Zoners Rock

[Glenn B]

It’s the people on the Zone that make this a great place!

As I was in transit to San Clemente Friday night for a couple of days of standup R&R , SoCalSupper graciously let me know that he would hook me up with a board for Saturday if the logistics didn’t work out with Stand Lepper’s offer of same.  Thanks Jon! 

However, Strand Leper came through in a very big way!  Despite the fact that we’d never met, Tim left his “step-up” board hidden outside his home for me to retrieve on my way from the airport to the motel.  When I rolled up to his house at 11:30 p.m., it occurred to me that we hadn’t talked about large pets or roving security guards.  If either were present, they are obviously desensitized to shadowy figures carrying strange boards and long sticks around his yard in the middle of the night.

Speaking of sticks, Tim also volunteered his wife’s very short KeNalu . . . AND a longer, spare KeNalu shaft cut to the perfect length for him, and me.  I’m sure that the only reason he didn’t also toss in his wife’s hair dryer was that he knew I would have access to one at the motel.   And maybe also because it was the wife’s birthday, and Tim’s a smart guy.   

By the way, while paddling out to the Dog Patch line-up Saturday morning, I concluded that it would be more appropriate for me to refer to Tim’s 8’8” x 27” x 4” ‘step-up’ as ’fall-down.’  Fortunately, after about twenty minutes I was up more than down, and managed over the next 90 minutes to pick off five or six very fun shoulder-high set waves.  A LOT more work (and frustration) than my 9’2” x 29 ½“ x 4 ¼“ back home, but it’s clear that on some waves the narrow-board ride is well worth the paddling/balance learning curve. 

At daybreak today, I finally met Tim and joined him for a session at another spot.  Got into a handful of fun waves interspersed between lots of ‘ups and downs’ (attributable partly to the backwash), and got to watch Tim rip-up a lot more on his brand new 26 ½“ wide(!) design.  The man is an inspiration!

As I write this, I’m on a plane headed up to Seattle, and back to work.  But with that mellow, relaxation-buzz one experiences after spending time enjoying fun waves and good friends.     

Thanks Tim!  I owe you.

Glenn

[XLR8]

That's really cool!  I have also been able to enjoy hospitality facilitated by the Zone and it made a serious difference when I wanted to experience a place when I wasn't properly prepared.  When everyone is warning each other about the crazies on the internet it's nice to know there are real opportunities as well.  But it is a little crazy to be on a 26" wide board.

[SoCalSupper]

Glad to hear it Glenn!
Im glad you got a chance to use SL's board-mine would have been nice and big but not as challenging.
Wish the conditions were a bit better Saturday but stoked you got some!

[crtraveler]

Nice...  I feel the same way....It is indeed a family....I have met and hung out / surfed with a handful of zoners in the past few years (SUPthecreek, Caribsurf, Linter, SUPerbowl, ReidSUP, Marco (from CR Sup adventures) and I would not hesitate to treat them as I would a family member...you need a board - sure...  you need a place to stay - no sweat...  It's a special bond we all have being on the ground floor of a very cool community that will be around for a long time....

[stoneaxe]

Nice...it really is great to have zone friends all over.

LOL...hearing you describe the board I don't think I'll ever be borrowing one of Tim's boards....two maybe...one for each foot....

[Strand Leper]

Glenn is such a cool dude... And a great sport... And quite frankly was pretty solid on my step up.

I knew that he was going to be solid, however, because he was staying at a holiday inn express.

It's a bummer that the swell dropped, but we snagged a couple of nuggets and had some fun.

We were both fighting the high tide refraction... Then the wind chop... Then the walk up the hill.

The dude learned standup on a Munoz... In the winter... In Maryland... Enough said.  Oh and he flies a few thousand miles for a few days of standup between meetings.

He even patiently listened to me brag about my son At the end of the session. (I think that was an appropriate exchange for the board borrowing).

When I get to the blue crab state, I am gonna be hooked up!

I've got the 26.5 set aside for Stoney. Or rather, two 26.5s.

SL

[Glenn B]

Thanks for the kind words Tim, but I only noticed one of us struggling with anything out there. 

And if you or anyone else here visits Maryland, you really do have to try those steamed Maryland Blue Crabs.  Just watch your fingers before those guys go into the pot!

Glenn

[JT]

Yeah, what struck me about the original thread and this one was the total stoke factor from all parties involved...from the OP who made a pretty big detour for a day at Dogpatch and the locals who ensured he got hooked up.

I confess a thought along the lines of "huh, loaning a board to a total stranger" ran through my head at first, but they're no longer strangers now which may be the main takeaway here.

That said, this story might have been even more entertaining had the locals convinced the OP to blow off the business meeting for an epic Mex journey instead. "We called your boss and told him you can't make it...so it's roadtrip time..."

[Bulky]

Very cool!

I don't think anything in Leper's garage would remain buoyant with me on it, but I'm thinking of taking my wife to OC for a weekend and would love to squire her around in a high-performance European coupe.  Any chance you could just leave some keys in the same spot you left the board, Tim?

[supthecreek]

^^^^^^^^^
 

[Bklyn2Oahu]

Cool story!  Zoners are cool dudes!

[Fark]

Very cool!

I don't think anything in Leper's garage would remain buoyant with me on it, but I'm thinking of taking my wife to OC for a weekend and would love to squire her around in a high-performance European coupe.  Any chance you could just leave some keys in the same spot you left the board, Tim?

Strand is a Sienna man (nothing wrong with that), so you'll have to hit up Pono for the sports car.

[Strand Leper]

Bulky,

The wife might put her foot down on that level of "trust." 

While I am a Sienna man Fark, there is always something small, topless, shiny and German in one of the Strand garages... a man's wife has gotta drive something. 

SL

[pdxmike]

Anyone needing to borrow a car just needs to read the "Where do you hide your key while paddling?" thread from a while ago. 

[PonoBill]

Strand is a Sienna man (nothing wrong with that), so you'll have to hit up Pono for the sports car.

I'm afraid you'd do better borrowing boards than sportycars from me--the Ferraris are long gone, I drive an F350 Diesel. Like SL, my wife has the only topless german, but it's a 14 year old Boxster