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Showing posts from April, 2009

Thoroughly Modern Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... D o you know how hard it is to get a photograph of your foot while skateboarding at night?  To top it off it doesn't even look like we're moving!  Damned newfangled cameras! W e surfed Hermosa this morning after Les Congeliere dismissed his early morning surf class.  Visibility was 15 miles, under a hazy sun.  The winds quickly turned onshore and it was blowing 6.8kts out of the west.  The sea surface had a light to medium chop.  The air temp was a cool 50.5° and the water is 57.7°.  Low tide is at 9:01am -0.5' and high tide will follow at 4:25pm +3.5'.  There's a 3.0' swell out of 234°and we're calling it just like the buoy:  3.0'. T he water temp this morning at 8am was 57.7°.  At 9am it was 58.5°.  At 10am according to the buoy (#46221) it was 59.4°!  Our calculations suggest that if this keeps up by 9pm this evening it should be 70°  By tomorrow morning it should be near 80.  On Wednesday it will be too warm to go in.  Isn'

Wranglin' Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... A rose is a rose is a rose...  Thank you Gertrude.  Actually, this is a shot from the lanai and our formal rose garden. A brisk spring morning.  17 miles visibility and partly cloudy skies.  Winds were calm at 7am and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was a chillin' 49.7° and the water was a comparatively warm 57..4°.  No booties today, thank you...  Low tide was at 7:50am -0..7' and high tide will be at 3:02pm +3.2'.  The swell is coming out of 262° at 4.6' and we're calling the waves 3' to 5'.  The tides are dredging things a bit, but if you're patient you might get a corner or two! "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

A Trace of Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... O kay, everyone is familiar with the statue of Lifeguard Tim Kelly that stands at the foot of the Hermosa Pier.  It was recently recast by surfer/artist Chris Barela and rededicated at the spot where it now stands.  Kelly was a roomate of Walt Hetz and a good friend of Fred Tisue.  When he died in a car accident it was a pretty big deal.  So they came up with this idea for a memorial.  So when we were looking at it this morning, we noticed that the surfer was goofy foot.  Was Tim Kelly goofy footed?  Most guys are regular foot.  Then we looked at the face (if you can blow up the image take a look.)  It's Fred Tisue!  His stance, his face, the whole thing.  We think Fred posed for the statue...  (We could've called him to find out, but we like a little drama...) A lready the wind is kicking up!  It's onshore at 7.8kts and the sea surface has a light chop.  Visibility is 15 miles and we have partly cloudy, hazy skies.  The air temperature was 53.2° and

More Mulch Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... I t's spring and everyone's out there mulching their lawns and gardens.  That's what's nice about the 11th floor, not a whole lot of lawn up here.  Okay, there's the patch of astro-turf, but that really doesn't count... I t's waxing overcast and we have 12 miles visibility.  Winds are offshore by 5.7kts and the sea surface is glassy to a bit of a tack.  The air temperature is 58.4° and the water is 57.9°, feeling a little nicer after the wind kicked up all that cold water yesterday.  Low tide is at 5:49am _1.1' and high tide will be at 12:23pm +3.4'.  The buoy is detecting a swell out of 268° at 3.3' and that's translating into 3' to 4' with some nice thick outsides. Y esterday the Professor and Danger Boy hit Sapphire St. and scored some nice rides.  Danger Boy actually had one take-off that he described as thrilling.  We warned him not to tell everyone that it happened at Sapphire.  They just plain won't b

Unidentified Flying Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... S o we're watching the sunset from the Admiral Risty a few days ago as we were celebrating LoLa's B-day and upon displaying the photos we took, we see these unidentified lights.  Whoa, there's a few out in the ocean!  And there's a group up there in the sky looking like they're ready to make an attack!  How was it that we didn't notice at the moment?  Did the alien's erase our memories?  Well, upon closer inspection we determined that those were just the lights being reflected from the bar.  Or maybe not... U nder cloudy, overcast skies we have 7 miles visibility.  Winds are already onshore by 7.8kts and the sea surface has a heavy tack.  The air temp is 58.2° and the water is 56.7°.  High tide is at 9:46am +4.2' and low tide will follow at 3:04pm +1.1'.  The buoy is reading a 3.3' swell out of 189°, which is pretty south.  With the increasing tide and the swell direction we're calling it 2' and poor.  Everyone is s

