Clip of the Day: Tireless Taj

Much has been said of the longevity of Slater- winning when he was 20 and now at almost 40. One person who still shines year after year is Taj Burrow. The kid who made the tour at an early age but held off because he wanted to sharpen his skills. 13 years later on tour, he's still a perennial favorite as well as one of the best freesurfers on the planet. Want evidence? Check out the clip above of Taj ripping Lowers this past week as though he was on a mission to wipe Jordy, Dane, Julian, and Kolohe off the face of the earth. 33 and still got it. Good on ya Taj!

Deal Alert! Craziest DVD Deal Ever!

Seriously- this is the craziest DVD deal ever. Seshday and VAS have teamed up to offer 7 surf DVD's for only $5.99. Not $59.99 but FIVE DOLLARS AND NINETY-NINE CENTS. Not a typo. It's 95% off. Videos such as Tomorrow Today with Marzo, Dane, and Yadin. Young Guns II with Flores, Julian, and Freddy. Circle One with Slater. And one of my all-time favorites- Interrogation; there is a 'bonus' section of Andy that is arguably the best section he's ever had. Don't know why it's in the bonus section- it should have been a full blown ender for the film. Anyway, here's the low down on the 7 films:

- INTERROGATION DVD: FREDDY P. PROJECT
From Hawaii to Australia, Tahiti, Fiji, Indonesia, Reunion Island, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, California, France and Brazil, Interrogation reveals the multi-dimensional life of pro surfer Fred Patacchia Jr. Follow the Interrogation. Plus: A bonus segment with more than 20 minutes of surfing featuring the finest surfers on the WCT. Includes: Free CD "Back to Friends" 5 Songs from Olivia.


- CHASING THE DREAM DVD
Chasing the Dream is a candid portrayal of eight Huntington Beach High School kids trying to obtain a seemingly impossible goal--a career in professional surfing. The teens must steer through the ranks of scholastic surfing while dealing with injuries, overbearing parents, demanding school curriculum and a trip to Australia aimed at separating the ones who surf from the ones who win.

- RISING DVD
Like RIDING GIANTS and STEP INTO LIQUID, the surf documentary THE RISING presents stunning action footage of professional surfers Bruce Irons, Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning, and Fred Patacchia, Jr., riding the waves in gorgeous locations like Australia, Hawaii, and California. Includes bonus footage.

- QUIKSILVER YOUNG GUNS II
The sequel to the acclaimed Kely Slater and the Young Guns DVD. Take a very large boat, a helicopter, jetskis and mix it all up in the Mentawais with Kelly and Quiksilver's team of hotshots. Never seen before aerial views of the famous Mentawai lineups with the Quiksilver team inside, up and over absolute perfection. Starring: Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, Ry Craike, Fred Patacchia, Troy Brooks, Jeremy Flores, Alain Riou and Introducing Clay Marzo and Julian Wilson. Bonus: Young Guns in the Mentawais and Australia Helicopter air footage in the Mentawais Cell Wetsuit: New Cell wetsuit product and technology and much more!


- CIRCLE ONE DVD: FEATURING KELLY SLATER
Hit the waves with some of the best surfers on the beach as filmmaker Josh Williams takes to the water to capture Kelly Slater, Todd Morgan, Mark Healy, Danny Fuller and others braving waves and awaiting the arrival of the Big Kahuna.
- TOMORROW TODAY
Some of the most radical surfing ever captured on film, Tomorrow/Today fuses animated dream sequences into reality, where the each surfer performs his repertoire of unbelievable tricks. Featuring the actions, words, and thoughts of five of the most progressive and relevant surfers in the world: Dane Reynolds, Bobby Martinez, Mike Losness, Yadin Nichol, and Clay Marzo-- Shot in ultra-dynamic widescreen HD


- TRANSWORLD SURF MODEL SEARCH
A Taste Of Paradise In early 2006 TransWorld SURF & Metalstorm Entertainment spent a week on Oahus North Shore with four beautiful women, dozens of swimsuits, and a vision to bring out the beauty of the female form to the fans of TransWorld SURF. We invite you to join us for a behind the scenes look at what happens when clothes come off and swimsuits go on!
Since this nutty DVD pack is only $5.99, they won't be around for long. Do yourself a favor and get them ASAP at Seshday to get amped for your next session!

Clip of the Day: Kolohe Gets Nuts

Kolohe Andino wins USA Championships from Nike 6.0 on Vimeo.

By now you've probably heard Kolohe Andino (son of PSAA legend Dino) won the US Championships at Lowers this past weekend. And you probably assumed the waves were firing up there since the surf around town was pretty all-time. And you probably heard Kolohe is the second coming of the Messiah (no, not that one, I'm talking about Kelly). But did you see HOW he wont the contest? Remember Slater when he won 1990 Body Glove Surfbout at Lowers with surfing that was heads above the rest? Tailslides, airs, and perfect carves?

