When your time is up.. it's up.

I am not a news reporter but this is happening right in front of my house so I felt I had to comment on it. I was heading back from town. Carp that is.. After spending the night at my house, where my complicated, yet beautiful wife now resides. Yes.. It's complicated.. So after a rainy walk on the bluffs with Riley I am heading home.. La Conchita that is.. Just as I round the corner at Rincon I can see the Amtrak Surfliner is stopped dead on the tracks. Right in front of my house. It's still here. Probably be here all day.

Ok.. They only stop these things when something bad happens. So my thoughts immediately focus on my daughter who was out last night as well. Kalie is an awesome driver, but I am her dad, and this is dangerous stretch of highway.. not Freeway! So I get an ill feeling anytime I even see the traffic slow down. I will never stop worrying about her. Cars are freaking dangerous. Especially in the rain.

Anyway I get closer and finally I can see a white suv facing south, pretty well crumpled up, and stuck to the southbound Pacific Surfliner 768. First train of the day I think. There are several CHP on the scene, and some fire, but no ambulance. This all must have just happened as there was hardly any traffic backed up, and I made the turn into La Conchita with no problem. I pulled in the driveway, grabbed my camera and went down to take some shots. Feeling kind of guilty, or unsettled, or something, since I despise bad news, and the news in general, but like I said this is right in front of my house. Passengers are looking right at me in my fish bowl windows while I type this one out.

Well there are a few neighbors gathered around and the best information I have is this. The guy lost control of his vehicle, flipped and rolled, then flew off the highway and landed backwards on the train track. I don't know how long he sat there, not long is my guess, but he was promptly hit by the train. The train came to a stop basically right in front of my house, and according to witnesses, the driver got out of the vehicle walked north about 4 train cars and died right in front of my house. On the tracks in front of my house. Gnarly.. Send yours prayers and blessings to his family.. and drive carefully!

Ok.. The train just pulled away and some new information came of it. Judging by the debris on the track, it looks like the vehicle was hit about 20 yards north of my house and was pushed about not more than 150-200 yards. I don't know how fast a train going 60 miles an hour can stop? I don't think that fast. It must have seen the vehicle and made an attempt to slow down. Just a guess. That means the driver may have gotten out before he was hit by the train. All just speculation on my part..

Tuesday Afternoon Glass

The greatest thing about this winter has been the "in-between swell days" I surfed Indicator on this particular morning. Only a handful of guys out a 9:00 am. Plenty of chest and head high waves with more than a few sets going over "my" head. The crowd filled in a bit but, never even got to a what I would call a "stage 1 alert" By the way.. One of you guys might have got a nice water shot of me on my last wave. Light Blue.. Andrieni Hull.. Kind of balding.. but only if you shoot me from the shore. Well if you are out there? Please post. In any case it's great how one good session can change your outlook on life. At least for a while.

I was in such a good mood I decided to go down and shoot some afternoon glass. This was my first chance to try out my new Slik Pro Pdo 381CF "The CF stands for "carbon fiber" and when ever I can afford "carbon fiber" I buy it - $99.99 @ Samys Camera" I found myself a nice rock just a bit south of the Rivermouth, at a section I think Bobby Martinez once called the slingshot. I call it the section where you need to be going really, really fast, if you have any plans to go all the way to the Call Box.

Well I wish I knew everyone's names but I don't. Sorry. Local Shaper Wayne Rich was in the cove. Tom Curren's kids were out and ripping again. I had a some really good shots of his youngest kid?? see I don't even know his name. Unfortunately that stupid $1200 lens focused in on some rocks for the whole wave. A lot of other rippers out.. names.. sorry. Even the girl from Esau's whose name I do know, I have blanked on. So if you recognize yourself, or anyone else let me know. I will write it down this time. Thanks!



