Entries from October 2007
With all the hype surrounding the finals of the Cold Water Classic, we almost forgot about another Northern California surfer competing against the world’s best the very same weekend (October 13/14). However, this contest didn’t take place in the water, but in the shaping bay.
Master shaper Marc Andreini of San Mateo represented Northern California in the inaugural “Tribute to the Masters Shape-off” competition held in conjunction with the Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Southern California. Read the surf column on Andreini here. Over 4,000 surfboard lovers attended the two-day Surfboard Expo.
While the word around town this week was that Andreini’s shape should have gotten the nod, Florida’s Ricky Carroll took top honors and the $1,000 winner’s check Sunday in the competition honoring Mike Diffenderfer. Aside from Andreini, the Floridian beat out master craftsmen Tim Phares (L.A.), Terry Martin (Orange County), Jim Phillips (San Diego) and Scott Ray, who traveled all the way from the Great Lakes to participate.
Above: Andreini with self-shaped “Hot Curl” boards, the old-school redwood planks ridden in the 1930s and 40s. Andreini is known throughout California as an authority on retro single fin boards, from the seventies and back.
“I’m just very, very stoked. What a great competition,” Carroll said in a statement, upon receiving his first place prize check in front of the packed crowd of surfers at the Expo hall. “This ‘Diff’ was a unique board to replicate, and all of the other shapers did a great job as well. I had made Cheyne Horan a few boards with a similar bottom as this ‘Diff’ back in the Lazor Zap days, but the ‘S’ deck and classic ‘Diff’ rails really made this challenging.”
Andreini was considered by many to be the favorite heading into the competition because of his extensive knowledge of the designs of Diff’s era and his work with SC shaper Doug Haut, a close friend of Diff’s.
Kudos to Carroll for shaping a beautiful blank, although it’s a little ironic that a guy from Florida wins a shaping contest honoring the late Mike Diffenderfer, who’s single fin pintails became the stuff of legend after proving themselves in the powerful Hawaiian surf. It’s safe to say that Carroll’s board will probably never be ridden to its true potential in Florida–unless of course someone decides to paddle it out during a rare massive hurricane swell. Double overhead Reef Road perhaps?
Below: Diff eyeing another nearly completed semigun shape that most likely wound up tracing a big bottom turn along the face of a heaving Hawaiian wave at someplace like Hanalei Bay or Sunset Beach.
Tags: Art · Contests
The 17th annual Big Chill Out surf contest and beach festival went down in Pacifica on Saturday, October 20 at Lindamar State Beach. The Longboard Coalition club contest hosted by the Pedro Point Surf Club saw surf clubs from up and down the California coast attend, from Sonoma to SoCal. It was also the first year that ”individual contestants” without any surf club affiliation could surf in the event. Unfortunately, with a massive NW groundswell–along with blustery NW winds–peaking on the day of the event, everyone was forced to surf in survival mode rather than show off their high performance nose riding. The infamous “mile-long” Lindamar closeouts were in full effect, with the waves pretty much breaking in one big thud across the entire bay and at least one board was snapped in half during the contest.
Despite the challenging conditions, a sunny day at the beach still beats just about anything else. The event raffle was a huge success as well, raising generous donations in support of a variety of community charities, including: the Pacifica Beach Coalition, Surfrider Foundation, and Ride-A-Wave Foundation.
