E's Surf Report: relatively glassy... surfable

Still nursing a little ear infection from the last few days of the trip, i decided against surfing this morning. But on the way to the MUNI i strolled along the beach and was pleasantly surprised to see an inviting, glassy ocean surface and some rideable, albeit sloppy waist/chest-high windswell peaks. I didn't see anyone surfing but it looked well within surfable range. I even got that little, "fuck, should i run home and get my stuff for a quicky" thought in my head as i watched a shoulder-high shore-grinder peel and barrel along, and then flourish a genuine exhalation of spit at the end of it's life. Don't get me wrong.. it's definitely small and weak out there. It'd be tough to track down rides longer than a quick drop and pump. But, if you haven't surfed in weeks and you're really feelin' the pangs, get out there before the wind totally kills it. (Right now (9:28) the wind is blowing at 1 knot out of the WSW).

cool..

another quick story from central america...

Last sunday was my final day of the trip. Even in central america the surf spots are more crowded on weekends and this day was no different. 15 or so people bobbed in the lineup, picking off the consistent and fun head-high groundswell remnents. A group of 5 or 6 older American guys were kind-of dominating the main peak, even at times paddling around the locals and other surfers and exhibiting the classic unchill, wave-hungry, high-profile, weak lineup etiquette of many visiting california surfers. But.. all in all the vibes were chill and these guys were probably working in San Salvador and wanted to get a few waves on the weekend.. Plus.. who am i to complain, having basically resided right at the waves, with nothing to do but surf and sleep, for the last month.. I had gotten my waves and i wasn't getting all uppity about subtle breaches in the lineup dynamics.. But.. eventually i chose to leave the main wave and paddle across the rivermouth to an alternative, outer-right that broke with less consistency but still peeled and fired along.. then crashed over shallow rocks on the inside. Not symmetric perfection like the main wave.. but with nobody out i was on it. Good times for the next 45 minutes catching waves by myself and experimenting with steep drops and racy, high-line pumps and speed. But as the tide continued to rise this outer wave kind-of shut down and i paddled back to the main wave. At this point, the older americans had gone in and the local boogie-board brigade was out in full force. For some reason the local kids at this spot are all into boogie bording.. And they're serious about it to.. Crazy drop-knee and standup antics, huge airs and barrel rolls, etc. really high-quality bodyboarding.. Anyway.. i caught a few and was starting to feel the end of the session vibes as i'd been in the water a few hours and still needed to pack and get to the airport. I decided to sit on the outside and wait for a bomb for my last wave of the trip.. The locals kind-of surrounded me at the peak and were taking a lot of the waves. If i had beginning-of-the-session energy and a serious wave-lust i could have easily jockeyed for position and caught a few.. but i just kind-of sat there and enjoyed the warm water and the good vibes of the laughing, chilled-out local boogers. Sooo.. after 20-or-so minutes without a wave i began to fidget and feel the jones.. Then this beautiful peak rose up outside of me. I was psyched for a second but then realized that one of the local gremmies had inside position.. I started paddling easily.. just in case the peak shifted or something.. but it was obvious that this kid had the line. Soo.. i started to ease back and hoot him into it.. I guess he heard me.. then turned to look at me just as he began to paddle into the wave. He recognized me from chilling the night before and for some reason decided to give the wave to me, calling, "Vas Louis, Vas!" (I went by my middle name, Louis, during the trip because the locals can't pronounce Ethan that easily). Soo.. surprised and delighted.. i paddled hard into the wave, took off over the ledge.. then bottom turned and carved one final top-turn into the steep, conical section.. then pumped and worked the wave to the beach.. Stoked! That kid hooked me and left me feelin' the good vibes..

anyway.. thanks for that wave homie!

mellow little drop

terje.. with the steez
terje carve

wave-ski top turn

geez, esta historia es super bueno! so good, e, wow.

