E's Surf Report

I get back spasms just left of my spine in the mid-back, just below the shoulder blade, and have fairly constant low-level pain in my right shoulder. Things got a little better after I stopped doing the super slouch in my cube chair and started mousing with the left hand. I know if I regularly stretched out the right side of my body, which is more tight than the left, it would ease things up.

Was out on the media boat yesterday!
Here are some of my pics from the Mavs contest-

Spectacular day with perfect weather, epic waves, and everyone charging extremely hard.

Serious beatdowns, broken boards, long holddowns, etc.

I'll try and post some pics here! Enjoy

Brummet's Wipeout of the day

Going Big!

Yeah!

e - Good on ya for gettin' out there today in all its narlyness. Re: back pain - I've been seeing Jeff Harrison, a very good acupuncturist and solid surfer. He has helped me tremendously with my chronic back pain - check him out at (415) 682-7098.
I checked the mavsurfer cam briefly yesterday - the waves looked cleaner than I expected them to be and it sounds like it was a good day for a contest after all. A funny story: I was getting ready to go out at Surfer's Beach (aka: 'The Jetty') a couple days before the very first Mavericks Men Who Ride Mountains contest. A young guy in an old VW van pulled into the parking lot and approached me as I was waxing up. I recognized him as 'Curious Gabe' from SUFRER Magazine. He asked me how to get to Mavericks, so I told him how to wind his way through Princeton to the trail. Then he took my picture and asked me my opinion on the upcoming contest. I told him that IMHO it was o.k., since it was an invitational and so probably only the "right" people would be involved. Next month the mag came out. Sure enough, there, on Curious Gabe's page, was little ol' me, right along with most of the Mavericks heavies - Jeff Clark, 'Doc' Renneker, Grant Washburn, Peter Mel, Flea, etc. As just 'another old guy on a longboard,' I was both stoked and mortified. I got LOTS of razzmatazz for that one.

e, regarding the back spasms etc. i know you do the yoga and stretching routines, which are no doubt helpful. you might want to consider some strength training as well. i've been doing the indoor climbing thing and some high rep weight lifting, with weight loss as my goal. but since starting this routine, i've noticed that my upper body, shoulders and back have gained signifigant strenght to mass ratio and muscle fatique after surfing, cycling etc, has dropped dramatically. now if i can just get some time in the water. been in vegas for the last few days. the plastic scence is so lame. souless place.

happy b-lated b-day kaiser!

thanks for the back tips fellas.
yeah 3to5. i do some yoga but i'm kind-of a slacker. A little strength training (even just crunches) along with regular stretching i think would hook me.

Vegas!!! Ever see that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" commercial with the boxer who can't remember anything? Sketchiest commercial of all time. Makes me never want to go to Vegas ever.

e,
3to5 reminded me that my shoulder and back pain did decrease dramatically while I was regularly doing core body exercises. I got out of the habit during the holidays, which is about when my back and shoulder started acting up again. Hmmm...

I bought the training guide from surfitness.com.

Nice shots artifact! what equipement were you using/ Film or dig??

LOL, from a Surfermag.com forum - "They're Here"

Nice cannonball into the impact zone, OMFG!!

BTW: A monthly chiropractor adjustment (SHNAP!) might help keep your back in gear for a little while.

Nice cannonball into the impact zone, OMFG!!

BTW: A monthly chiropractor adjustment (SHNAP!) might help keep your back in gear for a little while.

See a spine specialist if you have insurance. for me, x-rays confirmed i had osteoarthritis at the junction where you kink the back with the paddling position. paddling a surfboard may not be the greatest thing for the back, choppy days are the worst as you're grinding the spine in all kinds of directions.

e, awhile back i was having back/shoulder trouble from an injury. the office job was definitely aggravating it and contributing to its slow healing. i had some words with the boss and ended up getting a new cube setup: herman miller aeron chair, split keyboard, adjustable tray, and a big flat monitor. now, not only is the pain gone, but my cube is much more tolerable. and because of the chair's design, i can slouch all i want and not suffer!! i would also recommend replacing mouse usage with keystrokes - so that your arms and shoulders are relaxed and at your side. good luck!

http://www.seannolanphotography.com/mavericks05/

Slide show of Mav's yesterday. Plenty of Pics.

thanks for the tips rza and anonymous.
RZA - those aeron chairs rule!! too bad i work for a non-profit so that's definitely out. I'm already Jonny key-stroke so the mouse isn't so much a problem. I can sometimes go an entire day with only touching the mouse a handful of times. Nevertheless.. the back issues continue..

injuries suck!

