Saltwater Buddha

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Jaimal Yogis Saltwater Buddha

So I was at Other Avenues a couple weeks back to pick up some Kale or something and glanced over to the bookshelf to see a book peering out at me.  Surfing…Spirituality…Quest….sounds interesting.  I read a lot on my way to and from work on the N Judah and was near completion of one of my more business focused reads…The Art of Woo.  I like to rotate a book like that with something that nourishes the soul.  I’ll go from something by Tom Robbins to Krishnamurti back to some book that’ll be skill development oriented.  

Anyway, I walked out of the store with a shiny copy of Jaimal Yogis book Saltwater Buddha.  I am about 3/4’s of the way through and plan on finishing it up on my ride home tonight on the train.  There is a Book Benefit for Jaimal at the RipTide on Taraval tonight so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  I just learned about the event last week in my ZunaSurf Newsletter….they are way more together and up on local happenings than I am.  

My father is a bit of a metaphysician who has always gently introduced me to alternative more basic forms of being and awareness/realization.  Much of it I couldn’t appreciate at a younger age, but regardless it was absorbed.  I can relate to a lot of what Jaimal covers due to my upbringing with perhaps generational similarities in parental units, as well as of course being a surfer and individual who surfs.  I think anyone reading the book will appreciate the reflections on Water and it’s ‘magical’ qualities as the universal solvent, holder of immense power ‘crushing rocks to sand’, but yet completely fluid nourisher.

There is a short film about the book below:

As I watched the short film I realized that we are,or at least, were neighbors.  Who knew?  I pass by that house every time I go running out to catch a session.  

Life is an interesting journey and through this easy read I think it may help a lot of people to think about themselves, others, surfing and life differently.  You may even have a renewed appreciation for the magic that we experience every time we paddle out.

Foam Leaping About

The Japanese Motors

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

The Japanese Motors Crew

I’ve only heard a couple songs, but I enjoyed Bummin’ Out and some of the other stuff I found that I don’t know the names of. They seem to have a retro surf music vibe mixed in with a dash of punk and something else. Music is an expression and so why we always gots to label it.

Here is a write up that I found on their MySpace page

Japanese Motors are the most exciting band to emerge from Orange County since the heyday of Social Distortion and TSOL. Hailing from Costa Mesa and comprised of RVCA pro-surfer and singer Alex Knost, guitarist Nolan Hall, bassist Chris Vail, and drummer Andrew Atkinson, the band is known around Southern California for the insane, all-night blowouts they put on as much as for the driving, raucous garage pop they set the partying to.

Rather than fight the influence of their surroundings like so many of their So Cal contemporaries, Japanese Motors have channeled it into their music, making tunes every bit as sun-baked and laid-back as their coastal environs and rife with positive imagery. “Most bands from here are trying to sound like they’re from London or New York,” Nolan says. “We embrace where we’re from.”

TimberLine

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Timberline
Custom wood surfboards born out of a collaboration between Point Concept and Wolfe Surfboards.  Santa Barbara based Timberline is turning heads with its beautiful creations made of eco-friendly foam layered with thin Paulownia wood planks.

There are really some creative and innovative options out there to help soften the environmental impact of our toxic surf industry.

Have a look at their site TimberLineSurf.com to learn more.

Got Mine

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

I received my copy of ‘All for a Few Perfect Waves’ recently and am looking forward to diving into it.

Here is an entertaining clip by the author David Rensin.

Mike was like a stone; an attractive, magnetic, powerful stone. A stone that was vaguely translucent; that you could see into for a few inches and then it went milky and inscrutable. And around the stone all the little iron filings gathered, people who did not see anything in the stone, but could not resist it. When the stone moved, they rearranged themselves, shifted positions, made an intricate complex maneuver to get closer to the stone.

-Eugene Burdick, The Ninth Wave

Mo Walker

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Mo Walker

Da Cat to Mo Walker. Above is a shot of Miki at a ripe old age charging J-Bay from the movie Litmus. I’m sure most of you have seen the film by Andrew Kidman and Jon Frank. It is one of my favorite surf films and features a great bit on Miki. I found a trailer for those of you who haven’t seen it. Buy the film, it’s a classic. Click here.

Here is another excerpt from ‘All for a Few Perfect Waves’ from Harper Collins.

