There is such a place as "Manaba Beach"

When I meet someone new, I usually tell my name is Manabu, you know it is like "Malibu Beach."

But today I just happened to learn that there is actually a place called "Manaba Beach" in South Africa.

According to above mentioned web site, the word "Manaba" means to "relax" in Zulu.

So you'd want to relax, especially after surfing!

On Bigger Days...

Last December, I remember from Christmas onto well into January, there was not a single day we could surf since it was stormy and big. This December, and right now we are starting to get into week 2 of "too big to surf" because as soon as the first 20-ft class came through there is another 20-ft class waves. The northern part of Pacific becomes a roaring mess of 50-ft seas often times. We all hear about that on the news, but I now understand a lot more about 50-ft class seas today than before. No wonder shipwrecks are fairly common in the winter and around Alaska and northern Pacific.

I used to not like big days. Simply because I could not find a place to surf.
But now I look forward to big days not because I can surf big waves. I now can surf bigger waves but not big waves, but what I am waiting for is the replenishing of sandbars.

This last half of the summer was quite lame on the sandbar department in Half Moon Bay. Just about all of our favorite local spots, the sandbars were all raked out and even on some decent swell days, all the waves were just breaking very close at the shore. This caused a choice of spots and types of waves we could surf.

But on the book I have studied on Surf Science: An Introduction To Waves For Surfing, there was a great section on how sandbars form, and I came to scientifically understand why big messy period of time is needed to rebuild good sand bars, and probably like anything in the nature we all tend to destroy and neglect, there are much more ecological benefits for this to happen.

So on bigger days, I would go out and enjoy the beauty and the magnificence of big waves, and wait for it to shape our playgrounds!
Cheers!

To Equalize or Not Equalize

I got the following comment from one of the WavLOG readers. First I want to thank you for writing. I am always eager to provide what I know, if not the right answer. As always, you'd want to be very skeptical of any single answer and seek many others. Somewhere in there is the truth.

Your question was the following.

I've been reading your blog and you mention a JC Equalizer. I have been surfing for 18 months and am improving surfing 2-3 times a week recently. I have 2 long-boards a 10'2" and a 9'6" I would like to go more towards short-boarding at least more maneuverability. I'm 206lbs and I was thinking of getting a 7'10"x3x22 JC Equalizer or maybe a 8' Hanley Fatboy. 8x3.12x22.5.

I'm nervous that I will buy one and sit there like a bouy and never catch a wave and was wondering what the best way to make the transition.
I was wondering what you think ?

First of all, I do not think I have surfed with you and I do not know how you do it and what your preferences are. Aside from that I seriously don't know how to surf that well, so please follow along with some grains of salt in your hand.

I had the JC for a short while because I was at a time I was rapidly moving towards real short boards, for that I mean boards that are 6'4 or less. I weigh 145 lbs max (and actually trying to cut that weight even further) and I am only 5'5 tall. I now own JC 6'4, that I consider a mini-version of the Equalizer. I feel that JC's shapes are solid basic boards without really any gimmicky tail treatments and such, and I personally think that "bat tails" etc., are really more of a style thing than performance thing.

As for the JC EQ 7'5, I can say that it is really a fine board (it is in my buddy's quiver now, so I can visit it if I want to) for bigger conditions. Where this board shines is to go for big waves, like 1.5 or 2 x overhead waves at Montara or Pescadero in the winter surfing season. Like my JC I got now, it really holds well on relatively hollower situations. It can support you well into good speed and turns are crisp and clean.

I would say that it is not a kind a board you ride small waves, because I happen to feel that you should ride small waves with a good long board or way inside with a short board. If your goal is to ride short boards on smaller waves (that's me), then I'd skip that and instead get a wide fish type boards at regular short board length (6'6 - 6'4 type for example). The reason why I say that is because fish type boards can be ridden a bit more like you'd on long boards and so that's a much better way of transitioning out of long boards. If you can maneuver waves on fishes, and you can paddle at ease with those, then you can go to traditional thruster boards.

Either ways, I'd say get your paddling strength in good shape. It seems to be the key for short boarding.

And finally, don't over alanyze the situation. Get the coolest board you feel like it is "you", and become friend with it. There really is no right or wrong when it comes to board selection. Each board teaches you important lessons to be a better surfer.

Technical Update + Stretch F4 Quad Impression

Since I got a comment for the Stretch F4 Quad, I think I should give an interim technical update on myself as well as the F4 Quad (from here on the F4).

First the Technical Update

I should not boost my skill level progress too much. I still cannot surf like most of you, I am older and I was not born with a lot of athletic abilities as I have been writing repeatedly. But having said that, since 2003 I have accomplished this far;

I can go out on 1.5 overhead type condition with confidence and comfort. This is attributed mostly with the improved paddling abilities, and to a less extent duck diving. More importantly I can get to the outside, not as fast as some of the best people, but I do and I can.

