Surf trips, Motorcycles, shark infested waters and a gruesome injury!

Wow! Lot of things going on with me lately- sorry to have neglected posting for such a long time. I'm gonna have to warn you- don't scroll down to the last pic if you've got a problem with looking at finger joints bending in an unnatural fashion. 

Other than that, things have been kind of hectic around here. To start off I made a killer road trip up to Northern California and hooked up with Team Boga for a photo shoot at a spot that sketches me out- Davenport landing. Davenport is the site of at least two confirmed white shark attacks, the water's cold and it just feels... out there (yes, San Diego surfers are wussys when it comes to this type of stuff- we've definitely got it easier down here). Check it out: 

The Team Boga fun machine...

I really didn't want to be in the water that much (and the surf looked really small) so I grabbed the biggest board the boys had on the rack- that's me with Boga's 12' plus El Rey heading out to the feeding grounds...

I was impressed with that Boga- it paddled great and it was actually really fun to surf.

While I was up north, I got a chance to visit my brother Mike who lives in Santa Cruz- and the Ramble Machine was curious about Stanford so we stopped by to see if we could see Chelsea Clinton- guess we missed her by a few years. Trees were rad though.

I think I'm gonna start another blog called "Mid-life moto Idiot"... as you can see, I'm know kind of hooked on motorcycles. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't most people get dirt bikes out of their systems by the time they're thirteen? Guess I missed out- I am messed up on these things... in a positive way. Anyway, here I am at my dirt bike class at the Honda Rider Education Center in Colton, Ca. so much fun! You know- I think I'm really going to start that other blog... I've got a lot to tell you about what I'm learning with motos!

I had such a fun Thanksgiving break- two weeks of road tripping up and down the coast and then a couple days of dirt bike riding. I did have one mishap that happened the last day of my vacation- on my third dirtbike trip. Kind of nasty- but I messed up while riding and dislocated my finger. If you've never done it, you're not missing anything. It's nasty. Especially when you look down and see your finger bending the wrong way. Like this: 

No, that's not my finger- but I did look down and see my digit bent like that. It freaked me out. And it hurt like hell.

So now I'm sitting here typing in an awkward fashion (fingers taped together) wondering when I'll be able to grip my paddle enough to go for a surf (the Becky Stuart Memorial Race this weekend is out). The weekend surf report is looking promising so I know I'll figure something out... and I just HAVE to fire up my bike and go for another ride- finger be damned!

Black Friday surf session...

Decided to bypass half off toasters at WallMart for a low tide stando session at Patch. Got cans of chili, turkey dogs and the Kraken (google it)... Glassy and looking fun think I'm not the only one with Patch plans:

San Diego Outrigger Club Race: Kiwi takes 2nd place in tough conditions

Just heard that my good buddy charged to a second place finish in open stock class stand up paddle board! Stoked for him. Kiwi told me that conditions at the race were the toughest of any race he's been in with lots of nasty cross chop and big, six foot open ocean swells. Kiwi borrowed my 30" wide Stamps Poison Arrow, paddling it for the very first time ever. According to Kiwi the board's stability was a huge plus in the mixed and stormy seas. Kiwi also went with one of Future Fins new race fins from the soon to be released 2012 line- these things are radical blending speed with weed free performance. Oh yeah, the two new Laird boards that were there got smoked!

New Boards/New Ideas: Kainoa McGee Stand Up Boards and Plus One... a new Racer?

Just got these shots from my friend Manny Vargas (check out his awesome surf water photography at mannyvphoto.com). Some really cool stuff happening here in Southern San Diego. First of all Mike Pilgrim of SurfCraft International (click here to see more of what Mike's got going on) is teaming up with Hawaiian hellman and pipeline charger Kainoa McGee to get Kainoa's new stand ups out here in So. Cal. - from the buzz around town the boards are sweet and there's five or six local guys waiting in line to get there chance on the demo boards Mikey's got stashed somewhere (pics below). Also, it turns out that the mad scientists at Plus-One are putting together race boards and jumping into the game with stock class boards as well as fourteen footers. All of this dutifully recorded by Manny V., check out his shots below.

