MERRY XMAS

This is what you get for Christmas, in my house. It's the gift that keeps giving. All year long.

Bogging...what was that?

Just had to share this..would love to have a bunch of bogging turns like that. "No more dez wobbly kine, crap style."

GLASSY AND CLEAN

This is what it's turning out to be for me... no, I'm not golfing..but this is the only thing that I could look at and say, "FUUUUCCKKK, that's so clean."

Hopefully things will mellow out this week, I'll get in for a surf. And, in a few weeks I might be able to relate whats been going on, but I'd lose my job if I told you now.

YARD POSSUMS & RK= GARAGE SALE PROJECT

Anyone going to this? Can I get a ride and help pay for gas? Or drive my eco and you pay for gas?

LIKE FATHER , LIKE SON..

Just like this photo. It's gone from just liking the colors to actually liking the rails and tails.. Everyone knows a pintail rides better in the slot, than a squaretail..

WHERE'S MINE

Heres the shot of my brother, he got lucky and scored the swell befroe Thanskgiving. We always do the traditional paddle out on Thanksgiving morning, but when I showed up, people were giving me the, "you really missed it, yesterday was on." I'm starting to get a little miffed at all those scoring waves.

SWED- EN JUICY..get it?

New Hot Curl Owner Daniel sent me these videos that he and his friend Jakob shot..Fukin cool stuff..they seem to have a lot of stoke and they sure have fun. I am still waiting for this kind of gloomy weather to remove all the fair weather surfers from our spot. Check this out.
I am going to plan a trip to Sweden, hope we can get a bunch of guy to go, show up one day, rush the spot and freak them out...Thanks, Daniel.

THANKFUL FOR...WHAT OTHERS GOT.

Again, I've missed the window. I got soggy leftovers, sloppy drool. I went in the rain, thinking that it could've been the small opening that makes a session that I could talk about for a few weeks.

SWEDISH HOT CURLS pt.2

My auction ends, I get an email from a guy in Sweden saying that he was interested in my board, or boards. He wants them sent to Sweden? We email back and forth regarding the hassle of packing and shipping. At first, I thought he was going to say that he would be traveling to LA and he would like to pick them up..I tell him that I was hesitant, really because I thought he was pulling my leg..I mean who surfs in Sweden? Daniel does...we start chatting and he sends me some pics from his home-break, that he surfs almost 200 days a year. Faaacck...he surfs more than I do and he lives in Sweden. He seemed like a really cool guy, but I still give him the rundown that I won't ship boards until I get the money and it has cleared. I bring the boards down to BING, which is now factory down in Carson. I have to arrange a special Saturday meeting, so they can be packed before the shipper (MAP CARGO) picks them up. Anyone needing or wanting to ship a board overseas, should have these guys take care of it, they packed the boards unreal, arranged for the shipper to pick up and took care of the international waybill...a whole bunch of stuff that would make doing these type of shipments a total pain in the ass, made it totally painless.

SWEDISH HOT CURLS

I needed to lighten my load, unload a few boards..times are tough and I have not been surfing these boards. I tried to get in the mindset that someone who was going to use them, should have them. I listed them on an auction site for awhile, probably too high of a price because I didn't get much action. Then a few calls from interested looky-loos wanting me to do all the leg work. "Not interested," I'd say, to many demands. Then I'd list them at a reasonable price and the demands got more insane. I tried once more, thinking I'd try to give people the benefit of the doubt, which is rare for me. The auction ended, I figured, fuck it...I'll keep em....45 minutes later, I get an email from a guy claiming he's from Sweden, wanting my boards. Yeah, right... Here's a pic of the girls- 1967 G&S Hot Curls.

THE COVE

This is a killer shot that Craig Ferre sent me..He has a bunch of cool shots that I will post in the next few days. Shit has been so busy that I missed the entire demolition down at the spot. I feel like I missed all the action, winter is always the best time of year there. The waves always seem to get better and the crowd thins out..you don't have to worry about losing your board and de-shinning a 6 year old, then get yelled at by everyone because you lost your board. Not like that ever happens to me.

The last 8 weeks I've had to work weekends and also spent my only free time packing and getting two of my vintage boards shipped out to SWEDEN..whaaat? There's actually really good surf in Sweden. I will post some more photos of that soon too, followed by the story of their travels to the Baltic Sea.

MY MAT

This one's for Surfsister- that's my dad holding the dog (Suki our shih-tzu), me coming in with the mat at the breakwater. It has to be 1976. I did the mat thing, then went "half-man." I started surfing about two years prior to this pic but they were blackballing and I needed to get my grades up before my dad bought me my first board. He's gotta be checking out the booty.

