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The sweet taste of the Pacific

Ayyyyhhhh, finally......

I needed it. It wasn't great, but the feeling is back along with all the other nuances. That neoprene-worn-skin smell is back. Those slightly irritated eyes. The random nose drip. The slightly dull, tired feeling in the shoulders. A bit of wind chap on the face. A change in perspective........

It was good to be back out there for sure!

After driving the beach, I was a bit worried I wouldn't get out. Words can't do it justice, but the beach basically looked like crap-ola today. Small, gutless little warbles of wind swell flapping about near shore. Out a bit further, chunky mounds of disorganized water wondering about. A little further down the coastline, things not much better but at least a bit more "doable". So, without much hesitation, I suited up and hit it anyway. Got a few good rides, only one which launched me further then 20-30 yards away from the lineup. On that one ride, I got a nice little inside section which gave me some good projection into the forthcoming white water. Good time.

On the way out, I talked shop with a couple construction guys working on the Linda Mar parking lot and beach renovation. From our conversation, it looks like the bathrooms and old shower system will be shut down today for a short while. They have replaced the showers with a temporary one just to the north of the building. All in all, the next 10 weeks they are breaking down the current building housing the bathrooms and reworking a lot of the rock formations out in front. Basically, they are restoring it to a more "nature" state. They are replacing the wall in front of the parking lot as well. So, expect the work to continue but I am sure it will be much improved when it is finally done.

Lastly, I want to say thanks to all of you for listening to my rants and raves over the past weeks. I am not sure if E is coming back this weekend or not but regardless, its been fun! Since the Hawaiian way is dear to me, may I leave you with the following:

Way to host the posts, Kaiser. Mahalo for all the hana.

Posted by: bad breath todd at May 14, 2004 10:17 AM

Kaiser,
You've done a excellent job. Pat yourself on the back. Your professor sessions brought me back to Ocean 101. Did you ride the egg? How'd it go for ya?

Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at May 14, 2004 10:22 AM

Kaiser - it's been a real pleasure having you as a guest host. You've handled the tiller with skill and aplomb. I've even appreciated your whining after days without surf - helps me feel like I am not alone in that particular hell.
The new Surfer's Journal arrived yesterday. It never fails to get me jonesin' for waves. I'll get in the water early tomorrow regardless of conditions. There's great article in this new edition about the Campbell Brothers and Bonzers - I want one o' them things!

Posted by: Jimmie at May 14, 2004 10:37 AM

stylee! kaiser, an excellent run. the way you
weathered the negativity vibe was great, way to
bring it back around to what we're here for.
great pics today, too.

s.s.--I found that wall street journal article.
crrazy. that fellow is rad/insane. a FIFTY
foot schooner and he's never sailed? He must
have the most patient family in the world...
seventeen years ending in a write-off? aiee.

klueless, seeing as how you're in the board
buying, experimental mood, perhaps you'd like to
give my twinzer a go? It is short, but really
thick, wide and stable.
dunno if adding my email in the box provided works, will give er a go.

cheers, folks!

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 10:40 AM

bbt--(showing my haole) what is hana? good spirit?

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 10:50 AM

kaiser, I read down to the last photo before I realized it was you and not e.

I also sampled some of Neptune's finest offerings this morning. Better than it never was. Tomorrow looks worse.

Posted by: blakestah at May 14, 2004 10:54 AM

Hana means work. My grandma was part Hawaiian and used to slap her hands together and say "pau hana" when she was "finished working."

Posted by: bad breath todd at May 14, 2004 11:01 AM

Hana means flower in Japanese

Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at May 14, 2004 11:03 AM

OB: Knee-chest high mushers, sunny w/mild onshores - not nearly enough to turn your board into a sail yet - and haze on the horizon. Scant peeps giving it a go. It's REALLY gutless - this is the first time I've gone out and wished for a longboard. Paddled and missed waves because there was no juice . Epic Rogue Wave of the morning consisted of the chest-shoulder one that ripped my hood off when I dove. Nonetheless there ARE very silly catchable bumps available. I thought OB would gimme a break but my arms are exhausted because even at this tiny size it's still super duper shifty, like a panting fool I had to chase them around.Gotta love this place.

