Summer Time and the Surfing's Not Easy

Yes - summer has arrived and the swell has disappeared. There have been "windows", but for the most part it has been small south with wind swell mix. I have been using the LB and SB in a daily tag team format. Both Sharks and First/Second Bowl have been fun, but watch out for flying debris. I've been hit several times, and my SB has been a magnet for every straight-off Adolph in the water. Still great to be in the water and hanging with the boyz. I've seen one installment of goose brown's local celluloid stoke fest - it was fun to see the idiots on-screen ( www.gosurfdvd.com gives show time). Gary also has some footage showing on Saturday night at 9:00. Well, the rumors of south swell are making the rounds, but the rumor mill typically ignores the fact that most of these swells are too steep to hit us very well. Still, small south bending in from 180 is better than nothing. It's best to keep checking and hopefully score a "window" opportunity. Today I was surfing small second bowl - leftovers on the inside - while watching Hunter and Rat paddle into some fun shoulder-high sets. On one wave I saw Rat square off the bottom, leave the wave face on the top, go sideways, land in the soup, and square off another turn without missing a beat. The speed vector remained true throughout. I told him the incredible thing was he makes it look like I can do it - fucking sure! A quick note on my border rant. My last blog entry ended with the US declaring war on Mexico - around 1846. The US army was winning battles regularly in the Rio Grande area and pushing into northern Mexico. Meanwhile americans were land grabbing at a fast pace in California. Soon, a rebellion against Mexican rule was underway in California. By mid-1846, the Bear-Flag Republic was born and died within 19 days. The US military occupied the Los Angeles area and declared authority over the entire republic. Check this one out - control of California was at the heart of President Polk's Manifest Destiny doctrine - yes, the belief that providence willed (God) the americans a moral mission (God) to conquer adjacent lands. Does this sound familiar? A common theme in american land (economic, resources) grab policy - even today. It is america's manifest destiny to drive SUV's and use up resources many times faster than anyone else on the globe - ask pat robertson. Fortunately, pat won't be out in the water and won't be interested in the fine picture below - big wednesday as seen by penguin.

  ¶ 12:20 AM