The MonoPod review. Very light weight. No problem there. It felt kind of awkward at first but I think some of my shots did come out a bit crisper. I still had to fix the horizon on nearly every shot, but there was an definite improvement in that area. I was shooting kind of low to the ground, so I did end up with a number of out of focus shots. Didn't have that kind of problem when I was a hand held wannabe. But I did get some really crisp pictures of rocks.. Overall I enjoyed it and will use it again. Two Thumbs up! Wait! It almost fell over.. I guess one thumb up then.. Maybe I could think about a tripod someday...

3:00 AM.. An El Cap Story.

Woke up at 3:00 am today. Not good. I can't really sleep anymore. If I make it to 5:00 it's a miracle. I am frozen in fear, time, indecision, something.. I really can't fathom having to start over again.. and maybe we don't have to. But maybe I should. Jeez.. this is some bad writing. It has been a bad week I guess. Business is bad. This separation seems bad. My decision making is bad. I am getting a bad headache just sitting here.. or is it the just wine. Oh yeah the drinking.. Bad.


I am trying to recall the week but, it just seems bad. It's true, there was some surf. 4 sessions to be exact. (I know what you are thinking.. I should get out more.. But that's the average) Unfortunately.. Most of the joy has been yanked out of that. It is true that while in the act of riding a wave, I can still manage a peaceful zen like state. Or depending on the size and shape of the wave, and taking into account my positioning, and or probability of making the wave, I may even achieve the state of, Oh shit! Why did I take off on this! Even missing the first wave of the set, turning around, only to see the 4 more bigger waves bearing down on your position is better than all the crap I have going on in my head today. But as soon as you kick out, or pop back up to the surface, your reality smacks you right in the head.

Not a care in the world for this guy..

I might point out that these acts of blissful unawareness are short. 5, 10, 15, 2, seconds? Even a 200 yard ride from Indicator lefts past the Rivermouth might only be 25 seconds at best? I don't even know. Luckily time slows down out there. You can almost make it stop in the barrel. Still. Whats a good session? 20, 30, waves.. That's probably high but, I have been catching a lot of waves. 10 waves an hour would seem like a pretty good return on your investment. Lets say at Rincon where most of the waves are pretty long you net an average of 10, 12 second rides. That's one hundred and twenty seconds of actual "zen like peace" 2 minutes of bliss for an hour. Maybe some dolphins show up and catch a few, or it's big and consistent and you are constantly dodging the bigger sets. I will add another 10 minutes of distraction for that. Almost 15 minutes of blissful ignorance. They were right. It is a complete waste of time. They say that about golf and fishing too. But still a surf that was only 50% satisfying, will still be 50% more satisfying than doing nothing.. I guess.

This might not be bliss, but it is certainly a distraction.

I certainly don't know where I am going with this but, yes, I am in a depressive cycle. Brought on from one or more new difficult situations I am currently mishandling or over reacting to.. Don't worry. I have many years of experience at this depression stuff, and have found some ways to cope. Now.. I am going to get serious here in case anyone who actually reads this finds themselves spiraling down.. Like me.

1)Go outside and take a walk. Luckily I have my dog Riley. So there is no way he is giving up his morning walk no matter how sorry I feel for myself. If you don't have a dog, go adopt one.. maybe.

2)Keep doing the things you enjoy even though joy seems to have been sucked out of them. There's that bumper sticker "A bad day of surfing beats a good day of work" It's kind of like that. It can be hard to sit out there on a slow day and think about your ills but, in the end you will glad you did. I noticed they have those bumper stickers for golf, and fishing too. So I guess, if you don't surf, golf, or fish... well... hmm.. God be with you..

3)I came up with this one. "Be nice to strangers" You know despite the fact we live in a world where most of us hardly know the neighbors. I have found most people to be pretty cool. This method worked great during what I guess you could our 6 month trial separation.(April-October) I will definitely be using it again now that we have entered our official separation. Having a dog works great for this too. Ceta, Feta, Missy, all had great owners to talk too. The old couple sharing coffee at Bates every morning. Supermarket Checkout People. I guess it make me feel I am not alone.

