alt.surfing's World Surf Day (Week) 1998
From: "Bonzer"
Sorry for the belated report. It was flat.
Bonzer
From: jborrero
It was also windy, here's my report... Last good day of surf at my house was April 1st. Fast forward to the week before easter. Tiny junk all week. Hoping for a little sumthin' on friday into saturday. Saturday morning at El Porto was very small, glassy and full of donkeys grappling over 1 ft mush. I went home, worked on a paper all day, then went back to Porto just before dark, got 1 hr of small, kind of fun, really glassy waves. Best wave was a solid 2 foot left which I stole from the pack, got a nice wall and a few turns. I was setting up for a full power lip bash when some oblivious idiot decided to drop in further down the line but going right (towards me), I had to straighten out in to the flats. Easter Sunday I woke up later than planned, the wind was up, way up. 2-3 and dumping with a rising tide. Walked to get coffee and bagels, checked it out the whole way, just getting windier and crappier, but bigger too. The wind held up all day, I was dreaming about how monday morning would bring perfect head hi peaks, the usual day after windswell treats. Monday morning, up super early, clear morning, light wind, pedaling full blast to the beach, ooh it's gonna be killer I was thinking. The first glimpse of the water surface was a let down, bumpy, and rippled. When I got to the cliff the let down was even worse. 2 ft maybe, crumbly, weak and the onshore was already stirring. I surfed it any way, no one else did. Got out and went back to work on the paper. My tsunami simulations are coming along nicely though, and i'm actually a little thankful for this flat spell (right Tim??). In case anyone cares, theres a fairly large, fault which runs parallel to the LA county coast from just south of Oxnard to just past Pt. Dume. It's set up in such a way that if the whole thing went at once we'd get a nice 7.0 shaker and probably some sort of local tsunami. Right now i'm figuring about a meter in Santa Monica. Remember northridge? It was a 6.7... That's all, if you want to know more about faults off shore southern California, send me an email or wait till i drop this bit of info to FOX 11 news...
Jose C. Borrero
From: "John Ferguson"
On Sunday I got stuck doing errunds all day before driving to New Symerna. There was a contest at Cocoa Beach, but I wanted to check out NS cause I haven't caught it good there in awhile. It was dark when I arrived, so I rented a room and waited for morning. Monday morning brought a very high tide, so the drive up the beach to the inlet was closed. So I just went out by Flagler Ave (NSB). Surf 3-4' slightly choppy beach break with poor form. Current mild, drifting south. Water about 70 degrees Air high 80, light wind from the north. Board 9'2" Balistics tri-fin longboard. Wax last winter's cool water wax that now melts in 30 seconds of sunlight. Crowd light and friendly in the water, lots of families on the beach. It was nothing special. Heard it was bigger down by Melbourne. Later,
John.
World Surf Day: Long Beach, Long Island
Name: Mike G
Date: Friday April 10
Time: Friday 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Long Beach, Long Island
Distance Searched: 37 miles(One way)
Weather: Sunny and Clear Air Temperature: 55 F Friday Water Temperature: 44 F
Conditions: Fri:Low tide ->Almost High/ Offshore Breeze
Crowd: About 4 others besides me, very mellow
Food: Pre: Tuna Sub, Bottle of Water
Vehicles: Nissan Sentra/ 6'2 fish
Swell: East/Northeast
Surf: 4-5' faces, occ. larger
I packed my gear in my car before work, hoping to sneak out early. By noon all work with a deadline was finished, so I took off. I cut through Manhattan with relatively light traffic and was suited up and in the water by 1:00pm. At first I paddled outside to catch the occaisional set that swung in. Conditions were perfect, and it seemed only I and another guy on a beautiful 9'4" yellow Robert August were getting rides. We started chatting and later I tried to get a snapshot of him coming down the line with the disposable camera I had slung around my neck. One early wave of note was a late drop I made into an overhead wave. I made the drop, just in time for the wave to pitch over the shallow sandbar. I pulled in without much hope for exit and was treated to a few seconds of a gaping(by east coast standards) tube before being thrashed. After about an hour, two familiar faces paddled out on longboards. They turned out to be the guys I surfed with a few weeks back when we had the snow. As they paddled out, the left in front of the jetty started to fire, the three LB'ers and I had a blast hooting each other down the line as we took turns on wave after wave. There was a really good vibe in the water. The last two hours the waves began to back off as the tide filled in, but I couldn't bring myself to get out of the water. The guy on the Robert August, Chris, wouldn't leave either. A good set would swing through every 10 minutes or so. Finally both Chris and I found ourselves on the beach looking out at the ocean, we decided 4 hours was good enough, he actually was in for 4 1/2 hours. I got Chris' email in case the pic of him came out, packed up and headed home. On the way out of LB I saw a car with a board exiting a lot, so I went to investigate. I walked up to a beach break with about 8 guys in the water. Two of the guys were putting on a clinic in the shorebreak, getting 5-10 second rides toward the shore before closing. The waves were sweet, and they would pull in and out of fat tubes, or pull off a nice aerial or 360. It was nice to watch, I spent about a half hour just sitting there. I finally left and decided to hit my favorite Hoboken Bar on the way home for a couple of Guinness and a bar pie while watching highlights from the Yankees 30-run opening day fiasco. This years' World Surf Day kicked ass over last years. Last year I was laid up waiting for knee surgery, not able to walk let alone surf.
