Recent
Happenings
Different Year. Same
Story.
July
4th, 2011
The city put in a valiant effort of
trying to give West Newport back to it's residents. And a parade
and carnival for local families was a huge success...
With scorching inland temps, and the
heat from the police on Balboa Blvd. Many retreated to the beach.
Where some believe it was one of the most crowded beach days
on record....
People still showed and screamed out
their beliefs, but still no one seemed to care...
The city still had a lot of out of
town officers on staff for the day. And yea, a lot of people
still went to jail...
And with all the police presence and
the city's media scare, some still merrily stumbled up and down
the streets this 4th of July with their drinks in hand.
A small slice of Newport, July 4th, 2011
____________________________
Peninsula Pride's DodgeBall 7
went down last Saturday. And Lower Jetties based team Shock
Em walked away the victors.
A member of team Shock Em, winding
up to take out another one of the
Mutt Lynch B%tchs.... Last
Saturday.
_________________
Monday, May 16th
VQS 2011
Winner of the Pro-Am division.
Newport's Andrew Doheny... Enjoying
the fruits of his labor.
AND
The Volcom Motley
Crew... Celebrating another successful event.
(Photos copyright Tom
Cozad)
________________
Newport
Harbor students on a mission to make our oceans and beaches
a cleaner place... Yesterday
in Newport.
_______________
Hotshot.
April 1st, April Fools Day 2011
Adopt
A Can
The city has gotten complaints about
their new beach trash cans. Most recently a local paper featured
an article about them, whereby Nicolai Glazer and I voiced our
dislike for the trash bins.
To further increase revenue the city
has now come up with a good idea however. They are implementing
an Adopt A Trash Can program. For a yearly fee of $45.00
you can adopt, and then place your very own logo or design on
one of the city's 58 beach trash cans.
Analog has officially adopted the
first can, at 54th St. The Blackies Classics Surf Club is adopting
22nd Street's., and word is a crew of guys from Newport Island
is planning on adopting 36th steet's trash bin.
If you, your crew, or company would
like to Adopt A Can, you may obtain an application by
sending a request to the email below. Hurry however, as the
cans will go fast... Good luck.
adoptacan@yahoo.com
Coming to a beach near you.
________
The
Ghetto Juice Airshow sponsored by Sanuk
No giant promotions, no fancy announcers,
no elaborate tent city, no big budget circus...
Yesterday's event consisted of just
a crew of international guys, who love busting airs and wanted
a shot at $1,000.00, and
bragging right. And due in part to
the age of "Social Media" the word about the event
spread, and was very well attended.
In this day of big brand events,
you don't get more grassroots than yesterday's contest. Hats
off to Ghetto Juice and Sanuk,
And a huge thanks to the Newport Beach
Lifeguard Department, who could have shut the thing down at
any time.
Airshow Winner Mason Ho...
Busting for dollars
Monday, Dec. 27th, 2010
Where does
Frosty, Rudolph, and Santa go on Christmas Day?
Bar hopping
in Newport...
____
Thursday, Dec. 23rd, 2010
Storm
Watch 2010!!!
Paddle
Surf Warehouse's Mike Rogers
and Brad Liberator survey the area...
______________
Wed., December 22nd, 2010
Newport is
sinking!
---------------
Tuesday, Jan.
18th, 2010
Harbor closeout
Big, cold, bumpy, unsurfable, and
under the watchful eye of the Harbor Patrol...
Yesterday
_______________________
Monday, Dec. 7th, 2009
Blackies Classics surf club had their
yearly membership surf contest, "The Buffington",
last Sat. @ Blackies. Click the image below for photos of the
event by Blackies surf photog Dave Manning.
The "Monkey" award this
year (alias the bonehead award) went to Tony LeMenzo, who wore
his contest jersey as a diaper.
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
NHHS held their prom at Dana Point
Aquarium last Sat. Many of them gathered at various places and
headed down the coast in buses for the big night out. Below
is one group students that attended. Right click the photo if
you'd like to save it.
NHHS Prom 09
_____________________________
Monday, May 18th, 2008
Warning... This has nothing to do
with surfing... but it could save you money
At .99 cents a song, itunes is pretty much the website
of choice to buy music. A Ukrainian nurse however recently told
me about a popular Eastern European music purchasing site called
MP3SEARCH.com that's
located in Russia. Popular Western songs can purchased for around
9 cents each. And entire albums for only one or two dollars.
The site has been around 5 years, and according to her is legit
To check the site out, click the photo below, and please Goggle
MP3SEACRH.COM to learn more about it before you decide to
use it. If you go the pay route, and purchase a lot of music,
using the site might save you money.
