SURF STORY: Best to Share

Most of the time it is unacceptable to hop (cut-off, snake, take-off in front of...) someone else but in waves this size there are exceptions. You do your best not to go in front of anyone but when the waves are 20'+ and you are already committed there is not much you can do. If you try to pull out after a certain point you most likely will get sucked up over the falls and really put the other person at risk. Or you could pull out to have a bigger wave behind you with guys trying to drop in while you are like a sitting duck. You are better off going and riding the wave together

until you can pull out and hope you do not fall in front of the person behind you.

In this first sequence at Sunset Beach this guy on his 12' elephant gun came from so far behind I did not even see him when I took off. Then I heard him yelling as he came flying up behind me just as the wave was approaching the heavy pitching zone, but it was too late. Oh my God this guy was HUGE! I am gone to guess at least 6'8". I was more scared of him than the wave which hit the inside reef and just launched. I wish I could pull out but there was no opportunity until I got through to the channel. On top of that he was chatting it up with Owl Chapman while he was in the line-up so I know he was more than likely one of the local crew. Who ever you are please forgive me!

In this next sequence on this particular day at the Bay, there were at least 35-40 guys (yes all guys!) out and it was not uncommon to have two or three riders (sometimes more) on one single wave. The wave itself is enough to contend with but adding this many testosterone laden men in with the mix can be really dangerous! With strong off shore winds blowing and a combo swell you better be heads up and on your game. There are also boards flying back from the guys that didn't take enough paddles or bail at the top of the wave deciding they did not want that wave after all.

I was lucky enough on this day to get a half of dozen excellent rides with this being the only one I did not ride alone. Thanks guys! Oh yeah and no wipe outs! either!!!

SURF STORY:Critters in the Water

I have surfed all around the world in daylight and by moonlight and have had more close encounters than i care to think about! Being grateful is one of the keys to a happy life and I am grateful everyday as often as I can think about it. At any moment anything can change so learn to live and appreciate the moment.

Having what you think are logs suddenly sink underwater and disappear while you are paddling out in a Costa Rican river mouth around 4:00 a.m is one of those moments where you realize how quickly things can change, for better or worse. Feeling your whole foot inside the mouth of something during red tide when you can't see your own leg in the orange murky waters right here in Newport is another. We already discussed being bumped by a big shark here too! And here I thought it was a dead ocean!

I have had more shark sightings, sea snakes, crocs and even weird unidentifiable albino snake/eels at Bolsa Chica dealings for a life time. I see sharks where locals swear they don't exist. (even Santa Cruz every surf session but I don't believe them there). I have had sharks circle me, a pack of them circling in the line-up when I am the only one out on an outer reef 2 miles out to sea. I've had one swim so close I could kick it when I was surfing on a 4'4 waist deep with no way to put my arms and legs up (one good reason to ride a longboard) deep down in Mexico. A pelican dive bomb for a fish missing my head by inches, sting rays bumping into my shins, stone fish hiding under my feet, sea urchins poking me and lots of poisons animals the natives have pointed out but I could understand what they were saying! Should I go on? "What is it? Why me? Am I more aware or do my own fears bring it on?

My only defense is to love all the CRITTERS IN THE WATER unconditionally and be detached from the outcome.(not as easy for me on land but I am working on it!) Easier said than done but it has kept me alive this long! I still screamed like a little girl yesterday when something swam right into my leg in waist deep water at Huntington Beach.

And you all thought they called me Danger Woman because you thought I was so brave! I just want to surf so I either have to deal with it or stay out of the water and staying out of the water is just not an option!!! Of course i don't have to paddle out into 20' surf either but i am scared either way so I might as well go big!

I know I am Divinely guided and protected. Living so close to death keeps me feeling alive and appreciative for sure.

SURF STORY: Shark Rumors

I love surf humor. Like that rumor Dale started about the Mako Shark at Blackies! I thought it was true because my own experience at Newport. I even thought it might have been the same shark except the one that bumped me was too big to see all at once!

