Eddie vs Pipe the Webcast

Kelly Slater quoted Andy Irons' statement that the Eddie was "like the Olympics" during an interview after his semi-final heat at the Pipemasters. The Eddie is an amazing event; it was a privilege to be able to watch it from my home in California. Unfortunately, the coverage was more what one would expect from a high school football game than the Premier Big Wave Surfing Event. Martin Potter and Pancho Sullivan did a great job of keeping the ball rolling for hours, but they had no backup. They did not have quick access to statistics or even which surfer was up and riding. At one point a 100 point ride was given out and they had they to ask one of the guys on the beach who it went to (Greg Long). Camera work was not great. Understandable, given Waimea Bay, but there is room for improvement. Worst of all, the camera, which was not well coordinated with Pottz and Pancho was busy shooting chicks on the beach more than once when sets rolled in. If nobody is riding fine, but missing one of the worlds best big wave riders on 25'+ surf for a lame bikini shot is not OK. During the several hours I watched the announcers never changed out.

This years Pipemasters’ webcast was very professional. I could always use more Occy (better than cowbell), and the waves during the final were disappointing, but the webcast was informed and first rate. I hope the Eddie runs again next year and that the webcast is improved so it will properly represent the event.

Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

Mick Fanning is the 2009 World Champion.

Taj beats Kelly in poor conditions to win the Pipemasters.

Dane posts a strong 2009 finish with equal 3rd in the Pipemasters.

Joel wins the men's Van's Triple Crown of surfing.

Stephanie Gilmore wins the Womens' World Title and the Triple Crown!

Aussies rule the surf world this year

Pipe is On

Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

Complete with round 2. The top half of the WCT guys will start surfing in round 3.

Saltwater Buddha- The Movie

I got this email from my friend Jaimal Yogis. His book is great. Please support the book and the movie.

Hi all,
I can hardly contain my excitement today. Not only is it the day of the famous Eddie Open and Rohatsu, the celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment – it’s also the day that we’re beginning production on Saltwater Buddha: The Film. I’m so grateful that the renowned and visionary film-makers at Nohoch Productions and Roberto Vezzone films saw potential for Saltwater Buddha to be put on the silver screen and that we’re partnering with beautiful organizations like Save the Waves so that the film can give back to the environment.
We're releasing the pre-production trailer of the film (watch it at http://www.saltwaterbuddha.org/The%20Film.html) at 1 PM today, in just 30 minutes. If you're excited to see Saltwater Buddha become a film, please help out by sending the link to friends, tweeting and Facebooking at 1 PM PST today. (Later is ok too, but the closer the better.) The more interest we can generate, the more sponsorship we'll be able to attract and the more we'll be able to give back to the environmental non-profits we're partnering with.
Happy Holidays and Happy Surfing!
Jaimal
P.S. -- Let me know if you have any questions about the film. I've also attached a press release for anyone who's interested. I'll be posting more about the film at http://www.jaimalyogis.com/?page_id=48.

The Eddie

The 25th anniversary of The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau was held in pumping 20' to 30' surf at Waimea Bay today. The event was truly inspirational. Greg Long pull off an insane suicide drop during the last heat of the day to surpass Kelly Slater's point total and win the event. There were dozens of incredible rides from the field of true Big Wave Stars.

A Tall Glass of Water

Water-
Flip up the tap and get all you need. Next-

How about in Mexico, Central America, Morocco, or LA after the next big quake? Giardia is no joke. Sure drink bottled water, but let’s move past that.
By drinking nonpotable water you may contract diseases or swallow organisms that can harm you. Examples of such diseases or organisms are:
· Dysentery. Severe, prolonged diarrhea with bloody stools, fever, and weakness.
· Cholera and typhoid. You may be susceptible to these diseases regardless of inoculations.
· Flukes. Stagnant, polluted water--especially in tropical areas--often contains blood flukes. If you swallow flukes, they will bore into the bloodstream, live as parasites, and cause disease.
· Leeches. If you swallow a leech, it can hook onto the throat passage or inside the nose. It will suck blood, create a wound, and move to another area. Each bleeding wound may become infected.
Cool- No, not really

Water purification 101
-Boiling water for 1 minute at sea level, adding 1 minute for each additional 300 meters above sea level, or boil for 10 minutes no matter where you are.
- 1 Gallon water is disinfected by 8-16 drops of regular household bleach (visually about 1/4 of a teaspoon) - double that for cloudy water. Shake and let stand 30 minutes. One teaspoon will disinfect 5 gallons. Immediately after treating, water must initially have a slight smell of chlorine. If it does not - repeat the process.
-UV: Steripen video
-Filters: Simply pump water and add the included MSR SweetWater Purifier Solution to innactivate 99.99% of waterborne viruses, bacteria and protozoan parasites. Note Without the added chlorine solution most filters will not get viruses!
-MIOX: miox.com

Boiling is straightforward if you have the time and heat source. Bleach is cheap and totally effective, but unless you give the water time to sit, you will bleach your taste buds. The steripen is a good investment for the drifter and works well for small quantities of water. Filters are a great way to go if you are willing to carry them and use them. Most will not get viruses on their own. Miox is weird military anti-bug science in action. It has pro and cons. So all methods will work if used correctly.

