Rode out the swell…thoroughly surfed out!

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

What a week!!  6 straight days of sun and swell and then another day of swell but without the sun. It would hardly be fair if Aeric didn’t get a taste of the fog at some point. After a few solid days out here at OB and some really fun waves down south that will provide memories to last a lifetime.

Last full day of Aeric’s University exploring surf trip was underway as we decided to take a scenic trip down Highway 1 on our way to the birthplace of surfing in Northern California.  We brought five boards from 6’2″ to 9’6″ and headed out prepared for anything that came our way.

Was pleased to find some remnant south swell mixed in at the first stop on the central coast tour.  All the local legends were out, mixed in with pros and semi-pros warming up for the Cold Water Classic coming to town.

Aeric was super stoked to get out and hooting and skipping around as he tried to slip into his cold suit that never had the chance to dry all week long.

Some nice little waves were coming through as we watched Flea and then Barney showing the line-up how they do. Ratboy waxing up and the guys putting up the scaffolding for the big show. It was quite the introduction to the Westside.

With all the talent in the water, it was hard to get a wave to yourself…here’s Aeric practicing his stink eye below.

I told him if I got one that he could drop in on me so that he could get extra waves.  He dropped right in on me on a good one and Flea had to regulate by giving him a little bit of stink eye and paddling super close to lay on the thick intimidation. Flea was unaware that I had given Aeric a free pass to smoke me. Pretty classic!

Charging from day one, I could tell he was in heaven with the dry hair paddle out and nice long groomed lines.  A stark contrast from the punishing paddles he endured all week long up north.

Here he is on a good one…I snapped a bunch too soon and then the camera had to process so I missed the best part of this wave.  He was rippin! This was on hour three too…I got out and opted to take some shots so that we’d have some proof.  He caught a bunch more, but I was too busy surfing to get any on film. That’s usually the way it is though.  There is usually little to no proof of the best sessions.

This shot below could be Aeric on his next visit…he got quite the education this past week. Looking forward to seeing him out here again soon.

Thought this was a very appropriate saying on the famous Santa Cruz lighthouse.

This shot below was for you Dawn.  Thanks for helping him to get out here and make this trip a reality…although he hated these types of shots he was a good sport about it.

Safe flight home Aeric!!  Till we ride again.

Summer in Fall

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

What a week!!  Beautiful summer like weather with consistent overhead swell.  This morning before work was greeted with the most beautiful sunrise and picturesque line-up.  Spitting lefts and rights and sheet glass conditions.  No pictures today of course…but we did get a dawn patrol up the beach a little yesterday that enabled me to snap a couple as I was driving off.

Nothing spectacular, but still a really nice way to wake up.

Check out the whips of choice.  Binlang is back!!

Aeric Z of the Z Boys

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Indian Summer once again in full effect…finally!  Much anticipated and long awaited by me.  Aeric Z of the Z boys fame is all grown up and in town for the week and ready to charge.  He timed the arrival perfectly to coincide with high pressure and solid swell.

After being out of the water for about a year and having to get used to a very tight 5/4/3, he powered through the defensive line that is Pactown shorebreak. Strength and persistence paid off in the face of good sized sets pouring through and unleashing relentlessly on the sandbar at a pretty good frequency.

After a grueling decision making process he lines up a good one and gets ready to let loose.

The proof is in the smiles!  Good times and a great warm up for the coming days.

Winter in Fall

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Been a wild week of big swell and wet fog, a bit like Winter weather after that hot spell last week.   I’ve been busy with life, work and healing up from a nearly broken nose and toe;  I know the toe is a weird thing.  I keep stubbing it repeatedly skating and longboarding…bad form.  Need to do more yoga and stretching in general as I drag it when I stand up.  My nose got hurt when I smacked it again with the tail of my board during a wipeout on Saturday.  The force broke the skin and bruised the base of my nose bone where the nose meets the gums.  Any lower and I would’ve knocked a tooth or two loose and any higher and my nose would have been busted for sure. I got away with a bloody nose and sore face.  I still surfed for another hour or so after it happened though.  The cold water felt good on it.  Figured I needed to chill a bit this week and recover.  It’s been 5 days since and the scab on my nose is healing and the black and blue soreness in my toe is nearly gone and so I’m itching to get wet.

Today seemed to be the first day of semi-clean waves out there.  Bigger in some parts than others, but overall looked like a ton of fun.  I had familial duties, so it was a bit painful to watch except when I saw the ocean dishing out beatings…then I didn’t feel so bad.

It’s hard to convince yourself that its not that good, especially when you are watching little gems go off unridden.

Or even ridden for that matter.  There was a tight little pack out there in the middle of the beach catching some hollow ones and it was fun to watch them extend way out onto the flats as they drove hard off the bottom.

