E's Surf Report

First!

Glad you got some good ones E. Fun wavy weekend.

Mike Watt ripped with the Minutemen. Always wondered about Banyan, they play a lot in Santa Monica. Gotta check them out.

Man, that LA Times article on the "big surf" was so fucking annoying and the quotes in there were worse!!

Go Taj GO!!

Just want to give a thanks to everyone that participated in coastal clean-up day.

Thought you might enjoy this story...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/18/BAGUIEPOL71.DTL

surfing is FUN!

nice to have some lines, some sections, some
lips to aim for.....best session for me was yesterday.
and i say best session in best since CR....YAHOO!!

sun out and friends in the water too. sweet weekend.
heard that south of here was great over the weekend from
a few friends that camped and surfed till they could not
move for 2 days and saw 4 other people. all you dour
people....follow ian's lead and go somewhere....

welcome back barry!! 5 for 16 with 2 HR and 3 rbi
steroids or not; the man can hit.

It's painful to watch athletes when they are experiencing a slump. Pitchers can't throw a strike. Receivers can't grab the ball. It's more painful to be in one. I know. The past few days of surfing for me have been painful. Since Thursday, I couldn't buy a wave. Well, I caught a few... but hard work with little ROI. I was thinking to myself on Sunday morning as I drifted at a jogging pace up the beach, " Surfing is fun. This isn't surfing".

dang, mike watt and steve perkins? awesome, what kind of music is it? good times this weekend and great times last evening at the german tourist club.

dennis...great to see you and shoot the breeze sunday.
oh and that was not kaiser. ha ha.

shout out to J.O.C. who called me on saturday and shared the bliss of his first full moon session. right on!

over the virus and into a week of moving. i can assure you there should be good surf all week since there is no way in hell i have the time for a surf.

dennis, to break a surfing slump the best advice i can offer is mix it up. if the waves are rippable on the shortboard, paddle out on the longboard or vice a versa. it works everytime for me.

What is Ian's website address?

I may be one of the few on this blog to have gotten skunked by the swell ;(. Went down to ??late friday night and got a few very messsy waves on Saturday only. Almost went for a night surf on Saturday but got too drunk.

Did however go kayak fishing while my buddy Ty spearfished. We had fresh surf perch for dinner thanks to Ty's spearing abilities.

All the breaks at ?? were full of knee boarders. I thought that the Aliens had done some mind warp on everyone and convinced them to sell their surfboards for knee boards but later found that there was a convention of types at a nearby campground.

Yo. If anyone can post Ian's pic's here that would be sick. I'm getting the dreaded red x's, even after trying properties.

Ireland!

right there with ya traut - i proly had the worst hour-wave ratio ever in the last few days. and it wasn't for trying ;)

3to5 - Thanks for the advice. We're on the same page there. After a crap early session I went home and got my weekend warrior board. Actually, my last ride in to the beach was kinda fun. I ran into Korwin at the beach later in the morning I went home for breakfast, then walked back to retrieve my car. Lots of current early on Sunday. Good luch with the move. That's pretty damned painful too.

We surfed waves. In an ocean. somewhere. The waves at _____s were ____ to____ and very ____. Boy this blog is going to be fun with no one naming anything ever.

Does anyone know anything about board racks for motorcycles? I've seen stuff for bikes but not motorbikes......

Mrs. Voodoo is complaining about me "always going off surfin' for hours" and leaving her stranded but I really don't want to buy another car......

Dennis -- I was out on Sunday morn too. Lots of current is a serious underestimate. Got in at Sloat, got out at VFWs (well, kinda).......

Holy crap Secret Doom Dada I surfed thaat same wave, radical.

That south was eeeeepppiiiiicccc!!!!!!

Oh, and E has got to be the most stoked, humble and soulful guys out there.

Bird Charges!

No worries Dennis, you weren't the only one feeling retro-skilled the past few days. Thanks to some long lulls, I had my first experience of unwittingly numbing my feet. Wave of the session comes, I'm in postion, and skid over the falls thanks to these blocks of ice. Yesterday took the Flying Brick out, but it's been a while w/ a long board, so I scored the most photogenic pearl ever. I've pearled a lot so I know when it's good. Stood at the top of the wave [ best of the session again ], planted nose at the bottom, pole vault/catapulted into the air and then tumbled end over end under water. I feel like a bad acrobat.