Stay Thirsty!

How To Purify Water on Howcast

Swell Scan Video Forecast

I am becoming a big fan of Nathan Cool's video forecasts. Here is his latest.

Steph is a 3X World Champ, Carissa wins Sunset

Alana Blanchard can Surf!

The Captain's Nuts

Here is a quick fix that is strong enough for a man and smooth enough for a lady.

6oz Glass

1/2 full of crushed ice

cover ice with Captain Morgan's

fill glass with almond milk

stir. repeat as necessary.

White Mountain, CA

14, 242'

Stand Up and Be Counted

Hey, I think we need a rule. If you are going out on your SUP, you should have to stand up, the whole time. I hear that SUPing is a great workout. Good for your core. Pretty sure that sitting on one between sets does not do much for you. Being able to see the waves better, having canoe like float, and a paddle are some pretty nice advantages in the lineup I would think. So stand up!

Maverick's Opening Day 2009

Check out this video on Surfline.com

I am always impressed by guys paddling into really big waves. Some of them looked 4X Overhead.

What I noticed in this video is that these cream of the crop, big wave surfers were taking off 4 and 5 to a wave just like the folks at canoe's in Waikiki. I saw several surfers collide in the video. It looks dangerous enough without having to worry about a fiberglass enema. Our new extreme sport?

Clean Water

Flathead Lake, Montana

One of the biggest challenges facing society is access to clean freshwater. Saltwater might be in our veins and the canvas on which we surf, but you can't drink it. It will kill most plants, and can ruin land for agriculture. 97% of Earth's water is salty. Half of the freshwater is trapped in ice. The remaining 1.5% must meet the needs of 7 billion people, their industries and agriculture. A further strain on water supplies occurs anytime natural sources are polluted or by shifting global weather patterns which bring draught.

So the obvious way out of this Malthusian Trap is to tap into that big supply of saltwater. The process of distillation has been around forever. Ships used to rely on low pressure flash distillation to meet their freshwater needs on the open ocean. This process involves heating the water and then rapidly lowering the pressure to cause it to flash to steam which is then condensed into freshwater. Effective but very energy intensive and output is limited. The current state of the art in desalination is Reverse Osmosis. Reverse Osmosis which is now used on ships and for large land based desal plants in places like the Middle East uses massive, high pressure pumps to force saltwater through a special membrane through which the salt can not pass. R.O. works well and can provide large quantities of freshwater. However, it uses a massive amount of electricity to get the job done. This makes the water produced expensive and adds a large carbon footprint. Also, the highly concentrated brine which is normally dumped back into the sea can kill sea life in the area.

Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
So Reverse Osmosis has a lot of room for improvement.

Saltworks Technologies founded by Ben Sparrow and Joshua Zoshi out of Vancouver, British Columbia have hit upon a revolutionary new process for desalination of seawater. Their process uses passive heat from the sun or waste heat to concentrate a brine solution. Then low pressure pumps flow the water through a desalination process. Saltworks Technologies desalination process takes advantage of the differences in chemical energy between the highly concentrated brine and normal seawater. The result is a low cost, low carbon footprint method of producing freshwater. It should be completely scalable and could be added to existing desalination plants to boost efficiency. Here is an excellent explanation in The Economist. This could be a major step towards solving one of mankind's biggest challenges.

Rip Curl Pro Search Day 9

Wow! After massive unsurfable closeouts, fog, small junky surf, and multiple delays the Search in Peniche Portugal delivered. Today saw macking scary barrels that pushed the world's best surfers to their limit! These guys were absolutely throwing themselves over the falls and into the pit. Often there was no way out and at least 6 boards were broken and there were two significant injuries. But the Quarter Finals saw 3 10.0 rides and 9.5 in the course of the 4 heats. Check out the highlights and the finals tomorrow.