Here's a peek at one of Kainoa's boards- love the diamond tail. I'll hop on one and give you a rundown of how it goes as soon my colon decides to stop hating me. That's Mikey in the foreground, gray sweater with big Kainoa in the background (short sleeve teeshirt, right side). Various Plus-One board wizards checking rails and fin placements. 

Wide angle/high angle: love the perspective Manny V.!

Top-side Kainoa board... like how foiled the tail is... low volume.

Eh brah, five boxes!

Okay, on to the new Plus-One raceboard: Stock class, rounded tail. As you know I'm a big fan of the high volume wide-assed race board (but what do I really know- I'm a middle of the pack racer, remember?). I just get the feeling that for most of the conditions we're in here in California a really pulled pintail isn't the way to go- the tail sinks with each power stroke and you can here the gurgle of vortex turbulence off the back. I like what the boys have gone with here- I'd like it better if I got a chance to actually paddle the beast.

If anything, from what I know about Plus-One, the fit and finish (read glass job with tricky carbon fiber) is probably A+ on this thing. And, if my little spy resources are correct, the glass job is probably some exotic, multi-material layup that's ultra-light and damn strong. Check those boxy rails... hmmmm.

Been Experimenting a bit. My New Board and paddles

Here he is... My new board. 8'2" x 29" x 4.5" with some crazy stuff going on. The board it is sitting on is one I love dearly a 8'4" x 29.5 fish shape wing diamond with spherical rocker (basically the bottom curve is a piece of a giant circle or sphere and equal nose and tail). It rides junky, mushy waves unreal. But when it gets decent with the low rocker it will stuff coming down off a vertical lip and care is needed.
So I built a new updated one to ride decent surf. This one has rocker lots of it. I did not want a water plow so I put a very deep single concave through the whole thing stopping just before the fins and veed the hell out of it nose to tail. Also the tail rocker last 6" is flipped considerably. The fins, Yeah buddy we got em 7 FCS fusion boxes in there. I set it up as a Twinzer, Quad, Tri, Twinzer+1 and a 6 or 7 fin if you want. I have not built myself a twinzer in many many years and after the last 3 days of surfing it I must say, I NAILED IT... This thing is MENTAL.... Very fast very loose, did I mention its fast, It comes down the line like a rocket is tied to its ass then redirects as good as any prone board I have ever ridden. Pretty cool I am STOKED... Its funny this board was intended to be a 7'11" but when I drew the outline it looked so good where the outside curves met I just left it and it came together at 8'2" as it was intended to be a more rounded nose. Crazy how things come together sometimes.


Fins...

Bottom

Profile bottom

Deck with a arch bar, always...

This Is my prototype paddle. I have finalized the blade design and finished the production molds. The production paddles are a bit different top blade shape than the one off in the pic below. Also the new paddles have the type of carbon fiber that is in the next picture. Now to be clear this is my favorite paddle size and shape. Its huge 130 square inches. With my paddle design the paddles outline shape is customizable. Yep we can make any shape blade anyone desires, and any size. I have 3 prototypes I have been testing the last month and I must say I have the blade contours down it is unlike any paddle out there and every concave and dihedral has a purpose and comes together with no flutter, no slip or vibration just pure solid pull no weirdness. The top face contour is intended to be steerable it has quite a bit of a bonzer style vee and when you do a paddle slash turn it tracks like it has a fin. No Slipping like flatter faced paddles. I have been working out different shapes of blades they will be up soon.

Oh yeah I took the paddle in the pictures and put it in my dads 10 ton press with a scale attached and I unknowingly bottomed the scale out at 550lbs trying to break this paddle. It did not even creak and I am currently using this paddle. Pretty sick....






Big John Sorry to hear about the explosions and sickness. I feel for you I almost died in Central America years ago from parasites that are in the water its a nightmare. Get well soon and we will have to hook up one day for a surf or trip.
Peace,
Capt. Ron Neff
www.absolutetrip.com

Here I sit...