SUMMER GUARD- ASS CHEWING

I lost my board last week, my big Zephyr tandem, went to ride the nose and the tail lifted out of the water and it bounced for 46 yards up onto the shore, right into this little girls shins..took her down. I won't go into the rest of the story, of my greeting on the beach by all the do-gooders, but after it was all settled, I went to pay a little visit to the lifeguard tower to ask WTF he was doing? I had been watching the tower for about 45 minutes, thinking he was going to BLACKBALL because it was a warm day..but the water was cold. There were very few people in the water, but I don't know why there was no designated swim surf area- usually the guards will cone and flag the area for "swimmer safety." Since I fell out in the surfing area and my board bobbed and popped all the way to shore, felt like it wasn't really all my fault- maybe it was. I still went and chewed some ass, because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt someone, but it was a surfing area. It's not like I was surfing in the swimming area.

I WISH I HAD MY OLD JOB BACK...

You meet tons of people during your lifetime, we've all had some crazy jobs. I don't like to talk much, so I don't often find out what people have done in their past, my therapist says, be here now." This is one job I miss, I was blocking out for Matt Archbold- we were surfing Trestles, trying to get some footage for a movie..All I had to do was watch for Matt, Dino or Jodie take off and then fade left, try to push out anyone surfing behind them. Since these guys were South County surfers, they pretty much got respect from the crew there anyway, so it was much more of a free surf for me. That's one of the Condon Brothers shooting from the mat, I could tell he was out of place and not going to shoot, so I took off, Matt yelled at me to go, then he kicked out..I got a good cruiser out of that wave. I got to work with all sorts of surfing legends on that job. Johnny Fain told me the best way to fade out and clear the wave, was to act drunk...completely hammered. It worked, I got into it with this guy and was so blotto, he just shook his head and turned away. Good times.

Some other people may have touched on this topic before, so excuse me if so... I'm only a few months into this circle..blogging. Does a surf session that was fun to the surfer, mean it was good? I've walked up the boardwalk many times these last few months and people ask, "How was it?" Honestly, it was shitty...but I had fun...since I've been out of the water a lot this year, most of my sessions have been fun. So, when I respond, "it was fun." Does that mean it was good? Everyone else walks up the boardwalk and into the parking lot grumbling and pissing..saying how crappy it was....yeah, its a given. The real question is, "did you have fun?"

NAME THE PLACE....

Just a little surf spot trivia... name the place and I'll give you a free rinse off, next time I see you at the beach.
This was sent by a new friend, Daniel. He surfs more days a year than I do..which is crazy, when you find out where he's from.
HARDCORE.

NEED A NEW BOARD?

I saw this on the wall at the OP bathroom wall. I kept calling and calling and calling, no one answered. I'm always looking for a good longboard, sometimes you really score a gem that's been in the rafters for years. That's what happened with the CON piglet.. I got it from a guy that I know, it used to be his dad's. I sure hope this guy has some good ones...

Now thats what I'm talkin bout...

Some more vintage photos of the old P.O.P pier, some empty surf. These photos were taken by Craig Ferre- I mentioned him in the previous posts- he shapes boards and takes nice photos- has some good stories about being chased out of the ZEPHYR shop, back in the day. I'm finally getting some of my photos scanned and will post soon. PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS, there'll be no fact checking, so make em up.

Surfking Surfboards

While standing in the parking lot (which we do a lot of at P.O.P ), a guy came up to me, asked me about my vintage CON Piglet- almost a pig.. He was a surf shaper, was interested in using the board for a template. (The Con is the red board, Mary's Almond is on the left). Sometimes one is not sure, about the people that freely come up and talk to you..frequently puts you off guard, do you cock your hand back or is this person a nice guy? He's a nice guy, shapes boards, takes photos, got some funny stories. He had a couple of beauties in his car. I posted the photos, boards are nice, priced well. Check out his website.www.surfkingsurfboards.com

NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, YOU'RE ALWAYS ALONE..

These past months have been the bottom, hopefully. My bottom is certainly not the bottom that the others in our group have been to. I have been gone so much, Hawaii..have not had one day to surf. And, if I did, the surf was flat. Got here this time on Wednesday the 25th, went to work and the Security Guard who works the regular day shift, says to me, " Shoots, brother Jonas, you got to call me next time before you come, so I'll know when the surf is going to be flat." Classic. I'm like the Brady Bunch tiki.
I did get to take my son to MALIBU last Sunday, he suited up and then caught two waves, while I sat on the beach, nursing my back surgery. Hopefully this weekend...Maybe I can yell at someone too..

PINHOLE CAMERA

This was shot by Glen Kennedy (the other Glen Kennedy), still a good surfer, but a better photographer. He was testing out a bunch of things when he was finishing up his year at school in Santa Barbara. Glen stood in hip deep water for a long time to get this one..speedy. Some of the funkiest looks are the best. Especially when it's me.

