The SUP Invasion

Recently, after a prolonged tour of use and abuse, I was forced to take my two trusty shortboards into my local shop for some ding repair. After learning that the slightly horrific repairs would take up to two weeks, I was somewhat dismayed, since they’re the boards I tend to ride the most. However, I decided to take advantage of the situation by dusting off my old Malibu 9.0 log and getting in a bit of much needed longboard practice.

Read on at OFF THE LIP.

Click me: The SUP Invasion

Patch em up: Wetsuit Repair Part Deux

All right so, I finally got the neoprene cement in the mail, and now I can finally finish my patch up project.

The cement (pictured left) is rather strong stuff (and just so you know, extremely flammable). If you ever need to make a home made bomb--to fight zombies and the like of course--you could transform this gunk into a potent demolition tool faster than you can say "pipe bomb."

Anyway, a little off tangent, I apologize. Once you have your cement, go ahead and take your wetsuit to a nice, ventilated area. Unless you want to be higher than Jimmy when he lit his guitar on fire, so in that case, knock your self out (no pun intended). Make sure you are wearing something to protect yourself from the fumes, and gloves to protect your hands. Coat the areas that you sewed together once. Wait 5-10 minutes until it dries, and then coat again. You should be pretty much set!

On a side not, as I unfortunately found out, a little cement goes a long way. I figured that the more cement I slapped on my suit, the more watertight it would be. And well even though that might have been the case, the seams now have large clumps of cement that are quite irritating to the touch. So please, if you are going to do this yourself, use the cement sparingly.

Surf Traffic

The pages of Surfer often keep us surfers sane when, for one reason or another, we become landlocked and are unable surf.  Those ocean-less days can be painful, and Surfer has rescued me on more than one occasion from filling my bathtub with saltwater, donning a wetsuit, and making my own waves.

During one of the many recent rainstorms we had here in Los Angeles—when the waters offshore have the consistency and smell of fresh toxic sludge—I found myself quenching my thirst for waves by flipping through this month’s issue of Surfer. There was an interesting article about the most crowded surf spots in the world, and lo and behold, my personal favorite surf spot (First Point) was listed as number two.

I felt a little pang of remorse as I read the article (since I have so many positive memories of surfing there) but unfortunately, Surfer was spot on. Despite its wonderful waves and historical significance to the surfing community, Malibu is extremely crowded. Often times, when the waves are pumping, Malibu mimics the DMV—long lines, bad attitudes, and of course, no matter how early you get up, you’re never the first one there.

To make matters worse, Zuma Jay is supposedly contemplating opening a shop at the Malibu Pier, so those flocks of tourist/kooks that visit Malibu beach every year have easier access to renting boards and gear. Absolutely no unintended consequences, right? Of course not! Well, other than the possible increase in the number of beheadings due to loose nine-foot logs, but that’s not a big deal at all. Putting a surf shop at the Malibu Pier is like opening a school crosswalk on a NASCAR Speedway—it will only create more speed bumps for apathetic locals that really don't have time to stop.

While it may be to late to save Malibu from being one of the most crowded surf spots in the world, it is important that the local surfing community properly educated beginners on surf etiquette, in order to save my beloved beach from becoming a literal death trap. I hope for a day when I can go to Malibu Beach, and not fear being knocked unconscious by a run away board. Will that happen? Maybe not in my lifetime.

But a man can dream.