Sunday, December 27, 2009

Oahu Christmas 2009

I've been on Oahu with the family since Dec. 21. There was some fairly big surf around Christmas, with Waimea breaking. Pipe was also somewhat on, Haleiwa was out of control on Dec. 24, not surfable. Surfed the beach park on Dec. 22, with shoulder to head high waves, with a few sneaker sets. Was able to witness the rise in swell before we left the water. Stayed at cousin Pauls, place on Wilder in town. Dec. 24 we surfed Diamond Head, which was actually pretty good. The wave is super fun. I only surfed in once before when I lived on Oahu, and didn't really get it good. Dec. 24 Paul and I surfed it and I had a blast. Dec. 26 surfed Pops and Canoes, which was really underwhelming. Not very good at all. Today surfed Diamond Head again with Paul, and it was ok. There was a south swell in the water which brought some waves to town. Hopefull we'll make another trip to the North Shore tomorrow, or to the West side. We'll see.




Thursday, November 19, 2009

Blackies Nov 19 2009




Newps was looking real good this am. Lots of surfers out, as well as a lot of shortboarders. Conditions were optimum with good tide and no wind. It wasn't quite as good as a few monday's ago, but it had its moments. There were a few shacks that rolled through. Didn't make it out today but hopefully tomorrow it will still have some push.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Southside HB Pier 11-16-2009

The waves were pretty small, but super fun. Looked at the flatness down at Blackies and headed to HB. Almost surfed B-hurst, but I don't really want to surf so close to the river mouth, with all the filth floating down that way. Water was decent, still not biting cold. Waves were waist high. We surfed on the high tide. Could've had more power, but waves were still fun. The clickaction guy got some shots of me.
There was a guy out in the water, blodn guy with ponytail. I've seen him there a few times, and he is always in position but has a hard time taking off. The local guys were harassing him to no end. A bunch of dicks.







Surfed southside of the HB pier with Stan the Man.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday the 13th at Blackies

Blackies this am was basically windswell garbage. There were a a few rideable waves, water was cleaner than it has been, and the wind got on it around 9am as I was leaving. Not much to write about and yes, I forgot the camera again.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Blackies Nov. 8 and 9 2009

Surfed Blackies on Sunday from 630 to 10am. A NW swell was in that came down from Canada and was supposed to bring big surf primarily to Oregon, Northern and Central CA, with SoCal receiving any remnants. Blackies was a pretty good spot Sunday though a bit crowded (as usual for a weekend). I got some nice rides and a few off the tops. I am getting real confident with the Scorpion, it has not yet disappointed, though I did take off on a wave where I was too deep and didn't make the drop. It was actually a wave I should've let go for the guy on the shoulder who was better positioned. I also got snaked by this local guy, just an out and out dangerous drop in he pulled. What a dick. Now payback will be a bitch next time out.

ON Monday, I surfed with Stan the man, and it was a lot cleaner today with much less crowdage. I got an in and out and in and out barrel in front of Danny boy, another Takayama afficionado, and then got shacked again in front of Dano, who was paddling over the shoulder as I slowed down in the pocket so he could make it over. Waves were a good 2-3, just nice walls to hop onto, a little fast on the lefts but still extremely makeable. It was a fun session, but I forgot the camera. This blog needs photos. I also wore the new X-zip for the first time. What a pain in the ass to take off. But it was warm and I could feel the benefits of a front zip.

Friday, November 6, 2009

HB Pier shots of Scorp








Surfed the south side of the Huntington Beach pier today. Water was in the 50s, red tide, just nasty water. Hope I don't get sick. Waves were weak 2ft slop. A NW swell is supposed to hit by tomorrow through Monday. Coming from the pacific Northwest should be a cold one. Photos were taken by clickaction. He gave me his card. I hate surfing the HB Pier but when its flat at Blackies, and the points not working, I head here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Takayama In the Pink circa 1980s

This is a photo I pulled off the Internet. It is of a surf contest in the 1980s. There is Guy Takayama holding a single fin In the Pink. Pretty interesting that now they have side bites. You gotta dig those Sundek surf trunks the photog is wearing, as well as that Velzy fin on the Stewart.


Donald Takayama Erik Sommer model


When I first picked up my brand new never waxed Donald Takayama Erik Sommer model (The Scorpion), I didn't know what to expect. I have been riding longboards, more on the HP side, and the Scorpion is a high performance model. I was looking to get a Model T or a Double Ender to round out my quiver of various 9ft plus longboards, because I don't have a log in the traditional sense. The Scorpion sat on Craigslist for $775 for the better part of two months, and I wondered why. It is 9'0" X 22.5" X 3" has glass on sidebites and an 8 inch center fin. I paid $725 for it, but then sold the board bag it came with to some guy for $45, so the total price was $680 (keep in mind this board was brand new never waxed) I've had it for more than a month, and have surfed it at Doheny, Blackies, Church, south side of the the south jetty at O-side harbor, and southside of the Huntington Beach Pier. Here is a breakdown of how it rides at the spots ridden so far.

Doheny
The initiation of the Scorp at Doheny was a nightmare. Not only was the SUP event going on, the waves sucked, the tide was high, and I lost the board, scratching the hell out of the nose as it went into shore.

Church
I caught Church on a small day, 2-3ft. The waves were super clean and had that typical point breakish feel to it. The Scorpion handled really well. I was at first concerned that it might spin out because of its super extreme pintail, but this was not the case. Once locked in trim, the board was as stable as heck and I got my feet in the pink. Not a true noseride but cheater 5 at best. As a regular foot, my noseriding ability is better going left. DOn't ask why, that is just how it is. ON the lefts, I had a blast.

Blackies
At Blackies the board did not perform the same as at Church. The waves were marginal and fairly weak, but I did get a feel for the performance aspect of the shape on a chest high freak left that came in. I buzzed fairly quickly down the line and again, the board held remarkably.

South Jetty O-side
I surfed the Scorp at the South Jetty at O-side with Donald Takayama's nephew, Michael Takayama. He sweared by the Scorpion, riding a 9'4" of his own. We surfed smallish South Jetty, and this is where Mike taught me how to set the Scorp up for noseriding. I heeded his advice and really got a good feel for the board. The Scorp has a much narrower nose than my since sold In The Pink, and that narrowness caused me to be skeptical before I even waxed the board up (I was going to trade it for a Takayama Double Ender, thank god I didn't) I was doing things on the Scorp that I never have done on a longboard, just really taking advantage of that extreme pintail.

South Side of HB Pier
This is where I really got the performance feel of the Scorpion. ON the last wave of my day, I took off left and just smacked the lip twice, so much so that a guy on a fish who saw the whole thing said, "Damn nice wave" I replied, yes perfect wave to end the session. Now I have never whipped a longboard around like I can with the Scorpion, and also never felt the stability that the design brings. The design just works. Better than my In the Pink, my Ole, my Hobie Fusion, and my Michel Junod.

After my session with Michael at O-side, I asked him why my board didn't sell. He had no idea, and I replied, "Because nobody knows how the Scorpion rides" And he agreed. In my mind, the Scorpion aka Erik Sommer model is Donald's best kept secret in modern longboards.