just a little fish trying to survive in this great big ocean...

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Rainy Days = Inside Fun

I had planned to paddle out today, but I woke up this morning to some violent winds and rainy weather. Kind of ruins a paddle out when the weather doesn't cooperate with your plans and schedule, but that doesn't mean that the day is ruined. Rainy days can mean that new videos are found and some of those class notes get pulled out again.

First things first. I saw this video on Surfline this morning. Looks like a "Super Session":

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But since just one little video isn't enough to fill my day...I pulled out the class notes and loaded them up for your viewing pleasure. I don't know how everybody out there feels about the pictures, but I must say that drawing them during class sure gives me great joy. The only thing is that I am running out of things to draw...I would have to say though, I think these are some of my most creative yet:

Getting pitted on something big
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Totally busted
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Splitting the peak
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Throwing the tail
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Going big
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Shark bait
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A couple of these were really fun to come up with, but like I said, I am still struggling to come up with new ideas. Hit me up if there is something you think I should add or something you would like to see.

Until next time...praying for surf.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Blown Away...Not in a good way

So it has been quite a while since the last time I had a chance to paddle out. Then again I guess you have to look at the perspective, because prior to our moving to Newport Beach I didn't get to surf nearly as much as I would have liked. Now, I live a half mile from the surf and if I don't get to surf at least every couple of days I feel like it has been too long. Anyway...back to the real point of writing this post. I did finally get a chance to paddle out as for this first time in quite a while I didn't have to schedule my surfing around work, school, or tsunami warnings.

Unfortunately, on my first outting back from the shenanigans I had to deal with I wasn't given much. I woke up and realized there was nothing I had to do today. With joy in my heart, I hopped out of bed and ran to a computer to check on the wave report. I was given hope that the report said the waves were supposed to be about waist height, but once I got to the beach I found only this:

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Nevertheless, I was not to be deterred easily today. I paddled out and found that there was a little more size to the set waves than I had originally thought. I had a couple fun little waves, but then had trouble staying in the right spot to catch any more because the current was deceptively strong. It was super choppy the whole outting, but the waves had enough size that they were fairly clear to be waves rather than just wind chop. At the end of the day, it was nice just to be back out in the water again.

I hear it is supposed to rain this week, which is not what I want to hear when it comes to getting a couple surf sessions in, but I will do what I have to do (you know?).


I guess this is my opportunity to add a little something about the idea I had to run a little contest for a few of our friends. So yesterday Greg and I were hanging out talking a little about getting him in the water and it came to mind how much fun it would be to have a little contest like we had done at Salty Groms Surf Camp, but with a little twist. So the contest isn't so much about who gets the best waves, but who is having the most fun. So let's take a first run at a design for the contest.
1. Surfers will go out for 30 minute heats.
2. Surfers will be judged on their single (1) best wave in their heat.
3. Any wave a surfer catches in their heat can count toward their score (this
includes white wash waves).
4. Surfers may receive any form of assist to catch waves during their heat
5. Surfers must use a soft-top or "foamie" surfboard to compete
6. In order to compete surfers must be wearing some form of costume.
7. Surfers will be judged on:
a) Creativity
b) Inventiveness
c) Relation to costume
8. Surfers will be judged on a ten (10) point scale (no decimal points will be
given).
9. Surfers that are to be in the water for the next heat will be judges for other heats. For the final heat, all other surfers that participated in the contest will be judges.

That's it for now. Feel free to post any other ideas that could be added to the contest.


Until next time...praying for surf.

Friday, March 11, 2011

No Surfing Allowed

Quake-Tsunami-Alerts_chun

Since the beaches are closed today, I guess I'm not getting a surf in as I had planned, but seeing as how there is so much tragedy in Japan right now I have nothing to complain about. I want to shout out my buddy Taka and his family, I am glad to hear that everybody in your family is alright....

This is my jealousy of Taka and his adventures summed up into a picture.

taka in shade

I can't wait to surf with you soon buddy.

Well...since there is no surfing today I guess that means I'm going to be looking up a couple new videos. Here is one from one of my favorite surfers to watch. This kid is crazy....

Oxbow clothing commercial - Matt Meola from ACL Digital Cinema on Vimeo.



That's all Ive got for now. Hopefully the homework load gets lighter and there is more surfing to come in the near future.

Until next time...my heart goes out to Japan...and praying for surf.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Surf now, apocalypse later

Surf now, apocalypse later.

-Beachside graffiti in California.

It's funny how such a little thing says so much about what surfing does to people. I know for me, the more I surf the better I feel. Maybe it's that, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that every time I get a wave I want the next one that much more, but every time I paddle out I feel the need to surf more and more. It is like some kind of disease that I don't want to get rid of. Having surfed every day for the past 3 days leaves me feeling lost at the thought of not getting my head wet the next day. Can you be addicted to surfing? If so, I like it, no twelve steps for me....