Given a lineup, I am catching more waves than most of the people in these types of condition.

A major breakthrough happened around October of this year (06), when more or less suddenly I can take off on more "steeper" waves than ever before. One thing is that some of the fears have lifted significantly under the circumstances and also as I wrote a while back one important missing link was solved, which was to actually make the board go down the wave. As it turns out, I have been careful not to get the board to bury the nose in steeper take offs, especially on long board take-offs. As it turned out, this rule does not apply as much to short boards. I almost had to trust the board that it will go down into the wave. This is an extremely fear driving thing because basically it is equivalent of standing on a roller coaster right when it does the big first dip. This balance and timing is a bit delicate still, and if the board does not start you'd go down the fall, and now some of the problems I encounter is to get pounded at the floor, which is not fun. But, then some additional skill comes. When I big one comes, I often do not take off on it because I know some of the bigger ones are close-out sets. If you take off into those, there basically is no prayer. Usually good fun ridable ones happens inside after a few big ones pass through for which we all paddle to the outside and wait for them to pass. So that's another skill set right there for those who are trailing me behind a bit. I've seen so many dangerous people taking off on every single wave that comes. Proper wave selection (matched to your skill of course) is an skill in of itself.

So as far as that goes, now that I came that far, it is now refining and improving upon these skill sets, and I will be able to challenge more demanding situations.

It is probably not a coincidence that the arrival of F4 into my quiver has a lot to do with this success, and I have some theory on this. I could be totally wrong on it (and that's why there is a commenting capability on the WavLOG).

The F4, in my opinion, is an ultimate take-off machine. I have not been on any other short boards that basically guarantees a take off. The only thing that come close to was the 6'6 French "Fish" Model that I used to have. May be I have gotten stronger over time, but I do switch to JC 6'4 and Rocky 5'10 and they all just feel differently.

I theorize that with 4 fins out in the back, there is just much more thrust when the tail starts to lift, and so as a result I just get extra "kick in the butt" to take off. Since the power seems to start to apply sooner in a take off sequence, it is not a sudden jolt but a bit more smoother acceleration, which allows me to stand up easier. In addition, the board has a better straight ride characteristics. But I must dispute a bit here. On steep take off spots, sometimes the only one to get into the wave is to take off diagonally, and somehow, doing that with the F4 is much easier, presumably because two of the fins can still be in contact with the water and providing the necessary thrust.

Once on the wave, actually it is not difficult to turn the board, in fact, with this board, I can really aggressively aim to higher part of the wave the I was able to do before, so that's really great there too. Actually the board rides remarkably stable, especially at higher speeds the tail dose not "fish out." So that gives me much more confidence in push-tail-set-rail action. I actually think that if you are a better surfer, you'd feel that the board requires additional force to control it, but for me, the given stability and more pronounced action is better.

The closet dimension to this 6'5 board is my JC Ugly Stick 6'4. This is the board I also really like. What 6'4 gives me better is the smoothness and responsiveness in turns in my opinion. If I nail a pocket right, I would rather be on the 6'4 than the F4, but that does not happen often, and still, it is more important to take off on waves, and I think that F4 really can work in fairly tight conditions we have around.

What do you all think?

The Art of Dawn Patrolling

Several years ago, there was a surfing magazine article on how to Dawn Patrol. There were many points in there like not fiddle too much with a computer or wait for friends and keep one's self warm and comfortable. Since then I have been trying to refine the art of dawn patrolling.

First, I have figured that in the morning I am not so coherent. So anything that require any figment of logic, I try to do the night before.

One key thing is to basically squeeze 2 hour out of my life before I get to work and make an impression to anybody around me as if nothing else has happened. Because if anything goes wrong, then usually I would be faced with a statement "He is a surfer, he does not know the priority of other stuff." At least that's one of the fears that I have. But aside from that if I am late by 30 minutes I stand to lose 5 to 10 waves, and that's significant given that standing up on a board is actually a very small fraction of a time a surfer would spend in his or her entire surfing career. It IS very precious moment.
So,
About a few days before I start to check the forecasts to make sure that where I can go, then start to coordinate any morning meetings and such. If it is going to rain and storm, I still get up at the same time (5:45 AM) but head straight to work and plan a 8:00 AM meeting with my staff.

And night before,

- Pack the change of clothes in the duffel bag, and a pair of street shoes and load them in the car night before. I have been in a situation where I forgot to pack street shoes in the car and had to go to an executive board meeting with a pair of sandals on. If for some reason the condition is not good, I just leave the duffel bag in the car and use the change of clothes for the next session, and pull other set of street clothes out of the closet (as opposed to pull them out of the bag and wear them for the day.)

