Friday, June 26, 2009

Life is tough down here...

It pretty much sucks when the electricity goes out and that happens whenever it rains. Supposedly, the last time it went out was the work of robbers who stole five kilometers of wire to sell the copper. Ballsy; standing in the rain, with a pair of bolt cutters getting ready to snap a high voltage line in half- if they really pulled that one off, they deserve the money.

In a week you can count on a night of misery at least once or twice. Last night it went out around 9pm and it didn't come back on until close to 1pm today. No electricity means no A/C. No A/C means a night of sleeping in a pool of sweat, listening to the subsonic whine of mosquito wings. That's why they invented Vicodin. Thank god.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

More of Trent's Bonzer stand up board

Still waiting for some paddle feedback on this one. Where you at Trent? Until then, here's some eye candy:



Photo: Oh the new board- squeaky clean, unknown promise... the anticipation of the first surf, the first wave... enough to kill a man.



Photo: One thing's for sure- this one's a looker.



Photo: Now we just need some surf... and a dead coastal eddy (arghh!)

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Friday, June 19, 2009

Get out and find some: Part II

I love the homegrown surf shot. Especially when it features somebody you know- the photos are so much more legit. They hit close to home- you get the feeling that, "Heck, that could of been me!".

Central America, warm water, roping right hand point breaks up a panga ride up and down the coast- what's not to like? Or dream about. There was a stand up board on the run- and I'm working on getting my hands on those pics. For now, check out a few grassroot snaps of one of our local boys:



Photos:
Regular foot face track with momentary pauses to shwack it!



Photo: Or wrap it around...







Photo: Get out and find it- and snap some keepers.

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Mainland Report: Something's coming...

Surfing everyday down here. The point always has something to ride and the spots down the road are the go-to in the morning. When we first pulled in we caught the tail end of the last big south that came through; surf was head a half to double overhead pushing hard and lining up. It came down a bit since then but, like I said, there's been something to surf everyday- that's just how it is down here, definitely a wave magnet.



Photo:
Here's me, working; satellite wireless, cold ones just a few steps away. And the most unreal pancakes I've ever had- I could get used to this.

Been receiving multiple reports
of a big swell coming soon- couple of days out and it should be roping through here. It might get interesting on the point. Even when it's two foot the wave holds and pushes hard enough for you to wrap cutback after cutback- if it jumps up to eight foot, things could become a little more intense.

As long as I can get to this wireless node I'll post more up, stay tuned.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

A couple of shop pics: Something new from the Stamps factory.

Picked these up out of the email a couple weeks ago. All the note said was "Brian's creepy new stand up board" and a little scrawl about, "wider, thinner, winged... we'll see". Definitely going in a different direction with this one. Indeed, we will see.



Photo: A little thickness in the middle leading to a flat paddling porch. Interesting. And super foiled at the nose and tail... sexy.



Photo: How about those little wings on that round tail?

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Mainland Mex. Report: Getting in/getting comfortable

This one's a quicky: Sketchy internet, hot/humid, cold beers waiting, electricity went out for twelve hours last night- sweat and stick to the sheets. Sitting here at the bar looking at the point... just ordered another round. Watch got ripped off my arm on my first wave. Pounded. Surf: FIRING- did more cutbacks and lippers in the last two days then I did all year long. Head high plus- more coming, geckos, iguanas.



I know you wanted
a photo of the surf- too amped to snap any yet. Here's what you do when you're waiting for your flight in LAX.

More to come!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Baja Rigs.

I wrote and posted this one a while ago. But I'm off in Mexico and it just felt right to put it up again. Plus I like it. Best with a beer preferably a Pacifico.

"Misery"

The swap meet guy
took my money and gave me two things: a key and a lament, "Lo siento, amigo".

Inside, it smelled like Cheetos, farts and beef jerky. There was nothing beyond the driver's front bench seat. The Mexican had replaced everything back there with shag carpet remnants, pressed and matted with some crusty mixture of organic goop. The van was infested with fleas. Las pulgas had taken over the carpet and were using it as a command center for blatant, non-covert ops up the calves of my leg and all along my shin bone. It was getting itchy. The windows were spray painted black. None of them opened. We named her "Misery".



