Lost Boys & Co.

Lost Boys & Co... T here are some deals you just can't pass up, no matter what the cost.  Take this limited edition Mao Zhe Dong timepiece.  It not only has a dynamic portrait of the chairman himself, but sports a red-star sweep second hand, genuine radium painted hour and minute hands, high impact plastic crown, chromium plated bezel, Yangtze crocodile band and the chairman's right hand waves at you in time to the Chinese National Anthem.  It was a steal at $4 US... A little gray for the last day of April.  10 miles visibility and heavily overcast skies.  Winds started the morning lightly onshore and were 6.0kts at checkout and the sea surface was bumping into a light chop.  The air temperature was 60.1° and the water for the first time this year hit 60°, with a 60.8° at the buoy.   Low tide is at 11:35am +0.5' and high tide will be at 6:24pm +4.3'.  The surf has backed down from the weekend and we have a SSW swell out of 192° at 3.0', but it's not turn

Lost Boys & Co...   G ot up this morning expecting it to be 1' to 3' just like they said on the surf report.  They didn't get the message...  20 miles visibility under clear blue skies.  Winds were offshore by 5.2kts and the sea surface had a bump from last nights wind.  The air temp was 57.3° and the water was 57.6°, but felt like it was closing in on 60.  Low tide was at 8:36am +0.5' and low tide follows at 4:22pm +3.1'.  We have a mystery WSW swell out of 257° at 5.2' and it looked to be 4' to 6' and some steep drops at the low tide.  Since nobody was expecting it, most spots were pretty open.  NOW, you're sorry you slept in... D anger Boy's last work day today!  Yes, jealousy is a natural response.  6pm at Samba to wish him well and hoist a few. A pod of whales drug an entire army of folks from Torrance Beach all the way to the pier this morning.  At one point we counted five or six and a couple of huge mama's with calves in tow.  Q

Lost Boys & Co... S ee this sign in photo #1?  If you're really a surfer it goes blurry after "Surfing Rules" and goes completely illegible after Memorial Day Weekend, blah, blah, blah... R ained last night and a bit cloudy this am, but the Doppler makes it look like there's nothing in store for the rest of the day.  10 miles visibility in most directions.  Winds out of the SW by 5.0 kts and the sea surface is rippled, heading to light chop.  The air temp is 58.5° and the water is 57.6°.  Low tide is at 7:34am +0.3' and high tide will follow at 2:48pm +3.0'.  The buoy suggests we have a SSW swell out of 192° at 2.3' and it actually looks like it's beginning to turn into a swell.  We'll give it a 1' to 2' and it looks like it might be getting bigger/better... H ennessey's Cup on Saturday at Hermosa Pier.  Action starts at 8am.  Don't miss it... T his is what food looks like in America...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll

Lost Boys & Co... T hanks to Ivan at Brothers and Jimmy Young of the Pitcher House for the Capt. Morgan beanies. R ain, rumors of rain, threats of the same.  Nothing yet.  The weatherman keeps pushing the deluge back.  An uncanny skill, when you think about it.  Cloudy at checkout, with 10 miles visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was glassy to smooth.  The air temperature was 60.5° and the water was 57.7°.   Low tide starts things at 6:42am +0.1' and high tide is at 1:28pm +3.1'.  We have a SSW swell out of 199° at 2.0' and we're looking at less than 1' and poor conditions. C onsider:  We have flat conditions.  The Hennessey Cup is this Saturday.  The last time they held a Hennessey Contest was in 2008.   A lso this Saturday, April 28th, Flashbak will be playing at the Beefalo Fire Dept. in Torrance Anciene.  6 to 9 Dancing and dinner.    ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... T he answer is "Yes."  There are things that we won't eat.  Apparently our photos suggested that the Professor would eat just about anything in sight.  In the Muslim section of X'ian this woman was selling fungus right off a damp substrate.  It could have been the sidewalk and she just dammed up a section and let the little mucorales go.  LoLa said to the Professor, "Would you eat that?"  Much to our amazement he said, "No." "Why?" she asked (wondering why this might be different.)  "It looks fusty..." S o, we're working yesterday in reverse.  It started out bright and sunny and now we've got the clouds rolling in.  15 miles visibility at checkout with variable winds out of the sky to 3.2kts.  The sea surface was glassy to a light ripplation.  The air temperature was 58.3 °  and the water was 58.5 ° , but read 60 at Hermosa Pier.  Low tide was at 5:58am -0.1' (LoLa snagged some fine sea glass

