Surfing The Silver Dragon - Surfing

The Qiantang River that flows through Hangzhou City in China has a famous tidal bore that generates some impressive ways from time to time.  This past year it has been really going off.  Here is an awesome video catching a rare glimpse of a few surfers getting to ride the waves.

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Wavegarden - Surfing

Check out this awesome wavegarden they are trying to perfect.  I believe it is located in Spain.  They invited some surfers from O'neil to check it out.

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I Will Find My Board! - Surfing

The more I try to surf the more I am seeing how important board selection is to the whole process.  I have been bouncing around from board to board over the last month trying to narrow down the best board for me.  I already purchased a 6’6’’ fish and an 8’0’’ funboard.  These two purchases were definitely a learning experience because of their impulse nature.  I did not do my due diligence in researching a wide variety of boards and ended up making bad choices.

After the previous board choice debacles I decided to dive into the process of selecting a surfboard deep and try to not make a miss-informed choice.  I scoured the internet searching for articles on longboards.  I borrowed a few boards from different friends to try out in the water to get a good feel for how they paddle.  I even took out a demo board from a local surf shop.  After all this I have narrowed it down to a board that is about 9’2’’ with a thruster fin configuration and is wide in the middle and the nose.  I am leaning towards a Takayama board.  Now it’s just a matter of saving up enough money to purchase the board!  Hopefully I should have my new board in about a week. 

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The Board Search Continues - Surfing

It looks like my search for a good board still continues.  I have been going back and forth between a 9’0’’ Costco longboard my buddy at work bought and an 8’0’’ funboard I bought from a local surf shop a few years ago.  I am really starting to learn that the conditions vary from day to day and it’s good to have as many options in your “quiver” as possible.  As of late, I have really wanted to get a longer board, one that accelerates very quickly and is wide enough that it floats me and has a stable feel to it when standing.  I went out surfing yesterday at what is considered a beginner spot and found that my board is just a tad too short for the conditions there, for the most part.  Of course, when I say that you have to take into account my skill level… Which is very low at the moment.

There was a group of surfers, most of them women that were on very long boards and were just gliding across the water while paddling.  These surfers were able to get into position on the peak of the waves much quicker than I was so I was left with very few waves to try and catch.  They were at a much higher level than me so I found it a bit intimidating to try and challenge any of them for a wave because I was not sure if I would be able to follow through and ride the wave out after I caught it.  Also, because their boards were longer they were able to sit out farther and catch the wave sooner than me which they did, often.  I surf three locations, each of these locations are bit different from each other.  The spot by my house is primarily a longboard spot while the 2 spots at my work can be surfed with a longboard or a shortboard depending on the conditions.

That being said, I decided not to sell my 6’6’’ fish just yet and I drove up to work to leave it there just so I had it available to use if I wanted to when the conditions were right.  I am now left needing to get myself a 9’ + longboard for home.  My buddy has an awesome 9’3’’ Takayama nose riding board that just glides across the water and accelerates very quickly.  I rode it last week for a short time and was very impressed with how easy it is to catch a wave on it.  I actually gave up on paddling for a wave once and STILL caught the wave.  The search for my go to board still continues.

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Getting Back At It - Surfing

I have been lagging the past week and have not been able to get out to surf.  We are heading into the summer months here in SoCal and I am noticing the amount of people in the water is growing fast.  I have been looking forward to the summer, not only for the warm weather but also because the waves are supposed to get smaller which is good for me.  I went out a few days ago and got thrown around by 4-5 ft waves.  I left the surf that day feeling discouraged and beaten.  I didn't catch anything and pearled once when attempting to catch some white water.  I guess surfing is like golf, if you don't do it often you can get worse!

I know this is not the case but it sure felt that way.  I spoke to a guy I work with that has been surfing for years and he said that he has days like that and to not let it discourage me.  I thought yesterday was my day to get back at it but after I got to my surf spot I saw an endless line of surfers in the water.  There had to be at least 150 surfers sitting out in the lineup over the span of about half a mile.  After seeing that, my buddy and I decided to skip it for the day.  Of course I felt like a quitter and like I had not accomplished anything for the day after dipping on surfing so I started today with a new mindset.  I need to keep at it!

