Lost Boys & Co.

Lost Boys & Co... T oday if some tar blobs wash up on the beach you get a phalanx of convicts in hazmat gear (including life preservers and hard hats.  We understand the life preservers, since you could get sucked in by a rogue wave and washed out to sea.  But the hard hats are a bit of a mystery, unless they're still worried that the tar might be raining from the sky.  Ed .)  Now, back in the olden days, you just sent your kids down to play on the beach.  When they returned the beach was pristine and you merely washed them down with paint thinner.  In all fairness, they would have loved the hard hats...  (photo credits:  Barry Santos, LB Photos.  John Heath "Doc" Ball, California Surfriders 1946) NO , you can't go in the water and we don't care what your mother said!  Despite all the tar we have 10 miles visibility under overcast skies.  Winds were light from the SSE 150˚ at 2.9kts and the sea surface was a petrolated oily gla...

Lost Boys & Co... M anhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beaches are closed.  Where are we going to go?  Vishnevsky the Wave Hunter says, "The beaches are closed because of tar, so let's go to Rat because Rat is t-a-r backwards!"  This is the kind of reasoning we appreciate...   U nder the cover of "May Gray" we had 5 miles visibility.  Winds were calm and the sea surface was smooth, but not oily/glassy, like you might suppose.  The air temp was 59.3˚ and the water was 61.9˚.  High tide was at 6:54am +3.4' and low tide will follow at 12:31pm +1.3'.  We have a SSW swell out of 209˚ reading 3.9' at the buoy.  Not quite that big on the beach.  2' to 3', but a bit crashy and not too deluxe... S o, what's the big deal?  It looks like the same stuff that's on the beach all the time.  Maybe a little more, but it's even amazing someone noticed it...  Of course there are conspiracy theorists (among them the Professor) who are say...

Lost Boys & Co... S ummer's on it's way and for some reason that made us think about the Wedge.  South swells, warmer water and those belching lefts.  This guy is in a good spot, but one hesitation and suddenly your fins pass you up, followed by your ass and then your pointed head bone... C loudy this morning with 7 miles visibility.  Winds were mostly calm with smooth conditions.  It seemed a bit chilly at 58.1˚, but the water is good at 61.5˚ and this weeks sunnier conditions should help.  Am tides with high at 5:52am +3.4' and low at 11:52am +1.2'.  There's a SW swell out of 219˚ at 3.6' and it's grazing us at 1' to 3' with an occasional fat one on the outside... R emember the fete for LoLa on Friday at 5:30pm in the backyard!  Linguiça, beans and good times.  She needs some ideas about what to do with her new found time!  All suggestions remotely dealing with the dental arts will be incinerated...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll ...

Lost Boys & Co... S tand on one foot and touch your nose, walk and chew gum or Ride your bike and read the sign.  Apparently, there are some who can't handle.  This is only made more egregious by the fact that across the strand, a mere 25 feet to the west, was free valet bike parking.  "Why didn't you use the valet?  "What?  And get my bike scratched!" C loudy skies trying to drizzle on our parade and 6 to 7 miles visibility.  Winds out of NWN at 3.3kts and the sea surface had a definite bump going on.  The air temperature was 60.6˚ and the water is 62.2˚.  Low tide is late at 11:07am +1.0' and high tide will be at 6:08pm +4.4'.  We have a SW swell out of 215˚ at 3.0'.  It's 1' to 2' and crumbly gray, but some slideable waves along the inside sandbars... T his Friday Happy Hour will be at LoLa & the Professor's house.  After thirty nine years of whacking plaque, Friday will be her last day at the office!  There will be ...