Well Kolohe has raised the bar 20 years later with his win at Lowers a few days ago. He had a 10 in his final heat (first wave of his video above) that basically was the best wave ever surfed at Trestles. Way overhead wave, massive blow tail out the back, then a crisp carve, into a double grab air, then air reverse to finish it off. Airs are hard enough to do freesurfing, but to have 3 solid ones in a contest- a final no less- that boy deserves props! Dane and Jordy would have been proud. Once this kid starts getting rid of the nerves in Prime and 'CT contests, he's going to shake up the 'old' guys like Owen, Jadson, and Kerr.

The Center of the World Is In Panama

In case you didn't know, the center of the world can be found in Panama. The Surf World that is. This week marks the start of the ISA Billabong World Surfing Games. Since the Olympics are old fashioned and think the pentathlon (seriously- what is this 'sport'?!), badminton (for crying out loud- it has the name 'bad' in it), canoeing (maybe in the summer I do with a beer in my hand), archery (Robin Hood won gold in '08- 1708 that is), handball (the US team was chosen from the top 5 elementary schools in the nation this past May), and a list of other 'hobbies' not even worth mentioning are supposedly cool, the ISA decided to take matters in their own hands and create the Games- surfing's version of the Olympics.

With over 35 million people around the world surfing and 27 countries participating in this year's event, it's a force to be reckoned with. With names like Jeremy Flores, Sofia Mulanovic, Chris Waring, Mick Campbell, Magnum Martinez, Nathan Hedge and countries as big as the US, Brazil and Australia battling little guys like Israel, Columbia, and Switzerland (yes they have a surf team- that's how frickin' big of a deal this even is!) it's an all out world war for surfing supremacy. The event started June 25th and runs through July 2nd at Playa Venao in Panama. Make sure to watch it in the coming days and root for your country!

THE Surf Report 6/24/11

Sons of Fun.

SURF:

More typical June conditions this past week- fun SW swell, overcast conditions, and water temps in the mid 60’s. Today we actually have a rise in the SW swell with a new NW windswell joining our beaches. Head high peaks are the call with some bigger sets at the best OC spots.

Good news is that the NW will hold tomorrow and the SW will increase slightly for overhead sets in north county SD/OC and some head high sets in south SD. Should be a good weekend of surf for us. Unfortunately the overcast conditions should prevail. The models show a slight break Sunday afternoon for some sunshine but it’s been so off and on with the clouds lately I’m not sure what to believe. Just don’t expect glorious summer beach weather.  Tides are pretty mellow the next few days; 3’ at sunrise, 1’ at 10am, 5’ at 6pm and down to 4’ at sunset. Water temps are hovering in the mid-60’s.  And as always, keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.  

FORECAST:

After a good weekend of surf, the SW/NW combo holds into Monday. The southern hemisphere, tropics, and north Pacific look pretty quiet today unfortunately which means that for at least next week, it’s looking pretty small. I’m thinking by Wednesday it’s going to be pretty tiny around here. Make sure to surf your brains out the next few days!

WEATHER:

It’s been almost impossible to figure out what this June Gloom is going to do. Some days the models show clouds all day then the sun peaks out around noon. Other days it’s supposed to be sunny and mild but then the clouds never break at the beach. Models again show no sun at the beaches this weekend but weak high pressure starts to build towards Sunday afternoon and early next week for less clouds at the beaches. If that’s the case, keep your fingers crossed they’re wrong and we at least see the sun for a couple hours late in the day. We should though have better conditions Monday through Wednesday of next week. After that it’s iffy again with the clouds towards next weekend as a late season storm may bring rain to San Fran (even for San Fran that’s odd for summer) and thicker clouds for us. Long story short- don’t expect great weather until at least early July.

BEST BET:

Today is looking pretty fun but with a slight increase in the SW tomorrow and holding NW, Saturday should be the best bet. Just find a spot away from the crowds!