Rip Curl Search

The 2009 Rip Curl Search is being held in Peniche Portugal. It should start tomorrow and will go a long way toward determining the 2009 ASP Men's World Champion. Good surf is forecast! Follow it here:

Hurricane Rick update

Nathan Cool, the man behind the science at Wetsand.com has a video surf forecast as well. His latest includes an update on Hurricane Rick.
Swell Scan

Pacific Powerglide Longboard

My friend Jack Lester is a lifelong surfer and a true craftsman. Many people know of Jack’s Ventura Beach Surfboard Repairs. Anyone who has dealt with him will attest to the top quality of his work and his reasonable prices. But Jack actually makes custom boards as well. The project he is excited about now is his Pacific Powerglide Longboard. Any of the pictures in this story can be enlarged by clicking on them; hit the back button to return.

Jack completed his first Pacific Powerglide for himself. It is a beauty at 10’2” x 23.75” x 3.125” with a triple cedar stringer. The tail block is a work of art in itself with two layers of gorgeous wood sandwiching high density foam color matched to the fin. The board’s classic lines and clean style might make you want to hang it on your wall. But that is not why Jack built it.

The Pacific Powerglide Longboard is built to provide countless fast rides down the line for the lucky surfer who has one. With a double layer of 6oz glass on the top deck, 6oz glass on the bottom as well, wrapped over US Blank’s new higher density foam, the board will last forever. The new foam is lighter so despite the triple stringer and glass the board is only slightly heavier. Jack is especially pleased with how easily the Powerglide paddles and catches waves. A subtle nose rider’s scoop coupled with a subtle V channel give the Powerglide modern longboard performance.






Jack’s board in these photographs looks brand new, but he has been riding it for a few months. Riding the board turned out to be good advertising, because when his buddy Bob saw the board in action, he asked Jack to build one for him. Bob’s board will feature blue foam wood sandwiched in the tail block with a matching fin.

Jack and Bob with Bob's future Pacific Powerglide Longboard

Ask Jack about the Tiki

Anyone interested in talking to Jack about a Pacific Powerglide Longboard can give him a call at 805 794-4911 or drop him a note at jacklester7770@sbcglobal.net The current price is $800.

Bio Soup

To Surf or Not to Surf? ~Scat is the Question~
My wife thought of that. The good news is that I did not even have my board with me. It was a beautiful day in Ventura. When I rounded that bend in the 101 and saw C St firing, it hurt. I had to go get a better look and even found a front row spot in the free lot. I saw nice big meaty NW swell on nearly glassy water. Hard to tell much from my point and shoot picture, but the waves were well overhead and peeling. There is a rider up on the right side who had a great ride approaching that section. Mostly SUPs & longboards at C St but I am sure all the usual shortboard spots were probably on. The lineup was not too crowded, but there were a few hardy or fool-hardy out.

I can't remember the last time we had real rain, but I would guess around March. So 8 months of trash & turds, insecticides & fertilizers, oil & antifreeze just got douched into Mother Ocean by the nice three day rain Southern California just had. Seems best to me to give the ocean a few days to chew on it. So the boards and wetsuits stay in the garage for now, even if it hurts. I'm sure the guys that braved the lineup did not miss me. If they get pink eye or advanced crotch rot, I won't miss them in the lineup once the water settles.

World Champion Race Wide Open

Adriano de Souza won his first WCT event since qualifying for the World Championship Tour four years ago. He is hard working, humble, and gracious; a Brazilian national hero, everyone was happy to see him win. Truth be told, he is often overlooked and underrated, but that may be changing fast.

The most exciting thing (the surf itself was horrible) to come out of the Billabong Pro Mundaka was not Adriano's win. It was the shuffle of the 2009 race for World Champion. With two events left, the race is wide open.

Mick Fanning has taken the lead from Joel Parkinson, but only the difference between a 3rd and a win in a single event separate them. Farther back, but well within striking distance are in order of point totals Adriano de Souza, C.J. Hobgood, Bede Durbidge, & Kelly Slater. Sure Adriano, C.J. or Bede could do it, but everyone will be looking over their shoulders for Kelly. All are deserving, classy, ambassadors of the sport. It will be a lot of fun to watch.

Current ratings here.

