E's Surf Report

Yesterday had to be some of the best surf of spring in my few years of surfing OB. Spoke to a lot of vets and they concurred.

As far as the progression and one's level of surfing goes...dont trip....as long as your surfing...who cares if someone can bust air, tear apart a lip, or catch some bombs...its our connection and acknowledement of the sea that is of value...performance surfing just feeds into our some of our egos and at times can cloud how we should be relating to the surf and nature...I think was alluding to this before...surfing can teach us to have a relationship lacking in other parts of our lives...surfing is more than a practice, discovery, or activity....the act of surfing has the potential to transform our being and provide us with more satisfaction and understanding than most can imagine...I think its having compassion about surfing and nature that makes one a surfer and as evident in your dialogue E that you are an extra ordinary surfer indeed....SURF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A frustrating Saturday midmorning (I brought the wind down south with me) was amply balanced by two nice sessions yesterday: morning long, easy rides and afternoon crunchy shorebreak fun (after I gave up on outside mushburgers). Funny, I've been having similar "how can I still suck so badly" thoughts recently. BUT MINE ARE TRUE.

ANYBODY HAVE ANY GOOD TIPS @ EL SALVADOR? I'm off on Thurs and figured some Niceness folks might have been down there. Spots, food, sketchiness to avoid, whatever. Anything is helpful. Thanks!

everybody sucks at surfing... even the best wipe out.. the challenge is what keeps us working at it...if you caught every wave you paddled for and rode each with perfection boredom would set in and you would likely persue some other challenge

E- after all the years I've been surfing I still suck. I just have fun and let it go.

I went to the east side on Saturday am and had a blast. Waves were sparse but really good quality. The waves looked like they were made of mercury. Not a ripple in the faces. I saw that little blonde hair kid in Bruce's photos ripping it up. I was in a spot where everyone was pretty cool. Very few drop-ins all morning. Friendly faces. But looking north a couple hundred yards it seemed every wave was a free-for-all with no mercy for first, second, third, fourth, or fifth surfer up.

Sunday morning hit it near my house. At 7am there was a fair crowd. I suited up and by the time I hit the water there was the summer crowd in force. I took out my shortboard but was surrounded by longboards grabbing all the outside waves, which were pretty damn fun. Unable to compete, I ran home and came back with my 9' weekend warrior. Caught a bunch of outsiders and had a blast.

Spent the rest of the day walking the beach with my wife. Fun weekend.

Lots of surf debris on the beach. I threw away a broken leash that someone just threw in the sand and left. There was a broken fin on the beach too but I think it was lost not disgarded cuz the ankle strap was broken. Picked up tons of other junk too. Also chewed out a guy for not picking up after his dog. He kicked sand on top of it, right in the tide line.

Found some fun waves for a little while yesterday at OB, Friday I found a big headless sea lion with a 16- 18" bite out of its chest. It had washed to the top of the high tide line way south of Sloat. Sundy it was gone- washed back in with the 4.6' high tide no doubt. Thought you guys might be interested...

good words pez. surfing is definitely more than just physical movement. and i'm grateful for that - because at least half of the movements i made yesterday were not pretty.

yesterday was amazing. hope everyone got out there.

Marco Esquandoles
email me @ electricjunglesurf@hotmail.com got some advice from someone on this site last year and I would like to return the favor.

Regarding the suck thing. I've concluded that surfing is not only one of my absolute pleasures, it's one of my punishments as well.

There were great waves this weekend; got some fun 'uns. However, I, too, was at the mercy of the wave-catching abilities of longboarders. I witnessed some great surfing and some serious wave-hog behavior and bad etiquette (e.g., On Saturday, I watched and heard a guy give a wave to a teenager he knew by first name, and then he just went for it anyway and snaked him.) I too was snaked. I don't mind party waves--as long as everyone's taking care to avoid colliding. Guy dropped right in on me. Was gonna grab his leash and give 'im a taste of his own stuff, but opted not too. My stoke was also slightly dampened when dudes would come paddling outta nowhere and cut in front of me for a wave and then miss it--knowing I could get it. Sucks to be snaked. Surfing can be competitive, but, damn, on a nice mellow Sunday and Saturday--is it really necessary. I did see one older guy on a blue Stewart who surfed really well. It's great to have a front row view when someone surfs really well. He took off on a huge left and just killed it--longboard teetering at the tippy top and then down into the belly of the beast. Also had another older LBer ditch his board in front of me. Ya figure he'd know better by now. I s'ppose those are just the ropes at OB.

friday arvo north of city was surprisingly biggish and rough but fun.

saturday good when I first got out but lost it quick, plus about a 2 mile walk back to the car.

sunday great, with the sun and calm water it looked tropical out there. longboarders dominating but not too crowded where I was, plenty of waves and loooooong rides for shortboarders. saw some (and was victim of some) very sketchy etiquette (the drop-in and wipeout combo, board ditching in front of two foot waves in crowds!) but that is to be expected on a good beginner day ya gotta take it in stride. awesome day for sure, so fun.

