Faith Integration

Many times in the Bible Jesus would go out to secluded places in nature to pray and going out in nature is what surfing is all about. I find myself bonding with God's creation whenever I go out and surf or go camp and surf. I feel like I become one with nature and it is one of the coolest experiences. I believe God created man to be with nature and that is why Jesus enjoyed it so much. I find it very refreshing to spend time away from distractions and let all my worries go. If you think about it, when you are paddling into a wave there is nothing going through your mind other than how you are going to ride this wave. I don't think I have ever had another thought aside from surfing when I have been on a wave. Surfing is just another way for me to enjoy life and God's creation while forming long lasting friendships. There is no one like your surfing buddies!

95/100

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."


C.S Lewis “Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”

Fitness For Surfing

Any weekend warrior can go out and surf 5-6 ft waves in California but when the waves reach the size of consequence 10ft+ surfing isn't for everyone. The importance of breath holding can become life or death. That is why it is important to practice breath holding exercises and underwater training. Pete Dougherty and I have been doing underwater training by taking 30-40lb rocks and walking underwater in the pool with them. This is known as hypoxic training because you are teaching your body how to work at peak performance with lower oxygen levels. By doing these types of exercises it gives you more confidence when the waves are big because you know you can survive and stay calm during a big wipe out. I plan on training really hard this summer for my time in Fiji and Australia because I know the waves are going to be HEAVY!!!!

94/100

Arctic Foam

After visiting Mark Wisdoms I headed down the street to a place called Arctic Foam. They are a main supplier of surfboard blanks to the local shaper. I went over there to buy a blank because I am going to be shaping my own board shortly. When I went in they had a huge selection of blanks and it was pretty hard to make a decision but someone was helping me the whole time. Since I am shaping my first board I figured I might as well buy a blank with a slight defect in it for 30% off. Any defect can either be shaped out of filled with light weight spackle so it didn't matter to much to me. I am very excited to shape my own board and ride a board I made with my hands.

93/100

Wisdom Surf Shop

Every time I head over to Mark Wisdom's I learn so much about surfing and he is always showing me what he is working on. He shapes boards all day every day and makes some of the best boards around so it is great to learn from him. There is something to be said in understanding how surfboards are made and how they work. The average person generally has no idea how on earth a surfboard is made and I would say a lot of surfers don't know in detail how they are made. Some day I would like to watch him make boards for a whole day. By doing that I will gain an even deeper understanding and appreciation of surfboards. It's also cool how he explains all the dynamics of the board and how they are tailored to each individual.

92/100

Surfing Rivieria

Yesterday I surfed Riviera with 5 of my friends and it was awesome....not necessarily the waves but the people sure are!

Bus Driver 91/100

Who is J.O.B

Who is J.O.B is a web series shot by red bull and takes us through the life of Jamie O'Brien. The life of the pro surfer looks like way too much fun. I could not imagine living on the north shore surfing perfect waves every day. By being right next to the ocean and especially with good waves helps improve your surfing so much. These web series just get me super stoked on surfing and trying to progress. When you're watching guys surf at the top of their game it makes me want to get to the top of my potential...which still isn't even close to theirs but it's still fun. I watched all 7 episodes.

90/100

http://youtu.be/UNa1cJEApWU

Skateboarding

The skatepark down in Duarte is a hidden gem. I never knew about it until recently and it is super fun. I feel like it is a great way to keep your surfing skills sharp when its flat. Bowl riding definitely transfers over a little bit to surfing. It makes you rotate your head and shoulders around which is exactly what you need to do in surfing to do big turns.

89/100

Learn To Surf Day

Today myself and the other members of the surf club went to el porto for a learn to surf day. There were 12 people who learned how to surf today. The point of this was to raise money for the surf team. The conditions were a little hard to learn in but almost everyone stood up. The most important part was everyone had a good time.

Bus Driver
Teaching how to surf

88/100

Snowboarding With The Proff

Earlier this semester I went snowboarding for the first time this season at Mt. High. There wasn't much snow on the ground and the entire mountain was a block of ice. None the less, it was still great to make it up there. Ever since I started surfing, surfing has always trumped other board sports. If the waves are good I don't think I would chose to do anything other than surf. I'm going to try to make it up to the mountain at least 1 more time.

86/100

Gum For My Boat

I watched this surf movie with the Molokai missions team.

