Merry Christmas!

Karissa and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We're headed to Costa Rica in a couple of days, so stay tuned for some sunny shots of us surfing in board shorts and bikinis. Hope you all have a wonderful few weeks. We'll see you on the other side! - Justin W. Coffey

Some Endless Summer

Feast your eyes on the first nine minutes and fourteen seconds of Bruce Brown's Endless Summer (via EOS).

Eddie Bauer's Downlight Jacket

Eddie Bauer has been in the down business since day one. My old man bought one of their Skyliner coats sometime in the 1970's, and has since passed it on to me. It's tough, warm and indispensable at times. But it has seen better days, and so when an opportunity to use and review the latest down layers from our friends at Eddie Bauer presented itself, we jumped.

Karissa opted for the Downlight Linear Hooded Jacket, which features 800-fill Premium Goose Down insulation, a windproof shell made from recycled ripstop polyester and Eddie Bauer's StormRepel durable water-repellent (DWR) finish on the outside. The fit is fantastic. Light enough to put a Cloud Layer Pro Fleece beneath, and yet warm enough that she can wear it in the winter without anything else.

I went with the traditional Downlight Jacket (sans hood), which features the same Premium Goose Down insulation and StormRepel finish as Karissa's coat. One of the few differences we noticed between our two coats, however, were the tall interior pockets on the inside of Karissa's jacket. Aside from that they're essentially the same. An excellent outer layer for those windy winter mornings out west. Oh, and they also work well as a makeshift pillow!

ATHERN

Mark Matisons and Jed Petley mining the mystic mountain. Produced by Peripheral Perceptions.

Cause Costa Rica

Karissa, Chris, Rena and I are headed to Costa Rica in a couple of weeks. Fifteen days of surf, sun, etc. Unable to return to a certain southern surf spot due to circumstances out of our control (read: the government), we settled on a spot in Costa Rica that a friend (and fellow log lover) had suggested. We'll be staying in the northwestern corner of the country, walking distance from a beautiful beach break that offers everything from a soft inside section, to powerful peelers a little further out. And offshore wind... all day, every day. So with just fourteen days to pack and prepare for our adventure, I thought I'd put together another #duds collection featuring a few things I'll be taking to Costa Rica.

Mini Malibu

Short film featuring a few of the boys and girls from Nineplus surfing on a small September day.

Day Trip

Topless trucks, custom-built bikes with surfboard racks on the side and lots of little logging waves?! I'll be damned if this short bit of film (produced by Deus Ex Machina) doesn't make me wanna drop everything and escape to Indonesia. Click here to learn more about the Temple of Enthusiasm.

Wayward

A few months ago my friend Duffy left his home in Seattle and headed south aboard his Harley. What some would call a wayward journey - "difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior" - Duffy's trip was more of an experiment in my mind. Are there still open roads and unexplored areas of America? Can someone still point their wheel in one direction without knowing exactly where they'll end up? Is all that motorcycle shit still magical? And so it went; hundreds of highway miles, skate parks, surf spots, coffee shops, cold beers, friends and family. An excellent adventure. Follow the link and watch three short videos Spacecraft Collective has since produced.

Where is Ol' Uncle Hurricane?

Mark Yaggie and Nick Power riding golden-brown bastards of eastern origin. As seen on Surf-A-Pig.

Twenty and Ten is Ten

Surfing with snow on the sand is pretty rare in these parts. If we're lucky, clouds will accumulate during December and litter the ground with cold little crystals, leaving the city of Seattle and surrounding suburbs frozen for a few days. Snow being such an odd occurrence, city officials and citizens alike are wholly unaware of what to do when the ground is white and the temperature remains a few degrees below freezing. Panic ensues. Car accidents everywhere. People slipping in the middle of the street. There's a run on milk and canned goods at every store in Seattle. People stay inside Starbucks, dreading the commute back to their homes, offices or apartments. It's silly. And so Karissa and I escape. Driving west at the first signs of a freeze. Better to be where there are waves than trapped inside some coffee conglomerate, waiting for it to warm up.

Honestly, though, we weren't sure what to expect this weekend. Cold, yes, but snow on the ground and ice on all the roads?! Shit. We fled on Friday, riding a six something ferry across the Sound. We stayed the night near Port Angeles - a rather cold night I might add - before continuing our search for surf first thing on Saturday. The roads were alright. Icy at times, some snow on the shoulder, but once we rolled onto the reservation the conditions became increasingly worse. Side street were now sheets of ice, and the long gravel road out to the end was covered in a light layer of ice and snow itself. We took our time. Fargo, being but one wheel drive, would not easily escape the ice, if we so happened to get stuck. But alas, we arrived alright. And after surveying the situation, we decided we'd better surf while there was still some sun in the sky.

Cold? Yes. But bearable. With our wool-lined Patagonia wetsuits, lobster claws and 7mm booties, the water was not what we were worried about. It was the offshore wind, blowing anywhere from five to fifteen mph at times. Cold across your face, a frozen, gives-no-fucks kinda cold. I surfed first while Karissa stayed ashore to take a few photos. It didn't last long, though. I was outta the water within the hour, shaking and mumbling my way back to the van. Karissa paddled out while I was taking what may have been the longest shower of my life. I did, however, get back to the beach in time to take a few photos myself. Waves? They were alright. Small, but clean. With offshore wind and sets separated by minutes instead of seconds. That night Karissa cooked on our camp stove and we sat inside the van and drank beer and consumed copious amounts of chili with cheddar on top. The sun set shortly before five, and by six we had both climbed into bed, trying desperately to stay warm. The temperature that night was said to be sixteen.