Saturday - got skunked out there. Bad time, bad place, not sure. Didn't line up for me.

Sunday - Unreal! Surfed one of my favorite beach locales. Longboarders talk too much and should paddle harder for waves. Vibe was still good with many hoots and holla's. Got a few insanely long lefts along the way. Good thing I had my Egg out there or I think I would have been frustrated by the "outside" longboarders trying to take off on anything. Beautiful day!

Today: Not so much! Coulda done it but needed a day off and onshores were present and accounted for.

Marco

If you want, you can call me at 415 783 6452 for El Salvador info.

i was proud to be a surfer in sf yesterday. i saw some excellent surfing and damn good etiquette, in general. only got dropped in on once and he just didn't see me. there were a lot of people but plenty of waves.
it rocks to suck at surfing because you know you have to keep trying. and we always need another excuse to go surfing, don't we? i love going over the falls. it's like you're on a natural waterslide with a rough sandy landing. i am still wiping sand from my ears.
so e-when do you leave for baja? is it soon enough that you are already looking toward these souths coming? living vicariously through you...i want to go back there.

As my relationship with my wife has deteriorated as of late and she is very pissed to the point of wanting to move out, spends most of her time with friends, this partially due to my neglect from too much surf obsession. I realize that surfing is just for fun and has its place as a hobby, which is important. If your not making a living at it its fun to get better at it and work toward a goal with it, but its just for fun.

lets put things into perspective.

Well Phil, I had two wives that didn't like me surfing. My third wife tolerates it, the saint that she is, and even allows me to choose vacations where surf is the theme. I'm much happier now. True story.

Perhaps it's not you...

Yeah, but you don't suck, E.

e, personal evolution is what i love about surfing, the constant additions to the base of surfing expereince. after 29 years of surfing. saturday i got one of the best barrells i've ever had. i may not ever do a stalefish air..... but, i'm getting better in the tube as i get older, that stokes me out. to quote kdalle: "keep surfing no matter what"

PSA: If you can't "manage" your surfboard in head high to just overhead surf you don't belong out with the peeps who do. OK! And no, unless your in danger, injured, or otherwise un-able to retreive your board yourself. I'm not gonna help you if you lose it from bailing. No I'm not a dick, just self reliant. If you want a caddy try golf.

dennis, maui was good to me. send me an email at three2fivesetsof7@yahoo.com

kaiser, did you change zipcodes yet?

ssuurrff

last post was me.

saturday: 1 hour of absolutely sick surf at a spot i hadn't surfed before but will definitely return to

sunday: hangover til noon but some fun surf at the north end for 3 hours and a solid chino's session afterwards

Saturday...best sesh at the beach in ages (i think i got lucky and just happened on the right peak at the right tide)

Sunday...another great sesh, but not quite to Saturday's standard. as steamwand mentioned, pretty solid etiquette and pos vibes despite the crowds. nice!

Today...watched it...wanted it...but then decided that it wasn't worth having to rinse the wetty off afterward. clearly, after just a few glassy days i'm completely spoiled.

phil...sounds rough. my (unsolicited) advice is be understanding and compasionate, but also be true to yourself. good luck.

Saturday at dawn was surprising crowded at my preferred cross street. I figured it was absurdly clean (i.e. dry-hair paddle out) compard to a block up or down. Paddling out thought meaner waters gave me my own peak. My board surfing was kookful, but I think I'm figuring out the body surfing.

Saturday night's poker game gave me a late start on Sunday. Getting out at crowded o'clock, I headed to Empty Street for my own waves. I spotted another surfer a block down, but it turned out to be a seal. An afternoon commitment only gave me a half hour in the water, but it was worth the effort.

In beer drinking news, it turns out Sea Bowl is another locale where you can drink beer on tap and watch surfers (besides the more expensive, more obvious options). Turns out you do have a view on the less-surfed north-side of the break below. But at $4.50 a pint and $4.25 for a hot dog, still not a cheap view.

