E's Surf Report

Winter, the new Fall.

Saturday..Big, malformed wedges pushing towards the shore, got into a few of them, most were just big, sketchy drops with bottom turns into the foam ball. A few had reform sections on the inside, with racy little shorebreak a bro could get into and work a little bit. Mostly just a slop sesh though...

Sunday, dried out, on baby duty for most of the day. ..Watched a boring superbowl game with even more boring commercials. What the hell is going on here!

MAVS!! is on!!

is there anybody else, like me, that doesnt really care to watch Mavericks? (or Teahupoo for that matter.)
it's a big drop, maybe 1 turn, etc. boring, if you ask me. great that those guys have huge balls to surf such huge/gnarly waves, but to me it is boring to watch.

i'd MUCH rather watch the pros rip J-bay or Superbank or France.

Mav's and Teahupoo are overrated if you ask me. lots of hype, but very little action (except for the wipeouts). dont get me wrong, those waves are gnarly, but each guy dropping in seems to do the same thing. whoopee!!

I dont really even look at pics of those spots anymore, they all look the same.

discuss.

I'd rather be charging chargables than spectating spectacles.

46059- 02/06 6:50 am 12.8ft 25sec

Sat-Middle Peak was on! Constest at the peak and slot Good fun for a couple of hours until the local Mavs guys decided to take over. For the most part they were cool. Just too many of them.
Sun-Lot of swirly water where I was. Hard to make headway. After 45 minutes of non-stop paddling I realized a swim from way outside would be a stretch. Deeeenial!
Today-Pretty fun down at the local secret spot. High tidish and lots of waits but the set waves had thump!

Hope you all got some.

46059 - 02/06 6:50 am 12.8ft 25sec

I like to watch

Super Bowl sucked. Bouys are reading 5.9 @ 24 secs, yes 24 seconds. I do not recall ever seeing 24 second period show up on the bouys. 20, yes. 24, no.

Judahpeak, I will start the debate. I disagree. I think Chopes is an unbelievable wave to watch surf. If you like watching Pipeline, you have to like Chopes. If you didn't see last years WCT event there, go back and watch every wave Kelly Slater surfed. Come back and tell me you don't respect that wave...
As for Mavericks, its in your backyard! Nuff said. It may not have the lore that Waimea has or the crystal blue water that Jaws has but its pretty fucking cool. The power created by the waves out there is enough to grab my attention.

I agreee Judahpeak, I think it is great and all, but Its like a whole different sport, that I am not part of. And I can't seem to get on a boat or a ski.

I just bought a new digital Camera, I went with the XT Rebel, light weight and compact, good for traveling. Too bad I have no money left for a memory card.

Dennis, your red wave is my desktop... cool pic!

Got to agree with Kaiser. If you've ever driven south along HWY 1, and paddled out at some spooky reef break all alone, then you can relate a little bit to the Jeff Clark story. Who cares about the hype man, it's a beautiful wave, huge, perfect, cold..a much much bigger version of waves I paid my dues on along our rugged little stretch of coast here - P******o, N*****l B*****s, the L**e, D*******t....big cold waves sucking off of rugged coastal rock outcroppings, strong currents pulling you off the peak and into sketcy situations .. Not to sounds like Sam George, but Mav's embodies all of that, and so much more, because it's so much bigger, and more remote out there off the point.

all - I must have missed Dennis' rad wave, and I'd love to see it. could anyone post the link?

cheers,

E - weren't there low tides all last week in the AM? We have hard outgoing tides all morning for the next couple of days. Next period of lows in the AM start on Feb 15th. Tides cycle so roughly every other week we have a run of low tides in the AM. Maybe the ocean conditions just haven't cooperated with the tide conditions for you this year?

My favorite spot is loving a high tide right now. Good last night, but was also good at the end of the year with the big high tides we had in the AM at the time.

The thing at Mavs is that it actually isn't like Judahpeak describes. Rides close to a minute long, with 4 to 5 top to bottom trips on a 20 ft HWN wave are not only possible, but the norm.

The water photographers and videographers sit just past second bowl and miss the rest. Now, Waimea and Todos are single drops, but Mavs has up to five genuine high performance sections. Only visible from the cliff.

My favorite that shows this aspect of Mavs is Jay Moriarity in Return of the Drag-in. He gets, perhaps, the longest high performance big wave of all time. Rides the entire length of the reef. Barely making it multiple times. Like a crazy insane rollercoaster.

This year they are judging the contest from the cliff. That means they are judging the WHOLE wave, not just the first two bowls. Its gonna be trippy to see the competitors surf all the way to Mushroom Rock..

However, the swell is several feet smaller than previously predicted at the outer buoys....Clark called the contest yesterday, about 12-15 hours before the outer buoy readings were available.

Good luck to Ryan and Alex...

How big is it gonna be blakestah?

Just a drop

I totally agree Judahpeak. For years now I've been utterly bored silly by all the mags, all the vids, and all the webcasts devoting most of their energy to big wave spots. Mavs, Cortes Bank, Jaws, etc. Who cares? I will never surf those spots. It's arguably not even surfing anymore, especially when you talk about tow in surfing. You're right, it's just a big drop. Then we're all supposed to go "OOOOOOh! he could have died on that wave!". Big deal. And the thing is, it's really not that dangerous (not that you're going to catch me out there), because base jumping, extreme skiing, hell - even rock climbing is more dangerous.

Blah!

Show me footage of people doing things I aspire to do, not just big wave surf porn.

