Waiting Game

I don't have a whole lotta patience. I suppose it's a problem. Ten minutes into a movie and I'm outta my seat searching the fridge for food, or cleaning out our hallway closet. I can't seem to sit still. So as you might imagine, I suck at waiting for waves. Take last Sunday for instance. It wasn't working when we arrived, but you could tell that it wanted to. You just have to be willing to wait. But after standing outside for what felt like forever, I climbed back into the van, ate an apple and tried to take it easy. Goddamn if I ain't impatient! Fast forward five minutes and I'm pulling on my Patagucci and paddling out. Was one, maybe two foot tops. But we found a few fun ones - the wife, the walrus and I. Maybe it would've been better if we had waited awhile. Maybe just a few more minutes. But minutes ain't really my thing, man!

Ponzanelli & Calvani

First part of a short film that highlights the rather unlikely relationship between Bing Surfboards owner and shaper, Matt Calvani, and Alessandro Ponzanelli, an up-and-coming Italian logger.

Worth One Wave

Sometimes you have to ask yourself, is all this worth one wave? The wool lined wetsuit, the seven-mil boots and the lobster claw gloves. The rain and the wind and cold water. Is all of that worth a wave? Because you never really know what you're going to get. Maybe it looks good when you get there. Maybe the wind isn't working. Maybe the tide is on it's way out and the intervals are pretty alright. But then you paddle out, and the wind comes from the west and the sets shorten up and you stay outside to avoid getting cleaned up. That entire time you have to keep reminding yourself that it'll be worth it. That one wave, when you get it, will make everything alright.

And so it went this weekend. Only the wind was working in our favor - it was offshore all afternoon - and the waves were alright. Head high when we first went out. Decreasing in size throughout the day. I surfed a pig, ten foot and feral. Big bottom turns to tight spots and toes toward the nose. Switched sticks with my wife and surfed her Silverspoon. She struggled with the wind but found a few. When we called it quits the tide was on its way out. We headed into town for some supper, pretty good pizza, then back to the beach before the sun set. A few beers in the back of the van. Rain on the rooftop. Can't complain.

Summer of the Cat

Sixties style short film from our friends at Gato Heroi that highlights a handful of their boards, as well as a summer full of small surf. Featuring Robin Kegel, Cody Simpkins, Tyler Warren and Alex Knost.

Whole Larder Love

My friend Rohan wrote a book. A cook book. A grow it, gather it, kill it and then cook it kinda book. You see, Rohan lives in Australia, a place seemingly unaffected by the Nancy Drewness that has overcome a great deal of this country. So he grows his own goods, fishes for his own fish, shoots stuff with his shotgun and then cooks it all at home for his family to feast on. It's simple, really. But I suppose that's the idea behind the book. Simple recipes, seasonal stuff, locally sourced.

Rohan also runs a blog, from which his cookbook takes its title. On it, Rohan documents his cooking, hunting, fishing and harvesting, as well as his life on a small spot of land in the southeastern part of AUS. I bought his book for my wife, who, although unable to both kill and cook much of what we eat, seemed to appreciate the simple culinary style that Rohan writes about in his book and on his blog.

Click here to learn more about the book.

Autumn Evening

Mikey DeTemple surfing a 7'5" Christenson Flat Tracker somewhere along the Central Atlantic coast.

Fickleness

Fall is fickle. You never know what you're going to get. Rain or shine, wind or waves. Maybe some kinda combination. Really makes you appreciate all them good days. When you drive from spot to spot in search of swell and stumble onto something - like waves and nota whole lotta wind. It just makes it that much better. We weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into last weekend, but we knew we had to give it a go. Shortly after we settled on a spot a squall rolled in. Joe and Karissa climbed into the van and we started to watch Cycle Savages. But I'll be damned if the sun didn't show up. And the wind went away. So we suited up and surfed until five or six. Then headed to the Bushwhacker for a beer.

Total Enjoyment

"Surfing has been my life. It’s all I've done. It really doesn't matter how big or small the waves are. When you are out there surfing you are really competing with yourself. Let’s say you are in a bad mood and you go out surfing, you catch one good wave and it makes your whole day – heck, it makes your whole week. Surfing is just there for total enjoyment. It gives you peace of mind. Physically it’s good and mentally it keeps you focused. For example, if you are bothered by something and you go surfing – it’s a release. You can forget about everything. It’s just very, very enjoyable."

- Donald Takayama

Click here to read Glenn Sakamoto's interview in its entirety.