Lost Boys & Co... S o if you get to Brothers early enough you can catch Yoshi and Oscar getting a bit of early brekky.  Got to get it in before the morning crunch gets on...  Pretty whacked this morning with the Festival going on... O vercast skies this morning, bordering on cloudy, with 7 miles visibility.  Winds were from the south by 3.4kts and the sea surface was smooth with a slight roll.  The air temperature was 58.1˚ and the water was 61.5˚.  Low tide was sat 10:14am +0.8' and high tide will be at 5:30pm +4.1'.  We have a SW swell out of 227˚ at 3.3' and it's 2' to 3' at most spots... T his is what happens when the Meth Hunter does his job.  The evil doers took the first notice down.  The sheriffs stuck the second one on with metal tape...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... W ith that northwest wind blowing this morning, there wasn't much hope in finding some surf.  Chuck and Boris hanging on to the pier to keep from getting blown back to Brother's.  As it turned out, that's what happened anyway... M eanwhile, it was partly cloudy, with a remote chance of rain and 15 miles visibility.  Winds were steady out of the NW at 6kts+ and the sea surface is a bit choppy and roughed up.  Both the sea and air are 59.9˚ with that wind cooling things down.  Low tide was at 7:25am -0.2' and high tide follows at 2:25pm +3.7'.  We have a west swell out of 274˚ at 3.6' and if it weren't for the damned wind it might be good!  Not much chance of rain mañana and if the wind stays off it might be okay.  The predictors for Sunday are more hopeful, however, with offshore's in the morning and a consistent swell.  Check it out... T he juxtaposition of the Transamerica building and this street corner in Chinatown, s...

Lost Boys & Co... F or some reason, this perfectly ordinary photograph looks like a cartoon.  Well, we can assure you it's not.  Maybe because the new bikepath (as evidenced by this stretch across from the Edison Co.) is a bright green with solar yellow dotted lines.  Whatever.  Looks like it will be open in time for summer and your biking pleasure.  If it doesn't cause retinal damage... P artly cloudy skies this morning with 20+ miles visibility, although not quite enough to see the buffaloes on Catalina clearly.  Winds were out of the WSW at 3.1kts and the sea surface had a bit of glassy roll.  The air temp was 57.8˚ and the water persists in remaining around 60.8˚.  Actually, Boris wore booties this morning, not because he needed them, but because he liked the idea of booties.  Low tide was at 6:35am -0.6' and high tide will follow at 1:21pm +3.8'.  We have a west swell out of 263˚ at 3.0' and it was 2' to 4' and there were some ...

Lost Boys & Co... K ooks are where you find them.  We have no idea if a kook installed this himself, or if this was a comment on the nature of the beast.  It might have been that the artist just had O's and K's and decided the O's looked better on the inside of the K's rather than spelling "OKKO." P artly cloudy this morning with 10 miles visibility.  Winds were basically calm and for a golden half an hour it was oily, glassy.  Not quite as oily as Refugio, but in the best sense.  The air temperature was 58.5˚ and the water was 60.4˚.  Low tide was at 5:49am -1.0' and high tide was at 12:23pm +3.9'.  We have a WSW swell out of 247˚ at 3.6' and it was 2' to 4' with some nice peaks and pitching sections. T he "Bay to Breakers" race is famous for costumes (and a notorious lack of them.)  In this case, these contestants ran as snow globes.  They featured different locales such as Hollywood, Paris and New York.  We have no report o...

Lost Boys & Co... Chef Matt welcomed the Team to "Wingtips."  Next time you're in SF drop in and mention the Lost Boys... A beautiful spring morning with 15 miles visibility and just a few isolated clouds.  Winds were off early at 2.2kts and the sea surface had a slight roll, winds turning onshore about 8:30.  The air temperature was 57.3˚ and the water was a cool 60.4˚.  Low tide was early at 5:08am -1.2' and high tide will be at 11:31am +4.1'.  We have a west swell out of 250˚ at 3.6' and it was 2' to 3' with some nice rollers.  Speaking of nice rollers at 8:21am Boris caught his first legitimate wave!  Claiming it after a long glide, far on the inside, Clarky and the Professor both saw the entire ride.  A thing of beauty... The Oscar "Peña" Barahona Room at "Wingtips" in San Francisco.  This suite dedicated to hunters is named after the famed El Salvadorian who holds the world's record for bagging the world's largest ...

Lost Boys & Co... S o this kid comes down to the beach and he's got the second biggest shovel we've ever seen.  In about 3 minutes he had dug a hole that you could have fit Brother's Burritos into.  We mean the entire restaurant not just a plate of burritos.  We asked him if we could play and he said "No, I'm working."  He then proceeded to pick up a couple of dead seals and it really got stinky.  Then he covered the whole thing up (or the hole thing up) like it had never been there...  Amazing... M ostly clear this morning with a few clouds around the perimeter of the basin and 20 miles visibility.  Winds were calm at checkout and the sea surface had a bit of residual bump from the evening's wind.  The air temperature was 55.6˚ and the water was 62.1˚, but felt a bit cooler.  High tide was at 10:40am +4.3' and low tide will be at 3:49pm +1.3'.  We have a SSW swell out of 206˚ at 3.2' and it was 2' to 3' in Hermosa as Boris, Robin ...

