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Showing posts from March, 2011

Therapeutic Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... H it some small Sapphire with José, Wheatley and Corey this morning.  Nursing a minor hangover from last night's wake for Msgr. Lenihan it was just what we needed to clear out the cobwebs.  Joe Houston's heartwarming rendition of "Danny Boy" was a welcome reprieve from the liturgically correct version that we heard at the funeral.  How can you jack a melody like Danny Boy that has post-Vatican, pre-liturgical roots, add your own English lyrics, which are arguably not as sincere, traditional or heartfelt and then say Danny Boy isn't allowed?  What is that? M ostly sunny this morning and even though we proclaimed it "too late for an early spring," it appears that it's better right on time, rather than late.  We'll take it no matter what.  20 miles visibility, with some heavy marine haze out to the horizon and a layer of cappuccino smog on top of that.  Winds were basically calm and the sea surface was smooth to glassy.  The

Working On A Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... O ur horoscope read:  "Moods are fleeting, but e-mail is forever.  Have a nice long think about anything you put in writing today."  Oh, great...  How can we possibly get in more trouble? A couple of shots of the Professor at 1. Sandyland and 2. Sappharua.  Take a look at the clarity of that wave.  It's like one big swimming pool of blue-green see-through water about to go past vertical.  Thanks to Sting Ginther for the images. E ven though it's too late for an early spring , it was mostly sunny this morning at checkout with 15 miles visibility and a bit of haze from here to the horizontal.  Winds were slightly onshore and from the south by 2.3kts and the sea surface was smooth to slightly bumped.  The air temperature was 56.0° and the water has bumped a degree a day from Monday to hit 57.2° this morning!  Can this be a harbinger of something to come?  Fog?  High tide at 7:45am +4.7' and low tide will be at 2:12pm +0.1'.  The buoy is r

Tenterhook Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... T enterhook.  We always thought it was tender -hook.  Like you'd feel really tender if you were on the hooks.  We even imagine we've seen tender hooks written.  Not to be confused with tender looks... Y ou know how you live in a place and you never see the main attractions?  Maybe you see the Hollywood sign from across the bay, just after it rains or Grauman's Chinese Theater (YES!  You and Johnny Depp have the same size feet!)  How about the Staples Center with the LA Kings beating Calgary in a shoot out?  Of course there has to be lasers - it's LA for freakin' sakes... C louds this morning, breaking up through the day.  20 miles visibility and a bit of haze over the basin.  Winds 1.1kts out of the north, with a slight bump on the water.  The air temperature was a chilly 48.3° and the water is 56.7°.  We'd like to think it's going to get warmer, but we'd never say that out loud...  High tide is at 7:00am +4.6' and low tide wil

Manual Alphabet Monday Surf & Culture Report ☜

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Lost Boys & Co... O kay, you find three better looking surfers on your block.  Ain't gonna happen.  Here we have Marco, Luke and TJ, soaking up some sun in Isla Vista after a session at "Poles" in Santa Barbara.  Not to be outdone, TC holds court with a couple of sweeties at Brothers.  Looks like the peripatetic Keeks joined by LoLa up to their elbows in the yogurt parfaits. M ostly sunny skies this morning with 25 miles visibility.  Winds were calm at checkout and the sea surface was glassy.  The air temperature was a chilly 49.2° and the stated water temperature was 55.9°.  It still felt like 50°, but we have to imagine the buoy thermometer doesn't really need recalibration and we're just tired of the cold water.  High tide is at 6:02am +4.5' and low tide will be at 1:03pm -0.0'.  We have a west swell out of 260° at 3.9' and it's hitting the South Bay straight on.  The waves looked more like 4' to 6', with good shape on the higher ti