World Surf Day 1998: Santa Cruz Beaches, CA, USA
Name: da hulk
Date: Saturday April 11, 1998
Time: 4:30-6:00pm
Location: Santa Cruz, California, Rio del Mar
Distance Searched: 6 Miles
Weather: Rain in the morning, Foggy, and later Windy.
Air Temperature: 60 F Water Temperature: 59 F
Conditions: Med tide ->Low/ Moderate Sideshore Wind from the East
Crowd: Non-existent, about 3 at the peak I surfed.
Food: Pre: Submarine Sandwich from El Patio Grocery, Chips, Soda
Vehicles: da wavemobile (Ford Aerostar)/ 9'6" Haut tri-fin
Swell: West windswell with slight South mix Surf: 2-3' faces
Comments: Played racquetball Tuesday and surfed the Lane Wednesday afternoon. The surf was pretty good and the local crew were out in force, but I was so sore and stiff from the day before, I had one of my worst sessions this season. So I won’t tell you about that one. I knew that with church, Easter Egg hunts, and a big family and friend dinner, Sunday was not going to be my World Surf Day. Saturday had to be the call. Unfortunately I had to work Saturday. I got up in time to check the beaches. It was raining and the tide was medium going up. The good news was that there was almost no wind. I met with my clients and showed them several townhouses near the beach they were interested in buying as a vacation home. Showing beach properties is tough as you watch the waves improve and finally see the wind blowing in, causing the chop and whitewater to move onshore. In the early afternoon I tried closing up the Real Estate office but a walk-in showed up looking for the same kind of property. Damn! Finally got away about 4pm. The swell was building a little, but the tide was dropping and the wind was strong sideshore out of the east from Moss landing. It was the kind of wind that blew into the rights and sort of kept the faces clean. I thought maybe Rio had something that would work on the tide and wind, and jetted down there. One right was still holding into the channel at waist to chest high, with a couple of other longboarders out, so I threw on my suit and stroked out. Rode a couple of waves easy trying to shrug off Wednesday’s memories. Finally began to relax and got a couple of noserides, decent bottom turns and floaters on various waves for a little over an hour. Not the kind of waves you could really unload on since they were a little unpredictable and uneven, but it felt good to re-create myself, meditate, and refocus on the times ahead. The wind began to drop and conditions got cleaner. Cool! Had to choose the set waves more carefully though, because the tide was beginning to move the peak and the sections around a lot. Within 10 minutes the wind began blowing hard from the West (Santa Cruz) and the tide dropped too low. The surf had turned to complete garbage in minutes. I proned in, dried off, and watched a couple of young shortboarders test their skills in what was left of the channel. Not a spectacular session, certainly not like last year, but a refreshing and fun one just the same. I hope everyone else had a great World Surf Day 1998!
da hulk, RR
Place:South Miami Beach
Wave conditions: NE swell with NW winds 1-4 ft for Easter Sunday,75 degree water and air
Rest of week has been 1-3 ft. south wind swell I really am glad I didn't plan with any one to meet for wsd on account that I had to work through the weekend, (working on set of russian play with an atheist russian designer),so I only had an oppurtunity to take a photo of surf. I thought I had missed out on wsd so I hadn't reported sooner. But seeing that there was an interest I heave this your way. Enjoy and I will post photo on asl. Thank you all for keeping the spirit alive.