Should be biggest at dawn, 10-12 ft 20 sec. By midday down to 8-10 ft 20 sec at HMB buoy, all from 290 deg. A good direction and size, not horribly sketchy, at least in the context of a big wave surfing contest, but the offshores should make it interesting, and full-length-reef rides should be pretty common.

lets see those guys take 10 b-hits and then surf OH and 1/2 to DOH Ocean Beach.

Sactomex, that is Steamers.

I think the sameness of the video we usually see of Mavs and Tpoo can get menotonous. But it's just like looking at a photo of the Grand Canyon, then GOING to the Grand Canyon and looking into it yourself. There could never be a recorded version of it that will ever compare to being in there. Same with Mav and Tpoo.

Kaiser, Blakestah,
hey, if you like watching Chopes or Mavs, that is great. for me they are kinda boring to watch. not that i dont respect the power and size of the waves, or the rocks on the inside either. it just doesnt seem like much action. to each his own. so, my message wasnt to insult those that like HGUE waves or watching HUGE waves, just to ask if anyone else doesnt really get-off on Mavs and Jaws (or even Chopes) as much as most people seem to.

i got my "fill" of big waves surfing Bawa a couple years back in Indo. No thanky. i surfed big Colegio in Iquique and Alacran in Arica too. I almost died at Alacran, got totally spooked. so, huge waves and rocky insides are not for me.

As you may be able to tell, I am one of those guys("pussies") that much more prefers 1' overhead waves to 3x overhead waves. huge waves just arent my thing, even to watch. good on ya for loving them, and watching them.

also, I'll take WanderJahr and Green Iguana over Campaign anyday!

ps- that Sam George is a tool. anybody hear him on the Surfer Podcast? what a joke. I cant believe they pay him. has to remind listeners every two minutes that "I am a magazine editor". kinda like the Carson Daly of Surfing.

No shit. Big middle peak drop.

mavs i agree is boring on video.

T-poo, on the other hand, is probably my favorite contest to watch. Sickest barrels of all time!!! and the pros are charging so hard and eating it alot. How could that be boring??? I love watching that wave. Just the wave itself is beautiful and haunting.

good on ya, Surfseeker7.

i dont know how many times i've been asked by people at OB "Do you ever want to go surf Mavs?". when I say "no, never", they are taken back, like i just insulted them or something.

PS- Kaiser, I love to titty and cameltoe shots that you post, but I will say it right here and right now, that i do find MOST pictures (and vid) of Pipeline boring too. not disrespecting the Pipeline power or the surfers ability, but most Pipe waves/shots/vids look the same to me. BORING. I much prefer shots/vids of new spots, not the same old localized 3-second ride reef breaks. dont hate me, i hope you understand. bring on the ta-ta's

teahupoo is beautiful, but i get bored easily and i gotta say that i cant get through a whole chopes vid without changing the channel. maybe it is my ADHD or the fact that i didnt watch much TV growing up. dunno.

Viva Alex though, i hope he does well. that guy rips!

Chopes is different than the other large waves because it also breaks small and fun. My friend Audi spent a few months surfing it and said it has many faces,

Sacto, Fuck you, you disrespcting bitch.

I used to feel the same way as the majority here - Mav's is boring, just a drop, big wave surfing get's so much hype and it represents such a small fraction of what most surfers actually experience. But I think I felt that way because I never would, and probably never will surf Mav's. And it is hella lame how people always ask you if you want to surf it, or do you surf it, or have you surfed it. "No, no, and no" And the feeling that you've just lost your cred when you say so.

But for the last two years, I've become pretty good friends with a guy who surfs it regularly, and through him I've come to know other guys who surf it quite a bit too. Mav's feels a little more normal to me now, not just this "fantasy" wave any more. I still will probably never surf it, I get the shit scared out of me still on double overhead sets at OB, but I don't have the same irrational feeling I had before like "Mav's is boring". And I've had some BIG sessions at Scott's creek and other nearby reefs that sort of gave me the sensation like - "this might be kind of like Mav's"

To say Mav's is boring? That seems like just a reaction to the media - people like Sam George who over glamorize surfing and certain waves and we react to it and say, "Dude, big wave surfing is boring and lame."

But really, if Mav's had no media attention on it at all, and you just stumbled upon it, can you really tell me that the feeling that you would feel inside of you would be, "This is boring"

Just my thoughts, and who am I, just some lame as who posts Middle Peak photos in the middle of a big wave thread.

easy mexi

Yanni is boring. Standing on the cliffs at Mav's watching those guys - and gals - drop into the big pit raises my heart rate.

I like watching Laird at Jaws. Also the North Shore from Rockpiles to pipe is really interesting in person when very big. Even with no serfers out.

Skip

Mav's contest was plugged on NPR's Morning Edition as the "Superbowl of surfing."

Interesting comment on our media-driven culture - the real pro-surf scene where guys struggle their whole lives to make a living or even the 'CT where guys are destroying insane waves around the world never get a nod in the national media. Maybe Rabbit needs to get a better publicist for the WCT? I have lots of respect for the Mav's crew and am looking foward to the contest, but that mention on the national news this morning kind of bummed me out on the whole state of surfing in our culture (not quite as much as the "surfing is the new golf" article in the LA Times).

