E's Surf Report

first!

cool story e. Next installment tomorrow?!

I am sure in reality if you had yourself a sea plane (and the motivation) you could find some pretty darned interesting and desolate breaks up in that region!

Went to the ColdPlay concert last night in San Jose.
Never been so amused by the crowd at a rock concert in my life.
Maybe it's because I haven't been to a venue the size of the Shark tank to see a show in a long long time.
Or maybe it's because Coldplay is just the sort of accesible hypnotic Europop that the Bay Area yuppies salivate at the chance to score a ticket on the floor.
Did you know that cell phone LCD screens have replaced lighters as the crowd participation gadget of choice.
I saw Willie Nelson last week at the Fillmore ...
Now that was a fucking show!!
Give me the flag of the lone star state as a backdrop over some 100trillion mega pixel illuminated movie screen with acid trip light show splashed across it any day.
Willie killed it!
The tone coming out of his beat-up nylon string, stuffed through vacuum tubes and blasted through racks of auditorium speakers . . .
It lifted me, transported me..
This morning, as I attempted to check the jumbled surf through the thick coastal mist, I could still hear Willie's soulfull notes with their bluesy harmonica accompaniment...

I went to coldplay on Tuesday in Oakland.

Yes it was a pretty 'produced' concert - but guess that is well managed mainstream commercial music for you.

I must be out of touch because I also was stunned to see that cell phones have replaced lighters. It was pretty cool tho to see 20,000 or so cell phones being waveed. (yes I joined in, sad bastard that I am).

Good story and nice use of a "raw, authentic lifestyle". Seems to be an authentic lifestyle theme here recently. What does that entail?

I'm poor and surf a fair amount, does that make me authentic? or do I just have a bad case of fomo (fear of missing out)?

Ah, good ole Trigger and Willie. What a combo. That guitar has been rebuilt multiple times, somehow it just keeps keepin on, kinda like Willie.

Euros + Reverb = Coldplay

A challenge to all of you "original niceness" peeps from last night to post pictures of yourselves. You can trash the BVD; we all know what he looks like - a native of somewhere local.
Why don't you anonomous surf post talkers post up a cute little pic of yourselves?
Not you Brian we have all the info about you anyone could ever want... sheesh.

I live off of stock options and billable hours.
I drive a Jetta.
I surf a fair amount, live by the beach, and check the surf every day.
Does that make me authentic?

In a vain attempt to keep the thread from dissolving into the usual arguments - here's a blurry phone pic from Tuesday.

Much as the concert was not overly memorable - imagine the lights off and all those folks waving glowing cell phones. I'd go again just for that (although a dose of shrooms in the parking lot would be in order).

Yes please..

Gee -that is SO INTERESTING!

Here I am. I've been surfing since 1983. Learned to surf at OB and SMC back then at age 13. HELLO HOW ARE ALL YOU DOING!??!!

HERE I AM... ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE?!?!?
COME ONE COME ON COME ON!!
HERE I AM...

Good fairytale, too bad Alaska is a bitch of a place.

The concept is great, leave the bullshit behind and search out true intrinsic value in a virgin location.

Problem is:
Hypothermia, lack of daylight, 18 ft tides, 10-knot currents, raining or snowing sideways for 300 days of the year and don't forget ugly fucking women. You will be lucky if you make it out alive.

So stick with drinking latte's, crowds, no courtesy, and taking shit from locals. It’s still a better proposition.

And if you think OB is sketchy, you are misinformed.

Dude, the only reason I'd be caught dead at a Coldplay concert would be to check out the teen queens in the crowd. Got any pics of them?

This "teen queen" was at the Coldplay concert last night

Well I was happy to see live music and the g/f was keen - was a good night out, regardless of coldplay being a 'pop' group.

Yes plenty of teen queens although I've not quite sunk to the level of taking pics of them yet (especially with my other half watching).

If you are keen on young asian girls in tight tops you would have had plenty of eye candy - that's for sure.

