A Trestles Rookie First Time....

We all remember our first time. So I thought I would ask Ned about his first time going to Trestles.

Ned,

I want to do a semi interview of your first time impressions of Trestles.Give me a quick back ground about when you started surfing and why?
I started surfing about 20yrs ago because at that time I just moved from Montana and wanted to try it.

What do you think of the over place( environment, etc)?I like the area around trestles because of the fantastic view of the ocean.

How did you like the walk?The walk was very cool. Seemed to be the way surfers use to do it years ago before parking lots etc.

Was this your first time surfing over cobblestones?First time over cobblestone. Glad I brought my booties. Had some issues walking out with the swell so I just decided to paddle out.

How was the wave?The waves were steep but make able. Figured it out after a few waves on the head.

Would you go back?
Would go back but need to be bettered prepared. Bike with surfboard rack etc.

Would you relocate to the area to surf there if you could?
Yes. If I could live closer yes. 45 min drive for me is not bad. However weekends I would not go.

How does this compare to your usual spot?My local spots is HB cliffs or Bolsa because of the showers. Trestles is much better but can't surf there before work. My locals spots are much more convenient.


As you can tell by the picture, he picked a great day to go.

So now he gets it...

It has been too long since my last post. I have been going to Blackies almost every weekend with my son. We hook up with VR and his son. It has been a good time. The boys are getting pretty stoked on surfing.
Our plan is to keep going evey weekend until summer. We hope by then that they will be good enough to paddle out and cath waves on their own. Once the can do that, we will get them off the Wavestorm Softtops.

I have to say, it has been great, it gets a little cold in the 4/3 standing in the water and pushing him into the waves, but it is worth every freezing moment.

New Office Manager

Things have been a little slow here at CUS(Clean Up Set). I have been involved in some family things and work. However, most of my time for the last week has been spent with the new office companion. Our new 9 week old Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppy.

Wow, did I forget how much work they are..........

Change in Priorities

Seems my topic has been change lately. I have also received some grief for not surfing, also been told I am not part of the group since I don’t surf as much anymore! Ouch, kinda hurts.

But I get it, my friends want me to surf, they want me to surf with them, its fun when you surf with your friends. Besides, I make good comedy when I blow it!

I guess at this point in my life, my priorities are a little different. I am 45 yo, I have one kid, my son who is 9. I know I only have a short window of time to spend with him where he will actually want to spend time with me, so I am taking advantage of that.

I volunteer in his class. Today for example, while the surf will be good and my friends will be out, I will be helping to teach a PE class at 1pm. I coach his Fall Baseball Team, take him to FNL football practice, pick him up from school every day, he got into fishing, so we fish; I take him to his batting coach. Then, I actually try and get some work done. I only seem to be able to work between 9:30 am and 2:30pm, then again at night after 7:30pm. As a Self-Employed Real Estate Appraiser in a shitty economy, I have to take work when it shows up. The first half of the year was the worst in the past 8 years, no orders and nothing but time, but I was on injured reserve, so no surfing. Now, I have so much work I am turning things down.

I am trying to balance stuff, but some thing has to drop down the list, and unfortunately that is surfing. Sure it bums me out, I enjoy surfing with my friends.

I’ll be out when you least expect it. I‘ll be the one that drops in on you, then blows it!

But for now it is different.

For now it is not about me…………….

Things Change..

Things change…

How true that is. I have not done a post in awhile, because I did not have much to say. Summer ended, and school started for my son. Things got back to a routine. I did my annual guys Trip, we call it TresFest, but now we go to San Elijo, so we call it San Elijo Fest. The surf was good, but I got sick right before it started, so for 3 days I was a walking zombie at the camp, all wacked out on antibiotics and Codeine.

So, fast forward. I was telling my son we should try surfing at Blackies in Newport. It’s a great spot I said, real fun you would like it, best of all, when we are done, we can get Hot Chocolate and Donuts! We can meet VR and his son too, what do you think? “Sure Dad sounds good.”(Bingo!)

