I received a cryptic email from my friend Chris aka ‘Grandpa’ yesterday. In the email was a short note, “You may want to put this on SickShots”.  That’s it.  No explanation.  No story.  Nothing.  I really need to hear the tale, but understand that Chris may be getting medical attention.  Some of you may remember that Grandpa was in a motorcycle wreck last year and was just recovering and getting back in the water.  Dude, is taking lickings, but I know it won’t keep him down.  Hey Grandpa, tell us what happened and how you are doing.  The world wants to know….News Flash!  Grandpa’s story is now online.  Read it here!

This is a shot of Waimea from the water on a ‘smallish’ day.  It is real Waimea and not pinballs, but it is not big by any stretch.  What I like is that you can see this is just the top of the wave.  If you look down in the lower right of the photo you can see where the beginning of the bottom of the wave starts!  This guy is in for a steep drop and he doesn’t know it yet.  Most people eat it on the drop and get steam rolled by mounds of white water and get stuffed deep.  That’s why I think making the drop is so rewarding, because you pull off what is often an air drop with your hands over your head and avoid total destruction!

HIRE A SURF PHOTOGRAPHER- This Friday and Saturday look good here in California and I am not hired yet, so let me know if you want me to shoot your session. The usual spots should be pumping including Rincon in the North and Pt. Loma in the South.  Have fun wherever you go and charge!

A friend of mine was on his way to being one of the top surf photographers in the world.  His name is Ben DeCamp. You may have heard of him.  He was making a name for himself swimming some crazy Pipeline and other gnarly spots.  He was on staff for Surfer Mag.  He has a good eye.  I like his vision. So what happened to him? He ejected.  We never really talked about the exact reason, but we often discussed the difficulty in making a living off the surf magazines/surf advertisers.  Am I anti- Surf magazine? Nah, I realize they are being squeezed as well (you can read my take on their future here). The truth is one must find other ways to make a living and keep the stoke.  What was Ben’s answer?  The Style Shark and his blog Killer Whale petting Zoo!  It’s strange, I love it, and it is harder than you think to create those shots.  Yes, it looks a lot like Terry Richarson who happened to win this year’s Fashion Layout of the Year with Harper’s Bazaar article ‘Thriller Fashion’.

So back to the topic…I shot Ryan several years ago in the Mentawais and he recently wrote an article for Surfer’s Path about his trip around the world and what they discovered.  This was no ordinary trip.  First, they sailed.  Anyone who spends time in boats could start to understand what it must be like to sail around the world and face the ocean for weeks on end.  But that’s not the story.  What they discovered was how polluted most of the oceans are right now.  They even witnessed the alleged floating plastic trash island twice the size of texas drifting around in the pacific.  I recently saw an article about this on one of my favorite blogs- aphotoeditor and on the wall street journal site.  Unbelievable.

Some of the photos that I took of Ryan during our Mentawai trip are in the feature, so check it out.

NOTE:  At the time I was negotiating with Surfer’s Path for use of my photos the Padang Earthquake happened.  Instead of paying their small editorial rate I had them give it directly to Surf Aid.  You can donate to them as well because they still need help.  Thanks!

I arrive with my new ‘Anderson fun board’ stuffed between the baby seat and the front headrest of my Toyota hybrid. I didn’t stop at Starbucks on the way, but I am still a stereotype.  I put on my wetsuit, feed the parking meter, and tuck the board under my arm.  It feels good. It’s been sitting in the shed with the black widows for awhile waiting for this moment. I am excited to ride the ankle snappers breaking on the high tide sandbar.  It is miserably small, but I am stoked.

The water is crisp, but not cold and I paddle just a few short yards into the lineup and catch a wave right away.  It’s a ‘straight bowl’ closeout and I ride it just a little way into the beach and kind of kook it on the sand and hear a distinct CRACK!  Damn- My fin! I know it without looking.  My first wave and I destroy my board.  The right fin is missing and the board looks like some toothless hillybilly missing a front chicklet!  What the hell.  I kept surfing my ‘twin fin’ for the rest of the session.  Aquatech can deal with it later.

Jim was on the beach shooting the session and caught this photo of me (below) with his Nikon setup (D700- 500mm lens).  He did a great job because I am convinced it was much smaller than this photo shows and didn’t look this fun.  You can see more of his shots from this morning’s El Porto Session and others from his site here.  I would like to thank Jim for the photo and for keeping my key for me while I surfed!

