Harbour Tin-Can Beach clean and surf day

Surf photos by Lia
Gathering Photos by John

Great Job! Click on pics for larger view.











Harbour Owners’ Society Gives Back
By John (Srf4life)

This Fourth of July weekend, members of the Harbour Owners’ Society got together to give back a little something to the ocean that gives us so much. Todd (Boardhound), had the idea one morning while picking up trash near tower 23 at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Why not get the HOS together for a little beach clean-up and make it a fun occasion while we are at it? Thus was born the first (annual?) HOS “Beach clean-up, surf, and grub.”

The weekend after the 4th of July seemed as good a time as any to hold the event, since there figured to be plenty of trash left behind by the masses who would flock to the beach on the 4th. The call went out on the Harbour website, and about a dozen members, as well as several guys from the shop, pitched in. (Of course, these members were undoubtedly motivated only by their desire to keep the beach clean. The surf and grub was probably no more than an afterthought to these selfless souls.)


The beach clean-up started bright and early, about 6:20 am on Saturday July 7th.


Todd supplied the trash bags and disposable gloves. After about 30 minutes, we had the parking lot and beach north and south of tower 23 picked clean. Jeff S. and Bobby J. both commented on how plastic water bottles and especially those plastic water bottle caps have become the most common form of trash left on the beach. “Maybe we should call it water bottle beach instead of tin can beach,” Bobby said. All in all, the State Parks Department does a pretty good job keeping the facilities at Bolsa and other state beaches clean, but it is still astounding how many people will carelessly leave their trash on the sand when there are literally hundreds of trash cans up and down the beach, some just a few steps away. It is an indication that, in our consumer culture, people all too often think only about consuming, not what they leave behind.

After the beach clean-up, the morning was capped off by a fun surf session in 2-4 foot clean, peaky conditions, with the occasional head high set. The crowd situation was fairly typical for a summer weekend, but we all got some good waves. Everyone was in good spirits and there were plenty of hoots for good rides. After our session, we gathered at Todd’s white box van where he cooked up some awesome breakfast burritos.


Some might say that our beach clean-up is a drop in the bucket along a stretch of beach that gets millions of visitors annually (in fact, Bolsa had the fourth highest attendance of all California state parks last year). But it still sets a positive example, and if more people followed that example it would go a long way toward healing our fragile planet. Perhaps it is best to see it as an exercise that does a little something good for the beach we enjoy and perhaps more importantly, raises our own consciousness about the need to take care of the planet and its oceans. After all, we know that whatever gets dumped upstream eventually makes its way to the lineup.




And who knows, maybe all the fun waves we had that morning and the good vibe we shared was Bolsa’s way of saying thanks.

From Todd's Email....

Hello members, i just posted this on the Harbour message board so if you plan on joining us please wear a HOS shirt or at least a Harbour shirt. This is a HOS day but I would like non members to help as well

Hello all, for anyone that wishes to help out.
Sat July 7, 2007 we will be having a beach clean-up.
we will start gathering at 6:00 am in lot 21 tower 23
we will line up at restroom north of tower 24 and walk to restroom south of tower 22 basicly 3 parking lots.
Then some surf and grub.
I will supply rubber gloves and trash bags

then just like any sat we surf and have fun.
I would like to have some grub as well so if you are going to join us please drop me a line.

March Wave Wanderings

HOS In Baja . . .
By John (srf4life)


OK, so it wasn’t like some exotic two-month surf safari to Tahiti, but for a bunch of us working stiffs from the HOS, it was a chance to chill for a weekend in Baja and surf till we dropped. Before I go any further, we gotta give a big muchas gracias to Eddie, who lined up his Aunt and Uncle’s place near Cantamar for the gang to stay. Nothing like being able to wake up and check out the surf from your front window.


Our long-awaited sojourn began on a Thursday in late March after everyone got off work. Despite Trevor’s constant dire warnings of impending gridlock, we actually sailed through OC, through San Diego, and through the border without a hitch. From that point on, we welcomed Trevor’s steady stream of pessimistic pronouncements as a sure sign that everything would work out in the end.

