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Posts Tagged ‘Emma Wood’

Good Riddance: August Surfing In Review

Posted in Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2011| 11 Comments »

Talk about one of the worst months of surfing I can remember in years.  August was positively atrocious for surfing here in Central California.  Up north was blown out all month.  Down south was blown out all month.  There was a serious lack of quality south swells and what meager scraps of bread we were garnished with came along with terrible winds.  Then I flew home to New Jersey to play some shows in the East Village, NYC (see A Trip Back East blog for more about that excursion) and stepped into a terrible flat spell there, just when California got a fun run of south surf.  Go figure.

Besides depravity there was not much more to report from the month of August.  Here is the break down.  If you have been following some of the previous months the numbers speak for themselves on just how pathetic this month in surfing was.  Also the Surf Log section of this site has taken a bit of a new direction.  I am now using it not just as a place to log in my surfing sessions but also as a little day to day  journal on some of the more major events, but too minor for their own blog that happen to me.  I update it just about everyday so it may be worth a look from time to time cause I write some funny fucked up shit in there.

Number of Sessions: 16
Days Surfed: 14
Time Spent in the Water: 25 hours
Waves Surfed: 400
Waves Caught Per Hour: 16

Spots Surfed:

New Jetty: 5
Emma Wood: 2
Santa Clara River Mouth: 2
Fruit Stands: 2
C Street: 1
Lead Better: 1
Hobsons: 1
Manasquan Inlet, NJ: 1
Philadelphia Ave, Sea Girt, NJ: 1
Top 3 Sessions:

3. 8/26/11 AM Session: 1-3+ft, Emma Wood
Time in Water: 1 hr 15min
Waves Surfed: 33
A small rise in wind swell had me scrambling down to Emma Wood for a little grovel session before work.  Far from spectacular it was about chest high and glassy although a bit weak and inconsistent.  There were only three people out and I was there so I went for a paddle.  For whatever reason I was surfing very well sticking all kinds of good shit including a backside air I rode out fakie, a frontside ally oop and nice backside reverse.  I even had one wave I managed to get three solid top to bottom reos ending it with a small backside air reverse in the shore break.  Then all these grommies came out and clogged it, but it was fine cause I had to go to work anyhow.

2. 8/8/11 AM Session: 2-3ft, Fruit Stands

Time In Water: 1hr 45mins
Waves Surfed: 44

Fruit Stands has been the out performer this season.  Although a tad bit smaller then the day before and slightly more windy there were still plenty of boostable bowls and some barrels.  I turned the place into an air show.  Oh and did I mention My boy Ryan and I had the place to ourselves yet again.  I love surfing.

3.  8/7/11  AM Session: 2-4+ft, Fruit Stands

Time In Water: 2.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 35

Small drop in size, with a big drop in current, light wind and peaky little bowls up and down the beach led to an amazing session.  My new roommate decided to roll with me.  The whole line-up consisted of myself, him and my boy Ryan.   My Roommate way out of surf shape got swept down the beach by the usual current at Fruit Stands.  I found a killer peak all to myself, while my buddy sat a bit north of me and we just ripped the shit out of these fun waves.  It was like a fucking skate park.  Sooo Good.

This has nothing to do with surfing but then again neither did the month of August. I thought this to be an interesting form or birth control. Fuck them stalks and their stupid babies they try and push off on us.

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The Power of Ten: September

Posted in Life, Music, Surfing, User Choice BLog, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 22, 2011| 4 Comments »

Well everyone this week marks the last week of the summer quarter of the UCB.  The 21st has come and gone and like summer so has this quarter.  I must say it has been a rather dicey one and I have no idea at the moment who will win.  Before I tally up the points and claim a champion I first want to write September’s Power of Ten Blog, worth two points and there will be one more UCB blog written this week that will also be included for the Summer quarter.  Mauriello wins this months power of ten and earns two UCB points.  Here is his list.

1.  Asian Girls  – I have never dated an Asian girl.  I think it is because I am politically incorrect and call them Orientals.  In all seriousness I rarely find one that turns me on.  It is funny too cause most guys I talk to are all about the tiny Asian chicas.  I guess it is the en-vogue thing right now.  I did meet a guy from Korea at the bar once who after watching the girl I was with disrespect me multiple times before going home with some other guy all together (Santa Barbara Girls just exude class) told me I should meet an Asian girl fresh off the boat and she would treat me right.  There is this cashier at Albertsons, whom I have been friends with for years.  She is Chinese and although not a real looker I bet she would make a good wife.  I mean she works like 60 hours a week so I know she has good work ethic.  I should propose to her.  I figure it can’t be any worse then the women I spend my time with these days.