Mexico Calling

A couple of months ago, Mele Saili and a few of her friends took a surf trip to Mexico to shoot this short film highlighting Seea's latest line of rash guards and surf suits. Brought to you by Bing Surfboards.

Rumpl

My friend Mr.Fox just shared a link to this rather cool Kickstarter campaign. The company is called Rumpl, and they've developed "a modern blanket inspired by active lifestyles," utilizing the same materials found in all those fancy puffy-coats people wear. Their blankets are designed to be used both indoors and out, and feature 20D rip-stop nylon with a DWR coating which makes them stain and odor resistant. Their blankets use synthetic down insulation, which will keep you warm while also allowing the blanket to be laundered. Available in four sizes (Throw, Twin, Queen and King) and two color combinations (blue with white piping or grey with orange piping), it looks like Rumpl has reached their fundraising goal and should be shipping soon. Follow the link for additional info.

High Tide

Awesome little edit featuring Erin Ashley, filmed by my friend Alex from Ten Piggies Over.

You Can Keep It

You give up some good stuff when you search for surf in colder climates. The warm, comfortable and convenient. Easy access and predictable point breaks. Instead, you wander west on the weekends, toward what some would consider a rather cold and unpleasant experience. An experience only a few of us understand, and even fewer honestly appreciate. "It's too damn cold!" Some will say. "Don't you have to wear a dry suit?" Others will ask. Unaware. And so they come with questions; often ones with obvious answers. "There's waves out west?" Perhaps they're just unwilling to work that hard for an experience, an activity they enjoy. Or maybe they're idiots ;)

It's taken a long time for me to fully understand my addiction, my desire to surf even when the water is forty-two degrees and the ambient air feels like it's freezing. To take account of all the things I'm willing to go without: sunshine, blue skies, warm water, a sandy beach and board shorts. Exchanged instead - sacrificed if you will - for grey skies and light brown waves, tall pine trees and rocky point breaks. I've spent more than one morning sitting in our van, waiting for waves. Mornings I could have spent at home eating waffles and watching college football. Or sleeping off a hangover. I've lost a lot of afternoons as well, driving from spot to spot, searching for surf. Afternoons I could have spent shopping, or maybe going to the movies.

But do I really desire all that all other stuff? All those other experiences? The shopping and the sitting and the eating. No. I'm quite satisfied with what I've sacrificed. Experiences I'm willing to exchange for a few windy waves. Because in the evening, after a few hours spent surfing, I can't stop smiling. Talking about this wave or that one. Closing my eyes on a Monday morning and daydreaming about something I surfed on Sunday. I'd give up all the warm weather in the world to share a few small waves with my friends, afternoons spent searching for surf, or evenings curled up in front of a campfire. You can keep it, California. The sun and the sand. We'll be alright up here.

This was originally published as part of a cold water collaboration with Surf Right.

Carlos & Mateusz

Matty Chojnacki and Carl Gonsalves surfing somewhere near Sydney. Brought to you by The Sea Life.

The Lake Crescent Lodge

The Lake Crescent Lodge was built in 1916, and serves as a base camp for anyone looking to explore the Olympic National Park. Sitting among the giant fir and hemlock trees that line the lake, this turn-of-the-century resort has a variety of rooms and cabins you can rent, including the Roosevelt Fireplace Cabins, named after President Franklin Roosevelt who established the Olympic National Park in June of 1938. The lodge itself is not nearly as big as I had imagined. An enclosed deck with floor to ceiling windows looks out onto the lake, while the interior of the lodge is, as our friend Jasmine described it, "lodgey." A huge stone fireplace sits in the center, surrounded by couches and chairs. A bar in the back corner sits across from a wide staircase that leads to the upper level, where the historic lodge rooms are located. The back half of the building is occupied by the restaurant; the Bison Meatloaf wasn't bad.

Normally closed this time of year, the brass at the lodge decided to stay open through the holiday season for the first time since who knows when. Taking advantage of this fact, our friends Derek and Laura reserved a Roosevelt Fireplace Cabin for the weekend and invited us join them fireside on Friday night. Sitting just a few feet from the edge of the lake, cabin #37 is a wide, wood cabin with two queen sized beds, a stone fireplace, comfy chairs and big white framed windows that look out onto the lake. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Roosevelt Fireplace Cabins really are incredible. After an early dinner in the lodge, we spent the evening in front of the fireplace, drinking beer and telling lies. The next morning Karissa cooked breakfast on the bench out back, while we drank coffee and watched the dogs chase ducks into the lake. A wonderful way to spend a Saturday.

Hanging With Friends

Joel Fitzgerald and his wife, Chrystal, sliding small stuff with Beau Young, somewhere in Australia.

A Balanced Diet

For some people, long weekends can be difficult to deal with. Too many days away - a rupture in their routine. Maybe they'll drink brewed coffee in ceramic cups and eat eggs and bacon, as opposed to their usual iced americano and eight-grain roll. They'll take a six minute shower instead of two at twenty. Or spend a few hours in the ocean in replace of an evening at the gym; watching other peoples athletic achievements on an overhead screen while music plays in their ears. Or maybe they'll find themselves surrounded by friends and familiar faces instead of ordering takeout Thai food on a Friday night. And maybe they'll drink bourbon and beer instead of diet soda. Most people enjoy the juxtaposition. Others find the uncertainty a little unsettling. But if you're like me, you'll indulge in this new routine, or rather the lack thereof. You'll make last minute decisions, stay out an extra hour, eat a late lunch, drink three cups of coffee or surf until your fingers are frozen and your shoulders are sore. Because when Monday comes knockin, when your weekday routine returns, you'll regret not enjoying all those out of place activities. Guaranteed.