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Dolphins, Sunsets, and Awesome Waves - Surfing

Yesterday had to easily be the best day I have had surfing since I began a few months ago. My roommate and I originally decided to try and stand up paddle board based off of the Surfline.com report for our surf spot that was claiming 1-2 ft conditions. Also, the day before it was 1-2 ft and very mild with very few people at the spot on a Sunday. So, based off of these two indicators I thought it would be even slower on a Monday with the same conditions… I was wrong. After we loaded the massive stand up paddle board on to my car we drove down and were completely surprised to see the parking lot packed. After we finally found a spot we walked down to the beach and were even more surprised when we saw 2-4 ft waves that were completely glassy with a nice long wave to ride and plenty to go around. In addition to that, there had to be at least 30 surfers in the lineup as well.

This was not a good day to try and stand up paddle board in the surf with a packed lineup for the first time so we made a decision to book it back to our place and swap out the stand up paddle board for our surfboards. After we got back to our surf spot we paddled out into the most spectacular surf conditions I have seen since I have started. The only down side is that it was packed with surfers of all skill levels so it was a bit of a zoo out there. Right after we paddled out past the break an awesome set came in and because I still had fresh shoulders I was able to turn my board, hit the turbo button, and catch a wave within minutes of paddling out! I have never been able to do that before so that showed me I am making progress and was a good motivator to turn back out and try again.

I caught about 3 waves that I was able to stand up on yesterday. One wave I stood up on and rode down the face of the wave because I was able to pop up quickly. At one point my roommate pointed out in front of me because he spotted a small pack of dolphins that were playing in the waves a few yards out. This in addition to a crystal clear sunset pretty much solidified one of the more epic days this noob has ever seen and will keep me coming back for more in the hopes of experiencing more days like that.

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Tim Boydell Indy Surf Film - Surfing

I came across this teaser trailer by Tim Boydell for what looks to be an independent film about surfing around the world and wanted to share. I love the visuals and the music they chose.  The surfing clips were very motivational and now, after watching it, I find myself staring at the clock wishing it was 5 so I can go surf.


TR7 Productions 2010/2011 from Tim Boydell on Vimeo.

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Pop Up Technique - Surfing

Myself and two buddies went out surfing yesterday at the surf spot out by my job.  The conditions were awesome!  We had sets with 4 - 6 ft waves with plenty to go around.  I have to admit that as a beginner, 4 - 6 ft waves still scare me but I just decided to give it a shot and I am glad I did.  At first we didn't realize how big the sets would get when we got in the water.  We made the long paddle out to the break with little trouble.  There was some chop but not too bad.  After we got out there a bigger set came in so my buddy yelled "outside!".  After I heard that I looked out and saw a nice wave heading straight for me so I got in my paddle position on the board and hit the turbo button so I can get out past the breaking point of this set.

Luckily, I managed to make it past the first big wave from the set but my buddies weren't so lucky.  I looked back after the wave crashed and they were carried in towards the shore and ended up having to fight through this big set to get back out to where I was.  I still wasn't completely past the break and had to turtle roll 3 more waves that were almost crashing right on me.  This was a good learning experience though because I had to pretty much wrestle the wave to remain in control of my board when the wave was passing over me.  After the waves passed I rolled back onto my board and took some time to rest because that really took it out of me.

I have not had too much success with popping up quickly so far.  I spoke to another guy I work with that surfs and stand up paddle boards up in Oregon where 15 foot waves are fairly common.  I explained that I was not able to stand up quickly and that the board seems very unstable as I am trying to push myself up with my hands.  He asked me where I was positioning my hands when I was trying to pop up and I told him that I grab the rails to try and push myself up.  He had to think about it for a minute to determine how he popped up because it is all muscle memory for him now but he figured out that he is placing his hands flat on the deck of the board to push up.  This made perfect sense so I gave it a shot yesterday and man what a difference something as simple as that made.

This may not be the best way, but it definitely worked great for me.  I would of never thought about it but it makes perfect sense.  My hands are closer in towards the center of the board so I am able to keep the board stable with less effort which in turn allows me to focus more on everything else that is going on, like where I am placing my feet.  The best part of the whole day was that I caught a wave that was reforming on the inner break and managed to stand up for the longest I have ever stood up before!  With this new technique I was able to pop up much quicker so I rode the wave in the standing position for at least 4 seconds.  For the first time in my life I felt what it was like to stand up on a surfboard with a wave behind me.  I am now hooked.

  

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Funboard FTW? - Surfing

I have actually managed to go surfing 3 days in a row as of yesterday.  I am still trying to determine which shape and size board I want to really focus on so the last three days I used 3 different size boards.  On Saturday I used my roommate’s 9’0’’ longboard that I repaired, on Sunday I used my own 6’6’’ fish, and yesterday I took out my 7’6’’ board.  Each one is completely different for sure.  I need to make a decision because I think I am not progressing as fast as I should due to the fact that I keep jumping between 3 different board styles.  The short fish shaped board is definitely too short for me at this time so I think I am taking that one out of the rotation for sure.  Now I am torn between a longboard or what is called a funboard.

