E's Surf Report

thanks to everyone that wrote emails yesterday regarding the skatepark in oakland... they halted demo on the skatepark and are currently trying to figure out a way to keep it 'alive'.

those 1rst 2 pics are rad. got one fun ride that made the paddle out worth it this morning. mostly dumpy closeouts. glassy and relaxing session though.

good to hear about the skatepark

just saw this...

"The State Department has issued an updated warning to U.S. citizens about traveling abroad in part because of the Iraq war. The State Department warning reads, "Ongoing events in Iraq have resulted in demonstrations and associated violence in several countries; such events are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.”"

The weather was baking hot. In the labyrinthine Ministry the windowless, air-conditioned rooms kept their normal temperature, but outside the pavements scorched one's feet and the stench of the Tubes at the rush hours was a horror. The preparations for Hate Week were in full swing, and the staffs of all the Ministries were working overtime. Processions, meetings, military parades, lectures, waxworks, displays, film shows, telescreen programmes all had to be organized; stands had to be erected, effigies built, slogans coined, songs written, rumours circulated, photographs faked. Julia's unit in the Fiction Department had been taken off the production of novels and was rushing out a series of atrocity pamphlets.

jerry and ignacio are doing the right thing
those kids busted there backs cleaning up the crack dump
to build a skate park
long live Bordertown

Ha! Ruffo is on the cover of the Thursday Styles section of the NY Times - a story about tow-in surfing...poor timing by the Times.

Mr. Duane fails to mention Ruffo's recent legal troubles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/fashion/thursdaystyles/04SURF.html?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 4, 2005
Surf's Up, Hackles, Too, as Surfers Step on Gas
By DANIEL DUANE
TEARING over the ocean south of San Francisco at 30 miles an hour, Marcel Soros, 39, a sales rep for a company that makes sunglasses, stood tall on his surfboard, looking for another wave. With his feet tucked under the foot straps on his board, he held tight to a water ski towrope connected to a Yamaha WaveRunner, a personal watercraft piloted by Anthony Ruffo, 41, a professional surfer.

In a moment they both saw Mr. Soros's next challenge: not a gargantuan life-threatening wall of water as in the popular image of motor-assisted surfing made famous by movies like "Step Into Liquid" and "Riding Giants," but a gentle head-high roller.

Once Mr. Ruffo's WaveRunner had whipped Mr. Soros into place, he flew toward the wave, carved a huge turn and then launched himself into the air. After tumbling into the harmless whitewater, he came up laughing, eager for more.

Mr. Ruffo was at motor-assisted surfing's new frontier, known as "tow-at" surfing to distinguish it from the big-wave sport called "tow-in." Both involve personal watercraft pulling surfers toward waves. But whereas tow-in surfers concentrate on the world's largest swells off the coasts of Hawaii, South Africa and elsewhere, tow-at surfers aim for the little stuff that's found on coastlines everywhere. Tugged like water-skiers, motor-assisted surfers get a fast, wild ride on the weakest of waves. "You have so much speed to burn, it's sickening how great it is," Mr. Soros said.

But the sport has also become the focus of increasing controversy, even bitter anger on the part of traditional surfers, as it crops up at choice surf breaks like Moss Landing in Monterey Bay. Questions of environmental damage are part of it, as is safety. And many longtime surfers worry that their once-motor-free marine habitats may be transformed into Jet Ski derbies, and that their sport may soon be overrun by novices.

"Any rich-kid slob who can afford a $15,000 Jet Ski can do the sport, and only worry about getting shin splints," said Mark Renneker, a California big-wave rider.

Matt Warshaw, the author of The Encyclopedia of Surfing, who has seen tow surfers at his home break, Ocean Beach in San Francisco, said: "You're out trying to match your rhythm to the rhythm of ocean waves, and it's like having 10 cellphones go off in a movie theater. You hear them a mile away. It's a mood wrecker."

Many Southern California beaches remain off limits to personal watercraft, including surfing spots like Malibu, Black's Beach and Trestles, near San Clemente. Hawaii recently became the first state to regulate motor-assisted surfing. Rules require such surfers to be licensed. The state banned personal watercraft at all popular small-wave beaches, but it allows them in big-wave areas during times of high surf. (South Africa has similar legislation.) Still, there are plenty of places on both coasts of the United States where tow surfing is legal.

The controversy is emblematic of the growing pains of surfing, an American pastime that is more visible than ever, thanks to movies and casual clothing. But it is hard to learn and has never been welcoming to newcomers. Its dedicated practitioners fiercely guard the pecking order at most surf breaks.

Shawn Alladio, who has a company called K38 that certifies motor-assisted surfers in personal watercraft safety, estimates there are 1,500 active tow-at and tow-in surfers worldwide, with 340 in California, 175 on the Eastern seaboard and the rest in Europe, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere. Some of these are experienced surfers. But many are not.