Posted by: ben at May 19, 2004 10:02 AM

Cool tale. while in nica, I met two locs who both insisted that they were the #1 Nica surfer. Both were silky smooth on a wave and smiling to all in the lineup but would not admit who was truly El Primero.
Saw 'Troy' last night. Brad on BALCO for sure. at times the camera seemed stuck on him and i wondered how many wheels were actually turning in his head- if any .Cool war action, hot babes etc. Lots of beautiful Sea Scenery and a Dealing lefthander blessed the beach where the Greeks set up shop and stormed Troy.
Definitely Geeked out as the lefty pulsed thru the scenic background-- me: "holy shit" my date:"What, the graphic imagery? the compelling drama? Build up to war climactic mayhem?" me: " no! Did you see that lefty peeling for days?" my date: umm,yeah, i gotta check my cell- go get me more popcorn." ---no worries, shes no keeper.
but that buttery left...........

Posted by: steama at May 19, 2004 10:04 AM

great story on the wave kindness.

terje - remember when he qualified first for baker banked riding switch? now ain't that some shit?

Posted by: j at May 19, 2004 10:22 AM

steama.. i love seeing waves in the background of movies.. I noticed some in the "Count of Monte Christo" the other night.. just some sloppy beachbreak, but still..

Posted by: e at May 19, 2004 10:33 AM

steama, that's hilarious, I saw Troy last weekend and TOTALLY noticed and drooled over that left! Hahaha .That was, of course, the best part of the picture.

GREAT HIGHWAY is pretty mellow, currently Japanese compacts are dominating the lanes, interspersed with pickup trucks, usually red or white. Cops filling quota on speeding tickets this morning on the lower great highway, so watch out for..oh!, I mean, OB is a tad larger than yesterday - rib high, shoulder, looks a tad stronger but also much more lumpy and crossed up. Onshores, yes. Maybe 2-3 peeps making the best of things. One guy was making it look too easy..is that Kelly Slater?

Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at May 19, 2004 10:37 AM

We interupt this blog to bring you this surf news flash from the 5-0 state.......
nalu kine preps get respect... "offical status"....no more treat like spicolli.....no like football, try surf. schweet!
see story at http://starbulletin.com/

Posted by: Kahuna at May 19, 2004 10:37 AM

looking good louis..(he he)

awesome story.

i saw that left in Troy too! i would would making a trojan surfboard and getting barreled in the mediteranian while all my homies were being bombarded with fireballs and arrows.

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 10:38 AM

Goonies, filmed on the Oregon coast I think, lotsa motion in the ocean, pretty rugged, but always caught my eye. Crazy how different activities change a person's perspective so radically. I get a kick out the way my surfers' eyes will track something so far out of the director's conciousness, stuff no one else notices and thinks you're pretty darn weird for pointing out.

Posted by: ben at May 19, 2004 10:40 AM

oops, didn't mean 'my' eyes, surfers' eyes in general

Posted by: ben at May 19, 2004 10:43 AM

along came polly, there was a nice left in that movie too, just saw the flick on a plane ride and that was my favorite part!! there was also a movie they filmed at 4mile, they had a scene with a ship coming in to the beach there...pretty old flick, cant remember it..

welcome home e, digging the stories!! sounds like your karma was in full effect down there.

Posted by: ldogg at May 19, 2004 11:00 AM

how about that beachbreak slop in the background of the snowy beach scenes in "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind"? cold, but i think i saw a little rideable section here and there...

welcome back E! good stories...

off to japan in a couple days for a week of adventures in tokyo & kyoto (not a surf trip). see you all in the water in june...

Posted by: paul b at May 19, 2004 11:10 AM

paul b - there is a typhoon about to expose itself to the shonan coast (reachable by train from Tokyo in less than an hour, boards rentable next to the beach). It can get really good with a decent typhoon swell.

That Tom Hanks movie stuck on a desert isle had a killah reef break. The movie where he talked to his volleyball.

Posted by: blakestah at May 19, 2004 11:28 AM

i remember my math books in high school with all those beach scenes, its no wonder i never made it to algebra..

