N WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NW 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT...BUILDING TO 6 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 13 SECONDS... SUBSIDING TO 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS IN
THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT NW WIND 20 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
NW WIND 10 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 20 KT IN THE MORNING...THEN 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT...BUILDING TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 20 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Getting stoked...
For your, or another's wave...
Surf staple...
Hoot...
NW WIND 5 TO 10 KT...RISING TO 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
A shipwreck break...
Surf Family Robinson...
Stranded with a shipment...
Of longboards, thrusters, guns...
Perfect weather and water...
Island of plenty...
So, I'm lost...
Don't come looking.
SW WIND 5 TO 10 KT...VEERING TO NW IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
I always get mildly depressed when sections of the Coast Highway veer inland...out of sight of the coast. There's an almost giddy feeling upon that initial glimpse of a peak or line of whitewater through the trees or small gap that only intensifies as you make your way to your destination...if you have one in mind.
Local Report:
...got a bunch of pretty good rights, ...place was working pretty well. ...charged a great right hander that was clean and long... The last two waves of the day were probably the best. ...chest to head high glassy right; the perfect way to end the day.~intrepid
NW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Yesterday...headed out in AM...looked kinda flaccid...high tide...soft...a few other spots revealed little else...~doc
The report was for 6', so brought the 9'6" single fin...good call for the first couple hours...waves were soft and mushy, about waist to chest high...long and fun rides all the way into the shallows with essentially dry hair paddles back out...
Had a peak all to myself for over an hour...there were 8+ people out on the south end of the cove I was surfing...admittedly, it looked better than where I was, but not that much better!
At about 2:30 or so a couple others paddled out and as the tide went out the waves started hollowing out a bit...I started wishing for a shortboard, as the paddle out wasn't quite as leisurely and the waves were a bit punchier.
There was a mix of peaks and walls and everything in between...I remembered why you shouldn't ride a single-fin downrailer longboard like a tri-fin shortboard when I dropped in to a hollow little left...came off the bottom, up off the top of the wave and the lip pitched and I was airborne...kinda tricky landing that much board...and I almost did, but didn't.
Got thrashed about in the pit with the board smacking around...something gouged my foot pretty hard, checked the boot, no tear...so paddled out for more...final wave was a hollow chest high pit...tried for a little tube but had to settle for less...but it was definitely my wave of the day and after 4 hours I decided to end on the high note...
By the time I got home my foot was nice and swollen...feels a bit better today.
Actually Tuesday, April 25, 2006...
SW WIND 10 KT...BECOMING W TO NW 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
Silky, smooth Hawaiian stylist of Waikiki in the 1950's...
California hotdogger and noseriding master of the 1960's...
Progressive, psychadelic guru of the 1970's shortboard transition...
Still stylin'...longboard, shortboard, fish, single fin, twin or tri...
It didn't matter then, and it doesn't matter now...it's all surfing and it's all fun.~David Nuuhiwa
NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING E 5 TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Before my time...but I have sat on that very spot and watched waves jack on the reef.
TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT...VEERING TO NE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
Sun is shining...
North winds...
Find a headland...
For some gliding fun...
N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
NW SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
NW SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
Small surf...
Stroke into it...
Swing it around...
Set it up...
N WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
NW SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 20 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
NW SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Hawaiians surfed flat, heavy, wide tailed planks early on...later, about circa 1937, innovators cut these cumbersome boards down into finless hot curl surfboards...later still evolving into Joe Quigg's single-finned pintail guns. A highly simplified description of the progression to say the least.
These early surfers were no longer content to pose, and ride the breakers straight in to shore. And angling these traditional kiko'o and olo boards in big surf caused them to "slide ass", or slip sideways. By cutting the board's tail down radically, sometimes with a pronounced "V" in the bottom, it allowed surfers to stay in the "hot curl"...the breaking part of the wave.