E, i love those short stories, they immediatley draw the reader in as all good ones do!

a final message for all those imvolved in this local vs trannie bullshit...take the words of P funk mast George Clinton in condsideration when you start talking about that type of nonsense,

" Just remember, it ain't where you're from but where you're at"

says it all.

peace

i saw willie play at this local resturant "Charlie's" in Paia, very intimate, his voice when it's on is amazing. a couple of days later he was at party at a freind of a my girlfriend at the time. my girlfriend and i were looking for a place to sneak a little action in and stumbled upon willie and some peeps burning one down in the backyard by the hammock. he says: "looks like we've got the spot you two are lookin for?" a little star struck, "yeah" "why do't you join us, we'll be done in a bit."
i still can see his wrinkled fingers passing me the joint. he used to have a home at Sprecklesville. i think that guitar of his holds the magical powers to his success.

what was wrong with my picture?

I saw Willie on New Year's Eve 1999/2000 in Reno with my dad. Greatest concert I have ever been to. Chillin with dad, bringin in the new millenium, watching Willie sober up on his 3rd go-around of "Whiskey River". The guy went thru 3 "US Flag" bandanas in 20 minutes.
The 40-year old cougars were all about the bandana! Willie puts on a good show.

Hey Bay Area Native: I'll do one better, I will post a picture of everyone of my boards. Next time anyone sees me on said board, they will know who I am. Of course, you are gonna have to paddle out to talk shop though. Sometimes that might be easy. Other times, not so much. But, then we can rap about things more important then typing on a blog.

nice one 3-5. willie kills it.

Sorry Kaiser - we need a picture - how will we identify you?

what is kaiser trying to say? is it that he is a big wave surfer or is it that he is an extremely well rounded fighter and conversationalist? or just a willie nelson fan? or that he just has a lot of boards to display and doesn't like 40 year old divorcees?

e - you are becoming the master of the two minute story...quite engaging of late. rock on

seems to me that the trannies complain more than the locals but who's keeping score

We need the face Sactomex. How are we going to identify you? Is that you surfing a very small wave?
Kaiser - what do you look like?

BVD is not a native of somewhere local, he is a SoCal tranny like half the surfers in SF. His claimage runs far stronger than average, though.

snore. hey guy, you first.

Where's the face of Bagel?
Kdalle?
3-5-7?
Korewin?
Fess up you fuskers...

George Clinton also said:

"Ow, we want the funk (we're gonna turn this mother out)
Give up the funk
Ow, we need the funk (we're gonna turn this mother out)
We gotta have that funk"

I miss song lyrics like this. Words that had meaning.

Keep writing E. Great stuff!

what's BVD stand for?

Funk lyrics posted by me.

Southern California? Where does it begin and end?
Over here in Hawaii it takes 10 years to be accepted as a Kamaiina.
Kaiser - divorce? Say it ain't so.

Brand of underwear you're most likely wearing...

where's your face fusker? besides leave me alone.

wait heres me!

FYI----THE OB CAR THIEF IS WORKING OFF & ON AT SUNRISE DELI AT 22ND & IRVING (A FEW HOURS HERE AND THERE). IT PROBABLY WON'T LAST LONG, SO IF YOU WANT TO CONFRONT HIM, I'D GET THERE FAST!

Southern California start directly south of wherever you are

Ok, ok - ok. So I wasn't BORN is San Francisco. I was born in the California Hospital on Hope St. in Los Angeles in 1959. So what. In '84 I moved here at age 25 after being a three time college dropout in Santa Barbara. Came up here to finish my English degree at S.F. State and to surf. I graduated from SFSU in 1991 with a BA in English Literature at age 32.

how freaking long is it going to take my computer to perform an application update?

interesting to note the corelation between lack of good surf and pissant scrambles expressed on this board.

i'm thinking these idiots are mearly trying to express their lack of having any cojones by whining anonymously behind the shield of firewalls, keyboards and screens.

fucking little dicks surf like i did at age 8. little puny waves. big waves are for men. you little piece of shit.