If all of you blow this much smoke YOU MUST BE BORED.
Who cares??!

pretty f'n boring ...right

the monster energy pro is on today for all you cube dwellers with time on your hands

http://www.monsterenergypro.com/

Skip, I'm glad you are back. I wanted to make sure you got my last message - - - You were talking about moving to Utah. Please be careful - I worked for a company in Utah a while back and after a few years they were trying to convince me to wear this "magic underwear." I snapped a few photos at the "intervention" (that's at least what they called it)before handing them my resignation. I only agree to fly over the state now.

The mavs contest can be pretty boring in person. The cliff vatage point is pretty shitty because you are well above sea level and the waves tend to look bigger than they are. Also there is no space on the cliff, so everyone is hanging around the jetty rocks sunbathing.

It's a good place to pick up on chicks maybe.

I wouln't mind renting a sea kayak to check the contest out.

I surfed Mavs. Not super enormous...but big enough...

One day I saw, amidst 12-15 fters (HWN size), a 20-25 ft wave come through. Although I had seen it in pictures and on video many many times, it was totally unreal. The wave hits the outer shelf (80 ft deep) and starts to jack. This is your first indication anything is coming. On a 20-25 footer I had to rub my eyes b/c it looked like the horizon lifted. I was sure it was SO MUCH BIGGER than anything I was lined up for that I was toast. So I did the respectable thing....turned and paddled like mad for the buoy, scared stiff. My surf mate was about 10 yards deeper than me, and as the wave got closer, I thought I was gonna clear it and he was gonna be toast over the falls. But we both made it safely out, and dropped 10-15 feet down the backside of the wave after we crested the lip.

Any thoughts you might have that a big OB day or a big Scotts Creek day are out the window. There are for real 40 foot faces coming through on a big Mavericks paddle-in day. And the first time you see one is a real eye-opener. Seemingly twice as big, and much wider, than the biggest surfable OB days.

That was my last trip there. I kept meaning to go back, but finding the time was increasingly tough. But I NEVER wanted to go back on a 20 ft day. Just one of the 12-15 ft days. I still feel the risks of injury were too great on the BIG days, and watching the high performance surfing done by the pros under even bigger conditions is great.

Any of you interested in this story...look at the picture in Clark's surf shop...he did a tow-in on that wave, and the jetski nearly ran over my friend. Clark dropped in early, faded deep, stalled and dragged his hand in the pit. While we were running for our lives, he was treating the wave like a little cream puff with help from his engine.

Now i'm thinking Austin, TX. Looks like Kona kinda with the kiave trees. I don't care much for rednecks and white trash though.

Skip

I'm hoping to go watch the event tomorrow from the cliffs. Sorry OB guys, but I'm backing boy from the hood Peter Mel.

Being a older than you surfer, I just really appreicate how far modern big wave surfing has become. I feel that some of the risk has been mitigated well with Jet ski's and boats nearby. However modern surfing has pushed the perfomramce level so high that the surfers have got to surf a 25' wave like a 3' to 5' wave AND that's GNARLY.
HAve you ever climbed vertical up the face whacked the corner of 25' beast? NOT!

Big wave surfing is like downhill skateboarding. Takes lots of balls, a big-ass board, and the abilitiy to stay cool going very fast with high consequences should you go down. For the average surfer or skater, these sports are categorized as 'dare devil' activities that seem risky, but not necessarily difficult. Of course, this is not the case. Charging a twenty footer at mavs takes years of big wave expirience as does bombing a two mile hill with an average speed of 45mph. I grew up in the east bay hills and knew guys who were as dedicated to bombing (bigass) hills as tamayo perry is surfing pipe. Just a drop? No way- it's a different level of the sport most of us know as surfing.

Whatever happened to the grand goal of Kaena Point that used to occupy the fantasy toughts of big wave rider?

riderzzzzzzz.

Oh Jesus - Blah blah blah Rapestah.
This is SAN FRAN calling and we need an accurate report so we can paddle out and get seriously drilled.
Are you Brian's REAL father of what? Why don't you paddle him out in your macking conditions and push him over the falls on his 6-1" hybrid thruster and let him go...
Judah wasn't a peak isn't a peak and never will be "a peak." Hey Skipnoid, head up to UCSF and have yer head checked...your mind wanders amiss disjointed and akimbo.
Calisactomexico is your place a place and how far do you drive to surf Mavericks?
I vote for Kaiser on the play-by-play commentary for next years televised Mav's contest...I surfed OB today and the conditions were like so macking but I made it out anyway and was alone with the birds, my life flashed before me like a big fat made up lie as this monster peak loomed... blah blah blah.
I mainly surf SURFLINE.

I

Scary Bstah. I had a similar experience at Lindy one day... Just kidding. I wouldn't paddle out at Mav's on a small day--even to watch. I know somehow I'd get caught inside.

http://laderalongboards.com/galleries/Neuman/images/Neuman1.jpg

If a guy tells you a story about his big wave surfing, take a glance at the bottom of his board along the rails up towards the nose.

There you will find pressure dings from the "Grip Of Death" caused by duck-diving.
And remember kids...any board over 8' ISN'T duck-diveable!

I feel you, Judahpeak. I don't like watching surfing in general, or any sports for that matter. I rather just do it. We both suffer from ADHD.

BStah, yeah, I feel you too. I got stuck outside an outer reef once near VLand 15 years ago -- we were surfing Vland and my friend and I got pulled out in a rip a mile offshore. Sunset was 18ft' Hawaiian that day, and I don't know how big that first set was that I saw, but to me, it was way too big for me. We managed to finally get in, but after that, I had no desire to surf big waves anymore.