2.  Aiming While Peeing – For starters I have the worst aim ever when it comes to hitting the bowl.  When I am sober I have a 50/50 chance.  When I am drunk those stats drop considerably.  What that means is I clean a ton of piss off my bathroom floor.  I find it astounding that I am so challenged at a seemingly futile task.  I mean I am only 5’9 and I have a gargantuan penis leaving not all that much distance to cover.  I tried to write my name in the snow once and just ended up pissing all over myself.

3.  Shaving – I know I wrote an entire blog about this back in like 2006.  If someone goes back to the myspace site and finds it I will give you two UCB points.  Post the blog in the comments of this blog.  Anyhow I hate shaving and am terrible at it.  Like that peeing thing its just not something I have a finesse for.  I cut myself every other time I shave and my face hurts like hell afterwards.  I have tried those electric razors, but I am Italian and it does not get close enough leaving me with a five O’clock shadow only a few hours later.  I used to rock a beard for a while but I got tired of the Jesus/homeless/terrorists gags.  Maybe I should get electrolysis for my entire face.

4. Micheal Jackson – I love Jack-o even if at times he was a little wack-o.  His music was tight and his eccentricities entertaining.  I am very sorry he died his untimely death yet it might have been better for him to leave a world in which he was misunderstood.  I still do not believe he molested any children.  Well maybe just the British children.  Then again not even George Washington saved them.

5.  Emma Wood – Emma Wood is a shitty beach/reef break in Northern Ventura County.  Its a bowly punchy wave that is glorified shore break at best.  That being said it has become the epicenter of high performance surfing in the (805) and on any given day a host of local pros, groms, up and comers, rippers and has beens will be out battling for shitty little peaks.  One thing for sure it is one of the more consistent waves in the area, handles most swell directions and a wave can be found there over 300 days a year.  Also its a great wave to shoot photos on thanks to it’s proximity to the beach and is one of the few spots around here where you can watch the action from your car while smoking a bowl and chugging a brew.

6.  Disney Movies – I have to say I am a not a fan at all.  Some of the older stuff from the sixties are not horrible but overall you can take that G rated family shit and shove it up your ass.  I will raise my children on mafia movies like Casino and Scarface.  No sense making them grow up in a fantasy world only to find out what a cold relentless place it is later.  If I had to pick one I would go with Aladdin.  Jasmine had a nice rack and I would have titty fucked the shit out of her, then bent her over the bed and got her from behind.

7.  Teaching Dogs Tricks –  As far as I am concerned outside of herding dogs, seeing eye dogs and bomb squad dogs they are more trouble then they are worth.  I don’t care if they roll over, play dead or shake my hand.  You want a real trick, shit in the toilet, do not chew up the furniture and don’t eat shit that will make you puke.  Those are tricks I would want my fictitious dog to learn.  Movie dogs are ok too for entertainment value.  While we are on the subject I hate when people dress up their dogs.  It really makes me mad.

8.  Surf Board Quivers –  Been there, done that, wrote that.

9. Ice Sculptures –  I had a friend who did ice sculptures for a living a few years back.  The guy was crazy talented at it.  I always thought it would be really frustrating to spend all that time on something you knew was going to melt in a few hours for some stupid party for unappreciative rich people.  I would rather turn that block of ice into a liquor luge and have a real good time.

10.  Forrest Gump – On one hand I find Forrest Gump to be a rather powerful yet some what far fetched film.  On the other I get really pissed off to think that a fucking retard could do some much more in his life then I ever will.  Fuck him, his box of chocolates and Lieutenant Dan.  Jenny was a babe.  Too bad she was all messed up in the head like ever other bitch out there to realize what a good man she had. Sorry folks I am a little bitter this week.

Tell me that is not a cartoon you would not be all over?

I will take a mail order Asian.

Jack-o you are missed.

Emma Wood, an oldie but a goodie.