The Greaser

Short bit of film featuring Matt "The Greaser" Chojnacki, courtesy of our friends at Deus Ex Machina.

The Baddest Man Alive

What I've been listening to lately...

Stoke Harvester Stimulation: F/W

Looks like there’s all kinds of new stuff on Stoke Harvester. Topo Designs, Almond Surfboards, Patagonia apparel, The Surfer's Bible and a few new fins. Anyhow, after browsing around a bit I put together this lil’ collection of some of my favorite stuff. Click here to see what's new this winter.

Farewell to Summer

Mikey DeTemple and Kassia Meador bid farewell to the warm summer waves at Montauk, on Long Island's northeastern most seaboard. Brought to you by The Endless Bummer.

Cervantes Down South

Aaron 'King Rat' Cervantes surfing somewhere south of the border on a 9'7" Aquatic Almond.

Hunger For It

"As you grow up, get mortgages and children, other things take its place. But that’s good because it makes you hungry. I am always keen to hit the water because I don’t over saturate. I never fulfill that desire to go surfing. I’ve always got a hunger for it. It’s the greatest physical pastime you can have. It’s like playing chess with the ocean, you are interacting with this incredible force of nature. You’re playing a game with it and it usually wins. But on smaller days you might get a win.”

- Bob McTavish

SLIDEtracked

Short bit of film featuring Kameron Brown, JJ Wessels, Tegan Gainan and Justin Quintal.

Man Pants

My friend Pete sent me a pair of pants. Man pants. He said they might be a bit big, but that I should wash and dry them in warm water before I made up my mind. They're baby shit brown, cut from some kind of canvas and narrow from the knee down. I've had them for a few months now and wear them every weekend. They're warm - real warm - and tough as all shit. Oh, and they're one of only twelve pairs ever made. Apparently they were having some issues with shrinkage ;) So to say they're unique is an understatement. An odd pair of pants for an odd fellow, I suppose.

Sunset Session

Jared Mell. Surfing Blackies at sunset. Sometime last Spring. Brought to you by Taylor Bonin.

Punked City Cruiser

I like all sorts of skateboards. Long ones, short ones, old ones, weird ones. Anything, really. Unfortunately, however, I'm not all that good at this activity. I mean, I can push my self along pretty alright, carve down a hill in the dark, or negotiate the shit-show that is Alki on a sunny summer day, but I can't kick-flip the fucking thing, or skate a bowl, or slide down something steep. When I was younger, maybe middle school, I was all about skateboarding. World Industries, Independent, all of that. I had decks and trucks and shoes and Jenco jeans with big silly pockets and stickers - so many stickers - but I couldn't skate. At least not the way I wanted to.

Know When To Say No

Sometimes I don't know when to say no. When to stay in the city. When I should find something else to do with my weekend. Because when the wind is working from the west, and the swell is separated by just a few seconds, that's when most people postpone their plans. An opportunity to explore other opportunities. But I had hope. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. And why not spend my Saturday by the sea? So around five on Friday, we put a few things in Fargo, fueled up and headed for the ferry.

Duct Tape Invitational

Fantastic footage from Joel Tudor's 'Duct Tape Invitational' at La Côtes des Basques in Biarritz, France.

For The Fall

We had one hell of a dry streak, didn't we! Like thirteen weeks with less than an inch of rain. Salty Sunshine, Batman! Sounds like that's all about to stop, though. Rain is right around the corner. And wind. Gusts up to 43 mph?! Goddamnit. It was a welcome reprieve, those first few weeks of Augtober. But now we've gotta get ready. For dwindling daylight and frosty front windows. For cold mornings and hot cups of coffee. For puffy coats and wool socks and dark beer. For short sessions and plenty of time spent standing around a fire trying to stay warm. For better waves and worse weather. For the Fall.

Pinwheel

I'm pretty sure I want a pintail. Something smaller. Not as long as the rest of my logs. And maybe a bit more responsive. Something that'll be fast along the face. For the Fall, when the waves finally wake up. After a couple of internet queries I came up with this - the Pinwheel. It's an Almond that was only available overseas, but has since been brought stateside.

It's narrower than the rest of their current collection and comes standard with either a single fin box or a glassed on Pin Fin. Featuring down-rails in the rear and a pointy pintail, this Almond is "a favorite for lighter-weight surfers and those looking to get a little more responsiveness out of their turns." Well, I'm definitely a lightweight and could use a board that moves about a little better. And I really like the way it looks. So I suppose I should add this to my #wishlist.