I still like watching big Chopes. That's my all time favorite wave. But, I get bored of the same waves over and over. Here's a pic of a somewhat unknown wave off of Hawaii. It was breaking yesterday during that huge swell down there. Fucking unreal:

hey, anyone surf O.B. today?

Yesterday took a long afternoon irie drive. So beautiful! ended up surfing where kdalle did, a bit chunky but fun and empty, super stoked.

I think big waves are pretty amazing, mostly as a spectator for me. Half of surfing for me is just being in that enviornment- watching amazing waves. Mavs is an unreal wave and in our backyard, serious props to those who surf it.

YAWNY,
nice try, but that run-on sentence-insult-cutesy-blogname-tie-in stuff is really played out. Brian is already "your daddy". try to be original.

rad post on the Donovan Frankenrider carp.
that look/motif/"style" is DONE. good call!
glad to see it go, too.
i cant wait to see what he is gonna do next, as he surfs ok, but that retro-throwback image is OVER. Ha!!

YAWNY is just bad vibe throwing a buncha insults out in a vain provocation attempt...talk about played out....

Is it really over? Went to a Mollusk surf shop party about a month ago...didn't look over to me.

Moustaches and retro twinzer fishes all around

Seems that key to a good blog is to have one or more people "provoking" members actively:

Provoke - incite, aggravate, whip-up, rouse, goad, irritate,...

Provocative - challenging, stimulating, confrontational,...

This activity stimulates our heart-felt beliefs and key ideas.

The provocation is the opposite of the kumbaya hand-holding circle. This place has both, in pretty good balance, ...on some days.

Sactomex, those guys at mollusk were the only ones left. besides about 250 mid-twenties guys in orange county. it is played out. (not "original", anymore)

Those 25s period waves move fast! Will there be anything left for the finals tomorrow afternoon?

The heats look uneven, who got screwed by their selection of numbered golf balls?

I have no idea but that doesn't stop most people from posting.

I cant tell if people are joking or not, but if they arn't, saying that Mavs is just a big drop, no big deal, is the stupidest fucking thing I have heard in a long time. Possibly ever. The point is not if you make it, but what you have to dealk with if you dont. Get a clue.

Most screwed heat

Heat 2:
Tyler Smith
Evan Slater
Anthony Tashnick
Josh Loya
Greg Long
Peter Mel

It has a top finisher from the last contest, Evan Slater. He nearly won, but Tashnick kept nabbing good ones in the finals. Also, it has Pete Mel and Greg Long, two of the best world-wide big wave riders around. Loya and Tyler Smith....sucks to be you.

Washburn was complaining about the quality of his heat, it has Flea, Zach Wormhoudt, Ryan Seelbach, Nathan Fletcher, and hairlip Rhodes.

Softest heat might be
Heat 1:
Mike Gerhardt
Randy Cone
Alex Martins
Russell Smith
Brock Little
Shane Desmond

Quite a few charging chargers, but not one of the caliber as Pete Mel, Tashnick, or Long. Actually, heat 3 looks softer, too, with Ambrose, Augenstein, Collins, Baker, Couto, and Gueiros.

Psyched for Ambrose and Martins...

There will be plenty left, the huge fetch and long distance will not disappear overnight...but it might get beat down by offshores if they blow far enough off the coast,

web- relax. dont take it personally. some people dont enjoy watching the same wave, over and over. maybe you do. that is fine. it doesnt make them stupid and you smart. sorry, it doesnt. how many times have you surfed "mavs", by the way?

mavs breaking about 20' on the face right now?
http://www.mavsurfer.com/main_page/

Not even once. Nor have I ever claimed to. It has nothing to do with "enjoying" watching it. It has everything to do with realizing how intense an accomplishment it is, and giving the respect, which I definately do. But your right, it gets boring. I mean, look at pipeline, just a big tube, one after the other. Gosh, for that matter, listen to my wife. "how can you watch surf movies, same thing wave after wave, yawn". Yeah, its all pretty mundane.

I get pretty bored with my cock too, just stroking it all day long, same old thing, spurt after spurt after spurt

friend #1 just bitch slapped me... too bitter...well i'll be on the cliff tomorrow watching the big drop and having a blast. Hope its warm and sunny.

but dude, when you are in the tube i bet it is so radical!!!!! I'm comin' soon boyz!!!!!!

splurt

OK everybody - remember vote for Alex to win.

How do I sign up for Alex's yoga class?

I met this girl over the weekend in Truckee. Very entertaining.

www.privateart.net

Eric, did you buy any of her art?

mavs? pah! back from a lunch session not even a mile from there, grabbed a bunch of pretty fun waves, and here i am, living to tell about it. buncha sissies.

kloo-
snagged some mackers at the jetty eh?

the beach was really nice about 2 hours ago.
only a few stray lines from the impending swell
showing up. those were LARGE and becoming more
frequent as low tide passed. by this evening it
will be huge and gnarly. the long period stuff just
cooks. so f'in fast...more foam, please.

^^ gnarly gnarlables ^^

I hate work politics. So frustrating. Misery loves company.

Hey nice going Kloo. I was going to brag about charging a bunch of 2-3 ft slopburgers and party waves yesterday, but now you chime in and have clearly won this round. I can't compete! Felt good to be back by the ocean and paddle around, regardless of scewball conditions.

Big shoutout to Alex!

holy shit!

