December 29, 2008 Monday

Stinson Beach	Out front from the showers
10:30 am to 12:00 noon	3' to 4'
High tide - 5.9 ft	No wind
Overcast	Fun session

My New Board – Second Session

Late last October, two days after I had ordered my new board through Nate at Proof Lab, I was back in there to confirm that my ordered had been placed with Doug Haut in Santa Cruz.

As soon as Nate saw me walk in he emphatically said, “Your board is done. It’s in the back.”

“What?” I responded.

“You are just like all other surfers,” Nate continued. “You order a board and come back two days later wanting to know why it isn’t done.”

“I just wanted to ensure that Haut had my order,” I said.

“Your order is in,” Nate stated. “It’s a done deal. They’re working on it.”

“Great. Call me when it is done,” I responded.

I know that one has to be patient when doing business with surfers, and that includes 70-year old Doug Haut. Surfers have additional priorities that other businessmen don’t have, like surf conditions. What was supposed to take three weeks, took two months. My board came in Christmas Eve; I picked it up the day after Christmas and took it out the first time on Dec 27th.

I was anxious to ride it again. I drove to Bolinas, which was flat due to the high tide, thus I returned to Stinson. The waves were similar to the other day but smaller; peaks pushed up the berm and broke close to shore with no wind and glassy conditions. I had more wax on the board today and didn’t slip like the other day. I caught several small rights and lefts. I felt more comfortable on the board. It paddles faster than my old board, and enables me to get into waves sooner to position myself high in the curls. My last wave was my best, a three-foot fast breaking left where I managed to lock the board just under the lip of a well-formed curl and shoot through a good section. This was my first good nose ride and yes the board performed well.

I’m the type of surfer who has only one board in his quiver. Others like to have several boards of different shapes and sizes to match the different conditions. Not me, I ride the same board in small waves, big waves, flat sliders like the Patch and steep crunchers like at Montara and Kelly Ave in Half Moon Bay. Over time my body adjusts to the size and feel of the board. I become accustomed to its speed, its ability to turn, its support on the nose and its maneuverability in the curl. An analogy here is baseball players with their bats and tennis players with their racquets. A good major league hitter has ten bats, all of them exactly the same. He doesn’t change bats because of a different pitcher. Weight, feel of the bat and timing are critical to hitting the ball. Only when a hitter gets into a slump does he experiment with different size bats. The same holds true for tennis players. They walk into the tennis stadium with five racquets, everyone of them the same. They don’t switch racquets after the first serve because they know the second serve will be slower and with spin. No they use the same racquet because their bodies are accustomed to the feel, weight and timing of the racquet they have been using for months. Thus with time I will meld with the particulars of this board.

Last October I destroyed my old board when due to a crack in the bottom water pressure ripped off a three-foot sheet of fiberglass from mid-board to the tail fins (see my October 1 entry). I was due for a new board. I dithered around a few weeks looking at all the new boards at the local surf shops. While at Proof Lab I mentioned to Nate that I might go to Haut’s shop in Santa Cruz. Nate informed me he was an official Haut dealer and could get me a better price. He called them, read them the model numbers from my old board and placed an order for a custom built board. My new board was suppose to be exactly the same as my old one: length 9’ 2’’; thickness 3”; mid-point width 22”; nose width 16” and tail width 13.5”.

But my new board felt bigger. When I got home this morning I compared the model numbers on both boards; they were the same. I measured them and discovered that my old board is 21.5” wide and thinner in the rails. Thus I was right, my new board is slightly bigger, which for me is good. I was ready for a larger board. When you are 63 years old, you don’t downsize.

In my thirty years of surfing I have owned several boards but only three of them I purchased brand new. And they were all Hauts and were all the same. In 1996, I first went to Haut’s shop in Santa Cruz. I told the sales guy I was thinking of downsizing to an 8’ 6”. He pulled one off the rack and explained that this one was 9’ 0’’, 3” thick for plenty of floatation but thin in the rails thus less volume. It was a squaretail with three fins. I bought it and he was right. It floated me well and was very maneuverable. Five years later after driving this board into the ground, I returned to order a new one. On a Saturday, Doug Haut was there. I showed him my old board and told him I wanted another one just like it but a little bigger. I was ready to order a custom board. He looked at the board, read the numbers and pulled one off the rack.

“This one is very close,” he said. “And it’s on sale for $500. I could make you a new one for $800 and I could have it ready in eight weeks.”

“Sold,” I said. “I’ll take the one on sale.” I surfed on it that afternoon at the Hook. It was a great board, and I rode it for seven years until I ripped the bottom off it. So now my new board is just like my last two boards. For the last twelve years I have owned and ridden Doug Haut 9’ 2”, 3” thick, thin rails, squaretails, tri-fin boards and I love them.

Special thanks to Nate and crew at the Proof Lab Surf Shop in Mill Valley for securing my new custom board.

December 27, 2008 Saturday

Stinson Beach	Out front from the showers
10:00 am to 11:30 am	4', sets to 5'
High tide - 6.1 ft	Slight offshore breeze
Sunny	So -so session

My New Board

Today was my first session with my new board: a Doug Haut, 9’ 2”, tri-fin. I picked it up yesterday from Nate and crew at the Proof Lab Surf Shop in Mill Valley and spent the rest of the afternoon rubbing wax on it. I was anxious to try it out.

Kevin and I headed to Stinson first to check it out. It looked ok. I insisted that we look at Bolinas, which was flat due to the high tide. We ran into Professor Steve exiting the water from his morning exercise paddle. We headed back to Stinson. We ran into Nate, who sold me my board, and a friend just getting out. Lots of closeouts was Nate’s assessment of the waves.

Due to the high tide the waves pushed up the berm of the beach and broke close to shore. Most were walls with a couple with shape. Kevin entered the water and started paddling. A set came in and he had to duck-dive three waves before getting out. I waited for a lull, pushed into the water, jumped on my new board and cruised out to the line up only touching white water once. My board paddles fast, much faster than my old one.