4) Write a song. Write 2 songs. Write 10. Make them so sad. Sing then so loud that it makes you cry. Ok.. That probably won't help but.. How do you think all these songs get written?

A view to die for..

Those are a few things that help me out, but still today, the my universe is off balance. The moral of the story is this. Out of the 4 surf sessions this week.. Monday really sucked, the waves were good. Still going overhead but, because I was hungover from Valentines Day and couldn't even stay in the water, I felt like throwing up. That Monday ended up being a complete "my life is falling apart day" Glad it is over. There was a nice uncrowded "in between swells" day at Indicator which was fun but, I still had a lot of distractions going on in my head. Saturday.. Decent size swell at the pier. No hangover but just not really feeling it. I did get caught inside many time so that's something. A cleansing if you will..

Yesterday (yes rainy and super windy) I had a craving to catch El Cap again. The buoys looked semi promising but, the drive up was looking pretty grim. Cove.. not too big, Sharks.. not even anyone out. Hey, ya know what! It turned out to be pretty good with some head high waves rolling through, and probably the least crowded I have surfed the place. Being the magical place that it is, all my troubles were erased for the entire session. But they're back.. Point being.. who knows? Maybe if I hadn't surfed those other days I wouldn't have gone yesterday. Maybe there is no point.. Sorry.

IT'S COMPLICATED

I doubt anyone noticed but, I had to change my relationship status from "married" to "it's complicated" this week. After not quite 4 months down here in La Conchita, Jenny, and Julia, moved out. Really after a just couple weeks down here they were already trying to figure how to get back to SB and the Valerio house. Problem is they gave up that house to her sister in law and the guest house is still being rented to UCSB Student, Rose.. Ironically they moved into the trailer. See previous post: FOR SALE - BY OWNER - RINCON SURF PARADISE 2 + 1 $119,000

Now I need to point out. While I have always had a love affair with La Conchita and once tried to talk with no success, Theresa, my first wife, and mother of my children, into a buying a house here. up on Vista del Rincon. (back row but.. that house is still here) That was right before the first big slide. I should say the first big slide reported on by the current mass media. Another deadly slide took place about a quarter mile north of here in 1909 killing 6 people. According to Shamin? Shaman? Shamin is a 35 year resident of La Conchita and has this to add to the 1909 slide. Another 75 Chinese railroad workers not mentioned were also killed in this slide. After losing his house in the 2005 Slide he set up camp on the beach right across the freeway from the 1909 slide. Nice place. Had a stage and everything. Unlike the 2005 slide the bodies were never removed and their spirits are heard from frequently down that way... I haven't quite figured out if Shamin, is actually Shaman, but talking to him sometimes I get the feeling he is "The Shaman" Either way he's a super nice guy and one of the many people who have made me feel quite at home here in the LC. Anyway.. The place has been sliding throughout time. They say these are the fastest growing coastal mountains in the World, United States, California, well I forget.




Back to the point I was trying make in that last paragraph. That is.. It was Jenny who became obsessed with moving to La Conchita over the summer. I have no idea what possessed her but she would not leave the idea alone. To the point we were looking at buying houses here in the late summer (I have to point out we were not even living together at the time) Always the voice of reason I tried to point out the obvious.

1. Some people think it's crazy to live in an area prone to mudslides. I say it's crazy to even get up in the morning. Cars accidents, Black Mold, H1N1, Fires, Floods, Snowstorms, I'll take my chances here. At least on the front row.

2. It's like an island here. The old gas station/store has been closed since the owner committed suicide a few years back, so you can't even go grab beer, ice cream, or a Rincon burger. You need to go to the town.. just north of here if you follow my blog. If you don't drive you are pretty much stuck. Not the greatest set up for my 14 year step daughter Julia. But you can ride your bike to town on the freeway, or walk to the cliffhouse for a delicious lunch. Note: Someone looks to be reopening the Gas Station so.. that will be sweet!