Below are this year’s results:
Novice
1 Roland Nazar
2 Cody Angeles
3 Scotty Sweet
4 Joel Schwartz
5 Kate Chaloemtiarana
Jr Mens
1 Ryland King
2 Casey Smith
3 Anthony Murillo
4 Nick Smith
5 Lenny Richards
6 Kadin Panesi
Jr Womens
1 Brittany McMartin
2 Meaghan Alexander
3 Celina McWherter
4 Michelle Blight
5 Brianne Sampson
6 Camille Keating
Mens
1 Jordan McWherter
2 Todd Johnson
3 Zack Ehrlich
4 Ryan Devine
5 David Godsoe
6 Casey Mulderig
Womens
1 Asi Ghiassi
2 Krista Howell
3 Beth O’Rourke
4 Lisa Ryner
5 Joan Newby
6 Robyn King
Sr Mens
1 Tait Cowan
2 Jessie Adams
3 Joe Grochowski
4 Thwen Chaloemtiarana
5 Barry Green
6 Shawn Rhodes
Masters
1 Steve Baker
2 Robert Belli
3 Steve Dwyer
4 Heart Heartlife
5 Hide Minami
6 Lou Meija
Grand Masters
1 Todd Smith
2 Ralph Hedrick
3 Norm Payne
4 Eric Weintraub
5 Tim Cissna
6 Steve St. Clair
Below: This was a nice pic from last year’s contest. There were few opportunites on Saturday for this sort of technical hot dogging. It was mostly just about dodging thick lips to the head.
Super Masters
1 Joel Baldwin
2 John Chiles
3 Chuck Blade
4 Rick Loeper
5 Bill Newlin
6 Dusty Rhodes
Legends
1 Greg Cochran
2 Butch Cloyear
3 Gary Silberstein
4 Glenn Stenstrom
5 Lance Maki
Team
1 Pedro Point Surf Club
2 Nor Cal Surf Shop
3 Log Shop Surf Shop
4 Big Stick Surfing Association
5 Cold Water Surf Club
6 Red Triangle Surf Team
7 Ventura Surf Club
8 Sonoma State Surf Club
Tags: Local News
I recently got an e-mail from some guy in New York who wanted to give folks out here the heads up on a new online TV series featuring profiles of interesting surfing personalities. Here’s what he had to say:
Just wanted to drop you a note about a new surf show on VBS. Okay, so about the only thing I can manage to do in an ocean is splash in waves and that’s about it. So I am no expert at all on surfing, but I do know an entertaining show when I see one and “Hi Shredability” is that kind of show.
Here is what host Tyler Manson has to say on the show:
Welcome to Hi Shredability. This is a show that profiles surfers who are actually doing and making stuff. It isn’t exactly a day-in-the-life of pro surfers deal, and it isn’t a Cribs type of show. I guess we are still figuring out exactly what’s going on, but we are trying to be personal with the surfers and maybe even say something about the state of the surf industry today. The first five or so episodes show basic profiles of people we think are doing something rad, and the common thread is that they all like to float around in the ocean and shred.
While the profiles and content thus far appear to be very Southern California-centric, the series does seem to gravitate towards more interesting characters in the surfing world. So far they have spent some quality time with Dan Malloy, Aussie Ry Craike, retro boy/bohemian/artist Alex Knost and Malibu princess Kassia Meador.
Check out the first installments below:
Alex Knost
Part 1 -http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1178173248&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRD
Part 2 - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1182948187&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRD
Part 3 - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1182795391&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRD
Ry Craike - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1184473263&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRD
Dan Malloy
Part 1 - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1202130216&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRDPart 2 - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1200843724&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRDPart 3 - http://www.vbs.tv/player.phpbctid=1214062836&bccl=MTE3ODE3NjgzMV9fRVRD
Tags: The Green Room
October 23rd, 2007 · 4 Comments
Just when you thought you were safe…
Brain Eating Surf Movie Night returns from beyond the grave to scare everyone out of their 4/3 and booties. Aqua Surf Shop and Wavefest are putting on the annual event at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District (16th and Mission St.) on Friday, Oct. 26th. Doors open at 8 P.M., show starts at 8:30 P.M.
Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see Brian Conley’s latest homage to the green room, My Eyes Won’t Dry II on the big screen. If you haven’t heard, Conley is one of the most committed guys on the “Tube Tour,” the group of guys who travel with the seasons in search of the heaviest pits around the world, from Pipe to Chopes to Puerto (check out the article on Conley’s cinematic work in the summer/fall edition of the Surfer’s Journal). Implementing his board and helmet cams, Conley has acheived some of the most amazing POV footage from inside the deepest regions of the world’s squarest barrels. Check out a preview here…
Conley will be on hand to introduce his barrelicious film, field questions, and help judge the annual costume contest. Show up in your best costume and you could win a custom shortboard from SF Surfboards shaper John Schultze. Other prizes include wetsuits from Xcel, Oakley sunglasses, and more!