On my first wave I went right, it closed out ahead of me and I straightened out. Not much of a ride. The next wave was same thing. Later a left wave came through and I got a decent angle down the face of a four-foot wave before having to straighten out again. Despite my sore arm from rubbing wax on my new board yesterday, it wasn’t enough. The board was slippery. Whenever I turned from a sitting position and leaned forward to begin paddling, the board slipped right out of my hands and I would be hanging onto the tail block. When I would stand up, the surface was slippery and I would very tentatively step up to retain my balance. Coming down a sizable wall I stepped back to keep the nose of the board from knifing into the water and slipped right off the back. The board shot forward, my feet went straight into the air and I landed tail first in the water. Next I misjudged a wave; I was too late, the fast paddling board got me too far in front of the wave, it broke on my back, the nose pearl dived straight down, I went to the bottom and the board shot high into the air, so Kevin told me. On my last wave, I came down a four-foot wall, coasted out in front of the white water, the wave bounced, knocked me off and the board continued with the surge of the white water. Underwater, I felt the tug of the leash on my ankle, and then it went flat and my board continued up to the beach. The knot of the line that connects the leash to the board pulled undone and there I was with an empty leash strapped to my ankle and my board washing around in the shore break.

That was enough for the first day, not a great success but a start. “It takes awhile to get accustomed to a new board,” I said to myself. It was a so-so session but I knew I had a good board that I would soon master.

December 26, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:30 am to 11:00 am	3' to 4', sets to 6'
High tide - 6.1 ft	Offshore breeze
Sunny and warm	Fun session

It was the day after Christmas and the swell had spiked. A one-day Mavericks size swell materialized: 13 ft at 16 seconds. The NOAA buoy forecast predicted this swell a week in advance. It also showed that the next day the swell would drop to six feet at 12 seconds.

Weekend/holiday atmosphere struck the beach. All the parking slots on Brighton Ave were taken when I arrived. I had to park near the liquor store. From the overview above the Channel I counted thirty-seven people surfing; long boarders, short boarders, stand-up surfers, men, women, kids and even dogs in the water. Warm sunny day, offshore breeze and some nice shoulder high lines peeling off both left and right. Every one had three or four surfers competing for position. It didn’t look like fun.

I decided to head to the Patch were there only few people out. Good move. The waves were smaller and slower than those at the Channel. The crowd at the Patch was positioning for the rights. I went for the lefts and managed to catch several good long left waves into shallow water above the reef. After and hour and a half I had exhausted myself and worked my way back to the ramp.

It was a beautiful morning and I was anxious to get home because this afternoon I was going to pick up my new board at the Proof Lab Surf Shop in Mill Valley.

December 12, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Ramp
9:00 am to 10:30 am	4'
Extreme high tide - 7.2 ft	Slight offshore breeze
Sunshine with high haze	Didn't go out

Today was the highest tide of the year: 7.2 ft at 10:00 am. I scanned my Tidelog and confirmed today was the highest tide of the year. Only the full moon last January had a tide of 7 ft. The lowest tide of the year, -1.9 ft, occurred this afternoon at 5:00 pm.

Doug, Robert the Larkspur carpenter, Robert the Oakland fireman and I stood at the overlook above the Groin and Channel with discouraged looks. The tide was too high and the water too deep. Four-foot swells came through the Channel; they peaked, looked promising and kept moving in. They didn’t break, they crested but they did not break. They continued coming in until inside the Groin wall and then they went flat, no foam, no white water, nothing. At the Patch, the swells mushed up against the cliff. Ten feet in front of the ramp, the waves broke and pushed white water half way up the ramp. The four of us chit chatted for a half an hour about past days of great surf and hope for better days. We broke up, got in our cars and drove off promising to reconvene here next week.

I was determined to photograph the extreme high tide. I got several shots of water surging up the ramp and of backwash bouncing off the seawall. The Bolinas Lagoon was full, with water up to the edge of Highway 1. I took shots of the north end and shots of the abandoned dredge at the south end. Usually the entire dredge is visible, but not this morning, only the top platform peeked above the water. I pulled into the parking lot of the Stinson Beach Water District office, walked to the south edge of the wetland to take more shots. Usually the south end is grasses and mud with no standing water. Today the water was up to the border of the wetland. Ducks, pelicans and seagulls were having a field day feeding on insects and worms they normally cannot get to. At Stinson Beach, the water surged over a berm in the sand forming a small estuary with lots of debris, logs, old pilings and blocks of wood.

Jim the Stinson contractor and another short boarder were out in the uneven and bumpy surf. They both sailed down some sizeable curls. I was tempted to go out but hesitated after Jim struggled to get back out. After a few more minutes he came in. Of course he claimed it was a fun session, like all surfers do.

Was I disappointed? No. It was another beautiful Marin morning and I witnessed and photographed a natural phenomenon of the highest tide of the year. Note that the next extreme tide of 7.2 ft will occur soon, January 10, 2009.

Check out my “Hide Tide 121208” photo album at:

http://gallery.me.com/lorenlmoore1

December 1, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 10:30 am	4' to 5', sets 6' to Overhead
Mid tide	Slight offshore breeze
High overcast	Good session

It was my first day back in the water since our weeklong trip to Barcelona. I was anxious for some waves. I caught the tail end of one of the best swells of the year. Stormsurf predicted “a fading Dateline swell, 8.1 feet at 14 to 15 seconds with 11 to 12 foot faces.” The San Francisco buoy reported a 2-knot southeast breeze and a 9.2-foot west swell every 15 seconds. The Groin was a strong four to five feet with powerful fast breaking lines coming in. But everyone was telling me that I should have been here yesterday, twice as big with seventy guys out. I met Pete, who owns the Livewater Surf Shop in Stinson, at the overlook above the Groin. Yesterday, he had connected with some long beautiful rights on the Seadrift side of the Channel. Russ raved about the long good rights that he caught on the inside of the Patch yesterday. The Groin was too crowded so he went to the Patch and had a great time. He was heading back out to the same spot when I saw him this morning. Marty reported that he drove out to Fort Cronkhite just to look. The waves were breaking way, way out there over a hidden reef generating lines of white water from one end of the beach to the other. The waves were too big to ride. No one dared to go out.