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Back in the Saddle: July Surfing

Posted in News From Lisanti Land, Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2011| 1 Comment »

Despite one of the worst summers of surfing in recent California history I still managed to bring my surfing back up to speed considering the crapper it took back in June (see blog: Oh That Summertime for more details).  In July I was determined to fall back in love with surfing again.  I found myself for the most part done with my whiny ass self pity and back to my roots: SURFING!!!  I had a few surfing adventures including a trip up north to Surf Beach (see blog: Return to Surf Beach for that story).  I battled the absurd crowds for a few days in Orange County surfing Lower Trestles (see blog: Orange County Can Keep Lowers for that story) and I experienced the adventure of the summer, maybe the year, sailing out with a buddy of mine to the Channel Islands (See blogs: A Sea Going Voyage, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 for that epic tale).

All I can say is that the surf gods gave me lemons and I not only made lemonade, but lemon meringue pie too.  Below are the stats and stand out sessions from July.  Oh, did I mention Rincon broke legit a few times as well?

Number of Session: 23
Days Surfed: 19
Time Spent in the Water: 44 hours
Number of Waves surfed: 634
Waves Surfed Per Hour: 14

 Spots Surfed:

New Jetty: 5
Emma Wood: 4
Rincon: 3
Lower Trestles: 3
Fruit Stands: 2
River Mouth: 2
Mesa Lane: 2
Surf Beach: 1
Channel Islands: 1

Top 3 Sessions:

3. 7/10/11 PM Session: 2-4+ft, Fruit Stands
Time in Water: 1.5 hrs
Waves Surfed: 33
Fruits stands is sort of a secret spot on the Oxnard/Ventura border that everyone knows about but thanks to an inconvenient hike  and no easy way to check it the place is seldom surfed.  This was actually the first time I ever surfed the spot always opting for the more easy access waves.  My boy Ryan called me and said there were killable little bowls coming through and surf enough the place was a fucking chest to head high skate park.  It was a little windy but for a 45 minute window I had a blast.  Did I mention Ryan and I had he whole place to ourselves on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon?

2. 7/5/11 AM Session: 1-3+ft, Rincon
Time in Water: 1hr 45mins
Waves Surfed: 25
Rincon in July!?!???!! I know its crazy.  I heard rumors all weekend that there had been been waves at the ‘Con and not just the usual little long board waves typical of summer, but actual short board-able waves.  This morning with the near negative low tide and some time for a change I thought I would give it a look.  Sure enough there were really fun waist to chest high waves coming through.  I was pumped.  I always forget how good Rincon is, even on the bad days.  I spent the entire session up at Low Indicator and High River Mouth.  If it were winter I would not have even entertained the session but in summertime with near piss warm water and 80 degree sunny weather, why not.  I was burning up in my 4/3 and almost shedded it for the trunks I had in the car.   Have I mentioned how much I love Rincon on this blog yet?  One thing is that will always hold true is that she will never leave me for some unworthy dufuss.  Yeah she is a whore, but she always sets aside her best for me.

1. 7/29/11 AM Session: 4-6+ft, Some Where in the Channel Islands
Time In Water: 4 hrs
Waves Surfed: 39
See Blog: A Sea Going Voyage:  Part II; Quality Ocean Time for details and See Blog: A Sea Going Voyage Part III; I Didn’t Expect that to Happen. 

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Oh That Summer Time: June Surfing 2011

Posted in Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2011| 5 Comments »

June was quite the month. We had a few shitty wind swells, a few shitty south swells, but overall very little to get excited about.  As a matter of fact I think I have been more excited by watching Alfie switch sleeping spots all day.  June was also a break out month for me.  It was the month I stopped feeling sorry for myself and began surfing again instead of blaming it for all my problems.  That being the case I made the most out of every day of surf we had.  Here is how the month of June broke down.  By the way I have not done write ups on April or May so you will probably see those in the next few weeks.  Don’t forget to visit the Surflog to read about my surfing and life chronicled journal style everyday.

Number of Surf Sessions: 18
Days Surfed: 17
Time Spent in the Water: 27 hours
Number of Waves Surfed: 387
Waves per Hour: 14

Spots Surfed:
New Jetty – 5
Santa Clara River Mouth – 3
Stanleys – 2
Emma Wood – 2
C Street – 1
Zuma Beach – 1
Leo Carrillo – 1
Gold Coast – 1
Dredge – 1
Rincon – 1

