Heavy Friends

 

     So, there have been some amazing waves the past couple days down at WJ. Yesterday we were privy to some chest to head-high and well beyond waves complete with stinging sleet-like back spray projected by the 30 mph + offshore winds that created some of the most sickly devastating hollow lefts we've seen in a while down there. The word "awesome" has a few different definitions (it is probably important to note here that whenever the definition of a word is given, it is without exception the definition given by the Oxford English Dictionary), and more than one can be used to describe the waves yesterday. Sure, 3.a: in weakened sense: overwhelming, staggering; remarkable, prodigious. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.), describes our the waves, but so does 2: Inspiring awe; appalling, dreadful, weird (except for maybe the "weird" part, but even that...). These waves were heavy. It was an intense privilege to be able to see these waves, let alone ride them. 

     Ryan, still on the sidelines (he's just come off) from a debilitating injury in Puerto Rico, was able to get some photos of us our there. None of these do the waves justice: they are just stills of roaring energy. But still, some cool shots. 

      I believe these are of myself. I'm really just going off of stance and what Ryan told me.

      Can't tell who these one is, but the waves are pretty nice.

      A sandpiper. But yeah, so yesterday was very, very nice. Fortunately, the swell stuck around for today, and I was able to get out this morning before work. At first it was just myself and this seal that kept on watching me, wondering what I was probably. Then one other guy came out. The waves: waist to chest, glassy lefts, and lining up nice. After I caught a bunch and the tide filled in a lot, it was time to go to work, and I waited for a wave. Then one came: a head high left that I was in the perfect spot for, between WJ and the rockpile, and as the only other guy out cheered on I got it and screamed down the line on SF 001, barrel overhead and chasing hard, holding high lines on the twin keels, the wave walling up in front of me and me barely able to make it to the end, but I did, way down the beach. It was without a doubt one of my favorite waves in the past few months, maybe this whole winter season. That kind of ride is why I surf.

                                                                                                                                                 Blue cheer.

    Now, hopefully there will be some swell left for tomorrow morning. 

     On another note: my friend Pat has started up two new interesting blogs: one, called Casualties of the Loudness War, is a music blog, and Pat definitely knows a thing or two or a million about music, so check it out. The other, called Step 1: Make Use of Your Time, has a pretty unique concept and seems like it will be really interesting to follow. Check that out also.

FOUND

Use it up, wear it out. Make do, or do without.
          
     This past week produced a plentiful bounty as far as finding things for free in the garbage. A friend was working on a house that had been sided with cedar shakes, but sided incorrectly, so as a result it had to be resided. All the old shingles were almost brand new and in useable condition, so I grabbed a bunch of them, enough to side my future shop. On the way home from that, I spied an almost full roll of tarpaper in the garbage on 14th St. in Surf City, which was the only other thing I need to side the future shop. Noticing a lot of other things thrown at that location, I looked further. I took some stuff home, and found a whole bunch of old tins. 

      Some of them were pretty cool, so I kept them. I also found some pretty cool old kitestring spools, made of wood and painted. I have plans for them...
      But so, realizing that this was probably the leftovers of a yard sale, I decided to go back the next morning to investigate the remaining bags. Long story short, I found some cool stuff. Two of the standout items are the following:

     A pair of leather Converse All-Stars, from way back when they were Made in U.S.A. They fit perfectly. I almost bought a pair of white Vans a couple months ago, but didn't, for which I am glad, because these are way cooler, not to mention free.

     A Leica IIIf Rangefinder 35mm Camera. I used the serial number to date it and found that this particular model was made in Germany in 1951 in a batch of 20000. The body alone goes for upwards of $250.00 on eBay, and with the lens, like the one I have, seems to be worth upwards of $350.00. I feel like I should sell it, what with closing costs on the house we're buying getting steeper every day, but I at least want to shoot one roll of film with it. It'll kill me to get rid of it, because A) it is such a beautiful camera and B) it is something I will probably never own again. But we'll see.
     So, the moral of the story: It pays to go through the trash of others. There is a seriously disgusting mindset in our country that is geared towards waste and the disposable. Within the past couple years, I have noticed that people tend to be throwing out less, but waste is still a huge issue. The saying at the top of this post is a Depression-era saying, and is something that everyone should try to adhere to, or at least keep in the back of their minds. The problem is that sometimes, in feast cycles, we tend to forget the famine, and then when the famine comes it is too late to "use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without," because there is nothing left to do that with. Everyone wastes stuff, it's true (except for maybe my Pop-pop, who I don't think wastes a thing), but it's important to try not to.
     Of course, it is also important to remember: while trying to live as frugally as possible and keeping the famine cycle in mind, don't forget to feast.