The only thing that’s bothering me is that Dave Wassell above at Pipe has a much better wave than Dave Collyer below at El Porto!  It’s not fair!  Look what Hawaii gets!  Oh well, I’ll be buying that ticket soon enough…

It has come to our attention that a professional womens longboard contest is being proposed for Swamis. We think it is a bad idea, sets a bad precedent, and is unneeded, unwanted, and unsafe. There are plenty of other locations county wide including Cardiff, Oceanside, LJ Shores and Ocean Beach where contests are run. There has never been a contest at Swamis (well one way back in ’67). The Swamis Surf Club makes sure they never run their contest at Swamis. Why? Because Swamis locals and visitors alike do not want one. A pro surfing contest does nothing for community surfers, does not benefit the city of Encinitas local surfers or make sense for the aesthetic and vibe of the wonderfully peaceful Self Realization Fellowship. What is the upside? A promoter makes some money, and the City of Encinitas promotes tourism.Please sign the petition below to STOP SURFING CONTESTS AT SWAMIS – FOR GODS SAKE – IS NOTHING SACRED?

Here’s the link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-surfing-contests-at-swamis

Swamis was one of the first waves I surfed when I came to California from Florida back in 89.  I couldn’t believe such a place existed.  I caught some great waves that trip and the crowd didn’t seem to bug me that much because the peak often moved around and let everyone get waves.  Well now I know that only happens on certain swells and the crowd is thicker than ever.  Still a great wave and if they do have contests here I might just have to enter! I mean can you imagine the place with 4 or 6 competitors?  Incredible!

Note: Who cares that the wave in the shot is actually Rincon…Swamis looks like this a lot in the winter..coming soon!

The last real surf session I had was in the Mentawai’s on the Indies Trader 3 way back in July.  Martin Daly and I were surfing an unknown left that he discovered years before.  It was just us.  The guests were surfed out and watching TV, reading or playing poker.  I was ushered to the top of the perfect point break by jet ski.  I was not wearing a wetsuit and did not need one.  There was no wind.  The water was so clear it was like surfing over an aquarium. It was too good. It was too easy.

This may explain why I am sometimes so jaded when I return home to Los Angeles and make excuses not to surf.  There have been lots of waves in California lately and I keep hearing about it from my friends and keep saying, “Uaaahhh, it’s too crowded” or “It’s small” or “The winds already on it…”  It is easy to do; to make excuses.  I have responsibilities.  I can’t take 4 + hours out of my day for 2 foot windchop. I’m a busy man!

I was starting to get tired of my own wingeing when I saw the surf report yesterday.  Ventura 4-6 feet plus!  It was time to surf.  I mean I own a surf blog for crying out loud!  I should surf once in awhile!  So I went into the shed and picked a ‘fun shape’ (beacuse I’m out of shape) and grabbed my dryed out wetsuit and loaded it all in the car.  No cameras, no swim fins. I was just going surfing. I set my alarm for 5am.

The next morning I was so amped I was up at 4:45 and decided to sleep those extra minutes and woke up again at 5:37!- I had set my alarm for 5:00 PM!  Arrggggg.  I raced out of the house and luckily missed the traffic and arrived at C-street just in time to get a parking spot. The sun was rising and the sky was red.  This was my first taste of the freedom I was missing from not surfing.

I had been in the car driving for a long time and needed to go to the bathroom.  You know.  Really needed to go. I was desperate.  I slipped on my wetsuit halfway and sprinted for the dirty public restrooms without pause with an impending trouser mouse. When I get there..the horror- the door is locked! What to do?  Get naked at the water’s edge and drop a bomb?  Nah, too cold and too public…I start making my way back to the car when I see some chick bumping around in the bushes over near the condos.  I know what she’s up to (the ladies was locked too).  I race in there just as she is leaving and shat a small mound. Thank god for Starbucks napkins.

I felt dirty as I entered the ocean and was happy to get a healthy set of waves on the head as I paddled out.  It was head high with bigger sets.  I recognized immediately that my paddle wheel was rusty.  I was huffing and puffing.  It seemed further out than usual.  This was going to take some getting used to.  I was starting to wonder- Can I still surf?

My first wave was a warmup.  A couple of turns and out.  My next one I will ride for the next few weeks.  I stayed patient and waited for the right one.  I paddled deep and outside.  I waited some more and it came.  A perfect peak right to me.  I dropped in and immediately felt the rush of speed.  It is this feeling of catching the wave that gives people the bug.  A feeling so powerful that great careers have been destroyed to recapture it (I wonder what would have become of me if I never surfed?).

As I made a bottom turn the entire wave glowed orange as the morning sun beamed down the face; then the rush of speed as I set my rail and drove down the wall.   I rode the wave from the first parking lot, past the condos and my little nugget, all the way to the 2nd to last set of stairs near the pier.  My legs were burning.  How far is that? How many hundreds of yards?  It felt incredible.  I was alive! I shouted-”California is good!  They have waves!”  It was the same feeling I get in the Indian Ocean. I ran up the stairs and around the point to do it again.

I went surfing today. It was wonderful.