i wouldn't even be looking at this bloggy blog if i didn't fucking tear a bunch of ligaments. much less posting. but i have to download this fucking slow application and can not be productive in any other way. except maybe eating food or some such bullshit. fuck.

anyway, that's how it is. either get with it and preview, post or forget your personal information or get a move on. you ladies have a good afternoon and have fun. remember surfing is the sport of kings not little fuckers.

peace

how freaking long is it going to take my computer to perform an application update?

interesting to note the corelation between lack of good surf and pissant scrambles expressed on this board.

i'm thinking these idiots are mearly trying to express their lack of having any cojones by whining anonymously behind the shield of firewalls, keyboards and screens.

fucking little dicks surf like i did at age 8. little puny waves. big waves are for men. you little piece of shit.

i wouldn't even be looking at this bloggy blog if i didn't fucking tear a bunch of ligaments. much less posting. but i have to download this fucking slow application and can not be productive in any other way. except maybe eating food or some such bullshit. fuck.

anyway, that's how it is. either get with it and preview, post or forget your personal information or get a move on. you ladies have a good afternoon and have fun. remember surfing is the sport of kings not little fuckers.

peace

While appealing sounding, the "authentic lifestyle" posts have actually been written by a professional blogger (purportedly living somewhere in Singapore) hired by the parent company of Gap and Old Navy as part of a "holiday season viral blitz."

that's me on the left.

yeaahhh....what up ghostface?!

wtf!! car thief working at sunrise!?! that place has great falafels but i really don't wanna support a place that employs thieves. and dude with info...who the hell are you?? his pissed off younger brother? an ex-lover?

guy who wants faces....next time you see me make sure you step up. ok? you'll see me along the great highway most mornings or working at sunrise deli in the afternoons. let's talk.

Gosh BVD got educated - so?
Ditto on the car thief dude - Sunrise Deli used to be the smack before it changed hands last year. It sits amidst New-China on Irving and 25th. The dood is packing - this I know - I know the family - been up here a few years. Best damned falafel in the kingdom.
What does E look like?
That ain't you 'Face of' Bagel...
Got a face Cadaver? Who the **** are you?

don't want to be negative, but those girls are ugly. they look like inflatable credit cards.

rza - you got a face or are you all mouth and no teeth?

Who the fuck is BVD? I know Bob but I don't know this BVD character.

I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I

Above: My exhibit of the Dribble Spiral.
- The Dribble Sprial is a very well know species. It appeared on this here 1011100110 interface several months ago. Its function is to take all that is that is good and couple it with all that is bad and sent it right down the drain. Current researchers believe the Dribble Spiral empties its nothingness down in the town of Pacifica, just on the west side of the major fault line running up the coast. Locals claim the Dribble Spiral has been known to create a great outflow of dribble on some days setting up epic sandbars at their local surf break. When these said sandbars show themselves, these locals rejoice! It is the first of its kind. It is what locals call "full circle development". The science is unproven at this point but shows super unbelievable promise for future shit-talking/surfing escapades....

this pic of me is a bit old...but i've definitely got some teeth

Picture guy,

I drive a big, grey SUV. I will put a picture of myself on the front grill. Come and check it out.

Otherwise, send your friend Chuck out on some recon to catch my good side.

Can't wait till 3:00 so I can make myself happy by posting chicks instead of dribble.

hee hee - hee hee, great description

Know how I know you're gay?
How?
You like Coldplay.

come on now boys take it easy....STOP ALL THIS WHINNING BULLSHIT AND LETS TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ESLSE FOR GODS SAKE YOUR PATHETIC RAMBLINGS ARE NO MORE ENTERTAINTING THAN THEY ARE WITTY. NON MI FARE INCAZZARE

ok, now I feel better. Surfed the only spot not blosenout yesterday with about 500 other people, everytime I paddled for a wave there were allredy people on it or people right in front of my take off zone, it was indeed frustrating but still, to be in the water is always a gift not to be taken for granted
peace to the true niceness crew the rest of you should go to aggroville.