ANYONE SEE THIS?

Didn't surf this morning, throat is razor blades, sinus is so clogged that when I duck dove under a wave yesterday, it felt like I was diving for rings in a 12' pool. Woke up this morning, felt like if it was gonna be like yesterday, there was no reason to go...this confirmed it. http://www.surfline.com/los-angeles/local-news/surfers-getting-sick-from-polluted-la-beaches-_44972

We had a house when I was growing up, in Malibu. ( I know, right)? Anyway, winter of 83 the storm hits the house at about 2:30am, we're sandbagging all night long, talking to LA County Fire, who are saying, "no way, this house is a goner." Bu it keeps up until first light, then this huge set comes in, must've been a 20' set (California set). Takes out the front of the house, all the boards, my dad's piano, which floated out for a bit, then it must've seen the wave of it's life...It catches the next wave and rides it all the way into our neighbor, Becky's front window. The next day, ABC news was interviewing the all the neighbors, ABC asked how bad it was, Becky said, "I knew it was over when I saw Peter's piano come through our window."

The point is, after dawn, my dad kind of shrugged his shoulders, told me that there was nothing left to do, that I should at least go and enjoy the surf....me and a few friends went to Malibu and surfed for three hours with no one out- (except Sikh Surfer- he drove a Benz, always had the turban on in the parking lot...I asked him about the turban one day, but that's a story for another time...) There were postings along the beaches warning that everyone should stay out of the water because of massive sewage line breaks, that we could be contaminated by raw sewage. I took my chance and got lucky- The chance to surf Malibu, when it still had a 1st, 2nd, Kiddie Bowl and a 3rd point, was too much. I still remember those rides.

So, the big point is, WTF? I can surf in known poo, not get sick, then go surf on a random day 27 years later and feel like this?

HOPE FLOATS...

You're sitting on the beach,watching, waiting..you see this guy catch a wave and then get your hopes up. Another OP local that makes things happen from turd piles. And he's not afraid to protect his turf. He'll bat at you with his paws..his new name is "Mittens."

YOU THINK IT'S CROWDED IN THE WATER?

Just keep staring...be thankful that I'm not a grain of sand..to fucking crowded. "Stop touching me, you're giving me a rash."

NEVER TWO IN A ROW

Saturday was fun, Sunday was not. We don't seem to ever get two days in a row here. At least, I haven't. I came early on Saturday, thinking I would get out early and get mine before the sparring started, been hearing reports of flying fists and loose lips. I won' t mention names, it keeps it more of a mystery if one chooses to surf at OP... Below is local surfer # 1 and #2, they got a few good ones. They will remain nameless and featureless in case of future shoulder hopping.

NEW IPHONE

Hanalei fish. Not bad for iphone shots. It got wet, so i figured, fuck it...see how long it lasts underwater. NOT LONG. Just enough for these two shots. Not sure what these fish are, but they tasted good. (The locals weren't to happy with me taking fish off the reef, but hey, they're fish).

BACK AND FORTH

Leaving for Hawaii again on the 2nd, going only for 2 days this time. Think I'll spend more time in the air than on the ground. With any luck I'll get a picture of good surf or at least something cool. I'm excited, just ordered a new board from MANDALA-a stubbie quad, check em out at : www.mandalacustomshapes.com Last time I surfed a quad was in 1984, just moved to OREGON, all I had was a 3/2 with no sleeves. Below is the photo from the Chetco River in Brookings, complete with the Coast Guard issue gloves.

Yeah sure. it's Hawaii, but...there's 37 guys in the water. Not just 37 guys....37 HAWAIIAN GUYS.
I can hold my own, but 37 guys for 2' surf? I can do that at home, and get waves. This is the 3rd time I've been to Hawaii in the last month. Each time it gets smaller and smaller...This trip was the longest, meaning I had to work more. Next time.

HO-Boy

All WAVES, ALL THE TIME

Potato chips, ice cream, butter, bacon, corn flakes, pasta shells, hand rolls. All food can be waves, some just might be close outs.

WHEN I SAY FLAT, I MEAN FLAT..

Three days in Hawaii, for work. But my boss has told me, "I hope you're having some fun?" Unfortunately, there was no time for a long surf session, not even a short one. Fortunately, there was no surf..It was flat...flat, flat. I had even made the drive to pick up my board, hoping that would create some bump, cuz if I hadn't, there would have been waves. No luck.
I get back to "The Spot", and it's shit...normal for this time of year. When you stall in the parking lot and talk story or just listen, the first one out is usually the guinea pig, but not this guy, dosen't matter what the conditions are, he kills it every time.

