BIA Action

I caught a pre-BIA contest session this morning. Even though the waves were small, I had a fun time. I guess not surfing for almost a week made me excited to just be out there.

After my session, I watched a few heats of the BIA contest. It was cool watching some of Socal's bodyboarders do their thing.

Sunset Sesh

I caught a sesh with my amigo Nick this afternoon. The waves were nicely shaped and glassy. Fun sesh all around, well, except for this one dude who kept snaking everyone.



Nick gets bitten by the snake!

Flashback: Many Moons Ago

Living the life of a beach bum in Hawaii as a teenager with some of my closest friends is one of the most memorable times of my life. I remember seemingly endless summer days when we would surf in the morning, go home to have lunch and watch bodyboarding videos, then go back to the beach to surf all afternoon long. Besides having rice and Spam to eat for lunch and enough gas in my friend's '82 Nissan Sentra to get us to the beach, we had no worries at all.


I think I was 15-years-old in this picture

How long ago was this picture taken? About 60 pounds ago.

Getting in Shape

The waves were decently sized today; there were some overhead sets coming in. It was pretty walled when I first got out into the line-up. After about an hour, though, the shape improved and there were some corners to play with.

Double-Up Stoke

I had a fun sesh this afternoon. I came across a spot that was doubling-up nicely - the waves would break outside, crumble towards the shore for a bit, and then reform nicely on the inside. There were some nice barrels and corners to be had. I wish I could share the stoke via pictures, but I decided to not take out my camera since the sun was already about to set when I got to the beach.

Better Late Than Never

I caught a quick sesh this afternoon. I almost didn't blog about it since it's late, but I decided to do so right before going to bed (man, the things I do for this blog!). The waves were smaller than advertised and the winds were brisk, but it felt good to get wet and get a little exercise. Anyway, time to get some shut eye.

Thanks to Nick for the picture of the frothy barrel.

Got Gadgets?

While not directly surf-related, I wanted to mention Circuit City's going-out-of-business sale since I know some of you are also interested in photography. If you're looking for a camera, camcorder or accessories (or any other type of electronics for that matter), you might want to check out a Circuit City near you. All cameras, camcorders and accessories have been marked down by 30%. If you plan to check out this sale, make sure you do so soon as inventory is quickly running out. I checked out one of the stores yesterday, and most of the cameras and camcorders being sold were the display models. Of note, there were a few brand new Olympus 850SWs. There was also a brand new Sony DSLR camera.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Testing, 1 - 2 - 3, Testing

I took my camcorder housing out for a test run yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good footage because I had a difficult time swimming through the surf while simultaneously handling my camcorder [housing]. One thing I learned during my short test run yesterday was this housing's performance was not what I had expected it to be. When I ordered this housing, I had envisioned it to be an indestructible engineering marvel that could withstand a rigorous session at second reef Pipe (What can I say - I'm a wishful thinker). In actuality, however, it probably wouldn't handle anything heavier than recording your child's first bath in his or her plastic baby tub.

I'll probably get rid of this camcorder and housing when the Sanyo VPC-WH1 is released. That said, if anyone wants a Sony camcorder and housing for cheap, just let me know and we can work out a deal.

Disclaimer: The following video will waste 14 seconds of your life.

Hungry

Have you ever been so hungry that it seemed like you couldn't eat fast enough to satisfy your hunger? That's the way I felt today when it came to surfing. Since I hadn't surfed for over a week, I had a huge appetite for waves; so much so, that I hardly took any pictures. In hindsight, I wish I had taken more pictures because there were some nice little nuggets that came through, and a few of my compadres were nicely slotted in them.

Fortune Cookie Fib

Now I'm not one to believe in fortune cookie messages; however, when I got a message that read Pleasures await you by the seashore, I couldn't help but feel just a little excited. So today, despite knowing darn well that the conditions were horrible, I decided to run down to the beach to see what kind of "pleasures" awaited me. What did I find, you ask? Well, let's just say I wasn't pleased.

Weekend Recap

Since the South Bay rarely gets love when it comes to Internet photo spreads, I thought it would be a good idea to mention one of surfline.com's latest photo features - In Between Storms - which features a few nice shots of the South Bay. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions this past weekend, the South Bay had its moments. To think that I was right there, but without my gear is the stuff of reoccurring nightmares.

New Toy

I received my [for dramatic effect, enunciate the following seven words carefully and slowly] tough, manly, blue-collar, iron clad-esque camcorder housing today... alright, alright, it's actually called "Sportspack", and it will probably leak the first time I use it... sheesh.

On a serious note, this camcorder housing received pretty good reviews. On top of that, it didn't cost an arm and a leg. I look forward to using it because I know I'll have a blast with it (assuming that no one runs me out of the water for looking like a kook with this thing).

The One that Got Away

Lately, I've been either at the right place at the wrong time or at the wrong place at the right time. Needless to say, I haven't ridden decent waves in a while. Today, however, my luck changed... well sort of. I came across a spot that, although usually doesn't go off, was producing a-frames galore. To make things even better, there was hardly anyone out. I couldn't believe I was actually at the right place at the right time. It's too bad that's where my luck ran out, though. You see, I didn't have my gear. This was definitely a sesh that got away.

I decided to lick my wounds and take some pictures at my usual spot. It looked fun over there too, which only rubbed salt into my wounds.

I'll try to catch a sesh this afternoon, but that would probably put me in the same predicament that I've been in lately - the right place at the wrong time.

Late Sesh

I heard the upcoming swell was supposed to arrive this afternoon, but I saw no signs of it. Oh well, it felt good to get wet. Hopefully the swell will arrive tomorrow morning. Word is, the winds are going to be quite gusty tomorrow. However, there might be a period, albeit a short one, in the morning when the conditions are ideal. In other words, catch a dawn patrol sesh tomorrow if you want to get the waves at their best.

Supermarket Stoke

I went to my local Ralph's supermarket yesterday, and, while I was browsing the magazine rack, I saw Bodyboarder Magazine. It's been a very long time since I last saw a bodyboarding magazine in a supermarket. Needless to say, I bought a copy.

As per this issue, the upcoming limited editions Churchills will be black and lime green. Also, Turbo bodyboards will be available in the U.S. I'm jonesing for the Turbo IV, which is a remake of Mike Stewart's Turbo board from the 90s.