A touch of south, a touch of wind swell

Check the new video Camera Grom shot this morning (his cut will be out tomorrow- he's shooting again on Sunday). The south that we've been waiting for was starting to serve up some peaks. Kiwi (blue Stu Kenson 10'x28" quad) snagged a couple of good ones. I surfed down the beach (green and yellow Stamps 10'x 29.5", 2+1) where it was considerably more bumpy but less crowded.

Paddle Surf Lessons here in San Diego are firing up. It's been really fun watching the excitement spread. If you're interested in learning be sure to click our lessons page.

I'd love to see your videos. If you've got a homegrown SUP video clip on Youtube or Vimeo (or hosted anywhere else - I suggest www.ipaddlesurf.com it's got the easiest upload protocol and best resolution I've come across) and would like for me to post it, send me the embed code and I'll put it up.


Find more videos like this on Stand Up Paddle Surfing

Surf Ropin' up the Beach: South Swell Lights it Up Down Here!

I'm absolutely toast right now. Just did a three hour wave riding session right down here at the end of the street. Check the photos, these pictures are from last night- now tack on another three feet and stretch those lines another fifty feet and you've got a good representation of what we surfed today.

The predicted south swell just lit up our little beach town. All day long the reports poured in both on the Surf Phone and by email- every bank, every hole and every rip was creating a wedging, left hand, freight train. There were spots throwing barrels and peaks peeling all over town. Best part of it was the water was pushing 68 degrees - another session of bareback trunking it.

Four of us got out on stand up boards: Gabe, Big Chad, Kraig Surplus and me - safe to say we all scored some of our best waves this year. I've got to give Big Chad the Wave of the Day award for paddling his 10'0 Stamps into a macking six foot pier sucking wave. BC dropped in late, came off the bottom and disappeared.

I don't know if he got tubed or just traveled in the pocket but I can say that we're way past riding soft, reforms on glorified longboards. Here was a legitimate, grinding, head high macker being handled by a guy on a 10' board - it was cool to see and from my limited vantage point the line taken was clean. Clean is good.

Here's another sweet deal on a used board. This one is a BK Pro model C4 Waterman 10'0. I've seen this board, it is for all intensive purposes a brand new board. The retail price on this board is in excess of $1500 - this one is for sale for $1000. If I was a few pounds lighter I'd pounce on this one- it's a sweet deal on a hot board. If you're interested, contact Kelly Kraus at Emerald City Surf Shop in Coronado (619-435-6677). Also - if you decide to buy a new board (not the used C4) and you mention this website, Kelly will drop a hundred bucks from your next stand up board purchase. Dude, are you kidding me?

All in a day's work

I checked the surf five different times before I finally scored some fun waves. The morning check was a bust; south wind bringing on the dreaded "morning sickness". And the much anticipated north-westerly swell was an early morning no show. What a bummer.

I finally did get into the water around noon. The wind had finally backed off and there was bit of glass but the tide was too low. On the upside, some lines from were beginning to show and I could tell that if I waited a few more hours it might pay off.

But, the water here in San Diego has jumped up to about 66 degrees (Matt W.'s estimate) which makes it legitimately trunk-able. And there were a few zippers to be grabbed- all in all making it kind of irresistible. I did an hour and a half beach cruise making something from basically nothing, fun but not really satisfying.

The best session of the day was the result of a surprise visit. A friend dropped by to tell me she'd been hired by the beach guards (congratulations Janet!) and, by the way, "have you checked the surf?". It wasn't firing but it was dead glassy, and the tide was rising. We ended up scoring a super fun, wedging little left that ran along a bar before bottoming out in a hole right next to the beach. A sweet little rip had formed in the hole which completed the circuit; ride the left to the beach until the hole killed it and then ride the rip back out to do it all over again. A sweet way to end a hot day at the beach.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow morning will bring- hope you're feeling the same way!


Top Photo: The local crew, every beach and every street end's got their cast of characters.

Middle Photo: The Lopez surf check.

Bottom Photo: Early morning grom attack.

Secrets for the taking

Pull out a map, find an isolated stretch of coast sandwiched between two access points and go find your own waves. Bingo- your own personal secret spot. I can virtually guarantee that if walking, or in our case, paddling into it is required, you won't see a soul. It's yours, take it. Have fun with it. Name it if you want. What's the big problem?