Top 3 Sessions

3. 6/7/11 AM Session: 2-4+ft, Zuma Beach
Time in Water: 2hrs
Waves Surfed: 38
I love Zuma.  Its one of my favorite waves in LA.  Sure its nothing more then heavy closed out glorified shore break, but I think by now everyone should know that is right up my ally.  Did I mention the backwash is sometimes bigger then the wave your paddling for?  The place can amplify just about any south swell in the water.  I checked Ventura Harbor early and it was looking doable but rather meager for my personal taste.  I knew my buddy Kevin was going down there and gave him a call to hitch a ride.  We cruised to Zuma and it was chest to head high and super punchy.  The wind was a bit onshore but it looked boostable to me.  As usual when I am at Zuma my froth meter goes berserk.  I tore on my suit and was out there for a boost and barrel fest.  Then after an hour it glassed off, but  got super lully.  Still there were some choice nugs to sink your teeth into.  I was having a ball till some local decided to sit right on top of me even though there were plenty of peaks for everyone. I tried to paddle away but the dude kept following me.  Finally I was just plain over it, stuck a backside air reverse and called it a day.  Stick that in your pipe and smoke it angry local with all your super cool fly aways.

2. 6/5/11 PM Session: 3-5ft, Dredge
Time in the Water: 2.5hrs
Waves Surfed: 34
I got out of church and had four missed calls from all my Ventura friends.  I knew there was going to be some minor bump up in wind swell but I just figured I would nonchalantly cruise down to Emma Wood on high tide.  I called back my boy Ryan and he was frothing on Dredge.  Ryan rarely is stoked on anything so if he was pumped I knew I had to get down there.  Sure enough it was solid chest to head high with the occasional bigger set with very nice long right hand lines.  Some were easily peeling for 75 to 100 yards, an anomaly for Dredge.  There were about six guys on it and some slight cross chop from the SW wind.  I got out there and for the first hour it was a bit bumpy and just when I was about to bag it the wind died out and things glassed off.  For the next hour and a half it was a playground.  I had at least four that I nailed no less then nine turns on.  I would have surfed longer but I was exhausted between all the paddling, surfing and walking back up the beach.  What a great day of surfing.

1. 6/14/11 AM Session: 3-5ft, New Jetty

Time In Water: 3hrs
Waves Surfed: 35

A serious lack of motivation had me slacking this morning.  A small jump up on the buoys had me give it a shot.  Next thing I know Im standing on the dunes looking a super fun combo swell peaks at New Jetty, glassy, head high and only a few guys out.  Well it did not take me much time to throw on my suit and jump in the water.  I was joined by my friends Bobby B and Gordo, both happily married with kids, thus helping to restore my faith in relationships.  All I can say is I had a ball and surfed amazing as well.  What a session.  Everyone was just going off and super stoked to be out there.  As depressed as I was on both Sunday and Monday that is how stoked I was today.  A good surf always puts things in perspective.

 

Talk about excitement. Nobody knows how to have a good time quite like Alife.

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I Went Surfing Today

Posted in Surfing, tagged , , , , , on April 20, 2011| 8 Comments »

I sat there on the bluff at Emma Wood over looking the pathetic waist to chest high windblown inconsistent mid tide south ground swell lines getting ripped to shreds with four guys on it rather unenthusiastically.  Truth of the matter I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally.  My life has been on a run away train the last two weeks down a track unknown to me.  On another level I feel I have really grown as a person in that short time as well.  Upsetting things happen from time to time and how one reacts to them can really say a lot about their character.

Initially I had many terrible thoughts of anger, rage and revenge (my all time favorite at one point in life).  Instead of going down the paths that have led me constantly astray I sat down and thought out my situation and did what I think was the best thing to do.  I did what I think a “real adult man”, a “respectable man” would have done.  More Im not ready to discuss, but I feel drained.  Someone told me its our actions and the stories we tell that give insight of the person we are.

After three days being attacked by misery, despair and ardurous emotions I thought I had dispelled from my persona years ago I needed a mental break.  After work to Emma Wood I went.  Considering all of the above and the fact that I did the LAX three and half hour circle before work today starting at 3am the urge to grovel was less then enticing.  I did my usual Emma Wood practice of bumbling around the parking lot for over a half hour or so kicking dirt, making phone calls to kill time all in the hope that I would see a few nuggets to peak my interest.

An hour past at least, and I was about to get in my car and drive away when this random dude pulled up next to me looked at the slim pickings, then pulled out a suit and began getting dressed.  Amazed I asked him if he checked the point (cstreet). He said it was windy and not any good.  I replied “your really going out”?  “There are two guys out and Im sure its better then it looks.  Its always better to surf then not surf” he retorted.  Those last words sounded very familiar to me.  Then he looked right at me  as if he could see through my soul and all my internal suffering and said “I think you should really surf too, you could use it”.

