E's Surf Report

first! bithces

question:
at what point do people go in for surgery for surfer's ear? is there a point where your ears just hurt all the time or you lose most of your hearing?

i'm starting to get ear infections and sinus problems that i know are due to my ears. just wondering how far off i am from having to get surgery.

I had my ears drilled when after almost every sesh, I'd have water stuck in my ear for a couple days. Despite wearing plugs and flushing with alcohol, I'd still end up with water in there for 48 hours.

I'm really susceptible to it, grow bone quickly, so I wear plugs and a hood every sesh and rinse with 90% alcohol afterwards.

New Zealand is sick! East or West Coast? Looks like East Coast beach break although I have no idea why.

i waited till my right ear shut and i couldnt hear anything out of it..been on the ear plugs ever since..

damn sounds like a fun one this morning. looked way smaller than yesterday but cleaner swell..this is the fall that im talking about..nice shots walker as i love the up to date shots of the beach..

maybe not way smaller..but cleaner at higher tide

e, sorry i didn't get back to ya yesterday. ended up bailing work at around 2:30. got down to the beach for low tide and saw some nice offshore groomed waves coming in. in the 1rst 1/2 hour, i locked into a few really nice waves, but around 5 it just turned off with the incoming tide. an amazing sunset to the west and an moon to the east straight out of a fairy tale.

inquisitive, i've been wondering the same thing. i gotta get in and see an ENT.

Not godawful at all.

...but indeed very clean and much smaller than even lindy was yesterday. and it seemed to "shut off" around 10.

Mexi! lets see the shots!

special delivery for the niceness crew

PM report....
those waves look nice. I got out around 2:30 yesterday. it was just starting to move outside. when i paddle out the inside was still surfable but after about 10 min or so it was crap and the outside was starting to break. as the tide dropped it got more shapely and the crowds got thicker...

i think those shots are around noon-1:30 pm when the tide was higher and it focused the energy on the shallower inner bars....

late evening was no barrel fest like it must have been earlier, it was fun but a little inconsistent and more crowded than most would like....

F-Wise! for the noon and 3pm "Go Surf, its great" report.

Mexi, yeah, please post 'em!

Nice to see some familiar faces surfing about this morning. Amazing how much fun you can have when you know most of the faces in your general vicinity.

Good times, good times.

Artifact got the wave of the morning, straight up!

I miss days like these.
Waves weren't the best but the conditions: wind, sunrise, moon, etc. couldn't have been better.

Thanks for the delivery! Where do I sign? Oh really? On your butt? OK, but I don't have a pen... Can I use this to sign ? (Zzzziiiiiiiipp!)

What kind of plugs do you recommend? Wax? Just like break off a chunk, warm it up in your armpit and stuff it in there? Just wonderin'...

Go to hotlineonline.com for the best plugs

Live and running:
http://www.triplecrownofsurfing.com/haleiwa/live.php

if artifact is who i'm thinking he is, he got ALOT of nugs. in addition to the "wave of the day" that everybody seems to have seen, he got this sweet pit just as i was paddling in. screaming down the line in the mouth of the barrel right in front of me. he gets the mlmf award today.

I use the vented Doc's Proplugs all the time. I still get a little water in the ear, so I am considering using the unvented plugs. Downside of unvented plugs is sound muffling.

I use film so it'll be a while. I'm not too amped on the pics, it was tiny and I was hoping for a nice moonset with a surfer on a wave, didn't happen, I should shot yesterday for that. Anyhow I did snap some and I'll post um here next week.

Nice to meet you
Art and I think I IDed Steam, you got a nice one...

Wave that is...

yeah, i guess i know who you are too now, mexi. for some reason i expected you to be older and grayer. don't know why. i'm still planning to hit you up for the seeds for our new gromsuit co-op.
i mostly got alot of lips to the head. one day i WILL figure out how to get into and out of a barrel.

steamwand.. i think i may have startled you by saying hi in the water.. sorry about that. and then in the parking lot again (you said you had cold feet). I have a purple board and short hair.

anyhoo..

e-i totally didn't recognize you. wow. hair makes a big difference or something. sorry i wasn't friendlier. and all you boys look the same in your rubber. just kidding. good to see you.

Kasier-thanks for the link. It's pretty fun to watch and the stream actually works...

Good to see E in the lineup outside the Kounty. I don't know the rest of you by sight but it sounds like it was a gathering of the niceness tribe. Nice to meet you Mexi.

It thought the surf was actually better than I expected. I was a dork on my 7-10. It felt so small I couldn't find the sweet spot on most waves. Back to the beast for me.

On the ear's...I've had both done and my advice is to get it done before it's 100% closed. The doc will have a hard time finding the canal with nothing to look into and then you risk a canal puncture.

the moonset, the offshores, and the occaisional chest-high wall of curling water - perfect way to start the day.
man, are we lucky.