There will also be bonus scary short films from local filmmakers and live music preceding the film. $10 advance tickets available at both Aqua Surf Shop locations.
Tags: Local News
October 23rd, 2007 · 3 Comments
Jordy Smith must have really enjoyed himself during his week-long stay in Santa Cruz for the 2007 O’Neill Cold Water Classic. Well, of course he did, he won the whole darn contest, earning the $10,000 first prize and extending his insurmountable lead in the ASP’s World Qualifying Series with an all-time points record of over 14,000.
But Smith’s charmed relationship with Santa Cruz continued to bear fruit yesterday when–just a week after packing up and leaving town–the 19 year old surfing sensation from Durban, South Africa inked a brand new deal with O’Neill, California’s original wetsuit and surf clothing manufacturer.
In Smith, O’Neill lands one of the hottest young surfers in the sport as he prepares to make his big league debut. Smith currently holds the top spot on this year’s WQS with only four events remaining and has already qualified to compete on the WCT’s “Dream Tour” in 2008. He is also a two time junior world champion and was named the Breakthrough Performer of the Year at the 2007 Surfer Poll awards.
The scary thing is this footage is already old. The kid has just gotten better. And what’s up with that one-footed can-can floater? Jordy was probably just bored and wanted to make the maneuver more challenging. What a freak.
Although the terms of the deal remain confidential, with almost all of the biggest brands in the surf industry vying to get Smith on their team, you can bet O’Neill had to drop a pretty penny to sign him up.
“Most major companies were invested,” O’Neill team manager Kieran Horn said of Smith’s contract negotiations. ”When you have a talent as big as Jordy Smith, you’re gonna have every major company interested.”
Furthermore, Smith was in a heated arbitration with former sponsor Billabong about his contract status, and somebody–although no one is saying who–had to throw down for the buy-out in the dispute over the remainder of his contract. Following is the statement issued by Billabong:
“Billabong International Limited and professional surfer Jordy Smith announced today that they have resolved the pending arbitration which Billabong initiated against Jordy Smith, his father, and one of Jordy’s former consultants, in late July 2007. The dispute involved the status of Jordy’s Athlete Sponsorship Agreement with Billabong. Billabong, which had sponsored Jordy for 10 years, alleged that Jordy was in breach of his Agreement; Jordy denied that he was in breach of the Agreement. The matter was amicably resolved by Billabong releasing Jordy in exchange for an undisclosed sum. Jordy expressed his appreciation for the support that the Billabong team has provided to him over the course of many years and he wishes them the very best. Billabong wishes Jordy well for the balance of his career and looks forward to his debut on the World Championship Tour in 2008.”
Smith surfing Sunset Beach like it was Pleasure Point
O’Neill was in the process of negotiating with Smith during this year’s CWC, when he was surfing his heats stickerless. It was a good sign for the Santa Cruz-based wetsuit company, however, that Smith’s choice of rubber during the week-long event was O’Neill.
“We made him some custom wetsuits for the event,” Horn said. “I hung out with him most of the week, showed him around and what the town’s all about. It was fortunate that he came to Santa Cruz and got to learn about our surfing heritage.”
Anyone who witnessed this year’s CWC final will remember that Horn was actually on the verge of winning the event for the second time when, with less than three minutes remaining, he let a good wave slip by only to watch Smith light it up for a 9.5 - the highest score of the six-day contest - and snatch first place. Video highlights from Sunday’s finals
“I have to give that one to Kieran for giving me no hassle,” Smith was quoted as saying after the final. “It was strictly surfing, and that’s the way I like it”
Where many competitors would have hasseled Smith and attempted to block him from catching the wave, Horn simply let Smith have it and see if the youngster could top him based on pure surfing alone. Then, after the heat, as the two floated toward the rocks near the stairs leading up the cliff, Horn grabbed Smith’s arm and raised it high in the air to claim the victory.