wrote this a couple weeks ago when i was down south:

here i am in nicaragua, what should most easily be described as the land of the offshores. offshore in wind, off the hook in waves, and quickly becoming the new costa rica. i´ve had a fair share of mishaps and third world hilarity, from scratchy nights of allergic jellyfish stinging reactions, to chicken bus rides that make el salvadoran public transport look like first class limo service.

i´m working on my thesis doing "research" on fair trade coffee. yes, that´s "research" with a capital beach for my first few days. because of it´s geographic quirkiness nicaragua has a huge fresh water lake right in its middle equipped with the only fresh water sharks in the world. this uber aquatic puddle results in surfer fantasy offshore wind conditions forever. the direction of the country catches more swell than rocky balboa and mr. t. unfortunately, it´s also catching gringos like ebola.

yersterday, i surfed a beach ironically called playa ** ******. as i stoked on wedging barreling left hand sheared glass waves, crabs clamored, howler monkeys let go low guttural almost nightmarish but entertaining growls, fish hopped, whales puffed.

yet through the utter orchestra of oceanic ecstasy i could hear the churning crunching metal of development approaching. up on the hill, marked lots tore into the tropical forest. 100 sq meters for $90,000, twice the price of last year. the crew of raggedy gringo surfers i had met and hitched a ride with to the break switched conversational focus from the waves to the land above they were hoping to buy for mass development. they seemed to grow eye patches and peg legs, prepping a pillage party to see what gold could be wrung out of indigenous populations. i paddled over to the next wave, a little sick to my stomach.

heres me on surfinsider.com!

well put antman...

bagel who does your hair?
the color is so life-like.
and the shadow of you on the face
of the wave is a stellar touch....

gvibe7, it's alarming how quickly the world is clamoring to fill in all the little niches that still lack human overflow. Same thing is happening on the Big Island now, and Kona has rush hour traffic like you wouldn't believe. Puna side is being developed heavily, haoles have descended en masse with all the financial leverage they can muster, and property values have doubled in 1 year.

nice writing gvibe. so how 'fair' is the coffee trade down there?

e, great introduction. i'm looking forward to its conclusion. maybe a grizzly attack?? bears are scary.

Anyone know how Judith did yesterday?

here is a pic of Bagel:

I love you bagel. I am sorry for all the mean things I said.

Looks like she advanced her 1st heat and got 5th in her 2nd...

http://www.pipebodysurf.com/

Look for the Results about 1/2 way down, pdf or html... there's complete results.

Thanks SFKneelo!

fusk you anon

sorry web those wounds cut too deep, besides im only dating myself right now, men are pigs.

The Prussian Blue girls have grown up quickly:

hey picture wanter - this is a surfing blog not a dating site. try match dot com.

screw it, its almost 3 and I gotta go with the flow...

I'm saving myself for 3

OK, I've had some fun with my Authentic Surfing Lifestyle posts. Glad some of you have enjoyed them. I am not in singapore and I am not a blogger from corp mktg. I have always attempted to keep my posts entertaining and positive or at least thought provoking.

I am KIX, PNW, Otis, and Chumash Local and I post here for fun. I enjoy many of your posts, especially the humor, art, fiction, music suggestions and the member photos. I expect that many of the so-called haters here are often regular members playing multiple roles for their own laughs. Do any of you really take it seriously?

What does an Authentic Lifestyle entail? you have to live your life and answer that question for yourself. at 45 I'm still doing my own research. Just get out of your oversized tub of powerlessness and go create your own definition of Authentic.

Cheers and thanks for letting me play here.

sweet you got some good one pnw i like chumash local..

haha PNW, i thought chumash local was BVB.

PNW - I know YOU! You're one of the Camp 4 Crew! Go back to Sunnyside Bench and stay off of Monday Morning Slab.