Watch the Finals

The World Championship Tour will Survive with Changes

Some time back, I wrote of Kelly Slater's ESPN sponsored breakaway tour. Everybody has written about it. The thrust of the new tour was that a smaller, more elite group of surfers would chase bigger prizes with much better media exposure. The unanswered questions were both numerous and serious. So perhaps the "Breakaway Tour" lived up to its highest potential by forcing the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) into action. The ASP board has met and released the following:

MUNDAKA, Euskadi/Spain (Saturday, October 10, 2009) – The October 2009 ASP Board of Directors meeting has completed, with all surfers, events and administration uniting to activate landmark improvements that make the ASP World Tour bigger and better for 2010 and beyond.“On behalf of the Association of Surfing Professionals, I am pleased to reaffirm the commitment from both our surfers and events in progressing the sport in a unified and collaborative effort,” Brodie Carr, ASP International CEO, said. “We have just completed a period of intense discussion with the world’s best surfers and the world’s best events which culminated in the unanimous support of the ASP and the commitment to the continuation of crowning undisputed world champions, as we have done so for 30 years, for generations to come.”First and foremost amongst the historic changes is the transformation to a one-world rating and the trimming back of the ASP World Tour field. Beginning in 2010, the ASP will move from the current two-tier to an all-inclusive one-world rating where both ASP World Tour and ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events will be used to determine a surfer’s rating.Halfway through the 2010 season, the ASP World Tour field will be reduced from the current 45-man plus three wildcards to a 32-man plus four wildcards field. The timing of this reduction in field is to allow everyone qualifying for next season’s Dream Tour ample opportunity to establish themselves in the Top 32.“By trimming back the current Top 45 field as well as instituting the one-world rating we ensure the ASP World Tour continues to be the most progressive and dynamic professional surfing tour on Earth,” Mick Fanning, ASP World Champion (2007) and Surfers’ Representative, said. “The ASP has been the home of the best surfers and the best waves for over 30 years and our commitment to instituting these changes is illustrative of our position at the forefront of surfing.”Prize money at the ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour level is set for a substantial increase in 2010. Base prize money for the ASP World Tour events will increase from the current US$340,000 to US$400,000 in 2010, taking the total prize pool on 10 events from $3,400,000 to $4,000,000 per annum. On the ASP Women’s World Tour, total prize pool will increase from US$630,000 to $800,000 in 2010.Along with the increase in event prize purse, an additional US$100,000 bonus will be awarded to the year-end ASP World Champion, as well as an additional US$30,000 bonus to the year-end ASP Women’s World Champion.“The surfers and events continue to work together with ASP Management to create a world class sport,” Rip Curl’s Neil Ridgway, ASP Events’ Council Chairman, said. “There are over one thousand ranked surfers from juniors to pros chasing an ASP World Title, and tens of thousands behind them dreaming of winning one themselves. Our tours provide sporting, economic, social and environmental benefits to almost every continent on the planet. We uphold the career pathway and continue to nurture the millions of fans who follow their heroes on the ASP World Tours.”In addition to the increase in prize money, the ASP will institute an increase in surfer benefits that include full insurance coverage as well as a pension plan.The third major change to be activated in 2010 is the evolution of the ASP Board structure. Transitioning from the current 5-person (1 chairman, 2 event and 2 surfer) model, the new ASP Board Structure will consist of three independents, two events and two surfers – including a women’s representative.“It’s fantastic that the women will become voting members of the ASP Board of Directors,” Jessi Miley-Dyer, ASP Women Surfers’ Representative, said. “The current board has done an incredible job in directing the tour and has been instrumental in providing career pathways and tours for both male and female surfers. Having a female representative on the board dovetails perfectly into the positive, global response we’re receiving on the ASP Women’s World Tour right now, and I look forward to seeing the benefits of such a shift in focus.”“We remain open to enhancements to our tours that reflect our core principles,” Carr said. “Our primary focus is in doing what is best for professional surfing.”

This taken from the ASP's website which is also where we are advised to check for more information. The good news is that prize money is supposed to be bumped up while the tour is streamlined. However, no mention is made of the ASP getting the media rights to all their events. Many, including Ian "Kanga" Cairns have said this is key to the evolution of the ASP.

I think it is great news. I like having a valid competition for a single World Champ. I like having a clear path to that world title. But better events with better media coverage would be a major improvement. We shall see.

Tsunami in Pago Pago

Hawaii Surf Session Reports' Tommy Stokes dug up a very interesting story about surfers who survived the Samoan tsunami. Hawaii Surf Session Reports is available on iTunes as a video podcast. It is a light, relaxing look at the the latest surf scene in Oahu, usually around town. Local bands support the show which is nice! Check it out on iTunes or here.

Here is the story about the guys surfing when the tsunami hit.

Tsunami in Pago Pago

I had the good fortune to visit Pago Pago and even get a surf in, so when I heard that they had suffered a tsunami, it caught my attention. Not much to say about a tragedy like that, but here is a security camera video the FBI released. The power is pretty stunning.

Off Topic- Swine Flu

Know anybody personally who has swine flu yet?

I did not until this week. The bad news is that my brother and his family all have swine flu. The good news is that he did not tell me in person. In fact, they live in South Carolina. His story is a scary one. On the grounds that Swine Flu would keep you out of the water, I'll share some details here.