HONO BOUND

Leaving tomorrow for Honolulu. Doing a little drop in visit of the previously mentioned group of people that have caused me a little tension over the last few days. Couldn't get out of bed this morning, not even to take pictures. Back is to sore from the plunging of big bore needles...Dr. thinks a spinal stimulator would do me good..
Was able to upgrade to First Class on the flight over, so with some luck, the plane will stay in the air the whole way over, I'll have my friend meet me with the board and I can catch a few wave in Town. Usually this is all blown to hell the minute I land, but I'm going to make a real effort this time. I'm getting sick of my coworkers having a perception of me going over to Hawaii on the company dime and not having moment of free time to enjoy it..But, I wouldn't lie. Check out the OCEAN PARK SWAG.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTIN BETTER...

A real shit week..or two for that matter. I've had to actually work at my job, raising my voice, to people that could actually fire me. Explaining how I think that the reasons plainly spelled out for them could keep them out of jail. Then, there was the phone call from a friend in Hawaii, telling me that a mutual friend's son had passed away. Let's just say his name was
"Mele- Kaliki-Maka-Kekia." It got me really bummed out, was pretty friendly with him, felt bad about a father losing his son, since I'm a father too. Then, around 5:00pm, I got a call from the friend who called me earlier to report the other friend's son's death, telling me, " Hey Jonas, it wasn't "Mele-Kaliki-Maka-Kekia" after all, but another person named, "Mele-Kaliki-Maka-Kekia." I said to my friend of the friend's father whose son I thought had died, " Thats gotta be a first in Hawaii, two people named the exact same thing, same spelling, from the same place in Kailua?" So anyway, my friend's son didn't die...but he's still got a problem with meth, so maybe he'll see this as a wakeup call.
My stepmother wants me to come over to her house for Easter, but I don't like her anymore.
Had Facet injections in my back today, probably from taking to many OCEAN PARK closeout tubes and eating sand.
Ocean Park- summer 2000

OVER THERE..

It's been awhile since I've been in the water. Went out this morning, with everyone else, wasn't expecting much. (Didn't get much either). I was sitting with one of the local guys, whose name rhymes with "Parkus", through these long lulls, ponderous long lulls because of the tide. He says to me, "I feel it coming, we've waited long enough and shown our resolve. We are respecting the ocean and I think something is coming." I think, he's dreaming and say with my usual smart ass, negative attitude, " Yeah maybe over there." Meaning it's been coming in, but not to me.....Sure enough, a big (bigger than the smaller shit that was coming in) lump comes in headed right to him...he paddles, gets a really nice ride all the way in. As he comes back out, I say, "should have kept my mouth shut." He just smiles and says, "There's still a need for the naysayers."
I'm really going to try to stop being a naysayer....

Ocean Park 80's

Christmas time, my brother was in Mexico. "Surfs really good here, warm big clean, you gotta come down to this spot." I thought he was out of his mind, I mean who would travel all that way when it's really good at home? "It's really good here too, overhead, empty, not so clean, but ..CLEAN." There used to be only a handful of people in the water, those days are over, but I remember em..Once in awhile I hear about em, usually I miss em, by about an hour.

Sometimes nothing is better than something..

One turn in warm water with a friend is still a hoot. Pulling in to the parking lot, I thought I would have to overstate my desire to catch a small wave on the south shore- Ala Moana Beach Park. But it was an easy deal, lets get wet, middle of the week, no crowd and a camera to mug for. Small day right before the plane trip home.

Oh yeah, I could surf that...

It's just the paddle out that wold kill me. Watched this spot for 6 days, 4 of which were perfect and peeling rights and lefts. As I sat there watching one day, a lady walked by and asked if I was going surfing? I said, "People surf here?" She told me they did but, "In the summer mostly, other than that, the Coast Guard usually pulls them surfers outta the water." She then turned and continued walking her dog, not saying another word....Kinda left me hanging there..? Next summer, I'll find the channel.

ITS ALWAYS GOOD WHEN YOU AIN'T THERE

Most often its slop, sh*t, not even good for a "get wet go out." Especially if there's a chance you'll get sick after. Spend a few days in Texas, it becomes a dream wave. Somethings always happening when you decide not to show up.. Niles, man sized turn, on a kid size wave.

DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES...

It never gets good here, don't bring your friends, the locals are a**holes, the water quality is really bad. Well, some of the things they say are true. Sometimes we get lucky and actually get a good one and even luckier if someone gets a picture of it and then there's proof. The proof is for the people that always ask, "why would you surf that place?"

Sometimes we get a good one, most of the time..not. But it's ours. This is where we can claim our rides, post our pics and complain about the knuckle-heads that drop in and pretend they didn't see you.
Photo by: Casper Brindle- check out his site- www.propixart.com