Thunderstone Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... "W hen your toilet won't stop running, and you put your hand in the tank to fix the chain, don't you wonder, briefly, whether or not the water in the tank has already been in the toilet bowl?"  George Carlin L ooking pretty gray this morning.  We have 5 miles visibility and heavy overcast skies.  Winds are offshore by 5.9kts and the sea surface has a bit of a roll to it, but it's relatively smooth.  The air temp is 58.4° and the water is 57.9°, so it's slowly creeping back up.  High tide is at 9:01am +4.3' and low tide will follow at 2:35pm +0.9'.  There's a swell coming out of 205° at 3.3' and the high tide is currently floating the swells and causing them not to break.  We'll call the shorebreak 2' and ask you to wait for low tide to check it out.  We went as far as Hermosa Pier and everything still has too much water. O ur photo this morning is of Savannah Paine at her birthday party.  It was her sweet sixteen

Whirligig Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... O ur first shot this morning is of the Hermosa Pier at somewhat of a higher elevation than we're used to.  But you get the idea.  A few fisherpeople, but it didn't look like anything was running, especially the surf!  Let's look at the statistics... C loudy to hazy sun this morning and about 10 miles visibility.  Winds are offshore (ESE) by 5.2kts and the sea surface has a bit of reverse tack.  The air temperature is 59.4° and the water has nudged up a bit to 57.4°.  We keep flirting with the idea of a springer - then it gets cloudy.  Today's problem is that high tide is at 8:18am +4.3' and low tide will be at 2:07pm +0.7'.  If we could reverse the tides, there could'a been some waves this morning.  The swell is hitting the buoy from 205° at 2.6' and because of the tide we're calling it 1' and poor.  Today's strategy will be to wait until the tide is low enough for it to break, but BEFORE the wind kicks up. O ur second

Sea of Tranquility Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

Lost Boys & Co... Getting warm out there!  Apparently yesterday was a record breaker in some areas, like the lanai of the Topaz International Trump Tower Suites (11th Floor.)  Let's look at the stats... Some high clouds, but predominantly clear skies with a trace of smoggy haze.  Visibility is 25 miles.  Winds are lightly offshore at 3.9kts and the sea surface is glassy.  The air temperature is 65.4° and the water dropped a degree to 55./6°.  High tide is at 7:34am +4.2' and low tide will be this afternoon at 1:40pm +0.6'.  The buoy is reading a 2' swell out of 250°.  It's hardly breaking, but we'll be generous and call it 1'.  Yesterday at low tide there were some odd little waves.  If you're interested run down and take a look.  Hermosa Pier was also looking bumpier than Redondo. "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Motley Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... H ey, what about this weather!  Global warming or WHAT!  We don't mind that much, it sure is nice.  Our first photo is a pic of Janine and Birdie checking out the surf.  Instead of surfing they took a walk down to the harbor and back.  Janine lead the expedition.  Since there was no surf they were checking out the Body Glove boat heading to their secret lobster lounge.  Thanks to Robbie for kicking up some wake for the desperate.   Okay, let's look at the stats.... W e've got unlimited visibility this morning (last night we were coming back from PV and the lights across the bay were spectacular.)  Winds are out of the NE this morning by 3.9kts and the sea surface has the slightest offshore tack to it.  The air temperature is 60.3° and the water is 56.1°.  High tide is at 6:48am +4.1' and low tide will be at 1:13pm +0.5'.  The buoy is showing a 2.0' swell out of 250°.  We'll call it 1' but at present it's not really breaking.  T