Hot Curl surfing was about angle and speed...following the curl, picking your line and racing across the face of the wave. "At its apex in the mid-1940s," wrote Craig Stecyk, "there were around thirty- five top flight practitioners of the art of hot curl surfing. Names which still inspire respect among the cognizant include: Mongo Kalahiki, Richard Kauo, Blackie Makahena, John Kelly, Jr., Rabbit Kekai, Smokey Lew, Hyah Aki, Louis Hemma, Squirrely, Fran Heath, Jonah Hemma, Snookie Whaley, George Downing, Black Dan, Eugene Kaupiko, Blackout Whaley, Wally Froiseth, Small Sam, Woody Brown, Dickie Cross... The complete absence of any surf media during the hot curl period was further compounded by the Island's remoteness and World War II, all of which served to make the movement invisible to a greater audience. Furthermore the hot curl aficionados favored restricted entry (i.e. clan controlled) surf spots and often frequented the juicier breaks which were located farther out."
The above shot is of Blackout Whaley...as mentioned, another prominent hot curl surfer was early hotdogger Rabbit Kekai. "Rabbit really started this style that they call hotdogging," said Californian Joe Quigg, who moved to the islands a little after the war. "In the summer, Queen's would get overhead and Rabbit would be inside of the tube hanging five with no fin and his back arched. All you would see was this flying green blur visible through the lip of the wave. He'd do it over and over again, always with precision."
From Tom Wegener's website:
"I saw several of the ancient Alaia boards when I visited the archives of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. They were beautifully shaped and clearly made for a specific style of surfing. A year after seeing them, I began to ride the ancient shapes and quickly became addicted to them. They open whole new worlds of surfing stoke. They are fast; they tube-ride really well and make small waves really fun. They are also a real challenge to master. When I saw them in the museum I wondered how anyone could possibly surf them but I am surfing them better with every session. Getting an understanding of how they are ridden just takes time and patience. Don't let anybody tell you surfing in the ancient times was primitive! The thin Alaia is made for tube riding."~Tom Wegener
N WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT N WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE N AT 11 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
This area isn't what you'd characterize as a surf destination...it is however, loaded with waves. If you aren't adverse to getting bounced off a rock shelf if you make a mistake and realize that dings are a definite possibility even with a leash...then have at it. You'll probably have it all to your self.
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 11 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING N 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT...BUILDING TO 5 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 11 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
Skip Frye, when asked he surfed 365 days a year, replied: "I doubt it".
In the background, his wife replied: "I don't".
Skip with his wave calendar...recording tides, winds, swell and spots ridden.
I started this blog to post some surf art and Oregon surf. It progressed to include daily forecasts and the occassional surf report from Oregon surfers. Upon realizing that there are only so many Oregon shots to utilize, I decided to add images and commentary on Oregon history, usually surf related, and classic surf shot and surf legends.
It's a double-edged sword, I love living in Oregon and surfing here. The people I meet and surf with are real and there's still soul and adventure along this coast. Yet the other side is that, even here, there's the slow creep of progress (if you can call it that) along Oregon's shores. 10 years ago, places I could surf alone, now feature a dozen people out. Uncrowded by most standards, but the trend is onward and upward. Only a couple Oregon breaks are what I would characterize as "heavily localized". Others may have a local crew on it but the only instances of confrontations occur if someone steps far out of line. Even with the crowding (there were 3 people out today at one of Oregon's most popular spots), I drove past several non-spots that had waves that were just as good as established, named surf spots. There are empty waves if you look for them.
I try to keep this blog about surfing in Oregon pretty minimal, without naming or posting blatantly obvious shots of Oregon breaks. We'll see how it goes...
S WIND 10 TO 20 KT DECREASING TO 10 TO 15 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 3 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
It usually doesn't bother us...
As long as there are waves coming in...
Lulls in Oregon are usually short...
But when they do hit...
And you're sitting and looking...
A glance at your knees...
Because you can't see your feet...
That's when you wonder...
What's down looking up.
A good story:
So this morning started off the same as many mornings. The great waves of last night were gone, and the morning was gorgeous, but the waves were lacking. By default, I ended up at xxxxx. Maybe not my first choice, maybe not the best choice, but xxxxx all the same. I was feeling bad because I had conned Dano into making the long trek for the dawn patrol based on last night's waves....Ho Hum. So we're out there, picking up the odd scraps, when out paddles Mr. and Mrs. FG. The more the merrier. So we're bobbing around, watching the occasional car pull through, the occasional wave come through, when down the stairs comes a guy with a boogie board.~stiffler
The tide was going out, and we were far enough south that we weren't really affected by the rip or longshore current. Weren't even paying attention to it, really. Sponge-bob comes trotting down the beach, scowling, and hops in the water. He swims out with his Churchill's, so you know he's serious. He rides the rip out to the point, and catches a solid right, and then peels off and paddles out.
So we're not paying too much attention, getting some solid lefts and rights, little cover-ups, nose rides and the like, just fun, smallish low tide kind of stuff... and suddenly I become aware of this commotion out in the water. Outside, the sponger guy is thrashing around and yelling. Well, I dont have to tell you what went through my mind first. We all just kind of looked over, and then everybody started paddling out to help him.
FG got there first, and slipped off the board so the guy could grab on to it. The guy was pretty nuts, thrashing, and started trying to climb up on FG, clawing at him. FG was wrestling away from him, and Dano paddled up and landed a fist square in the guys face, just a full on, unchecked punch right in the middle of the guys face. That seemed to calm the guy down, and he started yelling "Im ok, Im ok, Im stuck!" I pulled off my leash, and swam down under water to see what he was talking about. I had to come up for another breath, and then when I swam back down I could see the problem, an old, rusty crab pot sunk into the sand, with about 6 feet of line on it, and a float. The guys wrist leash had gotten tangled in it, and then he got a leg wrapped. I swam down, and started pulling at the rope, but it made the guy panic. It was that old cruddy yellow poly-line, so I swam back up, told the guy we were going to try and break it, and then Dano and I swam down, and pulling together we broke the line pretty easily. I still had this panicky feeling. The guy started kind of unwrapping himself, and I think he was pretty shook up. Mrs. FG loaned him her board to swim in on, and FG and Mrs. FG paddled in like you see tandem surfers doing... wish I had a pic of that! Anyway, I grabbed the guys sponge, and paddled it in. It had his name and phone number on it. I think I have met another OSP'er, but we did'nt get to make formal introductions. Once we got into the shore, the guy puked a couple times, gathered his stuff, mumbled some thanks, and started to shuffle off. His hands were shaking like crazy, I think it really rattled him, especially on such a calm day. Mrs Fossil asked him if he was ok to drive, and he was very adamant about "not driving here" clue #2....
Anyway, by then it was time to go to work. All in all, a pretty eventful morning, even if the waves were not what I had hoped for.
...made it outside after a long paddle. I paddled into the spot I had scoped from the beach and it was much bigger than it looked. I dropped into one pitching right and watched the nose of my board as it skimmed the surface on the bottom turn. I barely made the turn and did one top turn before the ride was over. ...paddled back around and went for a second one. This time I didn’t quite get into it and I found my self standing on top of a waterfall. I kicked my board right and dropped off the precipice to the left. I hit the bottom of the pit hard, then got sucked back up the face, over the top again, and then pushed all the way to the bottom. Disoriented, I finally made it up and barely had time for a breath before #2 hit. After three or four more beatings, I was almost all the way in and decided it probably wasn’t wise to be solo in those conditions...~holddown
S WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 3 FT.
W SWELL 7 TO 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT...BUILDING TO 5 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
I'd have to say...looks surfable!
SELL THE HOUSE
SELL THE CAR
SELL THE KIDS
FIND SOMEONE ELSE
FORGET IT
I'M NEVER COMING BACK
FORGET IT
~Col. Kurtz
Local Report:
..saw the usual suspects riding some nice rights. I stayed south of them a ways, where the A-frames were heaving and breaking shallow. More than once I surfaced thinking my stick would be in about 5 pieces, but she survives yet another day...no one was at xxxxxxxx which was really throwing. After getting out I could see why..., longboards would have had a very high attrition rate. It was going top to bottom into about 4' of water and I spent a lot of time nailed to the floor. Had a blast.~sooloo
...surfed a wierd spot. Took about 85 waves on the head and got drilled into the sand on every one. Just couldnt give 100% when I was paddling for some reason. It was still a gorgeous day. Only got three crumbly rights and couldn't beat the whitewater to the shoulder on any of 'em.~stiffler
SW WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
NW SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS SUBSIDING TO 8 FT LATE.
Crossing the pass was a relief as the 90 degree weather of the past week gave way to fog and drizzle. Pulling up to the water disappointed, as little, if any, swell was showing despite the forecast. Tourists milled about, hoods pulled up against the mist...shivering in shorts donned in the valley.
A few locals sat in their cars, boards that would remain dry that day propped up behind them. They smirked as he walked past with pack and board down the cobbles. They looked away as he rounded the point and drove off.
The tide dropped steadily as the waves, still small, began to find new bars to break upon. Rounding a rocky headland, a small cove revealed a waist high wave peeling right off a rocky shelf. Suiting up, he paddled out to check it.
The water was shallow and rocky. Taking off on a small boil required dodging two exposed boulders on the inside, but once past them the reward was a clean, fast ride that passed over only a few uncomfortably shallow spots. Gaining confidence with each ride, he slide past closer to the rocks until they were hardly noticed at all. In fact, almost imperceptibly, they disappeared altogether with the rising tide.
The surf built with the tide, topping out at about chest high and providing a long rippable wall through the inside. The long single fin that worked so well when the waves were smaller, was now a bit of a liability as the waves hollowed out through the inside sections. Catching an edge on one wave, he was dumped and grimaced in anticipation of an impact with the rocky bottom, only to find chest deep water and sand.
Paddling back out to mechanical rights, he surfed until he was able to connect with a wave that ended only 20 yards from the cliff face. Looking at the much reduced beach, a glance to the north revealed that entrance and exit had been removed by the rising tide. Low tide was hours away, scaling the cliff one-handed, with pack and surfboard, seemed unwise. A water exit seemed the only option. The cove echoed as a head high wave exploded outside.
Packing clothes tightly in the pack, he strapped it on tightly and waded past the shorebreak carefully, jumping waves and trying to stay as dry as possible. As he approached the takeoff point, he mindsurfed rights as the reeled towards him, actually pondering taking off and doing it all over again. But, instead, paddling well to the outside, against a persistent current that resisted efforts to head north, he slowly passed the lineup and headland.
Rounding the point, the next cove to the north was firing. A peak showed to the south and he raced to be far enough in to pick it off. It began to rise and paddling hard, the board begin to lift and speed up. Standing before the wave began to crest, smoothly gliding on open water, the wave jacked as it felt bottom. Angling left, staying well ahead of the lip. He rode into the shallows, stepping hard on the tail, grabbing the board with both hands and drifting in on the waves back.
Scrambling up the beach, he sat on the rocks and watched as fun lefts cracked on the rock shelf. Dressing, he found his clothing mostly dry. He packed his gear and headed back up the beach. Rounding the point, he saw that the swell was firing here as well, but the angle was wrong, hitting the beach in a mass unrideable closeout. Further north, the cove's water was too deep and waves backed off beneath the few that were haflheartedly trying to catch them.
The tourists took no notice of him, nor the locals, as he loaded his board and pack and drove home...smiling.
SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
NW SWELL 14 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 13 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
COMBINED SEAS 16 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 6 FT.
W SWELL 18 FT AT 13 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 20 FT AT 13 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Conditions look a little rough right now...things are looking like they could clean up early in the week.
Surfing last week on a building swell that jumped as the tide went out...I got caught in the unenviable position of being about 10' inside of the lip of the outside set wave. I had scrabbled over about 4 or 5 good sized ones, only to come to the easy realization that I wasn't gonna make it past the next one. It's a funny feeling...not fear, because it was only an 8' swell...not panic, because most have been in that position before...not worry...I don't know what it was, you paddle harder, you think "Oh, shit!" thoughts, your heart beats a little faster and as you dive your board down, you hope you went deep enough.
I watched as the that lip came over in almost slow motion...I could see every particle of water on that leading edge...I felt the concussion as the lip penetrated the water on the flat...at the same moment, I sank as deep as I could, felt the turbulence around me, pressed down on the tail of the board hard, extended my arms and let the board draw me up.
It was almost effortless as I popped out onto the back of the wave. Sometimes things don't go as well...I've had duck dives that have ended in boards miraculously vanishing despite your death grip on the rails...I've suffered that secondary mental profanity as you feel your self sucked backwards underwater into a chaos of whitewater...I've had to dive at the ends of sessions where you simply don't go deep enough and get tumbled, tossed and ragdolled mercilessly...
But in this case, I popped out to the sight of a peaking left that I was in good position for...paddle, spin, sink the board, pop out, a couple strokes, feel the wave propel you, drop in, bottom turn and go...
SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT...BECOMING W 15 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 9 SECONDS... BUILDING TO 11 FT AT 11 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. TONIGHT
SW WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
NW SWELL 15 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Surf in Oregon...right?
Well, this is Terry Dibble, an engineer with OSU's Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, surfing in its wave tank, for a National Geographic television special in 2002.
W WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE MORNING.
BECOMING S 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT...BUILDING TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 6 FT.
SW SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
I remember the first time I saw these pics...oh my God! Everyone was so fired up...people started trying to skate various concrete structures...drainpipes, freeway overpasses, reservoirs...you name it, they tried to skate it...with varying degrees of success...and pain. The places were not smooth continuous concrete, skates were primitive (by today's standards, and safety equipment was nearly non-existent.
Local Report:
...sets from 3 to 6 feet, very clean drops followed by long sections that brushed my head and hands. In the brief rests between waves 3 seals checked me out and teal like birds carried away mouthfuls of sprats. About 20 mins into this solo session, the sweetest wave I've had in a long time rolled through. Bouncing off the headland and building over the rip the peak stacked as far north as I could paddle. Instead of a long unmakeable section the wave's arm bent slightly out to sea and a steep drop left me looking at an overhead wall...tucking under the lip I pulled into the barrel. A cover up then pushed out by the lip off the bottom and back up into the face, a fast wall that had me stepping to the nose and eventually pulling over the back as the wave closed out.~gazsurf
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 10 KT...BACKING TO SW AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
When the boar comes, the stream does not swell by degrees, as at other times, but rolls in with a head...foaming and roaring as though it were enraged by the opposition which it encounter~Thomas Harrel 1824
[It] was on but the sets were spaced out...opted for the thumping close out barrels further south.~foulpete
...first wave was a left. Quick bottom turn...started to pitch. ...actually got time to view the green curtain for a second or two before being hammered into the sandbar.
...prime view of Smith taking off on a super solid left. He stood tall on the drop and the thing began to throw...there were a good few seconds when the lip was pitching right over his head. He then released and shot out to the shoulder and went up to smack a backhand off the lip and came down with the close out.
...caught a fun right that actually allowed for a full cutback instead of closing out and drilling me.
...outside lefts...screaming through...holding shape...to the beach. Fun peaky drops followed by a petering mid section finishing up with a steep pitching inside run...~bison
E WIND 5 TO 10 KT IN THE MORNING...BECOMING NE IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
Doubt I'll be pulling into anything this solid today. But east winds switching to north might hollow out the waves at a south facing cove I know of...hmmm.
Local Report:
The waves were definitely fun...not too big, but had some juice...it was working everywhere that I checked.~doc
The size definitely jumped at about 2:30 or so, I saw an outside set that broke easily a 100' outside of where I was sitting and just reel down the beach perfectly with no one on it...I considered trying to paddle out to it, but didn't, never saw it break again though, so good decision.
It was in fact epic...Set waves double overhead (or maybe a foot under double), ...the sections were hard to make; which is to say, I couldn't make them... Racetrack. ...Gaz got the wave of the day for sure. Big outside, locked in, got a mini barrel, made the sections and it doubled up and he rode it to the beach.~gills
SW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SE WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
Looks pretty surfable this morning and the swell should hold, and build slightly, through Wednesday.
S WIND 10 TO 15 KT...EASING TO 5 TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Looks like some smooth fun today...
Local Report:
Nice waves, and plenty of 'em, glassy, and the whole place to ourselves.~stiffler
...sets coming through were shoulder to chest high and pretty much glassy...~intrepid
SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT DURING THE EARLY EVENING.
WIND WAVES 4 FT... SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
If you're old enough you'll remember Greg Weaver, aka "The Cadillac Kid". He became the face of Cadillac Wheels probably about 1973 or 1974. Prior to the advent of polyurethane wheels, we skated on what we called clay wheels. They weren't really clay, but they really would come to an abrupt stop if you hit anything...a piece of gravel, a cigarette butt or a crack in the sidewalk...the wheels also had an annoying habit of melting and softening if you bombed downhill beyond heir tolerance.
But with Cadillac Wheels and Tracker Trucks, all that changed. Suddenly, you could carve hard without sideslipping, you could skate down sidewalks and cut into driveways without fear of hitting and expansion joint, and the increasing popularity gave rise to skate parks...one of the first being in Carlsbad; which, although primitive in comparison to today's parks, was pretty cutting edge and radical stuff back then.
E WIND 5 TO 10 KT
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
TONIGHT: NE WIND 10 KT...VEERING TO SE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
For everytime I have paddled out where I have seen another person out...there must be 2 or 3 times where I have had to surf alone. People grouse about crowds, and there certainly are alot more people in the water than even 5 years ago...but those "crowds" are typically small and only occur at established drive-up surf spots. Unless you frequent about 8 out of the hundreds of surfable spots on the Oregon coast...you can pretty much count on being alone. I admit I often seek out these spots when surf is anything beyond head high, just to be somewhere where there someone that could help in a pinch. I haven't needed help in decades of surfing, but you never know.
But even those known and popular spots can yield solo sessions...especially if you're in early, mid-week in the winter. I surfed one of my most memorable days ever at just such a spot. The day previous saw a major storm hit the coast, 100 mph winds on the headlands, and whitewater and waves to the horizon. There was no way I was going to get wet...skunked again I was sure. The next morning though, I was up at dawn and looked out the window to see smooth water with lines of corduroy rolling in.
I packed up quickly and went to the popular break...no cars in the lot. I went down the trail to find nearly perfect overhead surf pouring off the south end of the cove. It was a bit bigger than what I was comfortable surfing alone so I watched and wandered the beach collecting fishing floats. I must have gathered a dozen in a half hour before it became unbearable. I suited up and paddled out. The waves were big, but the huge surf from the day before had carved equally huge channels which made the paddle out easy. I surfed left after left that petered out into the deep water for about 3 hours...still all alone. Finally, surfed out...I headed in, got dressed and went back to the house.
Later I went to pick up some groceries in town...only to find my way blocked by large downed trees blocking the coast highway. A simple explanation to my having the beach and waves all to myself that morning.
Local Report:
Friday was good...very, very good. Late afternoon and the righthander was epic. Long hollow rides quite common...glassy with a little bump but nothing too weird...down the beach...peaky A-frames that had everyone pulling back~gazsurf
S WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 KT...BACKING TO SE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
North Coast forecast...South Coast wave.
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
10 inch or 10 foot?
E TO SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BACKING TO N IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
When I was a kid, we'd go to the beach with my uncle. He'd surf for hours and we were pretty much left to fend for ourselves. This was in the late 60's and there were old boards that just lived at the point...point boards. In many cases, they weren't in much better shape than the one above. But we'd paddle them out and surf them anyway...
Local Report:
Good waves today...6'-8'...got out a little late but it stayed good till late in the day anyway. Lot's of sets and water movement to match, arms are feeling the burn tonight! Long righthanders...not sure that I even saw a left ridden all day. A pair of eagles flew over the break not much higher than the cape itself, nice to see them, wonder if they would have been interested in the seal pup that was beached last week?!~gazsurf
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...INCREASING TO S 25 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 6 FT. W SWELL 13 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 25 KT DECREASING LATE.
A FEW GUSTS TO 35 KT EARLY.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
SW SWELL 12 FT AT 9 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE W 11 FT AT 9 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SE WIND 20 TO 25 KT. GUSTS TO 30 KT OVER THE OUTER WATERS.
COMBINED SEAS 14 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
SW SWELL 11 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
Rivermouth...undisturbed salmon run...sea lions...long paddle...hmmmm
Local report...uhhhh...rescue attempt:
...went out solo...started at the point and caught a few mushy rights...current was gushing out and making it hard to stay in place and catch anything. At one point I noticed I was almost out to the tip of the cape after sitting and resting for a bit. I then paddled straight S and tried to find something...but I had to keep fighting the current. I finally dropped into a big left, made the drop & bottom turn, but it folded over the top of me and I got crushed.~holddown
I called it a day and I was starting to get out of my suit when I noticed someone way outside trying to move S to get out of the rip. I watched for about 30 minutes and chatted with his wife as he made slow progress to the S. He started to rest a lot and began to lose ground against the current, so I decided to go back out and attempt a rescue.
I ran back down to the water while keeping an eye on him and jumped into the rip. It just took a couple of minutes to get out since it was flowing like a river. I took a set on the head after I cleared the point and sat up to locate the guy outside. To my disbelief, he had somehow managed to get in while I was going out. I was fully committed in the rip and approaching the tip of the cape so I started the several hundred yard paddle S to the breaking waves.
So here I am, all the way outside, solo, in a rip, and a CG "Dolphin" chopper approaches and starts hovering over my head. I held up an "OK" gesture, then continued paddling. He stayed above me, so I sat up and held the "OK" gesture for about 15 seconds before he broke away and flew off to the N.
I continued moving S and started looking for a wave to ride in. I paddled for another left, but didn't quite catch it. The wave behind it was bigger and it was the first of about six that eventually washed me all the way in. The guy that was out for so long thanked me for going out and I finally was able to get out of the suit.
SW WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 20 TO 25 KT...RISING TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. COMBINED SEAS 11 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS.
Exuberant…Spontaneous…Innovator…Unpredictable…Colorful
Montgomery Earnest Thomas Kaluhiokalani…who?
“Buttons” Kaluhiokalani, the fabled 1980s surf genius has made a stirring reentry into active surfing. His style, along with Larry Bertlemann’s, foreshadowed the direction surfing would take in the late 80’s and 1990’s…and even further, influenced and popularized skateboarding as their loose, spontaneous style was emulated by upcoming generations. Tailslides, 360’s and other skate inspired moves that are common today were invented or developed by Kaluhiokalani, Bertlemann and other young Hawaiian surfers.
Buttons began surfing competitively around 1970, culminating in a runner-up finish of the Boys' Division in the ‘73 US Championships at Malibu. He became a surf star despite a spotty contest record, where he had difficulty adapting his spontaneous style to the rules of contests. Although he won several contests, the furthest he ever ascended in the rankings was 27th in 1981; the same year that, during the Pipe Masters, Buttons was eliminated due to an interference call. In keeping with the North Shore’s complex local dynamic, he, with several locals, stormed the judge’s, tower forcing a reversal of the call and prompting what has since been called "The Seven-Man Final."
Buttons comments on his surfing and boards:
I try to surf as many types of waves as I can. In my surfing, I try to combine a lot of speed and maneuverability. Since the Aipa Sting is a very versatile design, it can work for me in any type of wave, with only a change in length, width and thickness. In other words, I don't have to keep changing types of board designs, only sizes, except for my longest winter board. I feel this helps my surfing, because I always know what to expect of my boards, as they are all basically the same.
…the shot of Buttons Kaluhiokalani, …His tooth's broken. He's got his afro. He was at the height of his career, and the photo captures his whole vibe. He's a hilarious guy. I was really excited about how that came out. It kind of captured the entire spirit of the 70s.