2nd Epic Rogue Wave was a shoulder high I failed to duck properly...got shoved backwards, started surfing it arse first again...spun around and popped onto my haunches. HaHA! Would have stood up all the way but the wavelette gutted out. Let's hear it for the evolution of ass-first surfing.

Ben: warn us all when you'll be rowing your Viking ship into the SF Bay via the Golden Gate. I trust your school teaches raiding and pillaging.

Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at May 14, 2004 11:07 AM

Ben are you a sailor? Just curious, it my other water related avocation. Someday I'm going to combine the two, maybe first in Baja then Oceania. I'm racing a sailboat to Santa Barbara this June, no room to bring a stick though.

Posted by: eric at May 14, 2004 11:16 AM

rad, thanks for the palabra info, both of yous. ain't it great learning a new fact with a bit of personal anecdote thrown in? pau hana. see, I'll remember that.

I took an old high school friend out for a low impact first surf at the mar last saturday morning. she's a triathlete and outrigger paddler and it really suited her (stood and rode on her second wave!). she's a sweetie and sent me an email from a good friend of hers down centroamerica way (names of locations deleted):

Notas: the locals are fantastically, warm and hospitable people. Interesting people from; Costa Rica, France, Florida (yeah I swear), Colordo, France, Canada, Aruba, Israel, Holland, Argentina, Columbia, & more. A great chef once told me, cooking the best italian food is easy... all you need is the freshest ingredients. i´ve thought of that often while here.... the food here is simple and amazingly fresh and full of flavor. Eating a lot. Surfing over the past few days I've said to myself; best wave i´ve ever ridden.... wait, now that was. Surfed in the humid Costa Rican sun that really lets you see how clear the water is, surfed in the rain while the fog rolled in stabilizing the wind and glassing up the waves, surfed in pouring torrential down pour and it's still 80 degrees, surfed at night under the most layered sunsets I've ever seen. It's cool to see/remember how sunsets in different parts of the world take on certain consistencies. Here, the layers and variety of color in the sky at one give moment is unbelievable. if ever in CR and finding yourself tired from a long surf session.... this comes highly recommended by yours truly; paddle out beyond the break to watch the sun feather it's best pastels across the huge sky and notice the water's surface match it's shades in metallic greens & purples.
Forget about "looks like a painting".... paintings wish they were my life. 2 mornings ago about 20-30 monkeys trampling on our roof woke us up (initially thought they were falling mangoes or coconuts). Walked out and watched the whole gang take over the trees above our hotel. Swinging and jumping from tree to tree.... they're very excitable and fun to watch.
Roads are dangerous. Heart wrenching scene of a young boy killed on his bike as his best friend sat next to him crying as the small company town stood and watched. Saw a horse in the back of a pickup truck on the highway. Trekking through the jungle approx 100 yards from our room to the beach in the pitch black... zero stars, zero moonlight, and every 10 seconds the lightning illuminates the islands off shore, the waves, and the landscape. 1 sloth. Have tried my best to avoid running over hundreds of little red & purple crabs that cross the oceanside roads.... but there are many. School of dolphins just beyond the break this morning threw down countless full body breaches.

Healthy and mosquito bitten from Costa Rica, this is E signing off.

Much love.

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 11:26 AM

Hey Anyone know where I can post MPEGS for free?

Goto http://www.hometownmedia.tv for our shitty web and updates

Costa Rica. Not bad but really not my style thus far. Unfortunate, cause we tend to leave from secluded breaks very rapidly. Playa Negra is the spot though. Beautiful white sand beaches with the cleanest water on the trip. You can actually see the reef below as you surf. There are a few houses on the beach and a beautiful bungalow style hotel right on the break. It cost like $50 a night there, but the accommodations are superb. I camp like a couple of hundred yards away and still got to enjoy a couple of beers while watching the Lakers game and playing pool at the fancy spot. The Ticos are cool with me and don t trip that I am perping their locale cause I am still dropping coin on food and cocktails.