Experimental Shape

Mick Rodgers and some sorta experimental surfboard made by Matt Calvani (via Bing Surfboards).

La Poel

Coming back from the coast, Karissa and I stopped at the La Poel picnic area on the south side of Lake Crescent. Once home to the La Poel Resort - which included eleven cabins, a store, dining room, tap room, and service station - this lakeside loop is now part of the Olympic National Park and is a perfect place to pull over on your way home from the peninsula.

After finding a place to park Fargo, we walked down to the water to get a better view of both the lake and Mount Storm King. Thanks to the lack of nitrogen in the water (which inhibits the growth of algae), Lake Crescent is exceptionally clear and crystal blue in color. Formed during the last Ice Age, the lake is officially 624 feet deep, but many believe it to be nearly twice that deep.

Chojnacki @ Canggu

Matt Chojnacki getting 'involved' during Deus Ex Machina's '9ft & Single' festival in Canggu, Bali.

An Offshore Investment

Sometimes you have to stay. See what happens. Make an investment and hope that it pays off. Saturday was one of them days. Was offshore all morning, thigh high, with consistent sets coming through. I surfed for six hours, coming ashore just long enough to stick my face in a bag full of ginger granola, unwilling to remove my gloves and grab a handful. It was good. The surf and the snack. Rode my ten foot Feral Pig all afternoon. Plenty of time on the tip. My backside cross-step action needs some assistance, though. All in due time. Sunset was spectacular. A few hot dogs and a campfire before we called it quits.

Hot & Glassy

Cyrus Sutton, on an October afternoon somewhere near San Diego, aboard an Aquatic Almond.

The Quinoa Coast?

I picked the name of this project while eating a piece of peanut butter toast. All that energy was inspiring. Some monounsaturated fat and non-fiction first thing in the morning. Anyhow, I thought I'd let you know what I'm currently consuming around seven a.m., cause this blog could've been called 'The Quinoa Coast' had I started eating these seeds a little sooner!

The Waxhead Diaries

I really dig this dude's surfing style. The way he throws those big ass bottom turns. All hands up over his head. Stoic when he stands on the nose. Some of that sixties shit. Antiquated yet updated. An old soul.

Redington Topo Outfit

I've been interested in fly fishing for quite some time now. Not as a source of sustenance, as I am allergic to all kinds of freshwater fish, but as an activity. A skill that, a lot like surfing, I could acquire, develop and do for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, things like this require equipment. And equipment requires coin. But thanks to an article I found on Outside Online, I know what I'll need to catch a couple of fish.

It's called an outfit. A rod and reel, a few dry flies and 100 yards of fishing line. All of the essentials. And while there are all sorts of outfits out there, the one featured in the article I found online is made by a company called Redington, whose headquarters just so happen to be here in the Pacific Northwest.

Transverse Compliments

As most of you know, I love me some jazz. Almost as much as I like Oreos, or cold coffee. It just goes well with waves. Sorta soothing, you know? Anyhow, you should say fuck work for a few minutes and watch Troy Mothershead makes the most of an early April evening aboard a Gnarnia Noserider.

Art-Culture-History

This Saturday, my friend Todd Fischer, along with renowned surf journalist, Drew Kampion, and a handful of other artists, will display a variety of surf-inspired artwork at the Port Townsend Public Library. The event, which starts at six, will feature surf-related writing and photography, as well as paintings by Jesse Watson, Todd Fischer, Steven Davis, Christian Coxen and Erwin Dence, Jr. So if you're in the area, be sure to stop by and check out what looks to be an interesting event.

Oktoberfest

What a weird weekend. The forecast called for some sizable swell, little to no wind and overcast skies. Expecting it to be ugly out there, Karissa and I parked in P.A. and planned to surf somewhere along the strait and narrow come Saturday. Seemed like everyone was out there this weekend, though. Sorta like the first day of school - a lot of familiar faces, frumpy faces, friends and few new fellas.

We found something fun. Inconsistent and kinda cold, but fun. Fast forward a few hours; standing on the shore trying to decide what to do, we figured it'd be best to pack up and push on. All the way out. With enough time to surf around sunset. I picked a peak and paddled. There were lots of lefts. Surfed the Silver Spoon. Sunday morning got glassy. Four hours with a few friends, a couple of pints at Peaks and then a ferry boat back to the big city.

Tessellate

What I've been listening to lately...