So today we get up and head down there, and we could not have had better weather. A classic California Fall day, sunny, no wind, warm, just a great beach day. We get there and wait for VR and his son, watch the waves and the surfers. When I say surfers, I do mean ALL of them, the place was packed! I notice all kinds of kids with dads pushing them into the water, some kids on their own, old guys, young guys, girls, newbie’s, and kooks. But what I like best was the vibe, just all about fun.

Cole and Michael surfed, got off there boards and jumped in the waves, played and had a good time. He only surfed about twenty minutes, but then he was in the water playing too. To me it was all good; it all creates his awareness of the ocean, an understanding of waves and how they break. It all will add up to his surfing knowledge latter.

We got our donuts and hot chocolate, walked out on the pier to see what people were catching, and looked out at some fun waves on the south side.

He and Michael both asked me and VR, “Can we surf on the other side of the pier right now?”

Yes, things are beginning to change…….

What the Rest of The Swell Looked like

Surfline and all the other websites show the pros, on the best waves, at the best spots. But what about the rest of the kooks, the ones that make up 98% of the surfing population? I found them at Sunset Point, aka Beer Can Beach. These shots come from Sunsetsurf.com These are classic!

Board needs Rider!

My good friend VR was down at San Elijo Camp Ground in Cardiff with his family and some friends. He asked me to join them months ago, but, lets just say the other half had an opinion and leave it at that.

Well, I really wanted to go. I told my wife a camp spot opened up for a Friday, and Cole and I could go down. She was just coming back from a work trip, and by the time she said it was ok, the spot was gone! ( I see a pattern here)

Well, I checked again on Friday, and got a spot for Sunday, told her Cole and I are going and will be home Monday.(Yeah for Us!)

As soon as we got there, and set up camp, my son said he wanted to go surf. YES, YOU HEARD IT HERE, "HE SAID" "HE" WANTED TOO SURF! can I get an Amen!
Now, some back story. He is 9, has really shown no interest in surfing, and Dad is bummed. I shaped him a board for his 1st birthday( true, a little presumptuous). I have not wanted to push it, for fear it would back fire on me and he will never surf. None of his friends surf, so he really has no desire. Besides, I really don't want to take him out to learn at Seal Beach because of all the Sting Rays. Can you imagine a 9 year old getting stung? he will never want to go back in the water.

So, off we go, with our 8' soft top. We get out, and I push him into a few, he does good, full "stink bug stance" at first, then actually cuts right and slide down a 1' face. Then he tells me "he wants to paddle into a few himself. Well okay! So he does, he paddles with all the power his 60lb frame can give, and catches a few. By this time I am literally peeing in my wetsuit with excitement, VR is watching from the beach giving a "thumbs up". I am Happy, he is having fun, the world is now offically a better place.

Fast forward to today.

Me, "Cole, do you want to head down to T-Street in San Clemente and meet Larry and his son, and try surfing again on Saturday?"

Cole, watching a rerun of iCarly, "No, not really"

Me, "It would be great, mom can come too"

Cole, "Nah"

Me, "OK"

I walk away with my head low, slink off to the garage in a daze and stare at my surfboards..............

Any suggestions would be appreciated?

Ludwig Surfboards and Ocean View Board Sports

I was up in the old home town the other day, and stopped in to talk to my Favorite Shapper "Ludwig"

Lud has some great new boards. We talked and I told him he needs to get a blog and do mor promotion. You can catch him surfing "uppers" alot.

But if you need a board, he has a bunch in stock, but will be more then happy to shape you a custom,

Here are a few pics of his shop ad some boards

Kooks and Redemptions

Who Doesn't like a good Wipeout? I know I do. I also know I have put on a good show for my friends over the years, so now it is there turn in the spot light.

So, for your Viewin pleasure. I present EP and his Buddy Ned!

Select Dawn Patrol showings at a break near you!

This is the way to Surf the Peak @ Lowers

Captain Barbosa's Raid On Lower Trestles from Jacob Epstein on Vimeo.