My bro said that it starts off like a light cold or flu and that is one of the key dangers. Many a macho man has shrugged off the early symptoms. But like a tsunami, it just keeps coming. By the time he started coming out of it, he had secondary pneumonia and had been given big time anti-biotics, steroids, and a cortisone shot. He also said it spreads like fire. His daughter acquired it from her church group (you'd think that wouldn't happen). Shortly afterward, the whole family had swine flu including my brother who is one of those guys that never get sick.

No medical advice here at Cleanwatersurf.com. But watch out for that stuff, No Bueno!

Quicky Pro France 2009

If you didn't catch it, Dane took 2nd in the Hurley Pro at Lower Trestles. He lost in his first WCT final to Mick Fanning. He was easily the most exciting and dynamic surfer of the event. The highlight for me was when he out power surfed one of his idols, Taylor Knox in the quarters. The guys in the booth were blown away and they replayed that ride about 5 times during the heat. Catch the on demand here.

No breaks now, the Quicky Pro France has kicked off. Guess who had the highest heat score of Round One. Video Go to Round One Heat 13 Nice tune too. Dane even manages to slam the French in his offbeat way. Well done.

The Hurley Pro 2009

The Hurley Pro 2009 is the only World Championship Tour, WCT, event held in North America. It is going on now at lower Trestles. They are currently through round 3 and on hold because the surf is no bueno. You can check out the highlights so far here. Be sure to check out Dane Reynolds in Round 3 Heat 7. Que up your own music because they set it to the cheesiest synthetic background music they could find. The waves were not very impressive, but Dane launched an amazing air to pull in an 8.3 and advance past Ben Dunn. Joel Parkinson was eliminated in Round 3 by Rob Machado so the title race is suddenly a little more interesting.

-You can check it out live here The next call is Friday morning 7:30am Pacific

-The good news is that the Americans are kicking butt. Taylor Knox, Roy Powers, Dane Reynolds, Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Kekoa Bacalso, Damien Hobgood, and CJ Hobgood are all still in the hunt. Hawaiians are American last I heard.

-The Webcast has been pretty good. Could use Occy.

-The waves have been pretty poor overall. We can hope the final rounds will be held in much better surf.

-The offical website is good, but Hurley needs to do a better job of keeping it updated throughout the event. For example, Round 3 was running for awhile before the list of Round 3 match ups was posted. I eventually found it on the ASP site well before the event site.

The main thing is that the worlds greatest surfers are just down the road. I hope to get down to the event, but if I can not, I will be grateful for the webcast.

Right On Rip Curl

I am on my 2nd Rip Curl Ultimate E-Bomb wetsuit. This one is a chest zip. Overall, I love the suit. Keeps my core warm even in ice cream headache water allowing me to surf as long as I want. The flexibility is great, especially with the chest zip.

The zipper pull tab on my first E-bomb corroded off when the suit was about 2 1/2 year old. It was getting ratty, so I customized the zipper with a piece of copper wire and bought a new one. That wetsuit is now a back up or second session suit. Having a dry wetsuit for that second surf is magic.

A few months ago the zipper pull tab on my "new" E-bomb corroded off. Not only is this a disturbing trend, but at just over a year old this suit should have a lot of life left. I checked the Rip Curl website and of course nothing over 12 months is covered by warranty. I decided to return the wetsuit to Rip Curl for repair. Since it was a corrosion failure and a trend, I felt they should fix it for free. If they did not feel the same way, I have heard good things about Excel Wetsuits.

To return an item for repair in North America ship it to:
Rip Curl Service Center
3030 Airway Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

You can call, 714-422-3600, if you like but the voice mail will just tell you to ship it with a note and they will call you when they get it. It is kind of a cryptic system, but it works.

When the young lady called me she told me that as a non-warranty repair it would be twenty something bucks. Seems like a fair price, but I get hung up on the principal of things sometimes. I told her I believed that the suit should be fixed for free and why. She said she would ask.

That is the last I heard from Rip Curl until the FedEx truck rolled up yesterday. Not the best communicators, but Rip Curl makes a great wetsuit. Since they are willing to stand behind it, my next suit will probably be a Rip Curl E-Bomb Chest Zip. Hopefully, they will have improved the zippers by then.

Saltwater Buddha

--Just finished Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis. It is one of the best surf related books I have ever read. Looking at the reviews, a lot of people love this book. Jaimal takes us along as he runs away to Hawaii, joins a monastery, runs off to Hawaii again, and then accepts joining the real world but on his own terms. Throughout his travels his surfing and spiritual journeys get him into some heavy situations. However, Jaimal keeps the story light, fun, and quick. You'll love this book and wind up recommending it to friends and family even if they don't surf.