In the morning we surfed some excellent waves but again I was out voted and we left perfect reeling waves in order to get to Jaco by nightfall. At least I sacrificed some surf and filmed the crew on some good waves. We are now surfing wind slop in a very touristy and expensive place, Jaco. Definitely a destination, but I'm too ghetto for this town. I am running out of money and would prefer to be in a location where I can surf all day, fish and roach in my tent. I console myself by listening to a lot of Control Machete, Sean Paul and this awesome Argentina Julieta ??????

A couple of days ago we had a great time trying to see how close we could get to like 15 crockadiles. It was so cool watching them opening their huge jaws as we approached. I surprisingly wasn't too scared as they would just go into the water if we got too close. Of course I wouldn't venture near the shoreline.

Well at least we got another deal on our hotel room. We are paying like $10 a night at the http://www.paradisehoteljaco.com in exchange for some digital photos and footy on the website. Cool with me. Air con and a decent room had a great time yesterday teaching the maid's little daughter how to swim. I think I want to coach a team some day. It was so cool finally having someone listen to me. She is like seven years old and took instruction well. She improved very rapidly and I finished my lesson by teaching her how to do cannon ball drops into the pool. We also played a little Marco Polo. I didn't ween a champ but I know she will eventually learn to swim properly and maybe become a little ripper here at the beach.

So I am feeling better in that I am approaching the expedition as just transportation Costa and back. I go with the flow and no longer provide any input or suggestion. I obviously am still a little sour cause I was sold on something that really didn't pan out. Our leader's main interest is to live vicariously through our interactions while anticipating some ass by pimping the "documentary". It's so obvious but we meet a lot of stupid people who easily buy into it. He has yet to get laid. Pretty shallow dude, but at least he's always down to surf. I am still surfing my ass off and having fun outside of the team. I feel like TECH from the real world Hawaii. He was never on film cause he was just doing his own thang. That's why there are few photos of me on the site.

I hope everyone likes the photos that Jeff has taken. I take over his camera a bit as well but Jeff definitely has a good sense of environment and superb photo aesthetic. I am encouraging him to hoard his own footy so that we can collaborate on something once we are stateside. He is cool with this and gives me free reign over his video camera. The expedition will be televised.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Mexico. The waves are more bountiful and it's so much cheaper. There are also more soul surfers there who are not caught up in getting laid and being in comfortable air conditioned accommodations.

We are lucky. Reaping the rewards of these war torn countries while we continue to oppress peoples across the world. I wonder if we'll be surfing in Lebanon, Iraq or Saudi Arabia in a couple of years. Surf tourists in the Middle East are the next big thing. I can hear it now some white boys from Florida like the Cornel in Apocalypse Now saying, "Towel heads don't surf!" I wonder how the surfers in South Africa felt during apartheid. I doubt that most I meet here give a shit about anything other than their "stoke" and themselves. Surfers are a self-centered lot. Our group certainly is. I question our integrity and challenge our characters. Are we just conquers? Am I just a different type of social abuser and progenitor of cultural control? The surf tourist as instrument for social domination. The new age western soldier.

I'm not soulless cause I care about sharing myself with the people I meet. I try and give back rather than just take. Give not in the monetary sense, but yeagh I've done that too (boards, T shirts, batteries, wax, ding repair equipment, stickers, trinkets, weed, beer) but more in a social sense. I can't help of thinking of Emilio from El Salvador as a child hiding in a mountain cave years ago during the war. We (the US) did that. We drove him there and now he greets us with a smile. He shares, inspires and instructs. All he wanted from me was to remove my scowl and relax. I'm caught in my own grip from my own childhood and part of my adulthood. I deal with it and am becoming a better person for it. Emilio accomplished what was needed to be an enhancing person despite rasing himself during war on the streets of El Salvador. He inspires me like you all do to accomplish the same state of mind. I don't know Emilio well but I consider him a friend. I think that's what I'm getting at in the social giving I am referring to. I want friends and I think the people we come across want friendship as well. They want respect not as locals but as brethren and equals. I think Emilio wanted my friendship when he challenged me to chill.