Yesterday was an ideal day at Mavericks. On December 3rd, the Chronicle published a front-page photo of a classic thirty-foot Mavericks tunnel with some brave soul powering down the face. The Bruce Jenkins article raved about the perfect conditions, pristine weather and 20 foot swells that jumped to 40 feet over the Mavericks reef. All the well-known Mavericks riders were there. Mark Healey and Dave Wassell flew in from Hawaii and Greg Long (winner of last year’s Mavericks contest) flew up from Southern California to join the local Maverick stars: Jeff Clark, Flea Virostko, Kenny Collins, Matt Ambrose and Grant Washburn. In the afternoon the wind dropped, the tide went out and conditions became perfect. Marty emailed me two photos taken by a friend and former colleague from a boat in the Mavericks channel. Mary forwarded to me a YouTube video of incredible big drops down thirty-foot walls. It would have been the perfect day to call the Mavericks Men Who Ride Mountains contest. Per Bruce Jenkins, the contest directors were still searching for sponsors and thus were unable to hold it. To the Mavericks crew the contest was secondary, perfect conditions and beautiful waves were all that mattered to them.

This morning was beautiful, high overcast with a slight offshore breeze caused gray skies and water and a tabletop smooth surface. I had to go out. I paddled out to the peak north of the Groin wall. Creighton and another long boarder who I have seen several times at Bolinas were at the peak at the Groin. They were positioned far outside waiting for the big sets. The water had that storm surf feel, swirling currents pushing me around with a small wind swells bobbing up and down. The set waves would draw the water out and the bobbing would stop. The first wave I caught was head-high and fast. I managed to power through one section, stall for an instant and drive through another section. Good ride. A later wave was overhead but slow. I expected a big drop, but no, the water merely slid from the top, I slid under it, and the wave died on the inside. The other waves I caught were like the first one, critical and fast.

After an hour and a half I called it quits. Reflecting on my session, I caught five to six head-high fast, long rides. With luck I had connected with one of the best swells of the year. Isn’t retirement great?

November 26, 2008 Wednesday

Spain	Barcelona
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm	2' to 3' wind waves
Tide: unknown	Slight onshore breeze
Sunny and cool

Surf? In Barcelona, Spain?

There I was standing on a sandy beach near sunset watching thirty or so guys in wetsuits and on short boards going for two to three foot wind swells. Kate, my son and daughter and I spent Thanksgiving week in Barcelona, a wonderful trip. Barcelona is located in the northeast corner of Spain on the Mediterranean Sea. It’s an old city, dating back to before the Roman Empire. We had a great time wandering up and down the narrow cobblestone streets, visiting museums and seeing the architectural feats of Spain’s most famous architect, Antonio Gaudi. My son, who had been there twice before, mentioned the city had a beautiful beach.

I insisted that we check out the beach just to get a feel for the Mediterranean. Kevin guided us down a board boulevard with a wide stone sidewalk past the yacht harbor to the beach. As we got closer to the water, the old town took on the look and feel of a beach town with one outdoor restaurant after another, large apartment buildings, and tourist shops selling beach gear.

I walked out on the sand and to my surprise thirty guys were in the water, spread across several beach break peaks. The rides were short but the waves were definitely rideable.

“Dad these wind waves remind me of the Great Lakes,” Kevin exclaimed. While a grad student at the University of Wisconsin, he traveled to Sheboygan to surf in Lake Michigan.

I wondered out loud, “The Atlantic must have a similar pattern as the Pacific with north swells in winter and south swells in summer.” Kevin snapped me out of it.

“Dad, this is the Mediterranean. The Atlantic swells have no impact here.” He was right, what was I thinking?

“These waves are caused by storms in the Mediterranean, just like the storms in the mid-west generate wind swells on the Great Lakes,” he added.

We had no idea if this day was typical or exceptional. We suspect today was unusual. Barcelona must not be a surf town; I didn’t see any surf shops or board rentals places. The surf is not great, don’t take your board, but the food is excellent, the wine is reasonably priced and the atmosphere of the old city is exciting. On the flight home, as the plane lifted off and traveled over the beach, lines of swells were marching in and an offshore wind was sending spray off the tops of some nicely formed peaks. It was just another good surf day in Barcelona.

November 21, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:30 am to 11:00 am	3', sets to 4'
Mid outgoing tide	Slight offshore breeze
Bright sunshine	Mellow session

Intense or mellow, which one should it be? I chose mellow and that was the wrong decision.

The Channel and Groin had continuous head-high to overhead fast breaking powerful waves coming through. That looked intense. The Patch had smaller, longer, gentler waves rolling through way out there. That looked mellow to me. The Internet sites had some impressive numbers this morning: 11 ft swell at 15 seconds from West-Northwest (282 degrees), which is close to Maverick’s size waves. Stormsurf reported six to twelve feet waves going into Bolinas.

I just wasn’t in the mindset for intense waves. I had a lot to do, like pack for a weeklong trip to Barcelona, Spain, leaving tomorrow. Today was going to be my last day surfing for ten days.

I met Jeff coming up the ramp from the end of his session. “How was it?” I asked.

“Great. I was way out at the Channel,” he responded. “There’s a big peak breaking both left and right. It was great.”

At the overlook above the Patch, Nate, one of the owners of the Prooflab Surf Shop, came up the road, wetsuit on, a small 5’- 6” potato chip of a board under his arm and still dripping wet.

“The inside waves are bowling up real nicely,” he said. “Look at that left,” pointing at a picturesque fast peeling left just north of the Groin wall. “It was great,” and off he went.

Despite two “it was great” recommendations, I chose mellow. Mary and Matt were at the Patch and the outflow current from the lagoon was starting to impact the shape of the waves at the Channel. Those were my excuses for not choosing intense.

When I paddled out, Mary and Matt were way on the inside of the Patch just south of the rocks over sand. “Why are you here?” I asked Mary.

“No particular reason, just looking for the good peak,” she said. That indicated to me that it wasn’t very good outside. Sometimes on a good swell long well defined right waves form at this peak. I think Mary was hoping to find one of those, but it just wasn’t there. I caught one right that quickly ran out of steam and just died.

Matt and I paddled out to the far peak, which wasn’t any better. Despite the strong swell, the waves didn’t line up. They formed small random peaks across the impact zone. Most people go for the rights. I like to move outside and north of everyone else and go for the lefts. This beats the crowd and the waves are steeper due to the shallow water over the rocks. Today the lefts were there, but there just wasn’t any push in the waves. Matt went for the rights and caught several. I connected with one good one, a four-foot set wave. The swell lined up across the outside peak. I waited to let it build, took off late, which is not a problem in these gentle waves, quickly moved to the center of the board and cruised under the white water sliding down from the crest of the wave, climbed up in the curl, stalled to let it build up again and hummed through another section, cut back into the white water, let the swell build up again and cruised through one more section. I went a long way and ended up on the north edge of the Patch reef on the inside in knee high water. Two women novices were impressed; I could see it in the expressions on their faces.