On that note I put on my suit and jumped in the meager conditions.  He was right I could use the surf.  We shared the empty torn up line-up for about 45 minutes before an old surf acquaintance of mine decided to paddle out as well.  Its funny I think the only times I surf with this guy is whenever Emma Wood is horrible.  I had a few fun ones although nothing to write home about.  The water was very clear and clean and it was nice to take my mind off things for a short while.

Surfing has been my life blood since I was ten and my antagonist for just as long.   Its funny no matter how many times surfing ruins my life I keep on going back to it.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results…

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Hit or Miss: February Surfing

Posted in News From Lisanti Land, Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It has occurred to me that I missed the January version of my monthly surf recap.  That is a little sad considering it has proved to be the best month in surfing of the winter season, which is about to close shortly.  February was a crazy and rather frustrating month to be a surfer in Santa Barbara.  It seemed that for every great day there was a flat day and for ever good run of swell it was followed by a flat spell.  Plagued by bad weather, diligence was key.  There were plenty of days where a great session went down but only for a short period of time at a certain location.

I found myself surfing a wide variety of spots and even a few rather unlikely places.  We had a head high SW wind swell that is unheard of anytime of year.  Overall though compared to last February this one was a bit unfortunate to say the least.  If you notice, in this surf summary there are a few more stats and that is because I have diligently been keeping track of the number of waves and amount of time of each session.  Im not going to get into that here.  Look for a blog all about my new wave to time in water stats soon.

Number Sessions Surfed: 21
Days Surfed: 21
Actual Time Spent in the Water: 32.5 hrs
Number of Waves Surfed: 556
Average Waves Surfed per Hour: 17 waves

Spots Surfed:

Rincon: 7
New Jetty: 5
Emma Wood: 2
Santa Claus Lane: 1
Stanley’s: 1
Solimar: 1
Bates Beach: 1
Oxnard Shores: 1
Mesa Lane: 1
Santa Clarita River Mouth: 1

Top 3 Sessions:

3: 2/18/11 PM Session – 3-5ft, Bates Beach
Waves Surfed: 30
Time in Water: 2hrs
South East wind swell in Santa Barbara?  And Rincon of all places!!!  JD and I sat around all day waiting in vain for the wind to change.  Finally by 2:30pm we set off on a wing and a prayer to check every semi north facing spot I could think of.  After three less then stellar surf checks in the pouring rain we ended up at Bates Beach (the top beach at Rincon).  Turns out there were solid chest to head high lefts peeling down the beach and barreling.  I was all over it.  JD however was not enticed opting to stay and nap in the car.  I however went out there and snagged a hand full a great barrels sandwiched between some pretty shitty beatings.  It was a classic New Jersey side shore day although it also reminded me of North East wind swell Frisco.

2: 2/19/11 AM Session – 2-4ft, Solimar?
Waves Surfed: 19
Time in Water: 1hr
This morning was another surf I had not planned on.  I thought I would have been too hung over to even get out of bed in time for work at 11, but thanks to things not going as planned I ended up making it an earlier night then expected.  As a result I was up early and since the sun was out and there still a bit of that SW wind swell on the buoys I figured I would just head to Emma Wood.  JD was awake for some reason even though he got home way later then I did and we gave it a go.  On the way down there were some fun looking waves at both Santa Claus and La Conchita.  Part of me just wanted to stop and surf either one of those, but I really had faith in Emma.  Turns out Emma was terrible, too bowly with the mix of NW and SW swells.  We were cruising back to see about the top of Pitas when I noticed that the north side of Solimar right before the houses start if your coming from Santa Barbara, looked punchy as hell.  We pulled over and saw a few dumpy, heaving shore breaky nugs with one guy on it.  Out of time we decided to give it a go.  To be wholly honest I did not think much of the wave while putting on my suit but as soon as we hit the beach we saw this wave wedge up, A-frame and then heave over spitting both left and right.  After that we were full on frothing.  I ended up getting a bunch of sick left hand barrels and hit a super clean backside indy grab air.  It reminded me of the grinds in Buxton, NC on the outer banks.  JD had a ball also.  It was so good I ended up being ten minutes late to work, but a lot of me thought of not showing up at all.  Sometimes you can find waves in the most unlikely of places I mean technically that is not even really a surf spot.  Soooo Stoked!!!

