Post Number 48

Wow...... It has been along time since I sat down and wrote. Let's see.. Other than the plea to try and sell my trailer in April, I really haven't said a word since I announced my engagement way back when. So.. here's something...

Bad cold. That lasted at least four months and was originally diagnosed as COPD. I already forgot what the "C" and the "O" stand for. Possibly.. Chronic and Obstructed. But the PD stands for Pulmonary Disease! Freak out!!! First symptoms of.. Take your choice, chronic bronchitis or emphysema. Long story short. Don't have it. Went to the best Pulmonary Specialist in town and ran a million tests and came up with nothing. Dolphin Lungs he said explaining why the lungs looked swollen or larger than they should. Good news except I still panic in any wave over... double overhead. Dolphin lungs or not. The cold finally ended with an intense inner ear infection and a 20 day run of antibiotics. Needless to say this did keep me out of the water quite a bit but..

Just about the time my birthday rolled around in May. My beautiful wife, Jenny (not a wife yet as of May 14) pulled off the best birthday surprise of all time. She told me we had to go somewhere (couple days before my birthday) to get my present/surprise. So I am thinking what the heck? Plus we had too be there at a certain time?? So I think about this for a couple days and don't really come up with much. My best guess is we are heading out to GoWesty in Los Osos to get a new awning for the the Syncro. This would be very nice, as I obviously need one. We had talked about doing some wine tasting out here but, Why the specific time? Plus she had to get back so it didn't seem quite right. So the day comes and we head out taking the 154 over the Santa Ynez Mountains, out past Paradise Road... Basically on the way to her Mom's in Santa Ynez.


Let me point out now that what I really need is a new surfboard. I have been riding my "vaquero" for almost 4 years, and while still almost always my board of choice.. It is getting soft, and I am suspicious at times.. Now the "vaquero" is shaped by Marc Andreini, who I have never met, but who has completely change my life as far as surfing waves go. The "vaquero" is a "hull design".. What? Think late sixties and early seventies, George Greenough. Kind of a reverse concave.. hmmm... it's a hull really. And really, really fast, at least in the neighborhood around me which includes, Rincon, and 23 other righthand points. I would like to go on about the "vaquero" but, I am heading to Mexico tomorrow, so must move along. Mine is green, and about 7'0". Of course it is a single fin with a 9" high aspect flex fin that allows for turns that spring. They sell them at the Beach House here in SB, right where State St meets the beach...

So we continue on past, Lake Cachuma, countless ranches, and then she says "wait what was the name of that road" We are in the middle of nowhere as far a birthday gifts go. So she gets on her phone and makes a call to a message which I can't quite make out. Then says to look for "Amour Ranch Road" Okay... I got it! We are going on a Hot Air Balloon ride. Not a surfboard, or an awning, but pretty cool. I have seen them float over this region before. Still.. She had to get back?? Just a ploy I guessed. Now she starts asking me what do I think it is? Well... I just figured it out so, I couldn't give it away. So I say.. I thought we were going to GoWesty. Or maybe the wine tasting. Then how I wanted the surfboard.. How I thought maybe, we were going up to get a board personally from Marc Andreni. But he lives way north of here.. Just then we pull onto Amour Ranch Road. I seen a cowboy with a surfboard blank lying across the back. So I pull up to these Vaquero's de los Olas.. Just grinning... Marc pulls out this beautiful blue vaquero out of his van and say's "this must be yours" Well there is a lot more to the story than that but... I was 100% certain I was getting married to the right woman on June 21st, 2007. That's another story but here are some pics... things are good here in Santa Barbara..


Summer Solstice 2007

FOR SALE - BY OWNER - RINCON SURF PARADISE 2 + 1 $119,000

This is the perfect set up for the single surfer, or very small family who needs to live near Rincon. I hate to sell this place but, I'm getting married, and moving to town. I not giving up my position at Indicator but, I will have to drive 15 minutes further now. Arrg...

Anyway... This is an all ages park. I have lived here by myself mostly, for the past five years. My kids are up here more often than not, so it is very livable for a minimalist family of three. The second bedroom is really what I would call a "half bedroom" or maybe an "Alcove" The wall was removed to give it more space. Great for traveling surf bros that might stop by, or a kid or two. You might think Rincon is too crowded? A lot of days it is.. But... a lot of days IT IS NOT! When you live two minutes from there, I guaranty you are going to catch it good. Yes I said Guaranteed!!! Did I say how great Carp is? Best town in America. You can get anywhere on your bike in about ten minutes, usually faster than jumping in your car. There are only "3" street lights in the whole town!!! I usually only deal with one. Santa Barbara is great but... I really do hate to leave Carp...

About the place... Nestled in a well maintained park, right next to Carpinteria Creek. My place is on a dead end lane, so it is pretty quiet, and has some nice views of Rincon Mountain, and the Santa Ynez Range. The creeks is right there, along with a bike path, which is also short cut under the freeway to the market. Farmers Market is on Thursday. The closest surf spot is TarPits. About 5 minutes by bike. That is also the closest beach at the State Park (camping), also there is Jelly Bowls the summer hang out for locals. You could walk it in 15 minutes but why? Bikes are fun! You are also right near the Northern, Southern California's only seal rookery. Sick Oxnard Barrels are about 25 minutes to the south, Ventura is about 15 minutes with surf spots all the way down. El Capitan, is about 35 minutes north, with about 20 right hand points in between... The space rent is running me about $575 per month right now but I don't know how they do it when new owners come in. Should be about the same though...