Herb and Maritza Murillo
Subject: WSD-Pacifica
Day: Easter Sunday
Place: Pacifica, Ca
Climate: Sunny day with intermittent squalls, variable onshore winds Conditions: mostly glassy when sunny, decent swell with overhead + sets the norm.
Board: 8'8" performance hybrid board
I went out at Linda Mar Sunday morning after checking my home break at rockaway beach which is a bluff away. Rockaway was choppy at the south end this morning and throwing lots of close outs toward the center of the beach. The last few days we had seen descent swells south of san francisco, reasonably large, but not nearly as intense as the previous winter swells. I had been riding my 8'8" board made by john mel of freeline design in capitola. The board had been working wonders for me all week. It is big enough to compete with the crowds of long-boarders, fast and maneuverable. It's a bit tough to duck-dive, but because the waves this week didn't exhibit deep turbulence, i didn't have much problem with getting out of trouble spots. I paddled out toward the north end of linda mar, since that's where most of the juice was. I had to paddle from about the middle of the beach to avoid the many fishermen who were surfcasting for salmon or stripers easter sunday.I try to stay out of their way when paddling out, especially when they're numbers constitute an army and they're fishing lines become a formidable obstacle. I stopped short of my predetermined target in the lineup as a couple of waves swelled in front of me. They were nice chest to head high waves in the center of the beach, lefts which had a nice drop but closed out after shooting out from the bottom turn. i was on to bigger, better surf and kept paddling north and outside. The crowd factor wasn't too bad, mostly because of the brief rainstorms that would come through. The sun had just come out and there were definitely solid empty walls calling me into the lineup. As i paddled out, i realized that the surf was bigger than it looked like from the shore, not too big to be intimidating, but the rolling walls were larger than we'd had earlier in the week. I spent about an hour in the water catching several nice rides and noting that it seemed the swell was increasing both in size and power. My paddle outs were not as simple as prior days, as the turbulence extended deep under the waves. However, i was making some real big drops and having nice rides. The dues were worth it. I noticed one of my surf buddies, ben, out in the lineup. We spent an hour exchanging great waves, stoked on the size and cleanness of the waves and that the crowds hadn't hit yet. I took another nice drop, sped through a section and cut back at the wave walled up again. As they say, it doesn't get any better than this! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and on the next wave my leash snapped as i was trying to kickout of a closeout. I spent the next fifteen minutes or sotrying to catch up to my board. Once on land i realized it wouldn't be bright to go out wothout a leash and i didn't have a spare with me. So I left Ben out in the lineup knowing that it was already high tide and that the surf would deteriorate with the outgoing tide. I had some errands to run and when I got home a few hours later, ben was over at my neighbor, ken's house. He wanted to show me something. He took me around the side of the house where the boards are and presented the pieces of what once was the board he rode today. The worse part was that it wasn't his board, it was ken's. The good side is that ken was looking for a bigger board for the upcoming small waves of summer. So, all in all, a pretty good day.