Horn’s actions in the final were pure class and becoming of a true champion. But given the recent contract signing I’m sure there’s more than one cynic out there claiming that there was a little business motivation/conflict of interest playing out during the final for O’Neill’s team manager. Adding fuel to a conspiracy theory is the fact that when Smith asked for a wild card entry into the Cold Water shortly before the contest began, Horn was the one responsible for making it happen.
But anyone who knows Horn will tell you that the idea of him handing the title to Jordy is bogus. You don’t make it to the final of an event like the CWC just to roll over, and none of these guys ever could anyway because they’re inherently too competitive. Horn just didn’t want to win the event by having to hassle and fight a guy off a wave. He wanted to win based strictly on surfing. Horn’s words after the final summed it up perfectly.
“The best surfer in the event won the event,” he said, ”and there are not many events where you can say that.”
It will be interesting to see how Smith fares in his rookie year on tour, especially with the added pressure of having California golden boy Dane Reynolds also qualifying for the WCT in 2008. It will also be interesting to catch Smith surfing around SC every once in a while–as we have seen from many of O’Neill’s other world tour pros, such as Timmy Reyes and Cory Lopez–lighting up spots from Pleasure Point to the Murph Bar in between tour stops.
Smith after taking second at the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach and winning the ASP Triple Crown’s Rookie of the Year Award
Here’s the official press release from O’neill…
O’NEILL SIGNS SURFING PHENOM JORDY SMITH
Warmond, The Netherlands (October 22, 2007) – O’Neill proudly announces the addition of South African surfer Jordy Smith to their team. At 19 years old, Smith is the reigning Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Junior World Champion and currently leads the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings with an all-time points record exceeding 14,000. O’Neill’s signing of Smith pairs him with the original surf brand and solidifies his position as one of surfing’s top competitors.
After taking the surfing world by storm in recent years, Smith has thrilled critics by competing successfully against the global surfing elite and racking up some of the most prestigious WQS titles along the way. Following his total domination on the tour this year – including victories on four different continents – the Durban native has already guaranteed himself a spot on the ASP World Tour 2008.
Andreas Adenauer, CEO of the O’Neill Group, is delighted to see Smith joining the team and stated: “We’ve been following Jordy’s progress for a long time, and we’re excited to welcome him onboard. Jordy’s drive, commitment and determination for the sport have helped him to become one of surfing’s most explosive talents. We look forward to supporting Jordy wholeheartedly and can’t wait to see what he’ll achieve on the ASP World Tour and beyond.”
O’Neill’s newest team member Smith said: “I’m honored and stoked to join the O’Neill team and I’m excited about all the new opportunities that lie ahead. O’Neill is a company that has a tremendous history, heritage and shares my passion for the sport of surfing. With my family and O’Neill’s support, I am able to live my dream of surfing and I’m looking forward to representing the best brand in the surf industry, as I enter into my rookie year on the WCT in 2008.”
As the leader of a new generation of young surfers, Smith is already one of the most well rounded surfers on the planet. His complete repertoire of aerials, power carves, and buttery smooth style makes him the most highly anticipated surfer to join the ASP World Tour in over fifteen years. Already World Tour proven following a handful of wild card invitations, Smith finished third at Jeffrey’s Bay in 2006 and took down top seeds at the Boost Mobile Pro only last month.
O’Neill Clothing USA CEO Toby Bost said: “Adding Jordy to the team is a great accomplishment for O’Neill worldwide. He’s an incredibly talented surfer that will achieve monumental status on the World Tour in due time. Jordy and O’Neill have clearly found common ground in terms of passion for the sport of surfing and the vision to push it to the next level. O’Neill is honored to take part in staging the future of a young, gifted surfer who is destined for superstar stature.”
