Bluebird Surf

Distance 4: 610 km (330 nm) SW of Kaoshiung, Taiwan<!–
Distance 5: 615 km (332 nm) SW of Kaoshiung, Taiwan–>
Max Winds (1-min avg): 100 kph (55 kts) near the center
Peak Wind Gusts: 130 kph (70 kts)
Saffir-Simpson Scale: N/A
Central Pressure: 982 millibars (hPa)
Recent Movement: NW @ 13 kph (07 kts)
General Direction: Southern China
Size (in Diameter): 500 km (270 nm) / Average
Max Sea Wave Height (near center): 18 ft (5.4 m)

One can only imagine all the crevices that this will get into. This storm is aptly named and will no doubt leave waveriders in the area with grins from ear to ear. 17hr flight is sounding awfully attractive right about now.

Check out Typhoon2000 to follow this one.

Well I hope this recent spat of fatal shark attacks isn’t a sign of things to come up here in the Fall. We all know the Whites migrate south in the spring to give birth to their young and then migrate back up north in the fall to our neck of the woods. The swimmer in San Diego, then three surfers in Mexico two of which didn’t make it. They were all so close together both physically and chronologically which makes you wonder whats really going on. Lack of food due to overfishing? Too much food such as the abundance of large Squid? Climate Change?

Either way, it’s not what I want to be thinking about when I’m the furthest guy out waiting for that next one to come my way. Got to respect the locals. They have been around long before we were and will most likely survive long after we are gone.

Here is a good story I found on the AP worth reading over and a history of unprovoked shark attacks that is very interesting.

Record temperatures coupled with a Gale from Alaska equals the above.

It all began on Thursday with temps hovering near 90 degrees in the city. Yes, the same city where Mark Twain once exclaimed the coldest winter he ever had was a summer in SF. The rare hot weather and surf forecast got me excited for what was to come, which was 72 hours of bliss.

Thursday night I was able to squeeze in an hour or so as the sun was setting in the sky. It was really warm still at 7pm at night and I was happy as can be as I ran down to the water to get my first sesh in over a week. The tide was a bit high, but there was a decent little bump in the water. The sets were about head high and made for some fun rides trying to connect the tide challenged peaks. Knowing that the swell was building and that the morning would have a lower tide I decided on the dawn patrol at 6am.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I had some wild dreams about walking up to the beach and seeing the waves were coming all the way up to the top of the dunes. As I walked up to see the beach it was just a soup of whitewater. I had to step back abruptly to dodge a little wave that was peeling right off the tops of the dunes…it was a dream remember, and some lady was standing right behind me…very weird. Then later on that night I dreamt about peeling machine like indo style waves. So in between dreaming and waking up…I got a bit of rest.

I was in the water by 6:10 and had one of the most majestic sessions I’ve had in a long time. I arrived just as the sun was rising over the dunes. There was a thin layer of fog hovering about two feet above the sand and dunes which as the sun rose caused the light to diffuse and completely swallow the beach from sight. Once in the water, looking back towards the beach, was just a big orange ball of mist. You literally couldn’t see the beach because of the blinding warm light. The cold ocean water was a perfect contrast. As I duck dove to get outside, I paused on a few peeling rights that were just perfect in every way. Almost machine like as in my dreams. As they came dashing over my head, the dark green water turned to a crystal greenish blue and then clear white as I sunk underneath. I surfed for about an hour and caught about a dozen waves from well overhead to about shoulder high.

I went to work a very happy man as the day heated up to 100 degrees in some parts of the bay area. I actually didn’t leave the office once that day in hopes that if I just hunkered down and got through all my work I would be free to surf all weekend long.

By Friday night I was pretty tired, but knew that the swell was going to stick around for a bit. I awoke Saturday morning and suited up straight away and headed off to get some more.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the waves had actually gotten bigger overnight. Although not quite as glassy, I was content to trade size for texture. I paddled straight out in between two closely positioned peaks and got stuck on the sandbar for about 5 minutes paddling to no avail. Finally making it outside I was needless to say pleased with the pulse on tap.

I believe that what goes around comes around and so having Rammasun recently graze Taiwan and Japan as it headed north toward Alaska was just what the North Pacific needed to cause that Gale in Alaska that pushed down enough energy for me. I thought to myself that I was surfing the leftovers from Asian bred early season Typhoon action. You can see the cyclical weather patterns as they make their way around the Pacific’s rim. I don’t know if a true weather guru would agree with my theory, but that kept me amused as I drove through one crumbling whitewater ball after another.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and by Saturday night I was totally surfed out.

As the sun was setting, I felt the tension in my back and shoulders and reflected on all the lips I pulled under, the closeouts I never made it out of, the floater I landed, the fun drops. As my friend Dante would say, it was ‘good to feel gravity again’.

