Uncharacteristic offshore conditions this past weekend. Â Saturday looked good in the morning, but then wind shifted and it got a bit funky. Â Sunday was back in good form, but much smaller. Â These shots were taken Sunday before the swell picked back up.
Yesterday was the day. Â Check out StokeReport.com to see some of the goods. Â He got some nice ones. Â I didn’t get out until the evening and it was a bit bigger but not nearly as clean. Â Got to be on it.
Windy days have come. Â Went longboarding in the morning before the wind took over, then landboarding in the afternoon followed up with Yoga all before the really stormy weather hit. Â Today it must be blowing about 30 knots out there. Â Checked the surf this morning and nearly got sand blasted…surf is supposed to spike up this afternoon but I think I may head north to find the low tide hot spring in Marin. Â Will be good to go on a little adventure. Â Looking forward to evolving into riding the wind and waves as opposed to just the wind and sand. Â There was one lone kiter out beyond the surf…I don’t know how he was staying in the ocean and not just flying away.
I hooked up the GoPro to the handle of my kite yesterday facing it up thinking it would provide the best view of riding and the kite…but it didn’t. Â All you can see for the most part is my kite going up and down. Â Didn’t capture me catching air on the start and my powerslides that I’m perfecting so that I can do a sliding carve into a reverse then popping it around 180 to be back on track. Â Have to get someone down on the beach with me next time. Â Such a cool feeling, a good mixture of skating, surfing, snowboarding, and maybe even wake. Â Â The shift from gravity pulling on you to the wind pulling you is a new sensation for me. Â With this new pursuit, I now have less conditions to wait for. Â Wind or no wind, swell or no swell, low tide or high tide…it’s all about the right combination.
Came across this artist the other day and was struck by the beauty in her images, the underwater shots initially, but then as I delved into her site a bit more found some other unique gems as well.
Had to share.
Check our her work here.
and here.
http://www.elenakalisphoto.com
http://sugarock99.deviantart.com
http://www.pbase.com/elena_kalis
http://photo.net/photos/kalis
Well a bit pessimistic, but feeling a bit like the sun is setting on the surf season. Â With this being the last week of the Eddie waiting period and only another month for the Mavericks Contest the lack of fair conditions is already apparent at my local break. Â
Rain, yes, which is good, but also wind and just wrong conditions. Â Such is life this time of year. Â March rolls around and its more common to see waves in the sand than in the Ocean. Â Hope there is still some love left in that big ole’ North Pacific.
After a very frustrating bout trying to upload a higher quality version to YouTube I have given up for now…so bare with this low quality version. It still may be a bit entertaining with the right perspective. All the world is green after all!
So unlike other surf vids, mine are kind of slapped together. I hate using a tripod, cause I am usually surfing when its good and so the video becomes an after thought. I have to try actually to take my time on the next one, maybe use a tripod, get a higher quality version going, maybe spend more than an hour editing it.  Or not. My vids are kind of like a brain dump….just spur of the moment, slap stuff together and see if it sticks.
What is unique about this one is that it was shot almost exclusively with the Go Pro. It’ll be interesting to see how creative people get with their own GoPro’s. Every time I paddle out I see someone with a wrist cam or plate on their boards. So much good footage out there I’m sure. I kind of like the quality too, almost super 8 ish.
Well anyway, enjoy if you can.
Is anyone else out there a fan of Tom Waits? Â Brilliant is the word that comes to mind. Â Sort of like the experiences we seek everytime we suit up and paddle out. Â Some can be beautiful, magical and others dark and painful…grueling even. Â At least here at OB.
The site has been down for the past couple weeks due to some mischief makers, which gave me some time to think about improvements and play around with some old video from last month. Â
I was able to pull out some cool frame grabs and then tonight put the finishing touches on a shaky, but interesting session…well couple sessions…from dawn to dusk. Â I believe it was around January 18th when we were blessed with summer like weather and big swell. Â Got a dawn patrol, then an afternoon sesh and topped it off shooting some video with a bottle of wine up on the dunes for the evening sunset sesh. Â
Coming soon…the first video I’ve produced in a long time…tripod free and shaky as usual. Â Need to work on that. Â Stay tuned.
Well I was happy to see the winds die and the sun come out. Hope for a surf after what feels like months of not having gotten wet. Then we get a poo spill. A massive one at that. I read in a couple places 3 million gallons, but most sources are only reporting half a million gallons of sewage.
No mention of whether or not this has made it out to my local break, but was kind of hesitant with all the run off from the rains we’ve been getting for the past couple weeks anyway. Now this.
I walked out to check the surf this morning and it was about head high and offshore with about ten guys or so scattered along the mile stretch or so I checked. Braver than me, that’s for sure. I think I will give it a few more days before I jump in. It wasn’t that good anyway.
This shot is pretty incredible. Truly amazing creatures. This is the type of image the perpetuates our fear. Our human nature and conditioned fear of these highly evolved and awe inspiring animals. The threat is much more real in places like Australia, South Africa, Norcal/Oregon and perhaps less lethal encounters in Florida. I came across a pretty horrific video the other day that I think all of us as surfers and water enthusiasts should absorb. In fact sharks should be much more afraid of us than we of them. These creatures have been around for millions of years and play a vital part in our planet’s well being. The potential repercussions are not to be overlooked or taken lightly. Hopefully with a bit of awareness we won’t be the ones to take them out. Check the video Sharks in Deep Trouble here.
With the increase in shark attacks globally and the violent attack of a lifeguard/surfer in South Africa it is hard to not think about what factors play a part. Warming temperatures, gaps in the food chain….what is our level of influence. A bit of education and respect will go a long way.
Some interesting links
Received the newsletter from Thalia surf shop today. Found out I didn’t win the Quiver, but at least it went to a good family. Came across the trailer for Sea Worthy. Thoroughly enjoyed it as it was a good representation of the current exploration going on in the surf community. From the newsletter, “Australian filmmaker Nathan Oldfield, who introduced himself to the surf world with his first film, Lines From A Poem. It took about three years to make and includes surfers like Tom Wegener, Beau Young, Rasta, Al Knost, Dane Peterson, and the list goes on. Taking time to capture all aspects of surfing, it’s got awesome footage of everything from Alaias to quads to logs and everything in between.”
Enjoy!
I’m having trouble embedding the player…so here is the link
One of the shots from my GoPro on Saturday. We have had an epic run of waves. Even today the surf looked really enticing in the a.m. and downright painful in the afternoon. Watched helplessly from the confines of my office as some lucky surfers pulled into overhead A-frames on the webcam. Going to be the first one out tomorrow morning.
Musings on a Life of Surf
Musings on a Life of Surf
Bluebird Surf 