Stats: + many, many overhead + waves + crowds not a factor + sunshine + stoke - 1 leash - 1 surfboard
lp
Subject: WSD/W '98 - Rio de Janeiro
From: David Henderson
Haven't managed to discover whether World Surfing Day was for one specific day during the Easter break or whether it was for all days of the holy-days. As Thursday to Saturday brought great waves the story is written below. Most of it is a retype (cut 'n paste really) of what has already been posted under the heading of Easter waves but with the last 40 lines clipped (as per Napalm's suggestion) and a couple of new ones put in at the end. Unfortunately Easter Sunday did not see me in the water. For one reason or the other I did not check the surf on that day but do believe it was either real small or flat. Anyway, here goes my contribution to this honourable international surfing event. Name: David Henderson Board: 8' (lots of) fun (Hooded Villain - Durban) Car: VW Golf (local similar) Distance covered: 20Km Waves: read on Wind: very light side to off shore. Temp: Warm in warm out. No rubber. Weather: clear, sunny. Water: clean, clear Wax: sticky bumps Wife: at home Elder kid: waiting on the shore - bored and hungry. Younger kid: sleeping at Gran's Anything further to declare? No. Office closed noon Thursday so I managed to get to the beach by three. The swell was running east at about 2-3' (Brazilian - probably half hawaiian) but, although small, it would wrap in on itself forming a pleasant little right breaking along a sandbar at a beach called Grumari out South of Rio. (Beautiful spot with golden sand surrounded by lush vegetation - no buildings). With nobody else out, except the neighbour's kid who's learning to surf, I managed to get in a load of waves before sundown and was really quite stoked 'cos the waves had a good wall to them and some punch, so it was possible to hit a couple of turns and cutbacks and whatever have you. At the end of the session I noticed that the swell was changing direction and picking up slowly but surely. Going home that evening I just knew the next day was going to cranck, so I hit the sack early and set the alarm for just before sunrise. At the first ring of the bell I was up and away, arriving at a beach called Prainha (which is a cove inside of a nature reserve) just before sun up. There was a little peak working with a fun left (3' - waist high) going off into the channel with some rip in it. After a couple of hours the place got a little crowded and I thought I should check up on the action down Barra ways where there are some sand banks with channels. Thank the Lord I changed my mind in time to turn round and check out Grumari 'cos when I got to the far corner of the beach I saw that there were only three guys out and that the swell was breaking right at about head height and perfect. Usually the waves at Prainha will be larger than at Grumari but yesterday proved to be an exception. Shared the peak with another four or five guys for about an hour before the crowd started to pour in. An hour later and the place was a battle field. With the tide going out and the swell increasing, the rights (1.5OH) were just firing off making for some long fast rides. Clocked up about four hours surfing in the morning and hit the same beach for an afternoon sesh. There were at least fourty guys out there. Waves with three or four surfers on 'em. The rights were still happening but there was a mysterious inside left which would be formed by the slightly smaller swells which didn't have enough size to break right. Managed to milk a couple of the lefts and one or two rights which happened my way before calling it quits on the crowd. Too intense. I was still a bit shaken from having run over the nose of some fellows board in the morning cutting it like a knife through butter. Saturday morning I was up before sunrise but arriving at Grumari there were already four guys out and the crowd was appearing fast. The swell had died down considerably and only the occasional wave would break right but that mysterious left was there...and only one man on it, a friend of mine from way back. The crowd chose to sit out waiting for the rare rights whilst my friend and I caught one left after the other right under there noses. It was a short 'n sweet session which ended abruptly when a rip wrecked the line up and took the waves with it. Just as well 'cos I had to check in at the office. Sunday I slept in and woke up with heavy sinusitus and a slight fever (just goes to show ya - sleeping in is for the birds). After lunch the neighbour shot away a chunk of his ladies leg with a 9mm gun so I took her off to get patched up. Does my neighbour rule, Mr. Foon? (Oops wrong thread!) Tchau you guys and gals hope you all get some good waves over the w/e. Waves are flat today (have been all week) but that swell prediction chart sais they gonna come in tomorrow. I'm ready!!!
