E's Surf Report

Not all things have a purpose. What's the purpose of the moon? I'm just trying to get by in life with the least amount of aggravation and learn about things that interest me.

Work sucks. It really gets in the way of life. If I had enough money to get by within the comfort level I have chosen for myself, I wouldn't work another day of my life. I would like to do something (minimal) to help others along the way someday. Basically though, all I really want to do is surf.

What is the point of life?

So that you can ask the quesiton, silly.

That painting looks like photos of Blakestah from this last winter. If so, that would be Doof's board making the drop in the painting.

Doof made a few drops this morning on it, but no where near as pretty.

Felt like April out there.

first post in ages. my hat's off to you heads who hit it despite the April-like conditions. as for me, i had a great time carving reeling walls at Pancak* Point. happy Friday, all!

Well, you got one more ride then me, then. I did mid-beach and saw only one other surfer out; light blue board. Paddle harder than I expected; waves harder to get into than I expected. But glad enough to get the workout and some splashing around.

"the secret of life is enjoying the passing of time"
- james taylor
go surf
chron sucked this morning
ok to name names if it sucked and it sucked

the secret of life is snjoing the passing of time
-james taylor

go surf

Costa Rica- Nicoya Peninsula
I am headed there at the end of next month with my lady and was hoping that y'all mugh have some suggestions as where to stay/surf/eat. Basically any help would be great.

Thanks

(aggressive and angry post that was deleted)

Viva La Raza!

i enjoyed your comments this morning by E-

Life is a mess of messiness, what is the point?

I have started to try meditation to clean out brain fantoms. Too much anxiety and nerosis.

Am I going to be on my deathbed and think, "what was that all about"-

anyhow surfing is fun and healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And OB surfers are the coolest, most mellow peeps. I have surfed all over and most surfers are assholes.

Although surf rage has likely been around as long as there have been surfers, only recently has it been identified as a new and upcoming type of rage. Until recently, the non-surfing population did not even know surf rage existed. Many empirical studies have been done on road rage, but none thus far on surf rage. The main focus of this study is to provide a starting base for a serious examination of surf rage. The focus of this study will be the effects of surf conditions and the home territory of the surfer on surf rage. A large group of male surfers were examined in their home counties on a good surf day, and then again on a bad surf day. They were then taken to another beach that is not in their county. They were observed again on a good and then a bad surf day. Where and when surf rage occurred was noted.

It was hypothesized that if the conditions are good, and the surfer is not on his home territory, then aggressive behavior from local surfers would occur. This is exactly what happened. When the surfers were taken out of their home counties on a good surf day, the local surfer were aggressive towards the non-local surfers. These results show that even though the beaches are technically free with access rights to anyone, there are still unspoken and unwritten territorial laws being observed by locals. Perhaps state legislature should be enacted to make it quite clear that anyone is free to surf on any beach they wish without consequence.

Surf Conditions and Home Territory Effects on Surf Rage

Turf wars between gangs are common enough in Southern California, but turf wars between surfers receive rather less publicity. Now a series of violent confrontations between surfers objecting to others they see trying to muscle in on their waves has led to a debate within the surfing community over who rules the waves.

This territorial issue amongst surfers is not exclusive to the California coastline. It can be seen on almost every surf beach in the world. For many years, on any coast, there have been disputes, some violent, when surfers from outside an area try to surf at a different beach where they are usually not welcome. However, to the non-surfing world, surfing has a simple, loose, laid-back image. Therefore, there has been little publicity of this terror on the waves, until lately, when the first book entitled “Surf Rage” by Nat Young hit book shelves. Now the non-surfing world is starting to get a glimpse of what really occurs on the waves.

Recently, surf rage has been compared most closely with road rage. This is likely because road rage is the most commonplace type of rage the average person experiences on a daily basis. Lawton and Nutter (2002) questioned whether people really do become more aggressive behind the wheel. They put a 15 question survey on the internet, and found that although levels of frustration did not differ between driving and non-driving situations, people were more likely to act aggressively while driving than when in non-driving situations. This study can be very easily converted to a surf rage survey, simply place “on the board” in place of “behind the wheel”. Deffenbacher, Oetting, and Lynch (1994) researched how anger affected drivers and their safety records. They studied freshman at a good-sized college. The students were asked to imagine driving situations, and then rate the amount of anger they felt. Deffenbacher, et al. found that men were more angered by police presence, while women were more upset with illegal behavior while on the road. Again, it would be fairly easy to alter this study in order to make it a study of surf rage.

In light of Nat Young’s book, many reputable magazines have been running articles on this newest form of rage. In December 2000, The New York Times Magazine ran a story called “Rules of the Waves”. It described the various atrocities that are occurring on the beaches around the nation and world. The story putsblame for the violence on the overcrowding of beaches and the slow deterioration of these beaches, be it from pollution or natural erosion.