Durn, looks like I missed the impomptu niceness fest. Wasn't too bad where I was, though. Lots of waiting around, but it's not too often you can actually relax in the water out here. I'll take it!

s.s.-friday, your hood?

Good news, just got a great job offer, about 40% raise. Bad news, it's in the greater Detroit area. Anybody familiar with it? I know there's no surf, but I've only been there a couple of times. Any info or opinion much appreciated.

Lates

e - you gotta bring back the dreads!

e-what happened to the tan coffey? you guys get new boards so much more often than i do. i'll still be riding my little fish when i'm forty.

ha! those two scrawny dreads i had were pretty gross. How did you even know about/see them? I'm totally over long hair. too high maintenence. Too many assumptions about what you're all about too. sucks coming up from a duckdive and having to wipe your hair away from your eyes everytime.

Niceness crew! It was great to see you all out there this DP. We were the ones on the surfboards. Sorry we were scowling but when we show up it's like insta-crowd.
Can't wait to see the pix of us!

Nice to meet ya too kdalle, I can't remember the last time I saw a twinzer, I rememer when Wise used to sell em back in the early 90's.

That was the full niceness sesh today.

Yeah Mexi, it's all I ride except for the Rhino. Got 7 of them.

I'm with ya on the long hair e but damn I'd like the option of growing it long. Those days are gone. I cut mine when I came up after a pounding and gasping for air swallowed my hair. Actually had to pull it out of my throat to keep from choking.

I can't believe there hasn't been a "what can brown do for you" joke yet...

if bouncing off the bottom twice
on one wave is charging...then that was me.

ha ha.

so STOKED to be back in the water. YAHOO!
great to see ya'll out there. hope to get more
names and faces connected in the future.

Hey guys, what about me? I was out there too with yiz all and got a bunch of fun rides. My last was the best. Love when that happens. Shoulder high and just kept walling up. Pumped down the line and tried to get air in the closeout section at the end. Didn't happen :(

I haven't been in the water for a couple weeks, so I'll chime in about hair (jeezus, I'm pathetic). After 25 years of hair halfway down my back, I finally cut it short 5 or 6 years ago. I was seriously shocked at how this change gained me a huge boost in credibility and respect. It was particularly disturbing that cutting my hair produced this reaction, not only from new aquaintances, but also from people I had known for many, many years.

Wow, I guess I've managed to fool you guys into thinking I can catch waves, reset wave-karma meter back to 0. Ha, I didn't think anyone saw that wave other than Christian & Steamwand.

Hey Steamwand- yep, that was me (you asked me what time it was) you caught a bunch too, fun to hear you yelling encouragement! We had that spot to ourselves for awhile.

Great to see all of ya out there on this beautiful morning. Nice to finally meet you in person Mexi.

Oh yeah, almost forgot... thanks Dennis for letting me know why my wetsuit's been so cold!

Had my left ear drilled in February, was 98% closed. No infections but water would stay in there for days and days. I was pretty much deaf for 6 months until I relented and saw a doc (I recommend California Ear Institute in Palo Alto), turned out all it was a tiny bit of detritus sticking in the pinhole I had left.
Surgery was successful, though I was sick as a dog ( from the anaesthetic) when I woke up. Hurt like hell for a few days, and I was out of the water for 7 weeks. But all in all I'm glad I did it. Now I realise just how deaf I am in the right (previously "good") ear. It's at 80-something percent and will have to be done in the next year or two.
BTW it's realy really expensive, so make sure your insurance is in order.

e is that Piha or perhaps Muriwai?

Will plugs prevent this shit or are we all doomed to the drill?

god damn i hope i don't have bone grown!!! that sucks kdalle and garth. surfer's ear is fucking no joke and seems to be pretty prevalent. sucks.

Re' plugs. Doc said yep it'll delay the surgery for years.
But I personally hate 'em. I used them for 6 moths last year. Now I figure with a new left ear I don't need a plug in there, and as I'll need surgery in the other some time, I'll not bother with that one either. But I do use drops after every session.

It just really bugs me not being able to hear when surfing because of plugs. After all, I had surgery to stop the muffling, right? Right...

It took me a while to find a good ENT around here [ non water related issues] I told the first ENT I was into surfing and he literally slumped over and put his head in his hands. Sat very still for a few seconds. I think he squeezed out a tear or two.

Steamwand: possibly, just shoot me an email ( might have lost your new one )

Detroit has very similar weather to SF. It does not get very cold at all during the winter. You'll love it! Property values will shock you, I bet.