Lost Boys & Co... T rue Lost Boys are always a precious commodity and we lost another one this week with the passing of blues legend BB King.  No surfari is complete without some BB on the box.  "Riding With The King" and "I'm Like A Picture On The Wall" were a couple of our faves...  Guess the thrill is gone... R ainy, cloudy this morning with 5 miles visibility.  Winds were calm at checkout and the sea surface was glassy.  The air temp was 53.6˚ and the water was 62.2˚.  High tide was at 8:07am +4.4' and low tide follows at 1:47pm +0.6'.  We have a steep south swell out of 191˚ at 3.6'.  It's 1' to 2' with an occasional navel high set. F ive good times last night with some good food, fun giveaways, cheap drinks and free custom hats... ( Photo courtesy, CoConut Images )   "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!!

Lost Boys & Co... I n Surfer Magazine they used to (maybe they still do?) tilt the photos so they'd add a bit of tension to the proceedings.  So, Kris Hall has either a steep climb to get to the end of this little mushburger or it's all downhill from here. C lark the Meth Hunter, Boris the Wave Hunter and the Professor headed out this morning under somewhat questionable conditions and turned things around as the wind calmed down and it started to glass off.  The air temp was 59.5˚ and although it was advertised as 63˚ on the Hermosa Pier, it was more like the 60.4˚ posted on the 46221buoy sight.  Speaking of water temps, Becker Surfboards is having an absolutely killer wetsuit sale.  They've got suits at 70% off.  That's SEVEN-O percent!  You can walk out of the door with a $469 O'Neill suit for about $150.  (Sounds like we're plugging Zachary All.)  GO NOW, while the supple lasts!   Where were we... Oh, yeah...  High tide was at 7:0...

Lost Boys & Co... W e have recently learned that tomorrow evening (May 14th, 6pm until closing) at Waterman's Restaurant on the Hermosa Plaza, will be Becker Surfboards Night . T his means several things:     There will be raffles.     There will be giveaways.     You will be able to make your own hats.  (Ooh da trills!)     You can watch a surf flick.     There will be drinks.     There will be food.     Fun is anticipated.  You may bring the whole family.  (Except for Uncle Ernie.  Don't bring Uncle     Ernie.) T his being the case, our wagon master, Ms. LoLa, has suspended Happy Hour on Friday and moved it to Waterman's on Thursday.  We know this is a rather bold move, but she is famous for her impetuousness in these matters...  See you there! O h, by the way the Hermosa Pier is open!  Waterman's is just east of the pictur...

Lost Boys & Co... J ust when they're getting ready for springtime in the Rockies, it snows.  Here we have Gidget and LoLa posing in front of the cabin they rented for Allison's graduation (and a hearty congratulations to her!)  So while it snowed at the cabin, it just rained at graduation.  6,000 graduates, 10,000 family and friends and 8,000 umbrellas.  The math is right, there are just a bunch of people with colds today... C loudy this morning with 10 miles visibility.  Winds were strong out of the SSE at 7.3kts and the sea surface was appropriately bumped.  The air temperature was 57.3˚ and the water is 60.3˚.  High tide was at 6:02am +4.2' and it's low at 12:17pm +0.3'.  We have a west swell out of 252˚ at 4.3' and it was a solid 4' with some bigger outsides.  Some great waves if you were on! W e encountered this obstacle at the Chautauqua dining hall.  It consisted of an half inch of cured ham between two slices of homemade whea...

