Messages

151

SUP General / Re: Trip to Cardiff, Cali

« on: January 18, 2017, 08:02:19 PM »

Right now the forecast is for 20 kt winds, overhead surf and rain on the 23rd.

https://www.wunderground.com/us/ca/cardiff-by-the-sea

Not sure if you have surfed Cardiff before but there is going to be 3 days of run off flowing out too.  If the water smells bad find someplace else.  The bluffs around Encinitas/Solana Beach / Carlsbad are going to be saturated from the rains so keep that in mind too when choosing a spot.

152

SUP General / Re: Rain & Bacteria

« on: January 12, 2017, 03:08:40 PM »

I've surfed Lajolla shores a couple of mornings a week for many years.  Close to work.  I've only had one or two eye or ear infections in a lot of years and sometimes I will surf right as a big rain storm is starting or 24 hours after.  Once there has been several rain storms in a season Scripps/ Lajolla Shores is not very polluted (rich people's poop is cleaner you see).  You do see trash and garbage in the water after big holiday weekends.  Avoid the drain at Avenida De La Playa.   Also I carry fresh water and rinse out my ears, eyes, nose and mouth and throat after surfing especially if there has been a recent rain.

Cardiff at the lagoon mouth, Del Mar Dog Beach, Tourmaline, and the breaks just south of the San Diego River outlet as well as any thing within 5 miles of Tijuanna river outlet are the places to avoid after storms.

153

SUP General / Re: San Onofre - Move the "OK" Signs Update

« on: December 20, 2016, 06:33:30 PM »

They will ticket and fine you.  I know some out of state folks who got ticketed.

I haven't surfed my waveski there in a few years, just too crowded and too big a hassle to get in when the waves are good. A few years ago just before a waveski contest up in Ventura,  Mike Johnson tried to stir things up with the rangers; I did not see it but friends that were with him said they were threatened with arrest for disobeying a peace officer, it apparently got quite heated over a stupid O and a K. 

154

SoCal / Re: Is a better SoCal surf spot too much to ask for?

« on: December 15, 2016, 04:48:02 PM »

In the last few years a handful of surfers have died from bugs they caught in the water off San Diego.

I know of 1 in late 2014.  Any others in that handful?

I looked around online and just found news stories about Barry Ault who died Christmas Day 2014 and it may have been a heart valve infection issue, not everyone is going to have.  The others I have heard of I don't have names and did not find any evidence of  anyone dying. One of those was a friend of a coworker.  I did find a lot of infection and illness stories where people claimed to have "almost died." Not quite the same is it though, however my own case of the "Cardiff Crud" was pretty unpleasant.

155

SoCal / Re: Is a better SoCal surf spot too much to ask for?

« on: December 15, 2016, 11:27:27 AM »

Speaking of should have been here yesterday - this morning was a lot of small short period stuff but when the storm started to blow through there were some really nice shoulder high waves for about 40 minutes.

San Diego has a dirty secret and it is that the City and County are in violation of clean water laws.   It's usually not a big problem surfing when the storm starts, but it's not a real good idea to surf after street run-off is coming into the water.  In the last few years a handful of surfers have died from bugs they caught in the water off San Diego.   I've never had  a problem surfing in the more posh neighborhoods of Lajolla - Rich people and their dogs  tend to have their nasty viruses and bacteria treated, but stay away from the storm drain outlets.   We used to have lots of migrant workers camping in the open spaces and leaving human waste in the watershed near lagoons in Delmar and North county, development has cleared a lot of these folks out and a lot have not come looking for work because of better times in Mexico.   You don't want to get near Imperial Beach during or after a storm.  Also Cardiff Reef is a notorious spot still.  Sewage overflows in Escondido make their way down the watershed to the lagoon at Cardiff, sometimes you can smell and taste nasty stuff in the water.  About 12 years ago I got really sick after surfing at Cardiff two days after a storm and spent a day in the emergency room, the ER doctor called me up and told me they had several people come in with the same intestinal symptoms who had been surfing Cardiff the same time --- I only go there when I am sure the lagoon area has been clean for several weeks.