Thousand Oaks is tougher than we thought

Wow, The possible jokes are endless. Good that Americans are passionate about a serious national issue. Ridiculous that a man lost part of his pinky. What does it have to do with surfing? Not much, but here's the stretch.. We have all seen some really stupid altercations in the water. I will argue that they have absolutely no place in surfing. They ruin the whole point of surfing. Maybe by looking at how ridiculous this sidewalk scuffle turned out, we can all just nod and paddle away next time.

Plastics at Sea

Wetsand.com posted an article in the Green Room by the American Chemical Society. The information is good but incomplete with a very misleading title. If you are going to read the article, I recommend that you also read the comment by BLBofVentura (a chemist) below. The point of the article is that a study found that plastics rapidly break down at sea (very questionable), but release toxins in the process.

Article

One Perfect Ride

Three weeks ago I had surgery on my shoulder. Doc cleaned off bone spurs and cleaned up the area around the various tendons, rotator cuff, and labrum. There are tears that will heal with time and nothing else he let me know. No sports (surfing) for 6 weeks! But I am doing Physical Therapy and they are pretty aggressive with the shoulder. I do pull downs and reverse flys until it really burns. So, if my arm can handle that, it couldn't hurt to throw a longboard in the water and just paddle around a little, right?

I have not been following the swell. Normally, I check bouys, tides, winds, etc daily and often several times a day. A week and a half after the surgery I checked the swell, saw that a nice South was coming in and got depressed. So I was surprised to find hurricane swell pumping in. It was clean, good sized, and short period from a nice 190 degrees. With over 3 feet of tide and rising I headed for one of the most beautiful surf spots I know. It is a secret spot (yeah, right!) with a large rock marking the peak cleverly hidden just off the PCH, North of Malibu.

Paddling didn't hurt my shoulder any worse than PT, so out I went. I was on my 10' longboard because I did not want to get too tempted. I figured that I would be OK as long as I didn't get after anything too hard, forget about my shoulder, and tear something up in there. There was a good sized pack sitting on the main rock. Some of the guys were getting really nice rides. Shortboarders also scattered through the inside. I paddled out to second rock. The first reason was to get that saltwater therapy while staying out of the way. But there was another reason. As I was walking down I saw a set break well outside the main rock. Most everybody was out of position, but it looked like sitting to the left of second rock just might work for one of those.

As my shoulder loosened up I poked at a few. Not quite steep enough to catch sitting just left of second rock. So I slid 20yds farther left, a third of the way to the main rock with the kelp bed keeping me quite seperate from the crowd. My wave came and I stood up as a farmer would walk out into a drought ending rain storm. I let my feet come to a narrow stance and put my hands behind my arched back as I weaved up and down the green face and through the other surfers. The wave kept going for longer than I expected, and when it started to double up, I stepped to the nose to race the section. I easily got out in front of the section and perched on the cresting lip all the way in. With the beach and rocks approaching I bailed out the back.

That's it. Drought is over. One perfect little ride goes a long way. I can't wait until I can surf again!

Book Signing in Ventura

One of my wishlist books that I had not gotten to yet was Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis. In the Sunday Ventura County Star they had an article about Jaimal and his book signing in Venura last night. I asked my buddy Con if he wanted to go and off we went.

The first thing that struck me was the crowd. It was a small crowd, but I recognized many of the faces from the lineups around the county. This is not the sort of book that would grab just anyone's attention and this seemed to be a gathering of the faithful.

The second thing that really stood out was what a cool, down to earth guy Jaimal is. I did not know what to expect from the author of a book about zen and surfing. The guy is well spoken and funny. He talked about how Buddism had affected his life and his surfing without laying it on thick.

We enjoyed the book signing more than we expected and I am looking forward to reading the book.

Global Warming?

This article talks about the warming of the oceans. Serious stuff even if the warm water trend is not apparent on the California coast.

In hot water: World sets ocean temperature record

Save the Planet, Save your Money, Call Jack

Want to do something good for the ocean and your wallet? Grab that favorite old board that you love, but is one step from the dumpster. If you live near Ventura, you are in luck! Jack Lester can give that old board a new life for a very good price. I have asked Jack to revive three of my boards, and after that big swell, one of them twice (broke a glassed in fin). Two of those boards were in really bad shape after years of my own repairs, but they have a new life now! He is an old school craftsman who takes pride in turning out the nicest repairs you'll see. He also builds custom boards! He showed me a beautiful paddleboard/longboard that he shaped and glassed for his wife. It is a really fun looking big board. Jack puts a custom carry nook next to the stringer on his big boards (if the customer wants one), so they are a breeze to get the beach. So do yourself a favor and have Jack Lester fix your boards if you are in the Ventura area. If you are not, find your local craftsman. For any that have trouble reading the scan of Jack's card, you can reach him at jacklester7770@sbcglobal.net

