12' @ 12 seconds
high tide
water temp 35
southwest wind
southwest swell
found shelter
but a bit drifty
did the walk back up the point a dozen times
rode a 5'11" twin for the first time
on my backhand
goooood times
in the water at 6:15
back to the car at 8:30
early bird scores
every time
seen
hey -if yer reading this and you live here then you should give 'er
Rain is softly pattering outside as the low moves over the mainland. I sit at my desk, organizing my thoughts for the days toil. But I keep slipping back to feelings of paddling through ocean swells. I surfed three days straight. The first day in stormy overhead peaky surf, the fog so thick that the usual indicators were hidden on shore, forcing me to sit closer to the boils on the takeoff zone than I’m comfortable doing. A few late drops combined with several beatings made for some good cleansing after a weeks work. As the fog lifted in the early afternoon it let the onshore winds in like opening the flood gates, killing any hopes for those that waited.
On Sunday I rose an hour before my alarm was set. I was on the road by six, trying to make it to the lookout spot by first light at six seventeen. The fog still present but not dense enough to ward off the southwest winds, I coasted down the hill and up the coast looking for shelter and size. Nothing. Finally, I drove back to where I should have started and found an inside section perfectly sheltered and peeling. Mostly chest high with a few head high sets, I shared the drifty peaks with a small crew as they rinsed the previous night’s revelries by immersing themselves in the still icy cold Atlantic.
Yesterday the receding swell granted me another small window of opportunity. This time the waist high waves came scant, but clean and perfect as they wrapped into the bay. Just two friends and I shared the little jewel. Off in the distance we would see the plumes of breaking waves over a shallow reef. In the bay the wind was calm and the sky overcast. The grey light making it so that the steely colour of sea surface and grey clouds blended, camouflaging the tiny pulses until they hit the cobblestone bottom and stood for a second before crumbling into mellow shoulders. I surfed for over two hours, mostly on the eggy thruster which at 5’10” and foiled makes me feel like I can turn like never before.
On the bus ride to work this morning I stood and held on to the railing and the bus bobbed up and down on soft air shocks over the winter’s rain filled potholes. I could feel the muscles on my back and shoulders repairing after so much paddling. I look around the bus and wonder how many of my fellow passengers communed with the elements. I sincerely hope that the number is higher than my cynicism will allow me to guess at. I don’t feel disdain or pity for them if they are sedentary. I only wonder why? Why would we live in these amazingly tuned and functioning bodies and not learn to use them to move through space with the grace of birds and fish? And why did I leave my bike at work forcing me to take this blasted bus.
this is the only film that I've been really excited to see. DeTemple is stylish. D$ has surfed with him in overhead Southbeach mackers and seen Mickey pull into tubes like the A in Manhattan. and for those of you who think that riding lonboards is for pussys -let's meet at the point on heavy single fin logs on a head high day and see what a gwaan.
seen.
Picaresque Trailer 2009 from High Seas Films on Vimeo.
propeller IPA growler -best beer in town
and the growlers her command accoustic version
well after a hella sprint home on the mighty Cross Check after work yesterday I loaded up the blue flame still breathless and tried to beat rush hour traffic and the fading swell. I surfed for a couple of hours with some local heavies. even though the waves had dropped a bit and the peaks were shifty everyone seemed genuinely happy to be surfing on a Tuesday evening. local shredder Nico was out makin it look easy as usual blastin 360 grabs way up above the lip. other certain individuals were pickin off mackers from outside on quad fishes and snappin turns under offshore groomed lips. I got a few little ones on the 5'10" Stamps skillet which by the way is about as fun as a case of beer on a Wednesday night with an empty belly and a get out of work for a day pass. got home to turkey dinner with B and E and the in laws, enjoyed a couple of fine bottles of Keith's finest, and went to bed at 10. all in a days surf eh.
the latest issue of SBC Surf is out and this time it's packed with content. quite a few travel stories including gnar backpacking back country surf adventures. there's also some loggin photos from local lumberjack and Californios. I was able to somehow squeeze two little pieces in there. they are at the newsstands now so whateryawaitinfor?
wind 23G31 N 32/33 9' @ 10 seconds
"yo
faaack. we're getting hammered by a fucking snowstorm. I busted my ass preparing everything for a DP this morning. woke up after restless sleep - [I dreamed that B was gut shot in a war and refused to get treatment] - I checked the weather and the roads were sketchy as fuck and the offshores gusting to 50 knots! back to bed. then I got up again had coffee and checked the work email and by boss is mad. then I shoveled for about a half hour, showered and rode my bike in. the ride was OK 'cause it was snowy and not icy. I had to get on a main road towards the centre of town and got fucking sprayed with dirty salty diarrhea like snow all over my jeans -why I didn't wear my rain pants is beyond me. I get to work and realize that both sets of car keys are in me jacket which means B and her visiting parents are stuck at home which in turn means that it's unlikely that I'll be able to go for an evening surf as they'll need the car. foiled again. skunked. office working is for people whose passion in life is not dependent on the weather."
started a new page over the weekend called Pull up Selecta. I'll be posting pure reggae vibes from youtube. reggae music is my favourite musical genre and I can't really say why. it's sorta like having a magic surfboard, it just feels right. so I'll try and cut down on videos here on KuYah and instead post them on Pull up Selecta.
respec every time
here's JB making the best of a Wednesday morning. Doc posted up on the bank and took a couple of shots before suiting up. secret spot all the way. I'd have to kill ya. we surfed three hours in the morning then changed out of our wetsuits, had some lunch and watched the waves. then it was back in for another two hours. super heavy off shore winds all day. good times had by the small crew and I'm a tired one now. making some rose and prosciutto sauce with penne for B and then it's off to bed.