3. Drugs.. Fuck that. There are drugs everywhere. There is the fact that we are on an island, and if you don't surf, like taking long walks on uncrowded beaches, fish, and collect Rincon Creek bricks. There is not much to do. Drugs could be an option. Of course a lot of kids seem bored these days no matter where they live. I guess there was a big pot bust here last week.. But pot come on.

4.1 The Freeway: This is the big one! It poses all sorts of problems here. First and foremost is the left turns against oncoming traffic. Vehicles small, large, and huge, are hurtling themselves at 75 mph on one of the busiest freeways in the world. I saw my first accident about a week ago. No local residents were involved but a truck apparently did some fancy air maneuvers eventually landing on its side. I heard no one was seriously hurt. This would be a good time to point out that THIS IS NOT A TECHNICALLY A FREEWAY. Yes kids.. About a 1/2 mile before Mussel Shoals to the south. And just as you pass Rincon from the north. You are not on the freeway anymore. There is busy cross traffic at two intersections, bikes, pedestrians, and cars parked along the road.

4.2 On any given Saturday or Sunday during the summer with everyone, I mean everyone heading to Santa Barbara, you would have an easier time walking across the top of cars than actually making the left turn. All that said. it's a matter of timing. Learning to time the speed of oncoming cars and what's makeable, learning the best time to leave, not caring about the time you will lose by going continuing south to the Sea Cliff off ramp and turning around. Or heading north to the u-turn or Bates Rd if you need to go south. If you have been drinking.. take the long way home!!!

4.3 Then there's getting to the beach. That's easy you just have to be flexible. The tunnel is only about 4' tall..

4.4 Oh yeah. It's loud and runs nonstop.. Till about 2am. Of course.. I can see Rincon from bed and it's about 2 minutes away on this same freeway..



So.. This wasn't really working out for Jenny... or Julia.. and now they are gone. To be fair. It's not just La Conchita, we just can't seem to live together. Too much fighting. Too much fighting over the exact same thing over, and over, and over again. Money (she makes twice as much as me, nearly 3 times. We use to have a joint account. Now everything is separate. And I am paying for half of everything. Cool.. now we can fight over who ate whose last avocado, grapefruit, turkey, whatever. That is dysfunctional and just plain lame. They sell freakin' Avocados 10 for a dollar just down the street. That's not counting the locals discount. ha.. My grapefruits’ on the other hand were like a buck each! That's something to complain about. lol..

We haven't been on a nice trip together since last May and then she takes off to go see friends in Hawaii with Julia. No big deal. I don't have that kind of money. That's why I try to live someplace where I can vacation year round from the comfort of my own home. This place is like a paradise we could enjoy ourselves right here. Christ I can see the place we were married from my bedroom balcony. But still.. We really need to try and get away, sorry trips to Mammoth don't count! My love language is sharing quality time. And to be honest my love tank is bone dry. Shot full of holes and leaking. I know her's is too.. But I gues I don't know how to fill it. If it's not money, it's the kids, or the fact that I choose not to work as much. It is hard to have a step family period. There is so much more but.. I think we still love each other. well.. hmm.. I don't know.. It's complicated..

"they say you got to choose your side.. and when it's done. nobody right.. nobody wrong"

Eppic Surf

Eppic Surf Session: La Conchito Escondio... January 21th, 2010

Right smack dab in the middle of La Conchita

Well. Well.. Well... It has been some time since I wrote anything here. Perhaps there is just too much going on in my life, Maybe there is not enough. Maybe "too much is not enough" Maybe I was getting too self conscious with so many relatives, friends, wives, kids, reading this that I couldn't let the words flow. Well here is something new. Maybe I will write more. Maybe this it, I am just up way too early with nothing to do, nervous about the move, and how heavy everything is. Why do they make that furniture sooo heavy? Anyway...



