south island surf

2010-03-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

Two swells on the horizon.

2010-03-10T16:39:00.001-08:00

Surfed at JR. Had fun! The point was overhead and epic.

Here's what Sewers looked like at low tide:

Shoulda got some shots of the point, too. Oh well, Friday will also be sick.

Going out tomorrow!

2010-03-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

Look at this swell! Dawn patrol is mission go.

Friday

2010-03-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

Solo mission to 1st peak on a bright, busy Friday morning. Decent swell, a little texture/bump on the face. Rights and lefts were going off. Surfed some sweet rights to the beach. Saw Adam in the lineup. Drank a cold Lucky afterwards on the beach. Love this life!

Here's a picture Sam took at JR last Tuesday; I lent him my car to go grab a session while he was here on the Island. Looks like he scored:

2010-03-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Scott Toepfer

via a time to get

Wednesday

2010-03-04T12:07:00.001-08:00

Surfed a beautiful, sunny, head high day at 1sts with Sam and Adam. Nice juicy waves, sick turns, perfect weather, no crowd. Just good friends and good vibes. Sam forgot his leash and surfed without it; every takeoff and pullout was dramatic and engrossing. Was he going to make it? Would he have to swim all the way into the boneyard to get his board?? In the end Sam shredded hard and didn't blow a single wave or duckdive, either at 1sts or in a second session at 2nds. Champion.

2010-02-24T19:49:00.001-08:00

"Vancouver Island: Live the Pipe Dream"

...cuz you won't find many barrels like that here!

2010-02-19T20:53:00.001-08:00

Friday/Monday

2010-02-15T17:59:00.001-08:00

A good session in challenging conditions at 2nd peak. Sizeable swell with significant crossed up wind swell. Surfed mostly alone, performed well for the conditions, style went to shit once my feet numbed after two hours.
...
Also surfed a large day at Firsts last Friday. Good size lefts on the falling tide, layed into a few sweet ones.
...
Yesterday was 'the' day; all time Jordan River, 25ft@16sec. Too bad I was busy getting laid, going to a funeral, and working. *sigh*

epic Friday

2010-01-29T17:11:00.001-08:00

Perfect overhead day at Leify's Reef. Surfed well, very satisfied. Glassy, slightly off-shore conditions with huge sets exploding down the far point. Must have been 10ft@15sec on the buoy (still offline). Large, powerful waves, excellent shape, occasionally hollow. Four guys out, friendly vibes. Best waves were at the high tide. Epic day at a favorite spot.

2nds was firing, too, at high, lefts and rights. The rights were walling up way outside and peeling all th way to the beach.

-- Post From Sooke

Wednesday

2010-01-13T19:18:00.001-08:00

Caught the last few bombs of yesterday's 18@18 swell, all alone at L3 (except for a sea lion). As you can see on the chart the main swell front passed yesterday, and I was just able to squeeze in a few sick rides before the tide dropped and the swell shut off completely. Nice waves, shoulder to head high. Felt like I rode well, executed good off the tops and cutbacks. Arrived at 12:30, split after an hour and a half to make it to class on time. The swell was flat by then anyhow.

I've probably had a dozen sessions since my last blog entry, but for some reason haven't felt like recording them. I'm sure at least half were decent sessions with good friends.

Big Saturday

2009-11-08T13:47:00.001-08:00

Surfed china beach with Ty and Kimmy on a big west swell (16ft@16s). It was a bit lumpy and shifty, as beach breaks can be, but there were some sweet waves. Heard that another spot a little down the coast was absolutely epic, but I couldn't take the girls out there.

Thursday AM

2009-10-26T18:09:00.001-07:00

Surfed first peak on a solid over-head day. Long walls, steep drops, excellent power in the waves.

-- Post From Taxi

2009-10-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Surfed seconds around noon on a dying swell. Small waves with ok shape. Long waits between sets. It was one of those days where at least I got wet, went for a paddle, and caught a few decent waves. Saw a whale breach way outside seconds, and again later outside firsts. First whales of the winter.