- Load the car with appropriate set of boards for tomorrow's condition.

- Make sure that wet suits and such are ready to go.

On the morning,

Try to quickly check the condition, head out, and if the condition is ANY surf-able, I'd get out, and paddle.

Enjoy Your Quivers Collection

Many of you thought that I have gone mad by acquiring 3 new surfboards into my quivers this summer. To some extent I do agree. I did not have to get all three, but then I promise that this would be it for a while. My version of the excuse is the Highway 1 closure which resulted in the delay of shipment of all of the surfboard I ordered previously. It is a bit more complicated than that, but let's leave that story there. The end result is that all of the boards that I was going to get in the past year all basically came at the same time.

A lot of surfers also ski or snowboard a lot and a great many of them also travel to other tropical locations to surf. For me though I don't do any of those, instead my mode of operation is to surf almost exclusively in California, with occasional Hawaii trips thrown in. So those who have told me that you were jealous about the rate of my board acquisition, please know that I don't blow $300 to ride some snow at Squaw or North Star and I don't do $2,500 all-inclusive trip to Bali either. So I think I deserve to buy a couple of new boards and one set of wetsuits a year. And besides, I go out at least 3 times a week with the stuff I buy. I at least do 150 sessions a year (I did do more than 260 a year one year), say given a surfboard at $800 and wetsuits at $400, a total of $1200, that comes out to be $8.00 a session! So I think that's still a bargain, and I now buy Epoxy boards so I hardly need to repair them. In fact all of my epoxy board have NEVER been to a shop even if I had them for more than 2 years. So there. $8 to $10 a session is not so bad, and I take care of surfing en route to work most of the time so I am not factoring in the driving cost!

Of course, then, there is the second question. Why do I need to collect so many boards?

I'd be totally frank with you on this. It is because it is fun.

I actually cannot surf any of them. I really suck on any of these boards. I don't even get the most out of each board. But it is exciting to get a new board, ride them, and try to interpret in my own way how they ride differently, and they do ride differently, and teach me a few things or two about the characteristics of each board. Of course, not to the extent whether the rail or rocker differences are significant.

And that brings to this point. There are a lot of people who would want to get a new board advise or two.

I basically came to the conclusion that it is probably pointless to argue these points. These types of arguments belong to professional surfers.

For us we should just get whatever surf boards that attract us, get them, try them, and enjoy and experience them. There really is not a magic perfect board that would transform you into an ace surfer the moment you paddle out with one, and I have not run into one yet. Instead, it is more like try to learn the characteristics of the boards you try. Besides, even if I give you an advise, I know fully well that you are going to go for that board you really wanted. It looks cool and you already fell in love with the way it looks.

We all go through so many different boards we all love them and hate them and sometimes feel totally ripped off, and sometimes totally surprised.

And I think that's also part of the fun of surfing.

Trust the Board

Trust Your Board
I have been snow skiing for many number of years. As I have gotten better at it, we'd go for steeper and steeper hills. When we get to these places, there are places where the snow groomer won't be able to get in, and then it would be left just to the nature; the snow fall and the wind that shaped the bowl.

When I was in college, and I must admit and say to you that I went to one of these ski colleges where you'd be able to ski for the whole season, I'd go and do the equivalent of an "evening glass off" with my buddy.

There was a bowl under a cliff.

So what we do?

We'd take off from the cliff, drop down into the bowl and then ski the rest of the moguls. And that was basically the routine. Of course, this was when we were at collage ages, we were learning about the physics and mechanics, but we were all struggling over these classes.

So what we do, we stick the front half of our skis and then nudge them into the bowl, and lone behold, the skis catch the slope and go down the slope. Just a few seconds ago, I was thinking there would be no way I would make it, instead, I'd fall forward, tumble and could break one of my legs if the Marker binder would not come off.

This seems to be somewhat of a common theme on board sports.

Today, I would do the same. I'd take off into what I'd consider would be into a definite wipe-out and tumble. In fact that's what would end up happening in 9 of of 10 times, but then I get a glimpse of that good college ski time. Every once in a while I catch that fast wave down.

I must say that it is kind of amazing. When the wave jacks up, it almost looks like a vertical wall that I am going down on. I try my best to take off, and it almost like I am just flying off the tip of the wave. The board and myself shoots very fast towards the bottom of the wave. I don't think it is possible to stand on the board. After all, I am actually not going to stand on the board, but I am actually vertically dropping and attach two of my feet on the board during this vertical drop.

