the closer walk

windswell 2.14.12

2012-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

The wind blew all night but things were pretty clean early this AM, air in the low 50`s ,water at 55, 4/3mm wetsuit and numb feet .

Happy Sunday

2012-02-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

Relax and renew

winter?

2012-02-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

Awesome winter day, high 70`s,glassy and clean wnw swell. Crowd was light till school got out. I tend to be a " tubedodger" by nature, but even I got in and out of a few today.

double click and go fullscreen

Wed. night at the Hurley Space

2012-02-07T19:36:00.001-08:00

Honolulu

2012-02-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

short trip to Honolulu this week, no surfing, reading and relaxing on the sand with my wife.Very nice

morning glory

2012-01-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

The sunrise and scenery were the prize this morning. The predicted headhigh surf missed my chosen spot, surf was weak but it was still a nice start to the day

wed. windswell

2012-01-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

pretty and warm day, surf was ok and I joined 100 or more friends to scratch after a few waves. I went out for the mental health aspect of the endeavor but managed to get a few set waves to myself.

clean-up

2012-01-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

The surf was cold and blown this AM, I went back down this afternoon between football games to find things had cleaned up nicely. Rain moves back in tonight

1.17.12

2012-01-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

Cold this am, not much surf, but the windswell focused on a sandbar at the pier generated some fun waves. Drew a good crowd by mid-morning but I was back onshore by then, waiting for my fingers and toes to regain feelings.

friday 1.13

2012-01-13T17:04:00.000-08:00

swell dropping off pretty fast, and high tide slowing things down but what a pretty day.

Wednesday church service

2012-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Daybreak found me down south at Church, just mellow fun , nice conditions, not much crowd

sunsets

2012-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Fog bank at Blackies tonight, nice sunset at Rj`s yesterday

Nice afternoon

2012-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Didn`t surf today , walled closeouts and crowded, but a few corners every now and then

1.3.12

2012-01-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

World class weather this afternoon, the predicted high surf didn`t show but conditions were outstanding

1.1.12

2012-01-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

New Year ,after the fog cleared, clean surf in front of the treatment plant and sunny warmth on the beach. Thanks Lord!

2011 eases out

2011-12-31T14:34:00.000-08:00

Foggy and cold this morning gave way to a sunny, cool afternoon. Last page of the 2011 calendar slipping away

12.28.11

2011-12-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

Energy has dropped off but conditions stayed nice all day, got a few fun ones before heading back to work

Clean

2011-12-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

clean surf in front of the sewage treatment plant

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Nice Christmas day at the beach, went down after family breakfast and presents to get some of the 3-6' WSW swell that was rolling in. 72 degrees and sunny. Thanks Lord, I`m grateful

Howlin`

2011-12-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Cold and calm at dawn went to cold and howlin` offshore quite abruptly. Windchill and almost too much wind.

It`s Winter

2011-12-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

The swell is dropping off and shape is still wally but it was another nice,sunny day. No work so I might as well surf.

12.20.11

2011-12-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Last day of Fall , holiday crowd, strong current, lots of paddling.Beautiful day and I`m grateful

Monday 12.19

2011-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

too much...

2011-12-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

some pretty waves but in reality, the wind just blew too hard. Hard to catch and hard to keep up with.

12.15.11

2011-12-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

Great conditions for a lunch time surf on the dropping tide. I`ve been carrying a lot of anger/stress from work the last few days and an hour in the water washed most of it away. I came out of the water a happier man.

12.13.11

2011-12-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

brief surf window early but cold air and poor water quality, plus work load, kept me dry, drinking coffee in the parking lot.

12,12,11

2011-12-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

oddly similiar

2011-12-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

Gov. Brown starting to look like Monty Burns....

12.11.11

2011-12-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

cell phone sunrise

2011-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

Cold clear morning, light offshore and low 40`s at sunrise. Went out for an hour of "aqua-therapy " , washing away some residual anger/ frustration from the work week and renewing a sense of gratitude and appreciation for a new morning. Thanks Lord!

