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Monday, July 27, 2009

11th Annual Cape Kiwanda Classic

10 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 9:39 PM


N WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. SWELL NW 6FT AT 8 SECONDS.
Yo!
This contest goes to 11...
Is ON for August 1st and 2nd 2009...
Held on the beach (well, in the water)...
In Pacific City, Oregon...
The contest is for longboards 9 feet and up...
Contestants will be judged on three criteria...
Size and quality of wave...
Length of ride, and...
Maneuvers the rider can complete...
Running six man heats...
With 9 age divisions...
The top six finishers in each division...
Earn a great unique trophy...
This is a family oriented, community sponsored event..
Featuring great commentators...
Loaded with lot’s of cool stuff!
Go...
Now...
Or wait 'til Saturday.

 

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Trouble Alot

7 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 10:05 PM

NW WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 7 SECONDS.

There's a reason I don't bring my wife to the beach much...
She doesn't surf...
And she doesn't have the same concept of time...
Especially surf time...
I once made the mistake of leaving her with a newborn...
For a mere four hours...
She seemed mad when I came in and it was still good...
Still get reminded of that one...
I tell her that I'll only be out for a bit...
And I mean it...
It's just that time is relative...
Especially if the waves are good.

 

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Best Laid Plans

5 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 9:04 PM

N WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. NW SWELL 2 FT AT 6 SECONDS.

Often go astray...
Yesterday I saw a bump...
This infernal 2 foot swell...
Supposedly was jumping to 4...
Of course it didn't happen...
But that's another story...
Anyway, I knew it was gonna be hot...
So I packed up last night...
And I knew it was gonna be small...
So I packed a really long board...
And I knew it might be too small...
So I packed a fishing pole & tackle...
Figured I'd at least get wet...
Surf if possible and fish off the board if not...
Got up early, coffee'd up...
Get in the car and start 'er up...
Squealing noises & smoke out the vents...
Quick inspection of the engine...
I know how to open the hood...
But that is the extent of my mechanical skills...
Call my mechanic, he's in early...
"Bring it in I'll take a look"...
I start it up, the squealing & smoke is gone...
But no power steering, just turn wrasslin'...
Get it there, high hopes of a quick fix...
No such luck...
Stuck deep in the valley...
Sweaty and pissed and no car...
No surfy for me til Monday...
At least the swell's supposed to bump by then.

 

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Monday, July 13, 2009

Get Things Done

6 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 5:31 PM

W WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 7 SECONDS.

Jeezus!
2 foot at 7 seconds...
All weak long...
I forsee many projects...
Getting completed.



 

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Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Capes and Heads

2 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 10:25 PM


"SMALL SWELL TRAINS WILL COME...
FROM THE SOUTHWEST AND NORTHWEST...
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS."
And we'll go from a 12 second period to an 8 second one but...
Whaddya gonna do?
You take what you get...
And you get what you take.
But I digress...
This post was about capes and headlands.
Seems like Oregon Capes are named for...
Indian tribes, Spaniards and misery...
Well, there's other things...
But those are the more interesting ones...
Anyway...
We'll start in Washington...
Which is essentially Oregon...
Part of the Oregon Territory...
I haven't forgotten...
Cape Disappointment...
Sets a nice tone of despair and depression...
And also typically the result of surfing anywhere near it...
Tillamook Head...
Named for the Killamook tribe...
How'd they spell it so wrong?
Also a tasty cheese...
Arch Cape...
Boring, but I presume there was an arch there...
Cape Falcon...
I have never seen a falcon there...
Neahkahnie Cliffs...
Maybe not a cape...
But pretty impressive...
Cape Meares...
Named for an explorer...
Chapman Point...
Thought I'd throw a point in there...
Cape Lookout...
It could use a better name...
Cape Kiwanda...
Again, an Indian tribe...
I think Cape Epicenter would be a better name...
Cape Foulweather...
Discovered on a bad day...
Cape Ferrelo, Blanco, Etc.
I've lost intrerest...
This was too big a topic.

 

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Monday, July 06, 2009

A Year Ago

2 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 8:55 PM


W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. NW SWELL 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE SW 5 FT AT 16 SECONDS.

It was a year ago today...

That Cole Ortega's arm was severed...

By a prop of a Pacific City dory...

By all accounts Cole is doing well...

Hucking big air in pipes at Bachelor...

The fleet seems far more aware...

Although the surfers are still largely clueless...

I don't mean that in any nasty way...

Other than it seems to be true...

Clearly the locals and able surfers...

Seem to respect the dorys, the ocean & even each other...

But a handful continue to be oblivious...

Not moving out of the way when horns blast...

Dropping in blatantly on waves already taken...

I'm glad Cole's doing good...

It's a miracle in many ways...

Hopefully the lesson won't be utterly lost with time.

 

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Friday, July 03, 2009

Learning to Surf

0 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 6:59 PM


I never had a lesson...
I truly don't recall a time I was trying to surf...
I don't have memories of wanting to be a surfer...
I grew up a stone's throw from the beach...
I was immersed in the culture from age 5...
I would probably be a better surfer "skillwise"...
If I ever would focus on improving...
But instead, it was only about being...
Being on the beach, being in the water...
I never needed to learn...
Now I'm trying to teach...
How crazy is that?
And how pointless I often wonder...
Would my "student" be better off left alone?
As I was...
To find their own way...
To surf and become a surfer...
Or not?

 

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Zen

3 comments Posted by Wave Farmer at 11:46 AM


N WIND 10 TO 15 KT...WITH GUSTS TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 3 FT. NW SWELL 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
I went and listened to Jaimal Yogis read excerpts from his book "Saltwater Buddha"...
As I mentioned I read the book and enjoyed it...
I also liked listening to another surfer's take on the act...
Listening without commenting or interupting or adding...
As you would in a typical interaction with another surfer...
A comment from the previous post asked for an honest review of the book...
And to be completely honest I can only say I enjoyed the book...
It's reading did not involve any earth shattering revelations for me...
Nor do I expect that that was Yogis' intent or expectation...
Rather, the book is a series of small tales of his journey in life...
Some tales address surfing, some zen, some just daily struggles & successes...
Yogis' karmic progression from aspiring Buddhist monk...
To Ocean Beach surf bum (his words)...
His growing recognition of the nature of waves, surf & zen...
The conflicts, self doubt and overcoming fear...
Were the parts of the book I enjoyed the most perhaps...
His journey, as are all of our journeys, was a different path than mine...
But no less or more valid, compelling, interesting or boring...
Finding one's way in the world and to have surfing as part of it...
Is as much a gift as it is a curse...
Depending on which way the wind is blowing...
Whether a storm is raging near or far from home...
Whether you can let a perfect wave pass...
Or give it to another without rancor or regret...
If you can accept imperfection as perfection...
In your life as much as in your surfing...
I don't know if this qualifies as a review...
Here's an excerpt from "Saltwater Buddha" that Jaimal read from:

So I tried to let my judgments dissolve. For the rest
of the evening, as the leathered man and I exchanged
waves, I tried to be a five-year-old in my mother’s garden
with a fairy-catching net. And maybe it was the
lighting, or the power of suggestion, or the adrenaline
that Third Bay catalyzed. But for brief moments that
evening, it almost seemed like each thing around
me—not just the clouds, but the stones, the trees, the
wind—was a living organism.
“You have to ask permission when you come in
here,” the man said, paddling back toward me.
“Some people don’t. They get washed up on the
rocks.”
Bobbing on the fingertips of Kanaloa, his words
carried some gravitas.
I asked permission.

 

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