Point break during Kyle

We surfed this spot (about 50 feet to the left of this shot) as it broke into a wide bay. Some guys were surfing the true “point” at the top killing it. Beautiful secret wave.

The weekend’s breakdown went something like..

  • Saturday AM –  Sick right point break head high waves.. us + 3 dudes. (photo above)
  • Saturday PM – Another new right point break (photo from last year) into a bay.. only me and Johan surfing – super long ride.
  • Sunday AM – met Jes and leather at the wall – ridiculous overhead – my best technical riding ever
  • Sunday PM – new left point break – shoulder high

Kyle rolls through

One more fall weekend .. one more massive swell to chase down.

Kyle is rolling up the eastern seaboard and should be bringing some HEAVY swell along with it. We’ll be out once again (how many weekends is this now ?! when do I get to sleep in again ??) and bringing back a report to our semi-landlocked loved ones and friends.

Early Sunday especially looks truly ridiculous and probably out of my skill range — 9ft+ @ 12 secs with solid straight offshore wind.

“Sunday:
N of the Cape – medium SE swell with periods of 12-14 seconds peaks in the late morning with some bigger sets.
Cape – large SE swell with periods of 12-14 seconds at dawn slowly drops to low-end medium size by dark.
S of the Cape – large SE swell with periods of 12-14 seconds at dawn slowly drops to low-end medium size by dark.

SIZE LEGEND:
Medium: chest to well overhead.
Large: double overhead plus.” — NESURF

Least I’m in the best shape of my life (easily).

http://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/hampton-new-hampshire.html

HBO in Canada

We like HBO a lot. Who doesn’t? Flight of the Conchords and Entourage are two of the better shows on TV. One of the easiest ways to watch HBO in Canada is through the Movie Network which offers limited HBO tacked onto one of it’s 5 “movie channels”.

Seems a deal has been reached to add a 6th (?) channel which will be dedicated to only HBO shows – not sure who they plan to get around the Canadian content laws since no HBO content is Canadian as far as I know …

“After walking away with the lion’s share of Primetime Emmys at the television industry’s annual awards show Sunday, U.S. cable juggernaut HBO is preparing to set foot in Canada for the first time as a standalone network.

The move, through an agreement with Corus Entertainment Inc. and Astral Media Inc., ends years of negotiations to bring HBO to Canada as a full-fledged channel. A select number of HBO’s most popular series, such as The Sopranos and The Wire, have been offered in Canada on pay-TV over the years, but the network has never been afforded a dedicated space on the dial.

Under federal rules, The Movie Network and Movie Central are required to devote about 25 per cent of overall air time, and 35 per cent of prime time, to Canadian content, which will also apply to the HBO Canada schedule.” — Globe and Mail

O yea… And I created that logo up top — I should sell them the idea. ;-)

Last days of summer

Been pretty damn busy between work and the seemingly endless trips to the ocean. Hard to count the weekend days i’ve been in the city over the past 2 months.

We scored again last weekend with solid glassy 3-5 foot swell, warm sunshine and decent water temps. I don’t have time to write up the full report but photos will be up some time this week. Mackenzie (left) and Jes (right) were aboard this mission and they both had a lot of fun. I scored my longest ride to date and some of my most “in control” riding.

Next weekend looks interesting to say the least. Right now the virtual buoys have Saturday pegged between 20 to an astounding 50 feet. We’ll be heading down to see if all that craziness results in some rideable waves somewhere sheltered.

Bookmarks for September 9th through September 17th

Bookmarks

Some links for September 9th through September 17th…

Plank looking for HTML/Production help

In Montréal and looking for a job at a great Web production company — or maybe you know someone to FWD this along to? We’ve been VERY busy working on some great jobs (a bunch I can’t talk about yet), and we’re in need of help…

We need help! Again! — by Plank
Plank is actively looking to add to our Montreal-based team. Are you young and eager and looking for experience? We are looking for a junior production person with basic knowledge of internet / digital design, programming, and integration. We need someone who can complement our team and is interested in working on exciting projects, generally in the fields of entertainment, technology and social action.

Your tasks will include:

  • Simple graphic production;
  • Building website templates;
  • Website maintenance.

Our Expectations
We’re looking for someone fun! But seriously, you should have the following:

  • 0-2 years of related experience;
  • Willingness to work locally in our Montreal office;
  • Proficiency with Photoshop & Illustrator;
  • Knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP;
  • Be passionate about all things digital.

We are a close knit team that continues to grow, and we’d love to meet you to see if we can squeeze you in. We want you to be part of our team for a long time to come. We offer a competitive salary, normal business hours, a comprehensive health and dental plan, and a great work environment. Act now! While there’s room.

