Lost Boys & Co.

Lost Boys & Co... S o, there are two things - wait... maybe three, that are the bane of your basic surfer  (we'll concentrate on two for now .)  Those would be fog and wind.  So yesterday and the day before we experimented with fog.  Today, after getting ready for better conditions, the wind kicked up about 4am spoiling our party.  The photo makes it look quite a bit better than it really was.  Okay, maybe tomorrow, but no promises... C loudy and looking like a bit of weather passing through.  10 miles visibility and the wind is bending things just a bit.  It's out of the west (256˚) at 10 to 15kts and the sea surface is choppy.  The air temp is 56.6˚ and despite the wind the water is holding at 60.4˚.  High tide was at 9:00am +6.7' and low tide will follow at 3:48pm -1.5' for your beachcombing, sea glass collecting, tide pool wading pleasure.  We have a west swell out of 271˚ at 5.2' and it's a blown out 3' to 6' at most local spots... C ongrats t

Lost Boys & Co... S ome of the foggy drizzlations this morning.  Not as bad as yesterday's fog, but a little gray for those of us now accustomed to continuous sunshine... S o 2 miles or less visibility and those overcast and drizzly skies.  Winds are offshore by 2.3kts and the sea surface is smooth.  The air temp is a cool 56.7˚, but the water is unreal at 61.0˚.  Last year at this time it was 57.1˚ and we thought that wasn't bad.  High tide is at 8:14am +6.8' and low tide will follow at 3:08pm -1.7'.  We have a west swell out of 261˚ at 4.6' and surf in the 3' to 5' range running poor to fair...  Wait for your favorite tide and hit it! I t was Redondo vs PV yesterday and the Sea Kings were on their best game and squirted past the Seahawks.  It was close for the first half then they pulled away, but not without some standout performances by the Redondo surfistas.  Men's shortboard:  Heat #2 1st place Trevor LaShure, Heat #8 1st place Luke Meye

Lost Boys & Co... L onely?  No friends?  Wanna meet people?  Then Paddleboard Cove is the place for you!  On this morning Aubrie and the Professor checked it out and there were 41 people in the middle, 16 at Boneyards, 5 at Little Reef, 11 paddling to Indicators and an indeterminate number at Indicators proper (because it was too far away to count.)  By all accounts friendly, caring, good natured sorts enjoying the morning... P artly cloudy skies this morning and about 12 miles visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was smooth, with just a hint of last night's wind.  The air temperature was 55.8˚ and the water is 60.4˚.  High tide was at 5:48am +6.0' and low tide will be at 1:06pm -0.8'.  We have a west swell out of 263˚ at 4.9' and it's looking about 1' to 5' depending on your location...  location, location, location... S aturday night Boomfwappa and the Knights of the Mystic Sea played Keegan's in the oldest part of old Torrance.  Warr

Lost Boys & Co... ... O f course we have no idea what you say when he pulls you over the second time... W e are laboring under overcast skies and visibility is in the 10 mile range.  The air temp is 57.6˚ and the water is 60.4˚.  Low tide is at 10:23am +1.2' and high tide will follow at 4:12pm +2.7'.  We have nothing like the west swell that was advertised.  It's currently out of 262˚ at 3.6' and breaking from 3' to 4' and pretty wally-crashy.  So what we need here is a kick-ass storm to really dig up some holes and create those sand bars we need for some peaky waves, instead of these block-long crashers.  Or maybe even a gully washer to dredge out the outfalls and dump some new material on the bottom...  anything out there? B arney's Beanery this afternoon at 4:30.  In the foreground of the RB Pier, above Brixton.  Bring your asbestos flannel shirt for the S'mores...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... I t was Redondo Vs a combined Bishop, North & West team yesgterday morning at Torrance Beach.  Big outsides, with few or no shoulders.  A really stellar effort by all of the surfers, but some first place standouts were:  Heat #1 Men's Shortboard: Kyle Beatty.  Heat #2 Men's Shortboard: Trevor LaShure.  Heat #4 Men's Longboard:  Hudson Ritchie.  Heat #5 Bodyboard: Trevor LaShure.  Heat #6 Women's Longboard: Hali Honea.  Heat #7 Men's Shortboard: Jack Langdon.  This is a photo of the competitors in Heat #6 Women's Longboard.  From L to R:  Hali Honea, Natalie D'Angelo, Paige Sullivan and Phoebe Mather peacing out!  If Natalie and Paige had switched places they would've been in the order they finished.  A couple of 8' faces for the competition and it's supposed to get bigger throughout the weekend... M eanwhile we have hazy skies and around 10 miles visibility.  Winds were out of the NE by 3.3kts and the sea surface was sm

Lost Boys & Co... L oLa takes out her SUP and voilá, she finds dolphins!  They were jumping in front of her, diving underneath and cavorting all around as she paddled.  The best part was, the entire time she was out there, she kept saying, I wish I had pictures of this!"  Turns out niece Hannah had seen her paddle out and took these shots with her telephoto from the beach.  How cool was that...  On the other hand the Professor went out and didn't see a dolphin all day...  Keep lookin'! W ith the low hanging clouds it almost seems like weather today!  Visibility is about 12 miles and looks pretty thick.  Winds were light to calm and the sea surface was smooth with a rolling swell.  The air temperature was 58.4˚ and the water is 59.9˚.  Low tide was at 6:02am +2.0' and High tide is also in the am at 11:35am +3.9'.  We have a west swell out of 262˚ at 3.9' and it's 3' to 5' at the spots that are getting the swell and almost zero everywhere else.