Today I am moving to La Conchita ( just south of here if you are following the blog) I know what you are saying. "Didn't you move to Santa Barbara (About 15 minutes North of La Conchita) a little over two years ago to live with your beautiful wife Jenny" As seen in the my last post "POST 48" Yes that is true but.. I moved out about 6 months ago back to the trailer in Carp (Yes.. Just North of La Conchita) as seen in the previous post "FOR SALE - BY OWNER - RINCON SURF PARADISE 2 + 1 $119,000" Maybe I will go into the detail of that move some other time but, in the end it all comes down to money! Of course there is the fact that I am difficult, Sara is difficult, Jenny is impaitent, Julia like to get in the middle, and Kalie keeps it too herself...



Anyway living separatly was going nowhere fast (never was a official separation, just living separately) Yeah right! Ever try to date your own wife? At first it seemed like it had some potential. And there was the Big Sur trip, then up to SF for the Oyster Festival with SpearHead and Poor Man's Whiskey for my birthday. Jenny does the best birthdays =) That led to the Poor Man's Whiskey Rafting trip on the American River. So really maybe "we stand a chance" Really.. I just assume be married and live together. So we are moving to La Conchita, the Little SeaShell, or Punta as the maps call it. Nearby Punta Gorda has some great surf I hear. Of course out my bedroom window I have a full view of the Queen of the Coast. From the tip of Indicator all the way into the Cove. Please don't call me. I will just tell you "you should been here yesterday"

Hmmm.. Maybe this will work.. Maybe my next post will be "FOR SALE - BY OWNER - RINCON SURF PARADISE 2 + 1 $99,000"

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..

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FreeSurfReport

THE SUMMER OF '76 - BAHNE 30"

I am remember this clearly... for the most part. I was up on a family vacation in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Duel purpose trip actually. Little bit of the summer vacation but, more importantly we had just bought the family condo. Here, check out the condo cam for a live update...
By the way. The kids and I, as well as Jenny, and Julia are heading there this Saturday, to spend Christmas in the snow.. I get mixed feelings from people on this one. On one hand... Hey! I want my own new traditions. On the other hand, my Parents, Grandma, and all others involved seem to have their own traditions, which usually involve heading to my Mom's in the morning for gifts, Locks & Bagels, then on to Grandma Kathy's for the BEST MACARONI IN THE WORLD.. I am not kidding, it's the best. Not to mention my beautiful girlfriend, Jenny, and her family traditions. Ok.. I am getting way off track here but bare with me, and quite possibly I will be able to "loop back" ( my new writing term learned from Allan C Weisbecker, my new writing guru) I guess "looping" is highly frowned upon by "idiot editors" and other people in publishing, that "don't actually do any writing" I may loop back to Allan's new book, "Can't you get along with anyone?" but hopefully not in this blog which has gone uncontrollably off the rails. This of course would be a double loop back, which is best reserve for roller coasters, and not early morning blogs.

Looping back to Christmas, and then on with the story, I swear… We are living in the most perfect location in So Cal, if not the world, most of the year so... I want to go to the snow for Christmas. That is simple enough. Although, with the advent of the new Driftwood Christmas Trees, and the likely Christmas Swell… I will stay around next year. (That was almost going in the direction of a triple loop, and it is only 8:30 in the morning) Why Mammoth? The kids don't get off all the time for school these days to go skiing, like I used too so.. Got to hit it for the holidays.. Ok now, here we go..

Back to the summer of '76. The big bi-centennial. Despite the mass genocide we perpetuated on the Native Americans, and recent Vietnam war, not too many people wanted us dead. It was a good 200 years.. The US was a pretty cool place, and quite possibly worth celebrating. So comes the Mammoth Lakes, 4th of July Parade, down Main St.. Starting up at Whiskey Creek, moving on down the slight incline on Main, pass the little hole in the wall ski shop known as The Cornice. (RIP) Then on past Andersen’s Pea Soup Restaurant. (RIP) Yes! Hap Pea & Pea Wee, both lived in Mammoth at one time serving up the finest split pee soup known to man. Oh well, that's gone too. So is the one in Carlsbad, and possibly to one way up north on Interstate 5. Well if you do happen to visit Andersen’s in Buellton. Take a look at the place mats and you will see Mammoth Lakes clearly on the road map. (Don’t forget to head over to the Hitching Post for dinner and a bottle of the Corkdancer, or Highliner, Pinot Noir’s , quite good, and made famous in the movie Sideways) I won’t be looping back to Buellton anytime soon, so this is more of a “Sideways Note”