I don't feel like a tool cause I miss Emilio like I miss interactions with you all. I miss Mateo in Nicaragua and David in Puerto Escondido. I am happy though. Cause I will see them all again. They wont want anything from me but a smile and a handshake, cause we are friends. We will share stories over a smoke and beer. We will share the dance floor, share the waves and share our "stoke" just like I will do back home, which makes this trip special, which makes all of you special. You're not just my friends or acquaintances, but your all givers to others. I'm learning and take joy that my teachers share the best of what is humanity and themselves not just with me, but with all those they meet on their travels. This summer have a good time wherever you are and remember that you already have all the experiences and adventures you need to share with others and make friends.
Represent for all us stateside that are givers and not conquers. Represent for all of us who oppose our government and the oppression of people. But most of all represent how we can just kick it and flow with a good vibe. Im gonna do my best....All this political philosophical stuff makes me want to get a beer and meet some peeps I'm outtie.

GOOD TIMES.

roberto

Posted by: pez at May 14, 2004 11:45 AM

eric--in my mind, it's been awhile since I've even been a surfer--weekend warrior doesn't qualify me in my mind--and I'm not sure I've ever thought of myself as a sailor...I took sailing classes (14' capris) in SB and fell in love with it. my instructor, cap'n Jim, was a great inspiration, let me take more chances with the class boats (send everyone home, send me out in weather with a radio and a 'be sure to lock up when you get back'), he even took me as crew on delivery of a beautiful 50' sloop, bringing it up to SB from ensenada (saw my first and only big shark from the deck and the biolumenescence through the northern CIs was shocking). I was really lucky to sign up for that first class and have it snowball some. Unfortunately I'm still working on this shyness thing I've got going so I've missed a lot of opportunities and had virtually nil time onboard in the last couple years (I remember my folks reading me a children's book when I was wee about, I think, one Leo The Late Blooming Lion--possible I took that one too much to heart)...anyhow, I think I've put myself on a course that will rectify my lack of water/boat time, shyness or not.
that trip to SB sounds great, the central coast must be pretty attractive from the water, yeah? getting farther afield sounds great, I hope it works out for you!

s.s. not to worry, when I sail into SF wearing horns I'll be careful not to run over any bassackwards surfers.

(too much long post-age, sorry)

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 11:56 AM

pez, aye, great stuff, amigo...

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 12:06 PM

Excellent work La..., I mean Kaiser. Too bad you're not as good at Kelly Slater PS2 as you are as guest host!

Posted by: Marco Esquandoles at May 14, 2004 12:14 PM

hey ben, well good luck getting back into sailing. Boat building school seems like a good way, a woman I know did the same thing in Newport RI, and had all kinds of jobs working on beautiful boats in the Caribbean and the Med. Trust fund monies help though, or a very non-materialistic approach to life.

I sort of got into competitive sailing at a pretty young age but I've always really wanted to do blue water passages. The delivery from Ensenada sounds rad, I wish I had gotten more involved in that scence before hooking up with a "real job" and all the other baggage.

Posted by: eric at May 14, 2004 12:30 PM

gonna hafta go with the non-materialistic approach :)

Posted by: ben at May 14, 2004 12:42 PM

this rules:
listentoamovie.com

Posted by: bbr at May 14, 2004 01:36 PM

Again:

Posted by: Kaiser at May 14, 2004 01:54 PM

The winds are conspiring niceley to let me get some work done.

Very interesting and thought-provoking posts today!

Ben, I'd love to try out your twinzer! Thanks to Kaiser a couple days back I even sort of know what that means. I'll send you an email.

Posted by: Klooless Kook at May 14, 2004 02:07 PM

hey niceness. e will be back monday morning with many words and pics. nice work kaiser!

pez, sounds like an eye opening trip. thanks for sharing.

Posted by: lerm at May 14, 2004 02:09 PM

Pez's line about Mexico v. CR totally sums it up today. Completely different story even 6 years ago... Costa used to be super mellow and cheap. Now you feel like you leave SF and end up in SoCal (or is it Florida?).

Posted by: at May 14, 2004 02:21 PM

Earth

Posted by: bad breath todd at May 14, 2004 02:23 PM

kaiser - had too much vino last night, just couldn't motivate at 5:45 this morning. glad to heart that you made it out. from ss's report it sounds like it may be a longboardy weekend...

heads-up for street closures starting late sat night thru sunday around gg park & thru the city for bay to breakers -- scoop here:
http://www.baytobreakers.com/info/closures.html

happy friday!