Friday we decided to head further south to check out some spots. Salsipuedes wasn’t firing, but when we pulled up to San Miguel, the point had a nice shoulder-head high swell working, and not too many surfers in the water.


Trouble was, the crew there was mostly shortboarding locals who did not appreciate the nine new faces in the water, many of whom were on longboards that could easily pick up the set waves outside. Our group played it cool, however, returning hostile comments with a Zen-like wave-sharing ethos (Slider and Bobby J’s commitment to nonviolence would have made Gandhi proud). And while nobody got all the waves he wanted, we made no enemies and may have even made a few friends.

Yes, he made it!




Back at the house by afternoon, some of us decided to paddle out into the jacking beackbreak out front after lunch. The sets were running head high or better, and they were coming in at a steady pace. Occasionally you could get a shoulder, but more often than not the sets were closing out. Getting caught inside meant taking a beating. While everyone had his share of good rides, the nod that afternoon went to Todd for his insane drops, and Trevor, who absolutely ripped on his fish.

While Todd and Eddie’s crew (Chris, Daniel, and Frodo) were hooked on beachbreak adrenaline, the rest of us decided to go in search of walls that stayed open for more then 3 seconds. That night, we had dinner in Puerto Nuevo, and could see clean little reef breaks to the north, toward Gaviotas, so we resolved to head that direction the next day.


Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm, with a slight offshore caressing the waves, and Bobby and Lia, Trevor, Jeff, and John set off to a spot we had seen to the north of Puerto Nuevo. We were not disappointed. The reef groomed the fun little SW swell to perfection, and the sets had long, playful waist-to-chest high walls that peeled left and right. If this had been Cardiff or Swami’s the place would have been packed. As it was, we surfed alone that morning. Four of us in the water. Beautiful waves. Meanwhile, Lia got some great shots from shore. It was awesome. The weather was perfect, the water was glassy, and everybody got perfect long rides. After a couple of hours, the tide rose and shut down all but the biggest set waves, so we rode in and decided we would have to come back for an evening session.


When we returned, it seemed that the northernmost break offered a nice little point setup, and we paddled out for our afternoon session. As I paddled out, I saw Jeff get a picture perfect cheater five on one of the waves at the point.

Bobby got a couple of nice, long rights, and Trev got one of the bigger sets waves of the afternoon. Lia was up on the cliff above, taking more pictures of our rides to post on the HOS blog. We were out pretty far, maybe 200 yards, and I had just finished my first ride of the afternoon when Bobby and I heard Lia scream. Up on the cliff one miscreant was in Bobby’s truck and another was ripping the camera from Lia’s hands, threatening her with a rusty scissor. Bobby paddled in like a man possessed, and I followed. Fortunately two surfers at the bottom of the cliff had also heard Lia’s screams, and these good Samaritans climbed the cliff and chased the thieves. Unfortunately, the thieves made it to their car and got away before any of us could get our hands on them. The two good Samaritans helped flag down a police car and the crime was reported. While Lia lost her camera, it could have been much worse, and all of us—especially Bobby—were relieved that she was unharmed.

We were all very thankful to the two young surfers, Jaime and Jorge, who chased off the banditos. While thanking them, the young men explained in passable English that they were just learning to surf. In fact, it was only Jaime’s second time surfing.

I watched the two paddle out on their beat up short boards and flail around clueless in the whitewater. Since Bobby and Lia were ok, I decided to give them a quick surf lesson, and they eagerly agreed. I offered to let them ride my San-O, which is 10-6, and about as stable as the Queen Mary. After some basic pointers about paddling and catching waves, Jaime paddled into his first wave and stood up, riding straight to the shore. It was the first time he had been able to stand up, and he was beaming from ear to ear. He was whooping and chattering rapidly to his friend Jorge in Spanish, and I could tell he was stoked. Remember that first time you stood up? He had that look. He had found his inner surfer. Jorge had a little less luck standing up, but was giggling like a little kid. With practice I know they’ll both get better.



