E's Surf Report

fist probst

forts pits

good work e

Dear Friend of the Coast

Last week the California Coastal Commission gave us the go-ahead for a June hearing in Santa Rosa to decide the fate of the 17,000 threatened Monterey pine trees in the Del Monte Forest. While not unexpected, this is important news for all those eager to protect the largest remaining
coastal forest of Monterey pine trees left in the world.

I am excited to move on to this last hurdle and know that if we work together we can accomplish what seemed impossible just a few months ago –protecting the forest and ensuring that the Pebble Beach Company's development scheme is defeated.

As many of you know, the Del Monte Forest by itself deserves to be protected. But this development plan is actually about even more than 17,000 trees. If the Pebble Beach Company gets their way, they will set a dangerous precedent for our coastal protection goals statewide, making it far harder for other communities to save their great coastal places.

The likely date for this next hearing is Thursday, June 15th, but I will get you definite information as soon as it is available. If anyone can join me in Santa Rosa for this hearing, I could really use your help. I have repeatedly said that this issue is one of the most important issues that the Coastal Commissioners will face in their entire career on the Commission. With your help, we can help make sure the decision is one that is good for the coast, good for the forest and good for future
generations.

Until next time
Mark
savethecoast@SIERRACLUB.ORG

Kew answers questiond like GW...Not one straight answer..

I like all places.
Pretty women in every country.
I like all writers.

I haven't read any of his stuff...hopefully he writes better than he interviews.

Go ahead "niceness crew"...tell me how wrong I am. Something like "opinions are bad, you just need to feel the vibe of where you are at and love everyone and every place you go and flowers, yes, flowers..in the Spring...after a rain cloud has lightly oiled the textured surface of the soil." "Just like the feeling I get when I ride my retro-fish from Mollusk and I have that beautiful String Cheese Incident song in my head and a dolphin comes and speaks to me in the univesal language of Love".

blacksabbath for president!

how about a don duane interview? I liked the Surfer story, I just wished he would have ended the story saying that the waves sucked. Or said he lived in New York.

loved the picture of the surfer with wetsuit and board on Bernal Hill looking towards the financial district? It would have been better if she was in the wetsuit.

Cool first pic. Anyone ever tried one of those patagonia boards?

Agreed Blacksabbath, he is dodging the q's, but he is a great writier, with real travel time under his belt.

I love bodysurfing Sandy's.

Mexi, mice work on the TSJ photos. That must be pretty cool...took me several looks/reads to realize where I'd seen them before. Kew's article in the mag is pretty interesting as well, nice contextulization of military at the end.

Dan Duane is a kook

seemed like the questions didn't really line up with what he wanted to talk about. he could've done more to veer into what he did want to talk about though. maybe he's just not comfortable being interviewed.

I know who you are t and I'm coming to get you!

Ok Dan, we can meet in front of the store at Wise but don't bring Dave from the surf report like you did last time!

Yeah, his interview answers sucked. E asked great questions. Maybe he didn't have his coffee yet. Or maybe the whole point of lonely, struggling writer types is they really aren't all that interesting. That's why they write, to escape the drudgery of their own lives.

I liked that surfer article also. A little dramatic with the gloves and the hoods and the booties..and is Ocean Beach really ALWAYSE a hell paddle out? Not in my experience, but im no mavs charging charger. but i really connected with the story in spots. Kew did seem pretty blunt in his interview. Sounds like a pretty stoked individual though..

I'll bring the lip smacker instead.

Kew's interview was a bit of a letdown. His articles are always interesting but he just didn't have alot of interesting things to say. As much as I now loath Surfer Magazine for all the advertisements , curious Gabe crap, and adoration of the Jon Jon Florences of the world ( hey remember David Eggers?) I still thought Duanes article really struck a chord with me, epsecially the parts pertaining to wanting to live the surf fantasy but not being fufilled by it. At least that's waht I tell myself on these crappy blownout days. Also I can relate to looking at trees and flagpoles 15 miles from the ocean in order to predict the surf!

i too liked the surfer story by dan. but it felt
a bit too close to home, TOO revealing. as i read
it i felt like i walked out of the shower into a
huge crowd IN my den/ house. something personal
and important to me was exposed. i am still
unsure how i feel about that.

Hey bring me too!! It's reallylooking good out there!

Korewin,

I agree, too close to home for such a large publication.

"...the kid from Wise who smacks his lips during the surf report"

Now that's funny.

Cool interview E-
As a student journalist, I love reading interviews of writers because you get an inside look at the man behind the words. Kew seems like an interesting guy; I can relate to many of his responses, and his seemingly reclusive nature. Thanks for doing some serious reporting E.

In Nat Young's Surf Rage book, Kew has some beautiful prose describing the old fart locals at Hazards and the inbreed spoiled babies of Shelter Cove. If you have spent any time in these two areas, his essays are spot on.

I agree, sabbath, his interview answers pretty much sucked.

Thanks Z! I was stoked, that is Jon kitamura in the pics. I rarley submit any photos to mags so I'm always happy to get stuff published. I liked the Dan Duane article, but I think they needed to get a hold of me for some pics. If they are going to exploit they should at least have it done by someone who lives there.