I hate work and politics. The "spectating is boring" is nothin' new, but like most things that are boring to watch, it must be pretty entertaining to participate.

Never really liked watching other people surf but surfing sure is fun! Same can be said for alot of activities. Then there is also the NASCAR element. It has to be entertaining to watch dudes pay the price for just the slightest mistake. Its not so much that it's funny to watch people get worked - it's the "Thank GOD that isn't me!!" element that tends to eleviate boredom.

TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!TEXAS!

-Skip

Blakestah is FIRED up!
Bob is lurking, ready to tee off.
Judahpeak threw out a debate.
The bouys are growing, and GROWING, and GROWWWWWWINNGGGGGG.
The winds are offshore.
Mustaches get you a twin-fin half off!
If you have a black Trans-Am and a mustache, you can pull chicks.
Did anyone really surf today? I only saw 4 people out and I know Kdalle was one of them this am.
Next year, I am starting the Mavericks Girls - scantily glad chicks hanging around the cliffs during the comp. Keep an eye out.
I'd like to see someone that isn't a household name with the Mavs contest. Someone like Alex or Ryan or anyone else that the mainstream media doesn't know. I will then sit back and what the media suck them off!

Most importantly, its after 3:00

Oh my....

The Carousel Diner is for sale on Sloat for $199,999. Maybe we could chip in and take it over and sell surfboards and hambergers. Rename it, "Surf'n'Turf". Prolly not a great idea...

just found out that my ears are 40% closed!
Fuuuuck!

E, who is your ENT doctor?

What kind of MD do you see to check yer ears?

kaiser, glad you started posting chicks from sites other than dealante.

any of you parents out there watch Dateline NBC friday? gnarly story about online predators.

RAD how they caught these guys. I wish they would pull a sting like this every week.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/

E-did your regular physican tell you that or did you go to an ear/nose/throat guy? Just wondering because I recently got a "check-up" and when the dr. looked in my ears, he said they weren't closed at all...but I have been surfing in cold water for a while....

uH DID it just hit you or what?

my normal doc checked my ears when i asked him to today. He referred me to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor for a follow up. I knew i had some surfers ear, but i was kinda hoping that i'd be genetically immune to it and he would say, "nope, your ears look normal." but.. alas.. fucking cold water.

That Dateline thing was super interesting. Those dudes are repulsive and deserve everything they get in prison (as well as the humilation on national TV).

e - always wear a hood, ....always. A lot of my sonoma county compadres wear hood AND ear-plugs. It's not reversable but you CAN stop the progression, which most believe is 80% caused by wind (not so much by water temp). Hang tight, and hope all else is going well for you. The iPod is still loaded up and still pumpin.

oh, i thought the chick in the cube next to you just leaned over, looked into your ear, and told you "uh, i'd say 40%". kidding. that sucks.

hey, talk to The Slayer about ear drilling docs, that guy has had some mileage drilled into his canal (if you know what i mean....)

thanks Jack. I always wear earplugs and usually wear a hood nowadays.. Didn't use to cause i'm a fucking barney. Hopefully i can keep my shit at 40%.

my ipod headphones don't fit in my ears anymore

e, who did you dr refer you to? I'm looking for an ENT doc.

some guy named Dr. Johnson at 490 Post st. #933.

don't know if he's good or bad. just know that he's within Aetna HMO.

Beautifull swell arriving. Parting with the office until Wednesday gives me such sorrow. Score and keep it quiet.

the Dateline article is highly disturbing. Whoa...

Kaiser, "scantily glad" is one of the best serendipitious typos of all time.

So, I was going to be sick tomorrow and head south while all the pros are having their annual mutual admiration society meeting. But, my boss and co-workers asked me if I'm going to Mavericks. Every effing person on the planet knows about that freakin contest. No one's gonna believe I'm sick. Damn you to hell Jeff Clark!

10 minutes early

just shit your pants at work today. then they'll believe you're sick.

be glad you have a job. most going to the contest are unemployed scum (like me).

Stan

kdalle and other ear drill sufferers.

do hood and earplugs really help? I've heard mixed reports.

thanks.

e don't sweat on the 40% thing. I got me left drilled last year, it was 98% closed up. My right is at 80% and I should get at least 5 years before it needs doing.
My surgeon (Cal Ear Institute down in East Palo Alto) says it's remarkable how much you can still hear even when it's just a pin prick of a hole remaining, and I have to agree *however* once it really closes up you have to be really careful to keep them clean. Once you are only left with that pin home, a tiny bit of detritus stuck in there will close it up and you'll be deaf. I was deaf for almost 6 months before I bit the bullet and saw a ENT, and she just siphoned it clear in about 10 seconds! Of course, that did eventually lead to the drilling....

thanks terrence. you da man!

I personally hate plugs in the lineup, which is probably why I've had one drilled.
And I hate hoods too, despite spending my first 10 years of surfing dealing with colder winter water than NorCal.
I think some people are more prone to it than others.
When I asked (after surgery had healed) is I should wear a plug in my newly liberated ear my surgeon said nope, not if you don't want to, you'll get at least another 15+years. I'm ok with that.

damn, love the blog. I've been watching that Dateline special and it's WAY more interesting than watching a surf video of Jaws, Mavericks, or CHopes.

nice nug sactomex!

I wish I had that bud waiting for me tonight. Nothing like taking the one hitter out and watching mindless TV for a few hours.