Apologies for boring talk but personally I find wipeouts more amusing to recall than my actual surfing bits.

I actually managed to nab a few good ones friday on a tiny-for me-epoxy fish- on some overhead walls at a spot in between Brazil and Mendocino.

I feel bad for people just learning these days with those crowds...what a shame/sham.

but the claiming goes up even further

I, too, scored wave after wave of freshly poured beer at the German Tourist Club. Mmmm, beer. Wish it were warm enough to surf in my Lederhosen. Polka rules!!

Where the hell did that collision happen? When? Did the girl survive?

Ouch!

two sessions of really good waves at the obvious spot; way too crowded on saturday, though. sunday kinda random waves, but much more room at a fun spot i don't know why more people don't hit. this morning a surprising glassy peeler or two amid the tiny glurgs at the beach.

someone stop that gif!

Yeah, I too got good w____s and almost a b_____l between L____n and N______a on S_____y. It was a_____me! I w__h I c____d s__f e____y d_y!!

This swell was way overhyped. I got skunked on Friday real bad. The winds were blowing it out like crazy. I bet SC was all time.

I saw some pics of Buzzy Kerbox pulling into epic Ma'alaea this past week. Before I was able to post the pics, they were taken down. Anyone else saw or have these pics? The ones on SurfLine do not do the session any justice.

That was a cool story, Idontknow.

'drop the naming'-get over yourself

I've got tears in my eyes, that shit is hilarious!!

Umm nice juggies.. I forgot what I wanted to write.

Oh yeah- Hit up Friday PM in town. Decided to represent at Bruce's spot, nabbed a couple leftovers and overall had a good time managing to tolerate the hordes. Then cruised the coast and watch some kiteboarders killing it!

Also witnessed the bummers of an overhyped swell.
I heard at PP someone counted 311 heads in the water at sunrise, holy crap! Saw somone dude on a red longboard sitting outside, not only dropping in but ditching that thing everywhere- a total bust- it went flying at mach 10- a foot from my head, man if you can't hold that tank go sit inside! Also had a friend whose truck was stolen from the 2nd lot! A Reminder: Do not stash your keys, anywhere- invest in a spare key and a lanyard!

Some pics from Friday

The Good

The Awesome

And the ugly

Oh look at me I'm making people happy. I'm the magical man fromm happy land

You couldn't fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life if you had an electrified fooling machine.

Yaaay awful South Bay longboard "crew".

Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'sir' without adding, 'you're making a scene.

Hey, what is the address for Ian's website?

http://aloha2ian.modblog.com/

And could someone post those pics? they're not showing up for me either.

Hey SS. maybe it's just the full moon jinx.

nice shots artifact. i heard horror stories about the eastside on friday. shit's really out of control.

i'll take a rain check on the climbing offer and hit you up next spring. since i started skateboarding at all the local parks, i haven't even climbed at the gym in 3 months. i'd be a liablilty.

Art, nice shots, excellent light.

That Idontknow story is really nuts. Those guys are hardcore. Thanks for that.

Re: Naming Spots

I think the fear about this is way over-rated. If you're a semi-decent surfer, and live in the area, you already know about these spots anyways. I know that there isn't a "secret" spot anywhere between Big Sur and Mendo that I don't know about. Thus, naming these spots will only risk bringing in kooks who aren't going to be catching any waves regardless. Also, most of the "secret spots" tend to rocky and gnarly anways, so the kooks aren't likely to go back out.

I just think that the revelation of all surf spots is inevitable as the surf population grows. If you really want to do something about crowding, then don't teach or otherwise encourage people to surf. If anyone on this board is responsible for bringing in a new surfer, whether its your girlfriend or little bro, then your part of the problem, and should NEVER complain about a name drop. Encouraging newbies is the problem, not naming spots that everyone who surfs regularly is going to figure out on their own anyways.

Thats my 2 cents.

anon...I assume you are joking? Don't teach people to surf? wtf

New rule: If you haven't surfed before today then you should never be able to surf...period. So 30 years from now there will be no more surfers and no more people belly achin' about secret spots.

3to5setsof7, you go to ironworks?

We should hook up for a surf.