First Time Shaper....Long Time Surfer!

So my boy, Chuy, decided it was time to try his hand at backyard shaping. By the looks of the photos he did a nice job for board #1. He even did the glassing, something I wont try, even though I LOVE the smell of resin.

I think he might have done a 5'-12" beacus he said a 6'-0" would be to big. Every wave for him is overhead!

Good job Chuy!

I Surf

Influences Part II

So, I was out cruising yard sales this morning, and as I was driving up a street I saw the “Master of Disaster” himself, Mr. Duane Peters parking his van. Who knew that DP lived about a mile from my house?
Now, some of you that read my blog will recall one of my past posts “Influences” (click for a link to it). In that post I talked about a certain photo of DP, and how it meant something to me as a young kid who loved punk rock and skateboarding, back in the day.

I always wanted to meet DP, and hopefully get him to sign that picture. So here he was, I really didn’t want to come across as some kind of 45 year old groupie geek, but how often do you get a chance to meet someone that had an influence on you as a kid? I pulled over, said hi, told him about the picture and my previous post and asked him if he could sign it. He was super cool, he said “sure”, pointed to where he lived and told me to stop by.

I went back home, and grabbed the picture off my office wall and drove over to his place.
He signed the picture. I told him about what that single picture meant to me back then, and how if affected a 12 year old kid. He old me about the photo, where it was, and what was going back then. For those that do not know, DP is pretty much “Punk for Life”. He still rips. I just watched him skate the Combi Pool at the Recent Pro-Tec Pool Party Contest. He is still has his band U.S. Bombs, a great blog DuanePeters.net, and Tweets like no one else.

Thanks DP for taking the time out to let a 45 yo meet one of his early influences.

Back in the Water Again.....

So I finally got in a real surf since my shoulder injury.

Since today is my Birthday, VR and I decided to head to Spot X. We got there around 9am. The main spot was packed tighter then a can of sardines, with everyone fighting for one peak. We went to the Middle spot.

The wind was blowing very lightly out of the north, while a giant fog bank was lingering off shore, waiting to come in. There was around 10 guys already out, speard out over 50 yards. To be honest it didn’t look all that good, but I was my birthday and I was going to surf.

I paddled out and caught a small right, worked it in, and thought this might be fun. I quickly caught two more. VR came out and he got a few. Then, everyone left except one other guy, he stayed north of us. The surf picked up and we had the spot to ourselves for about forty five minutes.
Rights and lefts. We had a bunch of waves. It was a real fun session, more then we expected. But if you go in with low expectations, you get rewarded.
While I was sitting n the lineup, it dawned on me that we have been coming to this spot for 28 years, shit, I am getting old!

BTW, the shoulder is sore, but not real bad.

Spindrift Surfboards, Secos and Cyclone Surfboards and 1 kook

I found a box of old pictures the other day, and found these two shots.

The first one is me in 1984 with my brand new Spindrift 5’-10” thruster. This was a custom order from the factory up in Santa Barbara. Lokk at those colors and the Kook Holding it. Wish I still had that board.

The second is a shot of me at Secos around 1987. I am riding a 6’-2” Cyclone round tail, shaped by Jeff Bushman. I got this as custom from Jeff when he had his little shop up there in Ventura. A few years later he moved to the north shore and the rest is history. You can see pros riding his boards with the Bushman lable.

I wish I had that board too.

Spring Break

So, we were not able to make it to the Caribbean this year. So we decided to go to Oahu, South Shore.

We found a nice to rent in Diamond Head. The surf out front looks good. If you thought your spot was crowded, try surfing "Town" on a south swell, holy crap!

My friend, Bob, came by with some boards for me to use. This will actaully be the firs time out since my great run of surf back in January. For those that keep up, you will remember that I hurt my shoulder. I have been doing physical therapy for the last 5 weeks, but the pain is still there. I think I did something bad.

I really dont anticipate surfing much, since most of the spots require a 200-300 yard paddle. I dont think mu=y shoulder will make it, but, I will keep you posted.