After an hour I gave it up and started working my way back to the ramp. The idea was to catch a wave, go right, paddle towards the ramp, catch another wave, etc. This effort didn’t work out as planned. The first wave I caught was a good left, which moved me in the wrong direction. I paddled south. Sizeable swells were coming through, but they didn’t break until they pounded on shore. I ended up getting some great exercise paddling all the way to the ramp.

Afterwards, I ran into Ray, the Petaluma fireman. “Ray did you get called to fight the Montecito fire?” I asked. Hot dry Santana wind conditions prevailed in Southern California last week setting off several brush fires, one being in Montecito in the Santa Barbara area.

“Yes we sent one engine and one crew,” he said. “By the time we got there the fire was just smoldering. It was so fast and hot it burned two hundred houses in one day. The fire was essentially over when we got there.” I related to Ray that when I was a freshman at UCSB in 1963 there was a big fire in Montecito. My friend Greg, who has a house there, told me this year’s fire was in the exact same spot as the 1963 fire. The Santana winds funnel down this particular canyon.

A surfer never admits his session was bad, but choosing mellow was the wrong decision. However, it was a beautiful day, I had things on my mind, and I had just burned off 1000 calories.

November 14, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
9:20 am to 10:50 am	3' to 4', sets to 5'
High extreme tide, 6.9 ft	Slight offshore breeze
Bright sunshine	Frustrating session

The tide was too high, that was the theme of this morning’s session. It was too high.

Prospects for waves looked good: eight foot swells at twelve seconds from the west (272 degrees). West swells go directly into Bolinas. The NOAA buoy report had considerable wind, 17.5 kts out of the NW, which is offshore at Bolinas.

When walking to the ramp this morning I asked a longboarder, who just exited the water, “How was it?”

“Good, but now the tide is little too high,” he replied.

Last week’s storm had washed out a large amount of sand from in front of the ramp, which meant there was nothing to impede the water of an advancing tide. Wednesday was a full moon, thus we were into extreme tides with high tide (6.9 ft) at 11:00 am. Low tide was -1.7 feet at 6:00 pm. Extreme tides produce strong flood and ebb currents.

At 8:00 am, the waves were surging up the ramp and prevented me from getting to the seawall. From the overlook the Groin had six people out and the Patch had three. I knew with the up-coming tide pushing up against the cliff the Patch would go flat. Mary and Cathy confirmed that a few minutes later when they ended their session. Marty, who was still nursing a knee injury, was there checking out the waves. Lou the boogie boarder was suiting up. I l suggested that he go for the outside peak at the Channel, it looked best there from the overlook.

I had to enter the water at the base of the ramp. A peak of three to four foot waves were crashing five feet from the end of the ramp and pushing water half way up it. I waited for a lull, launched myself into the bumpy white water, paddled like mad, ducked under one wave and made it safely beyond the peak. “The tide is still coming up for another two hours,” I thought to myself. “I’ll have to paddle between these crashing waves and up the ramp to get out.”

Walt, a professional photographer, sat just beyond the breakers with a small waterproof digital camera strapped to his wrist. While bobbing up and down like a cork, he tried to capture pictures of the four-foot waves crashing into the protective wall of the house on the south side of the ramp. The breakers sent water, foam and stray high into the air up to the living room windows of the house.

I paddled to the first peak north of the Groin. It was not an easy paddle due to the backwash coming off the protective wall. The wall follows the contour of the cliff and slants back from the water. Like a pool ball hitting a side cushion, the waves crashed into the wall and backwash bounced off at a forty-five degree angle, sending repetitive bumps of water out to the Groin peak. The turbulence was strong. Beside the backwash, a small north wind swell continuously came across the surface, powerful ground swells pushed in from the west, and a five-knot flood tide flowed toward the mouth of the lagoon.

I didn’t realize the current was pushing me in and over. I thought I was north of the Groin wall. On my first wave, I dropped into a powerful four-foot wave, cruised down well-formed curl, looked up and saw the Groin pole right in front of me. I dove into the water and surfaced next to the end of the wall. That was close. I decided then I would move north of the wall and stay there.

Jim, who is a novice but improving quickly, rode the white water of a wave a couple of feet on the inside of the wall. Several minutes later, after a long struggle to get back out, Jim announced, “My board hit the damn pole.” Fortunately no damage was done.

Lou, Professor Steve and I sat outside paddling around looking for the best take-off point. In the distance I could see the waves crashing in front of the ramp and against the protective wall, sending tons of water surging up the ramp. I asked them for their strategies on getting in. Steve had a good one. Paddle beyond the ramp to the sandy beach north of the seawall, exit the water there, climb up the boulders that form the foundation of the seawall, and then walk along the top of the seawall to the ramp. A few minutes later, Steve decided to go in. Lou and I watched him execute his strategy. It took considerable time, but he did it without any problems.

After a good ride I was in waist deep water a few feet north of the Groin wall. A woman surfer came in laying down riding the soup. She picked up her board, glanced at me and said, “It’s too hairy for me.” She got out and along with her companion they walked carrying their boards towards the ramp. When I paddled back out I looked to see how they were handling the waves crashing into the wall. They attempted, without success, to walk in front of the wall to the ramp. About half way a large wave boomed against the wall, sent water up to the windows of the house, the backwash knocked these two women down and swept them out to the surf. A few minutes later I glanced over at them, one was frantically paddling out over an approaching set wave. I didn’t see the other one. She must have successfully made it in. The next time I looked, the second one was not there. I assumed she also made it in.

Lou announced that one more and he was going in. “Me too,” I replied. We paddled around and paddled around some more waiting for that final good one. By now the tide was all the way in and caused the waves to go flat. The swells would build and build and kept coming in until the shore before breaking. Lou and I moved closer and closer to shore. I finally caught one, a closeout; I straightened out and rode the white water to the sand. Lou followed on a similar wave. I paddled back out beyond the breakers, turned north for the long paddle to the north end of the seawall. Steve’s strategy worked well. I went north pass the ramp to the sandy beach, aimed between two sets of old wood pilings (something left over from an old pier). Paddling between waves, I easily coasted into shore. Lou was close behind me. I stood between the two roles of pilings to give Lou a target to shoot for. He caught a three-foot wave and rode it right up to me. Crossing the top of the seawall to the ramp was a piece of cake.

