Messages

1

SUP General / Re: Surf Doheny during Ohana Fest?

« on: September 24, 2019, 03:51:12 PM »

I have surfed Doheny during the Ohana Fest the last three years. I did not attend the Ohana Fest, just surfed in the evening as the music was happening. The biggest issue was parking. On Fridays there was still some parking in the metered lot but the regular parking was totally full. Saturday and Sunday after 1pm, forget trying to find any parking. I paddle from Baby Beach to Doheny if it's Saturday or Sunday evening. It's a little less crowded but the waves weren't a ghost town by any means.

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SUP General / Re: SUP Booby Trap on YouTube

« on: July 05, 2019, 06:06:59 PM »

To be fair to the kook, that's Doheny and it was only knee high. I surf there 2-3 times a week and stuff like that is normal. You know, Doheny: where every wave is a party wave. If you haven't been knee-capped by someone's out-of-control board you haven't really surfed Doho.

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SUP General / Re: Pacific Paddle Games at Doheny this weekend..question

« on: October 03, 2017, 09:58:01 AM »

Another problem with the PPG is that everyone use to be excited about being in the open race. Now the open seems more like an after thought and a way for the games to make money. Not sure how to remedy that, but they should try to to put more fun back into the open races. The only ones that are going to go to an event are those that participate in the sport and the sponsors need to find a way to attract them by doing something special.

I feel that having both an open technical and an open distance race hinders entry numbers. If you race both it's easier to justify the entrance fees since they are discounted but if you can't do both the single entry fee seems hard to swallow. With each race being on a different day it excludes participants who aren't able to commit both Saturday and Sunday to racing. Maybe a single recreational race with lower entry fees would increase participation. As I recall from Econ 101 there should be a sweet spot on the graph where price and volume meet.     

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SUP General / Re: Pacific Paddle Games at Doheny this weekend..question

« on: October 01, 2017, 08:42:55 AM »

I raced PPG open technical the last two years plus the BOP for the four previous years but chose not to this year because I don't feel I got my money's worth last year. It's hard to justify a $160 entry fee for a 2.4 mile race. IIRC, BOP entry fee was around $85 and it had a better swag bag.

This year I took my race board and surfed the small waves amongst the pros and elite racers before and between races and had way more fun and it was free.

I think a combination if small waves and early clouds may have cut down the spectator attendance.

5

SUP General / Re: SUP Safety Identification

« on: January 05, 2016, 11:31:29 AM »

I've used these ID bands for years in distance running and desert motorcycle racing:

http://www.roadid.com/

Now I just need to remember to wear it when I solo SUP.

6

SUP General / Re: "Barbarian Days" by William Finnegan

« on: October 14, 2015, 10:55:01 AM »

I grew up in Honolulu around the same time Finnegan did and his recollections ring so true.  Unlike him, I never became a great haole surfer that earned respect.  I just got hassled like he did early on except it never ceased for me until my parents realized what was going on and put me in private school.

Really, it sucked a lot of the time (and probably still does) to be a blond-haired kid in public school in Hawaii.

7

SUP General / Re: PPG

« on: October 13, 2015, 06:46:08 AM »

I have a few questions then...

1-What was the nature of Kai's unsportsmanlike penalty and is this, combined with last years incident with Connor, indicating a pattern of boorishness on the the young man's part. Also something about his interviews just seem to stoked, to much of the usual "grateful", "blessed", "we are all friends". Sometimes I want the truth. For example "look at my life, tasty waves, warm breezes, beautiful women-better luck next time suckers."

2-Doesn't Danny Ching own 404? He only has one board? Needs an emergency repair to be rideable? That cannot be.

The incident with Kai happened at a buoy turn and it was between him and Connor again. I think there may be more details being released, at least around the penalty, but it affected others too.

Regarding Danny's board, yes he only had one made specifically for PPG. I also heard that he switched to a production version but I think he went back to that board for the technical final and it was buckled again. I don't think it reflects poorly on 404, I think people have to understand that his boards are basically disposable. He can make a board with the intention of only using it for one race so he makes them as light as possible.  BOP last year, M2O this year and PPG just happened to have some sizable surf. I saw a few buckled boards at PPG this year.

I got a close look at Danny's broken board at the 2014 BOP and I was astounded at how lightly glassed it was.  It looked like a chunk of foam wrapped in paper.

8

SUP General / Re: PPG

« on: October 12, 2015, 04:59:04 PM »

I like it better than the BOP.  More variety for us weekend warriors in race choice as well as the awesome live stream coverage.