The tranny was sketchy, it popped out of fourth gear. A bent coat hanger fastened to the passenger's seat and looped around the gear shift solved that problem. When the wire broke, Ralph redefined the meaning of "manual" transmission by holding it in gear for five hundred Baja miles. When the vibration up the stick put his arm to sleep, he wrapped his toes around it and cradled it between the fat one and the long one next to it. It worked but it wasn't a nice thing to look at.

The VW ate gas and oil at the same rate and the starter jammed so often there was a hammer taped to it to whack it free. The fuel gauge was consistent, it always said "Full". There were no wipers and only one headlight but there was a hole in the floor with a funnel and tube. And that was a plus because we weren't stopping until we hit Scorpion Bay.

At Guerrero Negro an empty beer bottle flying out of an approaching truck detonated the passenger side windscreen like a frickin' grenade. On the East road in, Ralph blew a front tire on someone's cast off fender. A drunken llantero fixed it for twenty bucks, eight beers and five precious hours of daylight.

Deep into the cervezas, I drank ice melt in the cooler thinking it looked nice and cold; I was right about the cold. We hit the point at 2 am. Ralph slept in the dirt. I squatted in Misery like some disgusting circus freak, my knees jittering as I hovered over two plastic garbage bags simultaneously blowing from both ends. Mercifully, only the fleas stuck around for my grand finale.

But, ask me what I really remember and I'll tell you this: I remember an empty Baja point firing like an overripe habanero, I recall laughing endlessly with a life-long friend and I'll never forget my first bad ass, Baja rig.

Surfing makes your life better- it eases the Misery.

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Saturday, June 13, 2009

It's on: BlueLine Paddle Surf's SUPport

This one looks fun and if you've never paddled Santa Barbara, well, now you've got an excuse. Paddle your ass off and then go hit Holdren's on State Street ((805) 965-3363) for a nice rib-eye, wedge salad and double baked potato. Take the edge off with a nice local red from over the mountain and your set. Shoot, looks like I just did you the favor of planning your weekend.

One more thing: While you're reading this I'm cracking a beer on a plane heading towards a super fun left point break down in Mex. Don't worry I'll take lots of photos and report from the road if possible.



Big Fat Stand Up Paddle Lessons in Sunny San Diego, California. What more could you ask for? The water's warm, let's get out and do this! Call me 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net and we'll get you out and paddling today. For more information about the lessons and for some great testimonials click here and read all about it!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Travel Essentials: Here some cool stuff that makes life on the road a little nicer...

I can't take credit for all of these little doo-dads but they're worth sharing and I'll give credit where and when I can. That being said, here's some cool stuff I'm packing for my upcoming Mex trip:



Go to Home Depot
, drop twenty bucks and get yourself a roll of this stuff and some blue painters tape. Wrap the rails, tail and nose of your board in it- believe me, the Bloody Marys will taste much better in the airport bar once you know you've layered on a little more protection. This is what we call double bagging, it's an insurance policy.



These are the racks
you need for the rental car. Instead of fastening on the gutter these ones go all the way through the cab of the car- much more secure. These are double racks too so the straps are a little longer which makes loading up big stand ups do-able. You should also bring some extra webbing to extend the racks if you have to. You just tie the extra webbing onto the racks and feed it through the cam and voila! You're ready to rack multiple big boards. Yep Dave- those are yours, still got 'em from last time... just keeping them safe for you!



Extra leashes
- FCS makes the best, strongest ones I've used. Tropical wax for the 6'4", get an extra couple bars to give away to the locals- they'll be stoked. Bug spray, get the 100% Deet stuff like I have here (actually it's 98.9% Deet according to the fine print). Be careful with this stuff- it's gnarly. Specifically, don't get it on the plastic of your leash- it weakens it and be careful with it around your trunks too- it can make the nylon all weird. Most importantly, keep it off your balls... some types of pain don't leave your brain so easily.



These little Kool-Aid single serving packs rule! Got to thank Tucker for this one. The place we stay at supplies purified water but who wants to drink plain, luke warm water all day? Put a packet of this in the stuff and it goes down much nicer. Here's an even better one, buy a plastic, screw top Nalgene bottle- put the Kool Aid and water in it and screw it tight. Pop it in the freezer or fridge (our rooms come with small refrigerators) and you've got cold Kool-Aid for your after surf beverage. Unless you drink beer- if that's the case forget the Kool-Aid just buy more Pacificos.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Packing it for Mexico: Two boards, one bag, one fee...