In September 2002, People Magazine did an article on Tim Banas and his son Tommy. They reenacted a recent situation that took place when Tim and Tommy decided to go surfing in Palos Verdes, away from their home of Hermosa Beach. Prior to even putting on their wet suits, a group of locals demanded to know where they were from. When Tim told them, the locals began throwing rocks, yelling for them to go home. Tim suffered a severe knee injury, enough to keep him out of work for several months.

As depicted in these two recent articles, surf rage is on the rise, and should be considered a serious issue. People are getting hurt and property is being destroyed. There is enough evidence to warrant a scientific investigation into what causes surf rage and how it can be avoided. This study should help support a subsequent investigation. It is theorized that surf rage occurs when a surfer from another beach comes and attempts to surf on a beach that is not considered their home territory.

One of the independent variables in this study is the surfer’s home territory. It is hypothesized that there will be more surf rage directed at a non-local surfer than a local surfer. The other independent variable is the weather. It is hypothesized that surf rage will be greater when the weather is good. When the conditions are bad, fewer people are surfing; therefore there is less of a territorial issue at hand. There is an interaction predicted between surf conditions and local status. If the surf conditions are good (as opposed to bad), an even greater increase in surf rage directed at non-local surfers will occur.

Study Methodology - Participants

For this study, there were approximately 60 subjects. These subjects were random male surfers. Males were chosen for this study because, although females surfers are aggressive, they are not as likely to invoke aggressive behavior as are male surfers, which almost 90% of all surfers are male. In order to recruit these surfers, the observer went to the beach and randomly ask surfers if they would like to earn free surf t-shirts and a ride to another beach in exchange for a couple hours of the author observing them surf at this other beach. There was no anticipation of any difficulty in gaining cooperation from these males.

Study Methodology - Materials and Measures

Materials used in this study included any and all surf gear, provided by the subject. This gear included, but was not limited to: surf boards, a wet suit, rash guard, leash, wax, towels, hoods, etc. Observations included not only pen and paper, but also a video camera lest any extreme cases of surf rage occur. The camera was not be used in such instances to prevent evidence of provocation and reaction in case criminal charges are brought against any individuals.

Study Methodology - Design and Procedure

The study lasted several weeks. The two independent variables for the study were the surfer’s home territory (manipulated) and the surf conditions. The dependent variable was the local surfers’ aggressive behavior towards the non-local surfer. The operational definition for the independent variable is: either the surfer will be from a different beach and county than on which he is surfing, or he will be from the same beach and country on which he is surfing. In order to accomplish these two levels, the observed surfer, local to beach “A” and county “A” was observed at beach and county “A”, then taken to beach and county “B”. The operational definition for surf conditions was considered “good” when the swells reach or exceed 3-6 ft and not blown out (when the wind is blowing off shore, then the waves will crest backwards, also known as “blown out”), they will be considered “bad” if the swells are under 3 foot, over 10 foot, or blown out. Aggressive behavior is defined as yelling, gestures, negative comments, or unwelcome physical contact between two or more surfers.

During this study, surfers were observed from in the water and on the beach on good and bad surf days at both their home territory and also on beaches not within their county. The surfers were asked only to surf as they would on a regular daily basis, not trying in any way to provoke fighting amongst other surfers simply for the cause of this study. The researcher watched the day’s surf session and recorded any aggressive behaviors as defined above.

Results

As hypothesized, the most amount of surf rage was found when the surf conditions were good and the surfer was not in his home county. There was also aggressive behavior observed in non-local surfers on bad condition days, but not as much as on good surf days.

When observing surfers in their home counties, surf rage could be observed, but not against the surfer being observed, rather against non-local surfers. This reinforces our hypothesis. Another phenomenon observed was that when surfers were being harassed for surfing out of their counties, it was always males exchanging words or action. If there were females present, they never became involved nor were ever provoked.

Conclusions

Surf Rage is definitely becoming more and more of a problem. As the beaches get more crowded and more polluted, more surfers will be forced into smaller areas. This is bound to cause more problems. The state of California is considering enacting the Open Waves Act which states: "no person, regardless of residence, lineage, social status or other reason, may lawfully claim the right to a wave". The act will carry a three month prison sentence if violated.

Surfers are more worried about what will happen if there are more battles as to who rules the waves. They fear that the law will step in and require surfing licenses (like fishing licenses) or liability insurance (like car insurance). However, one change that is occurring in the surfing world is the increasing number of women surfers. As observed in this study, women are not as likely to provoke nor invoke aggression, and some male surfers did express concern over acting like a jerk in front of female surfers. This could be a solution for the surfing world, cutting back on the number of surf rage incidents by increasing the number of female surfers.

wow!...i'm so glad that Dickey is back. i just can't WAIT to read the onslaught of back-and-forth hating and threats.

i remember when this blog was a bunch of stoked guys (with a few posters of the finer sex thrown in for good measure) just pumped about surfing.

sigh...

