the only wave that almost convinced me to get out there, nice one. really it was the only "wave" i saw in the 10 minutes i was checking it. should have still gone out though.

i was reading the new surfer mag last night and theres an article on dawn patroling that totally reminded me of E. funny stuff

Posted by: bagel at March 3, 2004 11:57 AM

Guilty of being a goofy-foot.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 12:49 PM

To all you dreamers...travel is good but nirvana is inside you. We're all living the dream right here...if we want to.

Posted by: kdalle at March 3, 2004 12:54 PM

Damn, back with island salt still in my eyelids and I got some more Aloha. Nice recap Wrestler. I too have had some solid experiences over there with many a local. Even rapped with a guy at Leftovers one day who used to surf Pacifica of all places when he was at Menlo College.

Fucking Jake, getting it done. Captain Zero and all the shit. Love to hear it. That guy is doing it right, keep the stories coming. At least let us know when you meet the burnout that is Allen Weisbecker! That should fulfill your Rican adventure. Well, that and a random night in the "nice" part of San Jose!!!

As for my recent trip out west, there was some talk of the Eddie running at Waimea but it didn't happen. A combo of WCT starting, smaller swell and the end of the waiting period killed it. I did see Waimea break at about 20/25 ft. (norcal scale). Pretty cool. The set up there is so much more user friendly than Mavs. Shot some super 8mm film of it which I will one day edit with some other footage.

Bagus, sorry I didn't get in touch with you. Given my rep, I should be back out there in 1-3 months!

Posted by: Kaiser at March 3, 2004 12:55 PM

another dude rushing to ob (no....this is not the car of the young kid who works at wise) decent little left outside in background

http://image.pbase.com/u39/moky_b/upload/26443205.DSCF8957.jpg

Posted by: tom at March 3, 2004 01:27 PM

Mid Beach Mid Day Report:

Surprizingly smooth out there wind-wise. Went home for Lunch to walk the Dog and pick up a cassarole for a pre-school pot-luck tonite. Guys were riding the shorebreak at P street. Didn't see any epic rides but probably one out of 20 was a good tube or maybe a shoulder.

Winds were weak at noon, but seemed to be picking up as I left for work at 1:00.

Posted by: Friend #1 at March 3, 2004 01:36 PM

today's posts are awesome. thanks, wrestler and jake.

i had a similar experience with the aloha spirit in december 2002....a total stranger became the best thing about my trip as soon as i let the i'm-traveling-solo guard drop a bit. i'm not talking about a hook-up here. in fact, once i figured out that this guy was just cool (and not prowling), we had an awesome time. he took me on a tour of the local breaks, introduced me to his friends, and loaned me one of his boards for a few days...the most i could offer back was a few cold beers and many thanks. his kindness completely made my trip. and, after seeing him with his friends, it was obvious that such kindness was business as usual.

the big takeaway is that i never would have had any of those experiences if i hadn't opened up a bit when we first bummed into each other. so...be careful out there, lady travelers...but listen to your intuition, too.

and, e: those are some sweet pics on the main page. they do not go unnoticed. so much hotter than the (yawn) reef contestants. :) seriously...for all the obvious reasons and then some. right on, right on.

Posted by: friendly at March 3, 2004 01:41 PM

today was really fun around 10am at OB. Currrent sucked but the waves were peaky and fun. Prolly blown out around now

Posted by: phil young at March 3, 2004 01:53 PM

jabberwocky taxidermal undergarments unite!

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 02:49 PM

too much screen time has finally got the best of e

Posted by: bbr at March 3, 2004 03:13 PM

blimy!!

mavs contest photos from pbase.com

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 03:21 PM

oooooh looks like the winds died down again and are turning offshore inland. off in 30 minutes for the after-work sesh!

Posted by: bbr at March 3, 2004 03:44 PM

nice bbr.. hit it!

sometimes bikinis are really sad

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 03:51 PM

New 20 second energy from 305 degrees is in.