Bob and I plan on surfing Wailupes and Boneyards in the next few days, so stay tuned.

On the good side, it is 82 air, high 70's to low 80's water.



I'll post pictures soon.

Rob Machado, Jon Swift, Brett Dennen at the Troubadour

So, KK and I headed out of the LBC up to Weho. All I can say was I was kind of let down. Jon Swift was great. The opening act Brett Dennen, was good, but 5 mellow acoustic songs, after being inside for an hour was too much. Then Rob finally comes out, has a little raffle and then says the band will set up and they will be out, another 45 minutes and they finally get on stage. The movie was average. I have never been a fan of Taylor Steele and have never unsderstood what all the “hype “ is about, I much prefer a Thomas Campbell, Jack Johnson, Malloy Brothers or Andrew Kidman movie to most of what is produced these days. I think they could have a done a better job at the show, They could have had a surf flick playing from the minute you got inside, a good ½ hour of wipeouts would have been great. All in all, I was happy to get out, I enjoyed the beers and the In-n-Out at midnight on the way home.

More Retro

In This Place 1974-1979 from Ralph's Pic Of The Week on Vimeo.

More Retro and History

The King of Pavones from Love Machine Films on Vimeo.

Classic

DRAIN - A DOGBOWL SHORT directed by JAKE JANISSE from DRAIN - A DOGBOWL SHORT on Vimeo.

Not surf Related, But WOW!!!!

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

Finally

I really have not felt like writing a post. The loss of Shasta was pretty hard on me. Besides, I have not surfed at all. My shoulder still has me on the injured reserve list, and I start a round of physical therapy. Hopefully all will go good, the next option a is a MRI with contrast(they take a big needle filled with dye and shot it into your shoulder....fun?) Also, it seems my insurance is covering less and less these days, so I don't want to incur any bills. On the flip side, I did find a few interesting things to take a few pictures of when I was up in LA last week.

Also, my good friend EP got to experience one Golden States fickle point breaks over the last weekend. This is a spot, that will turn you into a " junkie" for it. He said it was great, and sent a few photos for the readers.

Passings....... Shasta 7/28/1998 - 2/26/2011

I lost my best friend today!

My beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback, “Shasta”, left me this morning, she was 12.

I knew this day would come, but you are never truly ready for it. I wanted to be able have it happen at my house, when the time was right. I did not want to have to go to the Vet’s office to put her to sleep. However, that did not happen. I was able to have the strength to be there, and hold her head in my lap as she took her final breath.

My office will be a little empty and strange for a while. I use to be able to look over my laptop at the couch to see her asleep with her head on a pillow.

Shasta was my “starter child”. She prepared me to be a father. What is it about the bond you have with a dog? She was more then a dog, she was part of me. How many times did I wake up and find her asleep between me and my wife with her head on the pillow?

I could walk out the front door, go around the alley and come in the back and she would be all excited to see me, like I have been gone for a week.

Where else can you get that kind of love and admiration?

Rest in Peace Shasta…….
7-28-1998 – 2-26-2011

Maui, 1994

Updates..Injury

I have not been in the water since session#6. A few weeks prior to that,I was riding a gloss and polish board, slippery rails. When I went to do a duck dive, my right arm slid off, and I held onto the board with my Left arm. The wave wrenched it back.

Have had some bad pain for the past few weeks. I was kinda freaking out that maybe I tore my Rotator cuff. I know that all to well. See my post Screwed.

So I went back to See Dr. Kraemer for my left arm this time. He pulled, pushed, had me do all these strength tests. We think it is just a bad strain. But, I have also been helping to coach my sons Little League Team. I have been catching, throwing and swinging the bat, probably not a good thing. My arm has really been hurting, hurts to lift it. I am hoping over the next few weeks it will get better so I can surf again.

Iwas on a good run for awhile.

Session #6

Lets just say spot x was good today.

This is the kook himself on a nice wave, thanks for the shot VR

I might ride this tomorrow.