Words and Photo by assistant, Jobi Manson

It’s a regular thursday in mid-October. Dave had told me the night before that there maybe was surf on the horizon… I shrugged my head and said, “Ha, yeah I’ll believe that S@#$ when I see it.” The night before the first big swell of the season is expected, it’s kinda like when you were little and you wear your pj’s inside out and pray for snow… 10 years later I pull the cob webs off my board and leave it with my keys by the door. Cob webs are probably an exaggeration, but when you can’t remember the last time you got in the water- that’s never a good thing.

The next morning true to form I missed my alarm and was so bummed because I was really keen to shoot and surf that morning. I called the boss (Dave) and asked in a very nice voice if I could have the day off to shoot. He replied gracefully, and insisted I go.

I arrived at Manhattan Beach’s El porto around 10 AM and quickly set up to shoot a few rounds before my session. The swell progressively built throughout the late morning and was not bad when the tide dropped out slightly. Having never surfed here before, the break proved to be fun, fast, and close out barrels. I probably caught 4 waves that day. I was stoked. It was heavy for sure.

You may have seen this shot in Surfer Mag’s ’50 greatest Surfers’ issue.  I would have been stoked to have it in their mag, but they never gave me the courtesy to tell me, used it in the mag without photo credit and tried to get away without paying me! They also didn’t identify Jimbo or tell him they were going to run the photo. Shame on you Surfer!…But I’m going to save that thought and rip them in another blog entry coming soon.

So while this was going on with Surfer Mag I caught up with Jim in a few emails, which led to him sending me this classic story about Dick Brewer (who will be in Del Mar at the Sacred Craft expo this weekend)! Here’s the unedited story as only Jim can tell it- Epic!

I thought i would take some time and brief you on a great shaper story.

I was preparing to go to Bali for my first time in early 2003.I had been living on the NORTH SIDE of KAUAI for the past 11 years . I had just come back from an insane trip to puerto escondido .  It was  great and big the entire time as most always is.  after packing many barellss on quiver of TERRY SENATES and a 9,6 jay riddle.even droping a good 20 lbs of body phatt  i came back with no boards left .   The fish and lobsters where good and breakfast,  but the rest of the food was kinda blown   and it was  hot as hell so i  managed to  shape up.

after a small stint in california i picked up a few sick ass   ” timmy pattersons “  and  flew over to kauai .

I was fortunate to have many friends and i ran into ” DICK BREWER ” at my uncle JUKES  pad  that used to be mine.  I started talking with  RB  “richard brewer ” and decided that i would go up and stay at his guest house  for a week in princeville   while we prepared some boards  for bali.  RB  a big fan of bali  as  well as uncle juke  where pumped,  a little concerned  about the possibilities of a big jim   super roll .  everyone agreed  that it was a needed and worth while experience.

my first day up at  RB  was sick  he was just  mowin his yard on his big green acres style sitting mower  smoking a few doobs  fresh made lemonade  real brother down ya know.  later in the afternoon  RB  yelled from across the green acres

“THE BOARDS GOTTA LOOK LIKE THE GUY “  i was  thinking fuck yea hes getting ready to shape my board.  he then plowed a few more lanes of grass  and had some lemonade  and decided to go get a proper blank from a storage zone in kapaa. some of the boys heard i was back and came and grabed me for a cannons and cold pond session  i never saw RB  until the next day .

day 2  was another sick one .  he was back with a van full of blanks  and was preping up his skills on some stuff in the room .  i was pumped  !!  his shaping room is sick  ,  RB”S  beautifull wife  has a great house she is realy into  homes and it shows.  RB  starts  going to work  blowing foam  cutting blanks out  and where really gettin into it  runnninnnn  all the machinery  .  RB and  SB  where havin a little war of the roses.  she starts  yelling  dick  dickkk  close the  f kin  door  RB  couldnt here her,  he was well at work .  The position of the  room is in direct line of fire  to her home zone.  she  starts  telling me   jimbo   jimbo  hes blowin foam in my house.  so i shut the door . RB  NOT HAVIN THAT  reopens the door and starts revin engines and blazin power planers .  im thinking OH SHIT SHE IS GONNA LOOSE IT.

and i was right SHE LOST IT.  stuff started breakin in the kitchen flying around  profanity was  graceing  backround to heaving  planeing .  i was  so pumped  FUCK YEA  THATS MY BOARD.

The board came out sick . It did kinda look like me .  RB AND SB  MADE UP LATER. and evrything was fine.

i returned to kauai the next winter  and i had an incredible new years eve at the princeville sherraton with all this cast .  sherry and RB  where super cool  she was like” damn big man can dance”.  as i am known to bust up dance floors. After a stint on the dance floor  i steped to the bar  with RB  sherry asked hey  how did that board that dick blew all over kitchen work ?  i laughed and said it  was the  sickest shit ever  and  pulled a japanese,brazillian ,indo, americam mag shot on it for her (the one above).

”   THE BOARDS GOTTA LOOK LIKE THE GUY  ”   DICK BREWER.

JIMBO P.

REMINDER: Please help Sumatra and donate to  SURF AID INTERNATIONAL today!

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