Kiddie Pool

2011-12-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

Great weather and conditions but no surf for days now, Lake Pacific. I intend to surf on whatever is out there tomorrow just for the therapeutic value.

December evening in HB

2011-12-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

all good things come to an end..

2011-11-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

The warm hazy weather with all day glassy is over. Cooler this morning with southeast wind stirring early. Surf is still rolling in but the winds hacked it up fairly early. Offshores ( cold ones ) tomorrow

Afternoon off

2011-11-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Had a half-day at work,glad to have the afternoon off, bigger at the pier but I chose to go out at the city limits- friendlier environment and clean conditions as the tide dropped.

twilight

2011-11-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

Glassy all day, hazy but warm temps this afternoon. Finished the day in the water.Grateful!

This is the day the Lord has made....

2011-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

Glorious warm morning, glad to get out and enjoy it. ( Surf was weak but fun at times )

11.25.11

2011-11-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

Day after Thanksgiving- grateful for time with friends/family and 1000`s of calories consumed, also grateful for a beautiful morning with surf and a chance to exercise some of it off.

Thanksgiving morning

2011-11-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

Another great day. Not much surf and fat high tide but a gift from God just the same.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Rest of the Story _- as told by Corey Trenda of World Vision

The other night Janet and I watched a recording of a recent World Vision

weekly chapel service. It started with a faded documentary-style video,

circa 1979, chronicling a dramatic moment when World Vision’s ship

Seasweep rescued a floundering vessel crammed with Vietnamese boat

people. One four-year-old boy who was on that boat that day …then stood

up and spoke to the chapel crowd! Now in his mid-30’s, Vinh is a

graduate of Harvard Medical School and a skin cancer surgeon in

Colorado. He said, “Without a doubt, if it had it not been for World

Vision, the story of my life would have ended anonymously at the age of

4 in the South China Sea.”

Vinh’s parents had 11 children (he has only three of his own, thank you

very much), and of the 11, five have Masters’ degrees and five have

doctorates. The youngest recently graduated from Stanford and is on his

way to medical school at Penn. Dad worked every hour he could as a

laborer for a company that manufactures air conditioners, though the

plant was not air conditioned and he stood all day on the assembly line

through Arkansas summers. As Vinh told the audience, thanks to his

father’s commitment, today he and his siblings all sit in offices, make

their living based on their minds, and work in air conditioned

facilities.

All in one generation. It’s a great illustration of the incredible

opportunity possible in America—with sufficient parental sacrifice, a

strong work ethic cascading down to the children, (yes, let’s

acknowledge serious IQs and study habits!) …and the kindness of others,

especially the amazing church which sponsored them from the refugee

camp, helped them into an apartment, likely found the father a job, and

told them all about Jesus.

World Vision played but one tiny, yet also decisive, role…saving the

lives of 93 people that fateful day caught on film, including this

entire family. What an amazing privilege for our staff to hear “the

rest of the story” from Vinh and to have played a small yet critical

role in it.

Somewhere in here is a lesson on gratitude. Vinh was thanking “people I

will never meet”: not only the World Vision staff, but also the donors

who supported this risky, reckless and costly venture. WV put a ship on

the South China Sea to resupply Vietnamese refugee boats at a time when

no governments wanted to get involved. Then the crew superseded the

rules of the ship’s registration by following the law of their

conscience, dramatically hoisting these 93 people aboard the Seasweep

when their refugee boat was irreparable and had been floundering

helplessly for six days, now out of food. Vinh’s mother was so beside

herself at being unable to meet her children’s needs that “she would

have given her blood” to nourish them; she has since admitted that she

considered drowning the youngest ones to save them an agonizingly slow

death. Such was the desperation of their situation when Seasweep found

them.
How do we—you and I—get the privilege of being part of stories like

this, and of literally millions more we’ll never hear this side of

eternity? Rich Stearns went up to the podium to close chapel after Vinh

sat down, and he became emotional. He wondered if maybe this is what

the entertainment will be in heaven, hearing such testimonies.

