Posts Tagged ‘SURF’

January 12th, 2012 | By | 4,180 Comments

Todos Santos Paddle Session – Amazing Photos from an Epic Day – January 6, 2012

One day he’s joking at a local bar about going to Todos and the next he’s sitting in the channel puking up foam from a freak set on the head. Lifeguard and budding surf photog, Jordan Gonzales headed down to Todos Santos last Friday to snap some pictures of friends Bryce and Tj Saeman. These brothers, both skilled and highly competitive when it comes to big wave surfing, invited Jordan to join them on one of their many treks to this notoriously large Baja break. While this swell wasn’t as big as they all had hoped, the day long session did offer some of the cleanest conditions anyone had seen in recent memory.

Jordan packed his new toy, a Canon 50D, and snapped some incredible photos from the chartered boat in the channel:


Images May Not Be Re-Used or Reproduced w/o Consent. Photos: Jordan Gonzales.

After grabbing a bunch of shots from the boat and little dazed from the 3am wake-up call & subsequent race out to the famed Baja island, Jordan said he reluctantly got talked into jumping in the lineup with a GoPro in hand. Several waves and GP stills later, Jordan found himself right in the path of a rogue set wave. “This thing must’ve been 25 feet and it landed right on my head,” Jordan explained. It rag dolled him and pulled him under on a vicious rollercoaster ride in the whitewash. “I was hacking up foam and wanted to kill Bryce when he did finally pick me up on the ski. Of course the biggest wave came though right when I decided to jump in the water.” Overall Jordan was stoked to experience Todos on such a rare and remarkably clean & sunny day.

The above photos are unedited, straight from the camera shots. “The water was so blue and the conditions were so calm it didn’t seem like I was at Todos at all.” Rusty Long, Derek Dunfee, Jamie Mitchell, Dylan Graves, Maya Gabiera, Pat & Tanner Gudauskas, Dooma and of course Bryce and TJ Saeman were out there among others. Special thanks to Jordan for sharing his story and photos.

Click Below for the Surfline TV Video Edit from this day:

Todos Santos Paddle Session Surfline -TV

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Posted in CHECK IT, SURF | 4,180 Comments »
September 20th, 2011 | By | 2,959 Comments

Rip Curl’s New Flash Bomb Wetsuits Now Available at SWELL

Dave from Rip Curl stopped by to tell us about the innovative material used throughout their new Flash Bomb series of wetsuits. Exclusive to Rip Curl, this super soft lining dries much quicker than traditional neoprene so your suit will always be dry for your next session. You can find this special material throughout the Flash Bomb Series available at SWELL in a 3/2 suit, a 4/3 suit and a number of accessories. Check out Dave’s run down of the new suits in the video below. He gives the full on sham-wow style demonstration of this new material in action.

 

Suits generally dry in +/- 15 minutes…much quicker than that shabby piece of neoprene you’ve got in the back of your truck.

Click Here to get yourself one at SWELL.

 

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Posted in CHECK IT, GEAR, SURF, VIDEOS | 2,959 Comments »
July 27th, 2011 | By | 3,338 Comments

Nike Lights Up Seaside Reef for a Night Surfing Session

Cardiff, CA – July 26, 2011 – As an extension of their Chosen campaign and a warm up for the upcoming US Open, Nike staged a night time surf session at Seaside Reef. Before arriving I pictured a couple of spotlights and a maybe loud commentator, but instead I ended up stumbling into what felt like a Poison video. Smoke machines belted off plumes of smoke, a live band and DJ played for the crowd, and a giant crane lit up the surf with a massive sun-like spotlight. They even had several underwater lights illuminating the surf from beneath. It was far from any thing I had expected.