1: 2/17/11 PM Session – 4-7ft, Rincon
Waves Surfed: 23
Time In Water: 3.5 hrs
See blog Big Name Pros, Stupid Car Surfing and Aggressive Line Up Tactics

This picture of a kid sliding into a cheese grater pretty much sums up how February worked out for surfing.

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Oh What Happened!?! November Surfing In Review

Posted in Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2010| 1 Comment »

Yeah we all knew not to expect much from this coming NW season, but then fall kicked into high gear with plenty of although not epic very consistently fun surf.  November opened up strong with a handful of days at Rincon and the first signs of town breaking.  The first half of the month I found plenty of surf to entertain myself with.  Then in the back half the flat spells from summer we all thought were past came back.  It was not just Santa Barbara that was flat, I mean that is a given since SB is the only water front town that might as well be surrounded by land as far as surf goes.  The whole fucking state was pretty much flat.

Hopefully December will pick things back up a bit and with the incoming forecast at least it looks like the week should be rather fruitful here.  Maybe it will get the ball rolling and we can get a few more fun days this season and I wont have to kill myself. Here are the numbers for the Month of November and the top sessions.

Number of Sessions – 20
Days Surfed – 19
Average Wave Height – 2-3+ft

Surf Spots

Rincon – 8
New Jetty – 3
Emma Wood – 3
C Street – 1
River Mouth – 1
Santa Clause Lane – 1
Oxnard – 1
Little Rincon – 1
Hammonds – 1

Top 3 Sessions:

3: 11/10/10 PM Session – 1-3+ft, Santa Claus Lane
Local wind swell in Santa Barbara is so aberrant it makes finding the right place to surf a little mission.  One day Rincon will be head high the next flat.  The thing about wind swell is that the angle is always changing making certain spots that never break fun and the standards poor.  It all comes down to how hard you want to search.  Today I was not in the mood nor did I have the time to go on a proverbial goose chase.  I headed straight to Rincon after observing some solid swell at Santa Claus yet when I got to Rincon the wind was South although it was NW and offshore up at Santa Claus.  I decided to just drive back there and see what there was to surf or if it was just a freeway mirage.  Turns out it was offshore/side shore three heads spread along the three mile long stretch of beach, waist to stomach high with the occasion chest high nug. Overall it was mostly walled with some racy corners.  I had one really fun Backside tube and brought down a good backside air reverse and a front side ally oop that I was pleased with.


2: 11/5/10 PM Session – 2-4ft, Rincon
As I was driving back from the previous session below I saw tons of waves peeling down Rincon with a very light crowd, maybe fifty guys along the entire point.  Needless to say I pulled off the highway got dressed and powered a second session.  The cove although fun looked pretty long boarded out and smaller then the top.  I went up to Lower Indicator/high River Mouth and snagged a bunch of great five to six hit waves.  I even managed a back door barrel through lower River Mouth.  Then after about an hour and a half that south wind caught up with me and so did the crowd.  It was all good I was pretty much over it by then anyway.

1: 11/6/10 PM Session – 3-5ft, Rincon
What a day.  I could not believe my eyes when driving by Rincon this afternoon that it still had waves and better waves then the day before with better conditions.  I started up top at River Mouth looking for the barrel but although I found some pretty ridiculous ones that I managed to connect from River Mouth through middle Cove I did not find that barrel I was hunting.  After an hour up top I made my way into the cove which courtesy of the negative tide was pretty much flawless with plenty of consistency and only about forty heads out. Most were visitors giving me the local edge.  I only got about a little over an hour and a half but my legs were spent from all the long rides anyway.  As I got out of the water towards dusk I contemplated the fact that every wave I caught this session even my throw aways (meaning I only got eight turns on them) could probably have been the best wave of someone’s life, but for me it was just another day at Rincon.  Im pretty fortunate to have the life I live.

November was all about getting Skunked!!!!!!!!!

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Some Noteworthy Surf Sessions

Posted in Surfing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

Normally I save all the day to day surf experiences for the surf log but I felt the last two sessions I have partook in were worth a more insightful recount.  Not the actually surfing or conditions although I must admit yesterday Emma Wood was rather fun and Cstreet did offer up a few waves this afternoon as well.  What I would like to talk about here are two instances that I found amusing.

The Abstruse Rob Machado

Last night I was super stoked at the sight of clean chest high Emma Wood, super bowly lefts and rights with only three guys out.  I tore on my wetsuit and ran down the trail so that I could take full advantage of the miniscule moments of daylight left courtesy of the time change, thank you 100 year out dated customs for making my life even more annoying.  As Im boring down the path I see a very familiar looking persona behind an open hatch back of a mini van.