Finally A Friday Surf & Culture Report

Lost Boys & Co... O kay, a beautiful spring day today!  17 miles visiblity and hazy sun.  Winds started off offshore by 3.5kts and the sea surface is rolly-smooth.  The air temp is 48.7°and the water is 54.9°.  Low tide is late morning at 11:19am +0.6' and high tide follows at 6:54pm +3.5'.  The buoy is reading a 3.6' swell out of 263° and the waves are in the 3' to 4' range.  Some good waves this morning at Knob Hill with Buffalo Kevin and Birdie.  Birdie was loosening up and getting ready for his summer assault on the waves.  He mentioned how good it is to get in the water and get some exercise, when sometimes you feel like just heading straight for the pancakes.  Kevin was riding his purple eleven-footer and he kinda looked like he should'a be wearing one of those captain's hats.  Got some good waves though! M eanwhile... I've gotten some questions from those on the LBS&CR who wanted to know what all the fuss was about on the blog.  As near a

Three Mile Limit Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... G ood morning!  The wind has finally abated and there's the remnants of this west swell.  Let's look at the stats... H azy but clear skies and 15miles visibility.  Winds started off offshore by 2.5kts and the sea surface has a bit of residual bump from yesterday's blow.  At 7am the air temp was 48.7° and the water is 55.2°.   Low tide is revealing your favorite rocks at 10:12am +0.6' and high tide will follow at 6:54pm +3.2'.  The buoy is reading a 271° west swell at 4.6'.  We're calling it 4' to 6'.  W e watched some guys get some pretty nice rides this morning.  It was bumpy, but patience seemed to be paying off.  Rooster got out of the water early with a broken leash, but not before he had gotten a couple of nice rides.  Don Swift was really getting some nice waves all morning.  He's probably one of the best surfers in these parts.  You can learn a lot by just watching him. W hile we were out in the water this Coast Guard

What Wendnesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... A lthough I usually don't respond to anonymous comments, these seemed to warrant a word or two.  Last Friday there were some comments posted on the blog that suggested the Lost Boys had called some 16 year old kid a racial slur and chased him out of the water.  I would like to categorically state that no one associated with this list or in the Lost Boys has ever conducted themselves in that manner.  This group started more than ten years ago consisting mainly of fellow surfers from south RB.  We raised our kids and our friends kids surfing together and engendering a spirit of camaraderie and aloha.  All of our kids have been in the Jr. Guard program and we have taught dozens of children and adults to surf.  If this event took place as "Anonymous" suggests, then we find those responsible as reprehensible as he/she does. A wind blown 20 miles visibility this morning with cloudless skies.  Winds are in the 20 to 25kt. range and the seas are predictabl

Terrapin Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... A little gray out there this morning.  But we headed over to look at Sapphire St., hoping that maybe Ruby St. would be breaking on the new swell.  Our photo shows it hitting almost to the top-hat rock near the end of the jetty.  Ruby was breaking too close to shore, but Sapphire was caroming off the rocks just right!  We joined Buffalo and the Seal Beach crew and Rooster paddled around to even things out.  Some nice outsides.  S o it's cloudy and looking a tad gray.  Visibility is about 10 miles.  Winds are onshore by 1.2kts and look tyo increase as the morning wears on.  The sea surface is getting a light chop, but not quite whitecapped.  The air temperature is 54.2° and the water is 58.5°.  Low tide is at 7:38am +0.3' and high tide will be at 2:52pm +2.8'.  The swell is coming out of 195° at 4.3' and that's about how big the waves are.  Let's hope it cleans up a little more for tomorrow.  It could use a bit of manicuring... W e got a co