Tags: The Green Room
October 17th, 2007 · 3 Comments
Folks really got into the whole ranking the top five moments in CWC history thing. (You can check out that edition of the surf column here). I got e-mails from a number of readers giving me their own personal top fives. Among them was Martin Potter’s win in 1989 which sparked an incredible string of tour victories and saw the South African clinch the world title faster than any surfer in history–that record stands today. Richie Collins’ victory in 1987, when pro surfing contests saw massive fan turnout and winners were showered with confetti like it was the Super Bowl, was also a favorite.
At left: Collins was often referred to as “Skeletor” for his trademark mohawk, big Oakley blades, wetsuit gloves and neon wetsuits–hey, it was the 80’s–that made him look like the villain from the “He-Man” cartoons.
And one anti-contest guy actually claimed that his No. 1 favorite moment was in 2004 when a major flat spell forced the cancellation of the men’s contest.
So what’s your personal favorite Cold Water Classic moment? It could be dramatic, funny, or just plain weird, old school or recent, a story from the trenches of pro surfing or an anecdote from a spectator on the sidelines. Whatever your favorite moment was, tell us about it!
Also, for all the video, photo slide shows and in-depth reporting you can handle from this year’s contest, check out the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s site dedicated to all things ”Cold Water.”
Tags: Contests
October 15th, 2007 · 5 Comments
As most of you have probably heard by now, it was a big weekend for local grom Nat Young. Not only did the pint-sized 16-year-old from the Westside take out some of the top under-20 surfers in the world at his home break to win the 2007 Oakley Pro Junior, he also made it to the Sweet 16 of the Cold Water Classic before finally getting knocked out by eventual winner Jordy Smith and finalist Josh Loya. Young’s Pro Junior win was all the more impressive considering he was surfing against guys three and four years his elder–including his victims in the finals, Adam Wickwire and Nick Rozsa, both of whom will represent the U.S. at the ASP Pro Junior World Championships in Oz this year.
Nat gets a royal escort from the water after clinching the win at home
Young took some time between sponsor phone calls, interview requests from big-time surf mags, and his homework to kick it in The Green Room. Here’s Nat dishing on his incredible week and what’s up next.
Leo Maxam: First off, Nat, congrats. I’m sure you’ve heard that from a million people by now. Would you say this is the biggest win in your career so far?
Nat Young: Yeah, for sure this was the best win of my career, surfing against all those older guys.
LM: Were you in the running at all this year to qualify for the Pro Junior World Championships in Australia?
NY: Not really. I kind of decided I would do the Pro Junior tour halfway through the year, so I only did five of them this year out of ten. They take your top six results. I was in like 70th place for a while and then moved up to like 47th before the Oakley contest. They haven’t put the updated ratings out yet, so I don’t know where I’m at now, but hopefully I’ll be in the top 20 or 15.
LM: Had you competed against some of those top juniors like Adam Wickwire and John John much before?
NY: I’d surfed against Adam Wickwire before and I’d surfed against John John. I’ve seen most of them at least once or twice, mostly in NSSAs (National Scholastic Surfing Association) at Trestles and stuff.
Nat’s backside surfing at the Lane is head and shoulders above other surfers in his age group. Here John John looks on from the back of the wave as Nat throws a spray bigger than the two of them combined.
LM: What was your toughest heat of the Oakley Pro Junior?
NY: My heat with Andrew Doheny, John John and Adam Wickwire. That was a hard one. The heat was slow in the beginning, there weren’t many waves. Adam had the lead and I was in second and then a set finally came through near the end. John John needed like a 3.5 and Andrew needed a good score. Andrew got an 8.93 on the first wave of the set but I got a 7.5 on the second wave and I had already gotten my best wave of the heat. John John still needed a second good wave. I ended up taking second and Wickwire won it. That was definitely my hardest heat.