Subject: World Surf Day/Week '98 -- North Shore, HI (sponge)
Name: Neal Miyake
Date: Saturday, April 18, 1998 (belated)
Time: 5:30-9:30 AM
Location: between Insanities and Ehukai, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
Distance Searched/Traveled: 0 miles/70 miles roundtrip
Weather: Partly cloudy with strong sideshore gusts
Air Temperature: 80 F
Water Temperature: 78 F
Conditions: rising tide, lots of sand, funky
Crowd: fairly empty with maybe six on a peak max
Food: Pre: banana, yogurt, cookies, water
Transportation: Honda Civic beachmobile
Wave riding vehicle: Custom X bodyboard ("M"-tail, channels, leash)
Swell: rising NNW with some lingering NW Surf: 3-5'++ Hawaiian scale
Comments: One Good Ride -- 4/18/98
"I was in the pit with no escape as the set bore down on top of me. It shoved me down into a dark, cold, sandy abyss; into a place I did not want to be." Backtrack one month: I was fortunate enough to travel to Guam on business. Caught some really fun waves after work for two-and-a-half weeks straight. However, upon my return to Hawaii, I got consecutive bouts of both a flu and a cold. All the conditioning I had gained in Guam was lost, as I wallowed in over two weeks of sickness. Finally, I was ready to surf; and just in time, too. The incessant winds that had plagued the islands for over a month were subsiding to a "reasonable" 10-25 mph tradewind. Also, a quick-moving Aleutian storm was forecast to send a decent swell to the North Shore right on the weekend. I was on it! I paddled out early on Saturday to Pipe with a crew of other bodyboarders. Conditions were messy, with the winds still fairly strong, chopping up the water surface. Because there hadn’t been any recent big swell activity, the offshore sand had been smoothed evenly over the reefs. This left virtually all breaks sectiony and warpy, with no well-defined channels for the waves to peel across. We worked our way west, looking for a decent peak. Backdoor wasn’t happening; ditto for Off-The-Wall. But Insanities had a few, so that’s where we ended up. I soon realized that I needed to reacquaint myself with Hawaiian juice, especially with the swell running at a gnarly 3-5’ (Haw’n). The surf I experienced in Guam was perfect at times, but had nothing on the raw power I was feeling here on the North Shore. And with my recent inactivity, I felt especially sluggish in the lineup. Then the madness began. It all started so innocuously, really. I caught a less than mediocre Insanities-right ride, and kicked out. When I turned to paddle back out, I found myself caught right in the pit of an oncoming set. I was sitting right where two peaks heaved together, dredging water off of the sandbar. Talk about a salt-water enema! I was churned on four double-o waves, tumbled and held underwater for what seemed like an eternity, times four. I felt like a lemming getting flushed down a toilet. Choking on the surface, with the first pangs of panic setting in, I finally did the noble thing--I went in. It was 6:00 AM. For a full half-hour, I sat on the beach, just gathering myself. I had burned so much adrenaline that I could barely walk straight (OK, so I still had my fins on). I was exhausted, but worse than that, a small seed of fear was planted into my subconscious. Suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind. I turned and saw my good friend Ivan Okuda. Instant rejuvenation! I love surfing with Iv’ because he's one of the few guys with even more stoke than I have (plus he's also almost as old as me). We decided to chance the Beach Park, so I jogged to the parking lot to meet him. Ivan had videotaped a previous session of ours, The Pit and the Pendulum -- 3/7/98 (http://www.iav.com/~sponge/sesh/new/sesh135.htm), and so he gave me a copy that he had burned. (btw, he got "The Pit!") When we got to the park, we found that a HASA amateur contest was about to take place. No big deal. After (jokingly) hassling the contest director and judges about water rights, we headed out right in front of the park before they started. Gums was our target, but I had my mind set on Ehukai proper (the eventual contest area). Unfortunately, the surf there was also "all weirded out". There were some solid 5 footers (Haw’n), but the big ones were just shutting down completely. Then there was this unusual backwash to contend with that made the conditions especially funky. Unfortunately, I picked up right where I left off at Insanities. First attempt at a wave, I pulled back at the last minute, then got sucked over the falls (kook!). Second one, closeout. Third, straightened out. And so it went. Ivan was doing pretty good despite the conditions, getting some clean walls on the smaller waves. He was riding one of his newfangled board designs--a bodyboard with an asymmetrical tail--to facilitate his dropknee attack. However, conditions weren't really conducive to testing the subtle design improvements. Once the contestants started filtering into the lineup, we settled in at Gums. For the life of me, I still could not dial into any good ones. I did manage to perform a splayed over-the-falls wipeout (9.9 on the difficulty scale) along with some dorky dropknee attempts. After a couple of hours in the poor conditions, Ivan decided to throw in the towel, leaving me to ponder my next move. Pipe was looking pretty inviting, with a few hollow hooks coming in to a sparse crowd, so I drifted down. Scoring waves during this time of the season is great because all the visiting surfers are all but gone. I hooked up with a few local riders that I know "by face", and we took turns on the peak. However, I still didn't really have my act together. Got axed at the bottom of one wave with the lip drilling me right between the shoulderblades. On another, I reached the bottom just in time to swerve into the barrel and savor one moment of visual ecstasy in the tube. Then I became one with the lip and got sucked right over the falls, eventually doing cartwheels in the whitewater. Finally, I decided to just wait for a good one, at least one good ride, before heading in. And so I waited, and waited, and waited. Suddenly, a single wave reared up on the horizon. By the time we saw it, it was already feathering in the firm crosswinds. I was sitting the furthest out, but had to paddle out even further to get in position. I quickly swung around then used all four appendages to scratch into it. The wave jacked quickly, and I soon found myself freefalling down the face, just sketching big time! Once I reconnected, I meekly decided to straighten off slightly. It's a good thing too, because moments later, the thunderous lip bombed down just a couple of yards behind and to the inside of me. I managed to slowly bank around the curl and onto the (by then) severely tapered shoulder, then kicked out in the channel. What a rush! Don't know if I was shell-shocked from that ride or just tired, but I remember paddling back out with a slight tremble on my breath. After getting a few "How was that wave!?!" comments by some of the boys, I decided to call it a day taking a cute little tube to the beach. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Both ankles ached from excessive strain against my fins. My left shoulder throbbed slightly from the ax-job. My flooded sinuses again gave me a headache. But one good ride was all it took to make it all worthwhile. Even the near-drowning incident became just a distant memory. I guess that's what stoke is all about. Happy World Surf Day/Week '98
sponge HI Surf Advisory (http://www.iav.com/~sponge/)
P.S. The size of that wave? I'd say close to eight feet, Hawaiian.