Unfortunately I missed the live performance by the Wavves (the main reason for my post-work excursion from San Clemente), but the event was definitely a spectacle to check out. With the resources used for this random Tuesday night exhibition, I’m sure Nike’s got something awesome up their sleeve for the US Open in Huntington scheduled for July 30 – Aug 7.

morgan-text

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Posted in CHECK IT, EVENTS, SURF | 3,338 Comments »
June 13th, 2011 | By | 2,139 Comments

Black Ball Dates & Times for Orange County

Any Surfer's Nemesis - The Standard Black Ball Flag: All Yellow with a Black Circle at Center.

A Surfer's Nemesis - The Standard Black Ball Flag

It’s that time of year again! Yeah we’re all fired up for longer days, southern hemi’s and shedding our rubber, but summer also means the beginning of the Black Ball at most of our local beaches. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Black Ball is a flag raised by the lifeguards to help designate certain areas as swimming or surfing only. While many surfers irritably regard it as a blue ball, the flags are raised to help reduce injuries between hard boards and swimmers in the surf line.

Regulations change from day to day and beach to beach, so the best way to avoid a heckling (or a possible ticket from the smurfs) is to ask the lifeguard where you can surf before you paddle out. In general, body boards are permitted in the swim area, but surfboards, skimboards, and other hardboards (doyl’s considered hardboards) must stay in the designated areas.

It’s easy to get upset at the lifeguard yelling at you for crossing an imaginary line when the surf is pumping, but in reality the flag is only up for 3 month out of the year. Those of us accustomed to the early morn dawn patrols or post-work sessions will barely notice it’s there. For those of you still upset, you can always grab a beater or a pair of fins and have just as much fun at the beach. With that said.. I’ll still be counting down the days until that damn flag goes down!!!

Catch Surf Beater Board - Morgan Just

The beater can beat the black ball at certain beaches

Below is a black ball list for Orange County – Check with local LGs for more details:

Huntington Beach Black Ball Times & Areas:

Black Ball determined by how many people are in the water at City Beaches. Usually it will be on the South Side of the Pier from 11:00am – 5:00pm during the summer months.

At State Beaches Black Ball is up from June 14 to Labor Day starting at 11am until the Lifeguard leaves. Weekdays at Newland St. Tower 9 to Tower 11 is not blackballed. Everything south of Tower 2 is never blackballed. On Weekends everything north of Tower 2 is Blackballed.

Newport Beach Black Ball Times & Areas:

From May 1 – Oct. 31, 10:00am -5:00pm the Black Ball is up in Newport. That means no boards at the Wedge and 40-44th Streets, and just about every spot except River Jetties. River Jetties is open to surfing all day. There is NO Stand Up Surfing until Oct. 31.

Laguna Beach Black Ball Times & Areas:

Black Ball is up June 15 – Sept. 15 on all city beaches. There are only 3 areas where surfing is permitted all day: Rockpile, Thalia Street, and Brooks Street. Other small skim areas are posted at Crescent Bay, Lagunita and TI. Times are subject to change but are generally open from 10:00am – 4:00pm Mon through Fri. However the lifeguard may close these down at any time. Black Ball is enforced only while the lifeguard is on duty. This is anywhere from 9 – 7 (most towers are 10-6) depending on the beach.

Aliso has a skim zone that’s enforced from June 15 to Labor Day. Subject to change by surf, crowd, and weather conditions.

Dana Point (Salt Creek / Strands) Black Ball Times & Areas:

Black Ball starts Memorial day and is enforced every weekend until June 25th. On the 25th the Black Ball is in effect every day until Labor Day. Enforced while the lifeguards are on duty. Check posted Flags/signs for locations of surf/swim zones.

San Clemente Black Ball Times & Areas:

Black Ball is enforced from Memorial Day to Labor Day. T-Street to the South Side of the pier is Blackballed from 11:00am – 6:00pm on weekdays and 10:00am – 6:00pm on weekends. Surfing allowed all day from the Pier to the Clock Tower/HQ and Mariposa point to 204s. Trestles is open all year round, but good luck finding a parking sport during the summer.

morgan-text

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Posted in CHECK IT, GEAR, SURF | 2,139 Comments »