Is that Paul Paul McCartney?

e-I'm no expert. Just know what I've been told, heard and experienced. Some people are more prone to growth. I know of people who have had them drilled twice. Honest docs will tell you they don't know exactly what causes it but they suspect some combination of cold and wind. 40% closed is not a worry...yet. Once it gets over 95% it's time to decide. I had both drilled directly into the ear, no flap business for me. Doc said it was good I did before they completely closed because it's hard for him to find the canal if he can't see any of it. You'll know when it's time. If it get unbearable or you're getting a lot of infections, it's time. Many dry their ears out right after surfing with alcohol.

You probably have a lot of years before you really need to worry.

Keep surfing no matter what.

no, just two random children taking bong hits.

shit....i just got hit with the same thing as kdalle: 'so, you going to mavericks tomorrow?'

if there is anyone out there whose boss/co-workers do not know that they surf, do your best to keep it that way! surfing is your secret and should not be shared with ANYONE!!

Kdalle, do you mind if I ask how old you were when you had to get your ears drilled? I have had some infections and now always wear custom made ear plugs that seem to keep most of the cold water/wind out of there. I think I am getting close to 80% in one ear.

does anyone know if having tubes in your
ears as a kid would help or hurt or not affect
being sentenced to the drill.

i don't wanna know and am really freaked to go
find out. but i had tubes in my ears as a kid and
have not had any issues with my ears at all.
(KNOCK on wood).

ouch
I think a bro just drowned at Taraval

all this ear drilling talk is so scary. i need to start with the alcohol rinses ect and possibly start wearing my earplugs in the shower..

IIRC (which is happening less often than it used to) I was about 40 for the first and 42 for the second. They were 98% closed. But I also spent some years surfing without plugs, in crappy wetsuits on the East Coast in the winter. Over 30 years in the water at the time. Doesn't really matter, yours may go slower...or faster. It's not considered major surgery so you just do it. Time it for the summer and you're golden. Oh yeah, save the extra Vicodin they give you.

e - there's a lot of evidence it is the cold that does it. There are studies in cold water, like year round New England surfers. EVERY SINGLE SURFER who has gone 7+ years surfing year round has at least 50% closure. In Japan they did a study of divers. Divers in cold water grew more bone than divers in warmer water. Other studies find no traces of surfer's ear if people are only exposed to water 68F or warmer.

It is definitely true some people grow bone faster than others.

I chose to wear plugs, every time I surfed. The water carries the heat away a lot faster than the air does, and surfer's ear is not a characteristic of people who have a lot of cold air exposure. I wore a hood a lot too, I just didn't want to mess with it. I also got checked by colleagues at work yearly, I have no significant growth after a decade in NorCal as a pretty avid hood and plug wearer, I also suspect I grow bone slowly.

Texas!!!!!! Without tilting the horizon 15 degrees!

Take a stroll down Main Street USA and you'll find people of all ages and persuasions putting on a veritable fashion parade of freedom. We don't just practice free speech, we wear it.
T-shirts, caps, shoes, jackets, designer labels and the occasional tattoo boldly announce in word, design and color our choice, our message, our cause, our team - our Statement.
And when we take to the road, we do so in rolling billboards, vehicles festooned with bumper stickers, vanity plates and ribbons of every hue embracing every cause. We drive what we say.
Then there's the Internet, where we really speak our minds. We have e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, personal Web pages and, now, our own newspaper/radio-TV station, the Web log or "blog."
Full-throated expression is our style. We are America. Hear us roar!
Funny thing. For all of that celebration of free and fulsome speech for ourselves, many of us waste a lot of that precious commodity denying it to others. "America," we say, "shut up!"
There was a time before America when the mob spoke for the village. Anyone who thought differently was quickly driven out - or worse. America and the First Amendment were supposed to be a rebuke to that sort of churlishness.
Nevertheless, civil discourse today is in short supply, regularly savaged by talk radio and cable punditry. On the Internet, flame wars have given way to the blog-mob mentality, where a small but vocal number of vigilantes, armed with virtual pitchforks, rakes and cudgels, prowl the ether world in search of offense and offenders. Without much discrimination, they march on both rant and reason and flay both the unworthy and the brave.
The rather clear message for anyone who attracts the attention of the blog-mob: Never, ever get into a shouting match with someone who buys bytes by the giga.
The vast majority of bloggers, of course, prove the value of democratic freedoms. They produce a prodigious flow of vital information and ideas and serve as a check on traditional media.
But there are a few who are not content to disagree with or to criticize the speech. They must punish the speaker. Lynch a reputation. Lop off a job. The major media flock to the spectacle, their massive wing beats fanning the furor.
Blogging, it must be pointed out, is only the latest technique applied to an old tradition. We've seen the distrust and destruction fostered in our society by the McCarthyites, the white supremacists, the religious zealots and others who have exploited fear and ignorance for power and punishment - or a cheap thrill.
But no matter the technique or target, when controversial speakers are shouted down or denied a forum, a democratic compact is disturbed. An opportunity for the speakers to clarify, refine, put in context or even disavow their remarks is lost. So is the opportunity for the opponents to engage and rebut the disfavored speech.
A recent example is Hamilton College's bitter experience with a controversial speaker. The private New York college offered a speaking engagement to Ward Churchill, a University of Colorado professor. Critics soon latched onto the fact that Churchill had said some outrageous and hurtful things about 9/11 and its victims three years earlier. Besieged with calls to rescind the invitation or else, college officials backed down and dis-invited Churchill.
Further demonstrating that sometimes on campus freedom is academic, University of Colorado officials and political leaders launched a campaign to fire Churchill. And at Harvard University, President Lawrence Summers faces intensifying demands for his resignation after he made a remark interpreted as being sexist.
Off campus, a blog-mob targeted CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan. Questions about Eason's questionable remarks about journalists' deaths in Iraq were raised in the "blogosphere" and refused to go away until Jordan did. He resigned from CNN on Feb. 11.
Whether any of the principals in these examples deserve what they got, we must take care not to supplant the high value of free speech in America with a high cost.
Everyone has a right - indeed, a duty - to disagree, to dissent, to rise up against an affront, an injustice or an injury. But for the fragile freedom of speech to survive, we must carry out that task with a firm attachment to fairness, principle and tolerance. When we give in to hostility, self-righteousness and vengefulness, we eventually find ourselves snapping and snarling at a shrinking number of inhabitants of the public square.
Giving in to the speech mob means that discourse is diverted from the real issues to a sideshow on who is punished for uttering the "wrong" ideas or words. Dissent is dead if it can be hounded out of the marketplace so effortlessly. Democracy is no match for demagoguery if good people won't stand up to mob rule.
We must get past the idea that expression has no value unless it mirrors our own. We must learn to recognize ourselves not just in the faces but in the voices of others. We must find a way to see our own rights reflected in other people's freedom.