In the meantime, it’s a huge blessing to savor the representative

gratitude of one young father, husband, doctor, and son. He was on his

way to becoming a statistic, simply a rounding error to add to the

estimated three hundred thousand souls who had by then already been lost

at sea as Vietnamese boat people.

Often, this is what life is like. We do our one part, we respond to an

inner prompting of the heart and provide a helping hand—a touch, a word,

a gift, and we have no idea how the story of that life ends. We never

learn the rest of the story. Granted, the story isn’t usually as

dramatic as Vinh’s—certainly my own story is not, though someone I’ll

never meet provided the scholarship which allowed me to finish college

summa cum laude and land a great corporate job that fed my young family

and gave me skills and clarity of purpose which I employ every day.

And perhaps I’ll even take a moment to thank God for those people like

Vinh, those I’ve personally or vicariously been able to somehow touch,

bless, and strengthen on their journey, often without even knowing them.

The apostle Paul encourages us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we shall reap a harvest if we do not give

up.” (Gal 6:9)

Giving thanks isn’t just a way to honor God by recalling our own life’s

blessings, but also an opportunity to encourage ourselves by recalling

the privilege God has given us of helping others in our own outpourings

of time, talent and treasure. And what a great way to not grow weary in

doing good!

Who knows—maybe a long ago passerby or someone you or I haven’t even

met, like Vinh, will be thanking God this week for a decisive impact in

their life in which we had a hand.

Understanding that, Vinh’s story is a Thanksgiving gift to us all.

2011-11-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

Monday again

2011-11-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

Started a new job today, nice drive up coast showed some decent windswell this morning but water quality after the rain was questionable and I had work to do.

11.20.2011

2011-11-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

Cloudy, rain imminent,weak windswell. Good day to relax and count our blessings.

downtime

2011-11-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

No work today, not much surf either, been weak for days but I took the longboard out for some peace and exercise. Got the weekend off to a good start

Sunday morning 11.13

2011-11-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

glorious morning, sunny, warm, caught a few really fun waves, headed home really grateful

storm surf

2011-11-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hard to be in the right spot and bone-chilling cold winds. I just took pics this morning

backlit

2011-11-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Nice afternoon at HB, had to hurry home without surfing as in-laws are in town.

Sunday 11.6

2011-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Cold and rainy air temp 49 with sideshores. I paddled out but southwinds messed things up quickly.

11.5.11

2011-11-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

after the rain of yesterday comes a short period windswell

11.3.11

2011-11-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

Nice surf time after work, watched the sun set and then headed home to the family, feeling blessed.

Surprised

2011-10-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

The forecast called for ankle-knee highs but I was surprised to find plenty of fun stuff. I`d dusted off the longboard and had more fun than I deserve. Grateful for the beautiful morning.

Autumn Friday

2011-10-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

I missed out on yesterdays fun, but made up for it this morning, the high tide made for a kinder, gentler session but still great fun on a gorgeous day.

golden

2011-10-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

Time change

2011-10-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Daylight savings time can end any day now as far as I`m concerned. Cold and grey this AM with headlights still on at 7am. The weatherman teases with talk of warming trend and offshore potential later in the week.

pre-dawn

2011-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

The sun doesn`t even come up till 6:45 these days. I was on the pier before sunrise , guys in the water riding meager swell by pier lights.I had a concrete truck coming early so left for work before the sun broke the horizon

October afternoon

2011-10-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Not much surf but wanted to get out anyway just to wash off the stress, an hour of this and I felt much better

Sat.10.15

2011-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Still big swell in the water but not very user-friendly, lot`s of walls with enough side current to carry you from 56th to the Huntington pier.

