Friday, August 30, 2002
It is amazing that we are up to "H" in the cyclone naming scheme this summer already. Here is a pretty pic of Hernan along with Genevieve from NOAA's satellites. Weather should be good this labor day weekend, perhaps we'll get some partial clouds but besides that the high pressure system should keep us pretty nice. if you get a chance, get out of the Island shadow and get yourself some waves.
link to this
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Genevieve maxed out at 60knts and is waning but looks like that plus some southern hemi swell should give our neighbors to the south some waves. the post-work drive down south was wearing on me so i didn't head out yesterday.
You may notice that this site goes down often, or is really slow. I am aware of this and am in the process of getting a solution that is 1000 times better for you and me. trust me.
link to this
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
In some more regurgitation, Surfline's "California Surf Alert" has piped in about Genevieve, saying because of it's position and angle it will most likely give us some good surf. They also claimed it would be a Hurricane by 4am this morning but the 2am discussion says it is still a Tropical Storm.
Last night's session was smaller then the night before but more organized. In addition, crowds were much bigger. Rincon, in all it's knee to waist high glory, had upwards of 20 people in the cove at dusk, whereas the day before had one.
Also there was a surf kayaker out there who was one of kind because he:
1) respected wave priority
2) didn't sit outside and try to dominate the peak
3) didn't scream out of control down the line nearly killing me
4) let you know when he wasn't going to make it so you had a shot.
this is the first surf kayaker i've seen that followed the unwritten code of wave-riding etiquette. If more of them did the same, maybe we wouldn't be so bitter at them (maybe).
link to this
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Driving south for a sunset session showed that the waves were fairly good size south of Rincon but also very messy. Was not the glass off I was hoping for but with warm water and a great sunset you can't complain. TD-9E is now Tropical Storm Genevieve, but if you get the Wetsand e-mail (which if you do, you will realize I regurgitate it's info) you'd realize they aren't selling the system as anything that'll make swell for us. Valle?
link to this
Monday, August 26, 2002
A trip I had planned to Oceanside this weekend happened to coincide with the swell from Fausto showing up on our shores. It was very, very fun but It only makes me jealous we don't get those waves up here. Closer to home, waves were still to be had down towards Ventura, and although not as fast nor big, it was still a fun session.
While I was down, I checked out Surf Culture, which is the current exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum. Worth checking out if you are down there. A lot of stuff came from the Santa Barbara Surf Museum, which to speak the truth, i've never been to nor where it is. Anybody?
Tropical Depression Nine-E has been brewing down off of Mexico for less than 24 hours or so. No guarantee it will turn into anything that will throw swell our way, but exciting nonetheless. If I'm not mistaken Fausto is the 4th Hurricane that's given us some action this summer. Alma, Douglas, Elida, and Fausto. Cristina ended up not giving us much so I wouldn't include it, and the "B" one was called Boris but I don't even remember hearing about it. (Sneak Peak: if 9-E gets upgraded it will be called "Genevieve." Perhaps I'll get a summertime wrap-up written at the end of September.
I've also set a goal for myself: Get the surf reports section going again by the time we get our first decent NW swell this fall/winter. Excited?
link to this
Friday, August 23, 2002
The Surf this a.m. seems pretty small still 
but Wetsand is giving me high hopes about Hurricane Fausto. Fausto is supposed to show up on Sunday and right now is blowing at 95knts and heading 285° @ 14knts.
100ft. Wednesday was pretty cool last night. the first two shows sold out so I had to go to the newly added 10:30 showing. Won a free video though. Those guys put together a pretty cool movie about the biggest day of surf we had last winter. Here's the surf-log i wrote for that day:
"went out around at 3:30 again in Goleta with mario, jason, and tony. pretty fun session. i started out at the point by myself and got some some rumblers but soon grew weary of the crowds and the inconsistency so i went down in the cove and found those guys. we had fun waves till we couldn't see nothing. the swell model now is saying 18.2 feet at 17 seconds. the scale is triple, have not seen that since last winter. this is officially the first big swell of the winter. going to ventura in am with unkle. judging by some bay area bouys and the Harvest bouy, it seems the big pulse just passed pt. conception so the swell should be wanning tommorrow."
link to this
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Since I'm so surf-movie and faux-surf-movie happy, check out this trailer for Step Into Liquid. This is the first I've heard of the movie but maybe I'm just out of the loop. It's by Bruce Brown and crew so it should pack a punch. You can also find info about it on their site.
The Swell model today is looking a little more promising than yesterday, and Wetsand is tracking Tropical Storm Fausto. The movie tonight costs $7.00.
Wetsuits. What is up with them? I used to be a huge O'Neill fan, it was all I bought. The first time I bought a suit with the superstretch neoprene I was hooked. I could surf so much longer and paddle so much better. I thought it was the best thing ever. But it seems their quality is just dropping year by year. Or it could be with the stretch material they just don't last as long. But if i remember correctly they would last several winters, and you used to just be able to bring your suit into your local surf shop, show them the problems, and 4 weeks later you'd have your suit back, all fixed and ready to go. I tried this at Ventura Surf Shop a few weekends ago, and they told me O'Neill's new policy. Among other things: SUITS WITHOUT A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL RECEIPT WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. Even if you buy a suit this winter (which, by the way the Psycho Zen is going for $350) and you bring it a few weeks later for repairs, they won't honor it w/o receipt. Even if it is obviously a 2003 model. A far cry from the days of old, when an O'Neill would last you several winters and you could have any problems fixed in the summer. Furthering our throw away society, and boosting O'Neill's revenue. I guess this is the price we pay for comfort, but at $350 I may try to get my suit through this winter again. or i could switch brands. Rip-Curl is coming in at $250.
link to this
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Yesterday I could find no surf in Goleta. I Talked to Ron at Victoria Hall about tickets to 100 foot Wednesday. They are not on sale in advance but they go on sale a half hour before the show starts (shows start at 7:00 and 9:00 on Thursday). He wasn't sure what the ticket prices were. I'll let you know if I find out.