OK, I didn't renew my Surfer subscription last time. Who shot the local pix? Dan Duane's OK. The exposure issue is played.

agreed, i hate people that dont answer questions directly. give it a swerve, coolguy.

anyone have a link to the Duane article?

Dan Duane's writing tends to be a bit too abundant in superfluity for my liking. And quixotically, sometimes lacking in key details.

The Surfer piece was not as bad as some of his other recent efforts.

hey dennis...

you out there? got the deck of my board
in the face saturday...bloodied the hell out
of my nose. thought of you as i tentatively
tried to figure out where the blood was
pouring out of....hoping i would not have to
go to st. mary's.

wilson photo of panhandle surf

I'm so glad the rain has stopped. Finally a weather pattern I can relate to.

WITH STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS DEVELOPING IN ITS WAKE. WINDS COULD REACH UP TO GALE FORCE BY WEDNESDAY AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPS OFF THE COAST.

Read the Dan Duane article, heck, I bought the magazine.

Anyway, I discovered the following:
1 I don't live so far from him.
2 I don't think I'd call the Bayshore blighted...I've seen blight, and Bayshore ain't blight in the big scheme of things. Now lets talk about that fenced off and abandoned radioactive contaminated housing block at the fringe of the Naval site at Hunter's Point...that is some blight.
3 He forgot to mention the 100% exact way he get onto 280: from Cortland he turns left on the Mission, then a quick right on Randall then quick left on to San Jose Ave then out to 280 and under the Monterrey Ave highway exit. I am not sure if going under an overpass coutns as a "concrete tunnel", but so be it.
4 If he surfs with famous people then at one point I must have surfed with some famous people. I have no idea who they look like though.
5 He uses lots of hyphens to insert special side comments about a point he is making.
6 That porn/liquor store at the bottom of his street is owned by Russians? Give me a good Egyptian porn/liquor store owner any day over a Russian....nothing more twisted and sick than a 4000+ yr old culture.

Overall, when I read the article and compared it to his Caught Inside book from some years back, I just get a kinda 'so what?' vide as the reader.

In the end though, easy for me to be a critic. I am always happy another surfer is making a living and contributing to society rather than being a leech.

yesterday around 11:30 was good at the beach.

funny, mr doof.

I was gonna make all the same critical observations about the kew responses in the interview, earlier today, but I didn't do it, because I didn't want to be seen as always being critical. but after some of those answers, I would have tossed my hands in the air and walked away looking for another subject to interview. those were perfectly good leading questions. Duane does not resonate with me at all. not authentic.

is this Dan Duane article in the most recent issue of surfer? if not, anyone know which issue it was in?

i hated "Caught Inside". very unrealistic story.

Yes, 11:30 ws better than 9:30, and better than 1:30, but Good?

I guess it is Spring.

Congrats Mexi!

Whatever happened to vague is vogue? If he got specific he may have been blasted too...? Is Kew super secretive in his articles regarding new surfing explorations? Maybe he's trying to protect the spots etc., then again maybe not if writting articles about his explorations is his job.

Props to the dude on the BB who rescued the labrador stuck in a rip on Sat morning!

ok, i guess it was "nearly" good.

Happy Birthday to The Slayer!

In your honor, I called Alice 97.3FM and requested your favorite Suffocation song "Entrails from a Virgin's Cunt" and they played it. RAD!!

I knew you'd be listening to that station, so I hope you heard it.

Come over later, I'll give some birthday head, w/happy ending of course.

I though Duane's piece was o.k. Maybe a little overwrought but I find that is the case in a lot of surf and outdoor wrtiting. Never read anything else by him. I don't care about the exposure and confidently predict that not one person will move to SF to surf based on the article.

I think you guy's have run out of interesting topics to bore the casual reader with.

Dan Duane's time was 1997. He is irrelevant now.

Briana, I heard that song, but it's actually from Cannibal Corpse, and the full title is "Entrails RIPPED From a Virgin's Cunt", but I'm sure all the Alice fans appreciated it none the less.

I'll be over later to have my pole smoked.

long time no post... whaddup, e? hope all is well with you & the rest of the niceness gang. and belated welcome back, ian - still haven't found the time to review your trip notes, but looking forward to it.

check out the camo-octupus footage:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4139449748454943279&pr=goog-sl

get a room, you two.

Epic lawn surfing, grass 3-5" light off-shores...

local legendary skateboard entrepreneur moves up to that empty pool in the sky

and since this in Dan Duane Day, thought I'd add my 2 cents; Caught Inside is a hopeless bore (with its heart in the right place), couldn't finish it even if I was in full Guantanamo lockdown. Same's true with the recent Surfer article. He's no dummy, tho.

Caught Inside was an attempt to be "more" than a surfing book. And while it is slow, due to it's California topography, agriculture and history lessons, he accomplished that goal.

Vince is the man, though. Alway's got the wave of the day. Not a surf bum, but a surf bum.

