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Showing posts from December, 2012

New Year's Eve Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... T he surf was good, but it was too flamin' cold to get out of the bus...  This one was rolling through a little north of Burnout. M ostly clear skies with only a few clouds roiling through.  Visibility was in the 25+ range.  Winds were offshore by 1.9kts and the sea surface was smooth to glassy.  The air temperature was a brutal 40.0˚ at 6pm and only 47.5˚ at 8am.  Meanwhile the water was 57.9˚ and despite the difference it didn't make it sound all that warm.  High tide was at 10:03am +5.4' and low tide will drain out with the old year at 5:10pm -0.2'.  The buoy has a dropping swell out of the west at 264˚ at 3.6'.  It was 3' to 4' and a bit inconsistent, but plenty fun if you didn't freeze while waiting for the next set.  Of course it was delightful compared to Saturday when the crew hit it at 7:30am and it started to rain when they jumped in the water.  It was cold, got colder with the rain, got colder with the wind and then conti

Off The Thoroughfare Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... L ooking out over Hermosa this morning it was corduroy all the way to the horizon... S uper clear atmosphere this morning with 25+ miles visibility under partly (almost no,) cloudy skies.  Winds were persistent out of the NNW by 4.1kts gusting to twice that at times.  The sea surface was choppy.  Air temp this morning was around 51.4˚ and the water was 58.3˚ as per Roddy Williams on the Hermosa Pier.  High tide was at 7:53am +6.0 and the low tide obverse was at 3:09pm -0.6'.  Ditto mañana.  We have a storm unfused west swell out of 278˚ up to 7.2' and we're calling it a steady 4' to 6' with some bigger outsiders. S o we watched three kids with their new wetsuits try to make it out.  The bet started out being who would get out first (out into the lineup.)  Then it changed to who would get out first (of the water!)  Much too consistent.  Maybe tomorrow  things will  clean up...  Check it out... A nother (gentle) reminder to put Kincaid's

Day After Christmas Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co...   A buddy of mine just told me he's getting it on with his girlfriend and her twin.   I said "How can you tell them apart?" He said "Her brother's got a mustache."  ...Okay...  No, no...  It's us.  We were confused... C loudy this morning, with rain passing through about sunrise.  Winds were onshore at 3.7kts at checkout and the sea surface had a bit of choppiness going.  The air temperature was 51.8˚ and the water was 59.5˚.  High tide was at 7:22am +5.9' and low tide will be at 2:40pm -0.5'.  The buoy tells us that we have a west swell out of 264˚ at 3.6'.  It's a building swell and it's already 4' to 5' at most spots...  The wind will be the major factor... R emember Kincaid's on the 31st.  4pm until you decide you can't stand it anymore. A nother mural from Hermosa Beach.  Hey, they're taking their civic beautification seriously! ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..." T

Merry Christmas Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... "And there were a multitude of heavenly hosts playing trumpets etc..." or something very much like that... Gray and overcast, but fun waves and some gnarly sections.  All the kiddies are out with their new stuff and finding out how hard it is to paddle and look at your new Nixon tide watch.  Winds were offshore and the sea surface was glassy.  The air temperature was 53.2˚ and the water was 60.1˚.  High tide at 6:50am +5.8' and low tide will be at 2:10pm -0.3'.  (Some good low tides for beachcombing in the pm this week!)  We have a bitchin' west swell out of 268˚ at 4.6' and the surf is a steady 4' to 6'.  Enjoy the holiday and we'll see you at Kincaid's on the 31st at 4pm to bid adieu to 2012 and welcome 2013... M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ✠   "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

End Of The World As We Know It / Winter Solstice Friday Surf & Culture Report

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 Lost Boys & Co... S o the world continues to bump around and it didn't do the Mayan Apocalypto dance.  You knew it wouldn't, but it was kinda fun to think about it for a while.  Okay, as you were... B eautiful freeze-ass cold morning this.  25+ miles visibility under clear skies and if it's gonna rain mañana it better do some serious clouding up soon.  Winds were offshore by 2.9kts and the sea surface was smooth to glassy.  The air temp was 44.3˚ and the water was 59.7˚ and it helped to hop from leg-to-leg to keep warm.  Low tide was at 11:24am +1.2' and high tide will be at 5:14pm +3.2'.  We're having a west swell out of 276˚ at 3.6' and it was aimed straight at Hermosa where it was 4' to 6' outsides and some beasty close-outs.  You can ask Sam Howell, from the RUHS surf team.  It was a bit late when she saw the outsider closing out, but she made a valiant effort to get over the lip.  As it turned out she got sucked over backwards and upside