Surfers seldom admit they had a lousy session. The waves were disappointing but it was a beautiful warm and sunny day and the exercise was great. For two sessions in a row (Wednesday and today) I paddled from the ramp to the Groin, surfed for an hour and a half and paddled back. My arms were feeling the affects of extended paddling. It was that good exhausted feeling.

November 6, 2008 Thursday

Pacifica	Linda Mar
8:20 am to 9:40 am	4', sets head high
High dropping tide	Stiff offshore breeze
Sunny clear day	Frustrating session

Walled, that was the theme of this morning’s session, walled.

Kevin and I met this morning in the Linda Mar parking lot for a short surf session before Kevin went to work. From the shore the waves didn’t look that big, walled but not big. Every few minutes a sizeable set of waves would come through. Stormsurf had predicted a four-foot swell at nine seconds. The NOAA buoy report had six foot swells every nine seconds. From the shore it looked like the predictions were right on the mark.

Kevin wanted to head to the north end, the waves were bigger there. I suggested we enter the water here and work our way north. Done, that was the plan.

Once I started paddling out I realized the waves were bigger that I thought. I had to roll under one big one. I very seldom use this maneuver, only when there is some size. Once outside, Kevin started paddling to the north. My first wave was my best ride. Good size, definitely left, with my heavy board I coasted over the edge and dropped into a head high wall. I saw I had a chance to make it so I went for it. I stepped to the middle of the board, positioned myself high in the curl, crouched down and shot under a breaking curl, stalled for an instant and did the same thing on a second section of the wave. It was a great ride. I watched Kevin catch his first wave. I paddled over it, looked back and saw Kevin’s head drop below the breaking wave. From the back the wall of water turned from blue to green to white with plumes of spray arching high above the wave, and then Kevin re-appeared holding his board as he pushed over the top as the entire wave turned to turbulent white foam. Kevin had dropped to the bottom of the wave and immediately cut back up and over the top.

Right after that two enormous set waves came through. I scratched to get over both of them, huge walls of water from one end of the cove until the other. “What happened to Kevin?” I thought to myself. After several minutes he finally made it back out. I asked what happened.

“I didn’t make it over the second one. It was pretty bad,” he said. It least now he was safe.

From then on all of the waves were walled. I caught three more waves, each one closed out in front of me. I angled down big swells and coasted out in front of mountains of white water. Kevin caught several more, all with the same results. In an hour and twenty minutes, I caught four waves, that’s one wave every twenty minutes. So what was I doing all this time? Sitting, paddling around and going for waves I didn’t catch. No one else was catching any waves either. We were towards the north end of the cove. Several times I looked towards the south, it was a beautiful clear sunny day, and saw fifty to seventy surfers spread across a quarter mile, sitting there. No one was riding any waves. Like me, everyone was letting the huge walls go through un-ridden.

Kevin announced he was going to head north. I didn’t want to go because to me the waves looked better to the south. Kevin paddled some 200 yards north, maneuvered around, missed a few waves, caught one or two, which were walled, and finally paddled back. I caught one more wall, straightened out, rode the white water to shore and got out. Kevin came in a few minutes later.

Wave size is a matter of perspective. As we were drying off, I commented to Kevin that I thought those waves were big. They were certainly bigger than any I have ridden lately at Bolinas. To Kevin they weren’t big at all. Last week he rode overhead waves at Montara and Ocean Beach. “And those waves were big,” he exclaimed. “These waves,” pointing at the walls of Linda Mar, “are half the size of those two breaks.”

I think I will stick to the gentle waves of Bolinas.

November 5, 2008 Wednesday

Laird Hamilton

“What’s it like to look over the edge of a thirty foot wave?” I asked Laird Hamilton as he signed my copy of his book, Force of Nature, Mind, Body, Soul and of Course Surfing, at Book Passage in San Francisco.

“I was just asked that the other day,” he replied, then paused and thought about it. “It’s like looking out the window of a ten story building, only you are going to jump and you’re looking for a place to land.”

I quickly told him I was a regular at Bolinas and asked if he had ever been there. I remember that John, one of the partners of the 2-Mile Surf Shop in Bolinas, had mentioned that Laird and friends came out to Bolinas one day with their stand-up boards.

“Yes I was there this last summer,” he stated. This surfing legend and my surf hero knew of my local spot.

The woman behind me asked what he thought about women surfers. “There are lots of women surfers in Hawaii,” he replied. “It’s not a man or woman thing. Surfing is a form of art and each individual develops their own flow or art.”

At a book signing, one has thirty seconds or a minute to ask a question. What one question would you ask of a surf legend? Afterwards I thought about what I could have asked, there was so much more I wish to know.

What was going through his head when he went down the face of that monstrous, bone-crushing wave at Teahupoo, Tahiti in August 2001? Laird successfully towed into and made one of the biggest, most dangerous waves ever recorded. His ride is now legendary in surfing history, comparable to Duke Kanahamoku’s mile long ride at a Waikiki during huge storm surf in the 1920s and Greg Noll’s dropping into the biggest paddle-in wave ever ridden at Makaha during the storm of the century in 1969.

What about the innovations that Laird has contributed to the sport of surfing? I would love to hear about his pioneering of tow-in surfing, development of foil surfing and evolution of stand-up surfing. Laird has been the force behind all three of these movements.

What was it like to star in the movie North Shore, a Hollywood film on surfing that used real surfers as actors? Laird played the villain, Lance Burkhart, the self-center, arrogant pro-surfer who would do anything to win the contest, including cheating. My kids loved this movie. We own it and I have seen it numerous times.

Of course there are the standard, classic questions: Biggest wave ever ridden? Worst wipeout? Who is the surfer you most admire? Etc.