From: Timothy B. Maddux
Hell, I didn't even know it was an event until it was over. Somebody forgot to tell me my heat was on. When was it? April 12th? Here's a retroactive report for Santa Barbara: Flat and windy, just as it's been for the past 3 weeks. We had one classic Rincon day which I missed while in Louisiana eating crawfish and sucking down Abitas. -- .-``'.
Tim Maddux
Who Rules?
From: Foondoggy
Organization: Dept. of Redundancy Department
I'm riding shotgun with MrsFoon screaming down the big "eye Nine Five" highway, like we're on some berserk rocket powered logflume ride from automotive hell, watching my beloved smash every speed limit and a few landspeed records to boot. I'm very conscious of the fact that her Wanted Poster in every State Police Barracks from New Jersey to Florida lists an alias under her cuteface picture as "leadfoot". Finally, as we reach the North Carolina border and I finally find the best Rock'n Roll radio station in the Carolinas (WRDU -Wilson-Raleigh-Durham RULES!!)
I can hold my tongue no longer: "Don't do it hon." "Don't do what?" "Don't try to keep up with them." "Keep up with who?" "The New Yorkers" "What the hell are you talkin' about?" "I know them, they're my people. New Yorkers Rule I-95. Besides, they're on a mission from god." "Foonboy, have you been huffing the wetsuit glue again, what ARE you talkin about?" "The New Yorkers, the ones blowing your doors off at 85 mph that you keep trying to catch. Most of 'em are trying to get to Florida in time for the beginning of passover in just 12 short hours, and the others are draggin their families to Disney World for Easter Vacation. Believe me I know these people. No one or nothing will stop them, sweetheart, just let 'em pass." Seeing the logic in this and noting a NC State Mountie in a plain wrapper on the turnout up the road, she lowers her speed to 75 mph.
I look out the window and see a van full of college kids roar by with a hand made sign that reads, "Deaf Tones Rule". Really, I think, someone has got to, but the Deaf Tones?. Just fill in your favorite band why don't you.
We were down in my beloved Wrightsville Beach for the Easter holiday and the informal World Surff(ohio) Day hoping for some good weather, some good waves and some good barbacue. After dropping MrsFoon off, saying hi to Moms Foon I headed straight for the Crystal Pier.
Well at least the barbacue was good, and I did burn my bald spot thanks to the intense sun. The waves? For a Good Friday, it wasn't very. 2-3 faces (RightCoastian) a stiff offshore breeze, a million beginners in the lineup with all manner of boards, but the noseriding long ones ruled.
Easter Sunday comes and I'm on preDawn Patrol with my two nephews, a box of KKs, some coffee and hope in my heart. I've promised my sister we will be at church services, if there are no waves. Blocks before we get to the beach in the predawn light, there are dozens of cars and people in the streets. Damn, I think, it must be humpin. Then I pull up to the beach and I think, Damn, its a sunrise service at the beach featuring what will be a truly beautiful sunrise, but no waves. The inevitable strikes us with sledgehammer force. There are no waves and my sister's spies will inform her of that fact, we're committed to going to church. The boys are hangdog unhappy and bummed, but manage to wolf down 4 donuts each.