Anon brings up a good point, I always get coworkers and friends that don't surf asking me to take them. I usually try to ignore their requests or shrug it off. Occasionally there is that persistant person who is serious. It is an awkward situation. I have been taking one of those persistant people out during the week lately, I usually point them to an uncrowded stretch of beach and explain the rules.

It seems this person is sticking with it, and now goes on his own. Sorry

not people... person

please, could someone take me surfing?

I'm dead serious. New surfers are by far the biggest contributors to new crowds. Period. You can gripe all you want about surf reports, naming spots, etc. Someone who has been surfing regularly for over 5 years is gonna figure this shit out regardless, so its really not the main contributor.

I consider myself an example of the classic bay area surfer who has been at it for about 10 years, so I look at my own behavior to figure out what causes crowding. I know what spots are best on certian tides, swells and winds, and go to the spots I have the time to surf since I work almost 60 hours a week and am married.

It's the surf school / dot com / fun board / my boyfriend taught me to surf-ers that have started clogging the line up over the last 5 years. And guess what: even without name dropping or surf blogs they're going to figure out where the sweet ____ in _____ county is after getting into surfing heavy for over 5 years.

By the way, I taught myself to surf, nobody took me out, and I sure as hell didn't take any lessons. I busted my first board in half on one of my first sessions ever at a heavy reef break that was 2 feet over-head. Thats how you learn, not getting coddled by friends at 2 foot lindy. If current surfers stop coddling in new surfers, only the more core will actually get into it, making it better for all.

There's always going to be new surfers, but if we stop sheparding them in there will be way less, and the new ones will be way cooler.

great session on a dwindling swell sunday. but the spot five years ago would have two or three people on a sunday. yesterday there were 25.

Traut,

Kneelo gathering happened over the weekend. A strange thing to stumble upon, no doubt.

I might have been chatting with you on Sat. AM at WC...? Were you car camping?

6 hours in the surf on Friday, 3 more on Saturday AM before having to come home. Good stuff!

Pix coming in on the www.ksusa.org site.

though i enjoy watching rippers and seasoned surfers, I generally enjoy surfing with newbies in the lineup more. then i'm higher in the pecking order and get more waves.

I would much rather surf with guys that know what they're doing. I hate the deer in the headlights look more than anything. But on the other hand who's the old guy at the lane that rips it on a longboard but seems to get alot of satisfaction out of getting really close to people and scaring the crap out of them, jerk. Anon, lets see how you feel in another 10 years. I am guilty of adding 2 kooks to the local line ups. So what.

SFKneelo- you were probably talking to Alex who was car camping (blue station wagon) at WC on Fri night. I passed up going out at that spot on Sat as it didn't look too great but in retrospect I wish that I did go out.

btw, I only met Alex because he camped next to us and was actually the one who informed me of the kneelo gathering (probably by talking to you).

All but 2 of my past co-workers/surfers will tell you I'm a dickhead because I refuse to spew the details of where I surf. If really pressed I usually lie and tell them I surfed a well known spot.

I don't know about anyone else but my arms and shoulders are tired. **Claim**

On the topic, newbies will always be there. More newbies now in general these days. The chances of a newbie sticking to surfing in these parts is about 1% or less. Its cold, its foggy, there are sharks, its hard to catch waves. In Santa Crowded, that percentage is more like 5%. In LaLa Land, it might be 7% just because the weather is nice and the water is warm in the summer.

So, could your blessings. You have cold water, sharks, current, heavy-ass beach breaks and everything inbetween. Cry me a river if you think OB is crowded. I am heading to LA Friday, can't wait to join the lineup.......

More important things:
- Slater has proven yet again he is Jesus on a shortboard.
- Someone keep the fog switch on HIGH
- More south swell this coming weekend
- Time for some pictures......

Now turn around please.....

Thank you!

Yup. Blue station wagon.

Friday was good. Saturday cleaned up around 9AM, but was falling apart by Noon. If I had more time, I would have explored more. But it sounds like it wasn't that hot elsewhere either.