This surf movie is about surfing in Bangladesh and how it has changed their community. One guy bought a surfboard off and Australian and was the first surfer in Bangladesh. He then helped establish a surf club for kids to learn how to surf and share a common interest. What I find fascinating is that this only happened a few years ago. Now Surfing the Nations plays an active role in the Bangladesh community and helps change the lives of the kids there. It is cool to see how surfing positively impacted a community in need. Another interesting aspect is guy who bought the surfboard had no idea what modern surfing looked like. The surfers over there know nothing about surf etiquette but they don't care at all. Every wave is a party wave!

Conclusion: This movie is a great illustration of the positive impact surfing can have on a community.

85/100

Strands 4/9/12

I surfed strands the day after I got back from Hawaii and the water was SO cold in comparison. I forgot how cold the water was. Coming back from Hawaii made me feel like I could charge just about anything. The waves over there are much bigger and much more powerful making California waves a walk in the park. The waves were head high and offered up some solid barrels. I wish I could have made it out of one! What is great about Strands is how uncrowded it is. I find it rare to surf waves in southern California with just you and your buddies. Strands is becoming more of a go to surf spot for me. I am excited to score some south swells at that Strands because it is more of a summer spot.

84/100

Tunnels 3/4/12

This is the second time surfing tunnels and Pete and I scored the wave with only one other guy who was really cool. My surfing has improved so much from surfing perfect uncrowned waves. It was blowing pretty hard off shore this day so the spray from doing big turns was huge. I surfed this spot for almost 4 hours and have the sunburn to prove it. I usually never put sunscreen on my legs but for some reason I got fried…maybe because I caught so many waves and I was paddling nearly the whole time. It was definitely worth it though. Tunnels is definitely one of my favorite waves on Kauai, I think it is the insane paddle out that keeps a lot of people of the wave. 

Laird Hamilton

The other day I was lucky enough to meet Laird Hamilton because my aunt and uncle live down the street from him. The impression I got from him is that he is really intense. The only way you can charge waves that big, is if you are intense. Laird basically pioneered big wave tow surfing and holds an insane amount of respect in the surf community. It is always cool to meet someone who helped pioneer the sport of surfing in some way.

Hideaways 4/3/12

This wave is a at the bottom of a big cliff and it is quite the hike down. It is a very shallow wave over very sharp reef. You almost can’t paddle out on low tide because your on the reef. The best way to describe this wave is it’s like a perfect beach break. There are a lot of peaks to choose from and it lines up nicely almost all the time. Occasionally it will produce a big barrel. I saw one guy pull into a standup barrel right when I was paddling over a wave. It picks up a lot a swell so it is a good place to go when it is a little small.

Tunnels Kauai 4/2/12

Tunnels is by far one the best waves in Kauai and is also one of the furthest paddles out. It is about a 20 minute paddle out around a huge reef. There is also some really deep spots that I almost don’t want to know how deep it is. There have been a few shark attacks there but I just put that in the back of my mind. When we first paddles out there were only a couple people and it’s surprising to see such a good wave with no one on it. That is one of great aspects about Hawaii. Within an hour of paddling out the swell jumped and was producing 7-8 ft top to bottom barrels. The locals were getting some of the deepest barrels I have ever seen. The wave was so heavy and probably the heaviest waves I have ever been out in. I wasn’t able to push myself into paddling into any of the big waves because it was dead low tide on a very shallow reef. Maybe next time I’m there I will be good enough to paddle in. None the less it was a great experience surfing seeing that wave fire. 

My go to short board "The Hijinx"

I would say my favorite boards have been Wisdom surfboards and the board I surf the most is called the Hijinx. This board is much shorter than your average surfboard, mine is only a 5'7, but Mark designed it that way so surfers can perform some of the most progressive maneuvers today. This board has allowed me to push my surfing because it is so agile and maneuverable on the wave. My past boards have felt somewhat difficult to really push on waves because they just don't do what I want them to do. With my Hijnx, anything I think of is possible on a wave. When the wave walls up and is ready to close out you can do the biggest layback turn imaginable on this board and it stays right under your feet. The Hijinx also allows me to generate a ton of speed on the wave because it has a rather flat rocker in it. The tail is also a little bit wider on this board in order to let the fins release a little bit more when you really push into the tail. This board is made for big maneuvers and progressive new school surfing and is by far my favorite board so far. (and I have had a lot of boards)

44/100

Little Wind and Sea 2/19/12

This past weekend I was back in northern California where I was able to surf my home spot, Santa Cruz. I love being back there because generally the waves there are always better and bigger! When I went out I knew the tide was going to be dropping to a -.5ft low tide, which most spots can't handle that low of a tide. Little Wind and Sea however only works on a really low tide, so I knew I was going to score some solid waves. I paddled out and sure enough the waves just kept coming and the waves there are really fast. The wave will generally get a little walled up and you just have to go because the wave holds up. The wave is an A frame and when you go right you head straight towards a massive rock sticking out of the water so you have to pull out before the wave closes out right onto that rock. I had a great time surfing there, I just wish it wasn't a weekend because of the crowd factor. Can't wait to head back and surf in Santa Cruz again.