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Not sure if you’ve heard about this company SPILLINEX or not, but I came across a story recently that the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) had written about their unique product. It’s been  discovered that one of the greatest absorbents the market has ever seen comes from the trash bags of shapers and surfboard foams suppliers. It is no secret that the surf community has battled the challenge of what to do with leftover polyurethane dust, which is the result of shaping a surfboard from a block of foam. A major product category for surf retail business, surfboard sales generated more than $160.6 million in 2010 according to the 2010 SIMA Retail Distribution Study. As a community, the surf industry strives to protect and preserve the very livelihood of their sport - the world's oceans and beaches. Staying true to their commitment to the environment, the SIMA Board Builders' Committee is proud to recognize a new solution for excess dust that will also protect the environment. California-based surfboard brands Lost Surfboards, Dewey Weber Surfboards, Soul Stix Surfboards, Stone Steps Manufacturing, T. Patterson Surfboards and Channel Islands Surfboards, along with foam manufacturers US Blanks and Surf Blanks America and cutting house Pro-Cam, have joined forces with the makers of SPILLINEX™. By donating their leftover dust to SPILLINEX™, shaping dust is now being reused rather than simply being disposed. As certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be an environmentally safe sorbent for use during the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill, SPILLINEX™ is a powder compound that is used to contain and absorb a variety of liquids, including the ability to absorb oil in water, leaving clean water after removal. Surfboard dust accounts for up to 80% of the SPILLINEX™ composition. "As a surfboard brand owner and the Chairman of the SIMA Board Builder Committee, I know I can speak for most surfboard manufacturers when I say how excited I am about being involved with the team from SPILLINEX™ to help re-purpose our excess foam dust," said Shea Weber, SIMA Board Builder Committee Chairman and President of Dewey Weber Surfboards. "Not only have they found a home for our dust, but they've also come up with a compound utilizing it so that it actually helps protect the environment. The board builder community is passionate about protecting the environment and I want to thank SPILLINEX™ for taking the initiative to reach out to the SIMA Board Builder Committee and for allowing us to help them connect with some of our industry's leaders to make this dream a reality." From their inception, SPILLINEX™ has reused approximately 100,000 pounds of polyurethane shaping dust. Board builders have come together with SPILLINEX™ to coordinate a dust pickup program where SPILLINEX™ collects directly from the shapers and foam manufacturers' facilities between 15,000 and 20,000 pounds a month. Strengthening both the surf community and SPILLINEX™'s commitment to the environment, SPILLINEX™ has pledged to donate one cent per one pound of reused dust to the SIMA Environmental Fund. Through a grant-making program the SIMA Environmental Fund promotes twenty ecological and environmental organizations whose efforts are focused on enhancing the oceanic environment. "Our partnership with the surf community is perfect, because surfers love the ocean and we strive to protect it with our product SPILLINEX™," said SPILLINEX™'s Chief Executive Officer, Tom Rossi. "By using SPILLINEX™ to clean up auto fuel, oil, and other harmful chemical solutions, we are saving countless gallons of toxic components from entering drains that empty into a surfer's playground - the ocean. We have also all seen the horrendous damage caused by an oil spill in our oceans. In the unfortunate event of another oil spill, SPILLINEX™ has the capacity to be on the front lines of eradicating the oil from the water, thus saving sea life and keeping the water healthy for ocean lovers and surfers."

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Got some cash to spend? Man have I got a property for you- right around the corner from Swami’s and only a mere $12 million. That’s about $60,000 a month in mortgage that you just have lying around the house anyway. That and more in the blog below!  

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Considering today is all ‘combo’ and everything, the beach breaks around town should be a good call. And today’s Pic of the Week is from the golden land of beach breaks- France. Jimmy Wilson, aka ‘Jimmicane’, Surfing Magazine’s Florida photog extraordinaire, has captured a good example of what sun, sandbar, and surf should look like living in harmony. Make sure to check out more of Jimmy’s work here. 

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Astute

Traded to San Antonio

Making Leash Strings From Hemp

Surf Shack

Gotta love The Surfer's Journal- a beautifully published surf periodical that sells for roughly $15 at surf shops, has a section on their website called 'Surf Properties'. Instead of this being a place to find deals on real estate so the common man can live near the beach and surf 24/7, it instead lists properties of gargantuan proportions. Like this beauty around the corner from Swami's.

Over 6,000 square feet, 5 bedrooms, more than 5 baths, etc. etc. etc. Amazingly, it's been sitting vacant for 2 years- I doubt it has anything to do with the $12 million dollar price tag (that's about $60,000 a month in mortgage in case you're wondering). Amazing property- even though you don't have beach access (cliff is a little too steep for private stairs and the Coastal Commission won't let you build them anyway). Kind of silly actually you'd pay that much and have to walk all the way to Swami's or D. Street just to get some waves. May want to use that cash instead to buy an island in the Bahamas. For more photos, click here.

Surf Check 6/22/11

We've got a typical June summer day todat at the beaches- fun little SW swell filling in, overcast conditions while inland it's 85 degrees+, wind W around 8mph, and water temps nearing 68 (saw a tweet from Freddy P. yesterday saying he trunked it here in San Diego- I don't know if it's that warm...). Can't really expect more out of June. Looks like the SW will fill in more tomorrow with head high sets in the far north county and the OC. That should last through Saturday.

Models show winds in the outer waters and off Point Conception blowing 25mph+ later today but current reports only show light winds out there. That's unfortunate as it would have been great to have some good NW wind swell in the water tomorrow to peak up the SW. Hopefully the models are only off by 12 hours and we at least get some short period NW by Friday.

The weather unfrotunately won't cooperate and the June Gloom conditions will hang around tomorrow. We may get a slight break in the clouds this weekend but don't expect much. Air temps will hover in the high 60's. Should be fun the next few days so get on it!