Hawaii Five-O Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... S o when you make it across the first lake you weave yourself through the mangroves.  One wrong turn and you're stuck until someone comes along and finds you.  If you stop and crawl out along the roots, as soon as you lose sight of the water everything looks the same.  You are profoundly lost.  There are things there that will eat your ears and leave the rest to wander forever without a place to hang your sunglasses.  How do we know?  The folks who live there told us.  Photo #2 shows the entrance to the village.  It has a population of about 40, depending on how hungry the wildlife is.  We still have trouble telling the caymans from the crocs.  A 6' cayman vs a 6' croc?  Maybe a little more pinch in the snout? W indy this morning from the west at 7 to 9 kts. and the sea surface is chopped, just shy of whitecaps.  15 miles visibility with some clouds yielding to sun as the morning progresses.  The air temp was a cool 53.2° and the water stays a crisp 5

Big Bang Theory Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... F ather Michael Lenihan passed away last night around 11pm.  His impact on the parish of St. Lawrence Martyr and the people of that church is inestimable.  Not unlike the patrons he championed, Mother Teresa, St. Patrick and St. Lawrence, he is in that communion of saints.  You can wonder, philosophize and dream, but if there's a heaven he's in it... Funeral Plans for Msgr. Michael Lenihan Monday, March 28, 2011- All Are Welcome Visitation - 2pm-7pm St. Lawrence Martyr Vigil Service 7pm St. Lawrence Martyr visitation will continue until midnight following the Vigil Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - All Are Welcome Funeral Mass - 11am - St. Lawrence Martyr Burial following Mass - Holy Cross Cemetary - Culver City Reception in hall following Mass and continuing throughout the afternoon for those who want to return to St. Lawrence after going to Holy Cross.   C old this morning at checkout, so we stopped at Brother's with Gidget first and fueled up on yogurt

Welsh Rabbit Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... FIRE!  No, wait...  That's just LoLa's fiery red hair flowing in the wind as we were streaking through the mangroves down in Zapotalito... C lear morning with the clouds coming in around noon - rain scheduled for later in the day.  Wind was offshore at checkout 5.4kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 44.4° and the water pulled up a degree to 55.4°.  Low tide at 7:00am sharp -0.5' and high tide will be washing the shore at 1:18pm +3.5'.  The forever vigilant 46221 Buoy is telling us that we have a SSW swell out of 213° at 3.3'.  We're calling it 2' to 3' and a lot smaller than yesterday...  Let's see how it looks in the morning...  Speaking of looks... T he new girl at Brother's looks good, but can she cook?!? Is she working on Saturday mornings ? Carol (She's actually a really good cook, but she's working the line right now.  Just Sundays for now...  Ed.) P hoto #3.  Getting ready to take

Pentacostal Mission Temple Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... " I didn't know her well, but after watching her in action I didn't want to know her well." Joan Crawford on Bette Davis   P ic number one is a look at Avenue I on Sunday afternoon after Marco and the Professor spent the morning with Sandy and Chris battling the elements to get a few wind swept, rain battered, thundersprechted waves.  Yes.  It was worth it... Y ou should have been here yesterday .  Today looks nothing like yesterday.  Someone asked us how big was that wave that Tommy Horrigan caught, that we mentioned yesterday.  Okay, we're wimps, but we're saying 10'.  There was 3' of foam in the lip when it hit him and he wasn't half way down.  He shook it off, drove to the bottom, squirted off the turn and then cut back!  He was so far beyond 615 it took him ten minutes to paddle back.  It was the wave of the season.  But today things calmed down and we have 20 miles visibility and clear skies with an occasional cloud th

Mangrove Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... W e are always fascinated by the architecture south of the border.  This structure was made out of palm fronds, cardboard and nylon baling twine.  Looked pretty utilitarian to us. C loudy rainy and 10 miles visibility, down to about ¼ of a mile when it was coming down.  Winds were offshore and gusting from the four points.  The sea surface was oddly smooth in spots.  The air temperature was 46.1°  and the water was a chillifying 54.5°.  Low tide at 5:07am -0.8' and high tide was at 11:16am +4.7'.  The buoy was reading a SW swell out of 227° at 7.5' and we saw some of those and some bigger faces and smaller better shaped ones.  Wave of the day:  Tom Horrigan on a ledging Sappharua spitter, way bigger than him and looking angry.  He held on and made it look sooo cool. W e liked the font style... A sirena's call must always be heeded...   "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Parking For Irish Only Thursday Surf & Culture Report♣