Yesterday was beautimous and just tame enough for wussies like me. A couple shots from the South end (there are a few more on the site from both Sat and Sun).

Didn't go out on Saturday, but Sunday certainly rocked. Had a great session -- some really long rights. More, please.........

Sloat - the new Lindy

Shout-out to blakestah - Long time / no see. Nice to run into you at SF Surf Shop the other day. Thanks again for the help reading labels!
Re: suckage - some days it all lines up in my favor and some days, I JUST SUCK at surfing. Saturday was somewhere in between. Got to surf a relatively uncrowded peak with good waves and a friendly vibe. Got a bunch of good rides, but got stuck behind the section trying to backdoor the peak on the two best waves - prolly shoulda kept a higher line. Stayed in the water too long again and paid for it Sunday - guess my back is still healing. Oh well, it was still one of the better springtime sessions I've had.

Fun weekend....lots out, good vibin it, saw kloo in the water and jimmie on land....

Good to see someone was pulling back on that wave.. e, stop looking at surf mags and watching videos. It will instantly slow down one's obsession with "ripping." Also, try teaching someone how to surf, then you'll realize actually how good you are. Or, think to certain waves where you have actually surfed really well on. See the connection? It's easy to get overwhelmed when others around are ripping, but it also inspires. I hate surfing in Santa Cruz on good days because all the pro's are out killing it. I have a conspiracy theory that they are actually water-proof robots, just like all celebrities are robots. Anyway, keep your head up. Grab an egg and have fun just going straight for awhile. Then you'll get back on your short board and be able to snap around where you want.

Great pics, Bruce - Sloat is quickly becoming Lindy North on small clean days.

Question for the Niceness peeps: I'm going to be working (and doing a lot of surfing) in Southern Australia and surrounding areas June through August. Does anyone have any general or specific surf info for the region they want to share? From what I can gather, I'm pretty much looking at a NorCal winter scene with big uncrowded "landlord regulated" surf and cool-to-cold temperatures with occasional winter storms (the Endless Winter twist on the typical surf trip). Email directly if you would like: jonesurfer@hotmail.com

I haven't been able to surf as much the past few months. When I have, I've gone back to bodyboarding since it's easier to paddle out and control. I also get to enjoy the crunchy inside -- with no competition, I get a lot more waves too. I'm having a lot more fun, staying wet, and much less concern with making steep drops or taking off late.

It also works nicely with my motorcycle. :)

Yeah- but you know, there were so many empty spots. I don't know why everyone was bunching up. It wasn't like they could stay on a peak anyway, given the current. Pretty comical to see 30 people lumped together drifing north at 3 knots. I didn't fight it. . . figured I could aways grab a cab back from the resturant.

Two things I noticed on Sunday: the return of smelly jellies--actually noticed them earlier in the week, and redtide slime. I washed my wetsuit when I got home and it left some funky stuff in the bucket.

jonesurfer@hotmail.com,

start in torquee and head southwest from there. the coast is riddled with spots. for every crowded spot, there are 10 others with few people out. as with all places, all are not obvious. everything is super laid back, so be respectful, talk to the locals, and you will be rewarded. watching a spot from the bluff just 20 minutes south from bells deciding whether to go out having walked across a friends property to get there, we watched what we estimated to be a 15 foot 'white pointer' swim by. impressive beast, needless to say, we went elsewhere for the day. all that said, don't miss cathedral rock.

Pez,
Thanks for your thoughtful post on the “suckage” topic. After only 6 months of surfing, (yup, I’m one of those much maligned beginners out there but I’m always aware of being respectful and following proper etiquette - thanks in part to reading these posts), I regularly deal with that “Gezus I suck!!” feeling. I’m fortunate that I can get out about 3X p/week, and sure enough, as soon as I feel like I have surpassed some sort of milestone, the next time out I’m reminded that this is a loooong road to travel.

…and then I’m thankful that so much fun, inspiration, and deep soulful fulfillment lies ahead for me with surfing. Keep surfing! ;-)

sorry for butchering 'torquay'

whaddup peeps. missed sunday because i was focused on putting our tic group together, what a crazy process it has been. but we have our team and plan to put in a solid offer, so please send any extra luck & good vibes our way. and this post is not entirely off-topic - one of the partners is a beginning surfer, getting that news helped seal the deal. also leaves me hopeful there won't be much negotitating required to create a big ol' surf rack in one of the common areas :)

friday pm it was way better than it looked, e & i had it to ourselves right in front of one of the most popular parking lots on the beach. when in doubt, go out... great surfing with you, e.