Lost Boys & Co... S o if you know LoLa, you know that there can't be a mountain in the vicinity that she's not going to climb.  Actually, she didn't climb it on this day, when it was merely raining.  She waited for two days until it snowed and then she, Gidget and Jordan C-R, hiked and then scaled that pointy peak above her head in the photo... C learing skies and 20+ miles visibility this morning.  Winds were out of the ESE at 4 to 8kts and the sea surface was bumped.  The air temperature was 62.2˚ and the water was 61.0˚.  Low tide was at 11:25am +0.2' and high tide was at 6:10pm +4.7'.  We had a good west swell out of 275˚ true at 4.6' and it was 3' to 4' and fun until the tide got a bit too low.  T his was the group that traveled in the Professor's rented troop carrier.  They no sooner disembarked then loaded up on snowballs and had one of the all-time Mother's Day snowball fights...  No problem with directions with this group... ...

Lost Boys & Co... S o, when you think surf lessons, it's like, "Can you teach my nine year old 65lb niece how to surf?"  Well, yeah, sure!  But when someone who is 6'4" and weighs a cool 235 wants to learn, the first thing you do is teach them how to paddle.  Because, face it, you're not going to be pushing them into too many waves.  That is unless it's LA King's defenseman Matt Greene and he paddles like a steamboat and stood up on his third wave!  A remarkable athlete, we'd say he took to surfing like a duck to water, but we're fairly sure he's not a Ducks fan...  From l. to r.:  Matt "Steamboat" Greene, Boris Vishnevsky and the Professor.  (photo credit:  Clark the Meth Hunter DDM)  C loudy this morning with 10 miles visibility.  Winds were calm and only a slight roll on the sea surface.  The air temperature was 59.3˚ and the water is 61.9˚ with a warm spot here and there.  Low tide was at 5:38am -0.5' and high tide...

Lost Boys & Co... S hortly after the wooden wheel was discovered, they decided you could cover it with rubber and create more traction and have a more comfortable ride.  They don't rust, but they do have trouble with termites... C loudy this morning with 10 miles visibility.  Winds were light out of the SSW at 2.7kts and the sea surface was lightly bumped.  The air temperature was 59.8˚ and the water is a welcoming 60.6˚.  High tide was at 11:17am +3.8' and low tide will be at 4:16pm +1.7'.  We have a SSW swell out of 200˚ at 4.3', but it's still a bit sharp of an angle to hit our beaches.  1' to 2' and let's hope the angles get better tomorrow... A good rule when you're in a foreign country:  Make friends with the locals and they get you into the kinds of places the locals frequent.  Bartenders are usually locals.  Make friends with them, then you don't have to go out of your way...  LoLa and her friend Daniel, the barkeep at D'Roc...

Lost Boys & Co... T hey're still working on the Hermosa Pier.  Supposed to be done sometime before the end of May... V isibility is right around 10 miles under overcast skies.  Winds were blustery to 4.5kts and the sea surface was a bit chopped up.  The air temperature was 57.8˚ and the water is 59.5˚.  High tide was at 10:35am +4.0' and low tide will be at 3:46pm +1.5'.  We have a south swell out of 185˚ at 4.9' which is great if you happen to be at the Wedge or Malibu or maybe even Huntington, but here we're looking at 2' to 3' rather messy conditions.  We hope it's a tad better mañana. S omeone asked if we had any surfing pics from El Salvador.  We didn't think we did until this shot of the Professor came to us from Melissa Mazur.  It was the last day of the trip and this was toward the end of the session.  Wish they had the first one that turned into a roping tube...  ✠ "When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."  The Professor!...

Hi! How are you? News from Oprah: http://locallab.co/shook.php She says it works! Frank Paine Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Lost Boys & Co... I t is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce the passing of Jim "Jimbo" Stawbler.  You would know Jimbo because he was the biggest guy at Brother's counter, 99 out of 100 times (including the Kings, Titans and other pro athletes that frequent the place!)  He nearly always ordered the French Toast and was a regular most week days.  He was a body builder and frequented the Yard as well as being an accomplished pianist!  Our condolences to his family and he leaves footprints literally too large to fill...  Rest in Peace, Jimbo... F oggies this morning as we enter into the May Gray right on schedule.  200yds visibility and onshore winds at 3.7kts.  The sea surface was a bit bumpy.  The air temp was 60.9˚ and the water was 60.1˚, keeping up with the air.  High tide was at 8:44am +4.1' and low tide will follow at 2:25pm +1.0'.  We have a west swell out of 267˚ at 3.6' and the surf was 2' to 4' at most spots... H ...