Lost Boys & Co... P hoto #1.  Clark McTaggert, boy genius and the father of the "Cricket Cage," bamboo surfboard trailer.  He is shown here with the original prototype designed by none other than the Professor (shown with Clark in Photo #2.)  They are standing in front of Brother's Bamboo Burritos, before entering to have a celebratory libation.  The Professor had just completed the first half of the Cricket's test run and snugged up the turnbuckles and made sure everything was in good running order.  Still in the big beta bamboo stage, further testing will continue... U nder cloudy, drizzly skies we had 10 miles visibility this morning.  Winds stayed onshore all day, variable to 3.6kts with a slight ripple on the water.  The air temperature was 57.6° and the water was 58.5°, looking like your basic spring 101.  Low tide was early at 5:20am +3.5' and high tide was at 11:43am +3.5'.  The buoy is reading a SW swell out of 215° at 2.0' and we're call

Lost Boys & Co... O f all the things to see in China, the piece d' resistance just might be the Terra Cotta Warriors in X'ian.  These warriors depict the armies of Qin Shi Huang and were buried with him in 210-209BC.  They were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers who were digging a well.  Turns out, one of the farmer's is still alive and we got to see him at a book signing at Pit #3.  As you're probably heard, each of the warriors depicts an actual individual and is sculpted in that person's likeness.  Seeing them in their original location is absolutely awe inspiring.  They estimate there are about 8,000 warriors, horses, generals, chariots and weapons.  Only about 4,000 have been excavated, since they've discovered that when they are exposed to air their polychrome color disappears in about an half an hour and they look like the pottery statues were used to seeing displayed.  They're working on ways to dig up the warriors and seal them so the col

Lost Boys & Co... Y ou can still find these posters in government outlets, pulled from the original screens, but they're gonna cost you!  Here were a couple of our favorites... A bit of unsettled weather this morning with 15 miles visibility under clear skies.  Winds were variable, but predominantly offshore to 3.2kts and the sea surface had a bit of  bounce to it.  The air temperature was 60.3° and the eater was 55.0°.  High tide was at 8:38am +4.3' and low tide was at 2:26pm +0.7'.  The buoy describes a WSW swell out of 238° at 3.9' - a little morning sickness but 3' to 4' and it broke through high tide.  Maybe it'll straighten out for tomorrow - check'em out...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... O kay, look up...  Now look down...  Yeah, it's a pretty great wall.  (If you look closely at the parapet on the tower you can see LoLa waving to the crowds.  Yes, she went all the way to the top, checked on things in Mongolia and came down...  Ed.) A nother Gorgeous day in the land that the reciprocating engine made possible.   An honest 20 miles visibility and no clouds to speak of, and certainly no fog like yesterday.  Winds were calm at checkout and the sea surface was smooth to almost glassy. The air temperature jumped to 64.1° and the water was reported 53.6°at the buoy.  Roddy Wilson took the temps this morning at Hermosa Pier and pulled a 59° reading!  We're calling it about 56-57°, but we like the enthusiasm of that 59.  High tide is at 7:55am +4.4' and low tide will be at 1:24pm +0.3'.  We have a SSW swell out of 205° at 3.3' and we're calling it 3' and really good.  Really. M ail's Here... And relations with China were a

Lost Boys & Co... T hey have this thing in China they call the "Great Wall."  Maybe you've heard of it.  F oggies this morning with 100 to 200yds visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was smooth.  The air was a dampish 56.3° and the water was chilly at 53.6°, dropping from the winds on Saturday.  High tide at 7:06am +4.4' and low tide will be at 1:24pm +0.3'.  We have a SSW swell out of 202° at 3.3'. Danger Boy and the Professor scored a little 3' to 4' dropping Sapphire on the down side of the tide.  The fog crept in and out all morning, but the wind managed to stay calm until the pm. O f course everyone has heard of the "Great Wall."  But we thought it might be interesting if the guide thought we hadn't heard of it.  By the time we were through she thought we were from Mars... May (our guide):  So the part of the Great Wall we will be visiting is about an hour from Beijing... The Professor raises his hand:  Why do they c

Lost Boys & Co... T andis Morgan is a surfer-musician-lifeguard-nurse-artist.  She might have to change the order of those accomplishments given her latest work in copper wire and foil.  When we saw her first attempt at this kelp inspired sculpture, we knew we'd have to have one.  She even let us use a rock that we had collected at Rat Beach for the base.  She can make them any size and we could even imagine a floor to ceiling installation that would be spectacular!  If you're looking for the perfect sculpture to add that ocean touch to your environment, you have to see one of these.  Great on the mantle, bar or in that corner where nothing will grow!  If you're interested give the Professor a call and he'll get you in touch with the artist herself! J ust like the stormtroopers said, it's raining out there.  5 miles visibility under cloudy leaking skies.  There's wind as well with strong variable gusts out of the SE at 8 to 10kts.  The call is for gale forc