When I went out in the am on Sunday, there weren't many options regarding peaks. There was a 2 block long area that wasn't breaking at all. The higher tide kept many bars from breaking. Because of that, I wasn't annoyed at the crowd. But it is always amazing when there are several options and everyone lumps together anyway.

I was out one day in two foot windblown surf and probably the only person in the water for all OB. A guy paddles out and sits next to me. I sat there with my jaw open, paddled away and he followed me.
It's not easy being a hunk.

Loon, good luck! I got crushed a few weeks ago when I lobbed an offer in. Rates low, housing marketing currently priced 5 years out. SF sucks.

3to5, I am still in the 415. I am trying to move but I need some serious sack to throw down the asking + 15-20%. It is amazing what 1200 square feet of roofing gets ya these days.

E,

thats the beauty and frustration of surfing is that it humbles us all and reminds us whose in charge, mother ocean! Still though I concur with the sentiment, sometimes the closer we get to reaching our goals and achievements the farther away we seem. In surfings case this can be indeed frustrating but remember- we are damn lucky to surf1 Go away for a few days ( or years like me) to the landlocked wasteland and you'll cherish every surf day! Sunday was epic, so many long lefts and little jacking peaks with a buddy!! seals and birds, days like that cant be beat!
by the way thats funny, sloat the new lindy, I've been saying that for years! can it be as simple as a parking lot?
peace all

Torquay is not South Australia it is part of Victoria. Totally different state. Adelaide is the main urban area in South Australia, not much quality surf close to the city.

South Australia is all about isolated heavy reef waves with a very sharky vibe sprinkled with some grumpy locals. Pick up Mark Warren's Surfing Australia and bring a tent, the best surf is in area's with little to no accomodation. Some very heavy waves there so make sure you are comfortable before venturing out.

after spending 9 days in a place where they dress like kaiser's pictures to go surf i'm in a post-vaca cube funk today. blah.

Yeah I think everyone's got it right- but surfing is a difficult and dynamic sport. Surfing up here makes it harder. Put in 5 hard years surfing an ultra consistent break in Indo or even the Lane and anyone will probably rip really hard. OB breeds more of a waterman than a surfer.

And the crowds.. I think most people are just clones to some extent- some genetic robotic programing from the routines of society and surf media.

A few years ago I spent a month surfing Playa Hermosa (CR's warm water OB equivalent). Big beach like 15kms of beach break. We would roll up every day to our own spot nobody in sight for miles. Almost everyday some gringo group would paddleout and sit right next to us. WTF?- everytime- the waves weren't any better where we were.

Maybe most of the people whom have moved here come from a more crowded S Cal, Florida, E Coast and just like the company. I think the real reason is fear. People fear the unknown and if there is a group of people then that makes it OK. Safety in numbers.

The same thing applies to everything- I've seen some backcountry lines never skiied- But once that first track is layed down then the floodgates are open.

But now that the floodgates have been openned (see Bruce's pic above) I guess you just have to travel a little farther, paddle harder and just enjoy the experience.

In another 10 years we'll all be saying.. damn we had it so good in 2005, no crowds!

"In another 10 years we'll all be saying.. damn we had it so good in 2005, no crowds!"

so true.

a friend forwarded me this text (souce unknown) regarding the 2nd Teahupoo pic from top:

Tahitian charger Raimana Van Bastoloaer went within an inch of losing his life in one of the most radical surfing near misses ever witnessed.

As the local goofy footer was towed into a 4m (12ft) morning set, his jet ski driver Reef Macintosh (Haw) was caught in the wave lip and unable to pull out, careering the ski directly over the pitching lip and into the path of Van Bastoloaer. Pulling into the massive barreling wave, Van Bastoloaer ducked at the last second, the abandoned jet ski narrowly missing his head and spearing straight into the shallow reef.

“I saw a black thing out of the side of my eye, I just ducked my head and then I don’t know what happened,” said Van Bastoloaer in his broken English. “I saw this thing going and I was like, where is the guy driving on it, then I saw Reef trying to come up and we lost the ski but good thing I never lost my friend and myself, so it’s ok.”

“That was the heaviest thing I have ever seen,” said Irons. “My really good friend Reef was actually driving the ski and he jumped off, almost went over the falls and the ski went over Raimana’s head, he got barreled by his own ski. It missed his head by about six inches, it was psycho.”