Miki’s friend, Allan Carter, said, “I once took Miki to Lyford Cay, in the Bahamas, to a private club belonging to a Canadian tycoon, E.P. “Eddie” Taylor. Next door to us was Stavros Nicharos, a Greek shipping owner; on the other side, down the road, was Bill Paley, from CBS. Bill had the junkiest shack down there. The house where I used to stay was called Villa Capricorn. It had a half-mile of private beach. When the Queen and Prince Philip came, that’s where they stayed.

“Miki, David Frost, Lord Henry Montgomery – who was my best friend in England – and I were playing Monopoly and I got a phone call from Los Angeles. I was winning and Miki was losing; Henry and David watched, bemused. Miki didn’t like to lose. When I came back after my phone call, half my deeds were missing and all my money under the side of the board. If Miki had to cut the corners to win, he’d do it.

“Lord Henry Montgomery had brought David Frost over because David was doing his show in London and New York at the time, and British Airways was on strike. We had dinner and a couple really good bottles of Pouilly fuisse. Then David Frost and Miki and I sat around until about 2:30 in the morning, talking about jets.” “Later,” said Marcia McMartin, “Allan told me later that Miki had brought out his bag of jewels and showed them to David Frost. Afterward, when Miki was out of earshot, Frost said to Allan, ‘Is your friend a jewel thief?’”

It’s the Bomb

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

eBomb

My last wetsuit was falling apart…literally. I had a big tear from the neck to the chest that I had repaired haphazardly with some wetsuit repair Goo, and the knee had a hole in it almost as big as my knee cap that would send a chilling rush into my nether regions as I entered the water. It was time for a new suit.

I wasn’t sure what to get but was going for price and knew that pretty much any suit these days is pretty killer. I remember some of the early suits and let me tell the youngins that we are sooo spoilt with all the new neoprene and blind stitching, glued, taped this and that.

The new Patagonia suits are pretty killer. They are super warm, made of sustainable materials etc. The price tag was the ultimate killer though. I just didn’t have it…and needed a new suit pronto. I checked O’neill as I knew that they were pretty solid…I even checked out a few of last years models. I found an Excel 4/3 that looked that it would do the trick, pretty straightforward and cheap. Then I stopped by the Hotline HQ and got sucked in by their $159 4/3 sale only to be disappointed in finding out that they were all sold out. I’ve never worn one, but they seem pretty simplistic. I like the rasta colored suits and wanted to support local.

On a whim I stopped by the Surf Outlet in Santa Cruz to check it out and see what kinds of goodies they had in stock. They turned out to be an outlet for Rip Curl suits…selling them at a fraction of the cost that you would find elsewhere. They had tons to choose from and they were coming in at a cool $200 for the new models which were atleast $100 cheaper than anything comparable around town. If it weren’t for the excellent salesmanship of the lady behind the counter, I might not have taken that bad boy home, but I couldn’t resist.

I picked up an XL Rip Curl eBomb without even trying it on. Just eyeballed it and with the sales gal’s help found what I thought would be a perfect fit. My last O’neill was a large tall, so this was a bit stockier but actually fit like a glove.

My first session in it was amazing. Entering the water I felt invincible, not a drop of water was able to penetrate. The O’neill had a bit of slack around the ankles and wrists and was a bit heavy in comparison. The XL eBomb I picked up had no slack what so ever. It was actually so tight that I was concerned I got too small a size. Those fears were easily squashed as I duck dove the cool overhead surf in complete bliss. I didn’t have to wear booties or a hood and I was hot. I had to dump water over my head to keep me cool.

I was throwing myself over the lips, doing backward flips and launching into the flats without getting flushed…it was a whole new experience.

Getting it on and off was a bit more difficult, but I think I’ve got it down now. I am worried that I might tear the suit cause its so lightweight and stretchy…so far so good. Its the best wetsuit I’ve ever had in terms of warmth, flexibility, and functionality.

The only complaint I have is that the neck is so high and tight that it can chafe you and leave you looking like someone tried to hang you or something. Other than that, I’m stoked on my new purchase and would recommend picking up one for the winter. Its got all the bells and whistles, good value, and it’ll make you surf like Mick Fanning. Future World Champ!!