Pulling into the church parking lot later, I'm not sure what to expect. It had been a few years since I'd been to services at the Monkey Junction Charismatic Pentecostal Church of the Gooey Death and Discount House of Worship. First thing I notice as I settle in the pew with Moms Foon and the boys is the 7 piece band tuning up. The two drummers are laying down some stuff. I like one of 'em but the other is too fill happy and he doesn't know how far his set carries in the church. Jumpin in on the handclapper first tune are a Hammond 3D organ, piano, bass, and guitar. The lead off number is a feel gooder and the pastor invites everyone to greet their neighbor around them. A kid in a Surfboards Hawaii t-shirt turns around, looks at me and says, "Didn't I see you out at the pier Friday?" I nod yes, and he grins, "Mebbe we better pray for some waves then." I couldn't agree more. It's a big crowd and even though the service goes on for 90 minutes, the music, dancing maidens and flaming tamborines give the event quite a festive air. My youngest nephew gets stupid by saying, "I've been coming here for years on Easter, and the story is always the same." Well Duh! I dope slap him for being so smart and receive one myself from Moms for being a jerk. Ahhh family. Families Rule.
I notice several young men in the church with shirts proclaiming the brand of board they ride and figured they we're in the same boat as we were. But Southern families have a strong church going tradition the boys are all well mannered in church. If that would only carry over into the lineup on a good day, things could be a bit more mellow. Manners Rule. The pastor kept it mercifully short, going over the facts of the easter story and making it extremely clear to anyone who may have had any doubts -Jesus Rules!!!! Are you willing to risk the consequences if you believe otherwise?
Back again to the beach for hopefully an afternoon session only to find gusty winds and no surf. I hung out on the beach with my nephews both of whom have blown off college to find their own way. One's a well respected chef in a local restaurant (and Bass Player in an alternative band). The younger one is just embarking on his training as an electrician. Both have asked me honestly how to face the future and keep things in perspective. Both would love to continue to surf as much as possible, but realize the necessity of work. Though their father and mother are very worried about these boys, I recognize an inate quality- they are honest workers. They can and will survive and most likely do very well, thank you. So counseling them about their futures and urging them to go to college was going to be delicate. I kept my advice short and to the point, trusting they would see the message, "Boys.... you rule.
Your decisions, your intelligence, your common sense and good character will rule every aspect of your life. Don't fear mistakes, don't hide from risk, don't do anything stupid, and things will be alright. And lastly, don't ever snake your Uncle Foon out of a wave. If you do, you're outta my will. Kapish?" The boys nod in unison, grinning ear to ear. They at least will have one relative to surf with for as long as he can get his fat butt in the water. Plus he knows the answer to the question: Who rules? You do.
Foon
From: Napalm
I forgot it was WSD (is that the same as alt.surfing day?). I went to the beach for the day, but sat and watched my mates surfing. The waves were big but junk. If I had remembered it was WSD, I would have gone out! If this is any compensation I had an unreal surf the next day (Monday), which would have been Sunday your time in the USA (or somewhere in the world!), so if I ignore the slight technicality, it was world surf day. It was one of those sessions where it was onshore, but the tide was high enough so that the lip crumbles and rolls down the face, and you can do so many off-the-tops. It was super, super fun. Suprisingly uncrowded too, seeing as it was a public holiday. For what it's worth, that's my WSD story.
Napalm
Subject: My First Time ..... Surfing that is.