Nevertheless, once in a while, within this very strange configuration of almost free falling the board and my feet come in contact and the next moment, I am set up for a turn.

The first time my buddy lead me to drop in to the bowl from the cliff, I said to myself; "That's nuts!" I was so scared to push my skis off the cliff, I screwed it up a few times, but then eventually I got the timing and everything right, I'd felt that I can drop off from any cliff and catch the slope ahead (I know that's too cocky of me!)

But in surfing it is the same recurring theme. I just do my best taking off, and more often than not, the board catches the wave and I am on the wave, fine and all safe, even though I feel like I am dropping from the sky.

It is really rewarding when all this works out, and goes to say sometimes we can put a lot more trust in the physics and mechanics of how these things work!

Technical Update

Technical Update

I am writing technical updates when I discover something interesting in my learn to surf experience. You can help me by writing your comments and they can remain anonymous.

On this post, I want to discuss about the critical moment of a take-off, and specifically for short boarding. This has been quite a bit of struggle for me and I continue to need to refine the technique. As with any of what I write, my goal is to share what I am experiencing and not necessarily to teach other people to do likewise. I am not a very good surfer, and due to my lower-than-average athletic aptitude and the age, it would be a long way, but having said that I am having really a lot of fun with this.

So what have I learned lately?

I have became somewhat more successful at short board take offs, and there was one key thing happened surrounding this in the past several sessions, and this is something quite different from long boarding, and I've even figured that out by riding long boards some of the times (and this is one of the reason why I advocate all recreational surfers to have a long board in their quivers.)

So what is the discovery?

The discovery is that importance of holding the front of board down during take offs especially on steeper stuff and for short boarding, waves have to be kind of steep to have a successful take off anyways.

As I find the correct spot and when the wave starts to break right at where I am sitting, then it is time to get ready to paddle in really (and really) hard to get into the wave. It is at this point that I am usually left behind the wave not taking off, or worse yet, I just get creamed by the wave. This happens a lot and it will happen for some more times. I originally was on the thinking that the reason I get left behind is because of the paddling power only, but then I think that I am finding out that is not just so.

One time, on successful take off, I almost took off and I thought I was going to left behind, but as I was getting up I was pressing the front of the board rather hard to make the board point down into the wave. That actually worked quite well, then it finally downed on me that I have read somewhere else "Using your chin, hold the board down." And now I've realized pointing the board down is actually quite important in getting the board into the wave.

I think I will be experimenting with this for some time.

Feelin' Norcal Surfing Scene

I do not know if it is just about me or others, but this morning when I went out, I really felt like “I am surfing in Northern California.” It more psychological than anything else because it was just as cloudy as it would be on a summer foggy day, but somehow I felt like I am really surfing further north than most other surfers think about surfing. It was a kind of a morning that started out with drab heavy foggy cloud that was hanging high above the area, there was no sun out the like that. You know, if you are in Hawaii or places like that I would imagine something really sunny, but here, a day like this today I think of a northern fishing town in Ireland or Hokkaido or something. You know... This kind of somewhat depressing weather is juxtaposing with the excitement of surfing and then running in to my other Stokemaster buddies like Ren, which is kind of a “sunny” thing. It is kind of strange. I am wondering if people in So Cal or Hawaii would get the same kind of this strange cocktail of feelings.

Well, as for the session this morning, I got a fair share of rides and they were fun as usual. But I admit it was on a smaller side of a thing even for me who love riding small waves!

Quality vs Quantity in a Short Session

During the summer, sometimes, I surf until the sun has just set. I have done sessions that lasted a bit longer than that, in which case, I had to paddle in with a guide of lights on the street or cars, but that's really rare. I don't think that's very safe to do that, though I have even hard of night surfing under the full moon, and there even are some places that let you surf under artificial light. I guess if there is a will, there will be a way. Back to these summer sessions, though, there will always be one or two surfers that would start to get in just when I thought there is no more light left, and if it is left, it would not be any more than the next 20-30 minutes!

I have been thinking about quality vs. quantity thing for the past few weeks. Now that I am working again full time, I my time to surf is either at the start of a day, or at the end of a day unless I am off. So I have been opting for dawn patrol, and I think I will be in this mode for some time. Actually I have became somewhat of a late morning person in the recent months, so I end up getting there and only get to do a 45-minute session.

But would a 45-minute or even 30-minute session just too short to be worthwhile? In my case, I think it would well worth it, because two things. The first and foremost is the whole experience of surfing, and as I surf more and more, I start to really appreciate and miss being inside the water world. It is totally a different medium, the texture of the water under my paddling hands, the floating feel, and going through the water, and just sitting quietly in the outside is just something that I don't get tired of experiencing. That's really a high quality experience no matter which break I choose to go. I am not bothered by the crowd at all any more. Even if I did not catch a wave on a given session, I just am happy that I have been there for a part of my day, and also I pick waves that I like, they are usually small and easy, and in high quality shapes. Sometimes they can be big, but still they are in high quality shapes. Then if I take a nice ride in one, that's just a bonus.