Windjammer Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... M aybe it wasn't as cold as the cartoon this morning, but it was pretty damned cold for SoCal... U nlimited visibility under clear this morning as the storm front blew through.  Winds started out from the north by 18.1kts and then about 7:15am did an abrupt turnaround and came out of the east for the next few hours.  It was a narrow window, but good if you made it!  Choppy seas glassed back and if you could get out, you were good.  The air temperature was a chilly 48.4˚ and the water was 59.9˚.  Not warm, but a hell of a lot better than the air.  Low tide was at 8:33am +2.1' and high tide was at 1:58pm +3.8'.  A pretty low high tide compared to last week.  But hang on, we're gearing up for some wild swings the second week of January.  We have a west swell out of 276˚ at 4.9' and it's about 3' to 5' depending on your 1040.  Should be cleaner mañana, but a bit smaller. W e were going along our merry way, wrapping Christmas presents,

Transducer Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... Y ou know if the world ends on Friday, then yesterday was the last Monday we'll have to go through...   A fter raining most of the night, we have cloudy skies and still some rain squalls here and there.  Winds started out onshore and by 10am were gusting to 15kts and the sea surface was going to "victory @ sea."  The air temperature was 56.8˚ and the water is 62.1˚, but will probably drop a bit with the wind.  Low tide was at 6:59am +2.2' and high tide will be at 12:38pm +4.5'.  We have a blown-down west swell out of 261˚ at 3.0' and its slapping things on the beach at around 3' to 4'.  Possibly bigger waves next Thursday when the next storm arrives... W hen we mentioned our Monday observation this morning, some wag suggested if the Mayans had been so prescient, why didn't they know the Spaniards were coming? ✠   "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Philanthropic Friday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... I t was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Dave Leach.  Many local kids grew up and had Mr. Leach as their biology or physiology teacher at Redondo High and if you were lucky, your driver's ed. teacher.  Later, many of us got to know him through St. Lawrence Martyr church and really began to understand his warmth, generosity and good cheer.  The world was a better place for having Dave Leach and a bit sadder for losing him...  Our condolences to the family.  We understand the funeral will be on Monday the 17th at 10am at St. Lawrence Martyr.  Here's a photo of Dave with Lou Zamperini (of Torrance airport fame.) A beautiful cold-ass winter's morning with 25+ miles visibility under toy story clouds.  Winds were offshore by 5.6kts and the sea surface had a slight roll to it.  The air temp was 45brrr degrees and the water was 61.9°.  High tide was at 9:02am +7.1' and low tide followed at 4:15pm -1.6'.  We had a fresh WSW swel