I'm curious, though: I raced the 3 mile open technical on Saturday and it seemed quite a bit longer than 3 miles.  Based on my typical 3 mile training time and the fact that they moved all buoys farther out due to the surf conditions I believe this to be the case.  Did any of you have a GPS while competing in this race actually measure the distance? 

9

SUP General / Re: VW Bus

« on: September 23, 2015, 02:43:36 PM »

1950-1967 Split Windshield buses have been my hobby since 1985.  I have owned over a dozen in that period of time, from the rarest of the rare pre-1955 23 window up to a 1967 beater..  I currently own a 1952 VW bus that is a former ambulance.     

The craziest thing is how the prices have risen in the last 15 years.  The average Joe is completely priced out.  I see 23 window models sell for 100k + with the occasional rarer early "barndoor" models selling for over $200k.  These are buses that we paid a few hundred to a few thousand for in the '80s.  Driveable beaters now sell for $20k + and total rust buckets are $10k.

Take a look:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1837087

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1646892

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1825800

Madness, I tell ya.

10

SUP General / Re: Bye-Bye Bark

« on: September 01, 2015, 06:14:08 PM »

No surprise there.  I've seen Candice paddling on her Bark with the Infinty crew for a couple years around DP and Doheney.  And her boyfriend, Anthony Vela, is an Infinity team member.  The Barks haven't been as favored in the ocean races as other well known brands for a while.  I've noticed fewer Bark riders in the elite races each successive year.

11

Events / Re: The new "BOP" Pacific Paddle Games at Doheny

« on: August 18, 2015, 11:43:41 AM »

Ok the PPG reg is open.  Who's in?

https://paddleguru.com/races/PacificPaddleGamespresentedbySaltLife

I went to register but hesitated when I saw the entrance fee is $115 for the same open race for which BOP charged $85. At least with the BOP you got some Rainbow Sandals with the entrance.  PPG is including some kind of knock-off sandals, I see.  Still mulling it over.

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SUP General / Re: To all those who sweat the "Stink eye" or "hate" yada yada...

« on: October 22, 2014, 03:09:30 PM »

Was Nat Young a bully?

I don't don't know him personally but he has a reputation as a hot-head.  So does Sunny Garcia.

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SUP General / Re: sick from doheny

« on: October 21, 2014, 09:09:12 AM »

I was at Camp SUP and no sickness for me. 

Did the doctor say if it was viral or bacterial?  If it's not responding to antibiotics it's probably viral and likely did not come from contaminated water.  These viruses can come from anybody you had contact with in the few days prior to the symptoms appearing.

I'm not a doctor but I have dealt with doctors on this issue.  I'm in the water a couple times a week and my son prones 5-6 times a week in South OC.

14

SUP General / Re: BOP Crash Kai v Connor

« on: October 08, 2014, 12:00:04 PM »

That's a good one to know SeaMe, I expect to see you in out the surf next summer.

It's on my to-do list. 

I thought I read in a lead up article (I'll try to find the link) that the idea was that the surf would still be accessible to non-event folks between heats.

Found the article: http://www.supthemag.com/news/battle-of-the-paddle-moving-to-salt-creek/

Here's what was said:

SUP mag: So culturally, Salt Creek isn’t really a SUP destination. Any plans to work with the locals?

BT: We’re all Orange County locals so we understand that situation. We know Salt Creek is a sensitive spot. We plan to talk to locals and work with them. We’re not going to completely take over the beach. In between the races the water will be open. We definitely want to work with the locals to mitigate problems. But again, Salt Creek is such a scenic and beautiful beach and we’re really excited about that.

Can anyone confirm or deny that between races the water was open?

Yes, the water was open, there were prone surfers riding even during the races.  They did have to move North of the entry and exit zone.  There were also a few brave SUP surfers who surfed the big waves between races.  I didn't see too many recreational paddlers, though.

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SUP General / Re: BOP 2014 - goodbye Doheny... good or bad?

« on: October 07, 2014, 09:49:27 PM »

Awesome event, I had a blast, and what sparky told me he was thinking about for next year made my little heart go pitter-pat. A full on waterman event, with all the sup and prone Paddleboard events plus surfing of all kinds, plus lifeguard swimming events. 

Let's hope not!  The prone race seemed unnecessary.  It pushed the start of the elite races more than an hour later than in past years.  By the time the men's elite race started it was after 4pm and there was so much glare on the water that the racers were just silhouettes most of the time.

Kudos to the organizers for making the best of Creek and while the action in the elite races (and the open race) was more intense than Doho it certainly wasn't as family friendly.  I miss the party waves and demo paddling between races like we had at Doheny.