It’s all good though.  We are expecting consistency through the weekend and next week, so plenty of waves in my future.

On a side note, I’ve started work on a new board for my younger brother.  I cut out the rough shape last night and have high hopes for this one.  Excited!!

It’s going to be a 7’6″ single fin egg.  Stoked on the shape…just hope mine comes out as clean as I want it to.  My first one I think had to be beginners luck. Want to try some color this time too…maybe some Jackson Pollack influenced goodness.  We’ll see.

Gonna put some soul into it, like the guy below.

Bob Bishop 1947-2010

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

I was deeply saddened to hear that one of our brothers passed away last Saturday while surfing along the east coast of Taiwan.  Initially it was unclear as to whether or not it was due to head trauma or something else, but details that I’ve gathered thus far say that it was the result of cardiac arrest.  He took off on a wave and when he didn’t return to the line-up the two friends he was surfing with, long time Taitung local and expat John and his daughter Kaylee, noticed him floating face down unconscious.  All efforts made to resuscitate him turned out to be in vain.

I first met him back in 2000-2001 when he began splitting his time between Shanghai and Taiwan to manage his surf apparel and accessories factories. He had impeccable timing and I knew that when Bob was in town that we would score. He was to me, someone who had life dialed.  Down to earth, fun, and as his friends would say ‘the oldest grom they knew’.

One of my all time favorite images from Taiwan is a shot I took of him paddling out during a Typhoon swell. I have it hanging on the wall in my living room.  I looked at it long and hard when I heard the news. There Bob is, first one out, paddling into some of the best waves of the season.

There is a planned memorial ceremony in October and a few tributes in the works.  I have asked friends to send me photos, memories, or anything else they would like to share to help heal the pain and loss within the surfing community in Taiwan and beyond.

The surf community has lost a great friend and inspiration. My sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, business partners, colleagues, and fellow ocean brothers and sisters. Rest in peace Bob!

Seasons are a changin…

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Had a good string of waves recently.  The inspiration was watching Dane, Taj, Kelly, and Owen going off down south at Trestles. Dane’s crazy 360 air reverses on some pretty sizeable walls, Taj’s ‘drop wallet’ cutties, and Kelly and Owen just smooth as can be.  When I got out in the water I was trying my best to channel them.  One or Two paddle take offs, draw your line, and then open up where ever you can.

Waves were really clean and from about 2-4 ft with some punchy ones depending on the day and tide.

The waves on this swell were far better than these photos give them credit.

On the last day of the swell a morning surf check and…

A rare whale washed up.

Sad sight…such a beautiful creature.

This is all I could think of when I saw it.  Slide and pound.

It was rumored at first that this was the same whale that ended up on the bow of the Cargo ship in Oakland, then taken back out to sea to decompose and then brought to us via the south swell.  There was a sizeable slice in the mid-section that could have been from a rope used to drag it out to sea.

Later reports said it was a rare Sei Whale…still not sure what the official word is, but I think it’s the latter as they had guys from the Academy of Sciences taking the important pieces for the museum.  Look who’s been dining on this guy.  No surprise.  Tis’ nearly Sharktober.

They buried it right in front, in a not so deep grave.  In days of old they had a different strategy, as you can see from the video.

See below for the real video.

Beached whale buried from k9sound on Vimeo.

RIP big guy!

Our first real Winter Swell is starting to hit now.  Just got out of the water after a 3hr sesh.  My board hit my right below my nose on a spectacular wipeout…and I got all bloodied up.  Stayed out though and got some great long right handers with offshore winds.  All starting to come together.

Whale washed Ashore

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Went to have a look at the waves this morning and came across a 20+ft whale getting washed up on the beach.  As I came over the dunes you could smell it…different from the normal seal smell that you get but equally pungent.

There were a couple surfers right out in front of it picking off some waves…when they came in were shocked to find out they had been surfing right near the bait.  They had paddled out a few blocks down and drifted right past it.

The plan is to bury as deep as they can.  High tide at around 11am should push it up on the beach a ways and then they can get busy digging its grave.  I’ll post a couple more shots later.

Small Souths

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Well the past couple weeks we’ve had a string of small little souths mixed in with wind swell and small pulses from here and there.  A couple fun days, some shortboardable and others requiring a bit more length and girth.

A couple really beautiful days last week where I was completely surfed out and then quite a few typical fogged in Sunset days as well.  Keeps the crowds right!

The past three or four days, low tide in the evening was the call.  It would look pretty flat all day and then we’d get some peaky little lines come through.

This guy was rippin’.  We’ve got more swell on the way for tomorrow and the weekend so I took a lay day to rest up and get ready.  Looking forward to some fun ones.

Gotta love the souths especially when they are big, but even when they are small.