THICK bowls NFF

[jbird]

If you know anything about surfing, this should make your stomach drop out. If you dont, it still will. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uIBgWI_BTyM

[Jay Murakoshi]

What amazing waves. Even in my best days on the north shore, I wouldn't even think about attempting thick waves like that. I have surfed the "Pipe" on double over head days. Watching this footage gives you goose bumps.
Damn, maybe I'll take a drive to Cabo and do some surfing, yeah right!!!

Jay

Kicking back and enjoying life

[aaron]

That didn't suck.

[Fly Guy Dave]

That place is INSANE! I surfed some pretty big waves in my day, but nothing on the scale of those monsters. The sphincter-puckering thing about that place, as is the case in a lot of the tropical surf spots, the coral reef is just a few feet below the surface, so if you screw up, the reef is going to chew on you a bit. Looks like the thickness of that wave would drive you RIGHT to the bottom too...where the coral awaits. Crazy...

[Larry S]

A great book about big wave surfing is "The Wave - in pursuit of the Rogues,
Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean" by Susan Casey. A terrific read!
Best,
Larry S

[jbird]

Waves and surfing will always be in my blood. I started when I was little "grommet" and surfed competitive thru high school with the NSSA. My good buddy Richie Collins put this vid up on facebook. Just had to pass it on.

[Fly Guy Dave]

Richie Collins! Now that's a name from the past! It reminds me of people like MR, Martin Potter and Joey Buran.

Not a whole lot of surfing in Wisconsin though, eh? Maybe some in the dead of winter on Lake Superior during a big wind storm. Full hoody dry suits?

[jbird]

Haha! Richie and I went to Highschool together. We were good buddies. Reconnected with him on FB last year. His daughter Meah is 12 and competing on the womens circuit and making a serious name for herself. Richie still competes and is rippin as hard as ever at 42!

[Fly Guy Dave]

Cool! I never competed in any contests, but I followed the ASP and PSAA tours religiously. I recall guys like Tom Carroll, Shaun Thompson, Gary Elkerton and Tom Curren (my hero) and loathed guys like Mark Occilupo for calling Americans "wankers." I watched as many contests as I could, but not many went as far north as where I surfed, in the San Francisco/Santa Cruz area. Man, that was a long time ago, it almost seems like another lifetime. Still...good memories, and yes, I agree, surfing always stays as a part of who you are.

[RenoLipRipper]

Whoa, that is amazing. Amazing they can keep the board from getting sucked up the face with that much water moving so fast. Way way past my surfing abilities, when I had some. Makes Mavericks look tame (not). I miss surfing, mainly San Diego area breaks. Not as crowded back then 80's and 90's. Now when I visit it is off the charts crazy with the crowds. Lived in Santa Barbara and would see Tom Curren out, seemed he had glue on his feet. Still some of the best times with friends.

[Jay Murakoshi]

FlyGuy Dave
Let's go back to the 70's. I caught a few waves with the boys like Jock Sutherland, David Nuuhiwa, Fred Hemmings and a few other like Rabbit Kakai. I got to know David and Jock real good. When Jock was stationed at Fort Ord, I use to pick him up after work and drive to Carmel Beach where he would rip up the waves. One day him and David were out there and there wasn't another body in the water, they were all on the beach.
I watched a few times as Gerry Lopez ate the bottom at the Pipe. One memory I have was at the WEDGE. It felt like I had a "free fall" 3 stories high.
Boy those were the good old days. The old knees can't take the cold water anymore

Jay

[Dabalone]

Thanks for the incredible video, yikes! Old surfer here also, I never had the guts to paddle out into that kind of stuff but I have seen it first hand. Grew up in So. CA in the early 60's surfing, diving and hanging out on the beach was a way of life for me back then and what a great place and great time for a young man to grow up in. Many great memories from those days and I had the privilege to meet and actually share waves with some of the pioneers of modern day boards, Dewey Weber, Hobie Alter and Renny Yater to name a few who stand out.

I was still heavily involved in my surfing as we went thru the transition from long to short boards, think my last board was 9'8" and shaped by Renny Yater. Being old school I was slow to convert to the short boards and about that time along came marriage and an interest in motocross, then a move from So. CA effectively ended my beach career. Kept up with the diving and spearfishing for years after that and made trips yearly to So CA to hop on dive boats to Mexico and Channel Islands. Love it, miss it but the old body finally just said enough is enough. Again, thanks for sharing.

[Jeff C.]

Surfed longboards in Hawaii then went to San Diego State for college. Was there at Sunset Cliffs for the evolution to short boards. I was the guy that first stood up on a Steve Lis Fish and was in all the surf mags. Surfed some big stuff in Hawaii but I would be afraid to tackle those waves at Chopes!

[Sammy]

I use to run a surf shop in santa cruz. we had (and i think it's still there) a martin potter surf board hanging in the shop. my buddy wally had it signed from back in the day at one of the cold water classics i think.

Anyways! sick video. That wave is always amazing to watch. Thanks for posting.

[jbird]

Damn, maybe I'll take a drive to Cabo and do some surfing, yeah right!!!



Jay, Last time I was down there I surfed zippers ( I try to get out there everytime I go down with the family if its not a commando fishing trip). It was glassy, 6' beautiful south swell. Very crowded with locals, gringos and kooks. I fell into a groove and somehow was in the right place at the right time for the best sets. I was havin a blast! Many times guys would try to drop in on me and I'd call them off with a friendly "YO!!"
Well, a couple hours in, some local burrito came paddling by me growling in spanish. Some American regular asked me, "Do you understand spanish" I said not a lot. He said "Thats probably a good thing".
The evil eyes were getting worse and worse as I continued my streak of big set waves lol. My fun time concluded when I was paddling into the set of the day. That nasty burrito dude came paddling straight at me screaming obscenities in spanish. I managed to avoid him and get the wave. Rode it all the way in to dry land and high tailed it out of there.