Laird Hamilton is the epitome of health: 6’ 3”, 215 pounds (I’m quoting the book jacket), forty-four years old, solid, not one once of fat, big shoulders and neck, bright eyes, quick movements and an alert mind. He was wearing an orange collar shirt, not tucked in, faded blue jeans, sandals with no socks, and blond hair that flopped over his forehead. He was gracious, friendly and focused. He looked each individual in the eye and said, “Aloha.” He concentrated on each person and paid careful attention to what he as writing, making sure he got it correct. He cordially posed for pictures. In the era of small digital cameras and cell phones, everyone wanted to get a picture of him, including me.

The book signing was scheduled for 1:00 pm. At 12:45 pm twenty people were lined up to greet Laird. In one hour the line turned over at least two times. I estimate sixty to eighty people came by. For Gerry Lopez’s talk last May, Book Passage was overwhelmed by the attendance and ran out of books before the talk began. I was prepared; I came early and immediately purchase the book. The woman behind me was not familiar with Laird Hamilton. She was visiting from Michigan and came to purchase a book for her son in law, a surfer in Half Moon Bay. Just like last May, the store ran out of books before the book signing began. “How could they run out of books?” she grumbled. A store employee walked down the line informing everyone they were out of books and offered a bookplate that Laird could sign and they could paste into the book when they purchased it.

The woman proceeded to ask me questions about Laird. The athletic tall guy in front of me climed in that Laird was one of the best athletes in the world, more than just surfing. “Like what?” she asked.

“All water sports, wind surfing, swimming, skin diving, and long distance paddle boarding,” he replied.

He looked at me and stated, “I thought there would just be surfers and fifteen year old girls here.” He was commenting on the mix of people standing in line. All types were there: old, young, surfers, businessmen in suits, tourists and college students.

“Are you a surfer?” He asked me.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Where do you surf?”

“Bolinas and Stinson Beach. I live in Mill Valley and those are my local breaks.”

“I too live in Mill Valley and have often seen the surfers at Bolinas.”

“Are you familiar with Laird Hamilton?” I asked.

“Yes. I have seen him in numerous videos.”

“Are you familiar with the movie, Riding Giants, which features Laird?”

“Oh, yes. I have seen it many times. In fact I watch it at least once a month,” he proudly stated. I was impressed.

“I think the incredible story is Laird choosing his step father as a little kid,” I said referring to the tale that introduces Laird in the Riding Giants movie.

“Yes, it’s the classic tale of heroes. Like Moses coming down the Nile in a basket.”

I agreed and added like the virgin birth or Merlin transforming Uther to the likeness of Lord Cornwall so Uther could make love to Igraine to conceive King Arthur. Laird Hamilton has the roots and the story of a 21st century classic hero. Laird’s mother separated from his biological father when Laird was a small child and moved to the North Shore of Oahu. On a beach, young Laird crossed paths with Billy Hamilton, the noted big wave surfer and board shaper. Boy and man instantly bonded and went body surfing with Laird hanging onto Billy’s back. Afterwards, Laird grabbed Billy’s hand and dragged him to meet his mother. They fell in love, married and Billy adopted Laird as his son. It’s a wonderful story.

All great athletes have their injuries. In the book, Laird’s “Injury Map” pictures him with arrows pointing to his numerous wounds. It reminded me of years ago seeing a life size photo of Jim Otto at his Burger King restaurant in Auburn, CA. Jim was the NFL hall of fame center of the Oakland Raiders during their glory days under coach John Madden. The photo had Jim in only his hip pads and a hundred or more arrows pointing out his scars and wounds. Laird has a few also:

134 stitches in the forehead; surfboard through the cheek; first degree shoulder separation; herniated disk; crushed vertebrae; Skilsaw through the thigh; torn and reconstructed ACL; crushed top of foot; broken toes; broken arches; broken left ankle (six times); broken eardrum; broken and misplaced ribs; ton of stitches, at least 1000, he has stopped counting them.

I have one more question to ask. I would love to hear Laird’s present day response to that pointed question that John McEnroe asked during Laird’s appearance on John’s talk show. McEnroe had a late night show for a short period a couple of years ago. It didn’t last long. But Laird made an appearance to promote the movie, Riding Giants, and they showed a clip of Laird riding that wave in Teahupoo. John and Laird are close friends. Apparently Laird introduced John to the real Hawaii and took him and his kids surfing. They had a great respect for each other. John asked Laird that cutting question:

“Laird, you are in your forties, happily married, have young children, how long can you keep this up?” Implied in the question is the element of death. Laird risks his life with every one of his exploits. I can’t remember his exact words, but he stated that as long as he can physically do it, he would continue doing it.

Let’s pray that Laird Hamilton continues his adventures for years and years to come.

October 27, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:30 am to 11:00 am	3' to 4', sets to 6'
High upcoming tide	Slight offshore breeze
High overcast	Fun session

Dateline Storm #1 – from Stormsurf.com

“With 36 hrs of 60 – 70 kt winds acting on the ocean’s surface generating estimated seas of 40 ft or greater and expected 84 hrs of seas greater that 30 ft, virtue fetch continues to look likely for the US West coast providing a higher than usual set wave count in the 17 – 20 sec period energy bands, peak energy to top out in the 23 sec period range.

North CA: Expect swell arrival starting near sunrise Saturday (10/25) with period 22 – 23 secs. Size creeping up as period drops, peaking just after sunset 9.0 – 9.5 ft @ 18 – 19 secs (16 – 18 ft faces) … Swell to continue into Sunday at 8 – 9 ft @ 16 secs early (13 – 14 ft faces) fading to 14 secs by sunset.”

As noted above, the first winter north swell arrived this weekend. I heard spectacular reports regarding epic waves at Bolinas. My son spoke of long lines of six-foot waves from the Channel to the Groin on Sunday. Mark the archaeologist surfed Saturday and Sunday and was still feeling it in his arms Monday morning. It was crowded and judging by the license plate frames on the cars, several surfers from San Francisco were out at Bolinas. This is not unusual. Whenever big swells generate monstrous unrideable waves at Ocean Beach, the San Francisco surfers come to Bolinas, one of the few places with rideable surf. With thirty shortboarders out at the Groin, Mark went to the Patch and had a great time. Doug reported that Sunday he surfed the Patch. Doug hates the Patch but due to the shortboarder crowd, he too went out at the Patch.

“Loren, I never had caught so many waves at the Patch, head-high, long, long rides,” Doug said to me out in the water Monday morning.