156

SoCal / Re: Is a better SoCal surf spot too much to ask for?

« on: December 14, 2016, 10:21:40 AM »

If you think Cardiff is crowded, LaJolla shores is not the place for you.  Also any place with high tides and any kind of incline on the beach is going to have backwash, some people actually surf the back wash from bluffs and seawalls  back out for fun.

The thing to do is to use the SUP for what it was evolved to do and that is paddle along the coast until you find your own nice wave to surf away from the crowds.  Trust me there are 100s of nice spots that only locals know and all you have to do is paddle a half mile from where you park.

Get ready for some east coast surfing Friday AM, may I suggest Torrey Pines or Swammy's to get some real action. 

157

SoCal / Re: Is a better SoCal surf spot too much to ask for?

« on: December 13, 2016, 01:26:28 PM »

Yeah it sucks here  all the time, best to stay home next time and tell all your friends how bad  North County is.

 Good choice on Tourmaline and Pacific Beach, honestly the best spots in all of Southern California.

158

Gear Talk / Re: best/better travel paddle?

« on: December 09, 2016, 08:29:22 PM »

If you are really buying it as a travel paddle I have learned some lessons traveling for paddle sports. (1)  Airlines can and will break anything that is in special cases or board bags.  Make sure you can easily pack your travel paddle in your normal checked luggage.  (2) Light and well designed carbon paddles are best for common use but if you find a fiberglass paddle that fits in your luggage and you are not racing or paddling long distances, go with the fiberglass paddle.  It's more likely to take abuse, and paddling in surf breaks in far off places you are much more likely to hit something, or have something smash your paddle. (3) Also if it is stolen ( a not so unlikely event when traveling) it won't be as big a bummer as having a really nice carbon paddle disappear.

159

Random / Re: The growing popularity of surfskis 1986

« on: December 07, 2016, 08:19:26 PM »

Actually surfskis on the west coast have made a bit of a comeback in the last few years with lots of people getting into racing.  There is a bit of a problem with definitions, in the US a surfski is an open top kayak like boat that is very narrow and long and requires good balance and paddling technique to balance and people generally do down wind paddles off shore for speed.  Much faster than SUP, at least for me.  In NZ I saw a lot of multi-sport canoes for racing, very similar.

I think the term Goatboat has an even more  perverse meaning than you mentioned.  Waveskis are meant for surfing and are about 7 to 9ft and you keep your feet in straps and use a seat belt, and you need to learn to eskimo roll.  High performance waveskis are actually much easier to do radical cut backs, re-entires and airs than SUP.    I started out surfing on a wave ski and still do it when the waves are really big or really crappy. There are maybe ~50 devoted fanatics on the US west coast and we know each other through contests but it's definitely a niche sport. A lot of waveskiers at San O moved on to SUPs, most of those guys are pretty old.   I used to get a lot of crap from boardies on my ski until SUPs started hogging all the outside waves, now I'm accepted.  I took up SUP surfing  as a new challenge and getting worked by a big wave, strapped to the waveski really sucks for your back. Tyler Lausten makes the best high performance waveskis in the US and Infinity makes great custom skis for more intermediate surfers.  Tsunami waveskis are in Auckland and they still sell a lot of skis in NZ so somebody must be riding them. I borrowed a  ski in Taranaki when on vacation and went out with the local waveski crew and surfed around region for several days, it was the surf trip of a lifetime.

160

SUP General / Re: What your experience with creating a SUP product? Any advice?

« on: November 20, 2016, 11:45:41 AM »

If you sent a design to a company you needed to have a signed CDA in place before you sent the design that spells out that they will not use it or a similar design. Their CDA will tell you they can use a similar design that becomes available from a third party, or the same design if it was already known by others.

In any business if you don't have the experience and know-how to get an idea protected and have working prototypes filed for patent protection you don't have much of a chance.  (in the surf industry patents have very little protection too) There are lots of examples of exceptions but, there are thousands and thousands of people who had ideas and did not know how to execute. 

161

SUP General / Re: Who on the Zone is competing in Fiji?

