Saturday, December 29, 2007

A Year in Sissyland

December 06
I have to start my year with a trip to mainland Mexico in December. I know it's not technically this year, but since 12/07 was a bust, I'm going to count this shot taken by my wife of a set wave at La Lancha among my greatest moments between Decembers.

January 07
It snowed so much last January that I white-knuckled the whole drive over the coastal range. The road was a sheet of ice, and we pushed forward, finally stopping in Cannon Beach (not being able to drive south to PC until the roads warmed up the next morning). I snapped this shot from the snowy beach the next day.

February 07
This was one of those sessions where, for some reason, there was nobody out midday at a very well known break. It was Sunday and I remember wondering if the Superbowl was on. Just three friends in the rain, sunbreaks, decent waves, and a rainbow to boot. Let the gay pride cracks rip.

March 07
Same place as the above drawing, except much bigger. We were surfing a hollow grinder along the shore all day and when we paddled in, noticed that the outer bar had started firing. Again... not too many dudes out, for some reason.

April 07
This was a drawing from a great day where I skied (for the first time in my life) paddled a river, and surfed in the same day. We called the water-fueled marathon "Spring Runoff" and documented it on film for the new outdoor apparel company Nau. It was really cool to teach somebody to surf who had taught me how not to be a "gaper" earlier in the day.

May 07
Ah. My little jewel. The Mandala Winged-D 2+1. When I ordered it I asked Manny to make something that could handle bigger, steeper waves than my 5'8 quad. He sold me on the design when he said, "People may think this board looks funny as you're walking down the beach, but you'll have the last laugh when you take off way outside spray them from 50 feet away."

June 07
I was cruising through my blogroll when I made my usual stop at Surfy Surfy. It was there that I found out Sissyfish had been featured in an article in my favorite magazine The Surfer's Journal (thanks for the subscription Mom and Dad!). JP, who wrote the piece, wondered in the article if I'd ever score. I promptly emailed him and told him that by including me in the illustrious mag, he had ensured that I did. I was psyched.

July 07
Nicaragua. The most challenging surf trip I've ever been on. The powerful waves there claimed two of my boards very quickly (including the aforementioned Mandala), leaving me to paddle into some serious surf on my trusty little fish. This pic is of one of those "oh shit" moments that makes for good bar story.

August 07
After a few weeks of small swell, a group of friends were reunited for a session in Pacific City. The waves were great: peaks everywhere, sun shining. We surfed until the sun went down and I took this picture of a moonlit sea that whispered of a great autumn to come.

September 07
There's a popular break in our neck of the woods that "core" surfers just love to hate. I learned to surf there, and it has remained one of my favorite spots. Maybe it has something to do with the long lefts that roll through midweek in the autumn.

October 07
Surfing with friends. That's what this blog is really all about. This fall we seemed to get some of the biggest, cleanest waves of any season since I started four years ago. It's always great to share those moments with your best chums.

November 07
My second to last surf session of the year was a macking day at Smuggler's Cove where I hesitated to even attempt the paddle through the shorebreak. When I finally did, I was rewarded with some of my biggest waves there. I shot this as I packed up to leave.

December 07
Nico dropped into our lives in November, and I spent the whole month of December getting to know the little feller. I haven't seen the ocean since his arrival, and I can't say that I've had much time to miss it. More challenging than any wave, he's my greatest treasure... but I can't wait to go searching for treasures again in the sea!



Animal Collective - Peacebone

Friday, December 28, 2007

Rock & Roll Windansea



This short was arguably the biggest hit of the first Sissyfish Surf Movie Night. A visual feast of pot smoke, fist fights, teeny bikinis, short shorts (on the girls too), mullets, guitar licks, and sunburned shoulders. Oh yeah, there's some soul-arching surf footage in there as well... Found it on R. Kenvin's Youtube channel - In the spirit of New Year's Eve, push the play button and get the party started!