Skip Snead, excited he can save some money!
__________________
Wed., May 13th, 2009
Under cloudy skies and a slowly rising
windswell, Newport shaper "Dano" completed his Surf
- A-Thon for his good friend Jay Thomas. Averaging one wave
every 1.5 minutes, Dano surfed 80 waves in 2 hours, and then
drug himself to the beach.
Click the photo below for the story,
and a slideshow. Plus check out Laylan Connelly's article about
the event in today's O.C. Register.
And please call 949-515-8455, or
email Jay's brother James at jtgdshc@yahoo.com, if you'd like
to give a donation.
Dano, surfing for a
friend... yesterday @ Blackies
Monday, June 8th, 2009
For info. on Peninsula Pride's 5th
Annual DodgeBall Tournament click photo below....
Serious Competition, Saturday
@ Peninsula Pride's DodgeBall Tournament
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Bikers and surfers, groms and legends,
shortboarders and longboards... Everyone came out Friday night
for Dano Surfboards 25th Anniversary party, and was treated
to free drinks, music, art and a look at some of Dano's well
crafted surfboards.
To see a slideshow of the event.
Click the photo below, Click the Album Dano's
25th, and click Watch & Edit dotphoto show, and
full screen. Additionally right click any photo if you'd
like to save it.
Also click O.C.
Register to see their slideshow of the event...
Young and old legends alike, Friday night
@ Dano's 20th Anniversary Party
3 days that will
be remembered..
It took 6 days of planning! Shoot a big
Southern Hemi swell from Malibu to Trestles in the morning.
And the Hobgood brothers charging big Wedge in the afternoon.
All from the air.
But then the morning of the mission dawned
with light fog and gray skies. So we never made it to Malibu.
And the Hobgoods couldn't find parking at the Wedge and they
never made it into the water.
None the less it was possible to capture
a number of interesting images during the flights. And while
I was a little bummed that I didn't capture a lot of surfing,
Bill Sharp said something that put it in perspective. "Who
cares about surfing when nature is getting freaky?
Click the image below to view the recent
swell from the air. And see a few images of the freaky things
nature can do during a big swell...
Flying
fast off the bottom... @ Lowers....
A glimpse of the jetty through
the whole...
Click the image above for a slideshow
of the recent Souther Hemi...
Lines poured in... and
(Photo Copyright T. Cozad)
The Wedge was ground
zero... and
Click photo above for a link
to a video
(Photo Dale Kobetich's "SkyPolePanoramaCam
)
.jpg)
everyone from Tom Curren to Jamie
O'Brien showed up to surf it... and
Click photo
above for a link to swell photos
(photos Copyright Cozad)
Brett Simpson and Kai Barger cleaned
up at the U.S. Open Men's events, and
Click photo above for a link to photos
(photo by Dave Manning)
Courtney Conlogue and Malia Manuel
cleaned up at the U.S. Open Womens' events, and
(photos Copyright T.
Cozad)
Click photo above for a link to photos
the "Phantom Man" showed
up in HB, did a big air at the pier, and then gave his board
away...
(Photo Copyright Cozad)
Monday, Nov. 2, 2009
Blackies Annual Halloween Surf Event,
held last Saturday, made the leap this year from a small local
gathering, to a large, well orchestrated, extremely well attended
event. Click one of the links below to see images from the event.
And if you'd like to add your link of photos, please send the
URL.
O.C.
Register
NSS.com
Dave
Manning
The Ugly, The Beautiful
and..
The Strange... Last
Sat. at Blackies
9-11
Driving down Balboa Blvd., or from
just about any second story building between the Balboa and
Newport Pier... You undoubtedly have seen it. A huge 50ft by
80ft flag hanging from a crane in the parking lot of the American
Legions on East 15th and Bay st.
Dave Whittaker has traveled with the
flag across the country to raise awareness of Veteran's issues.
Today, 9/11, he says he's proud to display the mammoth size
flag in Newport.
Click the photo below for a short
video about Mr. Whittaker's mission...
Dave Whittaker brings his
stars and stripes to Newport
(photo Copyright Cozad)
________________
Newport's Sand Replenishment Project 2009
Discussions in town about what
impact the Newport Sand Replenishment Project will have on the
surf has begun, as it should... Obviously nobody in town wants
to lose even one surf spot. The bottom line is, although the
city appears to be doing everything it can to preserve the quality
of surf in Newport, no can say exactly what the altered beach
and bottom contour will do to the surf once the project is completed.
That being said... The beach is eroding in the Jetty fields
and something has to be done about it, the Army Corps of Engineers
is giving the city money to replenish the sand there now, and
will not be coming around with a hand out again anytime soon.
