winter surf is...

i love days like this... the reward for sticking it out, here in oregon, where the earth has tilted her face away from the sun, we find ourselves even more grateful for the beauty of solar energy, the star, the beginning of all weather, translated into waveforms in the water.... the ultimate gift for those who live with open eyes and who are not afraid of cold fingers and 5mm wetsuits.

you could not go wrong these last few days, crystal clear skies, lines to the horizon, smiling famililar faces in the ocean, pods of sea lions barking in the line up (unknown friends beneath the surface of course, but they are always there, watching us...), perfect a-frames and glassy faces, all manor of wave craft flying down the line, smiles on every countenance. this is what it is all about. we know that there are warmer places and that all of these oceans are connected. we are surfing indonesia and india and africa, just one big body of water dotted by continents.

i found a place in the coast range. ken kesey would be jealous. lots of quiet, and only about 30 miles from my favorite break on the central coast. no longer do i have to live out of the back of a toyota station wagon. soon, i can start shaping the next board!

even when the beach breaks are too big, there are hidden gems like this one. i have been logging all kinds of hours on the karmic voyager and any number of single fin boards shaped by the hand of people more expert than myself.

surf to surf, not to be seen.