43/100

Salt Creek 2/8/12

There has been quite a bit of swell hitting So Cal the past few days and continues to stick around throughout the weekend. I was debating either surfing in south orange county or south LA, I decided to go to south OC because the wind was going to be a bit lighter down there. I was able to surf for 3 hours straight and score some amazing waves. When I first paddled out it was about 3-4 ft and the swell was supposed to be building. By the next hour the tide had dropped and the waves picked up in size to about 4-6 ft. The waves were either a little mushy or absolutely pitching, so you had to wait a little while to score a good one. I saw so many guys getting insane barrels out there and some guys were even making it out. I was able to pull into a 5ft barrel but was unable to make it out. I hope to get some good waves tomorrow in Ventura. Surfline is claiming 5-7 occasional 8ft.

33/100

Wisdom Surfboards

Last week after surfing seaside my friends and I headed over to Wisdom Surfboards. I know the shaper Mark Wisdom pretty well and he has even shaped my last 2 boards. He gave his a tour of his shop and showed us the boards he has been working on. He also explained in depth all 6 of his board models. They all serve for a different style of wave but all compliment each other. What I found most interesting was how he was glassing all of his boards. Its pretty straight forward how a blank is shaped, but glassing it is another completely different challenge. He is well known in the surfing community for how quick he glasses boards and he was telling us how in a month or so he will be glassing about 150 surfboards for well respected brand names like JS Surfboards. When all of the pros come into town for the Lowers Pro he ends up glassing a lot of their boards. It is cool to know that the same guy who is glassing boards for the elite surfers of the world is shaping boards for me. All of his boards have been tested by big name surfers like Rob Machado. Rob surfs at the same break as Mark, so he is always willing to help him out and give him some solid feedback on his boards.

I also drove for this surf and trip to Wisdom Surfboards.

2 recorded surf sessions 20 pts
3 recorded extra mile assignments 3 pts

23/100

Flow Surf Movie

This movie is about the progression of surfing and how Channel Island Surfboards (Al Merrick) changed the game of surfing. In the 80's all surfboards were at least 10ft and the cool thing to do was ride the nose. Surfing had a very layer back style during that period until some tried to change the game with power surfing where they would ride close to the curl and make sharp turns. This didn't quite catch on at first but as surfboards progressed and they starting cutting down the size of the board this style rapidly caught on. Al Merrick was shaping boards for the best riders in Santa Barbra in which they were the ones inventing the new style of surfing. Those kids were eventually called the "New Schoolers." Kelly slater was a pivotal role in the new school of surfing where he pushed the limits of what people thought was possible. Soon arial maneuvers were the focus of surfing as well as big powerful turns where the fins would blow out of the wave. With modern board design surfing has come a long ways in the past 10 years and I am very excited to see where the progression of surfing is headed.

Trailer for the movie.

Seaside 1/27/12

I surfed Seaside which, is located in Soloana Beach CA twice on Friday. In the morning it was near perfect conditions as it was a medium rising tide and glassy. The surf was well overhead with solid 8-10ft faces on some of the set waves. As good as the conditions were, it was not too crowded and I was able to get some waves. When the tide peaked at 4ft at 11am the surf just about quit on us, it was impossible to paddle into a wave because it was hardly breaking. My friends and I decided to get out and eat and go buy some new surfboards from our shaper. The swell was dying throughout the day but we decided to go for an evening surf and it was a blast. It was only 3-5ft but definitely worth paddling out. Can't wait to go surf down there again when the next big swell hits.

The picture I'm posting was just a quick snapshot because I was too stoked to go surf. I didn't want to wait around for a set wave and miss out.

Today we left Azusa at 6:00 am to go surf Redondo Beach at a spot called Burnouts. The waves were a solid 6ft but mainly walled up and closing out. There were some massive closeout barrels in which, one of my friends snapped his board in half. There was a 5.5ft high tide this morning at 10:00 so shortly after we paddled out the waves began to slow down. The swell is supposed be building the rest of the week and peaking on Friday. I will head out and surf San Diego most likely.