Listening to my gut grumble from some piece of virally infested, bacterially swarming piece of comida I jammed into my face this weekend down in Baja. Man, I got wacked. Worse than ever. We're talking the full 3am pellmell dash for the toilet with exploding sphincter. And now it's carried on for three days. I've taken some good advice (thanks Pilgy) and have been chugging Pedialyte (stuff tastes horrible) and eating soup (when I can get it down the gullet). But anyways, here I sit thinking of plans- dreaming about firing up the ramble machine and heading somewhere warm- scoring some surf, having some fun; winter's cool but the short days and early sundowns sure do get you thinking.

The ramble machine's garage... exploding with fun. How's that Jamie Mitchell quad set? Rad set of fins- look for the full review coming soon.

Ah, some small clean ones....

Race boards: Laird's latest and greatest... hey, wait a minute!

Typically, where Laird goes others follow. I'm sure by now you've seen his new 10k dollar race board- modeled after racing yachts and heading in exactly the opposite design direction of all the other race boards I've seen out on the water here in California. Check it out:

No gurgling, sucking pintail, no ultra narrow outline- fat ass, square box rails.... kind of like...

Mine! The Poison Arrow- wide, thick, boxy, beautiful- and for me (210lbs, 5'10) it's fast and importantly stable. Interesting to see how two designs develop- totally independent of each other and the outcome is the same. It will be interesting to see how the board goes with a fit, serious racer on it. For me, this design (along with a year of racing and a 30 lb weight loss) helped me drop twenty minutes off my time in my last race (compared to a year ago- same race, same course). Thanks Tim Stamps for building me a true custom race board, a board that only Laird (and I) could love (well maybe not- there's a lot of buzz about the "new" wide tailed race boards).

Next Baja trip in the works: Motos, paddlesurf and dory... !!!

Went out and picked up a toy for riding trails down in Baja. Check it out:

My first moto! It's a Yamaha TW200 it only weighs about 250lbs, electric start with kickstart back up- big ol' fat tires and 100% badass! Now I've just got to learn how to ride it- ooops, got that covered too- going to Honda Dirt Bike School in two weeks and now I'm getting crazy about my next Baja trip: Boats (my hand made wooden dory), Bikes (my TW200), boards (8'4 Stamps Stando, 9'0 Stamps noserider) and bros (my brother Mike who I'm convincing to get a bike too). Yes!!! Preliminary plan is to charge it down to Cabo- paddling when there's waves, riding trails when it's blown out and generally just using as many toys as we can. Yeehaw- I love plans!!!!

Cranking off shore winds today

I love the fall in California- the winds start blowing offshore and the surf starts showing up. Like today- check it out:

My buddy Kelly snapped this (and the other photos) with his camera phone- that's me racing down the line.

There were some nice peaks out there but the tide was dead low and these things were breaking hard- and it was TOUGH to paddle against the offshore winds and push my stando over the ledge. I definitely got swatted on a couple of those things.

Ripping: Ted Robinson shots by Peter Brouillet board by Tim Stamps

Got these a couple days ago from an unnamed, deep cover source... tack sharp and radical. All shots by pro photog Peter Brouillet. Clean stand up paddle surfing courtesy of Ted Robinson. It looks to me like Ted's on a Stamps Ninja Bump- in the 9'0 range- a good all around size and shape for smaller, beach break days. Check 'em out:

Yesterday morning... some good ones out there!

Cold mornings, cold water... cranking surf... well, at least there were a few out there. Take a look:

Had so much fun this morning surfing my new 8'4 with a new set of fins from Futures... board went well and the fin set made me change my mind about quads... super fun morning of surf.

I was happy to get the chance to get in the water and surf some fun little lefthanders. I shot this after standing around for a couple of minutes in the parking lot- after snapping this one I had no problem pulling on my cold fullsuit. Waves like this get your blood pumping.

The Future Fins goody box.... STOKED!