If you have to move to the midwest Detroit may be one of the worst choices. Just layin' it out there for you.

keep pimpin'

Plugs:

I've been wearing Doc's pro plugs for 20 years of surfing in Northern Cal waters. No surfers ear to report as yet.

The vents allow some water into the ear and this warms up quickly to form a thermal barrier to cold ocean water. The number one cause of Surfers ear is just that: cold water entering the ear canal.

Its small wonder Kdalle had to have em drilled growing up in Jersey waters.

On the surf, sorry I didn't opt for the drive at dawn. Lunch was less than spectacular. Definitely bring a log if you head to the beach.

What a difference a day makes.

I was the one Doof was quoting.

Which of the lakes gets surf?
As I understand it you need a lake-length fetch which stays for a while, then reverses locally for the offshore, making short period surf.
I wonder if you'd notice the bouyancy difference.

Time to jettison all practical obligations and find a patch of ocean to dissolve into for the next couple days. Monkey Milk going off the grid, see you in civilization again sometime next week.

EAR-related shit: I've had chronic ear/sinus probs my whole life (had tubes 2X as a child, mild surgery) and partial bony closure on my right ear have developed from 20+ winters of surfing here and New Jersey. My ENT docs are hesitant to offer surgery as an option, but someday I fear I will also succumb to the deleterious effects of the bony growths and will have to undergo this justifiably hated surgery. Not stoked. ALWAYS wear plugs, you'll get used to not hearing so well. I use the AQUA HEAR-Os and they work great (especially the newer model) -- just make sure you pull your ear lobes downward before insertion, that way the plug will go deep and snug, the reverse-ribbing will grab hold and will not fall out during a session (typically). I have lost these plugs during big wipe-outs and guess what? They sink very quickly!

Detroit's one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the good ol' USA. Why you ask? Because it hit rock bottom and has had nowhere to go but up. All the great trends in American music came from there: soul, rock, the roots of house/techno (if you like that sh*t), rap--you name it, it started in Detroit. While it still looks like a bombed out city, it is a cool place. Michigan can be harsh and Detroit is only one facet of that harshness. While it may be cold, it has style--like it or not.

Fun surf this a.m. Wish there was just a little more juice though. Not complaining tho'--felt so good to be out--Cold water washing my brain.

Anyone know anyone affiliated with US immigration? I've got a friend having visa issues. The local embassy is not being a help--nor empathetic.

question about the isopropol alcohol straight in the ear...is that bad? are you supposed to dilute it? w/ what? some kind of oil?

amigoism, get a *good* immigation lawyer.
It was pretty easy for me (scored a 10 year GC this year!) but I'm from a 'harmless' country.
I spent a lot of time in their offices though, and the people with lawyers seemed to have it easier.

Don't expect empathy, they're pencil pushers through and through. They like to throw up a few hoops just to make sure you really want to be here.

dilute with water.

Oh, forgot to mention that although I have no bony growth, I fear that I am settling into a pattern of Catching a cold sometime in October (this has happened the last 5 years straight), and then suffering from a very low level but still bothersome, long-term sinus infection.

I don't typically rinse my ears. But always wear plugs.

personally, i love wearing ear-plugs. At first i hated em', couldn't hear, etc. But... after i got used to them i literally feel naked in the ocean with out the lil' guys. I swear they make me feel way warmer. If it's windy you don't feel the deep chill of the cold wind so much.

i tried docs and hearos but they both fell out too much. (i wipe out quite a bit). docs are friggin expensive as shit. i go with the cheapies from walgreens. get a 9 back and split each one into two earplugs. They still fall out every now and again but no worries at $3.50 for a 9-pack... which is actually 18 separate plugs.

Yay earplugs!

I have a bony growth but not in my ears! UPS Yes!

chet,

it's tanker wakes for you!

spend some of that 40% on season tickets to the pistons and a nice apartment somewhere outside of the city.

Docs are expensive? E, my man, we need to get you out of the non profit sector...

I have a chronic sinus infection year-round that this year has developed into "walking pneumonia". Its taken all my energy away as its impossible to sleep. Might have to vacation in Arizona or something to get it cleared up. God help me.

web.. i'm seriously poor.

that sucks sinus infection guy. arizona is pretty beautiful actually. good hiking/climbing and that kind of thing.

the waves are epic!!

Hey, what happened to the rule that we don't post about good conditions when Andrew is stuck in his cubicle? When I go postal, I have no problem tracking all y'all down.

Hey E, no shit, you do so much work on this site, which in turn gives a little boost now and then to my work day, I will send you a batch of pro plugs NO PROBLEM. I am still getting the better end of the deal. Email me your size and mailing address. Jesus, it is the least I can do for all you do for everyone else.

The sinus thing has only been the last two years. I only know about the October cold thing is because it always factors in to my preparations for the Halloween Singing Gig.