Occy In my Head

I have a little voice that gives me guidance. It is harsh, honest, and often obscene. Probably the result of years of wrestling, football, and rugby coaches' helpful hints. Surfing is both dynamic and solitary, so I can hear the voice well. It lets me know that taking off late on a steep wave was a poor choice. It suggests I take a look at the second wave of the set. When my duck dive is a little lazy and I narrowly avoid taking an unwanted ride, the voice points out how lucky I am not to have eaten it for no good reason.

Probably not the only guy in the lineup with a little voice. Who cares? But after getting into the World Championship Tour webcasts, a funny thing happened to my little voice. The voice never really belonged to anyone before but now it is Mark Occhilupo ragging and encouraging me. Odd but I could do a lot worse. Only happens when I shortboard; Occy doesn't seem to care about longboarding.
Occy is great on the Webcasts. Here is an example.

Update on Slater's new Tour

Check out Down The Line for the latest on Kelly Slater's ESPN centered new pro surfing tour.

Rueters Article on the Garbage Patch

Here's the link

Where do the Waves Come From?

Following the biggest summer swell in years (for SoCal) the waves backed down to chest high then knee high then less. Today and tomorrow we are expecting a little SW swell. Emphasis on little because the storm that spawned this swell was off New Zealand and had a track direction that will rob our area of some of the swell energy (angular spreading decay).

Where do the waves come from? Short answer, the Sun. Earth receives more heat along the equator than at the poles. Hot air rises and cold air sinks. The rising hot air has lower pressure and we call those areas "Lows" and vice versa. This would make for some very boring weather but Earth is tilted and it spins. The spin of the Earth separates the global circulation into bands such as the Tropical Easterlies (wind from the East) and the Mid Latitude Westerlies which cover the 48 states as well as Europe. From the interactions of cold air, warm air, moist air, and dry air we get storms. For a storm to produce surf, it needs some staying power so we normally look to big low pressure systems in the far North (winter) or South (summer). We also can get great surf from tropical systems (hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones). For a great explanation of how the winds from these storms become good surf, read Sean Collins explanation on Surfline:
So how do we get Surf?

For a book which goes much deeper into the science behind forecasting waves:
Wetsand Wavecast Guide to Surf Forecasting by Nathan Cool

Meteorology Today linked in the Amazon box on the right is great!
If you want to know more about all types of weather, this is the best textbook I ever used in any subject. My edition is about 15 years old, so hopefully it only got better. And a used copy might be much cheaper. Easy to understand explanations of every weather phenomena.

Swell of the Summer

When my buddy from Austin, TX called me because he had heard that "LA" was getting big surf, I new that the word was truly out. The news these days is something else. If you did not know Southern California has had three days of very solid Southwest swell. This swell has a long period, the number of seconds between peaks which also means a longer wavelength. Long period swells will amplify (sometimes drastically) at certain spots based on the bathymetry. One famous spot where this occurs is the Wedge in Newport Beach. Tragically a bodyboarder was swept onto the rocks of a nearby jetty and died. These are waves with consequences! I came out of the this swell in pretty good shape. Broke a fin on one of my boards, have a big slice in my butt cheek to show for it (didn't cut the wetsuit though), and a big bruise is filling in on my left arm. Pretty light damage considering the size of the waves and the size of the crowd where I surfed (Ventura County). Here is some eye candy from the swell.

amature video of the Wedge

http://www.surfline.com/video/locals/the-wedge-awakens_28940

Kelly Slater at Hurley US Open

http://www.surfline.com/video/contests/hurley-us-open-of-surfing-kelly-slaters-ten_28937

Surfline article about bodyboarder

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/bodysurfer-dies-at-wedge-big-swell-sweeps-lawndale-man-into-rocks_28929/

HURLEY US OPEN OF SURFING®

The US Open of Surfing is going on now in Huntington Beach. This years marks the 50th anniversary of US Championships at Huntington Beach in 1959. This is a 6 Star (most important) WQS (World Qualifying Series) event. In addition to some great surfing, there are a ton of other events going on such as concerts, BMX & Skateboarding.

Check out the website US Open of Surfing for the schedule, info, and to watch the WQS.

Heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Scientist, Activists, and Politicians continue to debate many environmental issues. But there is no debating the effects of Plastics in our oceans. They don't break down, they don't sink, and they are deadly to sea life.