Also, from the physical and mental stand-point of surfing, you can also take advantage of a limited-time session. I have competed several times, and I have realized that I can actually do better under some pressure, like a limited time in a heat. On a limited time session, I know there will be an end shortly, and then I would like to paddle and keep moving around, a strategy that is clearly required for a highly skilled surfer. So if I know I am only going to surf for 45 minutes, then I kind of set myself a bit of goal to make sure that I will do my best within that time limit, and that's fun too. So, if someone gives me 20 minutes to surf, no problem, I think I would still go in for both the experience of it and for improving my surfing skills.

Quality vs Quantity

Recently, one of a StokeMaster.COM member wrote to me personally about the importance of enjoying surfing as an experience of being there rather than thinking in terms of how many waves, what types of equipment etc. I totally agree. These days, we talk a lot of things by numbers and we are almost being controlled by them. Almost any business sections of newspapers talk about the Dow Jones average, and a lot of people think of professional sports like baseball and football in terms of the scores and averages.

I do not particularly disagree with these approaches, but we should not always lose out sight.

I had a late afternoon start today, and I only had about 30 minutes of water time, but I was glad I did.

In the fall especially around the time sun sets, you can definitely feel the changes and experiencing the changes in the water is something that I look forward to this time of the year.

I was at a place where you need to do a lot of ducking through to get to the outside. But the sun was just directly ahead of me, getting lower and lower into the horizon. As I paddled out the sun was shining through everything. It was shining through the nose of my board, backlighting the board. As the wave come closer and ready to dump over, I also get to see the sun shining through the thin part of the water. It is orange on top then gets into the dark green hue into complete darkness. I like the feeling of going through the water as I can shoot for the light.

Other than the sound of the ocean there was not any other. It was so quiet and nice.

There were several people watching the sunset at the beach, but I don't think that unless you surf and in the water they would not experience this type of the mixture of color and light.

And that was a heck of a quality experience even though I only caught one wave.

Sunday October 1st. WNW Swell 17 seconds.

Though Ren called me to Linda Mar, I decided to drive down south with a buddy this morning to catch this 17 second west swells. Very very strong sweeping current out there, then on top of that come overhead size close out sets; just about a tad below my comfort and confidence level. We walked closer to south end and paddled out, but before you know, we were swept right back at the parking level and becoming dangerously close to even bigger impact zone north of the beach; if we wind up in there, there is no sunday prayer and I'm glad I had a buddy with me, because that would freak me out if I was all there by myself.

We carefully timed to get in the water between overhead-size killer shore breaks, jumped in paddled out fast to get away from the shore then continued and around these impact zones and waited for sets to come in as the sets started to break further and further out, but when they came they came in a few in a group (always do) and some where mean! If I messed up on a take off on the first wave of a set then the second one is right in front like a big open jaw ready to eat you, digest the board and tug strongly on the leashed leg, sending you down deep inside the water. It is actually not that big of a deal in overall scheme of the things, but still I hate that when that happens. Holding the breath, my eyes tightly closed, keep tumbling, tumbling and tumbling inside the water totally disoriented as the light shining through my eye lids go light, black, light, black... and staying relaxed until the tumble will end is just about all you can do. When I get a chance to get in a pool I always test to see how long I can stay. That's 30 seconds right now. And these holds downs are well under 10 seconds. Still, the anticipation of surfacing and not knowing exactly where I am is not make me feel secure, and when I finally pop out of the water for a breath of fresh air, that tastes so good and appreciate you are alive.

Sometimes, I wonder, "What a stupid choice I made today, and what a stupid sport I have chosen to do." Why I did not go to an easier place I know and could have had some nice relax morning to start a day. But sometimes, that's a surfing experience we all must face occasionally... it is just something that would humble you about a reminder of a small and short life you possess in front of the big nature and the universal scheme of things. If you are a surfer, I konw you can all relate, but if you are not, belive me, you would as if you are going to die in the water, and this happens not just once but it actually becomes a recurring theme intertwined with a lot of fun.

Luckily, when waves are this big enough, then there usually is a chance of inside-reforms that happen. I was on the 9'0 Magic so it turned out that catching the inside reforms were still big and really fun, and when I say it in the inside, it is still quite a bit of way out, so there were some great long rides I've gotten. I have been working on some aggressive tail-spinning long board turns and I was able to nail a few of those. Long boarding is fun in this aspect as you can use the whole length of the board to the things and much much more forgiving.