Remnants of the swell were still running this morning: 6.2 foot swell at 15 seconds producing three to four foot waves with sets to six feet at the Groin, powerful, thick waves with fair shape. A big peak at the Channel broke into deep water causing rides to quickly die after a big drop. The peak at the Groin formed into a good line-up on the inside, but with longer lulls between waves than at the Channel. The ocean had that winter storm surf feel: gray skies with a sizeable sideways wind swell causing a constant bobbing up and down when sitting there waiting for the next wave and a strong current that pushed us in and over towards the mouth of the lagoon. The paddle out was difficult. I crashed through the white water of several waves with a strong pull toward the shore.

Only five of us were out at the Groin: Mark, Doug, a former student of Doug’s, another surfer whose wife was a former student of Marty’s and myself. Locating the right take-off point was frustrating. My first ride was a good one; a head-high take off, a big drop, white water in front of me, cruised below the foam and back into the swell for a second fast section. My second wave was slow, flat and died in deep water. The next few rides closed out in front of me.

After forty-five minutes I found the right spot. I had watched waves lining up and continuously breaking left on the inside near shore. I moved way inside and north of the Groin wall to try my luck there. I lined up with the lighthouse looking structure above the Groin and to the north the gray house high on the cliff above the Patch. The intersection of those two points was my take-off point. I waited for the sets that would peak there, take off late and drop into steep fast breaking lefts. Several waves were close outs and I made several of them. For forty-five minutes I had this peak to myself. The sun came out, the wind died, the surface glassed off and I connected with wave after steep four-foot wave. Finally another surfer came out to my peak. I told him about the good inside line-ups; he said he noticed. My best wave was my last one. I could see the waves were building, which indicates a set is coming. My companion took a wave thus I had no concern about him. A set approached, I paddled out and to the north, a sizeable wave was right in front of me, I turned and stroked into a head-high emerald green wall. I was in perfect position, the wave lined up cleanly in front of me, I stepped to the middle of the board, gained some speed and stood there in the middle of the curl for a long, long ways. The wave worked into the shore break, I pulled over the top and the wave pounded on the shore. I was three feet from dry sand and at the end of the south seawall. I had traveled from just north of the Groin wall to the south end of the protective wall of the house on the south edge of the ramp. It was 11:00 am; I was tired, had things to do and thus called it a day.

Two other surfers were walking down the beach to go out. I told them about the good inside lineup. They thanked me for the tip. What can I say? It was a beautiful Monday morning, no wind, glassy conditions and strong four-foot waves peeling in from the Groin. Isn’t retirement great?

October 24, 2008 Friday

Bolinas	Patch
9:00 am to 10:30 am	3' to 4', sets to 4'
High tide - 5.6 ft	Onshore breeze
Sunny and warm	Fun session

“Man, this sure beats sitting at a computer watching the market go down.”

An older surfer (about my age) who I had seen in the water several times before made this comment as we sat outside at the Patch waiting for the next set. The country’s financial crisis was in full swing and the stock market was in steep decline. It was a sunny and warm morning and consistent three to four foot, long, gentle waves were coming through at the Patch, producing mellow conditions and a perfect way to forget about the economic meltdown.

Good weather and a new combination of northwest and south swells on a Friday attracted a crowd. Per the surf websites, a north 5.6 foot swell at 12 seconds combined with a south 2.0 foot at 14 seconds to create nice long lines. A big crowd was at the Groin, including Lou the boogie boarder and Doug.

I decided to go to the Patch where the crowd was smaller and several of my friends were there. Mary greeted me when I paddled outside. Cathy from the Russian River was out there on her 10’ 6’’ tanker. Jim said hello.

Hank from Mill Valley was sitting way outside as he always does. I saw him earlier sitting in his car. I tapped on the window; he lowered it, “You going out?” I asked. “Yes, as soon as I get off the phone.” He was juggling work and surfing, squeezing in a few messages before heading out. Hank’s technique was to wait for the biggest sets. He sat and sat; I thought he was nuts, but finally a set of four foot waves came through, Hank connected with the biggest one and cruised down a long right swell. When he paddled back out he commented about how great it was to have the Patch breaking again, which has been flat for the last few months.

Later I paddled over to the guy who commented that he would rather be here than watching the market to decline. “Are you a broker?” I asked.

“I used to have a seat on the Pacific Stock Exchange,” he replied. “It closed in 2001 and I’m been on my own since then. But now the big money guys are manipulating the market.”

“Manipulating the market? How?” I asked.

“Bargains are out there. Last week I bought into a company whose stock was at an all time low. The company is sound, plenty of cash, pays big dividends and was about to announce strong earnings per share,” he stated with emphasis. “But the share price declined! How do you figure?” The old rules and guidelines for investing, the ones he had followed for years, no older apply.

I agreed with him that this beautiful morning, warm sunshine and mellow waves were the best formula for getting one’s mind off the crumbling economy.

October 20, 2008 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:20 am to 10:45 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid out-going tide	Offshore breeze
Bright sunshine, clouds on the horizon	Frustrating session

I tried an experiment this morning: I used my son’s 8’ 0” Becker surfboard. Since I ripped the fiberglass off the bottom of my favorite 9’ 2” Haut (see October 1 entry), I’m in the market for a new board. There are three boards that I’m interested in: another Haut like the one I recently destroyed, a Becker 9’ 0” Mike Gee model and an Al Merrick (Channel Islands Surfboards) waterhog model.

My Haut was 9’2”, three inches thick, thin rails, tri-fin with lots of rocker. I used it for seven years and patched twelve holes in the bottom. I loved it.

The Becker 9’ 0” Mike Gee model is a beautiful board. The bulk of the board is a little in front of the mid-point, narrow in the rear and a rounded tail. $610 price is a bargain. Problem is Becker’s shop is in Hermosa Beach. Do I drive down there, purchase the board and drive back? Or do I order it online and have them ship it to me via DHL for an extra $100?

The Proof Lab surf shop in Mill Valley carries the Al Merrick waterhog model, another beautiful board. It’s a cut-down longboard that also has the bulk of the board in front of mid-point, pulled back in the rear and a rounded tail. The waterhog label implies the owners catch waves so easily they will hog all of them. Models are available from 7’ 0” to 8’ 11”. Proof Lab just got a new shipment in and the longest waterhog they have is 8’ 6”, and longer models have to be special ordered and take three months to deliver.