Plastics that enter the water via the rivers and shores of Asia and North America eventually make their way to the North Pacific Gyre by way of the natural currents. A floating garbage area that some say is the size of the 48 states drifts between California and Hawaii. The idea of this colossal monument to human carelessness and waste is appalling. The reality for sea life is far worse.

Learn more at Great Garbage Patch.org

J-Bay

Dane Reynolds had the highest heat score of the event. You can see the top three; Dane Reynolds, Kelly Slater, and Sean Holmes here: http://www.billabongpro.com/jbay09/videos_gb.php?rVid=vd07

2009 Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction benefits The Surfrider Fountation

This unique auction being held today and tomorrow in Hawaii is now open to online viewing and bidding. Anyone interested in rare and vintage surfboards should check it out. The Surfrider Foundation is one of the three organizations benefiting from the event. http://hawaiiansurfauction.com/

New World Tour format.

As many may have heard by now there is a buzz about the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) WCT (World Championship Tour) or the "Dream Tour" being replaced by a new organization and possibly format. This endorsed by Kelly Slater.

I watched an interview with Kelly during the J-Bay event. Kelly did not provide a lot of information, but confirmed that the rumors were true. He did state that the ASP did not have its own media rights, and that was the root of the problem. He also made it clear that he feels replacing the ASP will be more effective than fixing it. Video of that interview is no longer available on the J-Bay webcast site: http://www.billabongpro.com/jbay09/index.php

Scott Bass and Jeff Baldwin talked about this possible new tour on the July 12 down the line radio show: http://downthelineradio.com They were basing most of their info on Phil Jarratt's blog: http://noosa-journal.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/slater-for-world-tour Scott seemed to think that Kelly's new tour would be a Young Guns style affair with emphasis on airs. Baldy pointed out that tube riding would also have to be an essential component. The guts of the new tour was reported to be ESPN television coverage. Towards the end of the show Randy Rarick, in an interview about his vintage surfboard auction: http://hawaiiansurfauction.com stated that he believed the new Slater Tour would be a specialty event, not to conflict with the WCT and would ultimately have the ASPs blessing.

Obviously, information is still being gathered by the experts and insiders at this point.

My take is that while there is a lot of room for improvement with the webcast and sponsor controlled events that make up the WCT, Television and therefore ESPN is not the answer. Also, anything less than taking all the current Dream Tour pros over to the new tour just won't cut it.

Webcasts can be horrible at times, but they are a big improvement over not being able to see the contest live. Surfing is not golf, NASCAR, or baseball. The waiting periods, lay days, and long tournament style events will not translate into good television. Often the most exciting surfing of the event occurs in the early rounds. Sometimes the final round is terrible if the waves will not cooperate. Hey, if ESPN wants to run an HD Highlight Video, I am all for it. But how could they ever cover a quality event profitably? I stayed up until 3:30 am to watch Dane Reynolds surf, but that's my problem. If ESPN were to throw its weight behind standardizing and improving the webcasts, that could be money. After that we could all look forward to that HD Highlight Video on TV.

Classified

J-Bay

Stayed up to long enough to watch Occy v Curren. The webcast is great, but the 9 hour time difference makes you work for it. Mostly I'm pulling for Dane. He is an unbelievable surfer, and I was rewarded for staying up to watch his heats. He was the only surfer to make any attempt at airs yesterday. Not an easy thing to do at J-bay. Like watching football or any other sport, watching live is completely different from reading the results or even catching the highlight video. Even though none of my surf buddies follow the WCT closely, somebody must, because after 3 hours or so the web dropped out during the last 5 minutes of Dane's heat against Damian Hobgood. Must of been too much demand because it started working a few minutes after Dane's loss. Best result of his career so far and more importantly, he is clearly the most exciting surfer on the tour right now. Hopefully, the rest of this year's events will be as exciting as J-Bay.

Surfers Paradise

Conratulations to Joel Parkinson on his Win at J-Bay

Dane

OPENS the Quarters with a 10. Scott Bass, give it up. Dane is the real deal.

J-Bay

Taylor advances to the quarters. Kelly is out. Joel Parkinson has got to be happy.

J-Bay

6 min to go. If Kelly can't find his wave, Taylor will advance. 10X World Champ will have to wait....

J-Bay

Kelly or Taylor?

J-Bay

Dane is in the quarters

J-bay

Dane pulled a 8.83. Looks good with 5 minutes left.

J-Bay

Dane Reynolds showed what he can do with great surf yesterday scoring a perfect 10 on a ride and knocking out Jordy Smith. I am tuned into http://www.billabongpro.com/jbay09/index.php
to see if he can beat Michel Bourez (who knocked out Mick Fanning) and make the semis

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