1st Place - Dem aka Monkey Milk, Secret Doom Dada
2nd Place - PNW aka KIX, otis, Chumash Local
3rd Place - not yet confessed, but attributable to all other monikers on this board

Conclusion: There are a total of 3 posters on niceness.org

that sactomex photo may be the best one ever posted on this site.

and the rainbow bikin with the stomache take the cake in the more important category.

the more post there are the mo' better.
even if it is from multiple personalities of the same individual otis chumash kix. post away if you got the time.

haha. My son was born in the EXACT same place as BVB. Hope and Grand. I lived the Authentic Local Lifestyle for most of my life on the reefs and sandbars in the Hollywood Riviera area further south, to be somewhat vague, and I am not above guilt for past abusive behaviour. I moved away to WA 6 years ago to raise kids and enjoy a more truly Authentic Life Lifestyle away from the ever denser cali coastal zone and the taint of the ever increasing tranny yuppy onslaught. So I can appreciate BVB.

Will e let this live?

Looks like Angelfire killed it....

Angelfire killed it ...

link it, as angelfire ain't givin' it up fo' free.
they want to count their traffic.

OK, we admit it. We're the rest of the posters. See you at Bo this weekend!

yo kaiser. it's black history month, day 2 and not a single sistah.....

at least gimme a few mullatto's ya dig?

Coming soon to a break near you.....

oh hell yeah you can post ganja photos.

Ur right, my bad. Give me a few. I need to get some work done.

made some ganja cookies last night..amazing how when you eat one, you're convinced it won't do anything and then, whack. I woke up feeling like my face and body was swollen for some reason...

hot black chicks please kaiser. as many as possible

isotope - is that Adam's (from UpChuck) mom on the Jet Board?

One huge difference between the Willie Nelson concert at the Fillmore vs. Coldplay in SJ, amount of ganga being puffed in the crowd.

thanks for the compliment blakestah!

Of course the Weaz can deliver....

I think we can improve from here!

hey did you know that mullatto is like using the "N" word? i didn't either until my hot step sister who happens to a of mixed race clued me in. just sharing a little 411 in case your in a bar and about to say something that will not help your cause.

point taken. i thought it was all good.

kaiser hit me with some mocha flavored. some light skinned sistahs.

Yeaaaahhh booooooooooiiiiiii....

I'm sure she's someone's Mom.
Can tell she's not a real jetboarder...her stance is too narrow.

HA!

i've heard some people say the term "mulatto" is bad, I've heard others say it's not so bad.

The origin of the term is often said to derive from "mula", the Portuguese and Spanish word for mule, once a generic designation name for any hybrid. This is not certain but, as a result, it is considered offensive by some English-speakers, who might prefer terms like "biracial" instead. An alternate etymology traces mulatto to the Arabic muwallad, which means "a person of mixed ancestry".

The term is considered offensive in the United Kingdom where it is only used in historical contexts

rza, fair trade has it's problems, but mostly because it doesn't have much accountability. i'm working on that part, developing impact indicators which should cut down on some of the anomalies. it's also subject to global prices, but it has done a lot of good for some super poor folks.

dem, word.

now THATS what i'm talkin about, kaiser...

Hi Guys, my name is Hunter and I surf Ft. Point and Kellys Cove. I'm tough.

Mmmm
I'd like to ride bareback with hunter on the back of a Portuguese mule

3 to 5- so who exactly is this "hot step sister?"

a small pic of me:

hot step sister picture please

How's everyone staying in shape these days? I just felt my thighs touching eachother!! I gotta surf soon.

sactomex, you've almost made the transition to being a girl. how do you hide your adams apple? pic looks great. congrats.

Vive El Che..

sactomex obviously hasnt ever lived in a communist country.

re: hot right wing girls

the reagan girl is actually the dude in the picture directly above, except with a wig on.

Ann Coulter is Hot?

Ann Coulter is Hot?

ann coulter enjoys dark guys

i can't pimp my .5 sis.

3-5- its not pimping, its SHARING....

how 'd hell did we get onto the subject of Ann Coulter?