Marine Forecast
Winds
Issued 03:00 AM ADT 24 March 2009
Today Tonight and Wednesday Gale warning in effect.
Wind northeast 35 knots increasing to 45 early this evening then backing to north 35 Wednesday evening.
Waves
Issued 05:00 AM ADT 24 March 2009
Today Tonight and Wednesday Seas 3 to 4 metres building to 5 Wednesday morning.
first I read about on Foulweather and then I saw it at Matt Chester's space -two of my favourite social critics. so it is that I pass it on...
death -what ever the hype that comes now what was done was done and that is what it is.
what it is
over the years I've had lots of jobs. always avoided restaurant work. wouldn't have the patience with someone being rude about their steak. here's a list jobs I've had.
- Printing press assistant on a 1910’s three color press
- Grocery store clerk
- Landscape worker (several years)
- Children’s librarian assistant
- University library clerk
- Construction worker (several years) building foundations, carpentry and renovations
- Customer service –phone and Internet
- Land surveyor – rod man
- Truck loader for a shipping company
- Community organizer
- After school program manager
- Peace Corps volunteer
- Administrative assistant
- International development organization administrator
- Free-lance writer
in an ideal world I would wake up early as I do now. make breakfast and coffee for B and look after the dog and other morning activities. then I'd go for a surf. after surf I'd do some writing for a few hours. have some lunch and perhaps do some gardening or tidying up around the house. go for an afternoon glass off session. make a nice dinner for B and in bed by 10. perfect. nice to dream no?
winds 14 G 18-N 34/34 6'@ 13 seconds
the Doc and I met Blacks for an old time session. check two spots and decide on a secret location. no one out. north-north east winds. a few peaks here and there. paddle across the headland and get some lefts where there shouldn't be. swell straight out da east makin for some funny angles at the usual spots. no one out. two hours and our feets is numb. the Doc just in from out yonder freezing from lack of acclimation. two hour nap at noon and already had a full day.
no seal and hawk sitting like yesterday but I did manage a sub-zero sunburn on me face.
my.
B and are making food for birthday Doc.
on the menu: tacos 'al pastor with roasted pineapple and home made tortillas. salsa the agaucate picante with chips and scallop ceviche with cucumber and mango.
orale güey. dame tres por favor.
street art in one of it's many forms does what it does best here. social commentary for the masses. too bad we seldom learn from our mistakes. more from Vinchen here
"the traditional teaching of the Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids".
Pope Benedict XVI
only one conclusion can be drawn from this statement. the world we live in is absolutely absurd and paradoxical. there are over 22 million HIV infected people in Africa. that's two thirds of Canada's entire population. and the best way to deal with it is through abstinence and prayer? 
Nico is one of those guys that makes surfing look easy. He's got a keen sense of positioning on the wave and hell of a lot of skill. I can't say that I know him well but the times we've been in the water together he definitely has a positive vibe and is well respected by his peers. Here's a short film done by local filmmaker Aaron Jackson featuring Nico and B.C.'s Pete Devries. These two are probably Canada's best surfers. Although the footage here is mostly from late summer early fall, it blows my mind to think of the hours these guys have put in in the most extreme cold conditions, wearing pounds of neoprene rubber and braving conditions that are outright dangerous.
Nova Scotia is arguably one of the coldest places in the world to be a year-round surfer. Yes colder than Norway on the average. The level of commitment from these guys who dedicate their lives to surfing is unparalleled.
been a long time now since I left Jamaica. one of the important lessons about living in developing countries is that I’ve learned how resource rich my life here is. it’s hard to be grateful sometimes. it’s easy to get vexed about trivial shit. but dammit at least I have a future filled with food, shelter and safety. that’s more than heaps of people have in Jamaica.
Jamaican music is a music of protest. I didn’t really understand that well until I’d lived there and learned to understand patois. many of Bob Marley’s songs are in patois and it’s funny to hear them played on advertising or at parties and people don’t understand how aggressive the lyrics are. or perhaps we don’t care, were oblivious to what’s happening outside of our culture.
but what Jamaican people may lack in resources they make up for with a passion for life and music. you can hear sound systems all over the island blasting the latest big tune. each month a new riddim will come out and every top dj will write lyrics and before long one or two or sometimes more versions of the riddim will be on everyone’s lips. taxis always blast the radio. in the country or in Town little kids rock and wine in front of the huge stacks of speakers. youths lean up against the sound and smoke spliffs and cigarettes and if there’s money they hold a Guinness. grown men play dominoes under mango trees on makeshift tables as the music from the nearest sound fills the steamy air with pulsing baselines. grannies make rice and tin mackerel on the coal stove and sing old church songs as if on stage. and the people live, survive and sing.
when there’s no future there is still music and community. that’s something. give thanks.
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