And this project is without a doubt drastically better than
the ridiculous proposal the city tried to implement in 2004,
that of filling in the jetties with sand and sediment.
If you have any concerns with the city's current proposal, please
voice them to the Asst. City Engineer, Mike Sinacori, at 949-644-3342.
NewportSurfShots will continue to follow the project and do
all that it can to disseminate information as it becomes available.
Newport's
Sand Replenishment Project
Bill Sharp, Lorin McGregor and myself met with those in charge
of the city's proposed Sand Replenishment Project Monday morning.
The project, planned to begin Monday Feb. 23rd, consists of
removing 120,000 cubic yards of sand contained between River
Jetties and 58th st. (called the "Borrow" area), and
depositing it between the 28th and 48th st. Jetties (called
the "Fill" area).
The Replenishment project entails cutting a wedge of sand from
the beach. This cut into the sand will start just inland from
where each lifeguard tower currently stands. And the cut will
extend out into the nearshore surf line, with the goal of maintaining
the current existing slope of the beach. Additionally, the sand
spit currently inside the River, or "Dog Beach", will
be removed.
This sand from the "Borrow" area will then be trucked
to the "Fill" area, or that area which extends from
the 28th st. to the 48th st. jetties. As the sand is deposited
throughout this "Fill" area, and the beach is elongated,
the current slope of the beach will again be maintained. No
sand however, will be deposited directly onto the jetty.
The project is projected to take approximately 4 - 6 weeks,
and run throughout the day. During that time ocean access will
not be restricted. There will however be a roped off area running
along the beach. It is within this roped area that there will
be two lanes of truck travel. One lane for northbound trucks,
one for southbound. Every so many blocks there will be a break
in this roped area, it is here that passageway to the ocean
will be permissible.
The project has been accepted by beach
watchdogs Dave Granoff, a respected River Jetties oceanfront
resident, and Jim Brooks, a respected 53rd st oceanfront resident,
as well as TK from the Froghouse. Our group's general take on
the project is that if it is carried out as planned, it will
provide the much needed sand throughout the Jetty Fields, while
minimizing any negative impact to (and possibly even improving)
the surf in the Newport area. One positive aspect of the plan
is that those in charge of the project are surfers from the
area. And it is obvious that the preservation of Newport's surf
was taken into consideration when the project was designed.
Information about Newport's Sand Replenishment Project will
undoubtedly come out in local newspapers soon, as will a flier
from the city. If there are any changes in the current plan
they will be reported here. Please check back for images of
the project once it begins, and as it progresses.
For more info. on the project click
the Public Works Department link below
Newport
Beach Sand Replenishment Project
.jpg)
This image was taken at high tide...
If you draw an imaginary line between the lifeguard tower on
the North side of River (red dot), and run it to the beginning
of the 56th st. jetty (red dot). That sand to the left of the
line, including sand that runs into the surf, is approximately
what the city is moving during their project.
(photo copyright cozad)
The "Borrow" areas between
River and 58th St. with the approx. beach grades and how they
will be maintained..
The "Fill" areas between
28th st. and 48th st., with the approximate beach grades and
how they will be maintained....
Sand, you gotta have it...
in Newport
Feb. 27th, 2009
Week 1
The Army Corps of Engineers, the workhorse
of Newport's sand project, are behind a week getting started.
The city wisely used the time this week to bring a tractor and
truck in and clean the beach of all of the large debris near
River. The city's hope is that the project will be up and running
next week.
Check back here for a progress update
towards the end of every week.
Sand & Surf...
in Newport
Friday, March 6th, 2009
The Army Corps of Engineers
are 2 weeks behind schedule with Newport's Sand Project because...
(Choose One)
1. The Army Corps got
lost
2. The Army Corps stopped for a beer, in Vegas.
3. The Army Corps is a large bureaucratic organization that
moves very slowly.
In actuality...
The Corps recently hired a contractor that is beginning to install
safety fencing around the project. That should take a couple
days.
The city then expects the contractor
to move in their heavy equipment this weekend, with the actual
sand moving work to begin the middle of next week.
Stay Tuned....
Local Newport surfer Ryan P. and his
daughter Tauren, excited about sand!
End of Week 2...
Newport's sand project is obviously in
full swing. The first day the sand was dumped between the jetties,
in the middle of the beach. Newport Beach Maintenance Supervisor,
and local surfer, Tom Anderson, immediately noted to the contractor
that the shape of the beach between each jetty was to be that
of a crescent formation. And from then on the sand was dumped
to the immediate north and south of each jetty, to facilitate
the tractor in shaping the beach in that crescent shape formation.