The parade continued on past Safeway, now Von's, and in a different location all together, and was replace by Thrifty's which as you may know is now Rite Aid. What's this have to do with skateboarding? Good Question.. We sat somewhere in-between Whiskey Creek, and Andersen’s Pee Soup, on the right side on the road for the up- coming parade. Basically it was going like any small town parade . Some floats, mayors, city council, maybe the McCoy’s, the fire dept, ya know... Wait. What's this? Some early skateboard team ( Possibly Hobie, but definitely a team, noted by the matching uniforms... gag) I was a 14 year old, sheltered valley kid, and had never seen anything so cool... My life plans took a direct hit that day, and no longer did it seem I was going to become a wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams. This was it. I checked out a small contest they threw in the Cornice parking lot, then went into the Cornice Sports Shop and just drooled over this 30" Bahne they had on display. I had to have that board! Well, my folks didn't see it that way, and it took some time but eventually I was able to procure one from my future arch nemesis, Val Surf... They were after all, the Skateboard Capital of the World. It's was weeks later, but finally, I had in my hands... A Bahne 30" Fiberglass deck, complete with Chicago Trucks, and Cadillac Wheels, just like this one…



This board looked great in the store but, no kicktail, and not really what I was after I think. So I took it to Big Bear with my friend Kenny, who also witnessed the Mammoth Skate Demo, and his folks, Ken & Kitsy, who was fortunately a nurse, for some high speed downhilling.. more on that later...

Note: Since I am now blogging in three locations... I have decided to make this my main blog in which I will repost any other blogs, I might be doing over at the Green Sector Underground, or donjayne music, or anywhere else... Thanks!

More notes and numbers.. I have just past 500 feedback points for RinconRaxWorks. Since only about 50% of the people leave feedback that's not easy. Today as I write this I am at 509 positive feedback points... 100% Positive. See this eBay thing is a piece 'o cake compare to having a store. I guess thats the worry. Also "Reckless Love" has now surpassed 300 Plays, which is definitely, a gold record I think! haha

Happy Holidays to all and have fun. "There is much to think about but, nothing to worry about" - Sara Jayne

OVER HERE... LOOK! - ANOTHER BLOG

I had a visit from Mr Sean Cliver, last Friday, to shoot some photo's for another book he's working on. I am quite sure most of you are unaware who Sean is, so check out his site right now. disposable - the book..

At any rate, I have been wanting to put my own collection up on the web ever since the shop closed and my collection ended up tucked away in my closet, or worse, sold off for cash. ouch! So... this was the perfect time to, shoot along with Sean while everything was out. Skateboards that is. Most of my Snowboards are locked in a shed, I have lost the key for. It's just one of those weeks. Oh well.. I did manage to shoot most of my skates and they are now posted here. the greensector... underground... Sorry Trav, for stepping on your name but... we are underground.. and you can't find us! btw.. The Green Sector Underground, was the original name for the swap meet biz which lasted two weeks before my head exploded from all the success! This would also be a good time to credit Mr. Vince Kitchen, for pulling that name, Green Sector 27, out of thin air... More on that some day. Something about.. Red Sector A! Santa Cruz and fungus...