Clip of the Day: Show Up to Blow Up

Blow Up Trailer 1 from Billabong USA on Vimeo.
Billabong is at it again with their legendary surf movies- this time with Blow Up. Who can forget an Oscar worthy performance from Occy in Bunyip Dreaming? Or Ross, Dorian, and Margo ripping in Sons of Fun?? Or the world discovering Sunny Garcia in Surf Into Summer??? Or the all-time great amping flick Filthy Habits???? The list goes on and on. Coming soon (like in a few days) is Billabong's Blow Up which will be a free download- nice of them- showcasing the next generation of stars in the stable. Names like Jack Freestone, Ian Gentil, Creed McTaggart, Laurie Towner, Granger Larsen, etc. Check out the two trailers here and decide whether the tricks these guy do are outside your comfort zone.

THE Surf Report 6/17/11

Open tab.
SURF:
Fun week of surf was met with overcast conditions at the beaches with just a hint of sun late in the afternoons. Not really big and not really small. Not that I’m complaining or anything- it’s great to have a steady stream of surf. Kind of like having an open tab at a sand bar (bad joke, I know). Today is the same with overcast conditions and some continuing SW and NW windswell. SW winds are already blowing 5-10 mph. Sets are head high in the far north with some overhead waves in the OC. Beware the negative tides though at sunrise and the SSW eddy winds; looks kind of ugly early- best to get it mid-morning.

Sunday the SW will hold and the NW will back off- look for far north county and the OC to have the most waves. Inconsistent- but still rideable. All in all- should be a fun weekend of surf- even with the overcast conditions. Water temps are in the mid 60’s and it could be short sleeve fullsuit time- except for the overcast conditions putting a damper on that idea. Tides the next few days are -1’ at sunrise, 4’ at lunch, 2’ at 5pm, and up slightly to 4’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:
After a fun weekend of SW/NW surf, the SW backs off Monday and the NW windswell picks back up for chest high waves in SD. That holds into Tuesday. Wednesday looks a little small. By Thursday we have another fun SW showing for head high waves in the OC and more NW windswell filling in. Those swells will probably look eerily similar to today’s waves; head high peaks most everywhere. Nothing really big on the radar for the upcoming week but plenty of fun waves to be found. On a side note, the tropics are active again and we’ve got an area of thunderstorms starting to organize into a low pressure system off the Mexico/Guatemala border. The National Hurricane Center thinks there is a 50% chance this will be a named storm in the next few days. If it does, it’s still a ways away from our swell window- and since Hurricane Adrian fell apart last week as it hit our swell window due to cold water- I’m assuming this storm will do the same. Hopefully I’m wrong so make sure to keep up to date on the storm at Twitter/North County Surf.

WEATHER:

Even though the past week has been cooler than normal with overcast conditions at the beach- it’s pretty typical for June so I’m not that surprised. Nothing shocking like last summer’s cloudy/breezy/cold conditions. It’s a weird time of year as the ‘winter’ cold fronts/troughs have their last gasp down here but summer’s warm sunny influence hasn’t kicked in yet. So we get something in-between- cool cloudy ‘June Gloom’ conditions. No feature is really dominant so it’s hard to tell what the weather is going to do. Maybe the front is stronger than forecasted so the clouds stick at the beaches all day. Or maybe weak high pressure decides to flex it’s puny muscles and we get afternoon sunshine- it’s been that way lately- not sure what we’re going to get. Kind of like we’re stuck in purgatory. Latest models show the clouds sticking around the beaches all weekend- sorry dads- that means cloudy cool conditions at the beaches and 10mph SW winds look to be hanging around through Sunday. Models though show high pressure starting to muscle it’s way in so we should get more sun and temps near 70 starting Tuesday at the beaches. That lasts until Friday when the clouds are forecasted to stick around again. Can’t wait for July to get here.

BEST BET:
Today looks pretty fun with the NW/SW combo- but it’s overcast and cool with SW winds. Maybe wait until next Thursday when we get another similar sized SW and NW swells with MAYBE sunnier/warmer conditions.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Summer is finally here! Ok, it’s still a few more days away and the weather isn’t cooperating, but I just can’t wait- the summer solstice is almost upon us! Our friends at NOAA can give us some insight here on what the summer solstice is and the surrounding aura: The summer solstice occurs at the moment the earth's tilt toward from the sun is at a maximum. Therefore, on the day of the summer solstice, the sun appears at its highest elevation with a noontime position that changes very little for several days before and after the summer solstice. In fact, the word solstice comes from Latin solstitium or sol (the sun) + -stit-, -stes (standing). The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. The sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer on June 21, 2011. For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. But why is the longest day of the year not normally the warmest day of the year? The reason is that there is a lag between the longest day of the year and the warmest average temperatures for most mid and high latitude locations. The sun angle is high before and after the summer solstice with a maximum number of daylight minutes. As the sun begins to move lower in the sky, the length of daylight decreases. This lag in temperature occurs because even though the minutes of daylight are decreasing, the earth's surface and atmosphere continues to receive more energy than just what it receives from the sun. Average temperatures continue to climb until the sun drops lower in the sky. We all know that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun once every 365 days, following an orbit that is elliptical in shape. This means that the distance between the Earth and Sun, which is 93 million miles on average, varies throughout the year. During the first week in January, the Earth is about 1.6 million miles closer to the sun. This is referred to as the perihelion. The aphelion, or the point at which the Earth is about 1.6 million miles farther away from the sun, occurs during the first week in July. This fact may sound counter to what we know about seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, but actually the difference is not significant in terms of climate and is NOT the reason why we have seasons. Seasons are caused by the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5°. There are two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in an equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as equinoxes and occur near March 21 (Vernal Equinox) and near September 21 (Autumnal Equinox). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes. The Vernal Equinox usually occurs around March 20th and the Autumnal Equinox occurs around September 22nd. If you didn’t get all of that, just remember it’s almost time for ‘Suns Out, Buns Out’.