With the little bump in NW windswell
on Wed. I paddled down and surfed foggy 28th st. alone, and
while the break hasn't been transformed into a "Super Bank",
it appears the extra sand hasn't messed with the break for the
worst either.
Asst. City Engineer Mike Sinacori, also
a local surfer, says he, Tom Anderson, along with the lifeguards
have been spending a lot of their time overseeing the sand project,
and that the contractor has been good to work with. Mike says
they met with the Army Corps of Engineers yesterday to refine
the plans of the project, which will make it even better.
So for now... all appears ok. Keep checking
back for updates... and try not to get run over.
Run!
in Newport
Walking amongst the
awaken Beasts... Tuesday in Newport
Finished!
The yellow beasts are finished.
Newport's Sand project is completed. While the tractors still
have a small of amount work to do slopping the beach in the
40th street areas... The orange fences area coming down today,
and the yellow beasts are awaiting their trailers home.
While the relocation
of sand in Newport unfortunately didn't produce a wave similar
to Kirra, it also happily didn't produce a wave similar to Balboa
Pier. The city's project, in conjunction with the Army Corps,
was a success, and a huge thanks is in order for Asst. City
Engineer Mike Sinacori, and City Maintenance Supervisor Tom
Anderson for looking out for the interests of the local surfing
community throughout the project. Also a big thanks to those
local surfers that kept a watchful eye out for any untoward
impact to the existing local surf breaks.
The city will be back
at it again, moving sand around, in another 5 to 8 years. Word
is that they're thinking of extending the sand replenishment
areas towards Blackies, and up to 52nd St. at that time. The
local surf community looks forward to working with the city
again, and being involved in any additional projects.
The Beasts... are heading home
________________
Wed. April 15th, 2008
"ECHO BEACH"...
The Movie
The makers of the movie "ECHO BEACH" are pleased
to announce that it will be appearing in the Newport Beach Film
Festival on Tuesday, April 28th at 7:30pm. They have a limited
number of VIP tickets available, which include a Pre-party,
an ECHO BEACH T-shirt, and a limited edition poster, all for
$25. Please email info@echobeachfilm.com for details.
Furthermore, on Friday, May 1st and
Saturday, May 2nd there will be a local weekend premiere of
the film at the Elks Lodge in Lido Village. Tickets are $10
(with a $5 grom show on Saturday). There will be several showtimes
to choose from that weekend. This will be a chance to see the
film before it goes on its summer tour. There will be a bar
at the Elks, and a mega raffle, supported by all the top surf
brands.
Additionally, as if the above wasn't
enough, that Saturday there will also be a Street Party at 413
31st Street, with live music, an
art show, sponsors booths and festive activities for the entire
family.
For more info, a movie trailor. and
up to the minute news on the film release, visit
the website by clicking the photo below...
.jpg)
Jeff Parker, still ripping "ECHO
BEACH", minus the pompadour haircut, the neon colored
wetsuit and the WaveTools surfboard...
_________________-
Dec. 9th. 2008
They buzzed the local line-ups, wishing
everyone a Merry Christmas.
And then visited the local schools...
Mr. & Mrs. Claus, flying without
the reindeer.
Yesterday in Newport
____________________________
Injured
Lyle Davis has been a
local Newport surfer for decades. And with his 4 sons also surfing,
there always seems to be at least one of the Davis clan in the
water somewhere in Newport.
On Tuesday morning Lyle set out to grab a piece of the recent
swell. He was off 44th St groin, when a set approached directly
in front of the jetty. Lyle paddled hard to get into it, and
as he jumped to his feet his experience told him that the wave
was going to back off and slam into the jetty. It was to late
however, Lyle was committed.
Word from surfers out that morning was that his body slammed
full force into the flat rock that lies just beneath the surface
on medium tide. Lyle remembers seeing the rock, and trying his
best to brace himself for the inevitable impact, and impact
he did. While the second wave of the set took him under, and
washed him through the jetty.
When Lyle surfaced it was evident to everyone in the line-up
that he was seriously injured. Without hesitation the string
of guys out surfing quickly banded together and went into action
to stabilize his neck and get him safely to shore. Word is that
because of the strong surge near the jetty it was a difficult
endeavor.
Lifeguards, paramedics and ambulance were summoned and the crew
of surfers, unfamiliar to Lyle, and many unfamiliar to each
other, did what they could to reassure him and keep him talking
as he drifted in and out of consciousness. With the back of
his wetsuit ripped open, severely injured ribs evident, and
an obvious mangled knee, coupled with the fact that Lyle was
having difficulty moving his toes. The crew was more than a
little rattled as the ambulance sped off to Hoag, and they resumed
surfing.
