Pictures

Some more pictures from the past week.






PJ




Newport, summer

Guinness

Kodak PLAYsport

I got a brand new Kodak PlaySport last Friday and I've been testing it all weekend. Here are some of the pics.

It shoots in 720p @60 fps, or 1080p @ 30 fps. 5MP HD pictures. Its been in the surf three times with no problems so far. I'm very impressed.

Hopefully Ill settle into a rhythm soon, formatting the new blog and deciding on content. Life is exciting right now; that time when something is coming to an end in order to bring a
fresh beginning.

A few more and a vid sample.

Monday

Yesterday's surf was worth about ten words, and it sucked

Sunday morning was beautiful. Overcast early, but it broke by ten leaving clean & crisp little rollers. The tide was drained out during day-break but by the time we started doing lessons, the amount of water was just right, allowing everyone to stay around waist to chest deep and still have fun rides all the way into the shore. Our new softcore board worked great. Parking was a breeze and the whole atmosphere seemed a bit subdued, just like an early Sunday morning should be. There were no swirling rips or funky windlips to aggravate the new surfers. Those typical afternoon conditions will really hamper an inexperienced surfer, possibly even leaving them with a bitter idea of surfing, but the mornings seem made just for the beginner, especially this particular pristine leisure day.

Thursday - Fun and kinda windy

We went out on Thursday, just after noon, about four of us to the Newport Jetties, and although conditions weren't spectacular, the swell in the water was just right for the tide and allowed for a few nice two to three footers (maybe a four ft every now and then) to swirl in through the jetties. A building NW swell was mixing with a smaller Southern Hemi swell creating lefts and rights on the outside of the rocks. The wind was moderate, crumbling up the line a bit, but thanks to the midday non-crowd, all you had to do was wait for the right one. Decent sized masses of water would begin to fill on the horizon; as they began to play on the sandbars and swirl off the jetties, semi-walled peaks would form. Positioning yourself on a shoulder became child's play as the set waves would line up nicely and continue traveling to the shallows , allowing for a steep take off and a jet-ride down the line where the wave height would disappear and you could easily paddle the mini-channel back to the outside. As the water filled in a bit the lefts became predominate. On a few waves i would paddle in for the drop to find myself on a sort of pre-lip, popping up and driving the nose down the face of the wave would put me at the precipice of the true lip, creating a sort of late-takeoff scenario. Whenever the wave would act in such a way I felt i would be hurled over the falls, but due to board choice or possibly another facet of wave formation i do not fully understand, I would make the drop with ease, a little cover and again a nice left line gradually sloping towards the dwindling wave. I am no expert of bathymetry, or the way any given swell can play off those jetties, but it seems as if one of the swells would show initially and as it merged with the second swell you would see that true form of the wave as it broke. A fun day regardless.

Testing a buddies board proved to be an awakening of sorts, picking up the surf from a poor to fair range and making it a "did you see that last ride" wave. He let me use his "Rockin Fig"- a little under seven feet with the wide point high up in the nose, an overly cut swallow tail, and two enormous outer skags, this board catered to all my strengths and weaknesses as a surfer.
Today was a bit blustery in the AM. That plus work at noon means no surfing today. Saturday a new SW swell fills in and the return of offshores and warm weather is anticipated on Sunday, meaning a day lost will be made up by two more even better days this weekend.

Wednesday's Non-Surf

And on a side note, no surfing for me today. I would love to have gone out but i was busy doing good deeds all day.

The swell looks nice, with plenty of west, and since June has finally arrived, so to has the much anticipated warmer water. Today was the first day in about a week, maybe more, where the afternoon winds started to dominate. I didn't see the water exactly, but the winds seem to be showing over 5 knts for most regions with much stronger gusts. I try to keep a close eye on the data I can find even when not surfing; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all decent wind days considering the past month, overall good surf days, and although I couldn't get out to the water, Monday and Tuesday looked decent as well. This first week of June has been predominately overcast here in Orange County, and with that hot, lingering cloud cover usually comes a relative stillness in the air. Clean conditions have prevailed, as if June itself had sheltered our home from the fickle on-shores that plague this warming season.

June Gloom

June gloom, a manageable phenomenon in relation to the blustery afternoons that this Spring has produced, is once again settling thickly along the beaches from San Diego to LA and beyond. It is a moist and still mass of air that keeps us shaded from the sun during these early summer days.

I am, of course, no expert on the tendencies of the ocean as it heats and cools on a global scale - I am a twenty five year old child, with only eight years of surfing experience, and a meager three years with my watery eyes.

What I mean to say is that while I am inclined to the science and math involved in meteorology, and I am extremely fascinated with the admirable work of true forecasters, all I know is what I've seen. Up until a few years ago I would go out to the beach with a complete misunderstanding of the complex dynamics that the ocean and air have upon one another. For example, if I were going surfing on this day, say, five years ago, I would not check the forecasts or the winds, I would just end up at the beach. Maybe I would find dribblers and toddlers playing with one another; maybe it would be three-to-four feet and semi-glassy at 2PM with no one in the water. Regardless of the conditions, I would not make a mental note and soon forget about that day.

This was the only reason, in my opinion, that my surfing would not progress to the next level. My eyes were dry and full of sand, but now they are watery.

Despite my location, whether near the water or on the land, there is a reflection of the surf in my eyes. Everything I see is an indicator, all my sight is focused on the Earth, air, water and the messages they carry. I'm sure that a large population of Southern Californian beach-goers will relate with me, that we understand winds and weather through a basic human function rather than any sort of calculation or deduction. The extent of our focus is, "If it's hot then it's gonna be hot", and, "if it's supposed to rain then it might rain". In fact, while my knowledge of the weather and swell patterns for this region have only grown over these last three years, truly making the connection between graph, chart, buoy, and what I am seeing and feeling outside has only occurred within the last year. The crucial moment is when we realize that our human capabilities of intuition and knowledge can create a synergism in which we advance as beings. Even when not related to surfing, this combination of our intellect and our profound soul is something that brings an inner peace, being in accordance with the universe, and can be a valuable tool for all.

First post...June 6, new SSW swell

We went out on Sunday with Dennis. It was his first introduction to surfing and he did very well considering. Some photos, a full post of our day will be coming in soon