Enjoy Handplanes salvages old foam from broken boards to make new bodysurfing handplanes. Each one is made out of recycled broken board foam or manufacturing waste. They are handmade and custom glassed, providing a second chance to a once loved board or wrecked blank doomed to the land fill.
The Color Your Fin Art Project is the first of a series of art projects aimed at promoting art and fun in the surf community. Whether you are young or old, live in Leucadia or in another country, we encourage you to color away and send it in. We will be posting them as they arrive. Enjoy!
Today was amazing. First was the rain. It poured like crazy for most of the day and then it glassed off and the surf picked up. When you are lucky enough to experience these days you really feel grateful for living where we do. Enjoy.
This morning I woke up early, heard the rain and decided that it was a good morning for a surf film.
The one I picked out this morning was Ultimate Sessions. I originally got the film as a present for my father in law but borrowed it back to watch one day and it has sat on my shelf ever since. (Sorry Klaus! Anytime you want it please let me know.)
The film is great since it takes all the best sections from classics like September Session, Free Ride, Cosmic Children, Fluid Drive, Morning Of The Earth, Ocean Fever, Amazing Surf Stories and my favorite section Searching For Curren. That alone was why I wanted to watch it. I had never seen the whole Searching For Curren film and that section when Tom Curren rides the 5 foot something board in huge surf is a cult classic. It has been talked about for decades and really was the beginning of what is going on with the fish and micro boards of today.
The film itself is entertaining. It has good music, surf history and documentary style interviews (Which I am a big fan of). You get a sort of cheat sheet to surf film history and you get a lot of good surf for your money. If you don't have the budget to buy all films you do get the best of each in one package.
The film was produced by Ira Opper, a legend in his own right and the godfather of surf content brought to you on your TV.
For those of you out there who surfed in the late 80's early 90's you will remember who Ira is from what he provided for you, prime time stoke. Now that we have Fuel TV and 24/7 action spots programming it is hard to imagine that there was a time when you had to scour the TV Guide to find the time spot that Surfer Magazine the TV show was on. In the days of old, you had to be in front of your TV to watch in real time (yes kids there was no DVR in those days) as the magic of watching surfing on your TV for free came to life. Any of you know from that era that to have surfing on network TV was huge.
In 1986 I used to be a Solana Beach grom. I'm sure if you surfed Pill Box or hung out at Mitch's Surf Shop you would have seen me and my friends walking around town in our full suits pulled down and our booties still on. (Yes, we were kooks but as stoked as anyone.) The parents of my best friend in Jr. High owned the Hide Away Cafe. Both of us lived in Mira Mesa and realized quickly that if we got up at 5:30 am and caught a ride with his parents we could surf all day and be back by 3 to nap. Our summers consisted of nonstop days of free breakfast (ahhh Cinnamon Rolls!), surfing (North Reef), free lunch (Chopper Burger!) and surfing (More North Reef). It was quite possibly the best childhood a surf rat could have.
At the ripe old age of 14 my friend and I became friends with Ira. He was a local at the restaurant and since he was the producer of the Surfer Mag TV show he was our new found idol. He let us hang around and hold up cue cards for Corky Caroll as he did his thing for the show. That was huge at 14. Those memories will always stick with me.
Now 22 years later Ira is still stoking us out. Like he did in the past he has brought us our next surfing fix, the digital surf flix. Armed with www.thesurfnetwork.com and an expanding library of films he has given us the opportunity to search, preview and download surf films of past and present on a whim. It is the iTunes library of everything surf. If you haven't checked out the site you should. I think it has been out for a year now and I have been getting all my videos from there. It is priced well and most of all I can download a video in the middle of the night. You gotta love technology.
Now that we are mid winter I am starting to miss the Leucadia days of summer. The cold water has started to take it's toll. Here is a shot of Kirk that brought me right back. It gives me that feeling of south summer swell and warm water afternoons. How nice would it be to be back in trunks.
When I got this shot I was blown away. The whole essence of the image drew me in. I love soul surfing anyway, then add a back lit glow, over head barrel, throw in a touch of offshore and you have a winner.