Last winter inland water-skiers began migrating to Moss Landing, said Doug Kasunich, 53, who has surfed there for decades. The word is out about tow surfing, and people are coming to give it a try. "Now anybody that can wakeboard or water-ski can tow surf," Mr. Kasunich said.

Matt Kechele, a professional surfer from Florida who has paddled into the best waves in the world, defends using a personal watercraft in small surf for the sheer fun it provides. He said he has been flinging his friends so hard toward the incoming surf that even tiny, sluggish Florida rollers are serving as launching pads for wild maneuvers.

Ben Bourgeois, a North Carolina surfer, has taken tow surfing to the modest breakers of the Outer Banks. And isolated tow crews have begun plying the low waves off the western tip of Long Island and the beaches of Rhode Island and Maine.

A contest circuit is also beginning to take shape, with Oceanside, Calif., staging competitions for the past three years. This January, Sebastian Inlet in Florida will play host to an East Coast event.

Today half of all photographs submitted to Surfing magazine, and a substantial percentage of those published, are taken of motor-assisted surfers performing extreme maneuvers made easier because of the high-velocity takeoff, with the watercraft left out of the frame, Evan Slater, the editor, said. He considers the photos valuable, yet calls them fake because they set up unreasonable expectations.

From the moment surfers took hold of towropes in the early 1990's, purists branded motor assists a form of cheating and a violation of the ocean's serenity. But by the late 90's the big-wave legend Laird Hamilton had taken up the practice and was routinely redefining the limits of the possible on jaw-dropping 60-foot monsters - and giving the new sport credibility. Soon many skeptics, including another big-wave legend, Ken Bradshaw, dropped their objections and bought personal watercraft of their own. By 2000 the motor assist was considered acceptable, though only on massive surf.

It was only a matter of time, however, before surfers discovered other benefits of being towed. "As guys got serious about it, they realized you don't want to tow for the first time in 50-foot surf," said Steve Hawk, a former editor in chief of Surfer magazine. "You need to practice. So they'd go out on head-high days, and realize it was way more fun than the 60-foot days. So now, it's like, that's the thing. It's popular."

The advent of towropes coincided with a boom in the sport of surfing. Thanks to new enthusiasm for all outdoor extreme sports and the soaring popularity of skateboarding and snowboarding, participation rose to 2.4 million in the United States in 2002 (the most recent year for which figures exist), from 1.75 million in 2000, according to The Encyclopedia of Surfing.

Yet traditional surfing is difficult to learn, and it is notoriously time-consuming. The need to paddle back out from every ride, and to paddle around looking for another wave, makes it hard for even an experienced person to catch more than 10 waves an hour. A personal watercraft can tow a novice into 30 waves in 30 minutes.

Motor-assisted surfing can also be excellent exercise. Just holding the rope, Mr. Kechele said, is "an incredible strengthener for your legs and back, your biceps and upper shoulders."

In traditional surfing, most of the workout comes from paddling prone on the board, Ms. Alladio said, but when you are being towed, "you have to use your legs as shock absorbers as you go up and over the swells."

A key drawback to tow surfing, however, is the expense. Every surfer needs a board. But tow surfers need boards that have foot straps mounted on the deck and are reinforced to withstand high speeds. These can cost more than $800. Personal watercraft run more than $10,000. Throw in the boat trailer (about $1,300), the "rescue sled" that trails behind (another $1,300), fuel and insurance, and the price of entry can push $20,000.

The cost partly explains why motor-assisted surfing is still obscure. Another reason is a kind of communal ambivalence in the surfing world. Even as many surfers criticize tow surfing, many others itch to try it, but don't want their friends to know.

The most vehement criticisms are aimed at the sport's effects on the surf zone. Mr. Kasunich said the watercraft at Moss Landing create constant wakes that ruin wave quality and pose hazards. He described one watercraft driver, a wakeboarder with little experience on the ocean, who fell off his machine and nearly drowned, and another who let his unoccupied half-ton watercraft go tumbling among paddle surfers as a wave pushed it toward the beach. Once, Mr. Kasunich said, he surfaced from under a wave with a watercraft almost on top of him. "Their wake blinded me," he said. "If I'd come up a moment earlier, they would've killed me."

At times, he said, "I've had to physically threaten guys."

Ms. Alladio has combed the Internet for reports of tow surf accidents to get a sense of how dangerous the sport may be. She has found no reported deaths, but a "high incidence" of accidents. Personal watercraft are often tossed in the waves, throwing their drivers off. And surfers often injure themselves when they fall from their boards with their feet still caught in the foot straps, Ms. Alladio said.