Crazy, loopy, insane, hate mongering, anger spewing, flat chested media whore that she is.

quick GIS brought some interesting results:

what is that on her finger? cant zoom in.

she looks like one of those Prussian Blue girls

this album is pretty rad. I went to school with these guys and they played a few of our house parties. rock!

DJ Shawdow - UC Davis grad, gotta be good!

E loves house parties. Anyone having a house party? E is all about 'em.

definitely love me a good house party. That's where the shit goes deeeown.

and you know.. "when the shit goes down... ya betta be ready."

Another Classic

Nice story today, e. Of course I liked that there was an ER doc in it being one myself!
I found a job- will be moving back to SF in summer! Can't wait. Surrrf!

i don't know what's on her finger but her hand looks about twice as long as it should be.

Looks like the namer got owned guy got owned

Oh well this one's for you

http://dl2.dumpalink.com/media/2uZDDTSwMznX/2iaapGEU4Rgh.wmv

painfull.

who the H bomb is that lady?

Great video!!!!!! Had to have been some deaths in there.

gvibe7, good to know. the speed at which these large coffee chains are spreading is frightening. i'm hoping that the fair-trade growers have a positive impact on those less-fortunate growers forced to accept the pittance that most buyers pay. and i'm really hoping that fair-trade can be appreciated by more consumers and can then spread to other commodities....

There should be a website like this for Locals.
Oh-wait...that's right..we just talk at the beach.

Anne Coulter flat chested?? When did this happen? She had a great pair before!

that video was painful to watch but I went back for the good ones. None of those people are namers and still got owned??

NICEEEEEEEEENESSSS.
FASCIST SLIME!!!!!!

AWESOME.
Rumsfeltd called Chavez Hitler.

...and the shit hits the fan.

It was a pretty good day on niceness. In my opinion.

since this is "coming out" day, I thought
I'd go all out and post a picture of myself
and my girlfriend walking in Golden Gate
Park, last Tuesday. My real name is Ron
and I'm into seafood, NASA photographs
and internet dog race betting. I am also
guilty of posting under many different
names and sentence-fragments, usually
accompanying odd pictures and multi-
media displays, sorry if I offended anyone.

what is wrybread's name on here?

that video needs the jackass 'skier' dude taking his 245 header / 'record' tacked onto the end for the finale.

Welle,

seems we share the same calling...where are you going to be working? I'll give you my contact information as I have done some time here
peace

Meteorologists (er, Blakestah),
What was up with the dense fog Thur morning? The pattern I’m used to in the winter is a low moves through with associated rain, and then a small high forms behind the low and we get moderate to strong NW to N winds with clear days. Not on Thursday though, the rain moved through but we were left with really moist, dense, fog. And I fear the same for Friday.

This also seemed to be the pattern this fall. A weak low would move across the area and then a dense fog would hang around for a couple days making it unsurfable/sketchy on the larger swell/current.

This fall Blakestah did a pretty good job of predicting this whereas the local media/NOAA either missed this or didn’t feel the need to mention it.

What is going on when we have dense, fall/winter fog at the beach? Anyone know? Is there a fog report- I imagine its quite important for navigation interests in and out of the gate.

War two low (nice and low) tides during daylight hours on a weekend.

What weird combination of early childhood trauma/psychological diorder/right-wing conspiracy genetic experiment created Ann Coulter? When she talks my brain can hardly process what I hear and what I see. There is just too much of a disconect. My honest opinion is she is some rainman-like quack who has some random fixation/obsession with right-wing politics. Like Dustin Hoffman could count toothpicks, Ann can spew facist, hate babble. If she wasn't almost hot she'd be some no-name SF homeless person yelling at the garbage can on Market and Sixth.