Lost Boys & Co... W e talked about how much building is going on in China.  There are so many new bridges across the Yangtze that they haven't named them all yet!  There are between 50 and a hundred going up between Yichang and Chongqing alone.  In our first photo, the bridge and road are so new that the road crosses the bridge and then doesn't go anywhere!  We watched them welding the superstructure in #2 and to our amazement we watched a guy put on a belt with eyes on the hips and get hoisted up a couple of hundred feet to near the top of this tower.  No nets, no additional straps, no hat - just flying there with a portable welding rig, sparks flying.  We actually saw guys spot welding stuff without dark glasses!  There are some tough guys up there!  Dude, you like gotta have a hat... A beautiful morning, with a few big clouds bumping along and 20 miles visibility.  Winds started onshore from the crack and they were light at checkout by 3.6kts and the sea  surface had

Lost Boys & Co...   O kay, here we have a couple of first class Buddhist deities.  No. 1.  has the traits that endear him to your basic middle-age devotee, an ample belly, hyperthyrodic eyeballs and flaming hair.  Looks like he might have just ingested a couple of ghost chilies.  No. 2 looks like the same god only 20 years before.  He's working a 6-pak and then some, along with some flowing bandanna action.  They both were in the water god's temple in Yichang, the starting point of our cruise up the Yangtze... W ind was on from the get-go this morning.  5.2kts out of the west and the sea sea surface was sporting a light chop.  15 miles visibility under hi-clouds, but mostly sunny.  The air temperature was 50.4° and the water is a spring-like 56.3°.  Low tide was at 7:04am -0.8' and high tide will be at 1:35pm +3.5'.  The 46221 buoy is reading a WSW swell out of 254° at 3.6'.  The wind was knocking that down to 2' to 3' with poor, ragged lines.  Rain exp

Lost Boys & Co... F or a mythical animal the dragon gets a lot of action in Chinese art.  Chinese dragon's have 5 claws and carry a pearl in their left hand symbolizing earthly power.  Unlike their western counterparts, who only breathe fire, Chinese dragons can spout water as well!  They are the most auspicious creatures of the Chinese zodiac and Chines parents are always stoked when they have offspring in the year of the dragon.  We probably had a dozen dragon photos, but here are a couple of our faves... A nother gorgeous spring morning with 20 miles visibility under high wispy clouds.  Winds were offshore by 5.2kts and the sea surface was a bit bumped from last night's onshore's.  The air temp was 47.0° and the water was a chilly 54.7° and felt it.  High tide is at 9:44am +5.0' and low tide follows at 3:31pm +0.3'.  We are reading a west swell out of 260° at 4.3' and we're calling it 4' to 5' and it broke all the way through high tide.  Gre

Lost Boys & Co... C hina is the home to knock-offs.  Every time we emerged from our bus five guys would be there trying to sell Rolexes, hats and Luis Vuiton bags.  The interesting thing is, that sometimes the factories that make the real stuff "lose" some of their inventory and you can find it on the street.  You just have to know where to look.  In the case of these "Vans" they didn't quite get the logo right on this batch... P artly cloudy skies this morning, with 15 miles visibility.  Winds were out of the SSW by 4kts and blew soft all morning causing just a slight bump.  The air temp was 53.6° and the water didn't seem as warm as the posted 56.5°.  High tide was at 8:57am +5.1' and low tide will follow at 2:57pm -0.0'.  The buoy was reading a west swell out of 274° at 4.9' and we're calling it a well shaped 4' to 6'. M ail: You have to wonder who was the first guy to say "Hey, look at that bug on the ground! Let's j

Lost Boys & Co... Y ou know how when you're stuck with a bunch of really normal folks you just feel like acting out?  Oh... well, maybe that's just us.  So there are these guys who basically only wanted to eat peanut butter and jelly and burgers - and then there was us.  Look, we're in China for cryin' out loud, let's press the envelope a tad.  So we get'em down to the street market and they're selling silkworm cocoons, scorpions, hairy crab, crickets, locusts, jellied fungus.  So we figured, "What's gonna freak'em out the most?"  First we thought it might be the locusts (photo 1.), but no it was the scorpions!  Who'd a thought that!  They tasted like French fries, spiced and deep fried.  We call photo number 2. "Rosebud." A nother gorgeous morning with 12 miles visibility and some high clouds stringing along.  Winds were offshore at 3.3kts and the sea surface was rolling with a bit of a tilt.  The air temperature was 53.

Lost Boys & Co... N i hao!  (Pronounced: knee-how, it means "hello")  We're back!  One of the most interesting things was coming back.  We left Beijing at 8:30pm on Monday evening and got back home at 7:00pm on Monday evening, an hour and a half before we left!  We looked, but never met ourselves coming and going... T here's a lot of really weird things to eat in China, so we'll start you off really slow...  Like breakfast, clockwise from the left:  Cabbage, light green eggs, pickled dikon, noodles, ham, purple potatoes and baby bratwurst.  It's like the Chinese didn't really have breakfast before and just picked up on stuff from everywhere else.  Of course for lunch it was dim sum of which we show several varieties, each different and vaguely recognizable.  Finally for a mid-morning snack the Professor had a sweet pea-sicle.  Better than it sounds, it ranks right up there with our favorite frozen veggie treats... T his time of year most of China is