There, there it is: the point of life is nostalgia.

No, that's not it.

Think to the instant before you thought of the question, not the reason for asking it.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Fossil%20Find

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Scientists are marveling at a fossil find in California's San Joaquin Valley that has produced the remains of a never-before-seen badger-like creature and a monstrous predator that looks like a cross between a bear and a pit bull...

E, PLEASE GO TO PASSWORD ONLY. The negative vibe is like cancer.

y'all are too hypersensitive to anything said that doesn't stroke your little unit. what the hell is wrong with you? way too PC, or what?

Snide, cocky, non-pc, snappy, arogant surfers were a part of the northern california scene long before 1998 and the dot com migration. Try being a goofy footer over 6'0" and surf south swell stockton ave some time. You'll see it still exists. It pushes some, entertains others, scares and intimidates the weak.

Hey e! Saw you drive by, dejected like, while I was hopping over the highway from Kook City. Almost hollered and waved, but was feeling conspicuous enough. You should DP Kook City when you're solo and conditions are lousy, we always find some fun regardless.

Sorry I missed you on the outside, Kloo - suited after you and paddled into a secondary rippish spot closer to your position...never would have caught up via the first place, that was a nice north current. But d'oh ended up on relentless treadmill instead of the conveyer belt. Saw blue board too, I think we all got left at the same time. Paddled for over an hour, lost count of duckdives! Tired.

a little mp3 from my new band

I'm pretty sure the painting is based on this picture by Mr SurfHumor.

Which is not me, but Joe Hill IIRC.

nice e, chill

thx bagel

e...cool little tune. btw...what's the name of the new band?

e, like the jam.

so many more important things to get angry about in this world. keep it in perspective.

yeah.. i didn't see ya shark bait.. Next random day (conditions-wise) i'll jump in with you and kloo.. rad!

im pretty sure everyones pissed because of that sinking feeling that its actually spring, our SF fantasy land of the past few months and the richmond and sunsets are about to turn into a steven king style beach town..i actually felt a little sick to my stomach thinkging about it yesterday..

new band is called "Open Realm"

i'm kindof a bit player in it..

bagel - you love summertime SF!! admit it!

I'm no Nostradomis, or Blakestah... but. I haven't lost hope yet. The air is weird this year and the storms different. I think there will be some surprizes yet. I also think that bitterness and anger are here even when the waves are good. It's like once the door is open. Everything and everyone comes through. Plus March and April and May and June and July and August are GREAT skate months. I'm down for small wheel venues... redwood city, sunnyvale (sp?), crocker, night street seshes through the city. claridon on down with the big wheels and anywhere else. Kindness KILLS. USE IT!

one time there was this local arse in the california region at this spot that was secret. he was always giving it out... funny thing was that he was from P.V. Just brought it on up. Anyway, the funny part of this story... he just so happened to wait tables at this fancy little spot. i remember thinking... should tip him well? or not? i forget what my decision was... but funny to be dishing it out before your shift and kissing it during. most times the world is smaller than you think... anyway, thats my second little diatribe for the day. work is callling...

oh, i hecka admit it, well the summertime that we get up here at least..fair weathered surfer all the way 1/2 mile long paddles aint for me and the only thing i charge is my cell phone..if i could skate it would be wikid..hoping for the best preparing for the worst i think...i claimed the season was over like 2 weeks ago and the day after it was offshore and fabulous..

but im no gary radnich

Glad you got the art.
Mr. Surfhumor gave me permision to paint picture.
Not sure of the surfers name.
Hopefully painting will be made into poster in future.
www.surfingartists.com/

if you want to see more of my art :
www.stephenreichart.com/

Mahalo E for putting my art on your site!
Blakestah are you sure its not you?
If you got any sick pics of you at Hi-res maybe i can paint them?

nice jam

add a chorus and a bridge and then you may have a song

I hope that keys player had a loop function on his rig...

E, you sound good. Felt you had more to add but held back a bunch. Would like to hear some tunes where you really let it rip.

confirmation on that painting picture. it's local ripper/charger joe hill.

currently in peru. joe, see you in chile come april.

Thanks Steve for the painting.. it's rad!

thanks for the comments kookdom.. yeah.. i know.. i thought the keyboardist was massively repetitive. I kept waiting for her or the bassist to switch it up. She's kind-of the leader so we were following her trip. That was just a freestyle jam. Would be cool to build a few more parts around it. You're right that i was just laying back in the cut, so to speak. It was the first time i ever jammed with this crew so i was keeping it mellow and trying to sure up the groove.. rather than spaz and go crazy on top of everything. I'll see if i can find some spazzy explosive guitar shit. though.. i'm not much of a shredder.