LM: How did it feel to have Tazzy and the other guys hoist you on their shoulders and cart you up the stairs to the winner’s podium?
NY: That was the first time anything like that’s ever happened to me. It felt like I was super high up looking down at all the people. It was cool.
LM: How much did the support from the crowd mean to you when you were surfing out there?
NY: It was super cool to have everybody there cheering. Every time I stood up I would hear it and it definitely helped my scores. Without the crowd I probably would have gotten like a 7 instead of 8.33 on one wave. It also just gave me a lot of confidence.
How could you not be pumped up during a heat when you look back to shore and see the whole town pulling for you?
LM: Your backside approach is one of the best among kids your age. Do you feel more confident surfing on your backside in contests?
NY: Yeah, I feel better going right. I mean, I still feel confident going left too, but at my home spot (the Lane) it’s all good going backside.
LM: Describe that big scoring wave in the final—an 8.57—the third highest score of the event.
NY: It was kind of an inside wave that lined up through the Slot and all the way to the stairs. I tried to do a bunch of consecutive, vertical turns. I did like three snaps and then a roundhouse and then one big finishing turn. I fell on my last turn but I guess they still liked it because I got an 8.57. I didn’t fall because I was tired, I wasn’t really tired at all. It was actually more in my earlier heats that my legs hurt. I think it was because I was nervous. I loosened up later.
Nat cracks another one off the top during his stacked quarterfinal heat with Adam Wickwire, John John Florence and Andrew Doheny. Nat said it was his toughest heat of the event, but still managed to advance in second place.
LM: It looked like you rode the same board the whole week in both contests? Talk about your equipment and how it felt during your run.
NY: I was riding the same board all week. It was a Stretch thruster with medium rocker. He shaped it for me when I went to Indo. I was using it a lot and it felt really good before the contest so I decided to use it for the contest. I also wore the same wetsuit the entire week for every heat (in both the Oakley Pro Junior and the Cold Water Classic) because I was doing well in it and I didn’t want to change out of it because I had so many heats. I’m not sure if it was a lucky suit, but I just didn’t want to mess with a good thing.
LM: What’s on tap for you in the near future? Any trips planned? Any big comps?
NY: Well, the USA Championships (Surfing America USA Championships, October 22-27 at Huntington Beach Pier, an invitation only event that crowns undisputed USA National Champions) in Huntington Beach are in like two weeks and I’m going down for that. And I’m going to Hawaii in November for two weeks also. I’ve been there two or three times before.
LM: Any waves in particular that you’re looking forward to tackling on the North Shore?
NY: All of them. They’re all good, whatever one is happening on whatever day. I like Rocky Point a lot, I like Pipe and V-land.
LM: Any plans for that $3,000 winner’s check?
NY: I don’t know yet. My mom put in the bank for me. She’ll make sure I don’t spend it on junk.
Cha Ching! At least we know he won’t spend it all on Red Bull and neon green shoe laces.
Tags: Contests · People
October 12th, 2007 · 1 Comment
Jordy Smith (Durban, South Africa) won the twentieth running of the O’neill Cold Water Classic at Steamer Lane. Read the Sentinel’s final day coverage here and check out video footage and slide shows from each day here. But one of the subplots of this year’s contest–and the story that holds the most significance for Nor-Cal surfers this winter season–was the weather and waves.
During its week-long holding period (October 9-14) this year’s Cold Water Classic saw the full gamut of Northern California surfing conditions. Take it as a sign–Mother Nature appears to be feeling a little ambivalent this fall. Here’s the day-to-day breakdown of how the weather and waves stacked up…
Tuesday’s opening day saw beautiful conditions but almost no waves, forcing local trialist to grovel it out in knee-high mushburgers. Read the full story here.
On Wednesday a roaring, unorganized early season NW swell had well overhead waves breaking all over the Steamer Lane lineup, and some fierce afternoon NW winds that actually knocked over a few contest banners. Read the full story here.