Last year I noticed a sore throat when I woke up for about a month before seeing a doc who woke me up to the sinus infection.

I am hoping to kick it by going round the clock on decongestant. Just got my sudafed fix and I already have been on the night time knock out: Sudaphen PM.

Oh and since the surf is basically getting smaller as we type, Two out of three on my picks for Euro entries to next years world cup.

Go Czech Republic.

Other two: Swiss, and Spain (so close Slovakia, but you couldn't overcome a 4 goal difference from the first leg).

awesome swell at Haleiwa. when is that arriving here?
http://www.triplecrownofsurfing.com/haleiwa/live.php

friend #1.. how did the halloween gig go?

web.. thanks dude! that's super kind of you. I'm pretty happy with the cheapies though. so.. probably no need for the docs. Are they definitely better?

sheeesh.. i better get some work done now..

peace

Andrew, im only 3 apples high.

i work too early to dp most of the year but on my morning dog walk in the outer rich i saw an unusual number of cars with boards on top heading towards the beach at dawn, knew then i was missing something out there today.

E- thanks for asking.

Halloween gig was the bomb as always. We did Sly and the Family Stone as our Tribute band. Highlights were singing "If you want me to Stay", and "Sing a Simple song."

A big time vocal work-out though. One of the other singers was ailing, so I ended up singing on 27 of 28 tunes. Just light back-ups on a few songs, but still vocals on every song but the one instrumental we started with.

Crowd was a bit lighter than last year but we should still be sending close to 2 grand to the chosen charity (Bay Area SCORES).

I can send you pictures of some of the better costumes if you are interested.

Sinus infection and cold people - try flushing your sinus cavity with warm saline solution a few times a week. I heard on NPR that it can dramatically reduce incidences of infection.

The recipe is: 1 cup of tap water, 1-2 tsp. of sea salt (doesn't have additives), and a pinch of baking soda. Stir until the salt is dissolved and then microwave for 15 seconds. Use a dropper to fill sinuses. Hold for a few seconds and then tilt your head forward to empty.

Even my six year old daughter loves this treatment, which she says clears her sinuses out.

Thanks for the tip steve.

Koby Abberton interview

I get a "sinus rinse" everytime I go surfing. Its the real deal: water, sea salt, naturally injected!

Its small out there. Don't surf the rest of the week.

Pick a number...

#3 please, with a side of #7

Kaiser seems to post more babes when there's better surf conditions.

Shut the pucker up you hapless unable "surfing" minnions. You claim and you rave and its endless. Your fat ass, your bitchen
hair , your stupid sucking shades, your bitchen car or truck; your SCHWAY; your endless posturing and preening about and your FUNKY furry asshole friends.
How's it that you don't deserve the recoginition you desire ? - your minnions writing herein -. Majestic cypress, my latest bomb out the back - what?! Are you on crack? There were and are no bombs to be had. WTF!
Buncha tranny's claiming and shaming. Yeah E you "work" so hard at this.
Publishing not only pics but descriptions and some such bilibouspreposterousfuckingeastcoastransplantrabble.

JesusHCHRISTforthanksgivingandchristmasbesakeGONE! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFalready.

That Kaiser post reminds me of that Ice Cube song, "I got dick for days, they got ass for weeks."

so the new jesus, Who put you in charge all of a sudden??

sweet! the end of the day BVB terets syndrome post!

hey, E the new jesus, kaiser is still waiting for his phone call

I suffered from repeated sinus infections for years. They would always start out with a little nasal congestion and go straight to my ears due to narrow ear canals and repeated exposure to cold, funky, water. I hated earplugs, hated psuedoephedrine, and had a hard time finding a doctor who realized a person could have a localized ear infection without presenting with a high fever. I finally found a doctor who understands the whole deal, he straightened me out. Unfortunately it wasn't until after I had suffered some serious hearing loss. I have to wear hearing aids in both ears to watch t.v. and when I go to the movies, theater, or if I'm in a meeting with more than a half dozen people. It's not hereditary, it' not "age appropriate" - it's from repeated ear infections.
Like others have said, earplugs and alcohol/glycerine eardrops (don't dilute with water!) post surf or swim really help. Periodic flushes similar to what Steve posted have also helped a lot. But I do still use psuedoephedrine when I get SUPER plugged up. And while I rarely get infections anymore, when I do, I bite the bullet and take antibiotics. Augmenten is my drug of choice - broad range and STRONG. Believe me, I'd much rather avoid infection than have to resort to using antibiotics, but I can't afford to damage my ears any more. So, WEAR those earplugs and find a good doctor.

Do you ever think that BVB might need a good dog or a few friends to tease him? Niceness wins because he's got a place to vent.

wow