Yeah, I talked to doof after posting, and checked Bruce's site. That is a nice sequence, the painting is of the first shot of 5. The booger in the sick sequence just below was getting ready to head out as I changed into street clothes this am.

Reich - you could start a new cottage industry for vanity paintings from photos.

I've got a 5 shot sequence of my own from bruce, that I have thought about how to bring into something to hang on the wall.

I enjoyed the jam e.

Don't know about bars, tone, or tune.....but I do know grooves and your little group found one.

Friend #1,
Send me a picture of your sequence.
sreich@rgj.com, i will see if its worth painting?
Do you have Bruce's email? I wanted to send him a jpeg of the art.

thanks Tom!

here are a few more from back in the day.
This one is from a band called Spee. It's me on guitar and my friend on the Akai
Doomed Megalopolis

this is a random ditty that i put together in 2000
using rebirth and my friend on Didg
Didg Musings

repost for anyone who missed it last night....

http://elporto.com/index.php/1-20-05/303/0/

ahhhh that was a great month in the southbay!

sick video. that longboarder was charging!

i am kinda into that little didg tune e. clean and fun.

it's crazy how after you hear yourself for the first couple of times how tone becomes an obsession huh?

you are using a tube screamer, wah and the fender amp yeah? solid combo IMHO.

That longboarder is Mr. Tyler Hatzikian.

Shaper and ripper.

Exploiters, angry locals, channeling dead surf enigmas. It could only be in SF. I love it here.
Increase your peace!

Hatzikian....that's the dude in the Singlefin: Yellow film. i'm not a longboarder but I really liked the concept and vibe of that film.

yo e - Just completed my long hunt for a Fender Rhodes Mark II (1979) today. It's now sittin' in my stude. Now I just need to the Fender Twin to go with it. Let's jam.

didj dude is alright but he needs to get his circular breathing down. tell him to give me a call.

pimp it hard in 05

egp

MMMmmm, Fender Rhodes are the best. Let me know if you ever need drums to fill in. Love the sound of the Rhodes in 70s soul jazz--even tho' all that sh*t's been sampled to no end.

That photo of Joe Hill dropping into that OB macker was shot the same day the El Porto vid was..what a day!

thats one of the best ob shots around, nice bruce and joe hill, up there with that one of the huge wave and the houses that was on the cover of base mag..those shots of redondo were good too

Too bad I'm not in SF anymore or I'd take you up on it, Amigo. The new band will be strictly rhodes, bass and drums kickin' it live and keepin' it real old school style. jazz mostly but funk, soul too.

burn one now!

egp

HAHA.. Some grumpy pacifica bitterly told me to "paddle to the shoulder" (which I was already doing) when I was duck diving the white water. He should've gone. I'm a big boy, I know how to duck-dive under him. I just smiled and kept paddling. That painting is really good!

I eant to say "some grumpy pacifica local"

E, You get some nice throaty sounds from your guitar. Cool.

Cancer. What a pussy - no wait, better yet, -. Let's eat some pussy!!!!
THAT painting could use some work ( see: Robert Bechtel at MOMA this month for technique) and never sign or put your whacky signature on the front of a masterpiece. Painting it on like that, all obvious in the L hand corner and shit. Overall art rating from me is a big fat 6. Not bad overall, it's the subject matter that bites.
oH God Rapestah You GotTa GET REAL!
And to all of you Niceness peeps. See how it is.Oh no wait...

Get real??

Whatjou talkin bout willis?

test

As posted before the Southern Oscillation Index remains well in the negative range (as it has since February 3rd). Of note though, it is going even deeper into the negative range with a daily values of -40, -50, -50 -49 Tuesday through Friday (2/25), the deepest in recent years. Strong northwest winds still blowing over the equator from well west of the dateline eastward to 165W. Surface water temperatures are on the rise again averaging 1-2 degree C above normal in this region. This is likely a renewed cycle of the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), which is supporting storm development we're seeing in the North Pacific. Another Kelvin wave has developed, perhaps the strongest of the season with temperature 4 degrees C above normal tracking east at a depth of 150 meters just east of the dateline pushing towards the South American coast. El Nino is making a late season surge, as was expected.

Bottomline: It ain't over!!!! Remember last April? Yeah, it sucked right?

Been skiing in Arizona. I'm very concerned to return and read Kaiser giving lectures on the Oscillation Index. I used to rely on him for donut reviews. Parenthood? Sleep deprivation?

Having seen the aftermath of several people drowning with one gnarly VFW riptide, this freaked me out for a year and a half, I can't stress how important it is to keep an eye on each other out there. I have even assissted with pulling a drowned homeless guy out of the water on a three foot sunny day and can honestly say don't take OB for granted even on the most mellow day- you will get your ass handed to you.
Good job Pez, I am not mad at you for dropping in on me last week anymore. You can have all the waves you want.