Kew is a surf rapist.It is not cool to expose certain surf spots.In the end it ruins to soul of surfing. You create localism.

oh puh-lease!

i read kew's article in TSJ and now i wanna go to palau, find my own atoll, and chillllllll. good writers inspire.

vausto was the man. his ideas and drive made SF the skate mecca that it is. RIP.

Whats The beef?

I like to surf alone too, same as Kew. But I don't write articles, take photos and publicize my 'discoveries'.

Pretty close to the dictionary definition of hypocrisy..."The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform."

Daniel Duane--'oh puh-lease', Ugg-Booted Parking Lot Troll Club.

I liked Duane's story, though, while I have surfed OB many times, I have never actually lived in the city.

However, I did live in Santa Cruz for 10 years, up until 3 years ago when we moved to the central coast, and I found his description of SC as a peaceful, little beach town pretty comical.

Kew is a very good writer. That said, I hope no one ever interviews him again. Yikes.

zorn, patton and frith play denver

Most surfers are claimers and most are namers.
Don't you ever read this site? To surf means you are a story teller. A bullshit artist. No other sport, activity, lifestyle has as many braggarts as surfing. The sad thing is that so few are adept enough at the activity to actually earn the right to talk? I love surfing, just hate surfers. The most egotistical, wanna be, self absorbed bunch of false tale tellers I've ever met. And yes, it has been getting worse.
I used to read the magazines and maybe I should not read this website as it is clearly an example of what it is that I've described. It didn't use to be but I guess that's what happens the more people show up. The most pathetic is the continuos "I surf OB" boast.
Big fucking deal. Yes, even when it's winter, big fucking deal.

anon opinions do not matter

Your existence necessitates your being there anon.

Friend #1 is one of the biggest braggarts on this site over the 2 years I been reading.

"Fanboy critic" and "anon" are the same people.

hey anon...

i think you forgot a sport there in the tall tale,
yarn spinning world....

fishing.

All the good surfers are located in Pacifica, Santa Cruz and south.
Sure a few guy's surf the rare clean swells at OB on an oversized pintail. I mean they make the drop to kick out but, it ain't like anyone is doing much on the wave. Seems to me like an exercise in just getting out there and choosing waves that don't bring you too far inside or ones that don't section before the channel. Beachbreaks don't make good surf spots when the swell comes up or else we'd have more surf champions from Ocean Beach. Although because the waves break far from shore, OB has developed a good bullshit story about how the paddle is so tough so we should be rewarded. My buddy who is an excellent surfer and has surfed just about every spot I can name visited me this winter and zipped right out to the peaks on his 6'10" and was the only guy getting the waves amidst all of you "big wave hero's" from OB on your longboard pintails. He was also the only one to go vertical but I don't want to brag for him. I took him to Mavs and he had 8 waves before 8 a.m. and I quote " after all those stories? it's no different than any other bigger wave reef"

I think that is what anon is doing, korewin.

As is Opinionated.

not impressed, in bragging about your friend, you are bragging about your self.

Kew is a traveler and I think he inspires others to search. He names only countries. Good luck finding those waves, most people wouldn't go there if they could, there aren't enough people to cater to them, carry their board bags, and they might not have internet access.

claiming, bragging who cares - how does it really effect you? sure I've used the "I surf OB" line to try and get laid - no harm in that. maybe a bro or two has overheard it and cringed. big deal. post session, sometimes I might be riding a little "high" and claims of "best session ever", "10' easy" or "i got tubed" might have slipped out. big friggin' deal. we all live in our own reality and find sense of accomplishment in different things.

who cares if someone is stoked just from the fact that they surfed OB in the winter. you probably got stoked when you got your G.E.D., I'm not judging.

SNAP!

Saturday night car-ditch outside of Trad'r Sams lead to a Sunday morning run from Bernal Heights to 25th & Geary (include my hangover, and it counts as a marathon effort). On the way home, scoped out OB round abouts 11:30 and saw a ski with surfer in tow into shoulder-high waves south of the zoo. A State Park police came by with rollers on and left. Anyone know what happened? There were probably 5 other cars watching the two team. Part of me wants to say, "it was empty, they weren't hurting anyone" but I think I do have Renneker's knee jerk reaction that I don't like motorized skis on my beach. I'm fine with the kiters and wind surfers....not so much the gasoline engines.

this blog makes me so horny

I may be many (many) things, but never anon.
and never fishing.

more of a poke it with a stick approach.

Who are you fanboy critic?
Give us your name and address? Work phone? Or I'll just call you "another anon"
Fanboy critic? A long time well known historical member of the holier than though nameless, shameless, bragging crew.

Yes you are right. Fishing has some tale tellers but not as much as the liars that are surfers. And fisherman actually claim to use a scale and measuring stick while surfers lie and then find another to swear to it "just to be included as a guy who was out that epic day"
I wanna see a pic of fanboy critic going vertical in the pocket of a big one. At OB.

are you okay?

No you are NOT!

And so the shameless back and forth contiues between my Id and my alter-ego...

How you feeling?

Great thanks, how is the ego?

No way!

your self is one word.