 

Oh yeah, meant to post this song the other day. Blossom Toes, "Peace Loving Man," the opening track from their 1969 album If Only For A Moment. A really great bit of late '60s psych. If you listen at 2:25, you'll hear
what could have been, but probably wasn't, the inspiration for a lot of hardcore, punk, and metal vocalists. Take this bomb, drop it on old Hong Kong....

It Hurts To See The Man That I've Become...

Harvey Cedars has suffered from the beach replenishment. In fact, so has the south end of the Island. Wednesday morning we went down to WJ to surf: the conditions were optimal for long lefts and high times. Unfortunately, the Nor'easter that we had over the weekend (which our wild horse of a airline pilot flew straight through at top speed) washed so much sand down that the break is a mere shadow of its former self. Oh well, it'll sort itself out, but it's a bummer for now.

So we went north, and finally settled on the south end of Harvey Cedars, and actually we were into North Beach w/ the drift. The waters were disorganized, as much of the sand they've pumped in has washed down. But there were definitely some better rides than I expected.

One thing I noticed is that just from that week in Puerto Rico my surfing has improved, as well as my paddling power. I guess that's what happens when you get to surf every day for hours a day.

But so it looks like this last storm has really done a number on the Island. It will be interesting to see what happens to the replenished Harvey Cedars beaches next Autumn/Winter season.

Oldies 1340 song of the day is actually from a couple days ago. R. Dean Taylor - "Indiana Wants Me." A #1 hit in Canada, this song tells the devastating story of a man who was driven over the edge by another fellow's words to his wife. The line "It hurts to see the man that I've become" really relays how much of a shadow of himself he has been transformed into by his irreversible actions.The interesting thing is the lyrics are in the form of a letter to said wife, written in the final moments leading up to his capture and/or death. Relish in the gunshots, sirens and soaring strings as a man who stood for honor finally falls to inevitable and inescapable long arm of Johnny Law.

Puerto Rico was nice but...

...this is home. I got the first role of b/w film shot with my OM-4 developed, and found some nice pictures in there. Just take a minute and look at the above wave. It's beautiful. And no one was one was out. This picture to me sums up wintertime surfing in NJ: cold, hollow, big, and empty. I don't remember when this was from, but it's within the last couple weeks.

The above two pictures are from I think three Wednesdays ago. It snowed hard while Don and I were surfing beautiful lefts with no one out. I had to go to work, but I got a couple pictures of Don out there. The top one is Don waiting, and the bottom one is of him dropping in. It's kind of hard to see on this scanned picture, but he's there.

La Isla De Encanta

31 items of fact and fiction from our trip to Puerto Rico:

1. Between the hours of midnight and 6:00 AM, you can run red lights to avoid carjackings, as long as it is safe to do so.

2. There are small white birds commonly known as Cattle Egrets (Garza) that are found in great numbers, especially in the rural areas, and have brought all forms of trabajo to a standstill. This explains all the hanging about and excessive surfing of the locals. Let the man work!

3. Sometimes, especially at 7:30 in the morning, some people need, and I mean need, music to relax while they eat their breakfast.

4. Randy Soler is the best friend you've got down there, as long as you're on his side.

 5. For some reason, the locals drive really, really fast on the narrow, long and winding rural mountain roads, which is something I can get behind. The problem is that they drive really slow and stupid on the wide and easy highways, which is something that drives me nuts. Also, there seem to be an unusually large amount of vehicles that are unequipped with turn signals.

6. The folks at Surf Zone in Ramey, right up the hill from Surfer's Beach, are really helpful and patient. We spent probably 90% of our trip in this store. Also, you can store towels on the rocks outside overnight.