Funboard Surfboard

A funboard is a mid range board that is anywhere from 7’ 0’’ to as long as 8’ 0’’.  They usually have a rounded off nose like a longboard.  I do have a 7’ 6’’ board which I guess can be classified as a funboard but the nose comes to a point so I lose a little bit of stability.  That is the board I took out yesterday and actually had a good time on it.  The surf conditions were blown out and about 2 – 4 ft.  I paddled out past the break and sat there for a minute and then decided I want to paddle back in to the shore break to play around in the white water so I can try to stand up on the board.

I spent a little over an hour catching white water and managed to stand for about… half a second a few times.  I think this board size will be the one I stick with and spend most time on, for a while at least.  I really want to try an egg shaped funboard though and may end up picking up an old one this weekend.  So far I am definitely leaning to the longer sized boards for sure.  They have a lot more size to them and are harder to manage getting around outside of the water and in but they make it quite a bit easier to stand on which makes you want to keep going back to try again because the learning curve is not as steep as a shortboard.

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Shane Dorian Flotation Wetsuit - Surfing

After a scary wipeout at Mavericks surf spot in California pro surfer Shane Dorian came up with an idea to add an air bladder to a wetsuit that would inflate to bring a surfer to the surface in the event of a hold-down scenario.  This concept is amazing and I cannot believe no one has thought of this yet.  Below is a video explaining the development process Shane and Billabong went through to produce an early prototype.

Right now it appears that this type of wetsuit is only available for the upper elite pro surfers but hopefully this idea will catch on and become available to the rest of us.

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Longboard Or Shortboard - Surfing

Until now I have not had a longboard surfboard that I can use while I am at home.  I always use my co-workers longboard at work and my 7’6’’ board when I am home.  Thanks to my roommate and his beater longboard that needed repairs those days are over.  He told me that if I fix the numerous dings and holes on his old longboard I can use it as often as I like, so I did.  I spent all weekend and about $20 worth of Solarez fixing the board and I think it turned out great.

My other roommate and I decided to go surfing today at Tourmaline.  So I threw the Frankenstein longboard on top of my Jeep and went down there.  Unfortunately, it was choppy again with a strong on shore wind that was closing out all the waves.  On top of that the inner break with the white water, what I call the noob section, where I wanted to try the new board out had a very high wave frequency.  A high wave frequency means that the waves are crashing one after the other with very little time to rest between.  The good thing about a high wave frequency is that you get an awesome workout if you are trying to paddle out in those conditions.

I was not looking for a good workout session today.  I was more looking for some nice calm waves with a low frequency so I can get used to the new board.  Oh well, I still had fun.  Handling that board was like trying to steer an ocean liner man.  I kept trying to make sure that the board was never parallel to the shore and if it was parallel to the shore, that I did not let the board get between me and the wave.  This was a struggle in itself but all in all it was a good learning experience.

After wrestling around with the 9’0’’ tank board I borrowed my roommates 6’10’’ and took it out for a spin in the white water to get a feel for the difference between a longboard and a shortboard.  I really like the smaller boards maneuverability compared to the longer board.  I also loved the fact that I was able to duck dive with the shorter board.  I really didn’t manage to catch anything with the shorter board but it definitely got me thinking again about spending more time on a short board.  I will continue to try both of them out and let you know what I discover.

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Repaired My Surfboard - Surfing

I found a hole in the bottom of my mid sized board a few days ago and was really bummed because I do not have enough money to spend on surfboard repair.  Well I looked online and found this stuff called Solarez.  This stuff works great and only takes about 10 minutes to use.

Epoxy Surfboard Hole

Above is a picture of the hole I found in the tail of my epoxy board.  Unfortunately, the guy at the surfboard shop did not ask me whether I had an epoxy board or a fiberglass board so he gave me the polyester Solarez resin that is meant for fiberglass boards.  I found this out after I made the repair haha but oh well it still worked great to make the board water tight.  I read online that the polyester version of the Solarez resin can eat the foam used inside epoxy boards.  Luckily I did not have to use much so I don't think it did much damage.

Solarez Resin

Again, the stuff I used is for a fiberglass board NOT an epoxy board so this is another case of learning from my mistakes.  After I added the resin in the shade I put it in the sun for about 5 minutes to let it cure.  This resin cures very fast in the sun.  It doesn't matter if it is a cloudy day either, it will still cure from the UV rays that make it through the clouds.

