BajaNomad - Question for Surfer Jim - and other surfers

Question for Surfer Jim - and other surfers

Bob H - 6-24-2006 at 03:44 PM

Hey Jim,
Have you ever surfed out off Islas Todos Santos? I've heard some wild stories about the surf out there at times. I'd be interested in your comments.
I have not surfed since 1968 (long board days riding the nose, hanging ten, no ankle straps - swam a lot) but still like to watch the surfers in action.
We hope to get down to Asuncion/Tortugas/Malarrimo area when dates are set... (mid August?)
Bob H

[Edited on 6-24-2006 by Bob H]

gets big,real big

eetdrt88 - 6-24-2006 at 04:48 PM

sorry bob h, i'm on a good one.....

woody with a view - 6-24-2006 at 06:08 PM

i started in 1976, when i was 10. i was embarrassed to surf with a "goon cord" because the guys i looked up to would have laughed at me. your board got washed away and you swam, no problem. now, times have changed and a surfboard DOES NOT come without a GOON CORD. it makes me wonder how/why, when the new generation believes that when the media touts a BIG swell, everyone is out there, regardless of ability. what happens when your GOON CORD breaks? can you swim in the ocean without relying on the lifeguards? or is your GOON CORD a lifeline to your high-class, surfer-oriented lifestyle??????

if it is summer, and you keep a GOON CORD on your board, you're a, ahem, GOON. but, nowadays, that's not really such a bad thing, seeing as how surfer magazine wants you to believe in the dream.......

as to waves off todos santos, no-i've never partaken, but here is me at SALSIPUEDES in december '83, 6 months outta high school. THE WAVE OF MY LIFE!!!!.......the shark wouldn't bite, the bee wouldn't sting, and bugs bunny tip-toe'd through the brush unnoticed.....the day of my life!

6' 5" single fin pintail with goon cord attached..............what's your claim to fame?

[Edited on 6-25-2006 by woody in ob]

[Edited on 6-25-2006 by woody in ob]

BajaNomad - 6-24-2006 at 06:25 PM

Bob H - 6-24-2006 at 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
what's your claim to fame?

Never knew that was called a "goon cord". I will have to search for a photo and take a digital image of it. Don't have any photos of me on a wave, but I have one somewhere with me and my board from the late 60's. But, I remember one time I was sitt'n on my board (South Beach, Miami) looking back at the sets com'n in and right between my legs a 'man-o-war' jelly fish wrapped around my crotch. I got up on my knees and paddled my ass to shore as quickly as possible. The pain was incredible. My heart rate was way up there and I took the rest of the day off. But, I was back the next day going at it again. Thinking back on that day still brings tears to my eyes....

Big waves in the Miami area only occurrs during pre-hurricane conditions. I surfed this stuff during a few hurricanes in my youth... you would have to walk out on a fishing pier clutching your board, throw it in and jump in after it. I totally lost one board doing this, never to be seen again, a 9-foot Hobie. But when you did get going, it was fun and hairy stuff.
Bob H

[Edited on 6-25-2006 by Bob H]

that 'choo, senor nomad?

woody with a view - 6-24-2006 at 06:42 PM

bruddah bob,

woody with a view - 6-24-2006 at 06:49 PM

i mean no disrespect. nowdays EVERYONE surfs. if you wrapped a jelly around your loins, hey, i ain't even been there! i only try to add ONE aspect of the "surfer in baja." there is a man? called cardonhugger who will tell of a TOTALLY different experience in the brush. we're all creatures of the dirt, however, some of us wanna return to the sea.................

Bob H - 6-24-2006 at 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
i mean no disrespect. nowdays EVERYONE surfs.