Another concern is environmental. Moss Landing, a breeding ground for sea otters, sea lions and many species of shorebirds, lies within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Because personal watercraft move so fast through the water and because older models dump a lot of fuel, they are banned from sanctuary waters. But surfers can skirt the ban by using large three-passenger vehicles, which are not officially designated as personal watercraft.

In 2000 the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group, persuaded the Sanctuary Advisory Council to look into the issue. The public meetings that ensued became so acrimonious that no compromise could be worked out. But new sanctuary regulations, due this fall, are expected to forbid all motor-assisted surfing in Monterey Bay.

Because of the controversy, John Donaldson, who does public relations work for Kawasaki USA, the maker of the WaveRunner, said he does not promote tow surfing. "The personal watercraft industry does not need negative publicity that might accompany a tragic accident involving tow surfing," Mr. Donaldson said.

Meanwhile Mr. Soros and Mr. Ruffo are tow surfing south of San Francisco as often as they can. "I love surfing more than ever," Mr. Soros said, as he and Mr. Ruffo hosed off the WaveRunner at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. "You know what it is? It's for us guys who want to surf until we're 80 and go fast and be inspired."

BVB is a dad

I'm surprised I haven't seen tow-in activity at O* during the really big swells. I guess those guys are all out a M*vs or Gh*st Tr**s. If I ever see any tow-ats at O*, I'll %#@@***^!!!.

You mean Ghost Trees?

I think its important that human kind adapt the internal combustion engine for uses that we really haven't had the courage or creativity to do so yet. Motorized shopping carts, motorized toothbrushes, motorized babyseats, motorized hiking boots, motorized hand guns.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

BVB is a dork

wondered what Dan Duane was doing.

I want to marry Shawn Alladio in my next life.

J

hey guyee's whats the code for hot links? you know when you have a link and its all blue and when you click on it it goes to the place you want it to go? not the spicy hot dogs

here

Duh - you must be a genius to have figured that out... Duhhhh.

testing?

i give up

Bagel, try

Of course that didn't work!

Bagel, take these things and put this in it:

a href="insert url here" - no spaces

or this

it disapparated!

here's the url:

http://www.gougoule.com/bonus/basket2.php

try again

I've posted this once before, but wanted to put out a reminder. If you've been interested in getting involved with Surfrider, or want to be a part of a group concerned with coastal issues, you should swing by the Park Chalet tonight. It would be great to get some new blood involved, especially more of the folks who surf OB regularly, and are effected by the issues. Recent car break-ins, erosion management at Sloat, beach cleanliness, etc are all issues that Surfrider could help address with the right volunteers. Oh yeah, and there will be beer.

Here's the email:

The San Francisco Chapter of Surfrider Foundation will be holding
executive committee elections on Thursday, August 4, 7 PM at Park
Chalet in SF. Come on down and see who the new leaders of the chapter
will be. Look for the big table with the Surfrider crowd.

The positions and official duties can be viewed at
http://www.surfrider.org/chaptersupport/officerduties.asp. If you are
interested in being considered for a position, please contact Sean
Gibson at seang@sfsurfrider.org.

We'll be combining this with a social to celebrate the dedication of
our executive committee and active members, and to encourage new
volunteers.

<a href="http://www.blakestah.com/surf/bigone.jpg" target="_top" > This link here </a>

This link here

i wanted to post the skate basketball thing but now ill try wiht this

sweet thanks guy's

That's you aint it bstah? That's a big one alright. Gotta love those "wind is holding me up at the top of this thing and I'm gonna get pitched if I dont drop now" strong offshore days.

tow-at surfing is no more aesthetically horrific than the rest of santa cruz.

Nice escaping of code Blakestah!

dENNIS - M*yb* y*u sho*ld b* a l*ttle m*re cr*pt*c wh*n l*st*ing s*rf sp*ts

Dennis, seen a few guys towing in at OB before. Earlier this year the most recent, I think they do the run around from inside the bay somewhere, a longish trip. Plus the rider still has to deal with the paddle back out through the impact zone. Not the most friendly tow in place...

L*ke Duh W@uld ever s*rf Gh@st tree$

v*g** *s v*g**

Duh - the cryptics was a joke. Duhhhhh. I guess you had trouble with the O*.

Jonno, I've seen a couple tow-ins also but seemed for practice on 8 foot days.

<laughing />

Oh baby!

sweet jesus

Meanwhile, back in the Yay area

ha!

curren, lil curren and mrs curren

for images...

<img src="http://www.epiclylaterd.com/poolswsalba18.jpg"> </img>

They don't look any better the second time around do they.

I have gas, thanks.

I have double gas

u

It was amazing!

a href="http://www.blakestah.com/surf/bigone.jpg"

i said it once and ill say it agian

It was warm at 6am.

As a crow flies we where about ¾’s of a mile inland from the water’s edge. Yet you could feel the cool moisture of the fog. You knew the fog was hugging the coast. The tall coastal bluffs blocking the dank bank of moisture from creeping it’s way inland.