E, I have had back problems for about 10 years. Two things that work for me are acupuncture and glucosomine. Oh and I don't ever carry a wallet in my back pocket. I have been back pain free for more than a year, but I forgot my sleeping pad in Baja last week and tweaked it camping.... Sucked.

I put a page up, nothing too relevant. I actually haven't snapped a pic in two months aside for a couple in Baja that are for a SP story.

hey!

Did anyone go to the Mav's contest yesterday? ...or more importantly for my purposes, the awards ceremony? Our band was the band that was playing next to the stage, and we were wondering if we could get our hands on a photograph or two of that. There appeared to be plenty of people recording, and taking shots...just wondering if there was a digital shot out there that you could send my way.

Anyway, thanks!

Robert Tait
robert@bagoftoysmusic.com
http://www.bagoftoysmusic.com

E, check your bulge mail and thanks for clearing my IP address.

rza, as a fellow cube dweller, i'm sort of glad you've found comfort in a fancy ergo chair, but damn that is probably the most depressing post i've read on e's ever, with the possible exception of the ones about the guy who drowned a few weeks ago. i hope you were being sarcastic, but i couldn't tell.

you sound like the veal they serve at chez panisse, when i asked how it was prepared the first thing the waiter said was it was happy veal that got to walk around a little bit. what i was really interested in was what kind of sauce was on it, but you know, i guess i was glad to learn that it had a half way decent life too.

Mexi, big props on a photo(s) for SP! That's so rad man. Anxious for new shots up on your site.

Also, guess who. None other than the jolly green giant. Haha, look at the jersey it won't even fit on him.

Bored at work as usual?

www.fantasysurfer.com

All the other jock sports are doing so why not surfing

Nice, Sean Nolan!

e - Jeff Harrison helped me out a lot with my shoulder, via acupuncture. Actually, he showed me the right stretches and exercises that really took care of it. Its funny, I spent over 2 years aggravating it, over 6 months with health therapies my insurance would cover, and paid for Jeff out of my own pocket. And, if I had to do it over again I woulda gone to Jeff MUCH earlier, because he showed me things that worked, and explained how it got bad in the first place.

The thing is, Jeff treats ridiculous numbers of surfers for over-use related injuries. He knew more about it than my Hopkins educated Orthopaedic Surgeon (who knew a LOT about orthopaedic medicine but almost nothing about over-use injuries in surfing). Jeff treats some of the top Bay Area big wave riders as well, highly respected accredited acupuncturist. He is, not surprisingly, also a local surfer.

one more time..

Uhh.. sorry if that was posted twice..

Looks like a double take... Bruce and Art got the same shot!

http://www.pbase.com/artifact/image/39400377

I had that mid/upper back pain steve-o describes so accurately all last summer and fall. It's gone away somehow, at least for the moment. Maybe it's just taking more days off surfing, as the winter size and rain forces me to do.

About theft. When you realize your wallet (or purse-you know who you are) is stolen, immediately contact the credit companies and put a "hold" on your account. This means that no additional credit cards or loans can be taken out in our name. The credit companies (transunion, experian, and I forgot the other one) will not release your info to creditors, therefore, the thieves cannot open accounts in your name. This is extremely important. 68% of identity theft occurs from information in peoples wallets and purses.

I dig the "Tyler Smith Final" pic..

http://www.pbase.com/artifact/image/40377538

thanks blakestah. that guy sounds rad.

who's going to win the first heat of the second round. Dane reynolds or the HOg?

My money's on Hog.

Those waves are perfect. I'm going to Oz. Yesterday's action was out of control. Parko and Dingo's heat was my fav.

Thanks Mexi, That a real compliment from you as I've admired your superb photos for some time. I think we've visited many of the same spots.