Miraculously Lyle, while in pain, is doing well and recovering
at home. Three completely severed ribs and a badly injured knee
is the final outcome of the incident. And while his anticipated
recovery is a lengthy 12 weeks, Lyle realizes that he is incredibly
lucky that his injuries are not worse.
Talking with him yesterday, he'd like to give his extremely
heart felt thanks to every surfer that morning that helped him
by getting him safely to shore, and providing him support until
further help arrived. If anything comes of this he says, "Is
that while we constantly jockey each other for position in the
water, when something like this occurs, it's comforting to know
that your fellow surfer is there for you. Ultimately he says
"It's all of our duty to watch over each other when in
the line-up."
.jpg)
This might not be such a good idea...
Randy Fox in Newport
________________
Monday July 7th,
2008
Due
to the large presence of law enforcement again this 4th of July,
Newport remains in one piece. The general consensus is there
were more people than usual roaming the streets, but they were
mellower than usual. Undoubtedly
if you were in town you had a great time... unless you were
arrested.
Ok,
the 4th of July is behind us. Now let the hurricane season begin...
July 4th, 2008...
in Newport
________________________
July 23rd Wed.
There'd been a alot of
surf in Mainland Mex over the past few weeks, but alot of weather
to go along with it... While traveling around Mainland during
that time we'd heard Southern Mex was booming. The area where
these photos were taken got the fringe of each swell. Solid
surf, but not the 20ft we had heard of far South.
Our Mainland Mex search vehicle...
The rewards of our Mainland
Mex search...
_____________________
EarthQuake
First off I apologize
for when the "Daily Hotshot" sounds like a blog. It's
not meant to be a blog, it in no way should be a blog and I
try for it not to be a blog! That being said the following story
is kinda interesting, so I thought I'd share it.
Yesterday my wife and
I took the kids to surf the reform at River. I looked at my
watch around 11:30am and figured it was time to head in. While
walking up the beach we saw a couple dolphins leap really really
high into the air... Yea I know, big deal, Everybody has seen
dolphins jump out of the water... but they went about 10ft into
the air, and then they did it again, and then a third time...
I was pretty mesmerized by it and mentioned to my wife that
"I've seen dolphins leap out of the water for years, but
I've never ever seen them go straight up and that unbelievably
high"!
Minutes later when we
got to the car, a guy pulled up that looked kind of shell shocked.
He asked if our cell phone worked... and if we had felt the
earthquake a few minutes earlier, which we hadn't.
Now I know nothing about
animal behavior and earthquakes... but you have to wonder. Did
the dolphins leap into the air like a super charged rocket because
they sensed the earthquake was about to happen, or because it
was happening, or was it just a coincidence? You got to wonder...
Getting air...
in Newport
_____________________
NewportSurfShots received
so many classic emails on April Fools day from people complaining
about it supposedly being sold...
NewportSurfShots
was sold???
____
April Fools Day
2008
After months of negotiation
NewportSurfShots.com has finalized its agreement to join the
O.C. Register News Corporation. According to a News Corp's press
release "We have been looking to expand our print and online
coverage of beach activities in the Newport and surrounding
beach city areas, and we feel NewportSurfShots.com is the perfect
online fit to help us accomplish that goal.
After today NewportSurfShots will be accessible only through
the O.C. Registar website and will be focusing on local beach
activities other than surfing.
A really fun
thing to do no matter what beach you're at is "Sand
Sifting". It's a really relaxing past time for many,
and often times you can find some really great stuff!
For a list of
vendors that sell "sifting" equipment, and to read
a brief history about this fun activity, check the O.C. Registar
website, and today's Leisure Section of the O.C. Registar Newspaper.
"Serious
Sand Sifting"... in Newport
___________________________
Crime in
Baja
Milano Walker is a kid
originally from the States, who's family has moved to Baja.
They live in Las Gaviotas, a small private community south of
Rosartio, that is rich in fun surf. Milano says there aren't
a lot of jobs for high school kids in the area, so he's started
a business taking photos of visiting surfers. If you're ever
in the area, and want a few images of yourself surfing, please
get ahold of him... surfrat91@cox.net
One question that's on
a lot of people's mind lately is... Is Baja safe? Many have
heard about the 90% reduction in tourism, the kidnappings, the
car jackings, and the brazen drug cartel shootings in broad
daylight. Milano sheds some light on the situation.
"The crime has been
a big concern down here, because a lot of people are canceling
trips to Baja. Two of our neighbors are property managers, and
it's been one of their worst years for rentals ever, but honestly
the media has played up the drama as much as possible. People
here are beginning to forget about the violence that occurred
earlier in the year, and the truth is there are plenty of places
far more dangerous in California. As long as you don’t
make yourself a target while in Baja, no one will bother you.