Photo: Kiwi taking a break- ten minutes from downtown SD- not big, but fun and definitely not crowded. My first photo with the new Oly 1030sw.

I've got mine. I'm going to name it too. It's called the Dinosaur. Kiwi and I just pioneered it (or maybe we didn't but I really don't care). It's a three mile paddle down a part of the coast that is essentially in my back yard. I've never surfed it, or for that matter, seen anybody surf it. Why? Because nobody wants it. It's too much work. Guess what? There are waves there. Really fun waves, better waves than you'd expect.

Am I letting the cat out of the bag? Should I be hit with a bolt of lightning for revealing some "secret" spot? I don't think so- here's why: THERE AREN'T ANY SECRET SPOTS. Especially if you live here in Southern California. It's all been done, logged, photographed, posted, published and downloaded. The great thing is that even with all that publicity- they're still not crowded- even here. People just don't want to do the work- even if they know exactly where the spot is and how to get to it.

So find a spot with some paddling miles between it and the nearest parking lot. There's still a ton out there. Make it your secret spot. Just be sure to give it a good name.

Video: 8'0 Stand Up Board- with Big Boy on Board!

Short, curvy and fun... we're either talking about Salma Hayek or Stamps' 8'0 a.k.a "the biscuit". Check out this short clip of a short SUB... understand, the waves were horrible on this day- and that little chunk managed to get itself going!



>Amazing that at 235lbs it even floated me at all. I'm going to pester Stamps for the volume number on that board. I've seen other small boards but the owners of the boards have weighed much less than two bills. I've always thought that a 10' for a guy above 210' is proportional to an 8'0 for riders in the 100lb to 160' range. This board has made me think about how small I can go on my next board- I'm thinking I'd like to see something in the 9'4" or 9'6"length. Maybe even a 9'0 like Stamp's performance model but beefed up to 30" wide.

The board is ridiculously fun to surf. I'm dying for a head-high, glassy day where I can really get my back foot into the thing. It's a fast board and it's soooo much easier to throw it up into the lip than my big board. I can only imagine the speed I could generate on a lined up left hander, I'm also curious about how straight up into the lip I could put the thing and how it'll behave coming off the bottom at speed.

In the paddling department, you have to remember that as the board shrinks, the paddling sweet spot shrinks as well. Standing on this board was tough. I fell a lot, probably three times as often as when I'm on my ten footer. Dropping in on such a small board was also much different than on the bigger stand up, you get into the wave much later than you're used to, there's very little "glide in". Additionally, I'm going to have to figure out how to punch whitewater with this one- I was totally unsuccessful on it today. In fact, paddling this board makes you feel like you're learning all over again- which is cool with me because I love the process of figuring things out.

What's the point? This question crossed my mind a few times out there. After all, don't I have a hot 8'0 mini-longboard at home that surfs equally well when prone paddled into a wave? Uh yeah, but... who cares! It's just fun to paddle out on all kinds of crazy things and have fun- and having fun has always been the point to me.

A good run, but nice to be home.

Had a great trip up the coast. Shacked up at a cool little hotel with a bunch of crazy Canadians- these guys would go to town on the complimentary wine that the place served up each night. They must've gone through eight or nine bottles, just killing it. But it was fun- must be a cold winter back in Calgary.

There were a couple of swells in the water but the direction wasn't just right for the area's window. Still, a little hunting around payed off- we scored some fun, uncrowded surf at some really beautiful spots. A good friend also came up and we managed to get in a couple of cruises up the coast. Funny how twenty minutes of paddling will still buy you waves all by yourself.



Nice to roll back into town and find that those two swells that were missing up north were pretty much lighting up the beach break in town and that the water's warm enough to trunk it. Lifeguard Hans and I surfed the north side this morning after peak high tide- fast lefts but good fun if you've got quick feet. I'm really digging my board more and more- turns well, goes fast and wraps sweet cutbacks, it'll even go up into the lip if you've got the legs to get it up there.

Big Catalina race coming up for those brave enough to go for it. Start carbo loading now!

Cold Morning Waves

Ridiculously cold this morning. Forty five degrees on the beach making the water warmer then the air. The light offshores brought the temperature down a couple more notches each time they'd whistle through. Today I featured, "the standing ice cream headache", guess it comes with the upright nature of our surfing. I've got nothing to complain about compared to what guys on the East coast are dealing with, even my brother in Santa Cruz is reporting iced up windows and lawns. Any sane person probably would've passed today- but where's the fun in that? The surf has diminished slightly but there were still some fun ones to be had and Marla scored some of her longest waves today; getting better every time! Here's some clips from this morning remixed with some from yesterday.