Well... I have grand delusions of re-releasing some of the old t-shirts and stuff, and hopefully reconnecting with a lot of the old friends & customers, from the halcyon days of my retail carreer, I loved so much, sometimes.. Ha. If nothing else this is where you can now publicly view, the Green Sector Skate, Snow, and Surf Museum. Plus you don't miss the my new blog detailing one misguided boy's journey from, bright starry eyed 8 year old, with a Hobie Super Surfer and a skinned knee, to highly successful yuppie snowboard shop guy, to surfing recluse, ensconced in an aluminum trailer, about 2 minutes from the Queen of the Coast, with a beautiful woman 15 minutes to the north, and two beautiful daugthers a half hour to the south. No wonder all the oil blew out the back of my van. Criky!! From the east to the west. to the north and south. Oh crap, this going to take awhile..

A long, long, time ago... My Grampa Bob had this really cool Hobie Super Surfer hanging up on the wall in his garage. I couldn't help but notice it. He was a carpenter and had ton's of woodworking equipment in the garage. This board is still in my collection. It's missing the sticker, and the Super Surfer Wheels but, If you look closely, you can see the hole he drilled in there to hang it on the wall... But he didn't build this. This was something else. Something very cool, I thought. I was probably in second or third grade, making me... Hmmm about 8, I guess.

VANARU UPDATE???

Well... I guess I should update you a bit on the Subie 2.2 Conversion... It is faster! Much faster!! It is fun to drive... more funner.. ha... It acts and feel like a normal car, and it even get a bit better gas mileage. All of the oil came out yesterday, and spewed all over the back end of the van... Waaahahhaaa. I should end this blog right now, here, before I cry, but no... I am going on. I don't know what happened yet, and almost don't want to hear. I can only hope it has something to do with the oil pump they resealed a couple weeks ago.

When I signed up for this deal.. I was under the impression that these were used engines that Seth at Mastercraft, took apart, looked at, said there's nothing to fix here, and closed them up. Actually, what he said was... The engines they have been rebuilding, have looked really good inside, and we can throw one of these used ones in with for "X" amount of money, and thats - how I can do this conversion for "X" amount of money. Well... that is still sounding pretty good to me. Because these subie engines are pretty reliable, and you can get three low mileage engines for the price of one rebuild. About 45,000 miles according to Seth... Not to mention, the first used one they put in for someone else, has been rolling along great I understand. Ok... That's all I can say about it for now.

I did enjoy a nice little trip out to Jalama a couple weeks ago, the heater was still malfunctioning at that point, but the engine was running well. It was great to go back there, and we are heading there this weekend for Sara's 14th Birthday, and some Jalama Burgers. We may have to take Jenny's, stand by Westy... but it is all good! Btw... I now know how Jalama's premier surf spot, Tarantula's, got it's name, and it not the fact that it gets big, hairy, and has sharp fangs...

SAYING GOODBYE TO THE WASSER BOXER...

Yesterday was the day. I have made the decision to go with the Subaru's Legacy 2.2 Liter Engine, in my beloved Syncro Westy. Seth down at H&R on Haley, now Mastercraft Motors, will be doing the work. Seth has been working on both my vans for years, is the best, most honest mechanic I have ever known, and the preeminent Subaru Conversion Specialist in the country... Sunday afternoon, the alternator went down. No biggie, unless your engine is on the way out, and you are thinking, conversion! I called too see how much for alternator and, Seth made me an offer on Subie, I couldn't refuse. I feel a little torn by parting with the old German Wasser Boxer engine, in favor of the more polished construction of the Japanese 2.2 Liter Boxer, by Subaru. My WBX has lasted a remarkable 180,000+ miles, and was not really done yet. Most recently it was the alternator. It seemed set to go another 10,000 or more but was showing signs. More leaks, Loss of Power, Loudy, loudy, Louder!!! So before I threw more money to the beast and it's impending doom, something jogged free in my head, and I had a sudden peace come over me, and knew this was the time...