I get closer and notice it is some strange looking scruffy dude with a fro fooling with a blow up mattress.  Then when I was with in fifty feet of this character I realized it was none other then once world number two, goofy foot aficionado, free surfer extraordinaire Rob Machado.  He looked right at me and I exclaimed “whats happening bud” in typical Santa Barbara surfer speak.  “Not much” he retorted and then jumped into the back of the van, closed the hatch and that was the last I saw of him.

I guess Rob Machado was going to spend the night sleeping in his van in front of Emma Wood.  I would have thought he would be in Hawaii by now for the Triple Crown.  Its not like there was a good swell in the water that he was trying to chase.  Im sure there must be more then a dozen people he could have called to crash at home in either Santa Barbara and Ventura, yet the dude was going to sleep in the van.  Shit Im still kicking myself for not inviting him to come home with me and crash in my spare room.  I guess Rob and I are destined to cross paths in the strangest of circumstance.

Those Darn Groms

Today after work I thought I would take advantage of the NW/SW combo swell in the water down at one of the Ventura beach breaks.  My buddy claimed it to be light winds and with the mid tide Emma was out of the question.  Stoked I hauled ass down the 101 and sure enough the wind was pretty light.  That was of course till I got with in earshot of Cstreet.  From there South it was howling WNW.  At that point I was not left with any other options besides Cstreet and there I found myself.

The surf was not bad solid chest high with the bigger peak or so, but the line up was mobbed with grommies.  I mean there had to be at least fifteen after school specials frothing all over the wind blow rights.  I took my time getting dressed for what was a forced paddle out.  Upon getting in the water I was equally let down by a sudden upwelling making the holey 4/3 I chose to wear a bad choice.

I sat out there for the first thirty minutes or so feeling rather un aggressive as the groms swarmed all around me poorly slicing and chopping away at the broken up lines.  All of these factors were enough to send any sane person running for the hills, but I stuck it out and actually ended up getting a handful of five and six turn rides.  I knew most of the groms out by face from both Emma Wood and New Jetty, just stoked Ventura kids.

Towards the end of the session one of such paddles up to me and says “I remember you, you used to rip New Jetty all the time, what happened?”  I did not quite now how to respond.  I still rip New Jetty somewhat regularly and was not sure to take his words as an insult or just plain stupid grom ignorance.  Before I formulated a replied he continued with “How come you don’t have any stickers on your board any more?”

Ahh it all made sense now.  I must not surf anymore cause Im no longer sponsored.  I tried to explain to the kid how Globe and Body Glove dropped me and that I was kind of over the whole thing anyway, tired of starving.  I did my best to try to annotate that I was now living life after “professional surfing” (in my case meaning I helped to pay into the profession of other surfers and industry type people) and have more fun surfing now then I ever had when I was a logoed rider. Now when I paddle out I have nothing to prove or contests to train for and other things of that matter.

I just get to go out and surf and surf however I want.  If I want to spend the entire session boosting airs I can.  If I want to fuck around in waist high close outs trying to perfect the drop in floater basically making a fool of myself kooking it its my choice.  I can surf rights, lefts, straights, wherever I want, however I want, whenever I want and because I work I have money to boot (ok that last part is a lie Im still pretty damn poor).  I did my best to construe my situation on him, but at 16 years old he just could not grasp how I could give up “living the dream”.

Then he caught a wave and about five minutes later a different grom paddled up to me and we basically went through the same saga.  I don’t understand these kids.  I suck at surfing, especially by California standards of performance.  Why would any of them believe I could still be a pro surfer?  Shit all I want to do is surf as much as humanely possible and cook food to support my living.

Speaking of Rob Machado in strange settings...

With awesome moves like this it is a wonder no one wants to sponsor me...

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What a Difference a Year Makes: October 2010

Posted in Surfing, User Choice BLog, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

This week the UCB gods, err; just me actually (I am in no way insinuating that I am The God or a god although I could be a god, but I would just settle for leader of some type of sick twisted cult that wears all black sneakers with bright orange shoe laces, spandex shorts and white netted tank tops and worships the invention of processed cheese in a can) makes a winner out of my friend Devin who suggested I do a comparison blog on the surf of last season (being the start of NW season is September and runs through May) to this one.  I thought it a rather good idea and not just worthy of a UCB but a new monthly segment.  As a result for his genius (Devin may really be a genius, he definitely is one of the smartest people I know) I will award him 2 points!