BEST OF THE BLOG:
Best of the best this week on the North County Surf Blog- we broke out the big guns with deals on Reef, superstars like Julian and Jadson at the Quik Pro, sneak peek at the surf mid-week, and your new favorite taco joint- Haggo’s in Leucadia. See what all the cool kids are doing and check out the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

There are so many great surf zones in the world, it’s impossible to hit all of them before you croak. Hawaii, Outerbanks, Fiji, Nova Scotia, the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica, Maldives, Tahiti, J-Bay; I can go on and on and on. One of the best though is Oz. From epic world renown sand point breaks to little known gurgly reef slabs- like Dee Why Point in Sydney. I know what the 3 surfers on the rock shelf are thinking- Surfer 1 “I’ll ride the outside wave”. Surfer 2 “No way in hell I’m riding the inside wave”. Surfer 3 “Have fun boys, I’m going back to the pub for a pint”. You can see more of this swell from the archives of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Optimist
Anarchist
Catalyst

Clip of the Day: Portugal Pros

As we wait for the WCT to kick back into gear this July 14th at J-Bay, we're blessed with the smaller Prime events which can be counted towards the WCT tour. Basically win a Prime event and it's like making it to the semis of a WCT. Anyway, there's some good WCT pros doing the Quiksilver Pro in Portugal this week as they want the points of course. Boys like Cory, Freddy P., Julian, the Gudangs, Nat, John John (or just John I think he wants to be called now), and Jadson are ripping the fun little right walls of Ribera D'Ilhas. I swear the place looks like Cardiff Reef- some fun little rippable sections and then some fat walls you have to keep cutting back to so you don't lose the pocket. The event runs through Sunday so make sure to tell the wife and kids to give you some quiet time on Sunday and watch the event!

Deal Alert! Rock Bottom Reef!

Seshday has broken out the big guns and today's special is all about Reef sandals and shoes.

The legendary brand that's graced the feet of Mick, Mob, Alana, Knox, Dorian, etc. etc. etc. can now be on your toes.

On today's Deal Alert! you can pamper your feet with men's sandals for under $15, women's sandals for under $10, kid's sandals for under $8, and men's shoes for around $20.

Summer's a few days away so these won't last long. Jump on it now at Seshday!

Surf Check 6/14/11

All quiet on the western front today. Just some small waist high SW with knee high NW. Good news is that Cabo is starting to pick up some new head SW and we should see signs late tomorrow afternoon.

We also have some NW winds forecasted to kick up in the outer waters and central California tomorrow so we should get a waist high+ pick up by Thursday morning. I was hoping to see some fun surf tomorrow morning but best bet is to wait until both swells fill in and hold off until Thursday. The swell combo should last into Friday.

The weather is also going to hold on to the June Gloom pattern and we may not see sun right at the beach the next few days. Water temps are also starting to get more summer-like with buoy readings in OC and San Diego showing 65 degrees. Time to break out the short sleeve full!

Now that Hurricane Adrian has come and gone, the tropical eastern Pacific region is quiet today but we do have some thunderstorm flare-ups off Central America. We're still a few days away from these clouds getting organized but it bears watching.

North County Business News: Hooray for Haggo's!

Rode my bike around town this weekend with the family and stumbled upon the latest restaurant in Encinitas, Haggo's Organic Taco. Now before you say "Oh lord, we don't need another Mexican food joint in Encinitas" (which I think is 31 and counting), let me tell you why local entrepreneur James Haggard's joint is different.

First off- it's gourmet (the opposite of Del Taco), it uses quality locally grown organic ingredients (right now the guys at El Torito are scratching their heads), and it's got a cool vibe (Taco Bell should take note). Located in the heart of Leucadia at 1114 N. Coast Highway 101 (a couple doors down from Swell Stuff Wetsuit Repair), James has set up shop in a courtyard with outdoor patio seating.

If you're looking for cool Leucadia surf vibe, this is it; mismatched chairs, herb garden, and cool photos line the walls (my favorite is the framed Royal Tenenbaum's movie poster).

Don't expect to find $2 lard burritos with colored cheese and tortillas that taste like paper, you get what you pay for here- great tasting and good for you Mexican food. Currently open from 11-7 each day, stop by and support your local business!

Clip of the Day: Crikey it's Craike!

A DAY IN SLO MO from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.