Harvest time

2011-10-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

It pays to have a flexible work schedule this time of year so you can get out on days like this!

double click the pic and go fullscreen

Dale K`s remote controlled flying camera

2011-10-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

heat waves

2011-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

Not much surf this morning, but great conditions and 95 degrees in town said "go surf"

fat moon

2011-10-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Warm pre-dawn darkness, fat full moon setting at the west end of my street, I called it a "late start " day at work and got a few waves early. Fully blessed by a beautiful morning. ( Surf was inconsistent and fading on the rising tide.

salty 10.11.11

2011-10-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

10.09.11

2011-10-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

A goood start to another beautiful day, surf was weaker and the swell is dropping out but I still have to be grateful for mornings like this.

Morning Glory

2011-10-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Amazing October morning, so beautifully created, so grateful to just be in the water. The light crowd, good combo swell, and light offshores were a bonus. I even got a nice left barrel. Thanks Lord!

Friday 10.7.11

2011-10-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Slow at work, sunny warm day, surf report sounded promising so I blew the day off and went surfing. Good for the mental health.

rain day

2011-10-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

Rain and winds all morning while working, called it a "rain day" at lunch, only to have the sun come out and the winds lay down. I made the best of the situation.

Change of scene

2011-10-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Left Newports fading swell and redtide diarrhea for a couple days in the Sierra with my Dad. I really like to visit up here but will be back in the water Monday

Thursday combo

2011-09-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Swell from 3 directions, came together nicely for awhile. Wind crumbled it mid-morning and redtide made for the brownest water I `ve surfed in a long time.I`m glad I got a little surf time, regardless.

9/28

2011-09-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Waiting on swell from Hilary, small combo looked fun but I had work to do.

first Fall afternoon

2011-09-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

Long day at work called for an afternoon therapy session

Fall`s almost here

2011-09-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

These are shots from an offshore event last Oct. Looking forward to some more of this. ( Fall starts on Friday 9/23 )

summer`s gone

2011-09-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

The last day of summer felt more like May gray or June gloom, I paddled out for awhile this afternoon to say goodbye to Summer, hoping the ledgy chop would give up a nice section or two. I got pitched a few times and chased some wobbly closeouts but the water felt nice and the exercise was good for the head.
Bring on Fall !!

late morning

2011-09-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Conditions early were kind of funky so I went to work instead. After a few hours at work my perspective changed and it didn`t seem so bad after all. Got in an hour of fun before lunch. The last Saturday of summer looked more like winter.

Russell

2011-09-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

The local surf population turned out to memorialize Robert " Russell" Brown this morning, a major figure in Newport surf history. He always made real clean boards and it seemed as tf everyone in town rode one. It`s sad to know he`s gone and his friends sent up many prayers for his family.

looked fun

2011-09-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

looked ok, high tide and backwash made me decide to keep working awhile, wind came up before I could get back to it.

Wed morning

2011-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

surf had some texture by the time the tide started to fill in but the water is warmer and there were some inconsistent sets, mostly walled but every now and then, a good one. High tide swamped it mid-morning

old jpeg files

2011-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday perspective 9/11

2011-09-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Blessed to be up and out early, another day of great beauty.Thanks Lord!

9/11/11

2011-09-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Transcript of President Bush's Prayer Service Remarks

National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the

Victims Of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001

Washington National Cathedral

September 14, 2001

We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.

On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes and bent steel.

Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning. They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life. They are the names of people who faced death and in their last moments called home to say, be brave and I love you.

They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers and prevented the murder of others on the ground. They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States and died at their posts.

They are the names of rescuers -- the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others. We will read all these names. We will linger over them and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.

To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone.

Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.

War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder.

This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing.

Our purpose as a nation is firm, yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed and lead us to pray. In many of our prayers this week, there's a searching and an honesty. At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, on Tuesday, a woman said, "I pray to God to give us a sign that he's still here."

Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing.

God's signs are not always the ones we look for. We learn in tragedy that his purposes are not always our own, yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral are known and heard and understood.

There are prayers that help us last through the day or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey, and there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.

This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end, and the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn.