If you think you would like to be part of the team, please email your CV, portfolio and cover letter to warren@plankdesign.com. If you would like to learn more about us, please surf around our site. We hope you’ll join us!” — http://www.plankdesign.com/en/blog/posts/need_help_again

Get even more of a taste… Flickr Plank Group | Twitter Plank

Hanna report

Last weekend we went chasing Hurricane Hanna and waves that would surely come along with her up the East coast. We got down Friday night pretty late and passed out. I brought my fish and my longboard, Johan his fish and a semi-gun.

Saturday was mixed bag. Foggy, which burned away in afternoon, with mixed swell direction and sets in the AM. We surfed the Wall. No serious swell yet (3-4 feet on the sets) but the directly offshore wind keep it fairly clean and help hold up some of the waves. It was a longboard day (75% of the people out had longboards) and Johan suffered a bit but had fun and got some fun rides.

By 5pm we were up at Jennes sitting out at the storm pipe. Couple other people out – including a stoked dad and his two young kids. He couldn’t surf but was out there supporting his boys and hooting everyone into waves — excellent.

As the rain started to pour down the sets started to grow. Couple good waves rolled through at stomach to shoulder height but bumpy and a bit all over the place. We all marveled as the rain would pick up; beat down on the ocean flattening everything out, so you could see the wild sets rolling towards you, and creating a dark mist over the ocean. One of those strange scenes you really can’t imagine unless you’ve sat out in the midst of it.

Caught one wave which started off a bit meek but allowed me to catch the reform where I got both feet way up in front on my board with my hand on the wave face just cooking into an eventual closeout. Probably surfed a bit too hard considering we all knew the day of days would be Sunday. Stoked is stoked — hard to back it off when you’re having fun.

Rained cats and dogs on Saturday night. The hurricane passed by the coast quickly. The rain was so loud that you could no longer hear the individual raindrops; just the roar of water hitting the tarp above us (thank god for ear-plugs and having a huge tarp that covers the whole tent plus some more space).

Sunday we woke up to clearing skies (that was fast ?!) and straight lined for the wall. No breakfast – no coffee – nothing! Pulled up to witness solid 5-7+ foot peaky swell pumping into the beach. Lots of spots breaking with the swell direction.

Johan and I paddled out while Eric and Linda decided to head up to Jennes to find some less imposing and less crowded conditions. The wind was howling offshore. On my fish I found catching any wave really tough. It was a question of the wind holding me off the critical part of the drop, and not wanting to sit to far inside. I kinda blew it – not catching anything in an hour session. Bummed. Thankfully Johan caught a couple on his newly waxed fun gun board. I watched a long boarder take off on the biggest wave (well OH) I’ve ever seen right beside me. He had that early paddle in to slo-mo ultra drop that you could just tell was a pro-level ride as he rode down / disappeared behind the lip towards shore. Also saw the most number of barreled rides I’d ever seen while out in the lineup.

By 10am we made our way up to Jennes to meet up with Eric and Linda. Paddled out at Jennes on my longboard and spent a solid 2+ hours catching some bombs. Had a first with a backside ride to front side cutback (!) and some solid shoulder to head high front side rides.

The swell quality just kept getting better and better – backing off in size by a foot or so but making up for it in general cleanness and quality of each wave. We made our way back down the wall, after some needed food and coffee, and surfed a new spot (called Ahoo) at the South end of a beach. A solid 5+ foot wave right breaking wave with only 5-6 other guys out. One of those spots that only light up with a solid swell. Caught my very first overhead wave, my first frontside to backside cutback and had a ton of quality rides. Also some of the most beautiful waves I’ve ever surfed — clear, green and minimal texture.

Lots of our crew where either unable to make it or traveling and, don’t tell them but, they really missed out. Vinnie and Ryo had found there way even further south to Rockaway and other parts of NYC to score what they said as some of the best waves from the past 3 years.

Thanks Hanna for one of the best sessions of my life. Here’s hoping that this is only the beginning of a great fall.

Tons of photos here | Johan’s shots | Great video I found on Youtube

The Daily Stoke

Michael Arnot and his crew down in NYC have been putting together some “Daily stoke” for all of us. He’s an avid surfer and he has some connections back to Montreal. The project also has a great side to it with a “a large chunk of the profits to Surfrider”.

They recently had an article on the excellent longboard Johan made for me…

“Photo here is from Stevey.com – where Canadian shredder/web designer Steve Bissonnette has published a gallery of photos of his 9’6″ log getting loved and shaped and loved some more. You should watch the slideshow of the board being created, here.”

Check it out here. Keep up the stoke Michael !!