Check out what came in the mail a couple days ago:

Yep- a little test kit of race fins and surf sets for my new 8'4 and for the Poison Arrow... got a chance to flat water/downwind paddle the keel fin and surf the Jamie Mitchell Quad set... my mind is blown!

Super happy to be hooked up with Futures... these guys are surfers and paddlers and they crave feedback. Look for a full on review of each set of surf fins and the three different race fins- I've already been out on the Jamie Mitchell Quad set and- well, I might be a quad convert now (yep- Kiwi- you were right!).

CoveWater Stand Up Sale... Check it out!

Hey Northern and Central Cal Paddlers:

Click here for more info!

Been looking for a used SUP?  Or, do you have a board or paddle you would like to unload?  Here is your chance - its Covewater Paddle Surf's huge, 2nd annual "USED BOARD SALE AND SWAP MEET", Oct 29 &30.  The guys up at Covewater will have 35+ used SUP boards for sale that weekend: race boards, surf boards, touring boards, all arounders.  In addition, on Saturday the 29th from 11 AM to 4 PM, they hold a big "SUP Swap Meet" in their parking lot.  Drop off any gear you want to sell, tell them how much you want for it, then they will do the rest, taking just a 5% commission of anything sold.  This annual sale is the largest used board sale in the state, so check it out.  Here is the listing of used standup paddleboards for sale!

Off to Catalina

Early morning fieldtrip run- up the 405. Three days, 33 teenagers, three parents- no stand up boards.... Next time.

We did get to surf down there too...

Received a moderate amount of clowning for not posting some surf shots from my southern Baja paddle trip- enough, I guess, to get me to release some of the goods. Here's a couple shots to tide you over:

Very few of you will know where this spot is... and I'm sworn to secrecy. Trust me, that left is as good and as hollow as it looks in the photo. Perfect for a crowd of three.

This was our bread and butter spot- a whole hell of a lot easier to get to than the spot above. The surf was good- not great but, once again, the crowd was right and it was sunny and warm.

Going left... a good wave, with a rocky bottom and long rides. And not windy- which is normally what happens here. Here's me- having fun on another empty day.

This is Nardo... if you know who he is- than you know where we were surfing. Semi-creepy? Yes. A lot creepy.

Surf bus....

My favorite surf vehicle (spotted this weekend at San-O):

Southern Baja Paddle Surf Adventure: You don't know hot- like I know hot!

When you step off the plane in late September Southern Baja, it's like jumping into a Mexican sauna. The humidity is so off the charts that I formed an instant batwing. You know what a batwing is right? Allow me to explain. When it's hot and humid your skin gets really gooey and pliable. Imagine your ballzack sticking to each side of your inner thighs and then being stretched out into a thin, membranous batwing-like appendage each time you take a step- nice eh?. It's brutal- but it's also the wave season down there and knowing that makes it bearable- especially when there's a cooler full of cold Pacificos waiting for you in the pick up car.

We had slight car problems in La Paz- but hey, as long as there's a gaggle of cold, freshies in the ice box.... it's all good. Lucky for us there was a backup/upgrade plan that got us into local boy Santi's plush, 4x4, Tacoma with custom Baja expedition trailer... all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the first class ride out to the point.

Santi's sweet Baja surf trailer- I definitely want one of these things! We rallied that little trailer, full speed over all kinds of nasty dirt roads- since it's got it's own suspension it didn't bounce all over the road. I was told that I could have one made for around $200... I see one in my future!

Loaded up and ready to hit the point.

I love Baja dirt roads... there's a pot of gold at the end of most of the westward bound tracks.

Santi's friends had been surfing the point since morning and, as usual, it was much better earlier. How often have you heard the old, "Should've been here an hour ago" line? We still paddled out and surfed some fun, high tide wedges. The consensus was that it was going to build over night and be even better in the morning. Here's a few of the local La Paz surfers and ferocious guard dog hanging out with beers and a little evening snack in the that milk jug you see there. Want a peek?

Looks like octopus for dinner.