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 11:30 AM

e...sweet account of the pos stoke that permeated the boogies of that country (assuming that you were where i think you were). i agree...i've never seen so much high-quality spongin'!...and so many smiles in the line-up. shiet. it's only been a month and i'm seriously jonesin' to go back!

steama...too frickin' funny! i will join the rest of the niceness crew and echo the stoke of "background" waves in flics. it is amazing how whatever you're into affects your perception. back in highschool when i was majorly into windsurfing i would spend more time watching the leaves on the trees and the flags in the background of movies and TV shows than the actual show itself! i'd sit there and think, "hmmm...looks like i should rig my 5.0!" ; )

Posted by: ck at May 19, 2004 11:37 AM

My students are a freaking nightmere right now, I summer to happen NOW>>>>>> :-(

The Tom Hanks movie was film in Fiji, the wave scene is Tavarua, Derrick D, I forgot where I read that.

Anyone ever see the documentary "The Buena Vista Social Club" Killer little reef in the background when they are chillen on a deck. It looks like it's going off.

E, your stories are really getting me amped to travel. It's hard to talk about surf travel and not spill the beans, but your doing good. I got a trip north coming up in a couple of weeks. Going with a couple of SF's best and brightest. :-)

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 11:46 AM

I meant Cloud Break....Fiji

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 11:47 AM

chile was the same way, 3 to 1 ratio of local bodyboarders to surfers, if not more. mostly cuz the boards are cheaper.

my punk ass brother just got tickets for month on the gold coast of OZ, i'm so jealous right now. i haven't surfed for a week and a half, i'm getting cranky.

what's the quickest way to get from downtown to pier 39 and how long will it take? the street car? i've gotta meet my dad for lunch, he's on a field trip with a bunch of his high school students.

Posted by: bbr at May 19, 2004 11:51 AM

Troy was filmed in Cabo between san lucas and san jose.

Adding to "E's" end of trip story. I was in Cabo last fall for my honeymoon. I was avoiding crowds as it was the honeymoon. I had met some cool locals my first day at M*******s and surfed it for 3 days with minimal tourista vibe. I had become freindly with the locs and they where super nice teasing me about surfing instead of honeymooning etc... Anyway, on the last full surfari day we ended up about an hour north of town on the pacific side at a more popluar spot. Plenty of tourista rippers and such. Paddled out to the peak and sure enough stink eye from the white guy's. Whatever. A set looms, in position, drop in, stuffed by aggronaut numero uno. Next set same story, stuffed by aggronaut numero dos. At this point I'm getting pissed but since it was the honeymoon and I'd been laid. I suggest to the frat boy's that perhaps we are all guests here and drop-ins seemed a little rude. As they start in with the usual bs, which seems so farking surreal in warm water OH surf in another county no less. Suddenly, I hear "hola gran amigo" 3 of the locals from earlier M********s sessions paddle out. Next thing the aggro mob dispenses down the beach. And me and the locs proceed to trade waves and smiles for the next few hours. It amazes me when I meet angry traveling surfers.

Keep sharing the groovy nugs E.

Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at May 19, 2004 11:56 AM

I had a similar experience in Cabo surfing the last letter of the alphabet. Some of the local groms would drop in on me and there was one older guy (I called him "Toro") who basically nabbed every wave he wanted. I just kept smiling and refused to back down. Once I got dialed in I had a few waves where I cranked some pretty good turns (rare, but it does happen). At that point, El Toro gave me a smile and started sharing a bit more. Can persistence and niceness win in the end?

But there were a few gringos who brought an attitude to the line up which was just embarrassing. One of the few times I wished I could speak french.

Sharkey- Thanks for the traffic update. . . I knew you could do it.

Mexisurf- My pal Marty was in Fiji when Tom Hanks was filming and wrote a story for me here:

http://www.surfhumor.com/Travel%20Log.htm

Posted by: at May 19, 2004 12:16 PM

OOPS- Last post was mine

Posted by: Bruce at May 19, 2004 12:20 PM

...feeling good, billy ray.