I was just asking my good friend the other day, "What ever happened to Ry Craike from Australia"? If you'll remember, he was Quiksilver's goofy foot golden boy a few years ago, then along came guys like Marzo, then Dion, then Coleburn, then Owen, and now Wilko. Well it looks like Ry is alive and well in Western Oz and enjoying some downtime. He's got this rippable overhead left to himself and he's surfing in trunks. I could use some of that right now.

THE Surf Report 6/10/11

Right on track.

SURF:

Seems like everything is finally on track in our little surf world- fun spring time southwest swell, some minor northwest windswell to peak it up, low clouds and fog typical of June, and water temps hovering in the low 60’s. Seems almost too predictable. Today we have just a trace of our southwest swell from Tuesday and leftover north west windswell for mainly waist high+ waves.

For Saturday the southwest drops even further but winds off Point Conception and our outer waters kick up a little more northwest windswell tonight so waves will bump up to the waist to chest high range. Sunday looks to be the same. Nothing exciting this weekend but it will be small and rideable. With the near shore winds now coming from the southwest, we’re starting to see a bump up in our water temps finally. Buoy readings in SD are showing 62-64. Tides the next few days are almost 4’ at sunrise, 1’ at lunch, 6’ at dinner, and down to 4’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:

We start off the work week slow with just leftover NW windswell and background SW but we see another fun SW swell show up Wednesday. Models also show more NW windswell showing mid-week too. Hopefully the combo will give us overhead sets. That should last through Friday morning.

WEATHER:

While Arizona is inundated with wildfires, the mid-west is getting hammered with tornadoes, and the east coast is sweltering in a heat wave, out here in So-Cal we have…. June Gloom. That continues probably through Tuesday. Models start to show high pressure filling into our east which will battle the low clouds and fog at our coast. Looks like the second half of next week the sun should win and we’ll get a little more sun towards the afternoons.  

BEST BET:

Once that new SW groundswell shows, more NW windswell builds, and the sun finally comes out, I’m clearing my schedule for next Wednesday.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

We’ve got our first tropical storm of the season! And we named our baby Adrian. Wednesday an area of clouds organized off mainland Mex and started to drift WNW out over the warm Pacific in typical storm fashion. He intensified rapidly and winds this morning are around 140mph. Impressive but not in our swell window unfortunately. Cabo on the other hand should get some good surf by tomorrow. Adrian will continue to drift WNW the next few days into cooler hurricane killing waters. And just as he just creeps into our swell window, he’ll deteriorate rapidly. Seriously- the day he gets in our swell window- winds from the storm will be about 50mph. Not enough to make surf for us all the way up here. Even though NOAA’s summer hurricane prediction for us is dismal, I’m hoping the early start with Adrian proves them wrong this summer…

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Smorgasbord. Old school videos of Dorian, Ross, Kelly, Taylor, and Rob. Mid-week surf checks. Deals from Etnies. And the Surfing Madonna artist unmasked. After reading the blog you’ll need an Alka Seltzer. See how much your stomach can muster at the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I don’t know if you’ve seen some of the horrific photos from Puerto a few weeks ago but basically it was 30’ bombing beachbreak down there. Not my cup of tea. Nothing like spending over an hour trying to paddle out with no channel and then air-dropping into some bottomless pit and taking 10 more waves to the head. Nope. Not cool. I like playful Puerto instead- a few feet overhead, tropical breezes, a pair of trunks, and cold Pacifico’s waiting for me on the beach. Dick Messeroll from ESM has captured it perfectly here. Click here to see more of Mez’s work. 

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Hallowed

Oil Minister

Inventor of the Bottom Turn

Deal Alert! Edible Etnies!

Ok. Not really edible. But some damn tasty deals at Seshday from the iconic action sports brand. Guys like Malto, JP, Deegan, Simpo, Sheckler, JOB, Chamberlain, Reed, etc. have been backing the brand for years and I wear 'em because they help me pull chicks.

etnies presents Jamie O'Brien from etnies europe on Vimeo.
Today's Deal Alert! is full of Etnies shoes- some as low as $25. They've also got clothes on sale like pants, shorts, wovens, and tees under $10.

Or protect your noggin from the sun this summer and pick up a hat or beanie for under $15.

And the groms will be bummed if you don't get 'em a pair of kicks too. With some under $20, you'll look like a hero. Get them quick though as Seshday only has limited quantities.

The Man Behind Madonna

By now you've heard the story of the mysterious 'Surfing Madonna' mosaic that appeared in downtown Encinitas. If you haven't, then you've probably been living under a rock, or in the case of the Surfing Madonna, a train trestle in downtown Encinitas. Amazingly, no one has been able to figure out who put the masterpiece together and install it at such a high traffic area without the artist being revealed. Until now.

Seems as though it's Mark Patterson of Encinitas, a 30 year old resident who wanted to give back to the community. He quit his job for 9 months and put the mosaic together and installed it with the help of some friends. The North County Times and San Diego's Fox 5 News have uncovered the culprit. Here's what they found:
"The mystery artist who created the much-loved surfing Madonna mosaic in Encinitas came forward Wednesday after weeks of silence and accepted responsibility for his rogue public art piece.