Lost Boys & Co... L ooks like the wind is blowing offshore, heeling this cat-boat just a shade... H azy sun, with just a hint of lingering smoke from yesterday's Glendora blaze.  18 miles visibility, changing as the wind shifts.  Right now it's out of the east by 3.0kts and the sea surface is smooth.  The air temp is 61.2˚ and the water is 59.9˚.  High tide is at 9:14am +5.6' and low tide will follow at 4:11pm -0.4'.  We have a SSW swell out of 207˚ at 1.3'.  And it's like that, 1' to 2' and pretty damned close to shore. It could be fun, but you have to reduce your expectations...  yes, even more than usual... A nd what might this arresting image be?  An old hotel?  A favella?  The Topaz International Trump Tower Suites?  Nope...  It's the Costa Concordia, the Italian luxury liner that went aground.  They're in the process of floating it up so they can salvage it.  Hmm, some of those drapes might not look so bad behind the lanai... ✠  "W

Lost Boys & Co... G ood to see that everyone is rowing in synch here...  Wait for the switch...   O ut in the water this morning we could see what appeared to be a fog bank creeping over the hill to Hermosa.  But somehow it didn't look right.  Yeah, well, turns out that Glendora is on fire and the plume of smoke and ash is headed all the way across the basin to Hermosa-Redondo.  Looks a little like a dusty snow...  Hoping that not too many structures are in danger.  Visibility was about 20 miles and the sun is a dusky orange.  Winds are off by 2.3kts and the sea surface is glassy-smooth.  The falling ash should subside about the time the wind switches...  Was 62.1˚ at checkout and the ocean temp was 60.1˚.  High tide is at 8:43am +5.8' and low tide will follow at 3:44pm -0.5'.  There's a WSW swell out of 252˚ at 1.6' and it's 1' to 2' on the sand...  Right on the sand... A rather recent and disturbing reality of Labrador Retriever breeding...  It wa

Lost Boys & Co... J ust about 6am this morning as the moon was going down and the sun was coming up.  The moon is that orange dot on the left just above the Hermosa pier.  Wish we'd had a real panoramic camera, but the phone had to do... B eautiful morning with clear skies and 20+ miles visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was smooth to glassy.  The air temperature was a relatively warm 60.7˚ (up 4˚ from yesterday) and the water was 59.5˚.  High tide was at 8:12am +5.9' and low tide will be at 3:17pm -0.6'.  We have a west swell out of 275˚ at 2.0' and it's breaking 1' to 2' and not great, but some odd rollers...   A little SUP action for some better views!  Maybe even a whale or two!!  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... A little kayaking is in order to chase those Gray Whales.  Probably a bit weak if you run into a pod of Orcas, but you'd kick into some windmill-style paddling for sure...  We were kinda bummed when we heard that Orcas eat Dolphins!  Not just Dolphin fish, but Dolphins like the Flipper-kine.  You wanna eat seals - fine, you wanna eat tuna - fine (we eat'em too!)  But not Dolphins~!     Y et ANOTHER beautiful day!  Clear with about 20 miles visibility.  The air temperature is 56.6˚ and the water is still 59.5.˚  Although they're gusting throughout the Southland, winds here are calm and the sea surface is smooth to glassy.  High tide is at 7:41am +5.9' and low tide will be at 2:50pm -0.6' for your beach-combing pleasure.  We have a west swell at 3.0', but the tide is a bit high and it's breaking right on shore.  We'll call it 2' to 3', but you'll have to find you're secret spot.  Part of the problem is that we have

Lost Boys & Co... A little fishing for a quiet afternoon on the runabout...  Keep it between the navigational beacons! D ammit if this weather isn't attracting the attention from the rest of the country!  The Chamber of Commerce must be having the fantods!  17 miles visibility under cloudless, but hazy skies.  Winds were offshore at checkout at 1.1kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 56.0˚ and the water is holding at 59.7˚.  High tide is at 7:08am +5.8' and low tide will be at 2:20pm -0.5'.  We are having a west swell out of 268˚ at 3.3' and it's 2' to 4'.  The only problem is that the bottom is pool table flat and things are a bit wally-crashy.  S'posed to be some weather next week.  Let's hope for some dredgers! O ur Friday post got mangled somehow and the final couple of lines were deleted.  We were just going to say how deceptively complex these mosaics really are.  Take a closer look on your next ride down Harbor Dr.