It's getting closer! Only a couple more days and I'm out of here- heading south for some mainland juice- yes! I can only dream about how fun it's going to be surfing the spot on my 9'4". Last year, I took my 10' Stamps down there- I was stoked on how well the board worked but we've upgraded and refined since then and I can only dream about how fun it's going to be on the Viking.

Check out how I'm packing my quiver for the trip, it's pretty cool:



Here's the FCS stand up travel bag that I wrote about a couple months ago. Alexis hooked me up with this one at the FCS warehouse (the candy shop). This bag was made for a 9'6" so there's a little bit more room in it with my 9'4". Actually, there's room enough for the Vike, my 6'4" fish and two carbon fiber paddles! Check it out- it doesn't even look overstuffed. The boards are so light that it's not even too heavy to lug around.



Zipped open and spilling its guts- hopefully an overzealous ticket agent won't require me to do this when I'm at the counter at LAX. Alaska charged us $75 dollars a bag last time. On that trip I only brought my 10'er. My friends, on the other hand, had bags stuffed with multiple boards. Alaska's cool, they not only loaded up my over-the-size-limit stand up board but also only charged us per bag- not per board. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our luck holds this time too.

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

New Stamps Stand Up: 10' Viking and a couple quiver builders...

Big Chad jammed up to Stamps' board factory this afternoon and came home with a truck full of treats. Check 'em out:



Chad
pulled the trigger on his second Stamps stand up board; this one's a 10' Viking, 31 inches wide and four and half thick. This one's a big boy's rip stick- can't wait to see him let it fly down south.



The boys approve.
The spray on Chad's board is one of the best I've seen- the photos don't really do it justice- it came out great.



Chad checking the foil.
Chad and I surfed about thirty minutes after snapping these photos- the board's volume came out perfect. What you don't want in a high performance stand up board is a cork- too much float and you're not going to be able to hammer down on the rail when you need to come off the bottom. This one's right were it should be.



The thing really came out sweet.



Here's what I ordered- a 6'4" big boy fish in eps and epoxy. I wanted a little conventional board to hide in my board bag for my trip to mainland Mexico. This one's sick!



A little comparison shot for Steve. That's his board in the foreground, a 6'6" Stamps Fuse model. That's a clean one too- can't wait to surf it!



We live in a cool little surf town- if you've got some freshies laid out on the lawn, someone's bound to stop by and help you check 'em out. Here's Matt Wilson with the 6'6".



Here a shot of the 6'6" bottom, set up as a quad (my 6'4" too). I surfed my board right after snapping these and was able to easily paddle it around and snag a couple of waves- the thing went really well- I can only dream about how it'll be on a big open faced, point break left hander- whooo.



My mainland Mex quiver- and it all fits in the FCS SUP travel bag- with two paddles! Check back in a couple of days for more photos of boards, bags and travel supplies.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Couple fun ones in the water today...

Finally cleaned up a little around here. Nice little south pushing through, snagged a couple this morning- and you?



Photo: Kiwi, on it.





Photo: Wrapping it up for the day.

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Get out and find some.

You've heard what is said about locals right? Here it is, one of my favorite pieces of surf wisdom: "A local is just a dirt bag who never got his act together enough to travel". I wish I had somebody to credit that to... if you know drop me an email so I can give due 'props.

In the spirit of getting out and finding some, here are a couple of shots my local friend sent me from his recent trip to Central America. Scored. Definitely not a dirtbag. Enjoy:



Photo: If you're in the water and you see this, you're about to get drenched.



Photo: Nope, not a stand up board. But how easily could you superimpose yourself onto this wave? Now just get your act together and do it.



Photo: The cool think about long points like this is that if you stay with them long enough (keep cutting back!) you're bound to score the inside racetrack.



Photo: That wave looks insanely carveable.



Photo: The aforementioned racetrack section.