180,000 is quite a long run for the 2.1 WBX. My former Westy was out at 132,000, Which seems quite a popular number. Jenny's, a 1985 with the 1.9 WBX was out at 162,000. So anyway I was quite proud of the my WBX. (Hey this one didn't even have Vanagon Syndrome) Well.. it just made it's final trip/ adventure up to Grass Valley, down an extremely hot Highway 49 through Gold Country, out to Yosemite before heading over Tioga Pass. The highest route over the sierra's before ending in Mammoth. It got us where we needed to go. Ah yes.. Quite slowly some times, in second gear to be sure. See Kalie’s Sweet Sixteen Blog for more on that trip. This really wasn't an easy decision to make because... I really like VW's!

There are lots of options out there for the under powered 6000 lb beast. VW's Syncro Transporter with Westfalia full Camper Conversion. Here' would be a good time to mention. This is not just a camper. It's my daily driver. Despite living only 2 miles from Rincon, it seems I drive a million miles a year. Kids in Oxnard, Jenny in SB, a few trips a years, and I easily do 20,000 miles a year... Well, there a lot of choices, to be sure, on the conversions. But, really there were only three I was thinking about.

1. The VW 2.0 TDI


2. The Subaru 2.2 Legacy


3. Another 2.1 WBX

Well... the TDI is my dream engine. It's German and stays in the VW family. I like the higher miles per gallon, better torque, the possibility of running veggie oil. I don't know much else because I have never really seen one. Or heard it run... Louder.. Loudy… Loudy? Well anyway,it's expensive, realitivly speaking, and the cleanest work on those seems to be coming from David Marshall's Fast Forward Shop, out of Vancouver BC, I think. I am not sure I could even have made it that far. Ok I don't have that kind of money anyway... Not to mention possible the Smog Hassle with CARB. (California Air Regulatory Board or something like that) I have heard everything from, You can't put a diesel in a gas power vehicle in California at all. Period. To.. lot's of hassle and paperwork. Yet... I have also heard it's as simple has filling out a "change of motive" form at the DMV stating this vehicle now runs on diesel.

As far as getting a new WBX. I was pretty certain this was the way to go for me. I am not too worried about speed. The WBX does fine on flat roads and downhill. Mine actually used to pull the San Marcos Pass at 50 mph, which is not bad. It pulled grapevine about the same. Anything steeper though and you were shifting between 2nd and 3rd way more than necessary.. It even seemed fine off-road with the low granny gear I thought hey, not to shabby! Possibly a new WBX by Go Westy, in Los Osos, who seem to be making some great engines, from the original WBX but… The best of those, are also pricey and worse, require premium gasoline, Ouch. Oh come on the Wbx... it is really slow, and I could use a little extra power off-road for sure...

Ok... Why the Subie. Well... Like I said, Seth, has been my mechanic since I had the 2wd Westy, and started dreaming of owning a Syncro. He always had a few in the shop, and I was awestruck by how such an ingenious vehicle could ever me made. Four wheel drive, Air lock Differential, These things can do some fairly serious wheeling, in you don't tip them over. .. When you get there. Pop the top, crack open, an ice cold beer out of the frig, hahe, and whip up some dinner. Take a nap, go to sleep, whatever. You can't beat them, they are the best vehicle ever made, and I am never selling mine. They turn on the dime, are fun to drive, carry just about anything you would ever want, and you can whip up some tea, at a moments notice. Not to mention. It is a great daily driver, and far cooler the those freakin, mini vans. Hehahe.. But, why the Subie… I will let Seth explain

Seth Hatfield on the Subaru Conversion

Here it is... Looks better than factory.
Click on it, to check out Seth's Shop!

There are about eight million more viewpoints, counterpoints, and pointless ramble out there... Get on the Yahoo Syncro list, and you will see what in mean, it is definitely ,a very sensitive issue. And I don't think there is a definitive answer really. But, hey Seth is my mechanic... He has people coming in from all over the country to get the Subie Conversion. Man, I am right down the road. Subie! That is my final answer. Take this thing to Mastercraft Motors on Haley…

On a side note… It’s not by coincidence, I just put some very expensive Vintage Skateboards up on eBay. With some more to follow… Maybe some Snow Stuff too.

RinconRaxWorks