Longtime Leucadia resident Mark Patterson, 58, notified the city through an attorney late Wednesday afternoon that he had created the piece, which appeared on a railroad bridge support along Encinitas Boulevard in late April.

After his attorney contacted City Hall, Patterson told the North County Times in a telephone interview that he never expected his 10-by-10-foot mosaic would attract national and even international media attention, and hadn't known quite how to handle the situation.

"I'm not used to this kind of attention," the former software company employee said.

Patterson said he quit his job so he could work full-time to bring the piece to life. He said he decided to create the 10-by-10-foot mosaic to send people a message about why they should protect the ocean. His piece depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe as a surfer, and down one side of the mosaic are the words, "Save the Ocean."

A Leucadia resident since 1983, Patterson said he decided to accept responsibility for the piece Wednesday because he was worried about its future and because he thought a city-hired art consulting company had discovered his identity Tuesday morning when they investigated whether the piece could be removed without harming it.

"I figured it's time to take the heat and go to jail or whatever," he said, adding that the city isn't very happy with him because he installed the mosaic on public property.

Three people with the Los Angeles-based Sculpture Conservation Studio discovered the words "Ark" and "Patterson" written in marker on the very upper edge of the piece during an investigation Tuesday morning. At first they said someone named Mark Patterson could be the artist, but they took another look and had second thoughts, saying the letters could have been written after the piece went up.

City officials were saying little Wednesday about their contact with the artist's attorney. They made a brief announcement at the start of the evening's City Council meeting, saying that an attorney for the person who created the mosaic had contacted them and they were in "discussions" about the work. They didn't give the name of the person.

"More to come, but not tonight ---- it's not on our agenda," Mayor James Bond said, adding to the TV cameras in the council chambers, "we probably won't be much of a good media show."

Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan said she knew the item wasn't on the agenda, but asked if the city could confirm for the many mosaic supporters that the piece wasn't about to be immediately destroyed. Bond said the council couldn't discuss the issue at this point.

The mosaic has drawn wide-spread media attention ever since appeared just before Easter on a railroad bridge support wall along Encinitas Boulevard between Vulcan Avenue and Coast Highway 101. Mock "construction" workers installed the piece during daylight hours, fooling many passersby into thinking it was an city-supported project.

Tourists and local residents have snapped many photographs of mosaic in the weeks since its installation and supporters have campaigned for it to remain in place.

City officials have said that the piece may be beautiful, but it wasn't an approved public art project and must come down. Among other issues, concerns have been raised about having a religious art project on public property.

Typically, when city officials discover "graffiti" as they have labeled this project, it is immediately removed. The mosaic, however, has escaped this fate so far.

In mid May, the City Council agreed to spend up to $2,000 for consultants investigate whether the city can remove the piece without harming it. There's been talk of giving it away, if it can be easily removed.

Three people with the Sculpture Conservation Studio company tested various removal techniques Tuesday morning, including heated saws and chemical products. They concluded that the removal prospects looked very poor, saying the piece was both bolted and glued to the wall. Removing it without destroying may be impossible, they said."

If you haven't seen it yet, take a look before it's gone...

Surf Check 6/8/11

All kinds of good southwest swell happening today. Feels like summer finally. And even some June Gloom to boot. Looks like the swell is peaking this afternoon with sets a couple feet overhead and it should hold into tomorrow morning.

Beware the low tide around breakfast though- reefs or points will be the call. There is also some 20mph wind off Point Conception and the outer waters which is helping peak up the southwest lines slightly.

Water temps are starting to rebound slightly (around 62 degrees) as the predominant sea breeze the last few days has been from the southwest instead of the dreaded northwest with it's upwelling characteristics.

Weather tomorrow will be typical June Gloom with only a partial shot of clearing up late afternoon. Friday and Saturday look to have slightly better weather. We've also got our first tropical storm of the season- Adrian- and it should turn into a weak category 1 hurricane. Unfortunately though it's not in our swell window and as it does, it will start to die over the colder water. Can't complain though- it's early June and we've got our first storm off Mex.

Clip of the Day: Old School Rules

Ok, not really 'old school' since that would be videos of like Curren, Barton, Carroll, or Elko. But old school now since Kelly's going to be 40 next year (February 11th- I know it by heart even though he's never invited me to one of his birthday parties. I'll still sit outside his house with a present every year though just in case).

Marvel at how Dorian and Slater have hair on their head and they went through a phase of carving, then airs, then back to carving (in Dorian's case, carving on 50' Jaws walls).

And in honor of Taylor Knox getting married in Cabo this weekend (it was beautiful- or at least from what I could tell peering over the wall with my binoculars), here's his part from Focus. Lots of good carving on a Rusty (remember when he rode Rusty's?). And I've thrown in some bonus footage of Machado for old time's sake. Amazing how he still weighs the same now as he did 15 years ago. Guess he's not going to VG's that often.