2009-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Surfed yesterday morning. It was a small, grey day at 2nds, with one guy out. That one guy seemed eager to get into an argument. First he dropped in, then he paddled right around me to the peak.

"It's just me and you out here," I say, "It doesn't have to be like this."
"I saw you paddle for a wave and miss it. You're scratched off the list," he says.

This type of thinking really ticks me off, where someone arbitrarily decides that they are more important than someone else, and that that person therefore does not deserve respect. So on the next good wave I dropped in on him.

He comes up sputtering. "Some guys would have shot their board at you!"
"And I'd shoot mine right back at them. I've been coming here ten years, buddy. I know what the fuck goes on."
"Just fuck off and give me some space."

Truer words were never spoken.

-- Post From Taxi

Surfari

2009-09-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

A successful Surfari! Left Victoria at around 9:00, with Ish, Duncan, and Kalilah in my car, Serge, Kimmy, and Ty in another, and some other friends redez-vous-ing at the beach. Only four of us were interested in surf, and the rest went hiking and built a fire.

Surfed two sessions, 1st peak at mid-day, and 2nds in the evening. Mid-day was hard on-shore with lots of bump on the face. A frustrating session, with a weird tide. Chicken's was going off, however, as it will on a decent sized swell. In the late afternoon the wind slackened and I had a great session at 2nds, surfing sweet lefts and a few really steep rights. The wind turned to light, then glass, then offshore.

In the evening our large group cooked corn and veggies, beans and sausages, and pasta over the fire. We had a wonderful meal and watched the nearly perfect waves reel until after the sun had set.

2009-09-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Perfection

2009-09-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

2nd Peak. Head-high plus, beautiful sunshine, perfect waves. Textured when we arrived, glassed off in the arvo. Manageable crowd. Surfed with Serge (on a sponge, haha) and Ty. It was their first time at 2nds and both of them scored some sweet waves. It was an absolutely lovely day with steep drops, long walls and powerful lip. Stayed in the water nearly four hours.

2009-09-22T00:09:00.001-07:00

Going out tomorrow.

2009-09-22T00:08:00.001-07:00

2009-09-21T23:55:00.001-07:00

2009-09-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

Working tonight, but felt the need to go to the beach anyhow. A beautiful, sunny, head high afternoon at 2nds. Took the taxi to the beach; will start work around 8 instead of 4: worth it for a good surf. Feeling self-critical and melancholy, but at least surfing is a glorious distraction and physical expression.

Surfed last Saturday, too, but neglected to make a post. It was a big day at 2nds. Didn't surf my best, but enjoyed the experience of sizeable waves.

Friday Mid-day

2009-09-11T17:11:00.001-07:00

2nd peak
Surfed with Tyler from Hawaii. Sunny, light wind, head high sets. Three guys out when we got there, up to fifteen by the end.
Got dropped in on and tangled by an agro old guy, on an outside bomb. "That was MY peak," he says. "You paddled around!"
Whatever you say, old man. We both know who was in proper position. You and your new blue board are going to surfer pugatory, where you get stuffed on every wave till your debt is paid.

Planning to dawn patrol after work, maybe avoiding crowds.

-- Post From Taxi

2009-09-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

2nd peak
Solo mission. Glassy, shoulder to head high waves. Warm and sunny. Two guys out. Surfed well. Beautiful day.

Check out this rad surf van:

Epilogue

2009-08-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Meager waves. Mushy, crowded, low quality. Didn't even get wet. An inauspicious start to the south island surf blog. (x_x) Better luck next swell, but it looks on the chart like it should be pumping!

Friday Dawn Patrol

2009-08-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Just worked 12 hours driving cab. Ought to sleep, but would rather shred. 8.2ft@11.4sec, no wind. Dicked around the house to allow the sun time to start rising; now it's time to go.