Speaking of snacks, Tim brought along a dozen empenadas from his restaurant in La Ventana. I love empenadas and these were a type I'd never had. The empenadas were filled with a sea snail called caracol burro- a big, deeper water snail that's only available part of the year. Every had abalone? These tasted very similar. Yum.

Race Review: Battle of the Paddle and Catalina SUP Festival

I ran into Starboard Team racer EJ at the DogPatch this weekend. EJ was cool enough to send me these race reports from two of the biggest races happening here on the California coast. Check 'em out and if you get a chance, check out EJ's blog at: johnsonbigstick.blogspot.com

EJ Johnson's Race Re-cap of The BOP & The Catalina SUP Festival.

The BOP was bigger and better than ever, with the largest number of paddlers to date. The open age group saw 334 paddlers on the water at one time, and was a sight to behold. The weather this year was more typical of June with a thick marine layer in the morning, which gave way to sunny skies in the afternoon. This year elite racers had to qualify for the main event, by being in the top 50% of their heat. I managed to get 37th of 63, which meant I will be board handling for another Starboard team rider, and by the way was very challenging to not get run over by competitors or other handlers. Super exciting being right there in the mix/ pit.

Elite Course Qualifying Heat # 1: 37th of 63.
138 Johnson, Ej Dana Point, Ca M 48 MElite 37 00:37:23

Sunday 9/25.


The distance race is more my thing, liking open ocean conditions and not having to run with a bad left knee. The count was 226 paddlers attempting to win or just finish this challenging 10 mile coastal run.

Conditions were very mild, with little wind and not much bump in the water,and these water starts are always a bit sketchy with people jumping the line in anticipation of getting a hole shot. It was a grueling race, with many groups of drafting trains, I fought my way past some of the packs, to get to the one with my direct competitors. I stayed with this group until we hit the last right shoulder buoy, and then it was a all out 200 meter sprint to the beach. I was stoked to hit the beach with such great athletes as Jim Terrell and Chuck Patterson, but was edged out on the beach run. I got 4th place in my age division, which was the largest group in the 14' class, and was 15th overall out of 93.

Congrats to fellow Starboard team mates.

Connor Baxtor 1st Elite and 9th Distance.
Bart De Zwart 20th Elite and 8th Distance.
Dan Gavere 34th Elite
Annabel Anderson 3rd Elite and 2nd Distance.

Distance Race 10 mile (14' Mens 40-49 age group 4th place out of 33.) ( 15th overall 14' out of 93.)
727 Johnson, Ej Dana Point, Ca M 48 4 33 01:28:36

The 1st Annual Catalina SUP Festival (Oct. 1st & 2nd 2011)


We disembarked from our home port of Dana Point on our 38' Morgan sailboat named "Librada"to the beautiful island of Catalina on friday, and were greeted to a nice smooth 39 mile crossing, seeing many Dolphin along the way.

Day #1
The race on Saturday took place at the beautiful Descanso beach club, complete with cabana's, palm trees , cobblestone beach and the clearest water on the West coast. My elite course race consisted of three one mile qualifying laps, which were totaled up for a final score. I ended up in tenth, out of 22 which they let 16 through to the final. The final was at 3:00 p.m., with a two lap course around the bay, having 7 buoys per lap. The seas were nice and lumpy, getting extra chop from the big boats coming and going from the mainland. I ended up in 9th, after having a horrible start, being in 15th at the 1st turn. It's always cool to be on the podium with such great athletes and ambassadors to our great sport of SUP.