Marimbist Monday Surf & Culture Report

Lost Boys & Co... A n interesting weekend of surf, with an absolutely great Saturday.  Sunday had a little less power, but still some nice waves.  Let's see what's happening this morning! H azy sun and 15 miles visibility as we survey our domain from the 11th floor of the Topaz International Trump Tower Suites.  Winds are slightly onshore by 1.2kts and the sea surface is smooth.  The air temperature is 52.2° and the water is 57.9°.  On a week of some unusual tides, low tide starts the morning at 6:41am +0..0' and high tide will be at 1:17pm +3.0'.  A swell out of 208° is registering 3.0 on the buoy and we're calling the results 3' with some fatter outsides..  We hit Hermosa this morning, just south of the pier and got some nice waves.  A lot like a couple of Wednesday's ago with Buck - ask him!  He'll tell you. "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Good Friday Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... O kay, we got a shot of our favorite Easter bonnet store in the Big Apple. We're kinda thinking the red one is just the thing. Provocative, but not too sexy. Stylish, but not out of bounds. Fun, but not overtly amusing... T en miles visibility and it's clouding up to the point where we think the weatherman might be right about the threat of rain. Winds are calm and the sea surface is smooth. The air temp is 54.1° and the water is looking good at 58.5°. High tide is at 10:44am +4.1' and low tide will follow at 4:03pm +1.2'. The swell is coming out of 238° at 3.0', but it's fighting the high tide and is about 2' by the time it hits the beach. If there are waves, they will be tomorrow early... T wo women meet in heaven: 1st woman : Hi! My name is Sandra. 2nd woman : Hi! I'm Sylvia. How'd you die? 1st woman : I froze to death. 2nd woman : How horrible! 1st woman : It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking

Thatched Roof Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... L ooks like a good chunk of the storm system has passed and the Professor is giving you the thumbs-up sign.  Let's see what he's going on about... A round 20 miles visibility under partly cloudy skies, but not looking like rain at the moment.  Winds are out of the deep south at 4.7kts and the sea surface has a bit of a roll going on.  The air temp was 55..1° at 7:30am and the water is a cool but accommodating 58.3°.  High tide is at 10:00am +4.5' and low tide will follow at 3:37pm +0.7'.  The buoy is reading a 3.6' swell out of 229° and we're calling the waves 4' to 5'.  It's good and the swell is strong enough to hold the tide. W e hit it this morning at Torrance Beach and it was looking good.  TJ decided to give work a pass and joined the Professor for some nice peaks.  Stands to be a bit smaller tomorrow, but there could still be some fun waves.  Check it out! "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Profes

Well Adjusted Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co.. . Y ou know how when you kick out and get some air, you don't always have a lot of control over where you land.  The pictured grebe was unaware of our aborted flight path as we approached at 33'psps.  We missed him by THIS much.... A beautiful Wednesday morning with about 20 miles visibility.  A few clouds scudding across the sky-scape, but nothing that looks like rain at the moment.  Winds started off onshore this am at 7.8kts, chopping things up pretty early.  The air temperature is 55.4°and the water is a pleasant 58.6°.  Not a problem without booties today.  High tide is mid-morning at 9:17am +4.8' with low tide this afternoon at 3:09pm +0.3'.  The buoy is reading a 3.3' swell out of 242°.  The waves look bigger than the indicated swell and we're calling it 3' to 4' on a dropping tide.  Too bad it's a bit windy/choppy. W e surfed the south side of Hermosa Pier this morning and it was disorganized, but we still got a few fa

Taming of the Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... U h, oh... The Professor is giving us the thumbs down sign. Might could be that the surf isn't so hot. Let's take a look at the stats... V isibility is 12 miles, under clear but hazy skies. Supposed to get cloudy later in the day with a chance of rain. Winds are calm and the sea surface is smooth. The air temperature at 7am was 53.4° and the water is holding at 58.3°. High tide is at 8:32am +5.0' and low tide will be at 2:39pm -0.1'. The buoy is reading a 2.3' swell out of 226°. Unfortunately the combination of the tide and small swell are keeping things pretty darned flat. T he weatherman is calling for rain off and on for the next four days. Our guess is that it will mostly be off, but the West Conus Sector shows a pretty healthy low pressure spinning a couple of hundred miles off the coast. The platform Harvest readout show a 6.3' swell out of 290° headed right our way. If the wind and tide remain the same there could be som