I’m tempted to purchase the 8’ 6” waterhog, but it’s a shorter board than what I am used to. Kevin thinks I can handle it, and so does the sales guy at Proof Lab. Thus my experiment, if I can handle riding Kevin’s 8’ 0” Becker, which is a Mike Gee model, then the 8’ 6” waterhog would not be problem. So I threw the Becker into my car this morning.

When I pulled up at Bolinas, Mary and Doug were in the water. Mary and one other person were at the Patch. Clean lines came through but without any force behind them. I watched Mary catch a couple of mushy slow ones.

Doug was out by himself at the Groin riding small slow waves. Marty arrived. He’s nursing a knee injury but came out to see us and to check out the waves. We watched Doug for several minutes. Finally a good set of four foot waves came through. Doug caught a good long curl and that did it for me, I was going out.

When I entered the water, Professor Steve and Jim had joined Doug. I jumped on this smaller board and immediately felt the difference. The board sank under water and paddling out was almost impossible. I couldn’t gain any speed. The usual “glide” just wasn’t there. Fortunately with the tide going out, I could walk out to the waves, which I did. The waves were well formed, left peeling lines. My first wave was ok. I managed to ride some curl before the waved closed out. I missed the next three waves. “I have to wait until the wave is breaking,” I kept reminding myself. Then I pearled, and on the following one I slipped off. On another I barely pushed myself into a wave and by the time I stood up the wave had broken twenty feet in front of me. Jim caught a long right wave, Doug got a few good lefts and Professor Steve connected with a beautiful four-footer, the wave of the day. I caught nothing.

Finally I got a good one, a small well-shaped two footer. I jumped up as soon as I felt the wave take up the board, the swell was in front of me, the small board allowed me to quickly position myself in the middle of the curl to gain some speed. My next wave was even better, a shoulder high fast peeling curl. Again I took off late and jumped up quickly. The board hung at the top of the curl, I took a half step, pushed my weight forward and shot down a beautiful section. Yes, that’s how it is done. Take off late and for an instance the board hangs at the top. If you can jump up at that moment you will be into a good wave. If not, you drop to the bottom of the wave, momentum dies and the ride is over. I found it difficult to get into that groove. I tried and tried but did not catch another good wave.

What a beautiful day, sunny, bright, stiff offshore breeze, blue-green lines of swells and me on a board that is too small. After an hour and a half my arms were spent and I gave it up.

Result of my experiment: at age 63 one does not downsize. I’ll stick with a 9’ 0” or longer board.

October 17, 2008 Friday

Rick Griffin

Look at the above photo closely. Brad, on the left, and Chris, on the right, are life long friends that I went to elementary and high school with. We learned to surf together in 1958 at Torrance Beach, and Brad and I roomed together for four years at UCSB. Between them is a pastel chalk drawing done by Rick Griffin of Murph The Surf in the Makaha shore break. The photo was taken in May 2007 and the drawing was done in 1962, forty-five years ago and it is in pristine condition.

Rick Griffin is a well-known artist whose reputation is still growing today. He created the cartoon character Murphy, a surf gremlin, in the early sixties. Murphy graced the cover of an early edition of John Severson’s Surfer Magazine. Rick’s career took off from there with more Surfer covers, a regular cartoon strip in each issue, drawings on record covers and advertisements. Rick did album covers for the Belairs and the Challengers surf bands. He moved onto San Francisco with the hippie movement and became one of the five leading artists to do the famous psychedelic rock concert posters. He also did several record album covers including the beautiful Aoxomoxoa album for the Grateful Dead. The hippie movement played out and Rick evolved. He converted to Christianity and began doing striking murals of the Gospel of John stories. His fame as a serious artist was growing when unfortunately he died in a motorcycle accident in 1991 at the age of 47.

Architect Rob Quigley, life long friend of Rick’s and avid collector of his art, Bolton Colburn, Director of the Laguna Art Museum and hundreds of Rick’s friends gathered Rick’s works to stage a Rick Griffin exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum from May through September 2007. The highly acclaimed exhibit included pieces from all phases of Rick’s career from surf cartoons to his religious murals.

One piece that didn’t make the exhibition was the Murphy cartoon on Brad’s bedroom wall. Brad, Chris and I went to high school with Rick and Brad and Chris were close friends. Brad and his mother hired Rick to do the above cartoon. In fact, Rick did five such drawings in 1962, not all at the same time but through out the year. Whenever Rick needed money for a surf trip or when the surf was down, he would show up to do another one. Rick did chalk drawings for other friends, but Brad’s mother was smart. She researched the local art stores for the best lacquer for protecting pastel chalk. Rick’s other friends didn’t do this and those drawings are long gone. Brad’s mother razzed him about the expense of the lacquer. She claimed she spent more on the lacquer than on payment to Rick for the drawings. Thank goodness, her foresight has preserved all five drawings.

The amazing part of this story is that the drawings are still there and in excellent condition. Brad’s father had the house built in 1949. Rick did the drawings in 1962. Brad’s parents sold the house in 1967, when Rick was doing psychedelic posters in San Francisco. The family that bought the house still live there; though their children are grown and long gone. The woman of this family loved the drawings. She had no idea who Rick Griffin was when they purchased the house. Her son surfed and he thought it was cool to have surf cartoons on his bedroom walls. So they kept them. Through the years the woman learned about Rick Griffin and preserved the drawings. They remodeled the house, adding a second story but they left the back bedroom untouched. They painted the inside of the house including the back bedroom. But they had the painters carefully paint around the drawings using a fine feathered edge technique. The drawings are still there and in excellent condition. But the woman warned Brad last summer that within the next ten years she will have to give up the house; she is getting up in years.

Two women, Brad’s mother and the mother of the family that purchased the house from Brad’s parents, loved Rick’s drawings and have preserved them for forty-six years. So what’s going to happen? The bedroom walls are lathe and plaster, the house was build before drywall was invented, thus one cannot cut the drawings out of the walls. They would crumble to dust. The least that can be done is to capture the images through professional photography.

Meanwhile, we hope and pray that the next owner will also continue to protect these the drawings and keep them in perfect condition.

You may view Brad’s photos of all five drawings and a couple of Rick’s murals in my photo album via the link below:

http://gallery.me.com/lorenlmoore1