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 01:29:25 -0400
From: "Todd Pettit"
I will never forget the first time I was introduced to the sport that would become my passion in life. It was a mere four years ago this coming fall, so I haven't had all the experiences most of you have had. Every one I have had is still fresh in my mind and will remain with me forever. My close friend and roommate, Josh, convinced me to take the two and a half hour trip with him to Ocean City, MD. It was late September and I was a little weary about going in the water so late in the year. He brought along an additional 3 mil suit for me to calm my fear about the frigid water. Surprisingly, the water wound up being warmer than the air. He didn't have an additional board for me so when we got to the beach we headed to Sundancer to rent the biggest board they had. I wound up getting a 7'6" fun shape for 25 bucks for the day. At the time I thought it to be a wasted investment. Little did I know.... After suiting up and staring at the ocean for about 15 minutes (I didn't even know what we were looking for) we grabbed our boards and took the plunge. The wind was blowing rather stiffly onshore, I would say about 10 to 15 knots so there was a good deal of white water to fight through. My roommate, having a modest amount of experience made it out with little difficulty. I, on the other hand, had enough trouble staying on my board and keeping it under me. Duck dive who?? I fought the shore break for what seemed an eternity and almost gave up entirely. I even came in and sat on the beach watching Josh catch a few crumbly knee high waves. After a few minutes soaking in my own self pity, I headed back out for another try. After all, I couldn't waste 25 bucks and I didn't drive two and a half hours to watch him surf all day. After all it looked like he was having fun. I eventually made it out to where he was waiting, my arms feeling like a couple of jello jigglers. Cherry, I think. Josh told me a few basics about where to position myself and where the best spot was to start paddling. I remember catching a few waves of rolling white water on my stomach, gaining confidence and balance with each attempt. But what I remember the most was the one, and only, time I pushed off with my arms, bounced to a crouching position and eventually reached a standing position. By this time, the wave had closed out and I was almost on the beach. But that didn't matter. I had stood up and I felt something that I had never experienced before. Not to be corny and quote The Beach Boys, but I felt like I was "Sitting on top of the world!" Never before had I experienced such stoke. That wave was the only one I caught standing the whole day, but it made the trip worth it. Since that day, Josh and I have made many surf trips together. We have established a yearly ritual with a body-boarder friend of ours. Each October, long after all the tourists have left we take a trip to Ocean City to surf the day together. Each time, I think about my first day and thank Josh for introducing me to the greatest sport (art) in the world. It doesn't matter if the surf is bad, we just sit offshore and talk and relax, always knowing that there will be one good wave that will make the whole trip worth it. Even though, as World Surf Day comes and goes and I am stuck hours from the closest break, I will be thinking about all of you around the country riding the one wave that will bring a smile to your face and will make the trip worth taking. Ride one for me.
Todd P
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WORLD SURF DAY - NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT
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WORLD SURF DAY 1998 - To tell you the truth there was no surf in Sydney, Australia, all week, and so consequently, having heard that NASA may have been on the point of getting the starcharts from out of Sandman's mind, I decided to release some historical information which was delivered to me 27 years ago by a man in a black suit and tie who claimed to be from the future. I can clearly recall his words to me on that cold grey morning in winter. Why, you may ask? Well, I recall it clearly because I was out on the dawn patrol, alone, and he appeared on a sponge right in front of me, dry, suit and tie and socks and shoes, the whole get-up, between some pretty heavy duty sets.
He said he was from the future, and that he had some information which needed to be made available on WSD98 (I didn't know what that was at the time). He said that I wouldnt have a report anyway, 'cause there was to be no surf on WSD98 in Sydney (I was living up the coast at that time). He said that the information was contained on this "diskette" thing, and he produced a water-proof plastic container. He said that the technology was not around to get the information off the disk, but if I waited for 10 years, I'd be able to read the information contained therein.
I almost didn't take it from his extended hand, I recall, 'cause I thought he was a little weird, you know, and on account of a big set forming way out the back, but he said "Go on. Take it now. You'll still make the wave." So I took the package and stuffed it into my jocks, and paddled hard for the horizon. I just made the takeoff-point alright, but when I propped and did a really late takeoff, I could not see him anywhere, and never saw him again.
Sure enough, a few years ago the 1.44Mb diskette technology come on through, and so I managed to read the text information then. Today is the day it would appear that I am to transmit this message, for it is WSD98, and there has been no swell (the b****** was right again !!).
Anyway, the text on that diskette has been copied now to the newsreader, and all I have to do is send it off, and my responsibility in this matter will be discharged, and I'll sure feel alot better.
I'm not asking anyone to believe this story, even for one little moment, cause I know things like this dont really happen. But seeing there was no surf, and that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, I will leave it to you, the readers, to make up your own minds.
All the best for now,
Pete Brown
Mountain Man Graphics, Australia
http://magna.com.au/~prfbrown/
Global Oceanic Surf Links
http://magna.com.au/~prfbrown/tubelink.html
The entire text can be found at: http://magna.com.au/~prfbrown/surfi_03.htm