It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves.

This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded and the world has seen that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave.

We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion, in long lines of blood donors, in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible. And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end and at the side of his quadriplegic friend. A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter. Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down 68 floors to safety.

A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burned victims. In these acts and many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another and in an abiding love for our country.

Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called, "the warm courage of national unity." This is a unity of every faith and every background. This has joined together political parties and both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils and American flags, which are displayed in pride and waved in defiance. Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.

America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender, and the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.

On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.

As we've been assured, neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth can separate us from God's love.

May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country.

God bless America.

Dales flying camera

2011-09-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Met Dale Kobetech on the beach this morning, the underwater camera housings he makes are among the best made and his photography work is excellent ( like his tidepool/sunset shot at the bottom) Today he was testing a remote controlled flying platform for his Canon 7D. He spoke excitedly about flying it just ahead of the feathering lip of 8' Rincon in the clean morning light.When he makes that happen it should be amazing.

9.10.11

2011-09-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning saw rain, hail, lightning ,distant thunder and messy surf conditions but it was a wonderful weather display out on the beach.

nice afternoon

2011-09-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Every day is a gift, but there`s something special about a Sept. afternoon like today, after a hot day working.

summer winding down?

2011-09-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

Finally real hot this week, had to get away from work to cool off ( water`s cold -62?) The SW swell direction is pretty sectiony but I`m not gonna complain. I count myself blessed to just get in the water today

after Labor Day...

2011-09-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

School`s back in session, warm breeze walking through the canyon, uncrowded surf. Nice way to start the week.

Sunday 9/4

2011-09-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

sheltered

2011-09-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

Went looking for some shelter from the relentless walls and paddling, nice afternoon to start the long weekend.

SW to start Sept.

2011-09-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

mostly walled and the hightide got backwashy, but it had its moments. I worked all day,but will get some tomorrow...

8/31 54-56

2011-08-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

glassy-overcast-hightide-backwashy-crowded-building swell-I had to work

gopro

2011-08-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure out the GoPro, range is pretty close and water spots on the lens are a problem , but I`m having fun learning. The surf was better than expected this morning and the crowd was light now that some of the schools are back in.

Sunday-late August

2011-08-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Another pretty morning, going to get hot today, semi walled south but still had more fun than I deserve

not great.... but great

2011-08-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Daybreak at the river didn`t look like much ,a weak jumble of swells from all over the map, but I`d told myself I was surfing "no matter what". Once out there I was glad I`d come, the surf wasn`t much but the water was warm, the hazy sunrise was pretty and every so often a decent shoulder to ride.
One shoulder high backhander rolled my way and I was pleased to enjoy its energy as it kept popping up all silvery in front of me as I squinted into the rising sun. I heard myself say Thanks Lord as I turned out the back.The wave wasn`t much but it was a nice gift I`m glad I was there to receive.

summer evening cooldown

2011-08-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Nice cool evening, too much wind to surf but nice for watching the sun go down.

summer heat

2011-08-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

Clear and warm from early on, too bad the surf`s so weak. I`ll body surf this evening just to get wet.

all work,no play

2011-08-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Surf`s been sucky lately and I`ve got a backyard firepit/ BBQ/ patio deal to finish before Labor Day. When the swell picks up I`ll find a way to squeeze it in.

Start the weekend...

2011-08-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

Wed 8/17

2011-08-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

I couldn`t get away from responsibilities this morning to surf local. Went to Uppers in the afternoon., not as good as Newp this AM

Monday evening

2011-08-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

new state campground

2011-08-15T15:45:00.001-07:00

Sunday 8/14

2011-08-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Didn`t go out this morning (low tide walls), felt good to just walk the beach and relax. Thank you Lord for weekends.

blacks beach-saturday morning

2011-08-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Friday cell phone-foto`s

2011-08-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

1/2 day at work with a surf on the way home. Nice end to the week . I`m experiencing a heightened sense of how lucky we are to live in So cal