Who the hayell cairs about Ann Coulter, lets go down the corner and have a whisky or five

to whoever asked, I've been posting as Jaques Haas.

tWO DRUNK NOW TO not hit the caps lick key, and not to pust up heer; yall love and hugs for everyone. I've been posting as >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> over the months. i aing good looking from a quarter mile tho. wooh niceness. not sorfing tomororow thogh, gonna w3ork and then to tahor! hope the bus don't berake down ....

obro, I dunno about the fog recently, I've been watching west coast weather very little. In the summer, though, fog is the norm, it only goes away with strong enough winds. The reason is that the water is warmer 1000 miles out, the currents and upwellings cool the water near the coast. Prevailing winds push air from 1000 miles out to the coastline. The warmer moister air cools, and fog condenses.

The wind patterns created by the hills/mountains in the Bay Area concentrate the fog in front of the Gate and at a few other spots.

Right now, though, there is really no such gradient in water temps. In summer it will be 68F at the SE Papa and 52 in SF. Right now it is 55 at the SE Papa and 54 in SF, another unusually warm winter...this is at least the third in a row.

More often in winter fog happens over the Bay, and not so much as the beach, so-called ground fog. This happens during cold windless weather patterns when the land and air are cooler than the water, and the fog comes straight off the water, and is densest at the water level. After a front, the NW winds bring in cooler air, which sits over the warmer water. If the winds then die, ground fog forms.

I could be wrong in this case, like I said, I haven't been paying attention day to day. However, today I see a mega storm on the dateline...I'm reading a solid day long 12@20 from 293 starting Tuesday morning....G-money is close to that too...LONG range calls for NE offshores on arrival and a relatively clean swell...this is one of those biggest clean swells all year kinda dealies.

hth...wrybread, curious to hear whatever happened with the 8'6"

Cowell's will be pumping!

THIS ARTICAL REMINDS ME OF YOU NEW BREED NICENESS TYPES-

The Suits Are All Wet at These Board Meetings
Forget golf, biotech executives and scientists go surfing to network and strike deals.

By Denise Gellene, Times Staff Writer

DEL MAR, Calif. — Rising before dawn, the head of Pfizer Inc.'s research lab in San Diego fills her thermos with coffee and follows the headlights of her Honda Element to the foot of 15th Street, where a beach parking lot is already filling up.

Catherine Mackey, 50, trudges in her wetsuit across the sand beneath a murky gray sky, a new surfboard under her arm. A few other surfers are already in the water, hoping to ride the 4-foot breakers to shore — and to network with people like Mackey.

ADVERTISEMENT

In San Diego's booming biomedical industry, opportunity tends to come in waves — the kind found at La Jolla Shores or Black's Beach or Scripps Pier. Surfing has become a way to make contacts, get face time with the boss and arrange deals.

"It's the new golf," said 48-year-old biotech entrepreneur Laura Shawver as she prepared to join Mackey in the chilly water.

San Diego's biotech industry — surpassed only by research hubs in San Francisco and Boston — was born near the beach in La Jolla, where a critical mass of world-renowned research institutions are clustered — Salk Institute, Scripps Research Institute and Burnham Institute, along with UC San Diego.

It makes sense that people in the industry would discover surfing in a place with a mild climate and miles of pristine beaches. But the sport also seems suited to an unpredictable business marked by stunning highs and crashing lows.

The industry's passion for surfing is evident at sunrise, when high-powered biotech players equipped with the latest gear begin arriving at a stretch of shoreline known for its good surf.

Between waves, they pick up the latest gossip in a local industry of more than 300 biomedical companies, which over the years have produced such breakthroughs as the PSA test for prostate cancer and the first antibody drug. The lawyers, financiers and scientists who attend the predawn gatherings have a name for them: board meetings.

"It's where the best business gets done," said Paul Grayson, who invests in biotech ventures and just filled a business development position at one of his companies with an executive referred by a surfing pal.

Each break along the coastline draws a slightly different crowd. Scientists from UC San Diego frequent a beach next to Scripps Pier. Biotechnology executives new to surfing favor a less challenging spot in Del Mar.

It's often easier to track someone down in the predawn surf than to arrange a lunch meeting. And professionals don't charge for informal advice dispensed in the water.