Standing on the bluff it was surreal looking to the east, bright sunshine with the inland heat pushing itself west. Looking toward the ocean it was covered with a blanket of fog. Trippy, cause usually the fog bank is higher. But on this day it was low and on the bluff we where looking down at it. There was no sound from the surf, the heavy fog weighing down the sound vibrations from breaking waves.

We knew the swell had picked up.
Drinking beer and smoking bowls late the prevous night on the cliffs, you could see sets pushing in from the south in the moonlight. Red eye vision walking home to bed, dreams of long rides filled my head.

Scrambling down into the abyss. Halfway down you could not see the beach, nor could you see the top of the bluff we had descended. At the waters edge you could barely see the cliffs 100yards behind us. Out to sea whitewater lines where visible.

Paddling out we lost sight of the cliffs. We gained sight of the lineup which we happily traded.

The waves where 4’ and perfect.

my b*lls are sw**ty, it's f*ck*ng h*t in my cr*b!! i n**d a f*ck*ng b**r!!!

have a g**d w**k*nd niceness d**ch*b*gs!!

hey 3 to 5, what is that passage from? Did you come up with that as well as yesterday's piece?

Wait a minute J. I think I can figure that out!

fark, the code has been broken

Last season I towed-in at Beaners Patch with "Dan Tranny Duane" and our ski lost all power so we left it to and swam in North to Point Bonita into Cronkite. Then we dodged these ripper double up barrells that tubed from the outer left bouncing off the right point wall. We never got a wave in becasue E, Brazzo Ripper Funny Boy Christian the Kook Gabber, Kaiser the Hood Winker, Lerm the Lemon Head, Bagel Flayer, J. Barney, Jay da Buttwiggler, Chili Relleno, Vince Collier and KKKorewin were dominating the line-up and wouldn't let us catch the good ones. Man, these guys rip like I have never seen! Wow!

I thought you were going home.

Was BVB the Dad there? What about WeatherManStah? Or "Padang Padang"?

I sure they were rippin' too no?

Come on, chicks and attitude 'til fall. Follow the fucking rules....

I am the coolest, strongest, best looking person in the world when I post anonymously!!!!

No I am!

janitor,
they are expereinces from my grom days. instead of posting attitude or chicks until fall or the next south swell, i'm claiming the past.

passed on surfing last night. saved the dino goo and skated a park instead. i was almost narrelled.......

Mongo, for the record it's Nacho, not chile relleno. get your mexican delicacies right!

3-5, keep it coming, it's got a nice flow to it

check out that little reefy left in Kaiser's photo above. and that superb, rounded, succulent, arghghg..

3to5, best posts all summer.

Work, work-related travel and family life have all conspired against my surfing life for the last few months. Yesterday, everything broke free for about an hour, and a session was snuck in at a rather desolate beach break somewhere between S*n F**n*i*c* and Sa*t* C**z. Surprisely glassy conditions, and not so infrequent waist to head high windswell turned into several extremely fun waves. You know, this surfing thing is kinda fun; I think it'll catch on....

Yawn

I can't waint until I get old. This hindsight nostolgia thing brings some pretty kick ass surfing with it.

wait did someone just bag on me? holy heck.

That's right bagel your nothing without me or my cousin hummus for that matter.

whatever cream cheese..tell your sister, fat free strawberry spread to get off my tip..deeeam

hey just kidding cream cheese, your delicious.

you are all the funniest "surf" bloggers on the planet. after work I get a kick out of the daily banter while sucking down Pacifico Clara and b*ngs of m*nd*r*nd*
wow I am surf starved too.
my wife is even telling to go get wet.
come on you west swell

E,
Question for manana.
Tow In -- Yes or No?

I vote no.
Unless you are at the dozen or so spots (between SC and SF) that go off when we have 10 @ 14 sec or more.
Florida surf is all windswell so I guess you have to whip in to create the speed.
Ah if I was only 20 again...

(and know what I know now)

Indo girls are taking to the surf.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20050804.Q02&irec=1
I didn't know that the national sport of Indonesia is badminton.

Since 3to5setsof7 is reliving his days I will jump in. I was in the service for 10 years so I missed surfing for a while, lived up north in the (Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Very cold.

Too many memorable sessions to pick out one, so many days ditching Pali High and surfing all day in the late 70's early 80's. I got my picture in the Palisadian Post surfing the Point in July 79', that was a real good day. I recall huge stormy peaks during El-Nino 77-78, maybe 12-15ft faces, no kooks could make it out so only the few locals who knew what was up got waves. We had a BLAST. Lots of broken boards along the rocks. I also recall a classic 10+ day same year, Boneyards was unbelievable, rides all the way to where the Porta Potties are today, it was amazing.