Posted by: at May 19, 2004 12:21 PM

africa

Posted by: e at May 19, 2004 01:24 PM

Ah, salt water eye lids....

Just got back from the beach. Had to do it. I just had to. The water is so clear right now, super chilly but not terrible. More likely to do with the fact that you won't be duck diving much as there is not an awful lot to duck dive. Waves had some decent shape. I was actually pretty surprised. Every now and then a setty-set would roll in and show some signs of life. Overall: pretty fun. Vibe was definitely good as I think most of the heads in the water were just pretty stoked to be out in the crisp sunshine trying to nab a few on their lunch break.

Gotta grab a sandwich.

Posted by: Kaiser at May 19, 2004 01:41 PM

all those cabo stories and I am crying in my cube. was there a week ago and scored great OH swell most of the time. surfed that "end of the alphabet spot" as well and can attest to the locals owning that place. I wasn't impressed with that spot though, it needed the right tide to create whackable shoulders. surfed the other 3 spots right around there and met some great locals, they were all super nice. Mr.Olea is a great surf embassador for that area and hooked my buddy with a great deal on a really nice shape of his. as usual the un-niceness in the water down there seems to hail from so-cal. saw a lot of it going on at one of the more high performance breaks that I surfed once and had enough of.

great vibe down there though, easy trip and totally worth it.

next stop is some outer atoll surfing polynesian style for me though. suppose I better start saving now.

Posted by: barney at May 19, 2004 02:01 PM

welcome back e. sounds like you really scored. as it should be.
movie waves: winged migration provides lots of distraction from the theme of the movie to search for good set-ups.
another topic: What do people think of Donavon Frankenreiter? Haven't listened to alot of his stuff, but what i have is not too inventive. opinions?

Posted by: steamwand at May 19, 2004 02:15 PM

kaiser, did you crack the egg?

Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at May 19, 2004 02:28 PM

I think Donavon's album isn't too bad myself. Definately along the lines of JJohnson since he produced it. I think I have heard "free" on kfog at least once as well.

He is playing next tuesday at The Independent.

Posted by: barney at May 19, 2004 02:29 PM

thumbs down, but seems like a nice enough fellow. he was one of the funnier guys in drive through Japan (not saying much)

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 02:32 PM

not that im souply sales or nothing.

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 02:41 PM

soupy

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 02:42 PM

My Zipper is stuck, damnit!

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 02:48 PM

3to5, nah didn't crack it. Should have but I was super jonesin' and I just grabbed the fish and went. Tomorrow, full intentions.... Will report post event.

Aaalloooo-HA!

Posted by: Kaiser at May 19, 2004 03:11 PM

Mexi - if you weren't such an old man, you could probably fix it. Try hitting it with the rock.

Posted by: eric at May 19, 2004 03:12 PM

Doh!

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 03:31 PM

my current fave primus song is "Fish On" from Sailing The Seas of Cheese..

many Marin county references, including Muir Beach and Bolinas Lagoon". hilarious lyrics and soulful instrumentals.

Posted by: e at May 19, 2004 04:15 PM

any one got any cheapish niceish-er hotel recomendations in Manhattan (NYC)? going for a few days in june..

sorry, this is NSR (Non Surfing Related) heh office humor.

bagel@doublefine.com

Posted by: bagel at May 19, 2004 04:44 PM

thanks blakestah...maybe it WILL be a surf trip! do you know a town i would shoot for to try & catch that swell?

castaway: haven't seen it, & i don't know about derrick doerner, from what i've heard a la jolla guy named jon roseman (part owner of tavarua) was tom hanks' double for the scene where he gets worked in the surf.

Posted by: paul b at May 19, 2004 04:46 PM

Thought this shot was good for today's discussions

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 04:50 PM

that's a dope photo PF!