Stretch copied Cole with the Quad:

FIREFLY
The firefly is the culmination of many years of experimentation. The Firefly accelerates quickly, is snappy off the top. The Four Fin design is loose, yet maximizes drive and holding power. When on rail, both fins are facing the same direction, minimizing drag and eliminating the anchor effect of a third fin. Stretch your imagination. Think for yourself. Fly one today.

http://www.colesurfboards.com

thanks 'stah and kdalle. I'll be jonny plugs-n-hood from now on fur sure.

bagel. there's your shower-mate. excellent.

What a great couple of (offshore relatively clean) big days. Sun was a pretty intense experience - couple of 15 footers on the head always reminds one that the ocean is always king. Managed a small number of big drop heart in mouth rides with a deafening barrel always chasing me.

Was in for a long session today - started off mellow, super easy paddle out, but as the swell filled in there were some genuinely scary bombs coming through in certain spots, jacking up and looking very menacing in the strong os wind. Had my arse handed to me very significantly as I was caught inside a few times.

Tired and sore eyes but a great couple of days.

Will be up on the cliff tomorrow - I'I think I’ll have a marginally improved sense of perspective and empathy in my own mind - after the last two days.

Couple of shots of some of the more sensible waves to be had today.

this should help some of you discover your inner gay tendancies:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/05/LVGMTGVUG31.DTL

Blake finds answers and experiences in everything he does and we are so much better off hearing and reading his stories of same said experiences. ALL HAIL DA GHOST OF BLAKESTAH.

Hey Dave. Ever since I started surfing Fort Point I have noticed a small boil right next to my anus. Well, with all that nasty water recently I see that the boil is starting to obstruct my hole entirely... any advice or do you need a picture?

Hurry - I'm all backed up...

You shoulda breast fed more, korewin.

Methinks tubes in your ears are largely irrelevant to surfer's ear. Might even have a little preventative scar tissue in there.

The alcohol rinses will keep the infections down (swimmer's ear), Bagel, but will not do anything to slow down the bony growth in surfer's ear. If you are at 90% and never want to get drilled I would adopt a water zero tolerance policy. A friend of mine used surfwax and cotton balls to completely block his ears. He was over 90%, never got drilled, and now doesn't even have signs of surfer's ear. He spent over a decade with zero tolerance, though...

Plugs always, hoods usually, and many fewer drillings will follow.

Blake finds answers and experiences in everything he does and we are so much better off hearing and reading his stories of same said experiences. ALL HAIL DA GHOST OF BLAKESTAH.

Hey Dave. Ever since I started surfing Fort Point I have noticed a small boil right next to my anus. Well, with all that nasty water recently I see that the boil is starting to obstruct my hole entirely... any advice or do you need a picture?

Hurry - I'm all backed up...

Someone just drowned at the beach?

Bob, I can always tell when you plagiarize b/c you forget to insult me.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=14873

Sacto, you got post of the day in my book...

Parting shot:

yah
just drove by
2 cop cars,1 fire engine,1 paramedic van, 1 lifeguard in a suit with hand buoy and heaps of people lining the cliffs looking very concerned
3 guys on the beach w/boards looking out to sea....sets firing on the outer
saw 2 chaps get denied at the N end....craziness

e et al:
I've got the "ear" too, lopsided though -- 20% left closure / 50% right closure. I've surfed even colder water than NorCal from 1983-1995, often without ear plugs. I've only been wearing plugs steadily for about 6 years, it seems to have nearly halted the progression but I think I still pick up a bit of closure since then. I wear my hood a lot, too. But someday, I will likely need this surgery, too.

A good sign is if you can still get a Q-tip all the way inside comfortably. If you can still (very gently) get it to pass the canal and back toward the drum, that's a good sign. If it's stuck, you're on your way to the drill...but in due time. Barring any audio or infection problems, my ENT recommends waiting for 90%+ closure.

So anyway, you can see from the reponses today that you're not alone bro.