The other day as I came out of the water I came across this little rock at Beacon's. As I picked it up I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to a shark head. I liked it so much I stuffed it in my wetsuit and brought it home to show my daughter, who like me, thought it was cool.
If anyone has a rock they would like to share send them in.
The Rogers family moved to Leucaida in 1996, the same year I did. Leucadia was still a sleepy town and there where at least 2 empty lots on Jupiter at the time! Even though we lived very close it took about 3 years for me to actually start hanging out with them. Bob Rogers and his two son's Jesse and Randy all surfed, and so, in classic Leucadia style we all met first in the water and then discovered that we had a lot in common on land as well.
Jesse, who was an avid surfer/traveler started to take notice on surf trips that there were a lot of Americans around the world who taught English for a living, and most importantly, in countries that had great surf. After returning from a trip a light went off. Armed with his BA in Communication and fluent in Spanish he decided to research countries with great surf that he could teach English as well.
The top of his list was Chile. Three years ago Jesse packed his boards and headed for Chile. Alone in a foreign land he quickly made friends and started his 3 year long adventure, which ultimately lead him to his lovely Chilean wife Carolina.
Above are some of the rewards for spreading the English language abroad. While in Chile, Jesse had some amazing days. The experience was great and has since returned with Carolina to seek US employment. If anyone out there knows of a job you can email him here.
You will be seeing more of Jesse and his travels. For some reason he is one of those lucky guys who out of the blue makes friends on trips with guys with cameras.
The photos above are taken by Sergio Peña, the owner of the Vertical Surf Shop. The best shop in the area according to Jesse. It was complete with a Sushi bar and half pipe!
The one thing that David does really well and that I appreciate about his work is his ability to tell the story. He does it over and over and I think that is what stands him out from the rest. Yes, we all like to see that snap or tube. But for David it isn't just about the action, it is more about showing the emotion and the situation that makes it interesting for him. He instinctively looks for and tells the bigger story. To me this shot sums up his ability to do just that. It shows the emotion of what we go through as surfers. The loss of a loved board and the feeling of defeat as we walk back to our cars.
I love the combo of La Jolla in the background, a nice fan and some good hand.
Nothing like taking a mid carve look at where you came from.
Nice form, good spray what else could you ask for?
Here are more shots left over from that last swell from David. All shots where taken at Black's 1/19/2009. If you were out that day, good chance that David has shots of you.
Here are some shots sent in from Justin Rhodes who works for a water testing company. While on the job at an undisclosed location he discovered a right hand barrel and a local eating his lunch. The spot, which I can only mention is one of our neighboring islands is unsurfed 365 days a year. Justin shot these without a board in site while waiting for a storm to roll through. He was forced to sit by and watch as the perfect right hander peeled.
Personally I had never thought about what lies on the other side of our island chain. After seeing these it opened my mind to the posibilites. Surely there are more pictures out there that show what we are missing. If you have any please send them in.
Here is a quiver of fish from our friend Rick Scott. He is a local knee boarder and has been riding and collecting fish for many years. The board on the left is a 5'5" original Steve Lis. Rick just had her fixed up and it is ready to ride again. Look for future posts of her in the water. Also we haven't seen it yet but a member of his family who lives in Oregon has an early period Skip Frye fish in his garage. We are hoping to get confirmation. We'll keep you posted.
Here is a fin by Chris McOmber titled "The Punk Rock Nightmare Fin". Chris is 38 and is still the biggest kid at heart. He surfs every day he can, and rides every wave like a skate park. Here is to you Chris, Avo's wouldn't be the same without you.
In 2004 Chris Miller was the first guy I knew to buy Glass Love direct from Andrew Kidman's website. I'm not even sure how he knew about it but when he ordered it he got an email from Andrew's dad personally thanking Chris for supporting his son's work. I remember thinking about how rare that was that his dad took the time to thank him. It was then that I realized what made the Australian filmmakers different, it was the willingness to come from the heart and connect with their audience.
When we sat down to watch it for the first time we all sat in silence and obsorbed what was to be burned into our minds as an all time great surf film. One that set the standard for films we will seek and buy in the future.
