Wave Hunting in Big Sur

The hawk flew over the hood of my car.  I slowed down a bit, and watched as it perched on a fencepost, a squirming rattlesnake in its talons.  The snake’s tail flailed around desperately—with obvious terror—as the hawk bent down, and in one swift motion tore off its head. The hawk then began to voraciously rip away chunks of flesh, as the snake’s tail continued to writhe about sporadically. It eventually stopped moving.

That was the first thing I saw when I arrived at Big Sur.

Named long ago by the insightful Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola for its vast uncivilized expanses south of the relative security of Monterrey, el pais grande del sur (or Big Sur) stretches nearly 70 miles from San Simeon to Carmel.

Even with the introduction of paved roads in the 1920’s, and electricity in the 1950’s, Big Sur is still a wild place, complete with colossal redwoods, roving mountain lions, and daunting cliffs straight from “The Land Of The Lost.” That rugged beauty has attracted pilgrims of all kind over the years: from common tourists and naturalists, to artists like Jack Kerouac, and even movie stars like Rita Hayworth; all drawn to this shrine of unadulterated natural magnificence like moths to a flame.

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Wave Hunting in Big Sur

LA TIMES: Chasing Waves in the Pacific

LA times is running this cool bit about chasing waves in the Pacific. There are some nice vids, diagrams on measuring waves, and some bios on famous big wave surfers. Check it out!

Chasing the swell... click here!

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.

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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.

Patch 'em up: Wetsuit repair part 1

Okay, so its winter time here LA, and that means 4/3's from now on. Unfortunately, because of the unseasonably cold water we've been having lately, I have been wearing my 4/3 quite a bit. So much so in fact, that I have torn two of the neck portions of my suit. With my Big Sur trip coming up ( and all that cold Central California water) I figured I needed to patch up my suit in order to keep from getting hypothermia.

After doing some research, I found that I could use one of two methods to patch up my suit. The first one involved using a urethane sealer or neoprene cement to seal the hole. The other method involved sewing up the tear first, and then patching it over with a sealer or cement. The former option could only be used for a gap that was approx the size of a person's fingernail, so anything bigger (like the two gnarly tears in my suit), would have to utilize the latter technique, and thus be sewn up first and then patched over with a sealer.

I started off by going to Jo-Ann fabric store for a needle and thread. I bought the thickest thread they had (meant for sewing leather jackets or heavy carpets). I was told I could also use fishing line or dental floss to sew up the tears, because they are more water resistant than thread, but I figured that the thread would be easier on the fabric and a little more forgiving during the actual sewing process.  I also went online and bought Neoprene cement, as opposed to the urethane sealer. The sealer dries quicker, but the cement is much more permanent, so I figured that was the best bet.

The sewing was relatively easy, although I needed help from my mom with the starting and finishing knots.   All I had to do was thread the needle, tie a knot on the end, and then while holding the two tears together, I sewed them using the "spiraling technique" (which was basically an over-under method.) Always make sure to start sewing from the inside of the wetsuit!

The cement is coming in the mail, so once I get it I will show you how I finish the patching process!

LA Surf spots: Surfrider State Beach (a.k.a Malibu point/beach)

There are few surf spots in this world that are as revered or as hated as Malibu beach. Many surfers claim that Malibu is the ideal pointbreak. Others argue that it’s an overcrowded cesspool. What cannot be disputed though, is that Malibu point has seen its fair share of surfing history. From Tom Blake, to Gidget, to Miki Dora and Allen Sarlo, the waves at Malibu have been drawing surfers since the 1920’s. The reasoning for that is simple: the sand and cobblestone bottom is so ideally laid out that it churns out perfectly shaped rights like a machine.
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