Race to Cat Harbor - Berger/Stein Series

We placed second in our class. If we hadn't caught kelp on the keel and briefly got stuck in irons, we could have placed first. Just about a two minute difference from our competition. Great race! I love the Cat Harbor side of Catalina. Looking forward to the Santa Barbara/ King Harbor race later this month.

Stanley's: A Lost Treasure

Surf breaks eliminated then, and many still at risk today. Yvon Chouinard is spot on in describing how surf breaks are irreplaceable resources on our coastlines. My dad remembers surfing Stanley's before its demise. He also remembers surfing Killer Dana before the Dana Point Harbor was constructed with breakwater jetties in the late 60s. These are, unfortunately, surf spots that no longer exist and can only be preserved in memory and by those who were lucky enough to surf them. Considering the past and what once was, it becomes even more relevant to protect what still remains as our invaluable and irreplaceable surf spots.

Update: Grain Fish...Time to Glass!

So I've had so much fun shaping Grain lately that I've neglected to post pics and bring everyone up to speed. Rather than explaining details for building this kit board, I'll skip straight to the glassing part and what's next. Thanks to Jim Moriarty, CEO, of the Surfrider Foundation, this is officially an office board. Originally, the guys at Grain donated the kit board to our office, which I took on solely ... up until Jim volunteered to shape the fins recently. Glad to have someone else from our team contribute to the project so it's officially a Surfrider board.

As you can see from the photo, the fins have already been glassed and look really nice. Redwood, which gives it a distinct look from the rest of the board, which is white cedar. Since I've never glassed a board before, I decided to first glass the fins for practice. I'm glad I did because I think I've figured out how to avoid air bubbles drying in the process. So the fins have been sanded down again, air bubbles corrected, and ready for another coat. In order to avoid air bubbles while glassing the board, I've decided to first coat the board with a dry coat of epoxy, and then lay down the decals with a thicker coat of epoxy and fiberglass. To be continued...

Alaia Shaping Classes - Aug 8th, Cardiff-by-the-Sea

For those in the SoCal area interested in learning how to shape an Alaia, Patagonia in Cardiff is hosting Alaia shaping classes with Jon Wegener on Saturday, August 8th. Cyrus Sutton will also be there selling copies of his new film, Tom's Creation Plantation. You can register on Facebook here, or contact Patagonia directly. Looking forward to it. I'll definitley be there...

Sailing on ISD

As busy as life can get, it sometimes is pretty easy for me to have excuses to put off some of my "fun goals." Last weekend, however, there was a "fun goal" that I've been eager to cross of my list. Not necessarily bucket list caliber, but definitely up there: My friend Randy and I---both still amateur sailors---sailed over to Catalina Island on his Cat-22 from Dana Point Harbor (some 40 miles out to sea and over 8 hours of sailing one way). We camped in what is called a primitive boat-in camping spot several miles north of Avalon. We had the entire cove to ourselves for snorkeling, hiking, fishing, etc.

The trip couldn't have been planned any better, and with the exception of our initial nervousness for dropping anchor in a deep, unknown cove, the trip turned into a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend sail.

So this is how I celebrated International Surfing Day this year. I just was enjoying the deeper blue of our oceans. Simply beautiful...