MichaelF wrote in asking me what's up with all the videos lately. Answer: Shooting and editing video is vastly easier then putting an original thought to paper, er, to monitor. I think that's why there's so many video bloggers out there- it's just way less work and takes much less creative energy. At this moment, I'm working on a large stand up surfing project, it's sucking up most of my writing time and energy- so, since I'm committed to posting daily (why, I have no idea) I'm taking the easy route. And, I have to say it is a different kind of fun.

Now as far as editing and posting- Camera Grom, my fearless video partner along with FuzzNugget productions posted the Sunday "Church" piece. All other pieces are mine. It's been super fun working with CG, the kid's super reliable and technology savvy (read: smarter then me). If I were you MichaelF, I'd give him all your footage and the music you want put to it (or else you might get the clown music) toss him a donation and he'd probably pull it together for you. By the way this is a shameless plug for Camera Grom- anybody interested feel free to contact me at paddlesurfbaja@gmail.com

New Paddlesurf Video: Courtesy of FuzzNugget Productions

Video Highlights: Brennan Hovland's drifting floater on the 10'6" C4 has got to be hot by anybody's standard. We're all in trouble now that the rippers are getting stand up boards. Also, check out Pinky almost pulling in on his 12'0. And, no I didn't snake that guy behind me (I'm on the green and yellow Stamps), it's fun surfing behind somebody. How about Kraig Surplus getting a little floater on his new 10' Stamps? That shape (same as mine but add an 1/8" all around) is a real California solution, check out how much speed it makes on waves that haven't even broken yet. Not shown, Marla's first wave- pay your dues now and reap the rewards during the sweetness of summer! Killer session today people- glad we could share some waves.

Excellent job Camera Grom- look forward to working together again. Breakfast burritos on me next time.

And: I have no idea why Kiwi got the clown music.

Back to Business: Surf/Tow-in teams/S-rails?

Whew! Good thing Sunday brought such fun surf, I was getting a little too uptight with Jason Smith's puff piece in Surfing Magazine. Final word on that: In the end he's right, this sport is no fun and it's lame- better if he never gives it a shot.

The head high swell predicted by many surf forecasters came in just as predicted- on time and as big as promised. Don't know how it was up the coast but here at home, it was lined up, head high, lefts and rights. A few new faces in the water including two unknown tow teams buzzing in and out of the lineup. One team featured a tow in boogey boarder. Five minutes before the law showed up, one of the guys bolted south- not really sure if he thought he had anywhere to hide down that way but he was going for it. Mike P. with the lifeguards told us that they are restricted from any surf break by a thousand feet- since they obviously broke the law and CF numbers were taken, somebody is going to get busted (Coast Guard was alerted). I'll keep you posted as details emerge.

Top Photo: Kelly Kraus Kills it Konsistently. Going right and going fast on his new BK Edition C4 10'0"
Check out the tow team in the background.
Photo: Spidey

Middle: Kraig Surplus looking happy on his new Stamps 10'0". Last saw Kraig dropping into an overhead right doing about Mach 10. The bigger guys (220 - 270, yup I said 270) are digging these boards. Stable, fast and carvey they are really a nice choice for a shorter board.
Photo: El Tigre

Bottom Photo: Emerald City Surf Shop in Coronado (619-435-6677) just added to their inventory of stand up boards. I'll post some of the stand outs later but for now, take a look at this: The S-Rail on South Point's Bonga Perkins model. In person, it looks really nicely done, would be great to try it out. More on this and others to come.
Photo: Igor Von Smiley

Can you keep up? Lots of New and Original Things Happening!

Lots of activity this weekend: I had a great time visiting my friends up North. I'm definitely returning to the Malibu coast. The water's beautiful- and there's some fun little olas escondidas; Malibu's definitely holding. A wise man, the Surfing Fire Fighter (check his blog here), perfectly framed it with his observation that we scored waves, "hiding in plain site". Given our proximity to at least a billion Angelenos, nine movie star palaces and one Cher, I'd have to agree.