Thursday offered up what will most likely wind up being the best day of surf for this year’s event. The swell backed off and really cleaned up, with clean head high waves peeling in consistently off the point. Read the full story here.
Friday saw strong south winds tearing apart the small waves and sporadic bursts of rain. For some reason contest directors decided to run the final eight heats remaining in the Round of 64–to the chagrin of the surfers who had to slog it out in the ugly conditions–and narrow the field to the final 32. After those eight rounds though, everyone agreed it was time to force the groms to surf in the ugly conditions and the rest of the day was designated to run heats for the Oakley Pro Junior. Check the full story here
On Saturday, the weather cleared up and a fun residual swell was met with light winds and clean conditions which lasted into Sunday’s finale. At the end of the day, locals Kieran Horn (2003 champ), Jason “Ratboy” Collins, and Josh Loya were still alive and aiming to take the O’Neill Cold Water Classic title back for the hometown. Full story here.
If this erratic weather and swell is any indication, we might be in for a roller coaster winter. An “El Loco” winter perhaps?
Tags: Contests
The summer season is officially over. The air is starting to get a little cooler, the light is shifting to that golden fall hue, and the first NW groundswell of the season–albeit a junky one, what’s up with this wind?–hit Tuesday with another shot coming in right behind it on Friday (Check back on Monday for a full recap of the opening week of fall swell–while it wasn’t epic by any stretch, there were some spoils to be had, especially on Tuesday). But before we let the forgettable surf of summer ‘07 fade into oblivion, here’s a little story that I think sums up the spirit of summertime surfing around here.
While most folks were complaining about the seemingly endless flat spell in town this summer, a few crafty individuals were actually scoring fun little waves. If you’re willing to devote some time and effort and know where to start sniffing around, you can often find some place offering a ride along the Northern California coast. There are always those special little spots that can muster up a small surfable wave even when the rest of the coast looks like Lake Tahoe.
You usually never even notice these spots because they’re normally buried under closeouts. Most of us drive right by on our regular wave hunts without ever thinking twice. But when everywhere else goes flat, it’s these unique nooks that really turn on. The only trade off is you usually have to put in some miles, make a bit of a hike, and you’ll often find yourself surfing alone with the theme song from Jaws pounding in your head. But, hey, you’re surfing. Take this example…
A couple weeks ago in mid September Santa Cruz’s Adam Replogle woke up and felt like going surfing, despite the placid state of the North Pacific. So he loaded up his truck and hit the highway, taking advantage of the silky smooth conditions, nice late morning low tide and beautiful sunny day. He began scouring the coast.
Stalling for a micro barrel in the dead of summer. photo: Sam Henderson
After a lot of driving and spot checks, Replogle was rewarded for his efforts when he came upon a beautiful NorCal summertime setup–glassy, green little skate ramps peeling left and right onto a clean, empty beach. It was probably only knee-to-waist high, but it was rippable and coming in consistently. Occasionally there was even a chest-high little bowl that would roll through. Replogle was stoked.
He was met by fellow Billabonger Alistair Craft along Highway 1 and the two of them suited up and proceeded to rip the peeling little waves apart for more than two hours. The rights were shorter and had a little more punch, while the lefts were soft but rippable enough and peeled almost all the way to the shore. The left was almost working like a little sand-bottomed point, than a true beachbreak and Replogle scored the wave of the day–a long, peeling left that allowed him to fit in six seperate maneuvers, throwing little buckets of spray until it dropped him off in knee deep water.
You’d be surprised what you can sometimes find on a “flat” day. photo: Sam Henderson
“I’ll go check out ———- a lot in the summer,” Replogle said of his lucky find. “There’s usually some little waves to ride ———- there.”
When asked if he would have gone surfing in such notoriously sharky waters by himself, Replogle just shrugged his shoulders.
“When the waves are so small, you’re in such shallow water,” he said. “I’m not too worried about getting picked off.”
So just where did Replogle and Craft find the little miracle waves? Here’s a couple hints:
1) It’s within a 50 mile radius of Santa Cruz.