Posted by: loon at May 14, 2004 02:31 PM

thanks for all the great posts kaiser!

all this wind makes for lots of fun throwing sand dollars towards the ocean and watching them float on.

back to work for me.

mahalo

Posted by: elias at May 14, 2004 02:39 PM

and thanks pez/roberto for the introspective post - lots to ponder there...

Posted by: loon at May 14, 2004 02:42 PM

Pez - (I'm gonna write this as if he'll get a chance to see it) Thanks for the update. From your post and after visiting the website, I'd have to say that this is NOT the crew with whom I would choose to travel. But good for you for making the best of the opportunity! It sounds like you are definitely getting your own deal out of the experience. The last time I was in Costa Rica was in 1979 - it was incredible, but easy to see where things were headed. Sounds like "Pura Vida" might be turning into "La Vida Loca." Hope that doesn't offend anyone - please correct me if I'm wrong.

Posted by: Jimmie at May 14, 2004 02:48 PM


irons in the fire

Posted by: over the falls at May 14, 2004 02:50 PM

tons of emptiness still left all over costa rica....although the thick everyday overhead, glassy warm barrels of Playa Hermosa will always have me down for a swing through the jaco area.

.....and i can remember when the main drag was a pot hole filled dusty dirt road......complete with planks across the the road to get past the washed out creek just near the main entranceway to the town....just a decade ago too.

was there for a month 2 years ago for my fourth visit and for a change of pace from hermosa (a 10 mile long beachbreak) drove 20 minutes south to esterillos (another 10 mile long beachbreak) and we had opened up the swell window to let more south swell show......let's just say after a long paddle out the monsters were showing (not triple overhead but huuuge on my scale) and throwing..........and we were wishing there were people around.....not a soul to be seen up and down the beach. not a local, not a bandito, not a monkey and of course no beach patrol to save our asses and we were hundreds of yards apart after the paddle too

of course i'd do it again....


Posted by: tom at May 14, 2004 02:51 PM

Kaiser, Kia ora. Haere rà, me hoki mai anò koe.

Anyone ever had a ruptured eardrum? I've been out of the water for 2 weeks because of it. Deafness sucks but not surfing is worse.
Alternatively, anyone know of any really high quality plugs?

Posted by: New Zealand Swell. at May 14, 2004 03:05 PM

How do I post a picture?

Posted by: jardinee at May 14, 2004 03:09 PM

Pez, don't know if this is possible, but, jump ship and fly solo. The bus is cheap and people are real..


Kaiser, thanks for the posts.

Posted by: mexisurf at May 14, 2004 03:57 PM

New Zealand Swell - get you ASSSSSSS in the game. We need some juice up here.

Seriously, I busted my eardrum about 2 years ago. Board actually hit me in the side of the head and busted my eardrum as well as laid a nice concussion on me. I had a trip to Kauai about 3 weeks later that I HAD TO GO ON for obvious reasons. I found that the best thing to protect the ear was to use those silicone plugs you can get at Target/Walgreens/etc. and then I wore a really tight hood thing from O'Neill. It was like a 0.5mm hood. You can see it on the website. This kept the water away from my ear and the silicone kept it dry. Of course, if you even fear that you got sea water in there, you gotta use those mystery drops. But its cool, you get a really cool tingle on the back of your tongue.

Good luck.

Posted by: Kaiser at May 14, 2004 04:02 PM

On the mex vs Costa thing.
I'm Mexican, been going there as long as I can remember, learned to surf in Mexico. Been all over the country, driven the whole coast through to Guatemala. Lived and worked in Mexico City (hell). Anyhow, been to Costa twice. I first went to Costa in 1991 and spent two months there and a few other Centro countries. The civil wars had just ended and it was a bit unstable in the area except for Costa. My buddy Marco is a Tico and he was nice enough to show me around. Last year I went back and before I left I heard so many stories about how crowded it is now, drugs (the bad kind?) theft.... Bla bla bla. Shit... It was all good, lush, good surf, nice people, clean and not expensive if you do it right. Get a tent, make a fire and cook some beens. Americans want America to follow them around... AC, TV, good service, meat, ketchup, and they still want it at 3rd world prices. Buy more, consume, name brands.. Shed America and live little, be Free

Pez... dump the chumps

Just my 2 cents..... have a good weekend all

Posted by: Mexisurf at May 14, 2004 04:48 PM

Mexi, good call! Although I do like working toilets! But otherwise, very well said.

