I just wanted to thank New York times travel writer Chris Dixon for including us in a recent article in The New York Times. You can read the story here.
Archive for June, 2007
Jenn Butler and I thought it was about time we get all of the Wahine’s together again so we pulled off our fifth Figure 8 Wahine Day at Paula Bushardt’s beach house. (Figure 8 is a private island just north of Wrightsville Beach, NC).
We had a great turnout with about 30 girls of all abilities and all ages. There were many different types of boards ridden too, ranging from Barbara Corey’s virgin blow up raft/sponge to Devon Plumer’s beastly longboard. A good time was had by all in the 1-2ft. surf which was actually rideable. Chris and Julian, a couple of local photographers, were kind enough to come out and take pictures. A big thanks goes out to those guys, especially for making the waves look bigger than they were and also for hanging out in the nearly unbearable heat. (Check out the photo of Leilani Pickett ripping up the small surf!)
As always, Paula gets a big thanks for letting us use the house for the day. I really enjoyed our pre-surf coffee clutch with her and a few others. We just sat around the table, reminisced, and got caught up in the “now”.
It is always a pleasure to meet new people and to catch up with some long time friends. I look forward to doing it again! It makes the flat days a little more bearable.
Here are a couple of links to the photos:
http://sports.webshots.com/album/559412229CQWMMg?vhost=sports
It’s summer time, the busiest time at the beach so now is a good time to post a piece I recently wrote for a local magazine. 
A Crash Course in Surf Etiquette
You grab that brand new board, wax it, and head to the busiest break in town. You paddle right into the thick of things, the middle of the line up, not a care in the world, just a big grin. You don’t even notice the “stink eye†Mister Pro Wannabe is giving you. All you know is that you made it out through all the flying bodies and boards, totally oblivious to the fact that those bodies and boards were flying because you didn’t have a clue as to where to paddle out, or how to get out of the way.
Whether you are just learning to surf or are an accomplished surfer, there are some unspoken rules to abide by when in the line up. Following these rules will help you avoid the situation described above. The rules of surfing are called “Surf Etiquette.†Take some with you the next time you paddle out. You will probably have more fun.
Here are some of the rules to get you started: Continue reading ‘Surf Etiquette’
One Winter Story is a documentary film about big wave surfer Sarah Gerhardt and her passion and struggles of riding giant Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. One Winter Story has received several awards and nominations including Best Film at the International Surf Film Festival in St. Jean De Luz, France and Audience’s Favorite Film at the 4th Annual Ocean Film Festival in San Francisco. Filmakers Sally Lundburg and Elizabeth Pepin will be guest speakers at the Scene First Student Film Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina, also known as the Sundance for Student Filmmakers. The pair will screen One Winter Story and discuss their filmmaking. The talk and screening is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at: http://www.scenefirstfestival.com
Barry Leftovers, Clean Water Classic, Figure 8
Published by June 5th, 2007 in Anne's Archives and General. 1 CommentI hope everyone got a little something from TS Barry. Looks like the northeast is still getting some fun surf. Virginia Beach photographer Tom Casella just sent this photo of Lindsey Bowman going for a cover-up. You can check out the rest of his images from today’s swell on his website.
I spent my weekend out on the coast of Washington state at the Clean Water Classic- the event is a huge fundraiser for the Pacific Northwest chapters of the Surfrider Foundation. The contest was headlined by Global Surf Industries. I’m sure many of you remember last year’s One Design divisions at the East Coast Wahine Champs- well those boards were also donated by GSI. I had the pleasure of meeting GSI president Mark Kelly. He came to the event all the way from Australia and brought a whole crew of GSI peeps including former world champion longboarder Bonga Perkins (he’s on the cover of this month’s Longboard Magazine) and legendary longboard shaper Steve Walden.
Did I mention the water was cold? I had to wear a 5.4.3, booties, hood, and gloves! I haven’t worn gloves in a long time and I have to say I got a little nervous when the seals were swimming by. I felt like I may be mistaken for one! The waves were fun though, but the fog made it hard for the judges to see the contestants and hard for the contestants to see the flags. But I think all in all everyone had a great time. The Saturday night party was lots of fun. You should have seen all the schwag they were giving away! It got me excited for the ECWC. It’s going to be here real soon.
And don’t forget, this weekend is Figure 8 Wahine Day, if you haven’t already RSVP’d on the forum, you still have a couple of days to do so. Wish I could be there to see everyone, but I’ll be visiting family in Richmond, VA.
-Anne
Tropical Storm Barry is on his way to Florida, taking much needed rain with him. The only real threats from this tropical storm are the possible spawning of tornadoes and some flooding. The good news is, there is going to be some short period wind swell, nothing epic, just some decent sized shifty peaks, probably around 5 ft. in the Gulf through Saturday. Then as Barry makes landfall over Central Florida he’ll leave behind a little 4-5ft. surf that may only last a few hours Saturday. A few bigger sets will roll in as well. The wind will be on it so don’t look for anything real clean and when it does go offshore the size will diminish considerably. At least there will be a little something for you “Secret Lighters”.
Southern North Carolina starts seeing a little swell late Saturday and gets the goods on Sunday with surf about 6-8ft with Southeast winds turning NW later in the day. It looks about the same for the Outer Banks and VA Beach. Get it while it’s here because it won’t last long.
SC sees a little smaller swell in the 4-5′ range on Sunday as well.
 The Northeast scores with this one with overhead surf head surf Monday and then it’s gone.
All in all, it looks like it will be worth getting wet up and down the east coast, even if it’s only for a day.
It looks we may have a small wave for the Life Rolls on Event tomorrow. I’ll have a report on that sometime tomorrow after the event. I’m stoked about doing it again, that’s for sure!
Rollerblading is looking pretty good right now
Published by June 1st, 2007 in General and Rachel's northeast notes!. 2 Comments
Hey everyone! A little note from the Northeast: the east coast goes flat in the summer for very long periods of time. It’s so depressing! We have been scrounging for weeks now for anything ridable. After a while, you get so tired of trying to surf a knee to waist high wave that you just stop checking the waves. At least the water is warming up. I am down to a 3/2 (maybe no booties, I’ll have to see next time I surf. Most people are not wearing them anymore but my little piglets are sensitive).Â
With the major lack of surf (all the while I am trying to prepare for my big summer trip to Indonesia and Western Australia), what can one do to stay fit for surfing? I would love for everyone to start a thread following this message with tips or advice. Here’s my own training regimen (which I do sporadically and in no particular order): Running is always great for cardiovascular, especially sprinting to help with that quick sprint to not get caught inside (I’ll admit, I do not often do sprints but I should), practicing on an Indo board or any balance board, paddling in the flatness of the Atlantic and taking out my surf deprivation induced anger on it, then there’s the gym. I hate to pay to work out but the yoga classes and weights are amazing for my surfing. Because I have strong running legs, I usually work my upper body including lats, shoulders, chest, biceps, and triceps. If you don’t belong to a gym, just do sit ups and push ups or even practice pop-ups which I stil do from time to time. In the end, surfing is what will improve your surfing the most but it’s important to stay fit during the flat times so that the next time there is a great swell, you don’t get tired after an hour or two. Happy training and happy summer to everyone!