So in the end, it was still all fun and good, and would at least feel like wanting to accept the challenge again some time.

The Joy of Frustration

This goes with any skill based activities, but learning a skill can often be very frustrating and stressful, be it learning how to play music, learning to write, and of course learning to surf bigger, faster waves with shorter boards. When it comes to surfing though, the consequence of trying something and it not working can be physically punishing, and I know as spectators that punishing part is just as fun to watch as a surfer surfing in style; like someone going over the falls then creamed by oncoming mass of white water. But as far as that part of surfing goes, I am not so frustrated about that. Being calm and relaxed in the situations like that is almost a requirement to take on "more difficult" waves.

The true frustration sets in when there is a good ride you have been dreaming of executing, and on day that happens, but then it never happens again. Once you taste a "dream" ride in a situation that you have not executed before then it is really exciting. It is either I was lucky or my whole system, from my mind, body, and the choice of equipment are starting to work together. But when you paddle back to the break that never happens, sometimes for days or even for months, and that's one aspect of become being very frustrated with the inconsistencies.

But surfing is probably one of the most inconsistent sports around. The nature itself is very fickle about providing consistent conditions. We don't take the waves for granted, we often be forced and seek them, or paddle around from peak to peak on a single session; tide changes, wind changes, and swell direction, period and height changes constantly, the sand bottom shifts, a rip opens and closes down... So by the time you surf for a few years, you kind of get used to all that.

Come to think, many of my good surfer friends I aspire to are mellow, patient and have established their own philosophy in life.
So it always comes back to me that we should enjoy the process of learning how to surf.

Meeting with Mike Munoz

I actually did not know that I met him until recently. I actually have been thinking about whom I met that was so famous, but it downed on me that that was who he was!

I wrote about how mellow surfing scene is. It is often kind of an experience that you are living in a neighborhood who is really famous, but you'd taken that for granted and thought that it was some other regular old guy next door to you, and much later in life that you'd realize that, "Oh, gosh that's what my dad was telling me about!"

Well, I actually met him and shook hand with him one day in San Jose. It was at the time when the San Jose Museum of Modern Art was doing the Surf Art stuff that started in Laguna Beach Museum of Modern Art, and with a strange coincidence we actually know the person who used be the curator at the institution, and last time I've heard she was going out with a surfer!
At any rate, Mike and Steve Pezman of Sufer's Journal was there, and I took a tour of all of the exhibits with them, and I asked a lot of questions and talked with both of them quite a bit.

I did not realize at the time that he was known for his board shaping so much (I know Mr. Pezman did introduce him to that effect) but today, for whatever the reasons, I have realized that he is one of the significant names in the history of Hawaii and California surfing.
Read this web site, I think you fill find it very interesting

http://www.volume5.com/mmsurf/html/legend_design_mickey_munoz_sur.html

Need More Home Work!

Back at the home break today. I am glad to say and also sorry to say that one of the most difficult break is right within a walking distance from home. I thought I could "do it," but I scored zero today. What a difference a day makes. One day I have what seems like a 30-second ride and the next day, zero, nothing, zilch! But there was others who scored a few nice ones. It was a very sunny day and there was hardly anybody out. One good surfer was commenting, "I am surprised nobody has dropped by!"

You know I have been talking about two things, still some lack of ability or willingness to take on these rapidly falling waves, and also not be there at right time. But days like these also really teaches me a lesson that surfing is not an easy thing to do, and once I think I am OK, then the nature is going to throw another curve ball at you.

One thing though recently, the more relaxed about it, the more I feel I am up to take the challenges. I am right there with others who are taking these waves, and I am now feeling totally at ease being there.

It goes to say that a lot of this is the mind over matters, then the body. When all of that get harmonized then I know I will be getting into these waves.
After the session I took out my submersible camera and took some pictures from inside the water. It sure is a much cheaper way to do surf shots than buying a huge telephoto lens. Of course, there is a big trade off, I was pounded by the waves a few times holding a stupid camera in my hand. I won't envy the life of these surf photographers like Warren Bolster who just moved on recently.

More of my pictures are -> Here.

Walden Magic 9'0 - First Riding Impression

Truly a Friendly Board; Walden Magic 9'0

I now have acquired a new Walden Magic long board. It is a 9'0 length with about 22.5 inch in the middle, and it has an interesting squarely tail to it.

The reason why I got this board is because earlier this summer I was going to get a Robert August board for fun use and also for competitions but because of various local issues I was not able to buy it locally, and since then I have been making much effort.

Last week when I stopped by in Ventura, I bought it directly from the hands of Steven Walden himself. I think you already have read that part. Party because when October rolls in I am going to get busy so I wanted to take care of all of the remaining quiver building this month.