Don't see any news stories about a drowning. You'd think they'd be all over it after the last one and with Mavs tomorrow.

maybe I am an idiot - checking out various sites I cannot see what time the actual event starts tomorrow.

does anyone know?

thanks

1st heat is 8am

Also e - I have both ears 50% closed - diagnosed 3 or 4 years ago. I have since worn silicone ear plugs and as of last week, I am still 50% closed in both - no progression.

spotted by my friend ang in her 'hood: pile of dog poop on the sidewalk sporting a toothpick with a pic of W stuck on the end. i want photographs...

Best Kaiser comments I have seen in awhile. Nice.

Again,the first 80 or so posts are old school e's report stylee. Nice!!

Love Big Ass Hill's post. Even niiiiicer.

Big swell. NIiiiiicest!!!

I think I saw that particular party wave.

Nobody drowned today. But the SFFD showed up twice. I was there for the second one. A guy broke his leash and was way outside. His board washed up on the beach and somebody called 911. Another surfer paddled over and assisted him in. Big bombs coming through the middle.

I had 90%+ closure in both ears after 5 years of surfing. Got drilled through the ear and 5 years later, had to get my left ear drilled again even with wearing plugs all the time.

Guess I grow bone real well. Got them drilled only after experiencing water stuck in the canal for several days after every sesh. It was damn annoying.

I wear Doc's ProPlugs and a hoody year round now and then rinse with 90% alcohol post sesh to dry them out.

Surfed the Exxx Sxxx SC today, super secret spot at the end of fxxxxy-fxxxt Ave, Txx Hxxk. More people on the cliff watching than in the water.

Famous last words, "Its not even big..." Dumbass had looked at it for 2 minutes never seeing a set. He just saw the 1.5X tweeners. Lines start to form on the horizon, completely misses the Point and unloads just as dumbass is paddling out, and he gets sent back to the beach.

I've never been sent back to the beach while paddling out in SC. It just doesn't happen...today it did even when I had the patience to wait for the set to clear out.

20 feet from freedom and a six wave set sends me half way to Capitola. Finally made it out and scored some fun ones.

G

Yes, please.

Watching the Mavs contest broadcast. So far just showing last year's contest.

where can I get this wetsuit?

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2006/02/07/BAGR2H41LF1.DTL&o=1

Mavs should get better as the tide drops this morning. It's going out now so...good timing.

We're watching the blue webcast. Tide is a little high, it is a little mushy, three rides in the last five minutes by Smith, Gerhardy, and someone I didn't get the name...Still no audio. The surf is very clean by Mavericks standards...
Oooh, there is a helicopter.
It is a very blue broadcast, they're really tweaking the colors, it looks like the same color as jaws

Alex got one. It barely capped though, and he pulled out before second bowl.

Someone wearing the same jersey they called Alex last time scored a bigger one pretty deep. They forecast called it Desmond, but the surfer was regular footed...its real clean out there.

forecast crapped out a few times...bigger waves are throwing from top to 3/4 down the wave face.

A few hundred people are at the base of the cliff where you cannot see anything. Alex is moving pretty deep. Still no audio. They just keep playing Mermen music. A set looms. Doesn't even cap on the main break. Lot of waiting. Still no audio. Closeups reveal it is Alex in the white jersey. A set comes, first wave too small for anyone to go on, breaks top to middle. Same with second wave. Randy Coine goes deep on the third, does a little S move on the drop, lands it, pulls out after an otherwise unimpressive wave. White Jersey scored a good one, the webcast is still calling Alex "Shane Desmond". Despite the regular foot surfing. Nice one, Alex. Another unipressize ride. Nice ride they label "Alex Martins". But it doesn't look like Alex. Rider drops in deep, cuts back into second bowl, it is closing out, heading in a big lip launch.

This is gonna be almost useless. There is no audio, and it is clear the webcast is mislabelling the contestants.

Desmond went, dropped in on one, he is goofy footed, and wearing Blue, and not scoring very highly so far. The webcast is showing waves 2-3 times in a row. I don't know who scored on Desmond's wave.

Heat one is over. Looked like Alex did ok....but I have no scoring updates....

yeah, don't buy the $9.99 webcast from MediaZone. The thing is a piece of shit. Keeps timing out, no audio.

Shane Dorian just caught one! Oh wait that was actually A.C. Slater. He looks like he's lost some weight from his "Saved by the Bell" days.

Now audio is on. Mel gets big one and dices it up to start heat two.

Heat one advancees:
Randy Cone
Russell Smith
Brock Little

Desmond, Alex, and Gerhardt are done.

that sucks. who are cone and smith?

Russell Smith was the surfer on the big lip-launch.

Mel gets another one and buries himself in the lip at second bowl - he turned into it to punch through, but probably got munched. Randy Cone won heat 1.

Where are you watching this from? What feed?

Someone just caught a nice left - who was that?

http://mediazone.com/channel/mavericks/jsp/index.jsp is what i'm watching. if i can't be there, and i really can't, at least i can whistle while i work...

costs $10 godammit. decent feed though, even at full screen, but it is way way too blue. seems like this heat is seeing better waves?

This is awesome, Im in my apartment sitting on my couch. My computer, which is sitting across the room on the floor, is providing me with a live feed from mavsurfer.com. I got my binoculars steadily focused on the computer screen and can clearly see all the action (from the comfort of my home no less)!!! I totally feel like I am at Mavs. I love the intertron. Cowabunga dude!!

FARK!

Loya, Tyler smith, and Evan Slater advance

Pete Mel, Tashnick, and Greg Long go home!!!

calm down beavstah

manor was fucking hectic this morning, gughhgghguhg