7. King Monkey made me do it.

8. Despite crowds at certain surf spots, it is possible to get very nice waves pretty much to yourself. The larger sets were double-overhead on this day, with the smaller ones being head high to a little overhead. My favorite break as far as crowds go.

9. El Gallo odia el Pelícano.

10. During the first few days, when it was rainy and windy, we were colder surfing at Maria's in 81 degree water than we have been all winter in 40 degree water.

11. There are amazing hand-painted murals everywhere.

 12. The food is incredible, and really, really cheap. They love fried things, and make excellent pastries, and all this stuff is so readily available you can't help but eat, eat, eat. I weighed myself on a luggage scale at the airport and thought I had gained 10 pounds, but when I got home to the scale I normally use, it was the same as when I left. Seems like the airport might add some weight for some strange reason.

 13. Medalla, the local beer, is readily available in can, bottle, and 10 oz. bottle form almost everywhere for usually between one to two dollars, and isn't that bad. And they make their bottles tough, right El Gallo?

 14. Surfing in warm crystal clear water with a backdrop of cliffs and jungle and beach and blazing sun bright in the clear blue sky is a great feeling, even when the swell has dropped off and the waves are akin to our summer waves here.

 15. El Bohio near Maria's break in Rincon is the best little bar we found. For some reason, everyone flocks to the trendier, more expensive bar next door, so when we got out of the water, there was always room at el Bohio for us and the drinks are cheap and strong. Vive de largo el Bohio.

 16. Blue jeans, especially Levi's skinny 511 jeans worn to perfection over a couple years, are apparently hot commodities and hard to come by in Puerto Rico. This must be true, because someone smashed the window of our rental car to steal mine.

17. There exists a large population of New Jersey expats in Puerto Rico.

18. Locals are really nice and oftentimes give you free food on top of the food you just purchased, or give you their phone number in case you need anything.

19. Locals seem really mean while you're driving through their neighborhoods. Hard stares abound.

20. Locals seem to know how to party, as evidenced on Wednesday's reggaeton night at some of the bars near where we were staying. The crowds spilled into the street, music blasted and cars drove through the crowds burning rubber and showing off. At first I thought we might be in for it, venturing into this crowd, but the hard stares they shoot you while driving disappear in person, and it because an interesting observatory situation and we just sat, marveling. It was a weeknight, but I guess when the garza halt most forms of work, people don't have to worry about that.

21. We had some pizza that could stand up to any, and I mean any, pizza up in the tri-state area. This was Junior's Pizza in Isabella. Please go there if you get the chance.

22. It goes way past funny and becomes very sad when your friend sleeps the entire trip and misses absolutely everything.

23. The Dollar rental car place in Aguadilla is terrible, the people are rude and ugly. On the other hand, the Dollar rental car place in San Juan is great, the people there are friendly and helpful, especially the extraordinary Mr. Matos. Vive Mr. Matos!

 

24. Daddy Ray's Fig Bars are available in Puerto Rico!

25. Once you leave the rural areas, the American influence becomes sadly apparent.

26. There is a government program called Project: Project Horse. The purpose of this program is to increase morale at project-type housing complexes, and this is accomplished by supplying each complex with one (1) horse.

27. There are a lot of amazing trees and plants in Puerto Rico.

 

28. The hatchet-type trailer fin I made worked really well. It loosened up my Cannibal due to the narrower base but didn't seem to reduce the hold on the wave due to the full tip. However, I lost it at the end of the first day, on the last wave, riding the whitewater in to the beach. When my fins hit the rocky bottom, it broke out. A little tab was left in there. Still, it was so cheap to make (I'm thinking no more than $2.00 in materials) that I'll probably make a couple more out of the marine ply. I think it would last a lot longer if I didn't hit rocks. 

29. El coqui is a tiny frog that lives in Puerto Rico. At night you can hear them singing a tune that sounds similar to their name. It is a beautiful sound, but if you see el coqui, you will not live to tell about it.

30. These guys are nothing but trouble.

31. Icarus, with waxen wings spread wide, overcome with joy despite the fading swell, too close to the sun.