Ratt - Round and Round

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas

I was just wondering why people can't act like it's the holiday season year round. Good food, family, being kind "because it's that time of year." All the wacky, silly consumerism aside, Christmas is a pretty cool time of year. Hope you enjoy however you spend the holidays and New Year.

Catch a couple good ones for me!

Donde Esta Santa Claus?

Monday, December 17, 2007

Flatter, Fatter, Faster

Casper Jr., the Friendly Hull.


I just received this great video link from Kirk at Consafos Press: Richard Kenvin ripping Rincon last week on a hull/fish hybrid based on scaled down version of the Simmons dual-keeled planing hull. I believe the first version of this board, the original Casper, was called "The Pocket Protector" and you can see why in this video. The board is short and square-tailed, but -- like I discovered in my own limited way on a traditional hull -- moves in perfect synch with the wave's sweet spot. Unlike classic hulls though, I hear that these boards work in a wider range of conditions... Shaped by Joe Bauguess and Larry Mabile, there may (or may not) be some of these in the works through the Swift Movement. All I know for sure is that it looks one "hull" of a good time!





P.S. Fsacto, long lost director of my five minutes of fame, proved how small a world it truly is by sending me the above photos he shot the same day. Is that Joe Curren or Kenvin again?
Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Dropping Lines

I just got this great new pen from my neighbor and Squiggly Studios partner Jud. Of course the first thing I drew after dipping its massive nib into the ink well was a surfer decked out in oily 5mm, grabbing rail and locking into a nice Pacific Northwest slab. You can read more about the pen my other post HERE.

Bowie and Bing - Little Drummer Boy

Monday, December 10, 2007

Kouple of Kooks


The first Sissyfish movie night went off without a hitch. A few old friends stopped by and a few new friends were made. It looks like this event could become a regular thing, so watch this space for the next announcement.

Halfway through the evening OS, who helped organize the evening, pulled out a big box of t-shirts and handed them to me. With some reconnaissance by my wife (who ransacked my computer for art) he made a bunch of shirts using the controversial graphic from the infamous t-shirt post a couple months ago. There was even a small onesy in there for Nico. You'll notice that they didn't put the spot name below the drawing, thereby keeping it "mysto."

I have 25 of them. The idea is that, instead of contributing to my birthday board fund, OS wanted to give me a chance to sell the shirts and maybe make a bigger dent in cost of a stick for bigger waves. I'm lucky to have friends who believe in my artwork. I'll do another post soon on sizes and how to get one, if anybody is interested.

Don't worry Gaz, you get the last freebee. Actually, Writer gets one too, since he was probably more profoundly moved by the concept than anyone else.

In the top picture above, I'm teaching Nico how to throw a shaka. In the second, he almost looks like he's getting the hang of it. Yeah. We're kooks for life.

David Bowie - Kooks
"...Will you stay in our lovers' story
If you stay you won't be sorry
'Cause we believe in you
Soon you'll grow so take a chance
With a kouple of kooks
Hung up on romancing

We bought a lot of things
to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry
I bought you a pair of shoes
A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people
when they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kooky too..."

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

DOWN IN FRONT: Sissyfish Surf Movie Night


Hey Portland Surf Massive!

I'm hosting a surf movie night Friday, partly in honor of my birthday last week and partly because I need a few beers with a few bros. Last summer I hatched all kinds of plans to do a movie night at a bar, but it never materialized. Probably because I was too busy surfing. Now, more than ever, I need a little stoke injection.

Among the films I've rounded up for the event are:

Waterlogged
Glass Love
Thread
Rare Windansea footage from the 1970s
Swift Movement Goodies
...And a very secret, "I-swear-you've-never-seen-this" PDX premiere...
(We'll see how many we can get through.)

Also on display will the coveted, one-of-a-kind Sissyfish book of drawings (a gift from my wife). And, as an added bonus, Nau--the great green outdoor company--will be giving away some swag. How could you miss it?

The bonanza starts Friday, December 7th at 7pm at the lovely bar Leisure in NoPo.

Leisure (click for map)
8002 N. Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97203
503/ 289.7606

Let me know if you're stopping by...