Monday, May 27, 2013

I want to be different, just like everybody else.

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Great surfers just surf, average surfers stand around and talk about surfing, small minded surfers hate everything.  

I just saw a post on the Surfer Magazine forum. Classic. Titled something like, "Everybody hates SUP" or something like that (by the way, go to that link and check out the hot photos of the SUP guy getting seriously barrelled). There was a reference to a battle between some entitled dingy sailors back east somewhere and the stand up paddlers who were bobbing in the water around their launch/land site. Evidently, a dinghy under sail, coming in for a beach landing with rudder up is eventually going to kill a stand up paddler so the sailors are trying to get SUPs banned from the water. Nice. Would hate to get some SUP blood on Chip's topsiders or tweak a pinky finger in a drastic, full rudder, avoidance maneuver. 

In the forum, you can read all the other posts as the SUP hate circle jerk winds up. These guys crack me up- in a sport where individuality is supposed to be admired (if that wasn't the case, Ozzie Wright's style would have had him banned from all surfing ten years ago) they can't stand to hear that one of their very own has gone over to the dark side. I have to salute the contribution by a longtime Oxnard local, talking about his friend, an acknowledged local shortboard ripper who's been dabbling in SUP: 


You know what I like about all this? I like thinking about the mindset of the stando/surf guy, who one day decided to give SUP surfing a shot. What do you want to bet that the results of his actions, the unbridled derision of his local Oxnard ripper brothers, NEVER ONCE CROSSED HIS MIND. Ironic in that in a sport and region where the punk rock anthem of, "fuck all of you because I ain't you." was nurtured and germinated ('Nardcore anyone?) - these guys are all confused and don't know what to think about a guy who truly separated himself from the 6'4" thruster flock. For small minds, the world is a much easier place to comprehend when you're, "different, just like everybody else."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Of course nobody got their head cut off...

Wow. I didn't think I'd alarm anybody with that last post but it turns out a few out there thought something went down on that Mex run. Breathe a little easier, Manny and Tyra had a great day of surf and killer Mexican food and made it back safely. 

I often see all kinds of forum questions about safety down south. Here's my take: Act foolishly and it can be dangerous. Will the cartel single you out, kidnap you and chop your head off? Well, if you roll down in a black Escalade with huge rims, roll around Rosarito Beach with your tinted windows rolled up tight, your snapback on sideways bumping Lil' Wayne you'd pretty much be tilting the odds in your direction just a little. Kind of like putting on a bacon suit in a chum cloud in off the Farallon Islands, you could do it and get away with it- but I don't advise it. The sharks, like the bad guys, are definitely there, there's no denying that. Are they hungry that day, can you tempt them to bite? Well, that's always going to be an unknown.

Put it this way, roll like that and there are eyes that would take notice and probably a couple cell phone calls put in about where you are, how you look and where you're headed. Me? I'd rather not be on that radar- that's why I like rolling with Manny in the Manny-mobile. It's all about being low-key, knowing where to go, when to go, when to leave and, best of all, where the best tacos are to be found. Go with someone who knows and keep your head on your shoulders.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Northern Baja Stand Up Paddle Surfing: Empty waves

Do not go stand up paddle surf Northern Baja, you will die. The cartel will cut your head off. It's totally dangerous- I repeat do not go surf Northern Baja:

Manny V. and Tyra Moe CreedSUP team members just before getting kidnapped by the lobster burrito cartel. Read more about Tyra Moe here.
Manny V. trying to flee... he was not successful.


T. Moe also trying to escape with Manny yelling at her to run!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Hey- remember me?

Whoa. Where has the time gone- literally almost a year with barely any posting... wow. I haven't completely forgotten about old p.net (that's been my pet name for this here site), in the back of my mind I keep thinking that I should post something worthwhile up for all of you who do check back occasionally to see what's up.

But that's the problem- in stand up paddle nothings up. I haven't been amazed or wow'd or blown away by anything lately in this great past time of ours (well, actually that's wrong- I was blown away by the stando surfing video of the guy on the finless paddleboard at Leo Carrillo, the vids out there somewhere and this guy is doing something fresh and new). I mean, really, what's new? SimSUP, yawn. More guys racing a bunch? Yawn. And I've been doing some new things (if you're really dying to read me twice a week, that's a total of 8 posts per month! check out the blog I write for here) because I'm an ADD type individual who get's distracted easily. So here's somewhere to go if you're curious about what's going on with me- check it out here:


Basically, it's irreverent, eclectic, self-inflated, useless stuff that I'm compiling. It has almost nothing to do with stand up paddle and it's most likely a total waste of time. But it's my waste of time- until I go on my mainland Mex standup paddleboard surf trip second week of June- now that will be something to check out!