Also in plain site were the glassy, extended play lefts peeling off here in San Diego- again, it's just a matter of getting out and looking. An interesting comparison: two different spots, two major cities- both waves relatively empty. They're out there folks- put on your walking shoes and go find 'em. Top Photo: Spidey

The Giapetto Project Update: Our favorite boardsmith, Andy G., is cranking through his hollow, all wood SUB project. Andy had his plans printed to scale and is now in the process of producing ribs for the board. And I just thought ribs were for barbecuing and marrying. Photo: Giapetto



The man and his machine; A. Gere cutting the ribs for his hollow SUB- the 11'6" Waveyarder. Photo: Giapetto

Enough.

Another fun morning in the water. Unfortuntately, this swell is on its way out.

Funny, I remember reading in Surfer Magazine an editorial about the maximum number of days that a person could surf good waves consecutively. I think it was Sam George who wrote the piece and I remember he asked guys like Tom Curren what the limit was for them; each of them agreed, independently, that it was somewhere between four and six days in a row.

At the time, I remember thinking that was ridiculous. Now, I 'm not so sure. We just had a nice six day swell that provided good waves on a daily basis. Each day delivered four hours of glassy morning zippers followed by an evening tube session. If you wanted it, you could put in six hours of surfing assuming you could get your arms moving again.

I'm now at day six and, guess what? I'm cooked. I almost passed it up this morning in favor of pancakes with the family. My cup of 7-11's finest and an extended conference with the boys at the end of Date street almost took away any chance of a morning surf- maybe subconsciously I wanted it that way. Finally, a clean left, peeling from pier to sand, stoked the dying surf-ember in me and I hopped in for a quick hour and a half run down to the rivermouth.

That Surfer magazine piece still haunts me though. And the question remains- if it was absolutely firing barrels all day long, how long could I last? Don't really know, but I'd love to find out. How about you?

Photo Day: Working on the new watercam setup

Well we're getting a little eclectic here with our photo collection but there's a reason for it.

MOFO (the guy on the right in the photo to the left and stand up paddling into the wave below) decided to merge his origami skills with his hidden Martha Stewart to create a camera neck "holster" for his waterproof Olympus point and shoot. He used scraps of wetsuit material, glue and hand stitching to put together a really functional and robust camera housing. The water photos were his first attempt with the new camera rig.


I'm going to talk him into letting me photograph his new camera holster and will post it soon. The other photos are of Kelly Kraus surfing Cliffs (photo to the left) on his new C4 Waterman 10'0 a board we'll be reviewing soon. I'm the screwfoot fading left to go right at the Cliffs. Conditions were pretty meager yesterday (7-15-07) but we were able to get into some fun waves once we paddled far enough south.

I'm excited to get into the water photography game. Last week I ordered a Sanyo Xacti waterproof camera that will allow me to videotape and photograph in the water. I think the MOFO housing will make it user friendly by keeping it close at hand but not allow it to dangle all over the place. The camera should arrive next week and I'll have it in the water as soon as possible. Be sure to check back for the shots and video.



Note: The other two gentlemen in the top photo are North kiter John Klinger (Klinky) on the left and Kinsley Wong of Xtreme Big Air in San Luis Obispo. Klinky is a Strand local and has been stand up paddling a Mistral Pacifico when he's not lofting himself over the Cay's overpass.

Also: Kelly Kraus is the owner of Emerald City surf shop in Coronado on Orange Avenue. If you're interested in checking out the new C4 Waterman boards you should go to Emerald City. Kelly's the only guy I know of that has the whole range of C4 boards and he rides one everyday so he knows what he's talking about. Go check'em out!

Paddling California: Sunset Cliffs

Sunset Cliffs was made for stand up paddle surfing. Purists, locals and Senor Stink-eye (do you know the guy?) are cringing right now because they think I'm going to expose the place. Don't worry, it's been done already- ask Bank Wright about that. The great thing about the Cliffs is that it's got all the key elements of a classic stand up spot: fun waves, conveyor belt channels and (the best part) "non-spots".

The Cliffs holds just about any swell and it's reefs form the energy into a playground of fun peaks. There's always a corner to be found somewhere out there. MOFO (my good buddy and a Cliffs local) and I were able to hop on the last few days of a southern hemisphere south swell. The water was a ridiculous 72 degrees- easily trunkable and with the SUB we were set to cover some yardage.