So onto the surfing....


For the first time since I started this blog I went surfing and did not write a post. Yesterday I went out for a super short little session and didn't get a chance to post about it. I finally got to experience what it is like to live so close to the beach and the advantages that it allows me. You see...Saturday morning meant an early morning meeting at work with everybody before the store opened. So at 7am I am at work for a meeting, but I also had a shift scheduled for closing, so I knew that I would have to be back in order to work some more. This gap in time yielded my opportunity to test out a rush session. So recalling back to the days when Ben and I had worked on our military timing, I strolled home and in a swift move we loaded up the boards and wetsuits in the truck. It was a short 45 minute session, but it yielded some really fun little waves and some good times at Jetties once again. We had to be watching the time so we played the last wave game (in which I dominated Ben by getting 3 waves to his 1). Quickly back into the truck without changing out of our wetties, we got back to the house and just like that our session had been accomplished.
We had some really fun waves and all in the shortest session I have paddled out for in quite some time. It's nice to know that I always have the option to pull something like that off.

But to think that Ben and I would not try for another session today is nieve. 8:30am hit the clock and our alarms blared throughout the house. It doesn't matter how little sleep we get; there is a fever going around and the only cure is more surfing...yep, we have got the bug.
So I finally got may act together and remembered to bring my camera out with us. I bestowed the honor of wearing the wrist mount I have for the camera because I had to watch the time once again for work and needed to be wearing a watch. Ben had some fun with the camera filming some video and taking a couple pictures. I now see that operating this camera in the water while trying to surf is going the be an art that demands practice. Given that, Ben managed to snap this photo:

I thought it was a pretty cool view.
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Unfortunately, the day I finally remember to bring my camera out is the day least worth talking about this week. It was not a total disaster, I some fun with a couple onshore backside cutbacks, but for the most part the waves were just pretty blown out. This leaves us looking ahead for some better surf as we move into the next week. It looks like we have some swell building up Tuesday and hopefully moving into Wednesday. On that note....

Until next time...praying for surf.

Friday, March 4, 2011

FunFriday

It's Friday and for today that means that fun times out at Jetties. Ben and Tiffany are in town for a couple of days to go to a wedding on Monday, but their being here means that I have a surf buddy for the weekend. Today marked my first time surfing in Newport Beach since moving here and Jetties seemed to know that I needed to have a good session to convince me that Newport is home. From the first moment everything just clicked. I paddled out on the 5'8 ...Lost RNF with ease regardless of the regular sets coming in when we first paddled out and the next thing I know here comes my wave. I turned and paddled for it, dropped in and took off on my favorite little left. Jetties knew and had given me my wave. I paddled back out to where Ben was hanging out to make sure I gloated about getting the first wave of the day, and the next thing I know Jetties has another little present just wrapped up and on a platter for me. Dropped into another left and knew that everything was right in the world. From there on out, things just kept going well. Had my way with a few more waves and then headed in to get Tiffany out on some waves. Handed over my board and it only took a couple minutes in the March ocean water for her to decide she was over it. Back out for a couple more waves on the 6'2 single fin and Jetties had some more loving for me. It was a short little session and mostly just a chance to see what Newport Beach was going to offer, but after a fun session like that things just feel good.
Ben being in town means that we are going to be surfing as much as humanly possible over the next few days, so check back soon to see what life in Newport Beach is going to offer.

I don't know what my deal is with forgetting my camera once again, but hopefully with some surfing going down over the rest of the weekend I can get my act together.

Until next time (fingers crossed it's tomorrow)...praying for surf.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

My First Taste....

So, I am sorry to report that I did not bring my camera out today when I went surfing. Although...there wasn't really anything to brag about so I'm not sure I wanted to bring it out there. Having said that, today was my first taste of waking up to go surfing and know that I am just right there next to the beach. Now if we can get some waves soon I am gonna be on some kind of stoke.
As for today's session.... I took the only accessible board out, that being the 5'8 ...Lost RNF, and it really just isn't enough board to make little baby waves all that fun. I just can't seem to get past this idea that I really need a longboard around; I mean this close to the water and nothing ridable is just not fair. Anyways, I paddled out for a couple little waves, but the thing to really be talking about in this post is how cold the water was this morning. Now I realize that we are talking about surfing on the 1st of March and the water hasn't warmed up yet, but I have been surfing a few times this winter and never thought I would like to have booties on while I am out there, but today brought that thought whirling around my head. I mean I see everybody else with them, but I am the one who is always itching to just trunk it rather than even have the wettie on. How am I supposed to convince myself that I can trunk it if I am grabbing my booties for every paddle out? Oh well, I guess you can't do anything about that, and truth is I am going to figure out a way to paddle out no matter what.
And why am I complaining?!? I get to surf everyday if that's what I want. I love living here.

Until next time...praying for surf.