Lost Boys & Co... Next time you're feeling a bit chilled take a look of this pic of Niagara Falls last Tuesday.  Actually, some of the falls is still running.  There are some years when it freezes all the way across! Hazy sun taking it's time coming up this morning and 2½ miles visibility.  Winds were off by 2.3kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temp was 50.5˚ and the water was 59.7˚.  High tide was at 5:06am +5.4' and low tide will follow at 12:27pm +0.3'.  We have a west swell out of 272˚ at 3.3' and that's just about it on the beach at most spots... Our friends Debbie (Zable) Collette and Patti Linnett recently completed a set of 6 mosaics on the boat yard wall opposite the Edison Company on Harbor Dr.  They portray various ocean sports and really    "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... H ere on the north side of the island of Terceira, in the Azores it's looking like there's a bit of spray kicking up...   H igh clouds and some hazy sun this morning with about 3 miles visibility.  Winds are off at 2.3kts and the sea surface is brushed smooth.  The air temp is a dampish 51.6˚ and the water is even damper at 59.7˚.  Low tide is a bit late at 11:30am +0.8' and high tide follows at 5:34pm +3.2'.  We have a west swell out of 262˚ at 3.0'.  And we'll give it that.  Joined the kids and the Kadowaki crew at 26th this morning for some long lines that just kept getting longer as the tide dropped.  Check it mañana, s'posed to stay good...  Earlier the better... S o you walk down from the village of Biscoitos to check on all that spray.  Just on the island side of the road you catch a glimpse of what's generating all that aerosol sea water.  A solid 20', but they'll tell you it's only 6 meters.  During the summer t

Lost Boys & Co... P urple sky morning at Hermosa Pier...  The last two weeks have been like:  No waves.  No waves.  No waves...  WAVES!  Yay!! C loudy skies with more than a hint of haziness.  2 miles visibility.  Winds were offshore by 2.5kts and the sea surface was smooth.  The air temperature was 52.2˚ and the water was 59.7˚.  Low tide was late at 10:12am +1.3' and high tide is at 3:56pm +3.2'.  We have a strong west swell out of 261˚ at 4.3' and it's 3' to 4' at the better spots. O kay, so you can go to Chadwick and get your basic preppy education, but if you want to major in surf, then maybe it's Redondo where you should do your matriculating.  Props to Chadwick in their contest against RUHS this morning.  It's always tough for a small school to do well against some of the bigger publics, but they had some good surfers and made an admirable showing.  Redondo prevailed 106 to 37 showing the best side of public education...  Some standouts:

Lost Boys & Co... W e saw one of these babies parked near the pier a few weeks ago.  There were a bunch of folks standing around that looked like VW employees, taking photos and generally ogling the sheet metal.  Then we pulled by and they all turned and started taking pics of our ancient roller and waving and carrying on...  Fun stuff...  It's called a "Phaeton" and it looked pretty sexy... Y ou gotta figure that people are staring at cars when there aren't any waves...  20+ miles visibility under clear skies.  Winds are offshore by 3.3kts and the sea surface is smooth to glassy.  The air temperature is 51.6˚ and the water is 59.7˚.  Low tide is at 8:37am +1.7' and high tide will be at 2:10pm +3.6'.  We have a WSW swell out of 258˚ at 2.0' and it's not half that this morning.  Pretty small and there isn't any indication of swell activity for the next few days... T ake a drive... Can you still see the floats from the Rose Parade?  ✠ "When

Lost Boys & Co... R asta Pete was having a medical checkup and the nurse practitioner asked:  "Did any of your relatives suffer from mental illness?"  He gave it a moment and then replied, "No... they all seemed to enjoy it." D anger Boy has another week in Hawaii.  When he got there the surf looked like this...  25' and extremely wild...  He gave it a bye... M eanwhile here on the mainland we have brilliant sunny skies with 20+ miles visibility.  Winds are off by 3.1kts and the sea surface is glassy.  The air temperature was 56.6˚ and the water is unseasonably warm at 59.7˚ creeping into the low 60's during mid-day.  Low tide is at 7:05am +1.8' and high tide will be at 12:46pm +4.3'.  We  have a SW swell out of 226˚ at 1.3' and it's less than half of that on the sand...  looking pretty meager... S o this young woman walks into Brother's and Tio Ted is chatting her up.  He notices she's got a Cal Yacht Club burgee on her jacket

Lost Boys & Co... Y ou might not have ever known him by name, but Dave Martin was one of the great photojournalists of our time.  His work was primarily associated with the American South, catching poignant images of the gulf oil spill (shown) and hurricane Katrina.  He also worked in Afghanistan, Haiti and other tumultuous locations around the world.  He passed away suddenly after shooting one of his signature "coach-getting-drenched-with-Gatorade" shots at the Texas A&M vs Duke bowl game.  We still think the little oil specked gulf wave spoke volumes... T his is getting old, but it was another brilliant day here in the Southland.  We had 20 miles visibility under relatively cloudless skies.  Unfortunately, all of those Michiganders out here for the Rose Bowl imagine that this is the way it is all the time...  Winds were offshore at checkout by 4.1kts and the sea surface was smooth, just short of glassy.  The air temp was 55.8˚ and the water was an unseasonably w