Our hop in spot was at Osprey- slippery but probably the easiest way in when hauling a 12' epoxy plank. Paddling south we played hit and run on any peak that looked fun. We were at a wave just long enough for everyone to realize we'd just snagged a good one and then we were gone. The routine was straightforward, take a left if you had to but try to get a right if you could; the rights got you further south which was our goal. Rights all the way south, Lefts all the way north- simple.

I'd rather paddle out through channels. Yes, it is satisfying to learn the skills needed to punch through line after line of whitewater and breaking wave- but I'll take a channel any day. It's almost unfair how perfect the Cliffs is in this regard for the stand up surfer. The channels might as well have green interstate signs on them that say, "Easy way to more waves!" Surf a wave, paddle through into the channel and repeat about thirty times- not a bad way to spend a few hours.

The greatest thing about getting on the stand up board is the opening up of what I call the "non-spot". It's that boil that you've watched waves mush over for years, or that outside bombora that looked to be a mile away, or that little reef that is cut off from most people by a high tide. Are you starting to put the numbers together? Let me make it easy for you: The Cliffs is full of these spots! Put together a tidebook and a paddle and you can get yourself (and in this case MOFO) into really fun waves all by yourselves, every time.

MOFO and I ended our southern run at 33's. A fun spot- made even better by the isolated nature that a high tide brings to the place. On another day we'll head even further south, eventually surfing the semi-untouchable spots at the tip of Point Loma but that's a story for another day. Until then I'll look forward to the twenty lefts I'll ride on my way back north to Osprey.

Check this out: This is a cool trailer that MOFO has for getting from his house to the Cliff's. Simple design, looks relatively rugged and costs around a hundred bucks. I'm going to have to get one now that I've seen it. The one question I have is how do you lock it up so nobody rips it off?

Coming soon: Paddling the Cliffs with MOFO

Paddle Surfing Lessons San Diego

For Lessons, Contact us at: paddlesurfbaja@gmail.com or call 619 213-6622

Learn to stand up paddle surf! Stand up paddling is for everyone- it's fun, an excellent workout and a great way to get out on the water. It's become my favorite way to surf and has changed the way I look at bodies of water- I now want to paddle them all!

I've taught students of all ages from gung-ho 13 year olds to fired up 71 year olds. Every student I've instructed has been successful and has left excited for more. If you've seen stand up paddling on television or in the magazines and have dreamed of doing it yourself - here's your chance! Come learn to stand up paddle with me this summer!

Stand Up Paddle Surf Lesson 1 Flat Water Paddling: This is lesson is an introduction to stand up paddling. Our goal is to provide you with the basic techniques needed to safely paddle a stand up board. You will leave the lesson with enough skills to confidently handle a future board of your own or rental equipment.

In this lesson you will learn correct stroke technique, how to turn the board using three different paddle strokes, foot placement and stance, and, importantly, how to self rescue. We will also discuss how to lift and transport the board without destroying your back or expensive paddle equipment. The lesson will culminate with a 2 - 4 mile paddle through the scenic Coronado Cays and San Diego back bay.

The entire lesson is conducted in calm, flat waters. It is important for new paddlers to begin in relatively tranquil conditions. These conditions allow us to focus on the important elements of board, paddle and stroke. As a beginner, you can never get enough flat water paddle time. The more you paddle the better you get!

Cost for Lesson 1 is $100/person, the lesson takes 1.5 hours to complete.

Email: paddlesurfbaja@gmail.com or call (619) 213-6622

Paddle Surf Gear Rentals Available: With Pick Up and Drop Off!!! If you've got basic paddling skills and would like to rent a board and paddle I will deliver the equipment to either Glorietta Bay or Grand Caribe Beach in Coronado (flatwater) or Silver Strand State Beach (surf paddling) and pick it up at the end of the rental period. These boards are big and difficult to handle unless you've got a truck - let me take the hassle out of paddling. Rental with Delivery and Pickup is $60/3 hours, board and paddle. If you'd like for me to deliver the equipment to a different beach in San Diego there will be an additional charge.

NEW OFFERING: Paddle Surf Touring in San Diego. If you've completed Stand Up Paddle Surf Lesson 1 or have basic paddling experience (including surf entry and exit) let me guide you on a scenic tour of San Diego's best paddle spots. Contact me for more information: paddlesurfbaja@gmail.com

Pay with Pay Pal! Let me know if you'd like to pay with a credit card and I'll send you a Pay Pal invoice.






For more information check out our brochure below.

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