« on: November 18, 2016, 08:17:45 PM »

I know Caroline Angibaud from France; she took fourth, lost her best shots on some bumpy waves.  She's a great person and visits San Diego and  Ventura in fall  nearly every year for the Ventura Contest and other contests.  She was giving lessons this year in San Diego.

162

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: New Zealand Downwind spots

« on: November 17, 2016, 03:52:05 PM »

I did not use camper vans during our trip, we rented a station wagon sort of suv and camped from tents. After being in NZ when I go back I will definitely do the camper vans.  We stayed in some great hotels, but there were some great places to camp nearby and we could have saved a lot and been right on the beach.  I have a good friend in NZ who uses camper vans a lot, I'll ask him which company you should look up.

Doing the rental car thing in NZ on North and South Islands is really easy.  We flew into Auckland then flew to Christchurch and rented a car there and drove around the south island for nearly three weeks.  We drove  to the south tip and took the ferry to Stewart Island.  You do not need a car there but you can rent one cheaply and see more of the island easily. We drove north mostly on the coast and did the fjordlands, doubtful sound, and the high mountain parks.   We returned the rental car in Christchurch and then caught a cheap flight to Wellington.  We hired a rental car from the same company in Wellington and drove up the west coast, in land to Tangariro and then west to climb Mt. Taranaki, and then surfed on the Taranaki coast for several days then north,  and finally dropped the car in Aukland.  We did not get as far east as Gisborne area.  The far north thumb of the island is supposed to be good for surfing but we did not make it there.

We were in an incredible storm on the south island and the crossing to stewart island in huge waves is something I will never forget.  NZ is in the "roaring 40s" latitude so there are very often very strong winds especially on the west coast.  There should be plenty of wind for down winding but I would try to make friends with some locals to learn where to go when it blows a gale constantly.  I have a friend in Taranaki and he showed us the secret surf  spots and took us around, it was really an unfogettable trip.

163

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: New Zealand Downwind spots

« on: November 17, 2016, 10:05:04 AM »

Campervan camping in NZ is very popular and there are lots of deals.  The camper vans are smaller than US RVs and not as posh but would allow you to stop at beaches and camp (sometimes illegally but not strictly enforced).  The best rentals are from smaller NZ specific companies, you can check out a lot of reviews and deals on the internet.  I used Apex for car rentals on South and North Island.  We had two breakdowns and they were great with help getting going.  The south island is huge and almost everywhere is remote.

I spent almost a month in NZ in their summer and the weather was rain/winds and heavy rain and heavy winds the entire time.  We had three good surfing days on the entire trip.  That being said the south island is one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  The storms were worse there so if you are just going to surf I would suggest the north Island Taranaki area (lots of breaks no crowds, and up towards Raglan), The east end of the island supposedly has fantastic surfing but we did not get there.  Down wind paddling I saw was on Stewart Island (fantastic place)  and on the lakes in central south island near Wanaka and Te Anau.   There can be good surfing on the coast near there.  Check out Sand Flies before pack so you take some insect repellent.

164

Sessions / Re: Supcheat's Boring Surf Vid

« on: November 17, 2016, 09:42:48 AM »

I'm still learning but I came at SUP surfing from high performance waveski paddle surfing.  If you don't use the paddle to help initiate turns and adjust speed and trim you might as well be riding a long board. The paddle gives you a lot of ability to sink the rails and tap the power of the wave to carve turns.  There are lot of really good tips on the internet on how to do this.

http://www.davidkalama.com/using-your-paddle/

One thing I notice on beginner SUP videos is a lot of just straight in surfing, the surfer just looking towards the beach holding the paddle in one hand like a prop.  On a fast peeling wave after your bottom turn you should be looking down the wave at the top of the lip and aiming your next two or three turns.  I'm lucky to pull off a bottom turn and a top turn, but you should be thinking about your next two or three turns not just holding the paddle and doing a Straight-In Charlie.

165

SUP General / Re: Shop for Focus Carbon/ACT Fin Box Replacement in San diego/Encinitas area?

« on: November 17, 2016, 09:07:50 AM »

Thanks I saw their ads after I posted this, they get fairly decent reviews too.  Only about ten minutes away too.