The trip back was soooo nice. Beautiful day with a belly full of waves.

nice! scored some waves during a break from work.

if you can do it go! i love fall and it seems that
finally the farking waves and weather have their
act together. sweet.

you can coddle, cajole and beg but when the poop
and the fan come together the newbies, tools, trolls
and punks will not be out there. smile more and
regulate but nicely, respectfully.

i think we should as those that know and i quote
mexi—explain the rules. if we DON'T then that is
when the problems arise IMHO. and as a teacher
professionally, ain't nobody gonna teach someone
to surf. encourage, introduce but the teaching/ learning
is all muscle memory and persistence.

cheers.

I blame the massive amounts of liesure time that Americans have for the overcrowding. Aint no one working in a field 10 hours a day driving around for 45 minutes to find the best spots.

SFKneelo,
Thanks for answering the question that my friends and I had all weekend about why there were so many kneeboarders around. We thought it might be a regional anamoly.

It's odd watching kneeboarders from a distance on unfamiliar waves. At first glance the waves looked huge (3-4x overhead), until we realized the guys were on their knees. Still big waves, but the first glance was a little deceptive.

Hope you guys had as much fun as we did.

I have to agree with Anon to a point. I think that you should be able to teach your own kids to surf. And you could possibly extend that to significant others or siblings.

When you are young and just getting into it it is different, but once you are an experienced lifelong surfer. You should never teach another adult to learn how to surf, without some familial connection.

If you don't surf don't start.

Anybody seen that massive sea turtle carcass just south of the sand ladder at Ft. Funston? It's friggin' huge. It's missing a head, but the shell itself is at least four feet long. I didn't know that tutrles that big hung out around these parts.

Also, anybody know of a bike shop in SF with a good selection of cyclocross bikes? American Cyclery has a lot of cross bikes but not really what I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

Leisure time, Andrew?! Go to any other Western democratic country and than we can talk. French, Spanish, Italians, Germans, Brits, Canadians, and so on...they all work like 30 hours a week and bitch about it. I'm not convinced by your argument.

i can't surf after work..
it's shitty out there right? and foggy and cold and shitty?

thanks.

i think it's also onshore and sharky e

E, I heard the Kelly's Cove Boys, BVB, and Charging Charger are looking to throw a beat down on Jimmy Slade so the entire OB lineup is lined with barbed wire.

It wouldn't be fun to surf there right now regardless of conditions.

Maybe tomorrow?

right on! thanks! i knew it was shitty.

OB fog + groundswell + cold + shark + 4knot current + warp-y hardball wave = Kookaway (tm), the no-stick kooking spray.

Pleasure Point = mo' buoys on the inside. Cams. $20 gas trip. 300 neat-O new pals holding hands and singing showtunes together in the line-up. Exrtaordinarily unimaginative wave hunters settling for well-advertised niceness. Fist-y grimacing locals. Rad rad rad.

To Pleasure Point I do declare: "Ahhh, I just farted -- Breathe deep, arsehooles."

Boobs.

slavin photo

Its not a choice between rippers and newbies, its a choice between rippers and a few newbies and rippers and A LOT of newbies. The more people each experienced surfer brings into the water, the more crowded it will be. I agree with friend #1, as an experienced surfer, you should ONLY teach your significant other and your children, no one else.

I have made myself a promise never to teach anyone else to surf. Your welcome, pay it forward.

But to tie this back in, don't stress about naming spots or surf reports, that is really not the biggest issue. Bringing in newbies is the biggest issue.

You and Friend #1 are selfish and big headed.

there are little bikeshops in sf that have cyclocrosses, surprisingly... they are like phantoms, people own them in the city but you wonder where the hell they came from. I ended up getting mine through Mike's Bikes in Sausalito before they opened up a shop in SF. It was only there because they have a bunch of Kona bikes. I got the 2000 Jake the Snake. I love it, more than surfing... so everybody, buy cyclocrosses... surfing is out.

Sunday was all time nectar-epic. I was flying down the line on one wave and smacked the lip in succession five times and finished it off with a clean roundy. On another wave I gyrated down the line, hit the mushy lip and did a 180 spin hit. Unreal! I can't believe how much air you can get on this board!

10's of hundreds of people were out. Shredders and new surfers. I got mine.

After the session my girl and I went to Surfers Shack Pizza for some after session grinds. Hell yeah it was good!

The drive home over 18 was cool! My chick gave me a blowy. Hell yeah! What a day!