2) There was a well-publicized shark attack near here this summer.
Tiny waves really don’t stand a chance against Adam Replogle’s aggressive style. With this vicious hack, AR takes this little wave’s lunch money, gives it an atomic wedgie, and sends it limping to shore. What a bully.
But whether you find the spot or not is really a moot point now that we’re into October. The first NW groundswell of the season hit on Tuesday bringing 6 to 8 foot waves out at Ocean Beach–honestly, it was pretty torn up, not too pretty–and fun head high waves to Santa Cruz and we’ve got another solid one scheduled to hit Friday. In fact we’ve seen fun waves from both south ground and north windswell since the last week or so of September. Those secret nooks that always offer up a little wave in the most dire of wave droughts will once again be buried under swell and have their inside sandbars torn apart until next summer.
But the next time the ocean does go into a hopeless hibernation, and you’re still itching to get some little rides anyway, just remember that somewhere out there is a micro barrel or a baby ramp breaking close to the sand with your name on it. It just takes a little time, effort, and creativity–and plenty of gas money. But if you want it bad enough, it’s out there…
Tags: Swell News
First off, the 20th running of the O’neill Cold Water Classic is just around the corner (October 9-14). The scaffolding is going up, pros from out of town have already been spotted clogging the lineup out at the Lane, and the number of surf groupies jogging by along Westcliff has increased exponentially in the last couple of days. Check out the preview in this Thursday’s Sentinel. But there’s plenty more happening along the coast these days:
1) This is kind of old news, but if you haven’t checked out Stab Magazine’s article on Anthony Ruffo and the “Ice Storm” give it a read–if you can handle the mad ravings of a meth-worshiping gonzo “journalist” that is. I’m still not sure if this article was meant to be a joke, but whoever wrote the thing was definitely sampling a little too much of Ruffo’s stash. Props to Ruffo for having the balls to talk openly about his role in the Santa Cruz meth industry and how selling the junk allowed him to live a rockstar lifestyle and surf to his heart’s content. While Ruffo doesn’t appear to have any regrets about his past, he doesn’t try to sugarcoat it either.
Ruffo and crew posing for the camera in front of Flea’s drop-top Chevy Impala.
But portraying the guy as a white knight fighting against unjust persecution is ridiculous. I agree that more honest portraits of surfing’s underground are sorely needed in surf media and shouldn’t be ignored for the sake of whitewashing surfing’s image and selling “the lifestyle” to mainstream America. But this article totally blew what could have been a great story. It’s basically just some guy jocking Ruffo for 4 pages and glorifying crank as the path to elightenment. Judging from the comments left on Stab’s message board it sounds like “The Ice Storm” probably created a Shit Storm for the editors. What the hell were they thinking? See for yourself here.
2) The O’neill Skimbash went down under sunny skies and in glassy little shorepound at 26th Ave. over the weekend. Once again, the Laguna boys dominated with Brandon Rothe winning the contest, followed by fellow Laguna skimmers Brad Domke in second and Morgan “Mo” Just in fourth place. Sammy Stinnett placed third. Santa Cruz’s Angela Broadwell, 16, took out 20-year-old Lana Dow to win the women’s amateur division. Read the full story here.
3) Billabong’s newest flick “Trilogy”–produced by Taylor Steele–is touring California and making its way north. It’s playing in Santa Cruz on Friday, October 5th at the Rio Theatre (Soquel Ave. @ Seabright) and in San Francisco on Thursday, October 4th. The showing in the city should be sweet. It’s being put on by Wise Surfboards and the guys are going to show the movie on the beach at 8 pm. I’m not really sure how, but I’m guessing they’ll project it onto the sea wall at VFWs right across the street from the shop (800 Great Highway). In addition, there is a beach cleannup planned before the movie at 7 pm. Show up early and help pick up some trash. Then enjoy watching Andy, Taj and Parko push the limits while lounging on a clean beach.
Tags: Contests · Local News · People