I started my own rumor once and it spread like wild fire. It was during the 1996 World Championships in Huntington Beach (USA took 1st!). There was a big swell so in between heats me and a couple of friends jammed down to 56th street in Newport to get some good south swell barrels. In the process of duck diving I got slammed on the bottom and came up with a black eye. When we got back to H.B. we told everyone I got in a fight and ended up beating this guy up! Just living up to the Danger Woman name. Before we could stop it people were talking about it everywhere. I even heard these guys that were sitting behind me on the beach saying how they were there and witnessed the whole thing. Other guys saying they saw it down at trestles. I did not know any of these guys and obviously they didn't know me or they would have seen me sitting right there. Imagine what I didn't hear! Some people gave me sh#$ for fighting and others a pat on the back for not tolerating the bully. I felt really stupid and will never do that again. I still hear about it even though we told everyone right away it was just a joke. I guess the black eye was pretty convincing!  

I just hope Dale doesn't run into my SHARK!

SURF STORY: 2010 Surfmania

TILE ART 16 x 16

BOLSA CHICA    Photo: Pam

Can't say I didn't warn you about how regular I would blog. Truth is the surf has been so fun and consistent this year that between that and creating more art I haven't done much of anything else!!!

SURF STORY: The Jetty Game/Turtle Bay

Once in a while guys aren't going to give you a wave no matter what. That's when I start playing the jetty game.

It helps to be cunning and quick and pay very close attention to the ocean, the timing, and patterns of the sets. Know exactly where the best waves (or the waves that you want) are breaking by dialing in a very tight line up with your stationary landmarks.

In between one of the sets, paddle over a little deeper than the pack so that you are sitting the deepest. After a very short amount of time you will notice that many of the guys will paddle around you and all try to sit deeper thus taking them out of the take off zone. It drives them nuts thinking that a girl might be better positioned to catch a wave deeper than them. Watch the horizon closely for the first signs of the set as it starts to approach and nonchalantly paddle back into your the line-up you have chosen as the ultimate take off spot. This will put back in place for the approaching set while leaving most of the pack too deep to make the first wave or two thus giving you a better opportunity for a good wave. It is important to get one of the first waves before the pack paddles back over. Your timing must be impeccable for if you move over too soon they will move back as well and if you wait too long you too will be left too deep to make the wave. Keep doing this through out the session. You will be surprised at how well it works.

My brother Curt and I were surfing in Hawaii once looking for a fun wave to surf and ended up paddling out at Turtle Bay on the north end with a good swell pumping through. It was fairly crowded but nothing like some of the major breaks like Pipeline or Sunset. We were patiently working our way into the line-up but, after about forty five minutes still no one was letting us have a single wave, not an inside one or anything. I had been watching the waves closely and noticed that some of the bigger set waves were breaking right over this partially exposed reef deeper than where any of the guys were sitting and I knew I could catch and make the waves from there. Finally I got frustrated and told my brother "Watch this, this is why they call me Danger Woman." I'm sure he was probably thinking, oh no, what's she going to do? I was riding a 7'6" gun that was bigger than most of the boards the guys were riding giving me an advantage to get into the bigger sets earlier than they could.

In between one of the sets I paddled past the guys onto the other side or the pack right onto the edge of the boil over the rocks. I could tell they were kinda snickering and wondering what this crazy wahine was doing until I caught this big set wave that I was able to negotiate the drop, fly past them and make the wave all the way into the bay. At first they just thought I was lucky but, after continuing this for a few sets and noticing that I had my choice of any set wave all alone, a couple of the guys paddled over to try to catch some themselves. Their boards were too short so that their take-offs were steeper and right on the boil where they kept getting pitched over the falls. Or if they did make the drop, their boards didn't have enough rail for them to make it around the first suck out section where everyone else was sitting. After getting worked a few times they would paddle back over to the pack. After watching me catch wave after wave a couple of the other guys would paddle over to where I was and attempt to catch the waves from there with the same results as their friends. Soon they too would paddle back over to the pack frustrated. My brother got a lot of waves too because I would surf just pass everyone else then kick out so that he could take off and ride the rest of the wave.

I ended up getting the biggest, best set waves until it was so dark that I was forced to go in before I could no longer see where the channel to get in was. Luckily all the tiki torches on the beach (and the ancient Hawaiian Spirits) helped guide me safely to shore once again.