I went to a nearby watering hole and had a couple cold ones. As I was walking back to my hotel, a van full of mexicans slows along side me. As Im looking for which direction to sprint, the driver says, "Hey man, good wave!" gave me a hang loose sign and drove off. LOL

Good times.....Good times :-)

[Scott V]

Great video, boy do I miss sitting on a board with the swells rolling underneath me. About one of the only things I miss about southern California is the beach. Ditching school to catch a few waves, skipping work just to enjoy a few rides.

[Scott V]

One memory I have was at the WEDGE.Jay

Spent a lot of days getting pounded at the Wedge.

[Fly Guy Dave]

Its interesting how a bunch of former surfers end up being fly anglers. I wonder why that is? Maybe it's just being around water, in its various forms, that we like so much... I dunno...

Jock Sutherland, David Nuuhiwa and Fred Hemmings were before my time, but I certainly heard a lot about them. Really big in the 1960's, as I recall. I surfed all through the 80's and into the 90's before moving away from coast. I get out now and then, but surfing, like rock climbing, which I also did, are sports for the youngsters! I guess I don't need my daily shot of adrenaline like I used to.

[jbird]

I thought my days of surfing would never end. When I was young, strong and making noise on the amateur circuit. I hung around with some top guns on both the pro and am circuits. Was just sure my next step was the ASP tour. LOL. Girls and drugs dropped the guillotine on those plans.

Funny, all these years later, if Im at a beach with waves, I can stare at them for hours and hours, imagining every turn and barrel. I even still dream of it. It gets deeply imbedded in your soul. Its a fantastic sport. Probably the single most difficult sport to learn and become proficient at. So much so that if you reach a point where your good, youve already made such a commitment you gotta stay with it.

Anytime I am in Hawaii, Mexico or wherever, Im setting aside some time to rent a board and get out.

Hope this thread isnt too far off topic Bill/Aaron/admins. If so, sorry. Just feeling nostalgic :-/ Kinda cool connecting with some of you guys who understand :-)

[Scott V]

I was always in the water, so fly fishing was a natural choice. I was a life guard, certified scuba diver, on the water polo team, heck I would live in water if I could. I was really bummed when we moved up here and I went to Pacific Beach in the summer to check out the waves. It was cold and everyone was wearing wet suits. Heck we hardly wore wet suits in the winter in So-Cal. but I get my fix in each year with a trip or two down to Newport and San Diego.

[Sammy]

I think for me, I had reached a point in my surfing where I wasn't trying to get better anymore. (I think that had to do with my age) And as I picked up fly fishing I just kept wanting to get better, catch more and bigger fish. So when I had time off, rather then spending a few days surfing, I would spend a few days out on the river.

Also, the crowds have gotten so insane in the spots I always enjoyed surfing around santa cruz. Usually my time in the water is now limited to when I visit the fam down in cayucos. The open beaches there can still offer a bit of solidarity, and an amazingly sharky vibe :)

Great thread.

[jbird]

I think for me, I had reached a point in my surfing where I wasn't trying to get better anymore. (I think that had to do with my age) And as I picked up fly fishing I just kept wanting to get better, catch more and bigger fish. So when I had time off, rather then spending a few days surfing, I would spend a few days out on the river.

Also, the crowds have gotten so insane in the spots I always enjoyed surfing around santa cruz. Usually my time in the water is now limited to when I visit the fam down in cayucos. The open beaches there can still offer a bit of solidarity, and an amazingly sharky vibe :)

Great thread.

My good buddy Ted Buzzard moved to Cayucos. I used to visit him and surf some spots up there. Some seriously spooky sessions! Like you say *Sharky* (I say "up there" cause I grew up in Newport)

[Dabalone]

Spent a lot of days getting pounded at the Wedge.

The Wedge is where we ended up when things were blown out for surfing, hard to explain the power of that wave to someone who hasn't been there. I have seen those waves breaking over the rock wall, lot of new people and even experienced body surfers get hurt there. Went out one time on a fairly big day without fins, last time I did that.

[Scott V]

The Wedge is where we ended up when things were blown out for surfing, hard to explain the power of that wave to someone who hasn't been there. I have seen those waves breaking over the rock wall, lot of new people and even experienced body surfers get hurt there. Went out one time on a fairly big day without fins, last time I did that.

We surfed it once. Once, all the other times was wither with a boogie board and body surfing. Had to surf once just to say we did, and was it ever brutal. Nothing worse than being about 7 or 8 feet above the sand looking at nothing but sand.

Oh to be 16 again.

[jbird]

Nothing worse than being about 7 or 8 feet above the sand looking at nothing but sand.


LOL. Yep. The wedge was my back yard. We actually surfed it quite a bit. Ive been out there bodysurfing when it got so big and heavy, I chickened out and would not swim in. It was just too frothy and dangerous inside. So I swam out the back. All the way out and around the harbor. It was one of those days that was so insane, There was an ambulance on scene at all times. When I swam out and around, two EMTs came out on the jetty and yelled to me if I was ok. LOL Looking back now, its just good to be alive!

Thats when you gotta watch out, when you go out there when its boarder-line and it gets outa control on you. You turn and look at the other guys and they all have that look on their faces...yikes!!

[GreggH]

RCA, The Fort Point Break and Ocean beach all brings back fond memories. This was last February at the Shark Pit at Tamales. Notice where I'm at, thats right at the wheel of the tender!!!

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U8755-1.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U8856-1.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U8746-1.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U8882.jpg




http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb236/greggh_fish/_89U8751.jpg