Thixotropic Thursday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... T he Professor's been holed up at the factory working on a project.  We stole in and took this shot of his prototype.  We have it on good authority that it's gonna be a wall hanger.  If it's not, it should be handy for opening bottles or eviscerating  it's pilot... U nlimited visibility this morning and variable cloudiness all through the day.  Winds were onshore at 4.1kts and there was a light chop on the sea surface.  The air temp was 55.0° and the water is 62.2°.  High tide was way up and flooding Sunset Beach (CA) at 8:16am +7.3' and low tide is really low at 3:29pm -1.7'.  We have a building SW swell out of 234° at 3.0'.  The tides will be making all the difference, so check it out...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Wax Museum Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... I t'd be pretty cool to find one of these under the tree... C louds are moving in and we have 10 miles visibility, while the wind is blowing offshore at 8.9kts.  The sea surface is smooth, in fact too damned smooth.  The air temperature is 56.8° and the water is 62.4°.  A more than generous high tide this morning at 7:30am +7.2' and a dredging low tide this afternoon at 2:43pm -1.6'.  The buoy is reading a west swell out of 262° at 2.0' and the result is pretty much flat. O verheard at Brother's this morning... My girlfriend thinks that I'm a stalker.    Well, she's not exactly my girlfriend yet. ✠  "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Toys-For-Tots Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... S ince when have the Marines done Toys-for-Tots?  Maybe always?  Anyway, we were on the Hermosa Plaza and they were having a Bring-A-Toy-And-Get-Into-The-Lighthouse-Free event.  We didn't actually go into the Lighthouse but we gave them a toy anyway...  They were armed!   (We expect the Danger Boy action figure to come out next year!   Ed.) I t's flat and getting flatter.  Even though at checkout it was 20 miles plus visibility and clear skies and the winds were offshore by 1.9kts.  And even though it was glassy and the air temperature was 53.8˚ and the water was a full 10˚ warmer at 63.8˚ it was still flat.  That's not mentioning that high tide was at 6:46am +6.9' and low tide would be at 1:58pm -1.3'.  And even if the buoy said it was a SW swell out of 217˚ at 2.0' (and by 1:00pm it had dropped to 1.6'), by the time you could translate all of that fine information it was still f lat...  thank you... F red: Just wondering . . . do

Margaritaville Monday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... B ringing home some X-mas cheer So Cal style... A beautiful clear morning with unlimited visibility under cloudless skies.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was glassy, just like last night when the smoke from the Manhattan Beach fireworks refused to blow away and the finale looked like an explosion in a hookah bar.The air temperature was 55.9˚ and the water was 62.6˚.  Some radical tides this week starting with a high tide at 6:03am +6.4' and low tide at 1:13pm -0.7'.  We have a SSW swell out of 220˚ true at 2.3' and it shows as basically flat... R emember this Friday, Flashback at Keegan's in Olde Torrance...  7 to 10 for all the oldsters...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

A Special Sunday Surf & Culture Report

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  Lost Boys & Co... F or the First time in the history of the Hennessey's Cup of Surfing Mira Costa did not walk away with the trophy.  After 16 heats of head to head surfing between Mira Costa, Palos Verdes, South and Redondo High, Mira Costa and Redondo tied!  The final score was 181 to 181, with South High 3rd and PV 4th.   T he Redondo team was ecstatic, with some competitors waiting long after their heats to see what the results might be.  Thanks to outstanding performances from the women's teams and several talented individual efforts Redondo stayed close and finally almost bit the perennial winners.  Both teams will be losing some high scoring seniors, so it will be interesting to see next year's results.  Maybe Redondo will finally unseat the Mira Costa juggernaut! Go Seahawks! ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Wherefore Art Thou Wednesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... I n a remote location, in a third world nation, on a post, in the corner of a bar, was this sign.  We did a double take, but really weren't surprised... F oggles in your goggles this morning with almost a ¼ mile visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 55.2° and the water was 62.6°.  Low tide wasn't that low at 7:44am +2.9' and high tide wasn't that high at 12:52pm +4.0'.  We have a west swell out of 264° at 3.0' and it was 2' to 3' and a tad mushy, but rideable. R edondo High met Mira Costa for their annual surf showdown and the Seahawks got an early drop on the Mustangs.  By the 5th heat they were tied 42 to 42 and it looked like Redondo had the juice to go all the way.  And then the bodyboarders hit the water.  Bodyboarding has arguably taken a hit in the last few years, with a lot of the standouts (so to speak) having graduated.  Costa went 1 - 2 - 3 and left Redondo trying to catch u

Try This Tap Tuesday Surf & Culture Report

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Lost Boys & Co... " H ello, he lied."  The tag line in a greeting card we saw recently. G ray for starters this morning and 9 miles visibility.  Winds were out of the north by 4.1kts and the sea surface was lightly bumped.  The air temperature was 58.5° and the water was 62.6°.  High tide was at 11:44am +4.5' and low tide will be at 6:07pm +3.0'.  We have a diminishing WNW swell out of 283° at 2.6' and the resulting waves are 1' to 3' depending on where you might be... I n the land of milk and honey, beer flows right out of the tap.  Kinda amazing, all that milk and honey and we just drank beer all day long...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!