I've always shot film until recently(from 2000 on shot Velvia/ Nikon) I recently switch to dig Canon 20D (same as Bruce)Yesterdays lens =sigma 100-300 f4 EX

Yeah I think That was the same Joe Hill wave as Bruce, although his pic is much better (mine is a scanned print)

Yesterday was 20D, shot a couple slides too.

OK a favor to ask of anyone. Can anyone recognize the contestants unlabled on my site? I lost the heat sheet and didn't keep track of the time. The one above included. You could post it in the comments section on PBASE

I want to give everyone the credit they deserve!

Thanks!!!!
www.pbase.com/artifact

Live Morning Show broadcast from Snapper in OZ! I think I love that country....

Isn't it time for the other kind of snapper Kaiser?

Surf was fun down here at a jetty by myself, head high rights for two hours. Pretty good shape. HOpe no one saw me from the road.

YES IT IS...

from allaboutsurf.com

How would that one super deep fish tail board ride with those fins on the tips of the tails?

CrazY!

e, get a deep tissue massage on a regular basis.

Oh boy. That Hydro Dynamica movie is so fine!

ho ho ho

by name, veal eaters have very little emotional intelligence

di Chirico

cadaver, thanks for always posting the pics. I always dig 'em. The photo I posted earlier, artifact, is the jolly green giant, a.k.a Grant Washburn.

Art, once again nice stuff. I've heard good things about that Sigma lens, perfect lens for Mavs. Your pics have great color saturation and are well framed, pretty amazing considering you had never shot there before. After looking at your site I see we have traveled to many of the same spots, although I did most of my SA traveling way before I picked up a real camera.

Artifact- great shots. Damn, I really wanted to be on one of those boats. That wipeout was scary. You may not have seen the waves that followed or the rescue. It was pretty heavy watching from the bluff. I wasn't sure the guy was going to make it and it was sorta creepy that the crowd had no idea what was going on. Close call.

Organic photos on my site.

Which was worse, Flea's Waimea fall, or Brummet's fall at Mav's?

Damn, Shane Desomnd charges. I've heard he is also quite a humble chill guy.

Floaters at mav's. What's next?

Thanks guys. Nice photos Bruce! I can actually see myself on the Hulicat. It's hard to get full perspective from out there when someone is swept to the inside since they basically disappear.

I remember on Brummet's wave seeing his board slammed against the rocks and getting a sinking feeling. Obviously everyone was concerned.

I think it was just beginner's luck out there yesterday combined with perfect sunny weather, waves and great surfing.

Many of those other shots are just scanned prints from point& shoot's especially before 2001

People were complaining about the Maverick's contest selling-out to a retarded degree. I saw this link today on Mavsurfer.com:

(I just realized this was a google ad, so it's not like the Maverick's guys actually put this ad up):

http://www.hotinfoabout.com/

We should probably pool some money together and buy this book, we'd become awesome. Check it out:

"Here's Just Some Of The Secrets You'll Uncover...

"How many strokes you should take before a wave hits to get you screaming down the face of the wave and into the best position to carve some serious turns.

Exactly when to apply sunscreen to avoid getting burnt and thus staying out in the surf for the longest period of time

The exact height, width and dimension board you should choose to have you surfing at your best from day one

The secret temperature to store your surfboard at to make applying wax a breeze"

Shit, does anybody here know the secret temperature?? I don't think I can afford this book. It would probably cost something like $500 to have all this stuff researched for me!

Oh wait, no maybe I can afford it!!

" To have someone do all this research for you would normally cost you well over $500. Particularly laser-guided accurate information like this - SPECIFICALLY for how to surf. This isn't some boiler-plate collection of answers.

Everything is explained in PLAIN English. Which means it's dead-easy to read and understand. And it's logically laid out.

There are other resources out there retailing for over $100.

Which is why "The Secrets To Surfing" is such a bargain at $27.77"

Act now guys soon he's going to make it $37.77!

e, Thanks for the bb advice the other day. My chickie and I stayed at the Davenport Inn and the place was pretty cool. I have driven past that place for years and never once thought a second about it. Good food and atmosphere and striking distance to all those 'nice' spots a plus.