Woody, would love to do it again, but my body won't allow it. I just don't have the strength any more. But when I did, it was so much fun being in the ocean as much as possible. The fact that we didn't have "goon cords" really kept you in unbelievable physical condition. Chasing your board was 60% of surfing in those days, maybe more. I'll never forget it or regret it. I was "goofy foot"..... if that term still applies.
:biggrin:

mister bob h

woody with a view - 6-24-2006 at 07:00 PM

it still applies. and yes, you were goofy, you probably still are goofy, and you belong to a select group of human beings who have been TOUCHED, for lack of a better term.

carrying on the stoke, i am-

woody in ob

Bob H - 6-24-2006 at 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
mister bob h
it still applies. and yes, you were goofy, you probably still are goofy, and you belong to a select group of human beings who have been TOUCHED, for lack of a better term.

carrying on the stoke, i am-
woody in ob

That was GREAT! And, I appreciate the respect. We should have a taco (or two) and a cerveza (or few) together some day soon.
Bob H

surfer jim - 6-24-2006 at 08:28 PM

Never surfed (or even seen) TODOS.....no desire to surf BIG waves for me....just too much trouble for the most part....too old now for such stuff anyway :lol:

.....my desire is for 4-6 feet for the most part.....

cardonhugger - 6-25-2006 at 09:54 AM

SOBERED UP YET SURFER/TIERRA/WOODCHUCK IN EL CAJON/OB?????

Amazing....Recently returned from a remote Baja trip, SOLO, for 12 days; saw no others and thought I'd check what the surfin' heroes were blabbin' about and Woodrow is calling me out, all wasted on OB day!!!

This from he who has to travel with 4 other vehicules(SURFERS call it a wrecking crew) with giant propane tanks to fuel numerous "streetlights" in wilderness areas...along with Quads to rip along the beach and across terrain in an area that is a protected NATIONAL PRESERVE. Nice respect with the dead coyote also; Did its carcass and your machetes keep all those other scary wild "dogs" away? You seem to post some dead body on just about every trip....weird dude or what???

Was interesting to see Sharksbaja's post a while back about leaving some discovery for others...you surfin' David K's should realize your discoveries and names(and photos) are accessable to the internet surfing world, not just your Nomad buddies. So don't spill the beans with all you big, new trips, rookies.

So Woodrow, have another drink, and look into some of that cheap housing in Yuma...it's alot closer to your El Cajon home....

Since I'm being called out,

Tomas Tierra - 6-25-2006 at 11:19 AM

" your discoveries and names and photos are accessible to the internet surfing world"

yes but gps directions have been withheld to protect the real baja guys..

I'm sure Cardonhugger, your off the beaten path surf adventure would be very hard to recreate with a name (made up by you or not) and a photo..I bet this rookie has done that trip a few times as well..

Also the average surfer searching the internet for new surfspots aint gunna dig the back roads of baja..

yeah I posted a photo of a surfspot looking good ( and caught a bunch of chit from a coupla guys who have never even surfed it)..but in reality its a spot like that whole shark park episode in the mags right now...its not a surf spot!! its just some photos that make it look like a surf spot..If you were to travel all the way to shark park (foul area at san miguel island) or to mummies left in baja, you would be very disappointed.. cause neither of them are worth a chit....but the photos make them look unreal..

So simma down cactus groper..nobody is going to invade your sacred spots, not of my doing anyways....below me..

[Edited on 6-25-2006 by Tomas Tierra]

[Edited on 6-25-2006 by Tomas Tierra]

woody with a view - 6-25-2006 at 11:32 AM

B
L
O
W

M
E

a kiss when you're leaving..........

David K - 6-25-2006 at 11:39 AM

"......you surfin' David K's ....."

Should I be upset or greatfull ?? :lol:

surfer jim - 6-25-2006 at 11:06 PM

Is it just me or is someone not making sense here.....maybe I am a ...."surfin' hero".....

Slowmad - 6-26-2006 at 01:14 PM

Cardonhugger is right.
If you value at-risk places, you don't babble about them on the Web.
Common sense.

[Edited on 6-26-2006 by Slowmad]

Slowmad - 6-26-2006 at 03:26 PM

Sporting a built-in 6-mil these days myself.
With the advancements in wetsuit tech, I should be able to handle Alaska in a vest.
:rolleyes:

BajaNomad - 6-26-2006 at 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
that 'choo, senor nomad?

Ummm... riiiiight. That's way, way, way outta my league.

Taylor Knox's K2-award-winning shot from '98 I believe. I think that photo won him $50,000 (U.S.).

Another:

[Edited on 6-27-2006 by BajaNomad]

bajaandy - 6-26-2006 at 07:25 PM

Senior Hugger de Cardon, et. al:

Doubtless a man of your ilk would ever stoop to reading such drivel as that which is printed in a mainstream periodical, but if by chance you find yourself sitting in the anti room of your local parlor waiting for your next quaffing, turn to page 70 of the most recent issue of SURFING magazine.