Sunday was back to normal Summer in SF weather. It was about 50 degrees, totally foggy, still some decent waves to be had in the morning, but I was so content. My son and I took a stroll along the boardwalk near our house and watched all the colorful costumes from the drunken masses just finishing the Bay to Breakers. It was quite a scene. Everyone from Superman to g-string clad sailor girls to passed out dudes in running of the bulls outfits. As I watched a few nutty ones strip down and jump in the ocean sans wetsuit, I had a special appreciation for OB and the weather out here. The fact that it can turn on and provide something as epic as the last 72 hours and then go back to normal when the masses arrived just to keep its rep up made me chuckle to myself and enjoy the calm cold misty fog.

Until next time.

Awoke this morning to a bit of chill in the air. You could feel the damp fog rolling through the air and creeping over the dunes. The wind was slight, but enough to make you second guess just suiting up. It was one of those checks where it could go either way. The wind had been blowing steady for about a week and the swell was dropping faster than the wind.

The wind had created some nice lines, but it wasn’t the kind of nice even lines that will get your blood flowing at 7am. It was really low tide with a few surfers scattered about.

It looked really small, with the occasional decent line that would make you optimistic and hoping to see something bigger roll through.

In the end, I chalked it up and left it to the guys that were already out there doing their thing. This morning they can have it cause there’s always tomorrow.

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Super Typhoon Rammason is behaving like your typical early season typhoon as it is cruising north pretty quickly. It is huge though and because of that looks like it may kick up some ground swell for Taiwan. With sustained winds of nearly 200k, I’m sure that the majority of Taiwanese and Phillipinos are pleased that it will be keeping its distance. Japan may not be so lucky, but chances are it will weaken quickly. Okinawa and points north look like the place to be today.

If this is any indication of things to come, should be a wild season.

The forecast shows some action may heat up for more than just the East coast by the end of the week. High hero may have some challengers.

Kaohsiung is my favorite city in Taiwan. I lived there for six years, both my sons were born there, and we have many great friends that still live there.

It is the second largest city in Taiwan and the fourth largest port in the world. It is the home of Binlang Boarding, the first core surf shop in the city started by me and my friend Rastafar’Ian’ Sweeney.

Many good times were had in this southern port city that held so many stark contrasts. Giant glass skyscrapers built alongside traditional one story houses.

It was always a laid back city with the mountains to the north and east and the harbor and ocean to the west. You could see whole families on 50cc scooters without helmets and typically the man of the household donning white cotton boxers, tank top and slip on sandals… cigarette dangling from his mouth and perhaps that of his wife’s…and binlang stains around their mouths. At every stop light you would get a collage of spittle that would stain the streets and curbs reddish brown. It got so bad that they banned spitting your binlang on the streets while I lived there.

It became our anthem for lack of better words. Binlang was the symbol of most of what Taiwan was to us. The freedom! It was like the wild west. As a foreigner you pretty much got away with it all.

About 15 minutes by motorcycle or scooter from our house was one of my favorite breaks in the city, directly in front of the Matsu temple. This was the temple dedicated to the sea goddess Matsu that protected the fishermen and sailors from the perils of the Sea.

It was very fitting that we surfed in front of this temple cause it was often a perilous adventure surfing in the city. Dirty water, rebar and concrete pilings under the waves, jettys, fish hooks, and god knows what other kinds of waste. It could get pretty gnarly. You had to pucker up and go for it some days cause it was right in the city and sometimes just too good to pass up.

Most of the year the ocean was dead calm, but during Typhoon season the beaches on the Chijin Island, which served as a natural breakwater for the harbor, would come alive. In the photo above you can see one of the locals getting his morning dip. The little barrels didn’t seem to faze him much, which is rare since most Taiwanese don’t swim.

I surfed out there whenever I could since it was unlike most other waves in the area. It was fast, dumpy, hollow and unpredictable. Most of the waves would close out, but it was the luck of the draw. There were a handful of memorable sessions but was only able to share a few with friends cause most of my friends didn’t believe there were waves in Kaohsiung…or thought I was nuts for surfing in the dirty water. ‘It’s not that bad’ I would tell them.

I got Rene to come out for a surf with me and my friend Alan. I think they were the first two guys I surfed with out there. Rene was the most senior ex-pat I knew of and he was a wealth of information on the surf potential of Taiwan. He knew all the ‘harbas’ around the island.

He knew of most every spot in Southern Taiwan and labeled it either the ‘harba’ or the ‘point’.

Here he is cruisin on a fun day at Matsu’s.

There were both lefts and rights on hand most of the time and they were usually really short fast little rides. Occasionally things would come together and they would start to break at the top of the jetty’s and provide for a solid little line. Here is a pulled back view with an empty wave in the back.

It only broke in the summer time for the most part and so it was really nice rocking up for the dawn patrol at about 7am or so, already about 85 degrees, 80% humidity and no wind and an ocean all to yourself. Here is a shot of Aussie Al ‘laughin’ as he would say.

Kaohsiung will always have a special place in my heart as it is a perfect blend of Taiwanese sophistication and laid back tradition. It is a perfect base to explore the island and still make a decent living. It is definitely one of the most polluted cities in all of South East Asia, but the people are working hard to clean it up and make it a premier destination. With that, the hope of cleaning up the beaches around the city, that hold so much potential.

This is one of the few photos I have of me having fun out there. It was alway a good time and always left with a big smile and sand in every orifice.