Stand up paddle surf lessons in sunny San Diego- get 'em while they're hot! The water's warming up, the surf is rolling in... get yourself on a stand up board now and learn the skills you'll need to be part of the hottest water sport around. Click here for more information. To book a lesson call John at 619.213.6622 or email john@paddlesurf.net

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Paddle Surf Video Collection: A few from the past couple years.

I think I've made almost twenty different paddle surfing video clips over the past two (three?) years we've been online. Here's a little collection of some of my favorites; along with a little bit of the backstory on each one.

Of all of the clips I've made, this one is my favorite. I just cruised around town one Saturday morning shooting whatever and whoever I came across. I got all kinds of stuff; sunny days, cool front lit morning shots of friends surfing, bikes, boards. All capped off with a snappy little song called Shining On by Big D and the Kid's Table.

Adding the sound track is my favorite part. There's real magic when you drop the music over your clips- it's the mana that brings the thing to life. This one just makes me smile everytime. It's all about the cool little upbeat, the jangly little guitar riff; reminds me how good it is when the suns shining over our little beach town.


Find more videos like this on Stand Up Paddle Surfing

I think Big Chad hit a home run with this next clip. Chad couldn't paddle surf that day because he'd busted up his knee playing basketball. He showed up on the beach with his camcorder and said he'd shoot us, edit it up and post it that night. We were bummed for the guy, but, I have to admit, we were also secretly stoked to have someone taping us. Yep, we're that shallow.

That night, when I saw this one up on p.net, I was blown away. Chad was able to take a mediocre session and make it look pretty darn fun. And the guy had a cool style with his editing too. His slow-mo cuts fit the groove of the video and his music choice was spot on. Common Sense's little piece dropped a dreamy little feeling over the whole thing. Bravo, Chad! Four Stars


Find more videos like this on Stand Up Paddle Surfing

I first heard Easy Star All-Star's version of this Pink Floyd classic deep down in Baja. We were camped out under a billion stars, perched on a cliff above a classic, desert point break. I was all hopped up on red wine, feeling fuzzy and under that huge, Baja sky I was contemplating how I was basically just a little piece of human fluff on the navel of the world... or something equally boozy like that. Anyway, Dr. John's kid pops this track on and just floored me. It was an order of Pink Floyd- hold the melancholy. Pink Floyd-lite, if you will; perfect for me because I'm basically intellectual-lite. I did my best to edit the surfing to the music... I think it worked out pretty well.


Find more videos like this on Stand Up Paddle Surfing

Here's a cool one with absolutely no surfing in it. The track, "Viva Tirado" by El Chicano is just so velvet smooth it kills me- which is an anomaly because the song violates one of my music ground rules: No bands with organs in them. I can't stand The Doors because of that cheesy little organ- but this one, this one just knocks me out. Stamps lays it down nice and smooth making the difficult look easy while El Chicano takes off the edges. I dig it every time I see it.


Find more videos like this on Stand Up Paddle Surfing


Can't wait to put together the next couple of vids- got a whole list in my Ipod that'll knock your socks off- at least the plan. Get out and get some!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

More Chopes Stand Up Paddle Craziness

My friend Sheldon sent me this link to Tim Mckenna's photography website. If you're into that poured-glass-over-razor-blade-reef type of island surf thing, this site is for you. I'm just going to post the links, you go check 'em out. Unreal shots. Click here and here and here to view 'em.

Couple thoughts about those shots:

1. Did you check out how absolutely beautiful the water is over there? Go to the last link and have a look at the flatwater paddling (Lisa Anderson shots)- even if you didn't paddle some of the breaks there, the flatwater paddling looks like it'd still blow your mind.

2. Is it me, or do you actually think you might want to try to pull in on maybe one of the smaller ones? I guess the whole thing would be about living in denial- just take off, don't ask about or look at the reef as it flies right by you- a couple inches from the bottom of your fin.

3. Did you click on the last link and scroll down enough to view the photos of the guy backhanding a barrel on the stapped board? Unreal angle- beautiful photography.

Thanks for the links Sheldon and thanks Tim Mckenna for the masterful photos.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Do a good deed: 2nd Annual Tijuana River Valley Cleanup this Saturday

Happening this weekend. Get out and build your karma rating, do something good, be part of the answer. June 6th, 9am - noon: