~from Swellnet
SE WIND 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING S IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SW SWELL 5 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
So you're locked into what is clearly a heavy wave...what's your plan for the guy that is blatantly dropping in on you?
SW WIND 5 KT...BACKING TO SE.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
I wrote this a bit ago in response to a "how to be a surfer" question...May's almost gone...it'll be up at Smokebox in a day or two...
So you wanna be a surfer...
Lessons are stupid...here's what you do...
It's May...so it's warming up, that's good...
Sell everything...leave your wife, abandon the kids...they'll be fine, kids are adaptable and your wife will hook up with someone...
Go find an isolated cove...ideally somewhere near a good sized river mouth...you'll need to go to the Washington Coast or even better BC or Alaska...Oregon is too developed...bring a jacket...
Either find a nice little cave or build a driftwood structure...or a split level type deal, whatever works...I advise set up to be well above the high tide line or...you know what!
Anyway, once you’re settled in...start looking for a suitable driftwood log from which to hand fashion your logger board...a huge plank is acceptable, but an actual huge ass log is harder and, therefore, better...
You may have to weather a few spring storms before you find the right piece of wood...be patient...pray for heavy rains and high winds...also kill any sea lions or other wildlife you come across...do not admire their majestic beauty...kill them and dry their meat...you will also want to fashion a sea lion wetsuit...this is risky as it will attract sharks, but that's better than freezing your gonads off...
Once you have selected your timber you will need to transport it beyond high tide...this will be hard as it probably will weigh alot...a system of levers and pulleys fashioned from seal gut may help...if you aren't handy, you are screwed...if you get stuck, think "What would McGyver do?"...that usually works...
You will need to fashion tools for shaping your board...if you have never made stone tools before you may be surprised at how difficult it is...however, if a caveman could do it, so can you...anyway it will require much chipping and probably a smashed digit or two...but once you have that cutting edge you are practically home free...
Sidebar: If you happen to produce an axe head...you could lash it to a stout piece of wood and make a hatchet...cut that log down a bit and it may be easier to move...if you weren't reading ahead and have already moved the log I apologize for not mentioning it earlier...again, animal parts are good for rope and stuff...if some flotsam floats in, like nylon rope or something? I suppose you could use it but it kinda affects the purity and achievement of becoming a surfer...y'know?
Anyway, once you have the log in place start chipping away...don't worry about the shape too much right now...you have weeks, probably months, of shaping ahead of you...remember, kill all animals...curious chipmunks, annoying seagull, unsuspecting dogs and their owners...don't eat the owners, that's cannibalism...but human skulls do make nice mugs...
Depending on how quickly you work, you could potentially have a roughed out shape sometime in the fall...you'll want to fashion a hand plane at this point, and in true surfer fashion, I can't in good conscience tell you how to do that...you'll need to figure it out on your own...remember to kill animals...you can eat seabirds and other sea life that washes up too...you'll get used to the smell...
Sidebar: You can use fire to speed your wood removal...char the log and remove the burnt material as you go...be careful not to burn too much away...this will also serve to temper, dry and harden your "stick"...get it? Stick, as in log? Anyway, hopefully you read ahead and got this tip before you stupidly chipped all the wood away by hand...
One you have your planer you are ready for final shaping...go for volume and function over style...you don't need a swallow tail or channels or a kick tail...you just want a straight plank...a hull...that will float and you can paddle...although symmetry and style do count for something...you want people to know you're a surfer, right?
Sidebar: Rough stones work pretty good as grinder/sandpaper because you'll want the wood to be as smooth as possible...don't get me wrong you'll probably get some hellacious slivers...but, that's part of the price you pay...you knew the risks...
Once your board is finished it'll still probably be so frickin' heavy you can't even move it...although you'll probably be pretty burly by now from all of the hard work...although, if you haven't been taking regular swims and running underwater with heavy stones for a few months now, you might want to start...practice holding your breath as you walk around until you pass out...that's good practice...
Seal your board by rubbing it with fat from all the animals you caught...you'll probably need to rub it alot...probably to the point where you skin is raw and you have open wounds...surfing is not for the weak of heart...you'll get calluses eventually...
Well, if you can get your board into the water that is a big plus...however, it is winter now and the surf is likely to be pretty big...you need to practice paddling...you probably won't make it out until spring or if you have an unusually small day...but this is an excellent opportunity for conditioning...be careful, getting hit with a board that weighs several hundred pounds in the surf is no picnic...but don't be a kook, hang on to your board at all times...ditching your plank is unacceptable...take your lumps, be a man...a surfer man...
Sidebar: You should have been working on your sealskin wetsuit this whole time...if you haven't, you have really blown it...I almost would recommend bagging it and heading back to society...you've certainly lost my respect...if you have been working in it, kudos to you!
Once you are able to get your board outside the surf line I suggest several long distance conditioning paddles...if there are any offshore islands I recommend paddling out to them...any animals living there are unfamiliar with surfers and you can kill them all...eat lunch there...pile as much as you can onto the board and return to the beach...if, by the offhand chance, you catch a wave...do not stand up...you are not ready...
By summer the waves will have gotten a bit smaller and you are ready to work on 'surfing' your board...paddle out...turn your board and see if you can catch a wave...I would belly ride, knee ride and then attempt to stand...in that order...Pretty much just ride the whitewater straight in...I know it's the mark of a rank beginner...but you're not a surfer yet, anyway...
Once you can catch waves and have figured out how stand up and avoid losing your board...because, remember...under no circumstances is it acceptable for you to lose your board except in the heaviest of circumstances...and no kook cord either...there's a reason I haven't mentioned making one...a) your leg would be dislocated or ripped from your body b) they're gay...
So anyway, your almost there...I forgot...there's also knee paddling, if you didn't figure this out and have been paddling on your belly this whole time...I am laughing at you!...sorry, but I am...
There are many subtleties that you will develop as you progress over the next few years in your cove...you can drag a foot and turn your board...to stay in the 'curl'...you can 'walk the nose'...or perform the 'drop knee turn'...you may even score a 'tube ride'...and since you are learning in complete isolation...you may develop tricks unknown to even ancient Polynesia...pretty cool, huh?
In closing, a few tips...it is alright to be stoked, just don't overdo it...don't hoot on every wave, only the ones that warrant it...don't surf with your legs all spread out, or with your butt sticking out...don't wave your arms for balance, that just looks kooky...you've mastered the basic, now it's time to work on your style...it should be smooth, soulful and unforced...
Finally, the plank works best on a select type of wave...the slow roller...you'll probably want to work on a variety of boards...a short board, a gun, maybe even a swallowtail or a twin keeled fish!...you've got alot of work ahead of you...start shaping and you're a surfer now...welcome
Just stay far away from my home break...
Local Report:
Got out 3 times yesterday. The water was so warm that I took my old 3.3 and cut the legs off and surfed in board shorts and my "shirt". Some of the usually unsurfable beach breaks were oily glassy, making for fats lefts that jacked before they pitched. Stayed out until it was dark, came in cold and exhausted, with my legs worn raw from rubbing on the board. Lots of sea lion and seal activity, all day, up and down the coast.~stiffler
S TO SW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 4 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
Yesterday pretty much a shipwreck conditions-wise.
Checked a spot that actually looked tempting...
But the wind kicked up about noon and blew it to crap.
Looking very miniscule out there today...and dropping.
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 3 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
TONIGHT W WIND 10 KT...BACKING TO S AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 6 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
The report looks promising...the waves aren't.
It's possible it could clean up...but doubtful.
Yesterday's spot was dealing onshore mushy slop.
The week's forecast doesn't look bad though...
5 to 6 foot...but getting a bit windy late week.
W TO SW WIND 15 KT...RISING TO 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 3 FT...BUILDING TO 5 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
W SWELL 5 TO 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT W TO SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
NW SWELL 5 TO 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
DP'ed to a well-known hole in the coast this AM...packed lot of diggers...razor clam season.
No one in the water though...a couple lookers, no takers...with good reason.
Recognized futility when I saw it and opted out...checked a spot I thought might work...jackpot!
Head high left reeling off an offshore rock...hollowing out on the inside bar...some makeable tubes, but not on the 9'6" I brought in error.
Solo...aside from abundant sealife...specifically, the agro local that barked at me and made intimidating leaps in my vicinity.
I picked off my fair share...the sideshore was raging and the paddle out required accurate timing to avoid a thumping.
Would have stayed out...but had to leave after a half dozen waves.
Tide's filling in...hoping for a 2nd go out...don't have high hopes though.
~from the old OSP
SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
Hopefully, the holiday weekend will serve up some fun.
S WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
More Hot Curl action...
S WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
SW SWELL 10 FT AT 9 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE W 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
S WIND 25 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT.
SW SWELL 12 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
SW SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
This shot is from the late 40's (I think)...
Classic, one-man, self-sufficient, and big fish...
Cig in place, rubber-booted, unloading the boat...
At Swamis...
S WIND 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
COMBINED SEAS 9 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 12 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
A series of mysteries entwined...
Separation of fiction from fact...
Indian legends tell of two ships...
A “winged canoe” wrecked on the beach...
Mysterious gift of beeswax...
Native trade with the first settlers...
The other anchored off the Mountain...
Men came and buried a black box...
Killing a man, his corpse upon the chest...
Marked with an hieroglyphic-inscribed stone...
Explorers Lewis and Clark state...
In a group of Clatsop Indians...
A man of lighter color than fellow natives...
Freckles and long red hair indicate...
He “must be half white at least...”
This man or one similar was spotted later...
by A. Henry of the NW Co. of British fur trade...
Journal for December 8, 1813, he states...
The old Clatsop chief arrived [and]...
With him a man about thirty years of age...
Who had extraordinarily dark red hair...
Supposed offspring of the wrecked ship...
Ere the first settlers and 'til today...
Beeswax has long washed ashore...
Clatsops recovered large chunk...
Taking it north to Astoria for trade...
Consistent with beeswax from SE Asia...
C-14 tests show it was formed in 1681...
From 1565 to 1815 galleons sailed...
Between Acapulco & the Philippines...
A ship sailing this route...
Blown off course and wrecked...
With no match to a specific ship...
But possibly the San Francisco Xavier...
Sailed in 1705, recorded as lost...
But of the treasure ship and marking stone?
Legends of treasure until 1890...
Discovery of a two hundred pound rock...
Chiseled with the letter "W" with a 2 crosses...
Below letters "DE" along with eight dots...
And an arrow pointing up the mountainside...
A short distance away, a smaller rock found...
With 2 dots & arrow pointing to a larger stone...
More rocks discovered on the Mountain...
All bearing similar inscriptions...
Glyphic rocks with enigmatic beeswax...
Driving treasure seekers to dig holes..
Earning the name, the “mountain of a 1000 holes...”
Owner of a local tavern in the early 1900’s...
Allowed the search for the treasure on his land...
None ever met with success...
Clearing land in back of the tavern...
Process of blasting a tree stump...
Discovered two crude bronze handles...
Could they be handles from a chest?...
No sign of a trunk or of its contents...
Portland woman interested in the treasure...
On advice of a spiritual medium...
Told to climb the Mountain at sunset...
“...The point at which a line from the setting sun...
Intersected at rt. angles the line that passed due N & S...
Through the middle point on [the mountain's] crown...”
Did as she was told and climbing the mountain...
Calculate the precise spot...
Turned out to be the exact same place...
Of the Taverner's two brass handles years before...
Of course, aside from the handles...
No treasure of any kind was found...
They, along with other treasure seekers...
Believe the stones hold the clue...
2 men claim they have deciphered the riddle...
Mysterious rocks scattered around the Mountain...
While dismantling another stone mound...
Men discover a rectangular stone...
A groove carved on one side measures 36 inches...
The rocks were actually markers...
A survey to stake a claim made in 1579...
By Francis Drake in which he claimed for England...
All land north of 45 degrees north latitude...
Drake made landfall for several weeks...
Along the Pacific Northwest coast...
The exact location has remained a mystery...
That has perplexed scholars for centuries...
The Jodocus Hondius Broadside map of 1595 shows a bay...
Drake identified as Portus Novae Albionis.
The contours of this harbor match closely...
With the coastal outline of Nehalem bay...
Additional mysteries have been uncovered...
Claims of a series of tunnels and chambers...
Containing evidence of human habitation...
Of armor, muskets and even bodies...
What of the original Clatsop Indian accounts...
Of a chest buried with a body placed on top?...
Standard practice for pirates who believed...
Dead men’s ghosts would guard their buried loot...
How would the Clatsop know of such pirate lore...
With no prior knowledge of this gruesome practice?
Could treasure still be lying undiscovered...
On the mountain waiting to be located?...
And what of discoveries of underground tunnels...
It seems that with each mystery solved...
Another rises to take its place...
N WIND 10 KT OR LESS...BECOMING S THIS AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 KT...RISING TO 20 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
NW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
1970...innovation & acid-driven drug-addled design mishaps...
Single-finned thick-hulled stubs with hyper-kicked noses...
Hollow Plastic Fantastics sporting hollow fins...
Spaceage honeycomb technology in place of foam, honey...
Corky Carroll's twin-finned “Space Sticks”, trippy...
Encinitas's Don Hansen “Super Vibes”, California country life...
Greek Downrailer's that “put you right on top” in Surf City...
Kneelos with centerboards, rudders & a speedometer?...
Da Bull wrote in Surfer Mag that year: “The B.S.’ers”...
Laying blame & shame on the makers & shakers, himself included...
Ripping one-uppers of glitz & glam over boards that worked...
"...offences committed in the name of the almighty dollar...”
Matt Dillon's boy took apart the under-gunned Aussies at Johanna...
Along with their extreme shorter-is-better mantra...
Their tiny chips were lost in the fast, powerful barrels...
The gains in maneuverability cost loss of speed...
Single-fins under six were beyond the abilities of but a few...
With the skill and patience to make them work...
Contest surfing gave way to the need of karmic well-being...
And a retreat into acid-inspired black-wetsuit fundamentalism...
Tire-slashing localism isolated prime strongholds...
Innovation was viewed with deep skepticism and dark suspicion...
In Oxnard, the Campbell brothers watched, gathering info...
Their small twin fins encountered parellel speed barriers...
“...advances in surfboard design appear to have reached a plateau,”
But they weren’t giving up on the shortboard...
“...(Rolf) slaughtered ‘em on a seven-foot board,” recalls Duncan...
“...how do we make a 5'6" to 6' board work like a 7' board?"...
Hawaiian surf stylists and designs dominated the surf circus...
While the Campbell's smuggled in design from down under...
Oz surf films served up mind-blowing fuel for speed based design...
Witzig’s 1968 'Evolution', displayed Lynch’s lip-to-base carves...
Wayne and Nat were the new gods of the tribal culture...
Greenough and McTavish carried the torch that lit the way...
Young Duncan glassing pic of Wayne Lynch on his twin-fin...
Shaman...
Duncan in describing the why, said:
"The moves that needed to be replicated...were Greenough,"...
"Off the bottom, laying the rail down and not spinning (out)...
Coming up off the top, full roundhouse cutbacks into the soup...
And then tube riding for as long as you wanted to..."
"That was the future...
We didn’t see it as knee-boarders versus surfers...
We’re looking at maneuvers and Greenough was completely right."...
Right...
November, 1970...the Campbells produce a radical three-fin design...
An adapted 5’4” kneeboard shape cut from a $12 reject blank...
A big, boxy wing-style skeg set close in on a fat squashed tail...
Two long knife-like side-bites rode well forward near the rails...
Canted in approximately seven degrees...
And on the bottom...a glassed image of Felix the Cat...
What magic lies in that bag of tricks?
SE WIND 10 KT...BACKING TO E.
WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
MIXED SWELL SW 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NE WIND 5 KT...BACKING TO N AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
MIXED SWELL W 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
Most rails in use today represent some variation of the down rail. This type of rail best suits the modern surfboard, as the soft, round part of the rail grants holding power in turns. The drag and suction of the water wrapping around the rails keep the board from spinning out easily. The tucked-under bottom edge enables the board to plane faster when driving down the line, as the water flow off of the bottom has a harder time bending over and around the firm edge; it releases straight off at that point, thereby reducing drag.~Dave Parmenter
An over-simplified primer on rail shapes would probably contain these main premises: the lower and harder a rail is, the faster and stiffer it will be. The softer and rounder, the slower and more neutral-handling it'll be. Fuller, boxier rails are harder to sink, so have more potential for leverage. Thinner, tapered rails sink easily, but with less stored energy, are not as likely to leap out of turns.
Naturally, there are many examples of hybrids and compromise applications of the above-named rail types that can be exploited for specific board designs...
SURFERMAG.COM: In a recent Surfer Magazine Interview, Gerry Lopez credited you completely with the invention of the down-rail and called it “the most significant step in modern shortboard evolution.” He basically credited you with a design innovation that, it can be argued, is more important than Simon Anderson’s thruster.~SURFERMAG.COM INTERVIEW: Mike Hynson
MICHAEL HYNSON: Well, that was awfully nice of him (head down, visibly moved by Lopez’s compliment). Yea, I mean, after riding it, I just can’t imagine a surfboard made any other way. It still amazes me that Joel Tudor can take out anything, some 1955 era slug, and ride it just like he’s riding something modern. He makes you think, “what’s the big deal?” But when you go out and try to do it yourself, it’s a whole different story. I can’t get one of those things to go left or right. I get tired just thinking about it. You can’t get it to turn when you want it to and then it’ll turn when you don’t want it too (laughs).
NW WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT W WIND 5 KT...VEERING TO NE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
I was contemplating surfing Clatsop Spit today since I had to be in Astoria at 11am. I got up in the dark and checked it, but it was backing off and mushy so I headed south. I was the first one out...which is always a nice feeling. Caught a handful of little waves before someone else paddled out. It was small enough to surf without a leash...I love the freedom and the way it makes you surf mindfully. Whether you tuck in and hang on in a close out, kick out before it shuts down, or straighten out and grab your board...it just makes you surf differently. I watched others, long and shortboarders, basically perform every variation of awkward wipeouts...trusting their cord to save them a swim.
The waves were mostly waist high and had decent shape...it got a little warbly as the tide changed. By then there were a dozen others out...all on the peak where I was, go figger? So I moved down and surfed an other peak for a bit. It was definitely a longboard kind of day...I saw lots of shortboarders struggle to get into the waves. If you can't catch the wave, you can't ride it...
Local Report:
Got in the water...at 1pm on Thursday and it was so on! Non-stop lefts with consistent chest to head and plenty of snap. Honestly some of the best waves I've had there in months. The NW winds were kicking, but it just seemed to give the waves more shape and hold those shoulders up longer. Caught more waves than I could~smithgrind
keep track of and 90% of them were quality. Incredible.
Less than 24 hours later I returned...It had dropped to knee slapping and toe tapping. ...foulpete simply stated, "This is a waste of time". We agreed to...look for waves...somewhere, anywhere. Two other spot checks nailed our depressive states to a sub-terra level. We remembered a signature Sooloo had which always gave us a chuckle...ANYBODY CHECK XXXXXX? ha ha...I wanted to laugh but my sense of humor had left me on the beach...With grim stone faces we made the corkscrew drive [in] preparing ourselves for the worst. You don't leave shitty waves to look for more
shitty waves...isn't that how it goes? Nasty made a offhanded comment that there was a high sparkle factor...Great. Just what I need right now...a 9'6".
Needless to say, XXXXXX was XXXXXX. Crystal clear water, more swell than
anyplace else we looked at, and a friendly porpoise who seemed to enjoy our company. Granted a unicorn or a mermaid would've really rocked our foundation of reality but, hey...I was happy to see something new and laugh with some friends in the mushy surf.
N WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 15 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Preston "Pete" Peterson...considered California's top waterman in the 1930's... surfer, paddler, sailor, lifeguard, boatbuilder, inventor, stuntman, fisherman, diver...if it involved the ocean, he did it...the first person to paddle from the mainland to Catalina Island, he won the Pacific Coast Surfing Championships 4 times...in 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1941.
Nat Young wrote of a curious Oregon connection: "In 1920, at the age of seven, he [Peterson] acquired his first board. It was 12' long with an 11" wide tail, 18" at its widest point, and made of solid redwood which for some obscure reason had to be shipped from Oregon via Hawaii. It had no rocker, egg-shaped rails, and the redwood planks were held together with lag bolts running inwards from the rails."
C.R. Stecyk writes about a truly impressive Peterson "training exercise" that occurred on November 21, 1939:
"The Palama Kai, a mahogany masterpiece of a boat, and the flagship of the Santa Monica Guards, motors north along the coast. The occasion for this journey is what was euphemistically referred to as a 'training exercise.' On board, Preston 'Pete' Peterson and cohorts scan the horizon scoping out a massive west swell. Malibu and Dume have size, but the tides aren't quite right. Pete is anxious to try out his newly built racing paddleboard, so he convinces his associates to drop him off at the far end of Anacapa Island. Alone, Pete paddles/rides the massive open ocean bumps all the way back to Santa Monica Pier, a distance of over 30 miles. The next day back at the point, Peterson tells the boys, 'Yesterday I figured out how to railroad.' Pete describes gliding on the crest of open ocean swells at high speeds for extreme distances. They surf and later motor the Palama Kai up to the teaming lobster beds north of County Line to capture dinner. Santa Monica Guards trained hard and played harder."
Pete Peterson died in 1983.
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
SW SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Caught some fun ones yesterday...the set waves were maybe a bit bigger than the pic above. Paddled out at extreme low tide...little waves were breaking cleanly, close in only a foot or two of water. Paddled down to a peak that seemed to be breaking a bit further out and picked off a few knee to thigh high warblers. A inshore trench was causing a backwash that made for some curious bumpiness on top of a crossed up south swell. Lots of small double ups and inshore eruptions that resulted in close outs and kiddie pool-depth wipe outs...bounced off the bottom on couple occassions.
The south that was showing usually arrived every 15 minutes or so...showing itself on an outer bar. Paddling hard to get outside for a possible chest-high lined up wave paid off more often than not. The paddle out was easy, since you could wade to the line-up.
The Oregon wind was curiously absent, resulting in rare afternoon glass. As the tide filled in, the waves disappeared. But a couple hours, leashless and solo, in fun little waves was well worth getting wet.
A little side note...the beach was covered with Carpenter Ants, hundreds of the little (big for ants!) buggers. It was hot and they were trying to escape the sun, hiding under anything on the sand. You could almost hear the beach houses getting chewed on.
SW WIND 15 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT IN THE MORNING...NW 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT.
SW SWELL 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 3 FT.
SW SWELL 6 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
3 foot swell...packing up the 9' 6" and looking for an empty peak...
I'll let you know...
Local Report:
...magic five hours just past high tide Tuesday afternoon and evening at the Coast's premiere surf break. No booties, right after right after right dropping you off in the south rip for a free ride back to the lineup. Surfed a borrowed log without a leash, caught so many I quit counting. Shoulder and couple of head highs, wedgy peak that made for a fast drop with lots of speed off the bottom turn to set up for trickiness on the wall. Magical, Magical, Magical. Surfed with good shaper friend and indirectly met TT as she discussed her log on the way from said shaper.~gills
Got intentionally dropped in on by a shortboarder emanating his Kelly Slater-esque wannabee look, but swung the log around, walked up mid board, made a fast line, and cut him off. Slightly more aggressive behavior than I'm accustomed too, but intentional drop-ins piss me off. So, I made him know it. Was good too, as he left the peak right after. All and all a perfect day. Warm, sunny, and waves in spades.
...beautiful afternoon...mostly surfed a left south of xxx...we called it quits when things took a really wierd turn. A big set of lined up closeouts turned the whole thing into a frothy foam bath. Paddling over one, I got smacked in the neck with the lip, which felt like it ripped my head off...I thought maybe it was a reaction to some seismic activity, it was so out of the blue. Up until then, though, it was ideal.~stiffler
...small punchy peak...Punchy and shallow made for some fun drops with good shoulders...more fun than I expected...the wind was on it but it was still fun, the mystery south was hitting it every 10 mins or so. But the west component was better...~gazsurf
NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BACKING TO NW IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
SW SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 3 FT. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
Looking pretty miniscule out there today...although the 14-15 second period may supply a little bit extra?...here's hoping.
A nice big board might be the call today...needless to say.
The above board is a 15'7" and belonged to Chief Paki in 1830...it only weighed 160 pounds...
The board was ridden at Waikiki in the 1830's by high chief Abner Paki, however Tom Blake estimated that the boards may be much older. He initially encountered the boards in the mid-1920's, covered in red paint and hung by wire, outside the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, were they had been for over 20 years. After several requests to the museum's curator, Mr. Bryan, Tom Blake was allowed to remove the boards and restore them to their original unpainted condition. This proved to be a more work than anticipated - the red paint covered several layers of blue paint, and below that layers of a sand coloured paint. Underneath the layers of paint, worm holes had been filled with a marine deck seam compound and on the largest board the tail section had been replaced with Californian redwood. Blake concluded that the boards were probably already antiques by 1830, when Paki had them repaired to ride.~from "Pods for Primates"
DESIGN HISTORY
Very large board's use was restricted, by tradition, to royalty. This may have been due to a heirachical social structure, but it would also restrict access to certain surfing locations and to the largest available trees. Although there are reports that willi willi was the preferred timber, the only two examples from this period are koa. As in the case of the Alaia, it's light weight of made it unlikely that willi willi boards would survive until the 20th century. The only other known example, acquired from the collection of Prince Kuhio in 1800's, is imported pine.
There are no contemporary accounts of how the boards were ridden, but it is most likely that the design was specifically for riding large swells on outside reefs, rather than on breaking or curling waves. In 1961, Tom Blake suggested that the Olo may have been ridden prone.
Surfed XX until evening. Complete crap but if you were lucky you would get one that didn't close out. Small as ever...but the weather was fabulous...even a few people out w/out wetsuits. Contemplated leaving...but didn't and should have.~wanty
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT IN THE EVENING.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
NW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS...BECOMING W 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Another shipwreck reeler...
~care of clau
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
5 foot swell dropping to 4 feet tomorrow...begs the inevitable question...
To Longboard or not to Longboard...
A Central Coast poet surfeate contemplates...
To longboard, or not to: that is the question:~stiffler
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to surf
The chips and squashtails of outrageous design,
Or to take a longboard against a sea of troubles,
And by riding them? To carve: to sweep;
Much more; and by a sweep to say we slide
The nose-ride and the thousand natural thrills
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To drop knee, to glide;
To glide: perchance to be tubed: ay, there's the rub;
For in that tube of emerald what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this leash,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so fruitless a cause;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of miniscule board,
The shaper's wrong, the grom's toy,
The pressure of peers, the take-off's's delay,
The ignomity of waiting on the inside
That patient paddle and duck dive,
When he himself might his finest ride make
With a single bare fin? who would closeouts bear,
To grunt and sweat under a flimsy epoxy,
But that the dread of some board longer,
The unwieldy board from whose joy
No surfer returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those tiny boards we have
Than fly like others that we know not of?
Thus peer pressure and suggestion doth make bovines of us all;
And thus the native hue of the steepened wall
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of 2 and 5/8" foam,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of surfing. - Soft you now!
The fair Smithgrind! Shortboarder, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
N WIND 10 TO 15 KT RISING TO 15 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT...BUILDING TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Looking for some down the line fun?
Hope you find it...
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT...BUILDING TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
There's a common refrain among surfers in Oregon...and probably in many surf communities throughout the world...when asked by an outsider about how the waves are at any given location.
There is no surf in Oregon!
Obviously, if there was no surf...there would be no surfers to deny its very existence.
The pic above is an example of another Oregon non-spot...more likely frequented by RV'ers cruising the coastline...the chance of anyone sampling these waves is slim...the jagged rocks along the edge of the cliff give a pretty good indication of what to expect (or suspect) as to bottom contour.
I surfed a spot like this a few years back...because it was working...dodging boils and a few exposed rocks, I picked off a few warbly waves...only to rewarded with a snapped off skeg that snagged a hidden rock... miraculaously, I didn't bounce off the same crag.
Cold, Fickle, Sharky...and Rocky.
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
NW SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
NW SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
It's dropping...
Wind speed...dropping...
Swell...dropping
Wind waves...dropping...
Although the period remains the same...
Some fun ones out there yesterday...
N WIND 10 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 20 TO 25 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
STRONGEST WINDS S OF CAPE FALCON.
WIND WAVES 2 FT BUILDING TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Strongest winds south of Cape Falcon...truer words were never spoken.
It wasn't the windiest day ever, but the breeze was pretty stiff.
Holding up the lefts to some extent, and blowing the right flat.
Paddled out about noon, solid swell closing out on the bar.
Dodged a few bombs, rewarded with screaming down the line lefts.
Some really solid peaks were showing, but it was tough getting in.
Blown out the back more than once, spin and go was the call.
Found a barrel or two in between close outs, inner bar mayhem.
How far do you push it?...a little more, one more cut...thump!
As the tide went out, the left wedged and lined up more consistently.
Scratched hard into an outside peak, reeled through to the shallows.
Wasn't going to get better than that so called it a session.
Although dripping dry on the beach cancelled that decision.
Paddled out for a few more...
A pretty unreal artist...
And a surfer too...
NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
Rick Griffin
Richard Alden Griffin (June 18, 1944 - August 18, 1991) was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. He was also a contributor to the underground comix movement whose work appeared regularly in Zap Comix. Griffin was closely identified with the Grateful Dead, having designed some of their best known posters and record jackets. He was also known for his work within the surfing subculture, including his comic strip about a surfer named "Murphy" (aka "Murph the Surf").
Griffin was born near Palos Verdes amidst the surfing culture of southern California. After attending high school, he worked on the staff of Surfer magazine where he created his surfing comic strip. In Los Angeles, Griffin met a group of artists and musicians known as the Jook Savages and participated in the Watts Acid Test held by Ken Kesey.
After seeing the psychedelic rock posters that were being designed by Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly, Griffin and the Jook Savages decided to move to San Francisco in the fall of 1966, where he designed posters. His first art exhibition was for the Jook Savages, but organizers for the Human Be-In saw his work and asked him to design a poster for their event in January 1967. Chet Helms was also impressed by Griffin's work and asked him to design posters for the Family Dog parties at the Avalon Ballroom, which led Griffin to create concert posters for The Charlatans. Eventually, a poster distribution agency by the name of Berkeley Bonaparte hired Griffin, where he teamed up with the leading poster artists of the 1960s.
In 1991, Griffin was killed in a motorcycle accident in Petaluma, California.
~from Wikipedia
SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT...BECOMING NW 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
That's right...things look pretty much like a shipwreck out there.
About the pic...
On Sunday, 20 January 1963, 23 men and a puppy were rescued by breeches buoy from the Lebanese registered cargo steamer, Adelfotis II after it ran aground at South Shields' North Foreshore. This thirty-four year old ship (6224 tons) had left Middlesborough bound for Antwerp on the previous day in order to pick up a cargo of steel coils for delivery to Spain. However, on travelling southbound down the coast passed Whitby, she encountered force 9 North Sea gales, problems ensued, and by 4 a.m. on Sunday morning the Adelfotis II found herself north of where she had started from, at the mouth of the Tyne.
Captain Nicolas Leondaris recognised the harbour from a previous visit six weeks earlier, and decided to run for shelter in the Tyne. At the wheel was 28 year old, second officer, Leondaras Papaskeys. They negotiated the Tyne piers without a pilot on board as the weather was too bad to take one on, but the Adelfotis II veered starboard and struck the Black Midden Rocks at Tynemouth, the scene of many a shipwreck. She rebounded and was swept across the mile wide harbour, going aground at Herd Sands, South Shields.
The huge waves drove her 300 yards along the sands during the next seven hours. In danger of capsizing, her radio call for help was answered by the South Shields and Sunderland volunteer life brigades. Tugs could not get near, and a line was shot onto the ship. Within two hours all of the 23 Greek crew were rescued, and also Manuella, a two month old smooth haired terrier, brought ashore tucked in the jacket of third engineer, John Politis. None of the crew were injured, but all suffering from exposure having been immersed several times in the stormy sea.
South Shields hospitality was as expected, about a hundred people turned out to help. Hot tea was provided by the local people throughout the rescue. Mrs Elly Tearney of Grotto Gardens got an unexpected early morning call from the local police asking for her help. Mrs Tearney, a native of northern Greece was asked if she could act as translator, and was whisked away to the Ingham Infirmary to meet the rescued crewmen. On her arrival there were already seven Greek seamen at the infirmary, and Mrs Tearney did a splendid job of translating their accounts of what had happened.
~from Carol Green's Geordie website
Walter rides a longboard made of solid Western Red Cedar, he made himself. The fin is a 16" slow taper felling wedge he drove in the bottom.
He wears caulk boots, and no wetsuit, and a stocking cap. He leaves his tin pants on the shore, and has a 12' choker sling for a leash.
I've seen him swim out with three commercial crab pots on the nose of his board, and come in after surfing with a bag limit of Dungeness...
His head, face and hands are tanned dark brown, but the rest of his body is white like the underside of a flounder...
Once, I saw him drift the river with a fly-pole, run out the mouth, and surf into the beach there by Mo's with a big silver under his arm.
~thanks to stiffler
Here's what Walter is looking at...
~thanks to team kook
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT...BACKING TO NW IN THE AFTERNOON...
EXCEPT SOUTH 10 TO 15 KT WITH A FEW GUSTS 20 TO 25 KT NEAR SHORE THIS MORNING.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 20 KT...EASING TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
Generally not alot of takers here.
Wanna surf it? Sack up...
Quintessential Oregon break...
Rocky...difficult access...long paddle...
And, of course...
Cold...fickle...sharky...
Enjoy.
Local Report:
...went out to a funny little spot and it was alot bigger than it looked from the road. Got a drop, pulled over the back before it closed, sat and watched a while, and then paddled in. getting out on the rocks I cut my foot, about a 3.5-4" gash.~stiffler
NE WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT EXCEPT 10 TO 15 KT NEAR SHORE EARLY
...BACKING TO N IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 15 TO 20 KT.
GUSTS TO 25 KT IN THE EVENING.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Saw a little of this type action on Tuesday...
Swell dropping today and tomorrow...
Although the weekend and next week looks to build...
Surf on.
N WIND 20 TO 25 KT...RISING TO 25 TO 30 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
COMBINED SEAS 9 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 25 TO 30 KT...EASING TO 20 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
COMBINED SEAS 9 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS...
SUBSIDING TO 7 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Figured since I was on the Mike Doyle subject I might as well post another "caveman" shot...this is a shot for an ad in the 60's.
Chum from Sissy Fish said...
Great pic. Had a beer with him last time I was in Mex and he talked some good story about living in Oregon for several years. My favorite thing he said was: "On maps Oregon seems like it would have so many great surf spots, but when you actually go there, there's always big rock in the middle of it!" He then went on to say that there are more good breaks in San Diego county than the whole Oregon Coast. But I reminded him that there are less surfers in the state of Oregon than in La Jolla alone, so it kind of balances out.
N WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 10 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 20 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
COMBINED SEAS 11 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.
Combined seas and dominant periods!
It's coming from different directions, from different sources at different periods...could be a mess, we'll see.
Mike Doyle striking his classic "caveman" pose...warming himself by the fire.
Local Report:
Windblown slop pretty much everywhere...~doc
XX looked...ok...but small low tide rights with 8 guys on it really wasn't calling...
Decided on the first south facing cove I get to...if it was crap, so be it...
Got down about 1...looked pretty fun actually, confirmed by Ms. Toes...
There were about 6 people out on it...paddled out at middles to the south of the pack...picked off a few waist high peaks...it was blowing but not too hard
After about 1/2 an hour everyone headed in except me and another...he was south, I was north and it was wave after wave after wave...easy paddle out...I don't think I took one wave on the head in the first 2 hours...we had it to ourselves for over an hour...sunny, offshore, pretty clean, waist to chest high and empty...
About then, the afternoon shift arrived and it went from peaceful soul to kook chaos...headed further south rather than battle for the peak I had been on...still plenty of fun ones coming through...
...good and fun. Surfed ALONE for 3 hours in the a.m...little protected spot, blowing hard offshore, chest high waves. Just perfect, really. Where the heck is everyone? Ran into doc on my way out; there were about 4 people getting into the water as I left. Crazy. First time ever being completely alone for that long. Wow! Sooooo great.tippy toes
NW WIND 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT.
NW SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 6 FT.
NW SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Wind is swinging outta the North and holding through tomorrow...Question is: Will it groom the waves hitting south facing beaches or will 20 to 25 knots blow it all to hell?
Protection is the key...