THE Surf Report 6/2/11

Keep it coming.

SURF:

Fun NW/SW surf this past week once the cold front blew through and cleaned up Monday. Tuesday saw new SW fill in while NW winds continued blowing off central Cal and pushing NW swell our way. By Wednesday sets were overhead in far north SD/OC and the weather finally cooperated. Today we have continued NW pulsing at our beaches while the SW is barely hanging on. Sets are chest high and the sunny weather is holding.

Unfortunately the first part of the weekend looks like a bummer as NW winds slacken so our source of NW swell is gone and the SW is almost nonexistent. Look for waist high+ waves most everywhere on Saturday. Sunday morning is even smaller and the weather gets back to normal for June with low clouds/fog in the nights/mornings. By evening though we should start to see signs of a new SW swell which is better on Monday. All in all the start and end to the weekend should have rideable waves and the middle looks small.  Water temps took a dive mid-week after all that upwelling from Sunday’s NW winds. Hopefully the water temps will rebound slightly this weekend to the low 60’s. Tides the next few days are about -1’ at sunrise, 4’ at lunch, down to 2’ at 4pm, and back up to 4’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf!  

FORECAST:

After a slow start to the weekend, a new fun SW swell starts to show Sunday evening. By Monday, look for head high sets in SD and overhead waves in the OC. The SW builds further mid-week for more head high+ waves. We also have pulses of NW windswell every few days so it should help peak up the SW lines. Looks like a fun week of surf coming up and the weather should cooperate.  

WEATHER:

Northern California is still getting a string of storms like it was December and luckily for us, we’re only getting brushed by the tail end Sunday/Monday. Look for great weather today and Saturday, some cooler temps and low clouds/fog Sunday/Monday, and then nicer seasonal weather most of next week.

BEST BET:

Probably Wednesday. Good weather, solid SW swell, and some NW to peak it up. Looks like summer is here (after that sham Memorial Day Weekend). Oh- and except for those 60 degree water temps of course…

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Considering last summer was cloudier and cooler than normal (with cold water temps also keeping us from wearing boardshorts), I thought it would be good to take a look at what June has in store for us. Typically we get the ‘June Gloom’ pattern with low clouds/fog in the nights and mornings with mild afternoon temperatures. With La Nina waning this spring and our atmosphere getting back to normal, we should have a typical June. The National Weather Service says ‘normal’ consists of daily maximum averages of 72 degrees and the daily minimum averages of 62 degrees. Changes from day to day are typically small and only 13  days since 1872 have reached a maximum temperature of 90 degrees or  higher. The record high for June is 101 which last occurred in 1979.  The record low is 50 which last occurred in 1943.  Well into the dry season, June averages only one day with measurable rain and a monthly average of 0.09 inches. Only twice since 1850 has the monthly total exceeded one half inch. This was in 1850 with 0.68 inches and 1990 with 0.87 inches.  June is a quiet month in San Diego. The highest wind speed ever recorded at the airport weather service office was 27 mph. Thunderstorms usually near the end of the month will occasionally develop in the mountains and deserts associated with the monsoonal moisture.  June is normally the cloudiest month of the year with only 57% of possible sunshine due largely to the persistence of overcast skies during the morning hours. Clear days average 9, partly cloudy 12 and cloudy 9. There is an average of 1 day of heavy fog. Relative humidities show a slight increase over previous months with averages of 81% near sunrise, 69% near noon and  66% near 4 pm. Of course we’ve had a lot of weird cold fronts move through the region the past few weeks but hopefully after Monday’s front rolls through, we’ll get back to the normal June Gloom pattern.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Deals, deals, deals aplenty. Where else can you get a pair of base thumping Skullcandy headphones and …Lost boardshorts all for $60?! And tired of seeing weak airs in 2’ slop? Then watch some man-turns from The Spartan himself and channel your inner Richard Cram. All right here at the North County Surf Blogspot.  

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Who says the East Coast doesn’t have surf? Sure it may be inconsistent, but when the waves arrive, all kinds of good spots from NE to FL light up to rival any spot in the world. The best at documenting all of this are the boys at ESM. Check out this New Jersey Nugget we all missed out on. For more dreaminess, click on ESM. 

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn

Exalted

Hybrid

The New Gluefoot

Deal Alert! Skullcandy Brain Blasters!

I'm the kind of guy who likes a little rock 'n' roll before paddling out to get the juices flowing. You know some Zeppelin, Wolfmother, Metallica, maybe a little Katy Perry (I know, the chink in my armor). And what better way to hear Robert Plant blast at the top of his lungs than with Skullcandy headphones.

Everything from ear buds right up to Terje inspired bass thumpers. With most electronics, price is the killer. Luckily for us, Seshday again is slashing prices and earbuds are under $10 and hip hop bass blasters are under $25. They've even got tees for under $10. So what are you waiting for?! Get 'em now before they're gone!