And your selfish and narrow minded. When its overpopulated, its the people who are having like 5 or 6 kids that are selfish, not the ones telling people only to have 1 or 2 kids. I would be selfish if I taught all my friends to surf so I could go surfing with them, but I don't. I'm looking out for all current surfers.

The two gigantic national bike chain stores on the penninsula have some Fuji's and Redlines for under $1000. Try to buy from the local shops if you can though, but if you must...

Cycling has slowly taken over surfing in my life. Less NAMBLA poster kids in the sport maybe. A sport where 30 year olds kick 20 year olds asses. I'm way past my surfing prime.

My old roommate got a beautiful cyclocross at Valencia. Another dude here at work got a custom frame Waterford cyclocross, ultegra components. I say get a custom fixie, feel the road.

GO MAX!!!

Thanks CGL!

It really was a perfect little stretch. Folks were understanding, and I had a lot of nice chats.

It's a great get-together for us.

Glad you scored too!

FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB IS DON'T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!

If you think naming spots on this blog contributes *at all* to crowds then you take this blog, and yourself, wayyyyyy to seriously. LOL.

maybe tomorrow we could have a big discussion about whether to name spots.

haoles is crazy

Oh man, I missed the "son of spot naming: teaching newbies" thread? Damn, now I'll have to wait for "return of spot naming: don't carpool with friends" thread tomorrow.

I used to be one of the newbies not gettin any waves in the crowd, but now I get my share. Survival of the fittest, I say.

No one can learn to surf until 2 old dudes drop off, then we'll beat back the crowds.

Rules is for losers.

i have to say i think the 'don't teach anyone to surf' mentality sucks. i understand the pressures that create it, and maybe it's more relevant in densely populated areas, but it still sucks. the ocean is mine! the playground is mine! the stoke is mine! all for me! none for you!

how about this new, revolutionary idea for surfing:
MORE THAN ONE PERSON ON A WAVE.

we'll sit out there together, and wait 15 minutes for a set, and when a really big wave comes, we'll both ride it, and i'll stand next to you and smile and we can both glide and be stoked!

i'm pretty serious. not that there aren't some waves which can't be shared, and it takes some ability to pull it off safely... but challenge yourself to be able to draw that line in partnership with someone else, to appreciate the glide. or east coast style, where waves section every 10 feet, and we all get our little drop, turn, lip bash, repeat.

sharing means caring.

and waves would be a lot less precious if we rode more of them together. not many of us rip like kelly; we can probably get by with a little less space for our shredding. paddle out with a friend, and when the wave comes, see if you can take a deep enough line to share it.

/end rant

Yep, it was really crowded down there. But what do you expect from the first legitimate swell in, what, about four months? Despite the crowds, it was great to remember what it felt like to pull into something thick that wasn't hastily thrown together by local wind swell. I, for one, drove home last night with noodle arms and a dopey smile.

It did have it’s share of crazy though. I’ll be the first to admit that with so many people in the line up, I did take off so deep on one wave that I was cursed at for ruining some poor guy’s left. But then, on another, after ducking in under the lip I gave way to not one, but two guys who had gamely taken off deeper and literally fought the foam for fifty yards to overtake me.

The most “regulating” part of Sunday morning, and the most thought provoking, was a cute, young oceanography student, a local woman and a very good surfer on a big yellow soft top, that sat patiently chatting away with everyone at the top of the main peak. As long as she surfed that morning, the whole vibe was remarkable polite. Gentlemanly, almost.

Still, everyone I talked to said that I should’ve been there Friday.

I officially ended my slump tonight. Got a bunch of good rides. Yippeee!

I’m with J.O.C. and have actually been known to try that with a buddy more than once in almost every session when conditions permit it and it doesn’t seem too dangerous. However, I would like to apologize to everybody who was there that day about a year ago at Rincon when those two big thugs on ridiculously long longboards kept buzzing the line-up. I may know them.

surf school - never did one.
dot com -worked at one, though never got rich
fun board - got one in my quiver
my boyfriend taught me to surf- Dude, I'm not gay. But if you're a hot chick, you're welcome at the beach any time!

started clogging the line up over the last 5 years - Started?

silently I bob
alone, far-flung juice draws near
I forgot my boots

e, I went after work last night. You didn't miss anything. It was shitty.