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Lost Boys & Co... W anna feel tall?  Stroll through the mercado where the canopies are hung just below head level for a medium sized gringo.  You can sample the crickets (either fried or fresh.)  The Professor says the fried ones are lots better than the fresh.  Oh!  That's because you're supposed to fry them!  Our bad... ♣ K eegan's tonight at 5pm for a St. Paddy's day dance and social.  Guinness anyone?...♣ H igh clouds this morning with 12 miles visibility.  Winds lightly onshore from the get-go turning up about 10am, sea surface was bumped.  The air temp was 53.7° and the water was 55.6°.  High tide at 8:01am +5.7' and low tide will follow at 2:38pm -0.8'.  The buoy is reading a west swell out of 271° at 4.6' and we're calling it 3' to 5'.  The swell is supposed to keep building.  Check it out... A nd you thought it was cold here... Well after planes, trains, and automobiles (all wearing a suit "a la endless summer") I made it

White Lightning Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... W hat better way to celebrate your birthday then to have the Blue Demon and El Santo bust in and deliver your flaming cake.  Okay, 23 candles isn't an inferno, but it made quite a cheery light.  Happy birthday to the Lion-Shark and may he have many more... C old gray morning with low clouds and 5 miles visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was oily glassy at checkout.  The air temperature was a mild 54.2° and the water felt chillier than the posted 54.7°.  High tide was at 7:11am +5.5' and low tide will be at 2:03pm -0.7'.  The buoy called it a WSW swell out of 250° true at 4.6' and we'll go with that, calling it up to head high on the peaks.  Topaz had some lined-up rockin' rights while Sappharua was bouncing waves off the jetty and setting up basically vertical drops onto broad shoulders.  Not long but fun...  Yes... T he good news:  The sun popped out about 10:30am and warmed things up considerably. P hoto #2:  Clockwise star

Touche' Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... L oLa discovered the home of similar hair control and color.  We have no idea what this was all about, but it's one of those things that kinda jumps out at you...   E verything this morning - fog, wind, waves, blue sky...  At checkout visibility was 100yds, clearing to 10 miles and partly cloudy skies.  Winds were offshore at 5.5kts and the sea surface is sporting a bit of wind driven bump.  The air temperature was 53.3° and the water was 54.5°.  High tide was at 6:16am +5.1' and low tide will be at 1:28pm -0.4'.  The buoy is reading a west swell out of 271° at 5.9'.  We're calling it 4' to 6' and poor to fair shape.  Mostly fun after the fog cleared and the tide dropped a bit... P hoto #2 tells us that Dr. 360 was there first.  He was part owner in the duplex that Donnie Souther is in these days in Puerto. P hoto #3.  "Hey, Amigo!  Necessitamos carne para un chili que estamos cocinaremos.  Tienes algun que es muy tender?  Hmm, te

Megaton Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... O f course when we heard about the Japanese earthquake we all rushed down to the beach to see if there was going to be a tidal wave, or at least some tidal event.  Since fortune often favors the stupid as well as the brave, there was nothing to see.  Of course we thought if there was a tidal event, that being up on top of the bluff would be way enough altitude to keep us out of harm's way.  The people in these three or four story apartments in Japan shown in photo #1, probably thought they were safe as well, until the waves floated a couple of cars on their heads.  We are so clueless...  H igh clouds this morning with a heavy inversion layer and 20 miles visibility through a bit of smog.  Winds were out of the north at checkout by 6.9kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 50.2° and the water should be warmer than it is, but it's 55.0° and that's an improvement.  High tide. is at 5:09am +4.7' and low tide will be at 12:49pm