Since I wasn't the one who bought the film I hadn't watched it for 5 years. Although it was burned into my mind, the Daize scene, Neal Purchase's back hand barrels, the Curren's green board and the fish scenes. It was all in my mind as I played it over and over again.
Two days ago, after 5 years, I finally got my own copy from www.thesurfnetwork.com. As I waited for it to download I was almost nervous at whether or not it would be as good as when I remembered it. Would it live up to my memories? Would it let me down?
As I hit play and sat back to watch I was again inspired like it was the first time I watched it. The images and the energy of the film flowed through me and I was again transported to a place of inspiration and enjoyment.
Believe it of not there are actually people today who I run into that have not seen this film. If you are one of them, buy it today and watch it. It is a part of surf film history that you need to be a part of.
David sent me over some shots that I thought were great. The last two I was actually on the phone with him while he shot them. With bluetooth in ear he stopped his car, got out and shot these off. He was talking to me one minute and then the other he was talking to himself as he looked for the perfect frame.
The first shot is actually taken by his daughter Jessica. He was so proud when he sent it over. Like father like daughter. He liked it because she takes a unique point of view from his. She took his camera and got real low to get that angle. Great photo. I feel like I am hanging on the beach getting ready to go out on a summer day.
These shots were sent in by Erik. I thought they were really cool. I love the second shot. I like how the first wave's spray hides Erik as he pumps down the line. The photo's were taken by Lauren, one of the coolest girlfriends I know. Erik is lucky to have a girl who not only surfs but can shoot as well.
The Leucadia Project is a site dedicated to the place we love and live. It's a tribute to the beauty of it's beaches, it's amazingly fun surf, it's unique funk, and the talented people who call it home either in the water or on land.
Today was amazing. First was the rain. It poured like crazy for most of the day and then it glassed off and the surf picked up. When you are lucky enough to experience these days you really feel grateful for living where we do. Enjoy.
Here is a shot David grabbed while shooting down south. We dubbed it Hawaii 5.0. It was a little macker going off down the beach all by itself.
When I got this shot I was blown away. The whole essence of the image drew me in. I love soul surfing anyway, then add a back lit glow, over head barrel, throw in a touch of offshore and you have a winner.
The other day as I came out of the water I came across this little rock at Beacon's. As I picked it up I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to a shark head. I liked it so much I stuffed it in my wetsuit and brought it home to show my daughter, who like me, thought it was cool. 
Here are some shots sent in from Justin Rhodes who works for a water testing company. While on the job at an undisclosed location he discovered a right hand barrel and a local eating his lunch. The spot, which I can only mention is one of our neighboring islands is unsurfed 365 days a year. Justin shot these without a board in site while waiting for a storm to roll through. He was forced to sit by and watch as the perfect right hander peeled.
Here is a quiver of fish from our friend Rick Scott. He is a local knee boarder and has been riding and collecting fish for many years. The board on the left is a 5'5" original Steve Lis. Rick just had her fixed up and it is ready to ride again. Look for future posts of her in the water. Also we haven't seen it yet but a member of his family who lives in Oregon has an early period Skip Frye fish in his garage. We are hoping to get confirmation. We'll keep you posted.
Here is a fin by Chris McOmber titled "The Punk Rock Nightmare Fin". Chris is 38 and is still the biggest kid at heart. He surfs every day he can, and rides every wave like a skate park. Here is to you Chris, Avo's wouldn't be the same without you.
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David sent me over some shots that I thought were great. The last two I was actually on the phone with him while he shot them. With bluetooth in ear he stopped his car, got out and shot these off. He was talking to me one minute and then the other he was talking to himself as he looked for the perfect frame. 
Here is a shot David got posted on SurfLine. It is one of my favorites. It tells a great story.
About 50,000 people saw the second shot on Surfline. What they didn't see was the sequence. David was cool enough to send it my way to share. Enjoy.
These shots were sent in by Erik. I thought they were really cool. I love the second shot. I like how the first wave's spray hides Erik as he pumps down the line. The photo's were taken by Lauren, one of the coolest girlfriends I know. Erik is lucky to have a girl who not only surfs but can shoot as well.
