Cold

It was cold, that's pretty much all I remembered from this morning.

Brown

At first glance, it was hard to believe that we just went through a week straight of rain. After all, the weather was beautiful today and the water looked clean. Upon further glance, however, the water was anything but clean. At least the waves made up for it though.

The crystal blue brown waters of the South Bay

Twas the Sesh Before Christmas

Ran down to the usual spot and took some footage of the boys. I think Santa came yesterday since the waves weren't quite as good today and it's only supposed to be smaller tomorrow on Christmas day.

Just in Time

I rolled up just in time - right before the clouds covered the sun and the onshore winds starting kicking - to see a rather finicky spot doing its thing.

I decided to check another spot, but by the time I rolled up, the clouds and onshore winds had already staked their claim.

A little peak rolling through

Little Peeler

I took a gander at a couple of spots this morning. Not a lot going on, but I did get a clip of a small peeler that spat a little. Haha

For a Limited Time Only

Based on some of the pics I saw yesterday, I was looking forward to some good surf today. Apparently, though, yesterday’s swell was a one-day thing. It must have been a pretty good one-day thing; paraphrasing Sal from this morning: I usually don’t say this, but you should have been here yesterday. Haha

Even though today’s surf wasn’t as good as yesterday’s, the line-up was virtually empty this morning. In fact, Sal had it all to himself for most of his sesh.

Here’s a quick edit from today:

Helpful Tide

Anyone who has surf experience will tell you that the tide is an important factor in the way waves break. In fact, the tide can make or break a sesh.

Fortunately, the tide was working in our favor this morning. The extreme high tide made for some fun shore pound barrels on a day where the small waves on a normal tide probably would have made for a pretty mundane sesh.

Stuff Giveaway: No.6 The Vice That Binds Leash

I’m giving away a brand new No.6 The Vice That Binds Leash. The size is standard and the color is gold.

If you want a chance to win this leash, send me an email at team.stoked@gmail.com and include your first and last names. This giveaway is open to everyone within the United States (sorry, but international postage rates cost more than I'm willing to pay).

I’ll randomly pick the winner on Thursday, December 2nd.

Update: Congrats to Kalani on winning this giveaway.

Stuff Giveaway

I recently had an epiphany, of sorts – why not do giveaways? After all, who doesn’t get stoked over winning something for free?

I’ll be randomly giving away stuff just for the stoke of it. These giveaways will be open to everyone within the United States (sorry, but international postage rates cost more than I'm willing to pay).

Trying to Make the Most of It

There really wasn't a lot out there today - the sets were knee high, if that. However, I was determined to log-in some water time, especially since yesterday's sesh left a lot to be desired.

Despite the tiny waves and the ice cream headaches, I had a pretty fun sesh. Maybe it was because I knew I wasn't dealing with the madness that is Black Friday.

Six inches and bowling! Haha

The pier getting so pitted.

Getting a glimpse of Mark before I scoot out the back of the wave.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

I was planning on meeting up with bruddah Sal this morning, so when I rolled up early at one spot and didn't see him there, I figured he was at another spot. I rolled up at another spot, saw some spongers in the distance and thought that that was Sal. I quickly suited up, ran down to the shoreline, and peered into the line up only to realize that none of the spongers out there was Sal. Oops.

Being already suited up and noticing that the waves were significantly better than the first spot I checked, I decided to jump in. Unfortunately, I had some technical difficulties shortly after jumping in and had to prematurely finish my sesh. Photo tip of the day: If your camera is indicating that its battery is low, it's probably not lying to you.

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the few shots I got before my camera's battery died.

Gear Review: No.6 The Vice That Binds Leash

A couple of years ago, I noticed that there was some hype surrounding the then-new No.6 The Vice That Binds leash. Wondering if this leash lived up to the hype, I decided to get one.

The hype that this leash received is duly deserved.

From a specs standpoint, the No.6 The Vice That Binds leash is a coiled bicep leash, which features an ergonomically shaped cuff band, BSP polyurethane coils, a brass swivel and a stainless steel connection ring with double reinforced stitching. The leash also features a rail saver and a top-threading leash plug. Lastly, this leash comes in three different sizes – small (2.75” diameter), standard (3.25” diameter), and wide (4.25” diameter) – and three different colors – black, gold, and silver.

The thing that immediately caught my attention was the comfort of this leash; it’s easily the most comfortable bicep leash that I’ve ever used. The comfort is attributable to the design of the cuff, which is more padded and wider than most other bicep leashes’ cuffs. On top of that, the leash strap stretches, which allows you to tighten the leash without overly constricting your bicep.

Beyond the comfort of this leash, it’s also very well made and durable. On top of that, the coils have good shape retention. Also, the rail saver is a huge time and hassle saver when you want to remove/attach your leash.

The only thing that could be improved is the stretchiness of the leash strap. It stretches a little too much so you can only tighten the leash to a certain degree. If the leash strap was a little less stretchy, you could probably tighten it a little more while still not overly constricting your bicep.

The No.6 The Vice That Binds leash is my preferred leash due mainly to its comfort, but also due to its durability and rail saver. I highly recommend this leash to anyone looking for a high-quality, comfortable leash.

As you can see in this pic, the leash cuff is well padded.

The rail saver: easy on, easy off

As I Expected

It was pretty much as I expected it to be this morning - wet, cold, dark, windy and small.

I checked out Alternative Surf's grand re-opening this morning. I entered a drawing for a free board, but judging from the lack of a phone call from AS, I guess I didn't win it. Anyway, there were giveaways, a 10% discount and autograph signing by a couple of local pro bodyboarders (Rusty Friesen and Jeremy Wright).

Ominous clouds about to reign with rain.

Da boyz waiting during the lull between sets.

Alternative Surf Grand Re-Opening

Alternative Surf will be celebrating its grand re-opening this Saturday, November 20th. Per Ron Dog, there will be giveaways, discounts and food. Check it out if you can.

Picture courtesy of Alternative Surf

Not A Lot Out There

I checked a few spots this morning, but I didn't see anything that made me want to suit up. The weather was perfect once again, so I decide to stick around for a little bit and partake of it. Today's a great day to cruise the beach.

Shadow of the hooded man, aka me this morning.

A Beautiful Fall Day

I was a little surprised that the waves were smaller than they were yesterday, especially since it was supposed to pick up yesterday afternoon. I decided to stick around anyway and take advantage of yet another beautiful California day by snapping a few pics.

A Catalina-inspired barrel

For some reason, there were a ton of birds just chilling in the water.

I've been wanting to try one of these surf mats. I saw a video of some dude just flying on one of these.