Front-Load Friday Surf & Culture Report
Lost Boys & Co...
In most of the country, standing water looks a lot like photo number 1. Apparently, this is what happens when things don't freeze uniformly and water keeps circulating underneath the thin surface ice. Make a note...
Rainy, drizzly and generally moist-ish everywhere this morning. 3 miles visibility under cloudy, heavy skies. The hawk is up, blowing offshore at a healthy 7.5kts and the sea surface has that light reverse tack that characterizes these conditions. The air temp is 53.3° and the water is 58.1°. High tide is at 5:52am +5.6' and low tide will follow at 1:16pm +0.1'. A pretty healthy tidal switch. The buoy is reading a SSE swell out of 147° true at 2.6'. We're calling it 1' to 2' and it's perfect shape at Hermosa Pier on the north side. Danger Boy and the Professor stood there in the rain trying to will it bigger. Nothing... maybe tomorrow, if the water quality doesn't send you back under the sheets.
Photo #2 Danger Boy going left at Sapphire. Photo #3 The Professor going right at Sapphire. Photo #4 Danger Boy and the Professor meeting at mach 3 in the middle. There was neoprene everywhere...
"It's an excellent time to become a missing person." (We don't know who said that, they didn't introduce themselves... Ed.)
We get mail:
I imagine that with balsa-wood board shapers you should bring a keg AND hors d'oeuvres!
Melekian............uh, Joe, sorry for bargaining you down on that board I bought from you that I now Love So Much. I guess I should have paid full price (your full asking price), BUT, you were so agreeable AND you didn't shape it!
Tyrone James
(The official decision on this exchange is that no beer should be exchanged and all parties have been held harmless - at arms length... Ed.)
More Melekian for your consideration:
Claiming waves is for kids and pro-surfers who have been taught to believe that the rest of us are impressed when they grab their genitals after pulling into a tube. We are not.
On that note, insert tube, exit tube. Arms below the shoulders. You are not a wide receiver, you did not score a touchdown, and this is not the Super Bowl. But: Experience some joy. If you feel like you can't contain that self-congratulatory hoot, don't. Hoot. Holler. Laugh. Smile. That's why you're out there.
Whatever you do, you do not flip off the wave. You do not stick your tongue out. You do not look back to the lineup like an excited puppy dog waiting to see who saw you get pitted. You're happy. You've done well. Good for you. That's enough, now. Paddle back out, try again.
Speaking of which, stay humble. If surfing hasn't taught you this by now, keep paddling back out. It will.
Helmets, unless surfing a treacherous reef: no.
Clean lines. Know what you can do, but more importantly, know what you cannot do. Surf top-to-bottom, cleanly. That is the aim.
Airs, unless you can do them in a manner seamless with the riding of the wave, are ill-advised.
Airs are ill-advised for 99 percent of us.
That doesn't mean, by the way, that we shouldn't try. It's okay - good, even - to do things that are ill-advised sometimes.
"When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."
The Professor!!
In most of the country, standing water looks a lot like photo number 1. Apparently, this is what happens when things don't freeze uniformly and water keeps circulating underneath the thin surface ice. Make a note...
Rainy, drizzly and generally moist-ish everywhere this morning. 3 miles visibility under cloudy, heavy skies. The hawk is up, blowing offshore at a healthy 7.5kts and the sea surface has that light reverse tack that characterizes these conditions. The air temp is 53.3° and the water is 58.1°. High tide is at 5:52am +5.6' and low tide will follow at 1:16pm +0.1'. A pretty healthy tidal switch. The buoy is reading a SSE swell out of 147° true at 2.6'. We're calling it 1' to 2' and it's perfect shape at Hermosa Pier on the north side. Danger Boy and the Professor stood there in the rain trying to will it bigger. Nothing... maybe tomorrow, if the water quality doesn't send you back under the sheets.
Photo #2 Danger Boy going left at Sapphire. Photo #3 The Professor going right at Sapphire. Photo #4 Danger Boy and the Professor meeting at mach 3 in the middle. There was neoprene everywhere...
"It's an excellent time to become a missing person." (We don't know who said that, they didn't introduce themselves... Ed.)
We get mail:
I imagine that with balsa-wood board shapers you should bring a keg AND hors d'oeuvres!
Big Daddy
(For a picnic you bring ants, bring termites to a balsa party. Drives'em f-ing crazy... Ed.)
(For a picnic you bring ants, bring termites to a balsa party. Drives'em f-ing crazy... Ed.)
I really confused. Which Murphy is Murf? Who is Finley Kiana Murphy?
Dave
(You're confused! How about us! We're thinking all of the Murphys including Murph, Murf and Baba Buoy are Joe. Finley Kiana Murphy, is Mike Murphy's daughter and Joe's granddaughter. Apropos of nothing in particular, Mike's confirmation name is "Huckleberry Finbar." We thought the bishop was going to have a case of the fantods when he read it aloud... Ed.)
Melekian............uh, Joe, sorry for bargaining you down on that board I bought from you that I now Love So Much. I guess I should have paid full price (your full asking price), BUT, you were so agreeable AND you didn't shape it!
Tyrone James
(The official decision on this exchange is that no beer should be exchanged and all parties have been held harmless - at arms length... Ed.)
More Melekian for your consideration:
Claiming waves is for kids and pro-surfers who have been taught to believe that the rest of us are impressed when they grab their genitals after pulling into a tube. We are not.
On that note, insert tube, exit tube. Arms below the shoulders. You are not a wide receiver, you did not score a touchdown, and this is not the Super Bowl. But: Experience some joy. If you feel like you can't contain that self-congratulatory hoot, don't. Hoot. Holler. Laugh. Smile. That's why you're out there.
Whatever you do, you do not flip off the wave. You do not stick your tongue out. You do not look back to the lineup like an excited puppy dog waiting to see who saw you get pitted. You're happy. You've done well. Good for you. That's enough, now. Paddle back out, try again.
Speaking of which, stay humble. If surfing hasn't taught you this by now, keep paddling back out. It will.
Helmets, unless surfing a treacherous reef: no.
Clean lines. Know what you can do, but more importantly, know what you cannot do. Surf top-to-bottom, cleanly. That is the aim.
Airs, unless you can do them in a manner seamless with the riding of the wave, are ill-advised.
Airs are ill-advised for 99 percent of us.
That doesn't mean, by the way, that we shouldn't try. It's okay - good, even - to do things that are ill-advised sometimes.
"When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."
The Professor!!