Posted by: e at May 19, 2004 04:54 PM

donavon?

cashing in his surf chips to be a musician.
also cashing in his music chips to be a surfer.
all of this after cashing in his competitve chips for the thrift store, single fin, i don't do constests check.

he's probably a great musician and i know he is a great surfer.

just don't like his "i'm not a sell out like the pro's" vibe I get from him.

it's cool that he markets himself and earns $ and cross sells his music and surf and image......he should just go with that instead of I push the retro and i'm the man as a result.

am i wrong? or am I a skeptic?

nah....i'm just a salesman and a marketer and so i never get sold. I buy. I don't get sold.

Features and benefits and testimonials sell me combined with cost and service.

Some folks buy the dream so I suspect we will hear lot's of Donavon on the radio. just hope it ain't ar the expense of the next really great band because billabong and whatever record label he is on have a "JV" (joint venture) for all you hippies ......

Posted by: tom at May 19, 2004 05:25 PM

it's kinda like Phish saying "we ain't in it for the money"

I just think it's ok for them to get paid and still do what they do.

Not that I think "greed is good" should prevail.

Posted by: tom at May 19, 2004 05:33 PM

Tom, preach on my man, preach on! Donovan - questionable music but you can't go wrong with Jack Johnson producing so it will sell some copies. However, I do own a previously released CD of his and it is not good. The new one should be better.

The real question is the following: What is the difference between Donovan (the musician) and William Huang (the American Idol loser)?

Either way, fine marketing folks behind them both.....

"don't look at a commercial as if it is a commercial..."

Posted by: Kaiser at May 19, 2004 05:34 PM

Hey mexi,

I gave a print of that picture to my brother for Christmas after a nice Baja trip late last summer. I thought it summed up the aftertaste pretty nicely. He's got it up on the wall in his office and I think it causes some serious distraction on occasion...

Posted by: Hrothbart at May 19, 2004 05:45 PM

I actually know a dude who produced or marketed a Donavon show at the Red Devil or somewhere....Aqua maybe.

Everyone said it sucked.

But I'm not hating on him at all. In fact, I tried to convey that he should take advantage of his opportunities to be successful (get rich, get famous, feed his ego whatever it is)

I just don't believe in the I'm cool because I got rich and pretended like I wasn't trying vibe I get.

Go for it Donavon. just don't pretend we ain't paying for it.

Betcha his CD goes for $13.98......ain't that someone who was "only in it for the music"

Posted by: tom at May 19, 2004 05:55 PM

South Swell Cometh....

St. Martin Bouy: 7.5 ft @ 20 sec.

Posted by: Kaiser at May 19, 2004 06:25 PM

Thanks E and Hrothbart. That spot is real special to me, altough I haven't gone back in few years. I spent a month or two there every year for more ethan a decade. Surfer's Path is publishing a story I wrote about that place, I think it'll be out in the fall.

Posted by: mexi at May 19, 2004 06:26 PM

paul b - just aim for Shonan, rentaru a sufaboda at the T&C surfshop there for about $30/day, walk across the street and surf. I think from the Yamamoto line you take two more trains, with the last line being a slow tourist line that goes past Kamakura (stop and see the big Buddha on the way back). Get off at Shonan, walk south to the beach (it is not far), head west to T&C. Any decent tourist book should describe how to get to Kamakura and Shonan.

But the bay is very shielded, you gotta time the typhoon right.

Posted by: blakestah at May 19, 2004 08:28 PM

Anybody know the # for Japan Air?

Posted by: .comi at May 19, 2004 08:38 PM

background surf scene - Tom Selleck's "Quigley Down Under" late in the movie when he and the loon woman first ride into the coastal town - wave was rockin! Pretty decent flick too.

Can't believe the drooling over what was on tap this morning, but I was pissed to miss it also. Makes you vow to hit it daily when it gets good, eh?

Posted by: banjo at May 19, 2004 09:51 PM

going off-topic from the surf movie thread, but see this flick:

http://www.supersizeme.com/

i saw it tonight and it ruled...

Posted by: gvibe at May 19, 2004 10:45 PM

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