Networking wasn't what initially drove many biotech players into the surf. A desire to stay fit or work off stress motivated many professionals. Joel Martin, a venture capitalist, said the intense concentration required by surfing allows him to put day-to-day worries aside.

"You can go back to the office with a clear head," he said.

Shawver, a Iowa native who is chief executive of Phenomix Corp., a company working on drugs for immune disorders and metabolic diseases, said she took up surfing because it looked beautiful and exciting. She soon discovered its value as an icebreaker as she mingled with other biotech entrepreneurs around town.

"It gives you something to talk about besides work," she said. "In business, it isn't really acceptable to say, 'Seen any good movies lately?' "

Before long, Shawver was attending regular "board meetings" at the 15th Street beach, within view of the Del Mar racetrack. On one outing, surfing buddy Polly Murphy offered Shawver an early look at drug compounds developed by a scientist at Scripps, where Murphy negotiates licensing deals.

Because surfing doesn't entail club memberships or reservations, any employee with a board can interact with the boss. Mackey of Pfizer, for example, regularly sends out e-mail inviting employees to meet her in the water.

Brad Klos, director of sales and marketing for Innercool Therapies Inc., surfed with the company's chief executive two months before he was offered a job. Klos, who has an MBA from UC San Diego, wasn't hired because he was a surfer, but because an afternoon in the water allowed his future boss to get to know him better.

"It raised my comfort level," said John Dobak, Innercool's chief executive.

Brian Uzzi, a management professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a former surfer, said the sport tends to build relationships that are strong and lasting. Because the ocean is unpredictable, surfing can provide important character insights, he said.

"You share the joys of the big day and commiserate over bad days," he said. "It is a lot more personal than going to lunch or dinner, or spending a night at the opera."

One sign of surfing's popularity with the biotech crowd is the rising tide of businesses aimed at people with money to lavish on lessons and gear. Many offer surf clinics year-round and corporate team-building retreats.

"They are baby surfers with gold cards," said Isabelle Tihanyi, founder of Surf Divas, a San Diego company focused on female surfers. "They want the best wetsuits, the best boards and gloves and booties and hoods."

At Willis Bros., a company founded by professional surfers, revenue from selling equipment and giving lessons has soared in the last decade, a period that coincides with the rise of biotech in San Diego.

Meanwhile, surfing has lost its beach-bum image and boards have become lighter, easing the entry of middle-aged professionals into the sport.

"If you had told me five years ago I could make a living from surfing, I would not have believed you," said company co-founder Michael Willis.

Surfing is woven into the culture of MoBioLabs Inc., a marketer of DNA test kits. A cracked surfboard is mounted on the wall behind Chief Executive Marc Brolaski's desk, a memento of one particularly wild ride. Each year, employees who don't surf are required to at least put their toes in the water at the company's Beach Day.

Brolaski said surfing enhances his company's image — and the popular conception of scientists in general. "Not everyone who does science is a nerd, walking around with a pocket protector," he said.

Instead, this new breed of surfer walks around with a BlackBerry, checking for alerts from an online service that provides forecasts of local surfing conditions.

Cubicles at biotech companies empty when the surf is up, but that doesn't necessarily slow the pace of commerce. Expecting good surf one afternoon last month, Grayson, a financier with Sanderling Ventures, ferried four other deal makers to an offshore reef break aboard his 45-foot yacht. The group, three financiers and two business executives, talked shop during the 30-minute cruise to the location and then surfed for hours until sunset.

When Rincon Inc. wanted to learn more about drug development several weeks ago, company founder Steve Mayfield asked a scientist to meet him at Pillbox, a surfing spot in Solana Beach.

Mayfield — who named his company after a famous surfing beach between Ventura and Santa Barbara — said he picked up pointers about animal tests and government regulation from the scientist between waves.

Back on shore, Shawver and then Mackey made their way to the parking lot after an hour of battling rough surf. Shawver had managed to catch two waves, but Mackey struggled.

"This is just like science," Shawver said. "You must be very persistent. You can have spectacular wipeouts followed by the high of your life. And you are always looking for the next one."