Listening to Chopes, 10 boards broken thus far in the contest. Of course they are wafers but still.....

Posted by: Kaiser at May 14, 2004 05:05 PM

New Zealand: you can also get custom surfer plugs from audiologists. I think SF audiology [?] makes them and I know California Ear Institue does too. Costs more of course.

Shoutout to Kaiser for his glorious reign, also Pez...great post.

Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at May 14, 2004 05:12 PM

Eric,
Been blessed by Neptune to have lived on a boat off Maui for 3 years. Surfed/sailed the Islands. But the real deal is Oceana.
Countless islands and passes and amazing people.
The old toothless guy on Alingalaplap who showed me his WW II rifle. Then we had a shot of some vile coconut home brewed hooch before we waded out to his fish traps and rounded up a few lil' buggers for his equally toothless wife to cook for dinner as the gas lamp hissed and the crabs danced in the shadows. A yacht will bring you to the ragged edge of the human experience. Ultimate red sunsets and terrifying red dawns.
Make your run.(yeah everyone I named a freakin'name! take your malaria pills and have a go!)

Posted by: searoom at May 14, 2004 05:15 PM

searoom - that's the kind of shit i dream about, thanks for the post.

Posted by: j at May 14, 2004 09:49 PM

Hey, got methadoned at the north lot this morning. First half got mucho crumblers on my psuedo-translb, then lost my landmarks and tings slow way down. Got in and realized the wind had shifted onshore (hey that's why the tops were dumping - doh). Still, good to go and don't have to do a smaller crowded repeat tomorrow. Beats sucking chlorine at the pool, and the water actually looked good. Likely got the first and last post today.

Posted by: banjo at May 14, 2004 10:37 PM

every little sperm is sacred.

Posted by: bagel at May 14, 2004 10:39 PM

bagel, i hope you cleaned up after yourself.

Posted by: j at May 15, 2004 09:20 AM

Slater is a pimp....

Looks like Monday afternoon we are getting a little present.....

ALL WEEK! ALL freakin' week........

Posted by: Kaiser at May 15, 2004 03:19 PM

I wouldn't bet on a present Monday. The winds were almost all aimed too east for us - Peru swell, maybe some as far north as Mainland Mex, but for us...I really doubt we hit 2 ft 14 sec. And anything smaller than that doesn't rise above the noise.

It's crap time of year.

Posted by: blakestah at May 15, 2004 05:08 PM

Good. Cause I have to work all day Monday.

Today wasn't bad at all at lindy, 9 to 11. Best part was when three of us next to each other took the same wave and apologized to each other afterwards. It seemed that the swell was getting better, but the wind worse, as I left.

But this afternoon I looked at all the spiders on my board and got worried. I put it in the sun and it sweated water from 12 places. YIKES. There's also a big delam on the deck which somehow doesn't sweat water in the sun--maybe it's just air in there? So I've ordered two "large" ding repair kits. But none of the info I've seen tells you how, or how long, to dry out a board before patching the dings. Any thoughts?

Posted by: Klooless Kook at May 15, 2004 06:44 PM

Kaiser and Sharkbait, cheers for the advice on ear plugs. I'll put down the folding and get customs.
Kaiser, when you talk of 'mystery drops', what sort of drops are you referring to? Sailed right over my head, barely parted my hair on the way. I guess we should all look after our ears, for sure it's not till you lose hearing in one that you realise how much it would really suck to lose 'em both. Think I'd rather be blind than deaf, and I don't say that lightly.
I'm really enjoying seeing renewed interest in 70's shapes. I left a beautiful refurbished '78 6'4" twinny swallowtail behind when I moved here a few years ago. Ultimate machine for stringing sections together (almost no rocker and floated high). Can't beat rail-turns with no regard for fin thrust. It was a Breakwater (Christchurch, NZ) design modelled on an original Mark Richards shape. I tried to bring it back on my last visit home, the buggers wanted US$250 baggage fee. I've been trying to find something similar here for a while, but the old boards seem to just not be in the shops. Log Shop has a couple of new sweet twinnys that I drool over sometimes.
Are there any Bay Area shops that have a regular good stock of old second hand boards or do they get snapped up ?