Here is how this segment is going to work.  At the close of every month I will pick my five favorite sessions for the Surf Log and compare them to my favorite 5 sessions from Last winter’s unprecedented near epic El Nino season.  I will also throw down a by the numbers on how many sessions I had for the month, how many days I surfed and which spots I surfed the most.  Enjoy!

October 2010 by the numbers:

Number of Sessions – 31
Days Surfed – 25
Average Wave Height – 2-3ft

Surf Spots

New Jetty – 9
Rincon – 7
River Mouth – 4
C Street – 3
Emma Wood – 3
Pitas – 2
Hollywood – 1
Jalama – 1
Leo Carrillo – 1

Top 5 Sessions

5: 10/13/10 AM Session – 2-4ft, Leo Carrillo
I had high hopes for this session, but when I got to Ventura it was foggy, cold, windy and small.   This led me to car surf for over two hours before using the benefit of intel from both my friends Ryan and Devin I decided to go to Malibu for some late season south swell action and better winds.  I met Devin at Leo where it was a bit inconsistent but fun chest to head high peaks coming in with a light crowd of ten or so sitting on the rock.  Leo is a super tight line up so on an inconsistent day like this ten was still almost too crowded.  I had the whole day and in the course of a three and a half hour session managed to surf a bunch of fun rights despite the typical rude selfish L.A. surf mentality.

4: 10/14/10 PM Session – 2-4ft, Santa Clarita River Mouth
I never have high hopes for an after work session especially if I have to go to Ventura where more times then not the wind is going to be on it.  The Cstreet cam was showing clean chest to head high waves coming in behooving me to believe that the harbor would have good conditions also. I headed that way figuring on surfing New Jetty, but upon checking it noticed that the late season south swell was working its magic on the ledgey sand bars at river mouth, a sight I have not seen since late spring time this year.  I called this new guy at work Kevin, who met me in the parking lot at the knoll and together with about five other guys spread along 8 different peaks we enjoyed glassy slab lefts.  It was a fucking below sea level, backless barrel fest.

3: 10/5/10 AM Session – 2-4+ft, New Jetty

Its pretty ironic that today was also what I would call a “Jersey Session” except unlike yesterday I am using it to describe an awesome surf.  The wind was offshore, a California rarity, sure there is always that myth about “Santa Anna Winds”.  They blow for like a day and a half.  I think if I see a dozen true offshore days a year out here it is a lot.  This morning was one of them.  I pulled up to New Jetty and Im not going to lie it looked a little fat with the high tide and around eight guys one it not making it look all that fun. Then after ten minutes of watching I saw a left or two a bit up the beach from the usual take off spot suck out and throw.  That was enough for me.  What ensued was an onslaught of barrels.  If I did 12 turns the entire session it was a lot.  I got pitted off my ass on left and right keggers all fucking morning till the wind went side shore at noon but it was fine cause I had been out since around 8:30.

2: 10/15/10 AM Session – 3-5ft, Jalama
There is nothing like getting a break from humanity and making the trek up to Jalama especially with no wind and a holding south swell.  Conditions were glassy and the sand bars have finally gotten back to normal allowing for plenty of fun barrels.  I ended up cruising up with Lindsay being her first time there she was more then amped on the conditions. Crowd was surprisingly heavy with a solid thirty guys from T-Cracks to inside Tarantulas.  I mean this time of year your lucky if there are more then five guys out, but the water was crazy warm so I guess it evens out and besides I still got a ton of great waves.    I also found out they sell a Jalama pass for $44 bucks for the year.  Im all over that.

1: 10/29/10 – AM Session – 4-6ft, River Mouth

There are good surf session, there are great surf session and then there are sessions that go down as all time. This morning at River Mouth was one of the latter. It was a barrel factory out there. The first hour was nothing but perfect left and right hand draining barrels with light offshore winds. By 11am I had gotten so many deep barrels I had lost count. It reminded me of really good Hatteras. Everywhere you looked someone was getting spit out of a tube or there was a perfect cylinder running through unridden. After three solid hours the wind came up ending one of the better sessions I have had this fall and in the last six months.

***If you like these little synopses of my surf sessions feel free to visit my surf log on this blog where I post my surf sessions daily.***

Here is my favorite picture of me from October and also from the best session as well.

This guy is all ready to join the cult.

mmmmmm...processed cheese in a can

Stay tuned for last October’s comparisons tomorrow!

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