Dennis, I would bet money that it's the same guy who did the same thing to me last summer. Exact situation too: beelined toward my position, scowled, paddled right behind me and sat deeper on the...peak...with a much larger longboard. 2 foot blowsy conditions, scrappy peak whatevers littered here and there, literally noone in the water as far as the eye could see. Incredible! Except I'm not a hunk.

The effort required to create and maintain such crabbiness is formidible! Maybe we were busted by the Surfing Should Never Ever Be Fun Patrol.

in ten years we'll all be living in absolute nirvana. After the aliens from Alpha Centauri land and interbreed for a few years. Genetic tendencies toward generosity and peace will radiate throughout our species. Darwinian hyper-competitiveness will dwindle and humans will find comfort as their simple needs are met. More time will be fostered for recreation, exploration, love-making, education, and musical exchange.

Thank you o Alien Overlords!!

sharkbait.. if i remember correctly there was a sharkbait-is-cute poster a few months back.. you have your little groupie crew.

Bagel also has a cute-lady admirer here at my work. Go Bagel!

Wish I had grabbed my longboard on Sunday. Not enough juice to have any fun on the shortie, but boy the longboarders were having a blast. It's all about riding the right board for the conditions.

artifact,
While I agree with the general gist of what you are saying I do not think surfing OB breeds watermen or waterwomen.

My definition of a waterman is someone that excels at multiple water activities including: free diving, surfing(big wave, tiny wave, longboard, short board), open ocean paddling, windsurfing, body surfing, spear fishing, sailing, canoeing, etc). While OB surfers are generally a hardy breed, I don't know many that excel at all of those things. I have dabbled in most of those things and the only thing I am semi competent at is average size shortboarding. It seems warmer climates with more of an ocean based lifestyle breeds a waterman culture.

Fun waves at lunchtime somewhere in the middle. Onshores were still pretty light and the dropping tide seemed to be helping the shape, it was a lot better than when I checked it in the AM. My first lunch session in way too long.

Has anybody ridden a steve brom fish, or ordered a custom board from him? I've been thinking about getting a real twin keel fish for a while, and his boards look pretty sweet. I know now would probably be a better time to order that 6'10" pintail I was wishing I had last November, but the changing season has me thinking about fish.

Didn't we have the same "OB is too damn crowded" posts last Labor Day when it was warm, sunny, with small clean surf?

When those days happen regularly, yeah, OB will be too croweded. When that happens frequently, you are no longer living in San Francisco. But man, you certainly appreciate the sun and clean surf when it happens.

Eric, i have a Brom fish. Ordered it last year. The board is unreal and completely different than the standard shortboard i had been riding for so long. A nice change definitely. The thing screams for a nice point break, but will work on certain smaller days around here as well. A little pricey, but worth it in my opinion. Brom is a heck of a nice guy as well. Good luck..

you might check out mandala shapes as well. a little closer to home and some sick looking stuff on his site.

Bruce,
Thanks for posting the pic in the heap from this weekend! Great pix, as usual! That's the stuff that will keep me entertained on the lanai when I'm waaaaay too old to even think about it!
Cheers,
SFK

Bagel, can you recommend a video card for PC gaming that supports pixel shader? Ours (Geforce4 MX 420) doesn't, dadgummit, and Psychonauts won't work.

Hey jdz, thanks for the info, glad to hear you like the fish. I'm a little bored with my 6'4" i guess, even though i suck. I was surfing east side sc on a small day last summer and there was this kid flying all over the place on a fish when even the rippers on shortboards were barely making sections. it looked so effortless. I've seen fish out at ob a few times, not sure if its the ideal shape for the place but speed can't be bad right?

I just got back from the fish fry in SD on Sunday. I surfed my Mandala quad and watched some pros tear it up on Hynson/Brom/Pavel fish. Surfermag has some pics. Manny has evolved his shapes vs. even a year ago and he told me that one of his friends will be opening a new surf shop in SF soon and will carry his boards. Oh yeah, I saw Jeff Clark at the fish fry and he is shaping fish, too.

Bob Wise is about to get another notch on his belt - another surf shop driven out of business.

Hey E, I've been at it for over 20 years and I still suck. But when I get a wave at J-bay, Pleasures or another long point I feel like a god. Those brief moments of bliss are what keep me coming back. It's about having fun, not being cool or being better than anybody else.

That last one was me...