As the light began to fade, they got out of the water, beaming smiles still on their faces. Best of all, in the midst of a harrowing situation in which we saw the worst of human behavior, we also saw the best of human nature from these two young Mexicans. It gave me a good feeling to pass on the joy of surfing across cultures. The thieves have by now fenced their ill-gotten gains and probably pissed it away. On the other hand, Jaime and Jorge, two decent young men, are now stoked on surfing. And that lasts a lifetime.

February Wanderings......

"A rail is born."
This piece of art, capturing Rich Harbour performing his art, was taken by Ron Woolhether...Ron is always catching the spirit of all things surfing, and does fantastic work. His website is on the right, as well as HERE.

The t-shirts are in the mail for some and other's are picking them up as I type. HOS is at over 40 members and growing, with new events in the works.

There's a new board in town...and it looks Awesome!!!! Can't wait to buy this one.


TDRevolver (me) spent some of February surfing Maui.



I covered the island, surfing Honolua Bay at about chest high, and finding a little barrel on my rented mass produced 9'0 with flex-fin, and then watched several days later as guys ripped it up in overhead barreling conditions, it was fantastic. I might of attempted to join them if I had my Hp-1 with me, my next trip I'll definitely be bringing my Harbour.

From above, standing on the cliffs next to a sugarcane field, I watched as guys dialed in barrel after barrel, and during the breaks in the swell, the clear coral filled bay to the East was spectacular.

The day I surfed there, not only did I have clean fun conditions, a plethora of fish to watch, and several turtles to keep me company, I also was treated to a show from a Humpback Whale who began to breach not far from shore. The megaton creature launched itself into the air several times, to cheers from the line-ups.

There was one wave where I was glad I wasn't riding my Harbour; while trying to repeat an earlier mini-tube, I stepped toward the nose, tucked down into the curl, and my nose dove under; and to my wallets demise, I rammed into some nice sharp rock, adding $50 to my rental fee. I must say, a fiberglass board would have probably been sucking water, but this plastic piece just lost paint. So they are good for something.


I also surfed East of Lahaina, a small clean day with a couple of locals before the masses woke up and crowded the spot around 11 a.m. Surfing with shorts only was a blast, and even the smallest wave curled through with perfection, but once again, gliding along clean, clear perfection would of been oh so much sweeter on the San O.

Another fun but small spot was Kihei Bay, a great summer spot, but occasionally catches the swell in winter. It was crowded, but really fun, and once again, whether the wave was 2-3 or the occasional 4-5, it was perfect. Of course, they did tell me, the day before I arrived it was stand up barrels, I guess I should of been there yesterday.

I did hit the North Shore on a stormy day, with only one nice sized, mush wave to speak of, but it was fun.

And an outlaw session with some locals at the closed down old-school wood sk8 park in Kihei was real fun.


Back on the mainland, Nick finally got his new board, and it blew past all his expectations, it's a real beauty.



Oh yeah, and Boardhound continues to bring glory to his name, putting, I think, 3 more boards into his quiver.

Remember guys, send me your updates if anything exciting is going on, sorry no original pics, I was on my own surfing the whole time, and never took any.

January Wave Wanderings!

Well, the new year kicked off with small but enjoyable waves down the coast. A few of us surfed off the New Year at Malibu, being the first to ride this classic spot was fun.






Tower 20 has been the spot for Nick, TD a few other H.O.S. members weekdays, while Todd, Jeff, John and I'm sure a few more headed South to find perfection at Cardiff.

The first Harbour Owner Society Surf and Grub session was a blast, with (finally) some waves to ride at Bolsa. Woody's eatery in Seal Beach was hospitable as always, and many a false surf tale was told over breakfast after the fun waves.
Scott/Ry and SR rippin'....




Bobby J, introduced his newly repaired Cheater to the water, but was soon driving down the line on his Rapier.


John.

TDRevolver broke-out the landboard and headed inland for some sk8 sessions in the desert and an outlaw session in some Vegas' drainage ditches.



Check out the shop, new boards are rolling in, but as of yet, Nick still awaits the arrival of his new Rapier.



The new shirts are very close to being ordered, just a few details and they should be on the way shortly.

See ya' soon, I don't know what's up next, but check the Hot Read on the right for updates......and don't forget, feel free to send your picks of Wave Wanderings to, TDSurf@juno.com for posting.