Fishes & Faults Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... #1.  The fish don't have anything to do with the earthquake in Japan.  We discussed this at the checkout this morning to almost universal agreement.  We understand that everyone likes to have a neat little package regarding these events, but unfortunately this is not the case.  Charlie Sheen, however is another case... (Thanks to Vinny for the phish fotos...  Ed.) 20 miles visibility under mostly blue skies with some wispy high clouds.  Winds were calm at checkout and the sea surface still had a bit of residual bump from the onshores last night.  The air temp was 50.5° and the water is much too chilly at 53.4°.  Only one tide today, low at 8:03am +1.0' and rising until the cow's come home.  The buoy is reading a WSW swell out of 249° at 3.6'.  It's getting bigger and the 2' to 3' waves we have now should get only bigger throughout the weekend.  With any luck, we won't have any further help from Mother Nature... #2.   Armando rep

Topazalito Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... No matter where you go, the Zapot Crew has been there first.  #1 just outside Zapotalito.  This of course means "Little Topaz" in Zapotec. Yeah, we're back and it's a damned nice day here in the Norte.  25 miles visibility, under clear azure skies.  Winds are calm at checkout and the sea surface is smooth to glassy.  The air temp is 52.3° and the water is 53.6°.  Now, there's a pair to draw to - cool air and chilly water.  Low tide was at 6:37am +1.0' and high tide will follow at 12:41pm +2.6'.  The buoy is reading a SSW swell out of 207° at 2.0' and we're calling it 1' to 2' and poorer to poor.  A couple of guys out in Hermosa, but not much action this morning.  Not much better in the predictions for tomorrow, but Saturday things are supposed to pick up a bit and later into next week... #2 photo shows a bit of local color at the Rockaway Bar.  You're looking at Troy Atkinson, LoLa and Donnie Souther.  Troy is a k

Industrial Revolution Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co...   S o yesterday we started out on a jungle cruise to a break no one would tell us the name to.  You take a boat through a mangrove swamp for about 7 miles, head down a river and then there you are.  It was like the jungle cruise at Disneyland, except more birds and no hippos and elephants.  Sully would have gone bananas with the birds. We jumped in the river, got sucked out around a rock point and found ourselves in a bay that stretched on for about a mile of sand beach.  This is while paddling to stay stable and keeping watch for schools of fish that would spook and pummel you as they jumped to theoretically avoid you.  Just as we rounded the rocks a manta ray jumped about six feet out of the water.  It was as big as a card table and when it swam around the tips of it´s fins looked like twin sharks swimming.  A guy later told us that he saw one twice as big and when it jumped it looked like a depth charge going off!  The tide was going out so we had to keep p

Write-In Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... N ice shot of Kevin, looking rather fast and agile.  Can you imagine flying an 11'6" blade like that?  #2 Ryan from the Becker shop, looking stylish and collected. H igh clouds this morning graying things up a bit.  Winds are already lightly on-shore this morning at 1.3kts and the sea surface is tacked a bit.  The air temperature is 49.2° and the water is 55.4°.  High tide was at 7:38am +5.4' and low tide will follow at 2:19pm -0.4'.  The buoy is reading a SSW swell out of 203° at 2.0'.  But as you know the buoy is sometimes quite full of itself and we're calling things more like 1' and poor.  It's supposed to get better tomorrow, but that could also mean a bit more wind... B ut there's more... A loha, Captain Brad is the regular skipper of the Voyager, the whale watch/site seeing boat that operates out of King Harbor in Redondo Beach .  Today, March 1st, we were stand-up paddling in the harbor when Captain Brad called us ove

Topanga Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... M ike Ginther really got some great shots Sunday before last.  A couple more from the Topaz side include Bob and Mac on a couple of lefthanders.  Mac is an interesting character.  A little scary looking...  he goes out in the most questionable conditions and arguably rides Topaz in all it's moods.  Maybe only Don Swift has put in more quality water time.  On days when it's not happening he goes down, walks and collects trash out of the surfline.  We should be so scary... H azy, cool sunshine this morning with 15 miles visibility.  Winds were offshore at checkout at 1.1kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was a cool 44.4° and the water was 55.9°.  High tide is at 7:01am +5.4' and low tide will be at 1:51pm -0.5'.  The buoy is reading a SSW swell out of 205° true at 2.6' and the tide is floating that a bit.  So at the moment it's 2' and poor, but it might come around a bit as the tide dips.  Watch the second pole fro