What was happening is
that there was a change in government power in late December,
and when that happens the cartel starts acting out as the old
police chief and governors are on their way out, and the new
government is coming in. This then continues until about February
when the new administration is able to get control of the situation.
There was an article in Transworld Surf that put out the statistics
behind the recent crime wave. I’m not exactly sure what
the order was but I know countries like Costa Rica and Indo
were reported to have much higher crime rates.
Most people that are
getting attacked are people driving their Escalades or big trucks
with a couple dirtbikes on a trailer, or the lone member of
a surf caravan that falls far behind. The main things to remember
are that people are being robbed not killed, and generally speaking
not physically harmed. People are only being targeted at night,
and only in areas where there are no witnesses. The cartel knows
that the second they start killing people or attacking in broad
daylight, it's over. The Government will come down on them so
hard, that they won’t know what hit them. Two people associated
with our community have been car jacked. One drove upon a car
jacking on the way to their home up in the hills and their car
was taken, and another was robbed on their way back from Cabo
when they were pulled over in their Escalade around 2:00 a.m.
I don’t want to try
and persuade people to come to Baja against their own conscience,
but the facts are facts. The Government and Military are good
guys, and they’re cracking down on the Cartels. The Federales
(Government police) are good as well. And while the local police
can be corrupt, there’s been a big crackdown on their entire
force with random weapons checks and what have you. If you don’t
give yourself off as a target, no one will bother you, and if
you speak the language, people will respect you. Plain and simple
you must show respect and have common sense."
I'm lovin my new bike!
South of the Border
_______________________
I was asked to shoot PipeMaster
Champ Jamie Obrien giving surf lessons a few weeks ago, but
decided to pass, as I was burnt out from having just finished
the VQS Championships. The next email I got though told me the
shoot would only last a couple hours, was only a couple blocks
from my house and was for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation...
I was in.
Jamie and his dad were
flown over here specifically for the event by a pharmaceutical
company. The
company is trying to promote
a saline based nebulizing aerosol for Cystic Fibrosis patients...
and Jamie, Newport's Cordell Miller, and Brad Ettinger went
beyond the call of duty to make sure everyone had a great time.
After the event I tried
to get Jamie to go and shoot Lowers, but all he could talk about
was the FlowRider in San Diego... and I heard he spent a lot
of time down there, and was launching himself all over the place.
Also while in California,
Arnette,
which includes team manager Brent Bearden (Newport's "Beandip"),
used the opportunity to sign Jamie to the their ever expanding
team. Look for the PipeMaster to be sporting cool Arnette shades
in the future.
Jamie's Shadeless Shaka...
in Newport
_________________________________________
The
Southern Hemi of the Decade & The Drama
Building Tuesday
Tuesday morning, April 10th, I flipped
on my cell phone early and found it already full of messages.
I ran to get my camera! West Newport was feeling the initial
pulse of 2 solid opposing hemisphere swells. Troy Ekert's double
barrel, Tom Rezvan's drive from behind, and Chad La Bass's deep
pit, that everyone stopped filming when he pulled into, and
then gasped at as he came flying out of, were some of the highlights.
As for the swells, the southern hemi just kept building!
Super
Wednesday
Unless you're a paddling champion, West
Newport was pretty unrideable at day break. "The Point"
was a giant 4 block long wall of water. And the Wedge... well
when the Wedge has 20ft faces, and there's only a few in the
water, you know it's heavy. It wasn't so much the size that
was limiting the crowd, it was the NW swell push and morning
sickness wreaking havoc on the shape. The word was that Timpton
got the barrel of all barrels the evening before.
Timmy Turner was the first to show with a board that morning,
he got one bomb, and left. Pat Towersey on his 4 fin, and "Barney",
who broke the fin out of his board before he even caught a wave,
showed up and wowed the crowd. If you wanted to surf in town
on Wednesday, and didn't have Laird Hamilton skills, then 44th
to the Newport Pier, or the East Harbor Jetty were your best
bets.
"The wave" I
can't talk about.
75 plus
cars, 20 plus video and still cameras, and a pack of pros mixed
in with ripping locals told you how good "the wave"
was. In high school, I'd had a place in the line-up in the area,
and as I looked at all the cameras lining the beach and the
cliff, I knew this media circus would not sit well with the
local crew. I shot for a couple hours, and headed to work. And,
as I drove north I noticed a surf magazine photographer shooting
line-up shots from up far atop the hill, and it became obvious
that this rare fickle wave was about to be thrust into the limelight.