http://www.surf.co.nz/Gallery/Photo/Index.asp?companyKey=324&categoryKey=186&imageKey=712

Posted by: New Zealand Swell at May 15, 2004 09:16 PM

New Zealand Swell, those mystery drops I speak of are the ones you they usually prescribe to you when you bust your eardrum. They are supposed to kill any foreign material in your ear canal (bacteria, etc.) that could be harmful to the healing process.

So, are you from NZ then? After visiting last year, I have to ask: Why leave there to come here? 4.5mm people and its basically California but with coastline all the way around. Spent a good few days up at Blue House.

Posted by: Kaiser at May 15, 2004 11:23 PM

Don't you people every get off the computer??

NZ Kaiser is right, why did you leave NZ? My wife and I fell in love with the place, talk about paradise.

Posted by: mexisurf at May 16, 2004 09:06 AM

good ding repair info:

http://jfmill.home.comcast.net/dings/dingdex.html
http://www.surfhumor.com/Tips%20and%20References.htm
(Click on "Ding Repair Made Easy")

Posted by: bad breath todd at May 16, 2004 10:15 AM

cold water is bad for the ears! wear ear plugs when you can remember. walgreens are the best. and cheapest.

bay to breakers is fun when its sunny. waves are bad.

no surf since friday it was ok, water was cold.

nice job kaiser roll.

Posted by: bagel at May 16, 2004 05:37 PM

Hmm why did I leave NZ...
Met a Yank girl there, that's why! Shot over here and got married, living on the cliff at Manor so no complaints.
I'm still not used to the crowded lineups here (being from the South Island it used to be common to be surfing head-high peelers and have an entire bay to myself!). It's good to spread the wings I reckon, though I miss home at times, for sure. But we head back every summer for 6 weeks or so, so I've got the best of both worlds. Plan is to spend a few more years here then head back for good.
If anyone is thinking of heading over there, I'd be happy to point you to the real NZ, and good breaks. Most of the time if you paddle out (in the South Island anyway) people are glad for the company so it makes for a good surf trip. Cosiderig how narrow the place is too, if it's flat in the Pacific you can be on the Tasman in under 3 hours.
Don't underestimate how beautful California is. We travel heaps and I reckon you've got it pretty sweet here. Bloody awesome spot.

Posted by: New Zealand Swell at May 16, 2004 05:56 PM

Hey New Zealand Swell,
You ever run into that ex-lighthouse keeper turned Hydro Surf Shop owner Rod Rust?
He has surfed me around his penninsula over the past 20 years when I can make it down there.
One word, Colder than SF.
It wasn't the dusting of snow on the beach or the frozen cow turd land mines on the hike through the paddock. But the sight of those damned penguins waddling around! Brrr.
NZ ain't surf paradise, don't start a stampede it has it's dark downside andh it's locals too. Try surfing Taylor's on a summer Sunday...Cheers.

Posted by: searoom at May 17, 2004 09:00 AM

Paradise isn't always defined by surf, there are many factors... people, culture, cleanliness, open space... Crappy surf and open minded concious people beats killer surf and a bunch of idiots any day.

Posted by: mexisurf at May 17, 2004 10:03 AM

Mexi, couldnt agree more!

When you start shopping around for a house that costs $700,000 in SF and is a fixer-upper, you realize that spending that same loot for about 100 acres near Ahipara might be a much better call. Shit, you wouldn't have to work either.

NZ has much to offer.

Posted by: Kaiser at May 17, 2004 10:18 AM

Searoom, I've surfed Taylors on many a sunny sunday, I lived on the Soutshore spit for 10 years before coming here! How long ago were you in Canterbury?
Sunny Saundays are better spent out on the peninsula checking Magnet, Hickory, Goughs etc. Or north to Kaikoura.

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