This is an old single wide. Classic... 1969 It's old school, made of aluminum,and of course, paneling inside. This is some of the nicest paneling going though. Take a look at some other old single wides, and you will see what I mean. There are not many of these single wides left. This means you usually are going to have to pay around $200,000 to get anything. We did look at the option of putting in a new doublewide in here but... to tell you the truth, those things have no style what so ever. I would rather live in a Yurt. My place is a wider than average single wide, with a nice extension, and raised ceilings in the living room. The porch is nice and roomy, far superior to any of the new double wide options... The kitchen is pretty roomy, but I am running my business out of it so no photo's yet. I am painting the bathroom as well. The living room is comfortable and quite livable. The bedrooms are small and really made for sleeping or napping. People... Please stop working so hard and take a nap! The carport is great and keeps my Westy nice and clean. It is also perfect for your 22' Foot Outrigger. Where am I going to put that?

You will need new carpet. It has a small yard... Some other repairs are inevitable. I will gladly pay for all of that, if possible, through escrow... Email me for more a slide show if you like.. If you have your own agent great. I need someone to put all the legal details together.

Last detail for now... I am getting Married on the Summer Solstice in June, so the place will not be ready for move in till early July!

BREAKING IT DOWN...

Some complained my last post was a bit unclear, confusing, muddled, hard to read between the lines. So I will try to clear things up a bit. A double overhead wave is basically, just how it sounds. About twice the size off the average human, about 10'-12' from the top of the lip to the trough, or bottom of the wave. Yes, I'm getting married. You could also call a wave this size, about 6'. The only valid reasoning on this, would be that the open ocean swell which creates a wave this size, would be about 6'. Depending on wave period (distance between wave peaks), the period also plays a huge affect on the size as the swell finally hits the shore. it may very well jack into a 12' wave face, maybe bigger, and often smaller. It will be a small intimate affair at the beach, of course. Another cool reason for calling a 12' wave, 6', would be, when someone asks you how big it is, you could say " It's about six foot, pretty fun" Then they can paddle out, and get completely worked by six foot waves, they go in thinking they are wimpy and out of shape. The Hawaiians use this technique the best by calling everything "3 feet, maybe 4', brah" Yes, we do have a tentative date picked out, but I can't tell you now. Most people are using the knee, waist, chest, head, overhead, overhead++, double overhead, etc... Wave height systems which of course has it's flaws. Yesterday in the Goleta, I had it in the Overhead to Overhead++ range which is just about perfect for me. I am super happy to be getting married to my best friend, lover, soul mate, camper, surfer girl, nurse, massage therapist, on and on.. oh... and did I mention she learned to snowboard in about 3 days. The point is when it hits solid double overhead.. it is all business... If you would like to know more about the surf try this. Wetsand.. do not support Wave cams!

SWEET SUNRISE...

Along long, long, time ago, on a small organic farm, far, faraway, in Eastern Washington.. There was a little girl. She called herself... Sunrise Over the years, many roads were taken, many paths were crossed, a wrong turn here, a wrong turn there, then a butterfly flapped it's wings, halfway across the world, and... we almost met. Almost... she surfed the Cove, and I at Indicator. I new she drove a brown Westy' much like mine, and she new I drove a red one. What she didn't know was, there was an upper parking lot at Rincon. So on we went, close, but I never even saw her van.

Till one Wednesday, December 21st, 2005. Typical of most Wedensdays that fall on the Winter Solstice... The waves were huge! Of course we missed each other again that day. She going south to Rincon to watch the some nuts, skilled professionals, and local kamakazes, take off on the triple overhead lines marching around the little corner by the sea. La Rincon del Mar.. Waking up early to see just how big it was going to be, I went out to the bluffs here in Carp, and watched a wave feather and break way outside Venaco's Pier. No boats coming in or out out of there today, and no way I am getting in the water anywhere near here. So I took off to the north, to find something. Something maybe, in the double overhead range. They say the difference between an overhead wave, and a double overhead wave, is like the difference between pleasure, and business. Not being much of a business man these days, I can't even imagine the difference between double overhead and triple overhead...

When the ocean gets this big, things change... Houses wash away, land is rearranged, and large boulders are moved around like rubber ducks in the bath tub. If you paddle on out there for awhile, you will change too. At the very least, you are going to come in with a very clear head. To the point... "She's surfs, and drives a WestFalia? I would have to be an idiot to not go out with her" So it was on, December 27th, 2005... Giving up on a meeting at Rincon, as the surf continued to pound, we choose the slightly more protected waters of Campus Point in Goleta, well.. on the UCSB campus. I got there a little early, definitely nervous, but hey it was just a meet for a surf, no worries mate' A brown Westy' finally pulls up.. This cute woman with blue eyes, long beautiful hair, an awesome body, and two dogs jumps out of the only Brown Westy' I could see in either direction. And I thought to myself... "She loves dogs, drives a WestFalia, and Surfs.. I am definitely going to marry this woman"



Sunset.. December 27, 2005 The end of a great day,
and the start of something even greater...

A LETTER TO SURFLINE!

WTF... What's with all the new reports?? el cap, the shores, come on... Give us a fucking break. You don't even check these sites out in person anyway so, why are they listed? It's fucking misleading and a travesty. Is this to impress the sheep with your full coastal coverage? Or.. just to make things even more crowded, so you can make even more money selling expensive trips to uncrowded locations around the world. Which btw are becoming even more crowded as well. Fuck you, you money grubbing corporate sheep herders...

don

just north of la conchita...

ps..

I have nothing against your forecasts. Forecasts, swell direction, technical info is great. So are a lot of the other things on your site. Surf news, Local Knowledge, bring it on, Photo's... Just get rid of all the cams, and individual spot reporting, and have some class. There are enough cell phones to get the word out..

Click here to send your own letter...

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