Sanding down the rough edges

After the resin cured I sanded off the rough edges and I was done!  There are lots of techniques you can use to avoid having to sand as much as I did, which I found out after the fact, but even if you don't use those techniques a little extra sanding should give you the shape you want.

Water Tight Board!

I really don't care how this boards looks just as long as it is water tight so I am happy with my first attempt at repairing a hole.  I will definitely get the Epoxy version next time.  Not bad for the $3.25 I spent though.

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Always Be Prepared - Surfing

My surf buddy and I just took a quick drive out to our surf spot to arbitrarily check out the conditions during lunch.  Unfortunately, my buddy did not bring his board with him today so it really didn’t matter if the conditions were good or not but it was an awesome day so it was still worth it to go.  I am happy we went and checked it out because this is what we saw.

Terra Mar Surf Spot

I took this pic today!  The waves are definitely not huge today but they are nice and glassy with a long wave that was breaking very clean.  We watched a lady catch a wave on the outside break and ride it all the way in to the shore, and it wasn’t on white water!  It was awesome to watch and very inspiring.  But, because my buddy didn’t bring his gear and I am dependant on him for transporting my board… I will not be able to go out today after work.  I guess the lesson for today is to always be prepared because you never know what the conditions might be.

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Surfs Up! - Surfing

Man it feels like it’s been ages since the last time I surfed… I guess it’s only been about a week but that just seems like way too long.  The conditions in SoCal have not been great for beginners the past week and it has really had me bummed.  There was an awesome swell last week which is great, if you’re good and know what to do with the large waves but not great if you are still trying to stand up in the white wash like a noob.  Today I forgot about the last week in a second because the waves were awesome!

I paddled out to the point break again and sat there for a bit before I decided to get out of there because I did not want to get in anybody’s way once the larger sets started to roll in.  After I left the prime real estate I headed for the inner break with the white wash.  I actually had a blast in the inner break and managed to catch some white water, it’s the little things I guess.  I am in this for the long haul so I try not to get discouraged if I am not progressing very fast.  As long as I keep getting out there that's all I care about right now.

Something interesting I wanted to mention about the spot I surf at work is that during high tide the waves crash close to the cliffs and then bounce back toward the ocean.  This is usually kind of dangerous if you are not careful.  While I was riding my last wave in toward the beach to end my session today, another wave crashed on the wall and rebounded straight back at me.  I hit the waves heading out and it launched me into the air haha.  It must of looked hilarious because I heard a woman on the beach scream “YEAH!! You caught air!!!”.  That was definitely a good way to end the session.

My Sandy Wetsuit

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The Wedge Got Huge This Weekend - Surfing

This past week Southern California had a large swell which caused the famous spot in Newport Beach, CA called “The Wedge” to get pretty big.  The media circus showed up on May 19^th which hyped up the swell even more.  Here is a video of some pretty crazy wipeouts on May 19^th, 2011.

The Wedge is a world famous surfing and bodysurfing spot located in Newport Beach, California.  The massive beach break waves are a result of improvements made to the rock jetty, in the 1930s, on the west side of the harbor entrance.

This creates some massive waves that get as high as 30 feet!  I would never have the stones or talent to venture up to Newport Beach and paddle out at this spot, but there are definitely plenty of brave or stupid surfers and bodyboarders that take a shot at it when the conditions get huge.

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Blown Out Again - Surfing

We have had some really unusual weather here in San Diego the last few weeks.  My buddy and I decided to switch our surfing hours to the morning so we will have more consistent surf.  It is sometimes blown out in the afternoon by an on-shore wind and it sucks to get off work and head to the beach only to find a bunch of white water mush... Well it sucks even more when you wake up at 5:00 am, get everything you need ready for work, make the drive to work, and see that everything is still blown out in the morning.

I hoped to have an awesome morning surfing post for you today but it doesn’t look like that will happen just yet.  I am debating whether or not I am a “dawn patrol” kinda person or if I should just continue to try and surf after work.

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Collapsible Carbon Fiber Surfboard - Surfing

I came across this article and could not resist sharing.  This is a collapsible carbon fiber surfboard designed by Nicholas Notara.  The frame is made of carbon fiber making it incredibly light I am assuming.  The carbon fiber design, to me, is not even the best part.  The kicker, is that you can break it down by engaging a quick release lever and then flipping two pins on top.  This will break the board down in half after you remove what looks like a center strut pole from the middle.  The bar appears to insert into both halves providing a solid backbone for the board.