There you will find the latest "Reader Challange" (a term used rather loosely, I suspect) enticing the entire surfing world to use "Google Earth" to "find" a "new" surf break using (you guessed it!) the internet.

(Me thinks you have larger fish to fry then the occasional post of a surf trip here on good 'ol Baja Nomad.)

Go get 'em, defender of the right! (Or left, as the case may be.) Sally forth on your steed of foam, O founding member of the Sacred Society of the Secret Spots! Decry the media for their foul and dispicable use of technology to desecrate the very soul of surfing... the Solo Surf Trip!

The jig is up! Now every wanna' be surf-spot discoverer will be pouring over ALL the points, river-mouths, sand-bars, beach-breaks and reefs in the entire PENINSULA! Plotting their next "surf-and-destroy" mission, replete with four wheel drive vehicles ( or should I say "vehicules" (a foreign spelling, mayhaps?)), sand-toys, dune-buggies, wave-runners.... all in the name of CLAIMING a spot! HOW COULD THEY!!!

I suppose your only solace will be your knowledge of the fact that the reality of getting there FAR out-weighs the fantasy of seeing it on a satellite image. (You said it yourself: "Recently returned from a remote Baja trip, SOLO, for 12 days; saw no others".)

So fear not my spine-embracing solo surf guru, the dream lives on. ('cept you best beware about doing that a-la-natural wetsuit change... you might just be on candid satellite camera!)

BajaNomad - 6-26-2006 at 07:53 PM

http://photos.signonsandiego.com/gallery1.5/sdbigwaves/SMHbi...

Photo by SEAN M. HAFFEY
Greg Long of San Clemente pulls into a monster wave near Todos Santos Island near Ensenada, Mexico.

surfer jim - 6-27-2006 at 06:58 AM

yep...those are the waves I will pass up...... :tumble:

Tomas Tierra - 6-27-2006 at 08:10 AM

He's got foot straps, so that doesn't count...

Common Sense

cardonhugger - 6-27-2006 at 12:18 PM

Senor Andy, I kneweth you would be not loathe to respond, especially upon subjects dealing with such chivalrous conviction!!!

I must say, I have been thinking of your brother and hope he can be cured and join you again on your adventures....How's he doing? My brother is my best friend and usual Baja/Southwest travel partner. All of us need to send your family healing Baja thoughts and prayers!

Now, surf magazines: I recently cancelled my 15 year subscription to Surfers Journal(And I love the mag.) My neighbor and good friend for some 30 years now, Rodrigo, was featured a few months back in the Journal, showing his recycled artwork and a few too many photos of a place and area "down there", now too often mentioned in this forum and others. Easy roads, caravans, break-ins and clueless campers contributed to the disassemby of his "shack" years ago, so all that remains is a rock pad and garden. Spent many a week there with a lot fewer people before "progress" approached.

I boycotted his 'Journal article/ Birthday party with Pezman and Huelet attending and told him I felt the article was more about his ego than his art. (He's supposed to be a "Saint" of the spots!) I no longer tell him when or where I'm going...

The satellite photos used to be the AAA map or Mex. topos: You still have to get stuck, skunked, scared by weird stuff; and every bit is worth it for the solitude.

Speaking of satellites: Vanderberg launch this eve. 6-27 between 7-9pm. Look to the West/Southwest for the show...

bajaandy - 6-28-2006 at 06:55 AM

CH,

Thanks for the kind words and thoughts about my brother. It is difficult even now to write about it, but Matt has gone off on the ultimate adventure without me. He passed away on March 15th, three months and a day from when he checked himself into the hospital. The tumors were vicious. Radiation and chemotherapy did almost nothing to check their rapid growth.

As benificary to his estate, it was left to me to go through his belongings. There I came across a 43 page hand written account of one of our trips to Baja, complete with photos pasted in with captions written below. It is, to me, priceless, for as I read it I can hear his voice and his laughter, and see his face.