Yesterday, I finally got around to wax the board and put the 8 inch center fin, and like I have been with the Takayama DT4, I am not putting side fins. Now that I said that though I just put back the side fins on the DT4 because yesterday the waves looked rather hollower at the "P" spot. Which was a good move because I actually was able to ride these waves rather aggressively (note I am always talking "in my own standard') and trying to make faster turns and rail switching.

This morning I took the Magic to Santa Cruz Pleasure Point middle peaks and I can give you some initial impression of this board.

As I dipped into the water and started to paddle out, I instantly felt that it was really easy to paddle like a really friendly long board. The DT4 seems take a lot more effort to paddle, probably because it is narrower and thinner, especially in the front. I used to own Dale Velzy 9'0, and I thought that that board was probably easiest of all the long boards I have experienced in terms of paddling (but it is now just a recollection).

Today we had very clean sets up to chest high but very long wave. I had two rides that lasted all the way from the outside to just in front of the stairs next to the green house.

The Magic board caught the wave so much nicely. At one wave, I thought I would not catch the wave, as it felt it was passing under, but in one big jolt of paddling hand, I got into the wave. It is something that I've seen a few people do on my So Cal trip this past week where they just wait until very last moment, and just a single jolt of wave pushing is enough to get them into the wave. So this was something I was really looking for in a long board. For today's condition, the board took off gently into the waves and then "asked me" how I want to go. Here the DT4 is much more sensitive in exchange for a less stability, but on the Magic, I felt that I had a plenty of time to react and when I do ask the board to turn or stay on the trim it just gently accepted my commands and executed them in a very solid manner. The deck felt really stable at almost any speed and walking back and forth on the board was quite easy to accomplish on this board.

After the couple of good waves, I really was pleased to have made this choice. It is going to be a very friendly stable yet fast board to go out with my friends on friendly conditions. I know this board can be used for much bigger and hollower conditions, but for me it really works well for mellow, well shaped waves. (Should have bought it on the way to San Diego!)

Back in Nor Cal

Do people get tired of surfing. For me, I get tired from surfing, but somehow I don't think I would ever get tired of surfing. Do you see the difference? Well, Part of this WavLOG should explain what I mean by that.

So I drove back from Ventura yesterday on US-101. So what do I do? Everywhere the highway turns close to the ocean, my eyes are on the ocean. Is it breaking? Where? How big? I know thats all the surfers do. Next time if you there is a car in front of you suddenly slowing down, then, they are most likely checking out the waves, surf shops or other surfers. Whatever it is it has something to do with surfing.

I kind of know why this is. We are all in the quest of a perfect ride, and we drive up and down the coast, sometimes hours and days to find the perfect place, or at least, the best we can do at the moment. Notice that I am taking about a perfect ride, a singular noun. Yes, it all takes that one perfect ride and we are all content for the rest of the day until, we get out of the water and see another break that happens, which we'd all think "Gosh, we should have stayed in."

So, I drove back from Ventura yesterday on US-101, and what I was thinking? Where should I go when I get back home.

And so my day starts this morning. I get up, and I look at all the local charts on my web site I built. Many people have asked this sort of things in the past; "You must be making a ton of money on your web site." Guess again. From Google, I only take in about $20-30 a month in the summer and in the deep of the winter, zero! It is just enough to pay my ISP. The rest come out of my pocket. But I need to use every skill set I have to keep on surfing. Some people have good physical strength and athletic ability. What is going for me is a bit of geekness going on plus some strength, a lot of enthusiasm, and also a short stature where the waves are almost always overhead! Thank god, because my buddy who is probably hitting close to 6 ft tall would take 2-3 more seconds in the wave period and 1-2 ft more in the swell size for him to enjoy what I get to enjoy every day!

This morning, the main swell component to go for was the WNW swell 4-5 ft at 10 seconds. My answer is to go south. With small amount of wind, we were ready to hit the beach. I was fully equipped with Takayama DT4 as well as Xanadu and John Carper to catch whatever the ocean throws at. I've already guesses where it is going to be, and when we got there, I was right on. Already there were a lot of familiar locals shredding the scene.

So I was back on the Nor Cal water after a week of nice warm and sunny surfing, and did I miss the So Cal surfing today? Fortunately, and I did not. I felt really at home for being pulled back by the white water, pounded by the shore breaks, and took a long time to get out. I really felt that it was a welcome back home treatment. And when I get out, it was some nice peaceful moment in the outside just for a bit then a big set just ate me, held me down and tagged my leg dozen feet down.

I did have a few nice rides though.

I did have a few bad rides too.

And, you know I am going to get back in the water again tomorrow!