"The Website"
and "The Wave"
After 10 hours of shooting, and 8 hours
at my real job, I got to spend until early the next morning
editing photos, damn I wish I was a coffee drinker! "The
wave" was the biggest surf news on the entire coast, and
the biggest surf news website, which I often shoot for, wanted
photos of it. They expected photos of it! One way or another
they were going to get photos of it, and if I wasn't going to
supply them, they would easily get them from someone else. No
names of "the wave" was the agreement, and photos
of "the wave" were sent.
First out, First to blame...
A photo I shot of Atwater team rider
Spence Pirdy standing tall and charging "the wave",
was one of the first images of the swell out of the gates ...
And two emails bitching about the release of it came flying
at me fast and furious. Hopefully they also took the time to
lash out at Surfermag.com and the Daily Pilot, who later named
"the wave"!
I contacted a couple locals in the area,
guys I'd surfed with years ago... If I hadn't supplied photos,
some clown less responsible would have, was my response. I vowed
not to release my images identifying "the wave" to
any magazines... to rally for them if I ever heard of a webcam
being planned there, and to help hold the ladder so it could
be dismantled if a webcam ever is. Additionally, I'm planning
to put together photos of the day for the local crew... if you're
one of the them, you'll hear about it. Surf photography, it's
too much fun...
Welcome to "the
wave"
____________________________
$100,000 in cash prizes, skateboards,
beach cruisers... plus a motorcycle, were won last weekend at
the VQS Championships in Newport. There was also a ton of free
goodies tossed into the crowd. Hats, sandals, clothes, hardgoods...
Just about everyone left the beach with something.
And then there was the giveaway
of all giveaways. 50 yards south of the contest area, as gear
was being thrown into the crowd, someone just outside the surf
zone started waving a brand new board! It only took a few seconds
for it to register with the crowd, and the race was on! Two
guys hit the water first, and swam neck to neck the entire distance
to the board. Below is the photo finish.
A shark nipping at these guy's
heels couldn't have gotten them to swim any faster.
Volcom board giveaway...
in Newport.
___________________________________
Barney jumping off the Wedge jetty was
pretty interesting, it's not exactly like jumping into the surf
at 28th St.. Plus those boulders are huge, and tripping into
one of the deep crevasses can easily happen. As a kid, we used
to go down there on the lowest tides of the year, and crawl
around the boulder spaces and find tons and tons of lost swim
fins. On the CDM side Woody Woodworth and his friends would
lose a surf mat that they rode off the end, and the thing would
bounce along the boulders, and disappear into one of the spaces...
Word is Barney jammed his finger on the rocks, and dislocated
it.
______________________________
A Dislocated Landing
When shooting water Newport's Josh Hoyer has a habit of trying
to boost over me. It's all in good fun and in the name of getting
a good photo I guess. I figure he's one of the best aerial surfers
around, and knows what he's doing... so I try and hang tight,
and concentrate on getting the shot as he's skimming my head.
Anyone else that boosts that close though, and I'm diving for
the bottom!
And so it was... As we were heading into the water to shoot,
Hoyer and I were joking about how close he'd come to landing
on me in the past... yea funny stuff, I guess? A short while
later... Hoyer's driving down the line towards me, when I notice
that familiar grin that tells me he's about to try and fly over
me... Hoyer crashes through the wave's lip, his board flying
high into the air with enough momentum to easily clear me...
but he's suddenly hit by a gush of offshore wind that brings
that momentum to a halt. As I'm diving for the bottom I'm just
hoping that it won't hurt to bad when he lands on me.
A little sore but still in one piece, we surface simultaneously,
nervously laughing... until we see Hoyer's finger. The finger
is not cut and is still attached to his hand, which is good,
but it's severely dislocated, severely! It appears he'd jammed
his finger into the waterhousing when he landed on me. And now
bobbing around in the shorebreak we try to no avail to force
the finger back into it's joint. I gotta admit, I would have
needed a bullet to bite on due to the pain, but damn, Hoyer
didn't even wince! Hours at Hoag, xrays, resetting of the now
chipped bone, and a splint finger... and Hoyer is nearly as
good as new to boost again... next time though, let him boost
over you.
Hoyer seconds before impact...
Hoyer, seconds after...
in
Newport
_________________________________________
In early 2007, a few hundred yards from
shore, extending from 40th to 56th St., were large groups of
seals. There were over 300 of the agile beasts by one estimate.
It was a strange site, with one long time oceanfront resident
saying she hadn't seen anything like it in her 45 years of living
on the beach.