The board also has 5 fin slots, allowing for a wide variety of fin configurations to fit your riding style.  I do not have the dimensions of this board and would love to see a version of this for a longboard.  This to me would be a great idea to help with transporting a 9'0'' board.

I would not want to be on the receiving end of a direct nose hit from this board judging from the image below. 

Based off of this image it looks as though some assembly may be required...

I would love to know how much a board like this would cost.  The price is a moot point at this time anyway, this board is just a concept design at the moment.  I can't wait until someone is able to mass produce this design.

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Choppy Day - Surfing

So the conditions were far less than ideal today for my surf session.  The waves were about 2-3 feet, completely blown out, and choppy.  My friend and I took one look at the conditions and said “Oh well, let’s do it”.  It took a while to paddle out today because of the chop.  You really couldn’t judge the wave frequency or direction because they seemed to be coming at you from every direction with no consistency.

I caught a wave at the point break instead of the inner break where the white water is, which was great because I have not done that before.  The wave came out of nowhere so I got a late start at it.  This didn’t matter because I was on the longboard so after hitting the turbo button I was being pushed along with no effort.  This wave felt different than the white water I usually catch in the inner break.  It was moving much faster to start.  Also, after catching I finally felt the sensation of sliding down the wave face.  Unfortunately, I did not stand up on this wave.  I am still working that part out but it felt amazing to catch a wave like that today.

I am still using my friend’s 9’0’’ board.  At first I did not want to use a longboard AT ALL.  I even went out and bought a 6’6’’ fish board touting that I will be one of the few that starts on a shortboard, that lasted exactly one session.  I spent the entire time fighting the board and it took me what seems like an eternity to paddle out.  After that session on the shortboard I lost my desire to try and be a badass and fell in line with all the other beginners.

I like the longer board for a few reasons.  The first being how stable it is when I am paddling around on it.  The short board would sway back and forth with every little movement I made and I could not seem to find a spot on it that would make it feel stable while paddling.  The second was how easy it was to catch a wave on it.  The third was how easy it was to sit on when you are waiting for a set to come in.  There are a few other reasons but I will leave it at that for now in the spirit of keeping this blog short.  Thanks for reading!

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No Waves - Surfing

I brought my friend’s 9’0’’ longboard home from work on Friday with the intention of taking it out to the beginner break either yesterday or today.  Unfortunately, I drove out to the break and found out that the waves were very small and blown out by the wind.  Oh well, I just need to find something else to do instead of surfing this weekend I guess.  I haven’t checked the surf report for today yet but judging from the weather outside I am pretty sure it will be the same as yesterday.

 I still need to take a picture of the three boards I am using so you can get an idea of the range of boards I am testing.  I hope to get that done in the next week or so.  The only thing that is holding me back on this is the fact that I do not have a good digital camera yet.  I am expecting to upgrade my cell phone in the next week so that should do it.  No matter which exercise I pick I will definitely post something about it.

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I Stood Up! - Surfing

Yesterday I went surfing right after work again.  When we first got there the wave conditions were not that great… But I am a beginner so I really didn’t care.  The waves were about 2 to 3 foot and it was blown out.  Blown out means there is a lot of wind that collapses the face of the wave which causes it to close out.  This is ok for me because I decided to focus on catching the mushy white water instead of trying to paddle out to the point break.  My co-worker let me borrow his 9’ 0’’ longboard and man what a difference that made!  I actually caught a wave and stood up for about half a second!  This was the first time I have ever been able to stand on a surf board with a wave behind me.

I did have a few scary moments this session however.  While I was paddling out to the point break a set of waves came in and began to crash pretty much right on top of me.  2-3 foot waves look small when you are standing on shore but look freakin HUGE when you are paddling on a surf board laying on your chest.  I ended up “going over the falls” on one wave which was not fun.  That means the wave face picked me up and turned me over then crashed on top of me pushing me under water for a few seconds.  I was determined to keep going though so I pulled the board back over to me with the leash, hopped back on, and kept paddling out trying to make it past the area where the larger waves were breaking.

Another thing I was focusing on was something called turtling.  This is what some longboarders do instead of duck diving to make it out past the break.  It basically means rolling off the board and holding it on top of you letting the wave wash over top of the board.  I didn’t do it very well to start but I think I started to get the hang of it after a few waves.  I have to say that turtling takes a lot of energy though because you have to climb back on the board after the wave passes you.  This was definitely a good session though and I hope some of this info helps you out.

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