Meeting with Steven Walden

Today is actually the last day of my week-long So-Cal solo surf trip. I must say that this trip has been so phenomenal.

Some highlights of this trip includes;

Two solid days of South Swell fun surfing at Cardiff. I could not ask for better. I had so much fun both with my new Xanadu board as well as a rented 8'6 South Point board. i was really be able to put all my skills I have acquired to this point to to my own best version of ripping and shredding, and surfing by my own meant that I get up when I felt like, I was not dictated to eat meals exactly when everyone is supposed to eat at noon and 7 PM. (I can hold out for food when the waves are good), pick and choose when and where to go without coordinating shopping center or district logistics. (Note that I am not complaining about it, rather, I am saying that I could operate on a different mode for a change.) Pure surfing from the morning to the end of the day! And to top that off I got to see world's top surfers like Kelly Slater, Taj Burrows and Andy Irons up close for the first time, and then spoke with Mike Walden himself, and as a result, I now have added a Walden Magic 9'0 into my quiver.

This has been a recurring theme on my trip, and when I talk about that I am not just talking about this trip but about the life long trip for being a surfer. Surfing is really a mellow sport. What other situation allows you to be up close with the world's top athlete, shoot photos etc., then the next moment you get to get a surf board purchasing advise from yet another world-renowned surf board shaper? I have met people or even exchanged few email messages and shook hands with people like Matt Warshaw who was the editor for the Surfer Magazine, and Steven Pezman also was the Surfer Mag guy and runs the Surfers Journal, and you see him on bunch of surf documentary videos! So that's how down-to-earth surfing is. I am really glad to be participating in this sport.

Anyhow, when I walked into Mr. Walden's shop, and he was explaining about a board to another customer, and he notices me checking out the boards. He says, "You've been in here before, right?" I don't know whether that's his regular line or not, but at least that made me feel really comfortable. I think I would use that line at some point in the future; a very good idea.

Like many surfers, he is a short statue guy like me and a whole lot of surfers, but he just can explain so much about the boards he makes, and he also started to manufacture his own EPS core boards. I was asking about whether there are any differences between his glass boards and the new EPS ones (note that I am a big fan of EPS boards because of its strength). He said that the board behaves a tiny bit high-floating than his glass boards, but otherwise they all perform the same. He took an EPS board on his last trip.

He was just so friendly and so enthusiastic about surfing, and when I explained to him about me living only a walk from Mavericks he asked me about Devil's Slides and his last trip from HMB to Wise Shop in SF... all familiar stuff.
Long boarding is really fun, and I know I am going to enjoy it. That's what I told Steve Walden when I left the shop.

Technical Update

Taking off on a wave continues to be one of the most difficult part of surfing, and especially when you are trying to do this on a shorter boards. One thing though, I was just watching several of the top surfers and I was a bit relieved to know that they sometimes are struggling with that too, especially when the waves are smaller. This really makes the playing field level, and so gives chances to many surfers. To this effect, while surfing do require some strong muscles, it also requires a bit of creativity. I have met many surfers, but especially at recreational levels, I found that good surfers are in general very creative people, and they are usually are in a profession that requires that; in other words, they tend to be musicians, artists, physicists, programmers etc., (note that if you are not one of them, you probably did not explore deeper into "real you.")

But here are a couple of my observations.

If they go for a wave and if they take off, it is just a matter of 2-3 paddles into the wave when the wave takes shape. I am not including the counts of the paddles to get to the wave. I cannot define that here but if you go there and see it, you know what I am talking about. So I figure that if I need to paddle more than a few strokes, then I must say that I am not choosing the correct wave. The wave selection really is one of the key factors in a successful take-off. You might wonder what "wave selection" is.

To me they are;
+ Be at the right spot. Good surfers are actually on the move, and know when the next set is coming and where the wave is going to pop.

+ Know when is the right set to catch. This is where I often see some surfers going for every wave, and not catching any.

The time to take off and be up on the board is actually quite variable, I've noticed. There are times when the board does not quite get in the wave and surfers would "wait and see" if the board catches the wave. So getting up on the board quickly is not necessarily the norm. However, the true difference here is that they do get up on the board quickly when they decide that it is the wave to catch.

In the past two days, I have observed the world-class best surfers and also local-level top notches compete and I highly recommend that you go and check out the good surfers make the "best" out of the conditions that they are faced with. This makes the surfing very interesting because you cannot control the environment and condition like you could, say in professional Bowling. And of course, that makes surfing a whole lot more interesting than many other sports.

Trips of "The Lifetime"

If you are just reading the blogger WavLOG, the rest of my travelogs are posted directly on the StokeCOMMUNITY as posts. Please catch them there -> Click.