A Successful Weekend In Leucadia

Unknown enjoying the view.

Kirk dropping into a clean green wall.

Erik grabbing rail with composure while the rest of us sit and stare.

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

What started out as a disappointment to many who dusted off their rounded pin tails in anticipation for a huge swell ended up to be a very clean and fun swell with the most beautiful weather. The sunsets over the weekend were second to none and the waves, although they weren't huge like predicted, more than made up for it with clean and glassy conditions.  These shots give you a feeling of what it was like in the evening.  If you were out you know how good it was.

Photos courtesy of David Gray

Dave Rastafinish O'FISHL 3.5" side fin by Chris Miller

Here is the most well thought out fin we have had to date. Chris Miller and long time lover of the Leucadia rights sent me this fin and the letter below. Enjoy.

The inspiration for this came from shear boredom while cleaning my garage cabinets (while listening to Burning Spear).  O'FISHL 3.5" side fin.  I call this fin "Dave Rastafinish" in salute to these ocean users.  

Dave:  for the talented local photographer Dave Gray.
Rasta: for Rastafari, reggae music and incredible wave rider Dave Rastavich (Ed's hero).
Fish: rhymes with Vich, for O'Fishl fins and for Ed's fascination with everything Fish related.
The fin is also a reminder of my old, all-time favorite Murphy 9'-0" - always waiting for me in Guerrero, Mex.
 
I pray my surfing abilities outweigh my art "skills"!

Dugan's Memorial

Click Image to Enlarge Photos

Dugan's memorial went off beautifully today. I was honored to be there to witness it. You could feel how much love there is for a man who touched so many lives. This past week has been a blur but now that the memorial is over I can't really believe that he is gone. I really expect to see him out again. I guess that is why we have memories. Any time I want to see him, I can.

While at the memorial I got chills while watching the paddle out. It was hot, the surf was going off and the one guy who would have been drooling at this day wasn't there. Or was he? When the circle was formed and everyone had their hands together, a nice set rolled through. I could feel the energy of the moment and I could feel Dugan.

While I wasn't able to participate in the paddle I did get to spend that time taking in the energy and spending a very special moment with my daughter who is 3. As I looked at her, I thought about what type of guy I am and what sort of example I can be for her and my fellow surfers. I thought of Dugan and what he has done and felt that I had a good role model. I thank you for that, Dugan. Thank you for your lessons in life and thank you for your friendship to so many people.

Ed

Sunset Session

Erik... well, doing his thing.

Erik with a couple of nice off the lips.

Unknown but nice shot.

Unknown dragging hand.

Aaron on a nice back side wall.

David was down shooting for 3 hours today in the glaring sun to stoke out his friends. This is what he came back with. I know these guys are stoked. Thanks for the shots David!

A Day At The Beach, Leucadia Style

As I got out of the water today I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend and long time Grandview local Guy hanging out on the beach with his friend Shannon. When I walked up I was in shock by the level of comfort that he had provided for himself. I personally am lucky to get a towel to the beach.  But Guy brought a bedroom! Complete with sheet and pillows. Luckily Guy had his iPhone on his night stand so I was able to capture the moment.  If you didn't see it you wouldn't believe it. 

My ASL hat comes off to you Guy for your Leucadia ingenuity and pure love for your spot. I'd say that it doesn't get any more local then having your bedroom on the beach. Now, all you need now to do is pick up that iPhone and talk the Leucadia Pizzeria delivery kid into walking the food down to you so you can enjoy your brunch in bed. 

Llama Love Fin by Pepa Age 28

Here is another Fin from the Australian Gold Coast.  The Llama Love Fin is from Pepa Ivnoff who lived in Leucadia for years before returning home to Australia. If you know Pepa you know that she is an amazing artist and designer. I first meet her when she came to Leucadia for a holiday. She was a friend of a friend  who decided that she loved the place and moved here to work for JetPilot as a designer. From that point on she was a local. She surfed everyday and made lasting friendships with the natives.  Pep we will miss you here!

Here is the email that came with it.

hey ed!
sending you some llama love from the gold coast, i'm not a leucadia resident anymore but anne turned me on to your site and it looks great!
here's a llama fin for you....
waves have been really fun here for about a week now, been surfing currumbin alley on my fish almost every day.
warm, clear water, fun waves and lotsa sun, loving the australian summer!
-pepa

A Casper Is Coming To The Project

For those of you who get the Surfers Journal  you all read the article about the Bob Simmons board that was recreated by Joe Bauguess and lovingly called Casper. After reading about this board a back yard shaping room has been buzzing away to create a version of it. Here are a few photos from the creation process of such a board. Although the shaper, Hans Enyedi is from Newport his back yard boards have been trimming their way in the Leucadia line up for decades.  Hans, who has been shaping his own boards since the 70's, has been lovingly making seacraft for members of the Leucadia Navy.  His boards are called Flying Fish.

Hans, who is a firefighter by his day job, is a true craftsmen by passion. His attention to detail is amazing and he never lets a board go out that isn't the best he can do.  

The above board, when finished will be trimming our waters. We hope to get Erik Baldwin on it to see how it flies. 