Mystagogue Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... F riday night we made it down to Keegan's in Olde Torrance to catch Boomfwappa and his famous flames (see photo.)  Boomfwappa and the boys played one two hour set and the crowd was pretty damned appreciative.  We saw Lethal Keithal, Danger Boy & Danger Girl, LoLa, Donna and Jill Grabert.  We also saw Linda and Steve ?  He talked through the whole set and we never understood a word he was saying.  Boomfwappa is off to NYC to work on his latest project. W e have clear skies and a beautiful Monday on tap.  Visibility is 25 miles and you can see the people waving from Santa Monica.  Winds are offshore by 7.3kts and the sea surface is glassy.  The air temperature is 57.4° and the water is 58.1°.  High tide is at 7:43am +5.1' and low tide sucks things out at 2:07pm -0.3'.  Out of 202°we have a small 2.3' swell and the tide is making things break right on the beach at around 1' to 2'.  If the wind holds off there could be some small ones arou

Flying Squirrel Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... T he good news is that it's Friday.  The bad news is that the hawk's up and we're grounded.  Blecchh! C loudy and overcast with 5 to 10 miles visibility.  Last night there was a bit of drizzle.  Winds are onshore by 13.6kts gusting to over 15kts and the sea surface is choppy and gray.  The air temp is 54.1°and the water is up a few ticks to 58.3°.  Low tide is at 11:59am -0.3' and high tide will follow at 6:59pm +3.9'.  We have a decently strong swell out of 239° at 3.9'.  We're calling it a blown down 3' with some occasional 4 footers.  Maybe Right Wing Fred and the kite boys will like this wind - we think it sucks, okay - maybe it blows. O ur image today is the new sign for the Redondo Beach Pier.  We thought it a bit awkward that they had to say "Redondo Beach The Pier."  It would have been just fine if they had said, "Redondo Beach Pier."  Or maybe the could have said, "Redondo Beach - Monstadt Pier.&qu

In The Throes Of Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... A fter a stellar day at Hermosa yesterday with Buck, we were greeted to a gray morning with stiff SW winds.  Actually, the photo makes it look pretty good.  Of course it took us 20 minutes to get that shot... F ive miles visibility this morning with heavy overcast skies.  Winds are from the WSW at 7.8kts tacking things up quite a bit.  The air temp is 52.3°and the water is nudging up a bit to 57.9°  Low tide is at 10:52am -0.2' and high tide will follow at 6:24pm +3.3'.  The swell is coming out of 280°and hitting the buoy at 3.0'.  The Avenues were 2' to 3' and Hermosa looked a little bigger with better shape.  The wind was taking things to task however, so we're hoping tomorrow pulls a little more offshore into the mix. N otes from our readers - Grab a Barstool and Make Yourself Comfortable: ahahah some dude just got a dui on one of those.....  Robert Stassi A man has been charged with drink-driving - without even leaving the comfort o

Fw: April Fool's Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... W hat a great way to end the week with a beautiful Friday and huge surf to boot! In our photo the first, we have Buck and the Professor taking a look at the Professor's blade. The Professor is suggesting the proper amount of egg and downturn you need in the perfect rail configuration. Buck questions his veracity. Both are voracious. U nder purple skies and on top of azure-lapiz seas we have 15 miles visibility. Winds are offshore from 5.8kts to 120kts, gusting at odd intervals. The air temperature is 52.4°and the water is 57.0°, although Buck claims to have found a spot that was almost 120° It turned out to be the outfall from Scotty's. Low tide was at 9:26am +0.0' and high tide hums the tune at 5:18pm +2.9'. The swell is coming straight out of 260°at 3.3' and the waves are in the 3' to 4' range with outsides that tended to block out the sun. We had photos, but the sun was so eclipsed that we didn't get an image. Oh yeah