I apologize for getting off topic. Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Cincodemayo - 6-28-2006 at 05:14 PM

Bodysurfin was and is more my style...Crazy days at the Wedge in Newport Beach when they'd pump in 10-14 footers. Short and sweet rides hopefully not impaled on the sand. Great rides at Laguna Beach during good swells at Lagunita and Blue Lagoon when they'd swell in at 8-10 feet.
Did catch the tail end of a hurricane at Cabo in the mid 80's while staying at the Solmar...Awesome 10-12 foot rollers with 100 yard rides..some of the best waves I've ridden. That was when they didn't care about people going in the Pacific side. Now with all the beach sprawl good luck even getting in the water at Cabo with all the "Beach Police".

elgatoloco - 6-29-2006 at 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaandy
CH,

Thanks for the kind words and thoughts about my brother. It is difficult even now to write about it, but Matt has gone off on the ultimate adventure without me. He passed away on March 15th, three months and a day from when he checked himself into the hospital. The tumors were vicious. Radiation and chemotherapy did almost nothing to check their rapid growth.

As benificary to his estate, it was left to me to go through his belongings. There I came across a 43 page hand written account of one of our trips to Baja, complete with photos pasted in with captions written below. It is, to me, priceless, for as I read it I can hear his voice and his laughter, and see his face.

I apologize for getting off topic. Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Sweet memories keep us smiling.

Tomas Tierra - 6-29-2006 at 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cardonhugger
Speaking of satellites: Vanderberg launch this eve. 6-27 between 7-9pm. Look to the West/Southwest for the show...

we were anchored behind Santa Rosa island, it went right over....Pretty awesome.

turtleandtoad - 6-29-2006 at 09:45 AM

In the 50's, my friends and I rode wood longboards at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz. No leashes in those days, and if you had to kick out, you sometimes got your board back in pieces. No beach, just vertical cliffs.

Unfortunately, all my pictures from that era were destroyed decades ago. I do have some photos from a return trip about three years ago, I just have to find them.

cardonhugger - 6-29-2006 at 11:42 AM

Andy,

Matt made it to the top of that Diablo Peak, and is probably soaring about it on the thermals, awaiting your next ascent!( That was a great account of your May trip!)

My brother(who lives in San Diego) and I talk on the phone every day, many times counting the days till the next getaway. Ironically, the other day he, while chatting, pulled out some crinkled paper upon which in his HORRIBLE chicken-scratch had kept a rough journal of one of our first trips together to Baja. He started reading some entries to me over the phone and I was feeling a little impatient, figuratively rolling my eyes at his first observations of such a pristine place. I had already been South on numerous adventures for decades while he had been married with children for some 20 years. Guess I was feeling a bit jaded listening to his recount of what seems now so routine about a Baja experience!

It had to be the next day that I read of Matt and his journal. La tormenta en mi corazon that I felt was very profound. My brothers' words, thoughts, terrible handwriting and, uh, subpar photos are a treasure I have to cherish this very day!

On my most recent journey, while alone I'm certain I conversed out loud to my brother pertaining to Baja sights and sounds I was enjoying.....what I'm not sure about is what I was hearing back in response! Was it Matt, padding along the beaten "Dog" paths next to a windswept bluff...or was it just a few too many of those icey-cold Modelos whispering in the breeze?

Saludos a Senor Matt y mi Hermano!!!

bajaandy - 6-29-2006 at 06:44 PM

CH,

Thanks again for the kind words. Just to set the record straight, the guy that went with me on the Diablo trip was not my brother Matt, but a long time climbing partner from Seattle also named Matt. But, I suppose that dosen't mean that brother Matt wouldn't be up there on Diablo as well. He is, for certain, now a small part of the Pacific ocean, floating about out there. As for the voices, I find that I must often ask myself a similar question... "Who ARE you, and how did you get in here?"

Glad to hear that you have a good thing going with your bro. Hope that lasts for a good long time.

Old photos

Bob H - 7-6-2006 at 03:41 PM

I have a hard time getting digital images from old photos. But here goes nothing..... CIRCA 1966 9'9" Oceanside noserider. And yes, this is Bob H at 16 years old :lol:

[Edited on 7-6-2006 by Bob H]

Goofy and proud of it

DanO - 7-6-2006 at 03:55 PM

In surfing and all other aspects of life.

Goofy

Sharksbaja - 7-7-2006 at 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
In surfing and all other aspects of life.

You or Bob? :lol:

DanO - 7-7-2006 at 10:29 AM

That'd be me. Don't know Bob well enough, but some of his posts show promise.