Here is the email that came with the shots.

Ed, Thanks for the email! I started cutting on Casper today!!!! I couldn't keep myself from not touching it!!!! However, it is my interpretation of the simmons and I couldn't keep the end of the tail as full as the Hydrodynamica one by Joe Bauguess because the blank didn't lend itself to going fuller. I'm still fine tuning the template but right now it's 6'1" L, 18 1/8 NOSE, 23 HIPS, 19 TAIL, (Close to Joes' measurements.) Mine has a slight George Greenough influence on the trailing edge, very subtle arc like. If you have more curve in the template outline it will turn sharper and easier. I will get to making a exact Hydrodynamica when I get a EPS blank, and it will be 5'10". I'll send you a photo soon possibly tonight. I would love to take measurements of the Lis board if possible. I used to ride nothing but my own fishes copied after a Lis fish in High School and College. I know you are busy but I get so excited about surfing and shaping and you are another person who can appreciate my passion! Take care, get some waves, Hanso

Speed Dialers By Paige Age 4

Here is a cool set of fins I received all the way from Cherry Hill, NJ.  They are the first Speed Dialers we have had.  It puts a smile on my face to see the kids getting so inspired by this project and the parents who have fun with them while doing it.  Dad let me know that she liked the color of the fins so much that she wanted them overlaid.  I think it is a nice touch. I showed them to my own daughter and she was so inspired by them she wanted to do a new one.  This time she decided she needed to have Little Mermaid stamps as well. 

Black's in Black and White

In anticipation of the next big swell, David sent over these shots. My favorite is the first one. I love the angle as it looks so rideable, even at this size. David goes down to shoot Black's every huge swell and this one will be no different. So if you are out and you get the barrel of your dreams you might just end up on our site or a little known site called Surfline. 

Getting You Through The Week

If you are like me this latest flat spell has been good and bad. The bad news obviously is that what you rely on for your balance in life is not there.  The good news is that productivity in Leucadia has never been higher. I've talked with friends and have noticed that many of them have been spending their time wisely and have been doing their shopping, getting their art done and finishing up clients' work ahead of schedule.  For those of you who have been diligently working away while the surf has been small this post is for you.  With all your chores done you deserve the next round of surf that is heading our way.  In the meantime, here are a few shots from David to get you through the week.

Erik Takes On The McCoy Project

Last week Erik took on the project to restore the McCoy I rescued from the trash.  Erik is one of those guys who is good at everything and one of those things he does really well happens to be board repair. When he saw the board he fell in love with it.  Now the more time he spends with it the more he thinks of  surfing it.  Here is Erik doing the first step of the repair, cutting out all cancer and getting the board ready for some healing.  In the next few weeks I'm going to track his progress and at the end we'll see she rides. If anyone is interested in trying it out let us know.

More Cardiff Green

Here are a two shots from David that he sent me. They are a two shot sequence of which the second image made it up on Surfline.  He has been shooting at Cardiff lately in the evening and getting these amazing shots of the water glowing from the back lit sunset. I know you all have been out at sunset and have been mesmerized by the glow of the green wall in front of you. These images bring me back to that feeling. Click on them to enlarge and look at the detail. Enjoy.

Surf Art

Here is some surf art from my 6 year old nephew Austin from Japan.  He drew them while we were doing a Skype video session one day and I made his mom send them to me. When he showed me over the video you couldn't really make out exactly what they looked like. But when she sent them to me I was blown away. How he came up with these on his own I don't really know.  He doesn't have surf magazines lying around and doesn't get subliminally influenced by surf videos. However, he came up with them the result is amazing.  Obviously he is a surfer at heart. In somewhat of a vacuum he managed to draw some very interesting pictures of some very real surf moves complete with barrel shots, and even an off the top. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Dugan... We Will Miss You

Anyone who knew Dugan had respect for him.  He was a one of a kind sort of guy who was a living link to surfing's past.  For the past 12 years that I have surfed Grandview I have been both inspired and humbled by him.  On the days that I would wear a 4/3 he would trunk it. On the days that I was nervous to paddle out, he would be out at the crack of dawn (in trunks) taking off on the biggest sets.  On the small days when the surf was flat he would entertain me with stories of the places he's been and the people he met along the way.

Dugan was a true waterman, a living legend, and a friend to all he surfed with.  He lived life to the fullest and made a lot of friends along the way. Personally I will never forget him.  This world and our little surf spot he called home were better places for having him.

Good bye Dugan.  We will miss you.

Ed

Photos courtesy of John Costan.  The story of them is below.

Dugan was always and will always be the master of his universe, the
ocean. I am thankful for the opportunity to know him. I had the good
fortune of many fun sessions with him in the water.

This was a Fall day in 2006, cold water and a big swell. Dugan
trunking it, of course... as usual!! I happily had these printed and
presented to them to Dugan at Grandview. We agreed on payment of a
good wave, or two!

There will be a Celebration of Dugan's life Memorial Paddle out Scheduled for Sunday January the 18th, 12:00 noon.  Memorial will start at Ponto Beach and then be followed by a short walk to Grandview for the paddle out. Please pass this info on...For more information please contact 760-445-9839.