Winds have died???That is not in the forecast - they are supposed to howl like werewolves.

I'm feeling sick, time to go....

In other news, a shaper in Florida has finished a shortboard UFO, and is preparing to test.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 03:54 PM

all i know is i saw a bunch of green arrows earlier and now they're almost all white. plus the cam looks ok. plus i've only surfed once in three weeks so i'm jonesing.

Posted by: bbr at March 3, 2004 04:08 PM

Im confused....I see the wave interval....but the winds look real bad still

Blakestah is it worth heading to the beach? My sesh yesterday was crazy. I was happy in that I learned that I have better concentration,form and reaction in shitty waves ...hrmmmm

Posted by: pez at March 3, 2004 04:13 PM

when in doubt, paddle out.

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 04:18 PM

a telling pic of OB from the sfsurfshop site

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 04:24 PM

The 20 second energy is building, sets will be sparse, and will definitely break on the outer bars. It's getting bigger fast (but will peak at a little less than DOH). With the wind down, if I had a good shoulder and didn't have to go pick up my kids in 5 minutes I would be on it. Tide is right, south end will offer up a rare chance at a late season long period bomber.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 04:27 PM

so... waiting for a board to cure has to be like THE most frustrating thing. i've always thought it was good to let it cure for at least a week and if you can stand it 2... what's everyone's thoughts?

i know the consequences... or faux consequences... delam, pressure dings, it might break easier... yada yada. what else?

its just so fun to look at. sitting there on the couch next to me.... waiting. laughing at me... geeezzz. this is painful.

don't you just love the feeling of having a new board... makes cold punishing beachbreak slop look good!

Posted by: elias at March 3, 2004 04:30 PM

right on elias. is this the board that you shaped? It's so classic that you'll be riding a board that you shaped yourself.

Posted by: e at March 3, 2004 04:32 PM

yup. it looks so good! the glasser was blown away that it was my first board. I'm so excited to surf it, even if it bogs. I've been surfing all these jenky boards for the past year or so. finally I'll be surfing one that I want to be on. i'll post a pic when i find my digi cam cable.

Posted by: elias at March 3, 2004 04:41 PM

Pretty cool from an article on Surfing Mag:
"The possibility of hearing what competitors say out in the lineup by, and even the hiss of spitting barrels, will happen this coming week. Inventor Tim Denmark, who brings the sound of NASCAR racing to homes around the world, has made a wireless waterproof microphone rash vest which surfers have the option of using.

"Surfing has never had any live ambient sound, and it's probably the only sport without any for broadcast film," explained Denmark. "This wireless system works really well out in the water. You can hear the surfers talk and the sound of the waves and even within the tube.""

Posted by: Kaiser at March 3, 2004 04:49 PM

anybody have jake's email address? i'm gonna be down in puerto viejo in a month (hehe) and i wanna chat with him...please feel free to email me if anyone has it.

sick posts everybody!

Posted by: bobby at March 3, 2004 05:15 PM

elias, the smell of the board is a good clue. A single glass layer will be in really good shape after a day or two, particularly if it is warm and dry. Double glass layers will definitely take longer, but as long as you can still smell the methyl-ethyl ketone, it is still curing.

Have fun with it - definitely post a digi shot of the board, top and bottom.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 06:39 PM

haha... bad call. it was a white squall by the time i got down there. dudes were kite-skateboarding on the beach. paddled out and still had a bit of fun though. definitely some swell out there.

Posted by: bbr at March 3, 2004 07:25 PM

Yeah - I spoke with some peeps that hit it - said it nearly glassed off for about an hour - then the winds came back with a vengeance.

Posted by: blakestah at March 3, 2004 07:46 PM

Posted by: elias at March 3, 2004 08:50 PM

E, cool looking board, who glassed it??

Posted by: at March 3, 2004 09:06 PM

elias -- you shaped that? far out. no wonder you can't wait.

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