Got an e-mail from a guy named Eric who is handing out flyers for the movie with one of the producers and he hosts a big wave site called Tow Surfer. I'm pretty neutral on the whole tow/paddle/PWC/Mavericks issue (seeing as how realisticly I'll never get out there), so hold your fire on flaming me.
link to this
Sunday, August 18, 2002
i tried to surf in Goleta around sunset tonight, there was nothing there, but someone responded to my request to write a review for "Blue Crush" so here it is, thanks Wayne.
"Aloha Fellow Santa Barbara Surfing Bros! You mentioned that you would like a review of "Blue Crush." Having surfed for 35 years and spent a lifetime painting surf scenes, I feel I have something to contribute.
First of all, this is not "Citizen Cane" or a movie for film critics. However, it's not that bad. If anything, this movie will definitely empower young women throughout the USA. Not just because our heroine is a surfer, but the fact that a young woman, with enough courage, can do anything just as good as the guys.
The surfing sequences and sound track are...for lack of an over used word...awesome! I mean, when a 15 foot Banzai Pipeline "bonecrusher" breaks, the entire theater shakes. Even a non surfing person from Minnesota gets a glimpse into what a wipeout feels like. Or the rush of screaming down a 15 foot face and getting locked in the tube. The photography in this movie is exceptional. As luck would have it, both the producer and director are surfers. So there's none of that lame "Beach Blanket Bebob" stuff going on.
This was the first day the movie played and the theater in Calabasas, California was packed !!! That's a good sign for future surf movies that I've heard are in the works. They were mostly women, with their teenage daughters. The plot is somewhat lame, but then again it really doesn't matter. Seeing the surf and the women that ride them is good enough for me and hopefully anyone else. I give it about 3 stars out of a possible 4. Girl Power !!!
Sincerely, Wayne D. Roten
to read some other reviews, check out Rotten Tomatoes. why am i so interested in this and what does it have to do with SBS? i don't know, but it is pop-culture, and it's effecting how others will see our world of surfing, so i find it intriguing.
link to this
Saturday, August 17, 2002
you have to drive far, and i advise a longboard, but you should find some knee-slappers out there. dawn patrol along PCH was super-small yet clean. a pretty heavy marine layer has set itself along the south coast.
link to this
Thursday, August 15, 2002
I'm not going to get to check out the comedy "Blue Crush" on opening night on Friday cause i scored some tickets to "Sings Like Hell", but I do hope someone out there will go and write a review for SBS. Your identity will be protected.
Headed south at dawn with Ian. Had to go all the way to Oxnard. Rincon had ankle slappers with a population of 0, the PCH looked dull with a few souls, C-street had 30-40 folks outt in 1-2 foot conditions, and Oxnard had slighty glassier and bigger waves, yet inconsitent and peaky. All in all, worth the trek if you are the type who likes to get wet no matter what.
link to this
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Looks like 100 foot Wednesday is showing at Victoria Hall on Thursday, August 22 at 7 and 9. Image thanks to Surfpulse.
link to this
Monday, August 12, 2002
i was hoping that the SW would show up last night so i stopped by along the PCH with my brother-in-law around sunset. it looked pathetic, but we decided to go out anyway. was mostly some really un-organized wind-swell from the NW that led to short, powerless rides. but every now and then waves were coming from the SW that were 2X the size of the windswell. I wanted to believe it was the beginning of the swell, but it may have been wishful thinking. Regardless, it was a fun twilight session to end a busy weekend.
saturday i dawned it along PCH also with the uncle and brother-in-law team. another small session that led me into practicing how to take off fin-forwards. the CDIP swell model looks semi-promising from the SW now (2.3ft @ 17s) but i was unable to go out this morning.
congratulations to the Santa Barbara Condors for being World Champions.
link to this
Friday, August 09, 2002
A little bump should be coming in towards Sunday or Monday according to Wetsand, hopefully giving a reason to head a little south or north to catch some.
link to this
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
International Performance Surfing sent me something about the "2003 Soul Surfer Video Challenge". It took all the strength I could muster not to laugh. I think it's actually a scheme to steal your entry fee but I could be wrong.
link to this
Monday, August 05, 2002
Surfed a beachbreak in the greater-Pismo area on Saturday. I believe it was nearly dead flat down in SB but up there it was calm enough to catch some waist high waves. I've never seen Pismo so mellow. Usually it is victory at sea, but i guess when it's really flat here it is actually pleasent there.
Tried to clean up the "links" section some more. Cleaned out all the dead links and added a few new ones. If I've forgotten you, send me an email.
Received an email from Roger in South Africa asking to put his tour group in the links section. They provide a "South African Surfing Experience" which i do believe is surf tours and trips.
link to this
Friday, August 02, 2002
A drive up from Ventura this a.m. around 07:00 (after the Demolition Derby last night) with my board in tow was bogged down by really flat conditions. Only saw a few souls out at C-Street and maybe a couple along the PCH, but it looked about knee high and mushy so I didn't make it out. Which is interesting because the Harvest Bouy is saying 3.4ft at 17s from 195...which to me would usually mean some waves. Perhaps the tide was messing with it or the mush was bringing it down, or the angle is more SSW then S so you gotta head to Oxnard Shores and south because of our Island friends. Seems like even the dawn patrols have been mushy and seemingly blown out. Must be the winds in the chanell at night?
link to this
Santa Barbara Surfing. Created by Tim Maddux. Continued by Pope.