Top 10 Men (Elite SUP Individual)

Competitor Class Gender Overall
BIB Name Hometown Age Class Rank Rank Rank Time Pace
10
Ching, Danny Redondo Beach 28 MElite
1 1 1 00:27:18
26
Trout, Slater Lahaina 16 MElite
2 2 2 00:28:02
23
Terrell, Jim Newport Beach 46 MElite
3 3 3 00:28:33
15
Pelkey, Rob Dana Point 44 MElite
4 4 4 00:28:45
24
Armstrong, John 40 MElite
5 5 5 00:28:47
11
Kahn, Mitchell San Clemente 51 MElite
6 6 6 00:28:53
7
Maximus, Thomas San Clemente 42 MElite
7 7 7 00:28:55
29
Patterson, Chuck Dana Point 42 MElite
8 8 8 00:28:57
18
Johnson, Ej Dana Point 48 MElite
9 9 9 00:29:00
25
Fielder, Chance Dana Point 39 MElite
10 10 10


Day #2
The distance race was from Descanso Bay to Long Point and back, which is right around 10 miles. It is typically downwind from the point, but due to tropical weather it was all over the place. It was a mass start, with open racers joining us for part of the journey, but turning back at mile 3. I took my own line the whole race not getting involved with the typical drafting packs, and felt strong. The scenery is so beautiful, that your mind starts to wonder a bit, but when you hear the splashing of another board, it sends you back into overdrive. And if you don't know, SUP racing is always a full out sprint, with no breaks unless you count switching your paddle from side to side. Mitch Kahn and I had a great race trading positions a few times, and a sprint to the finish.
Once again, stoked to come in 7th against these tough competitors. I will put this event at top five of the season, and looking forward to this one again in 2012.

Top 10 Men (Elite SUP Individual)
Competitor Class Gender Overall
BIB Name Hometown Age Class Rank Rank Rank Time Pace
10
Ching, Danny Redondo Beach 28 MElite
1 1 1 00:27:18
26
Trout, Slater Lahaina 16 MElite
2 2 2 00:28:02
23
Terrell, Jim Newport Beach 46 MElite
3 3 3 00:28:33
15
Pelkey, Rob Dana Point 44 MElite
4 4 4 00:28:45
24
Armstrong, John 40 MElite
5 5 5 00:28:47
11
Kahn, Mitchell San Clemente 51 MElite
6 6 6 00:28:53
7
Maximus, Thomas San Clemente 42 MElite
7 7 7 00:28:55
29
Patterson, Chuck Dana Point 42 MElite
8 8 8 00:28:57
18
Johnson, Ej Dana Point 48 MElite
9 9 9 00:29:00
25
Fielder, Chance Dana Point 39 MElite
10 10 10 00:29:10

Top 10 Men (Elite Distance SUP Individual)
Competitor Class Gender Overall
BIB Name Hometown Age Class Rank Rank Rank Time Pace
31
Ching, Danny Redondo Beach, Ca 28 MElite
1 1 1 01:36:25
45
Trout, Slater Lahaina, Ca 16 MElite
2 2 2 01:42:34
24
Armstrong, John New Zealand 40 MElite
3 3 3 01:43:19
46
Maximus, Thomas San Clemente, Ca 42 MElite
4 4 4 01:44:08
35
Pelkey, Rob Dana Point, Ca 44 MElite
5 5 5 01:44:58
36
Kahn, Mitch San Clemente, Ca 51 MElite
6 6 6 01:45:13
34
Johnson, Ej Dana Point, Ca 48 MElite
7 7 7 01:45:21
38
Patterson, Chiuck Dana Point, Ca 42 MElite
8 8 8 01:46:25
43
Fielder, Chance Dana Point, Ca 39 MElite
9 9 9 01:49:04
50
Gallager, Thomas Long Beach, Ca 51 MElite
10 10 10 01:50:52

Respectfully
EJ Johnson

Stamps 8.4 photos!

Check it out- this thing rules:

Posted from my iPhone

New Stamps 8.4

Just picked up my new surf stand up- an 8'4 masterpiece from Tim Stamps. Surfed it twice this weekend - this board is giving me what I was looking for.... A really drivey, fast and responsive board- this ones gonna take some adjusting to because things happen so much faster on it. Pics are coming- I'm blogging from my iPhone so I'm still figuring out how to add photos... Don't worry, though- I'll snap a bunch!

Photo: Testing iPhone blogging capabilities - this shot was from my home beach during the last big swell.