Waking up with the waves on Friday. It’s looking pretty playful out there. So if you’re getting an extra long weekend go get wet.  It’s mostly clean and glassy with some spots seeing a little texture due to the very minor southwind.  We’ve got a mix of mostly lingering northwest windswell and a touch of southwest energy.

That recipe is making for some fun workable right and lefts.  Most OC beaches are running about knee to waist high with the top spots pulling stomach high waves with a few chest high sets.

At 7:38 a.m the tide drains out to a negative one foot low which will have many spots lacking water early on.  The tide then pushes back up to a 3.5 high at 2:46 this afternoon.  If you’re planning on paddling, break out the 3/2 full with the water temp hanging between 59 and 62 degrees.

For more surf info. check out surfline.com. 

Have fun out there!!

The most treacherous wave on the planet was quiet for the first day of the Billabong Pro Tahiti official waiting period. The world’s best 45 surfers along with a few wildcards are all anxiously awaiting for Teahupoo to come alive. Conditions are forecasted to be fairly small over the next few days which is good news for last years event winner. Damien Hobgood hurt his shoulder a few weeks ago while practicing at the knarly left hand reef break and is still trying to recover. But, with a potentially slow start due to the lack of swell, he might give it a go. The third stop of the ASP World Championship Tour has an 11 day waiting period with the competition to be completed by May 18th. To watch the live action, go to billabongpro.com.

If you’re looking to get out of the house this weekend - and let’s hope this weather warms up a bit - head to the coast to check out a guided tour of the historic district at Crystal Cove State Park.

The tour happens every second Saturday of the month, and kicks off at 10 a.m. For those of you not familiar with the area, there’s about 46 funky cottages on the sand dating back to the 30s, with 14 of them renovated for public overnight stay. There’s a ton of history - everywhere from Hollywood’s influence, to the laid-back mentality of the former residents. There will also be a plein air painter showing  a demonstration.

To read more about the area, click here. If you’re up early enough, check out my KDOC segment coming on between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. Friday morning (with Surf Junkie Jeff giving a head’s up on the weekend’s surf conditions). I went down to Crystal Cove this morning to do the segment, and got to chat with some of the lucky people staying there to give viewers a bit of a taste of what it’s like down there.

But if you want to see for yourself, show up at 10 a.m. Saturday, park at the Los Trancos (cost is $10 to park), and enjoy! And if you go to Beachcomber’s Cafe, check out the ahi tacos - BOMB!

A group showed up at Doheny State Beach a few months back, setting up a feeding area for the homeless.
The state basically said no way, can’t do that here… and now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has come in and filed a lawsuit saying the state violated the rights of the Welcome INN (Interfaith Needs Network).

I chatted with State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns this morning, who said they need a special permit to hand out food, and Doheny isn’t really the right venue for passing out the goods.
“We’re very sympathetic of the homeless issue. They’re plight is not a good one,” he said. “On the other hand… our system was not set up and intended to be the answer for this social services problem. We don’t think it’s appropriate for State Parks usage.”

Register reporter Angela Potter has more on the lawsuit, read it here.

Good Thursday morning surf addicts. Well it’s looking like a good day for the beachbreaks. Yep we’ve got a nice little mix of combo action. Many spots are in need of some water, but once that happens it could turn on a bit.  It’s mostly clean or even light offshore with some decent northwest windswell and a tad of southwest energy.

That recipe is making for some drained out broken up lines, with plenty of rippable corners to pick off.  Most OC beaches are running about knee to waist high with the top spots pulling stomach to chest high waves, with maybe a plus set.

At 6:35 a.m the tide dropped to a negative 1.4 low and then climbs back up to a 3.5 high at 1:27 this afternoon.  If you’re gonna get wet, a 3/2 full is the call with the water temp hanging between 58 and 61 degrees.

For more surf info. check out surfline.com. 

See ya in the water!!

AVP stars Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will skip the Charleston Open this weekend, the team announced Tuesday.

The gold medalists and best women’s team in the world decided to pull out of the South Carolina event to give Walsh, of Redondo Beach, extra time to rest her surgically-repaired right shoulder that bothered her last weekend in Huntington Beach.

Walsh withdrew from Sunday’s ill-concieved Cuervo Gold Crown Championship, a pointless “cashgrab” as one AVP staffer described it. An extra day of competition for $25,000 added to the Huntington Beach Open for the top four men’s and women’s teams, it also presented an extra day’s risk of injury.

While Walsh said the shoulder didn’t hurt, it felt off, she and May-Treanor wisely put their Olympic goals ahead of the potential pay day. 

May-Treanor, of Costa Mesa,said she she’ll go to Charleston to support her colleagues and watch the tournament and will participate in a meet and greet with fans on Saturday.

It’s just a week away from the start of the National Scholastic Surfing Association West Coast Regional Championships. The best amateur surfers from up and down the California coast will be taking over on the southside of the Huntington Beach Pier May 14th-18th, 2008. Surfers from the NSSA’s Southwest Conference Open and Explorer, the Gold Coast Explorer, and Northwest Conference Open are taking part in the big showdown. Each competitor must have a top rating in the regular season in order to qualify for the invite only event. For more info. on the 2008 NSSA West Coast Championships go to nssa.org.

Good Wednesday morning surf addicts. Well if you’re planning on paddling, I’d probably check back later this morning. Yep there’s not much swell and it’s completely drained out just about everywhere.  It’s semi-clean with a little texture or even light bump on it due to that minor southwind.

We’ve got a small mix of mostly southwest swell and not much northwest energy to speak of.  That recipe is making for some weak crumbly lines, with a few fun ones.  Most OC beaches are running about knee to waist high with the top breaks pulling stomach high waves, with a few chest high sets.

At 5:39 a.m the tide drained out to a negative 1.6 low which has many spots desperate for water.  The tide then climbs back up to a 3.6 high at 12:17 this afternoon.  If you haven’t heard it’s time to break out the 3/2 full with the water temp warming up a bit and hanging between 59 and 62 degrees.

For more surf info. check out surfline.com. 

Good luck out there!!

My uncle played for John Wooden at UCLA. Naturally, that doesn’t come up much in surfing conversations.

He was a forward for the legendary coach, won a national championship with the volleyball team, and was a member of the first UCLA track team to beat USC in the 1950s. We’re a UCLA family.

So how then did I become a panel judge at SC’s Viterbi School of Engineering’s “Smart Surfboard” competition? They called me.

A few weeks later, I felt a little behind enemy lines walking the campus, swimming through the maroon and gold. But I was here to help surfing, if there was that one revolutionary idea that needed support, and of course, to return their kind gesture. Collegiate rivalries would be put aside for the day.

Professors Edward Maby and Adam Fincham offered the competition as a class and the four groups of students had since mid-January when the competition was defined to come up with their presentations.

Read the rest of this entry »

The 3rd stop of the ASP World Championship Tour is just two days away from a possible start.  The 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti official waiting period begins Thursday May 8th.  The World’s top 45 surfers are gearing up for Teahupoo, which is by far the heaviest wave on the planet.  Forecasters aren’t calling for much swell, so it could be a few more days before the first day of competition.  Last week the Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper trials wrapped up with the win going to Oahu’s Jamie O’brien who scored a wildcard spot along with Brazil’s Bruno Santos and Tahitian local Manoa Drollet. The Billabong Pro Tahiti will be webcast live on aspworldtour.com or billabongpro.com.