Theories of the seal invasion ran the
gamut. They came to dine of the grunion that have been running
at night. Halibut came to dine on the grunion, and the seals
came to dine on the Halibut. And the more probable cause, according
to the Newport Animal Control, the seals came to feed on the
unusually large amount of baitfish currently off the Newport
coast.
I'm just glad all 300 of them didn't
know how to bodysurf.
Early Springtime crowd...
off 44th
Ship-Wreaks...
in Newport
--------------------------------------------------
"The
Recent Strong North Winds in Newport"
If you live in the 100 block, it sandblasts
your house.
If you walk to the beach, you get sand in your mouth.
The sand on the beach, gets blown to
the bay.
The trash cans in your alley, get blown to San Diego County.
Because of the currents you can't stay
in one place.
Because of the currents the sandbars get washed away.
The water is brown, and you can't see
your board when you're sitting on it.
The water is cold, and you can't feel your fingers or toes when
you get out of it.
The Huntington crew shows up to surf.
The Blackies crew shake their heads and go off to work...
Brian D., throwing water...
Windswell @ Blackies.
____________________________________
Mark Jeremias is a life long Newport
surfer and accomplished film maker. Click the poster below to
get a taste of his latest and greatest surf epic. "One
California Day".
Alex Knost styling on the One California
Day movie poster...
Mark Jeremias, styling One California
Day at Blackies
__________________________________--
Newport surf shop Surfside Sports has
made the big move! Surfside has vacated there location near
the Newport Pier, and moved to West 17th. St., next to Staples.
How big is their new shop? You could fit every surfshop in Newport,
and a couple Huntington shops as well into the new giant store!
So when you're in need of surfwear or hardgoods, head straight
to the new SurfSide Sports SuperStore.. because if they don't
have it, then it probably doesn't exist.
.jpg)
Duke and Paul elbow to elbow
in the smaller quarters of their old location...
______________________________________
Newport surfers Mike Gayer and John Morris
have begun the development of an internet site that will provide
a unique service. The site called Hookuku, meaning "Contest
or Gathering" will provide surf contest organizers a free
and easy to use service for running a surf event. To find out
more about this "Interactive Surf Contest Management Service",
click the link below...
HooKuKu
Mike G. managing to
keep all 3 fins in the water while laying it on edge...in Newport
_________________________________
After weeks of dealing with
a flat ocean, when surf finally did arrive late December, people
up and down the coast were hungry, and a bit greedy to get a
wave...
"Sharing" in
Orange County
______________________________
It's been a busy past 6 months
at this insignificant website. Starting with the Van's Pro last
March, NewportSurfShots.com has shot the finals of nearly every
major surf event on the West Coast. And I'm elated to say the
last event of the summer surf contest season is over, the Newport
Pro.
People say real surf photographers
don't shoot surf contests, and I couldn't agree more. What they
do for a wanna be photog however is allow you to network with
other photogs and surfers, teach you how to shoot in the worst
possible lighting conditions, challenge you to make a boring
event look interesting, and force you to learn to get photos
out to publications fast, really fast... like within a few hours
after the event. Ya real surf photographers don't shoot surf
contests, but the knowledge gained from shooting them is invaluable,
and ya gotta pay your dues...
Say good-bye to the summer
surf contest season of 06'
_____________________________________________
Warren Bolster
1947 - 2006
(This was the "Hotshot"
on April 4th, 2004)
I was on my way to
Todos to shoot the biggest swell of the winter, when I got a
call that it was blown out... I ended
up instead at a San Diego reef, one of the few places on the
coast that was holding the swell. As I was shooting the reef,
this old looking guy with a severe limp, a cigarette hanging
out of his mouth, an old shabby backpack, and a crazy look in
his eye, walks up to me, and in a raspy voice, asks me who I'm
shooting. He then starts babbling that he used to surf, that
his eyes were bad, and that he recently took some photos in
Hawaii. There's no way this guy even owns a camera I thought.
We stood there together, him
talking in circles, and asking me strange questions about photography,
and me hoping that he would go away. He then reaches into his
backpack and pulls out a strange box with dials and and antenna
on it. "What's that"? I ask. It's a remote control
to an experimental camera board I designed that's out in the
line-up", he answers. What the...!! He then hands me his
card and asks me to shoot sequence from the beach, while he
controls the camera board in the water. On the card is a photo
shot from inside a crystal clear island barrel, and the name
Warren Bolster. A guy who in many people's opinion is the greatest
water based surf photographer of all time... I was fricken stunned!
(Click
here for some of his amazing work)
Warren Bolster's camera board...
in San Diego
In the ongoing quest to promote
local surfers. NewportSurfShots.com has teamed up with Fuel
TV and is now providing the network surfing images for wireless
products, including wallpaper for phones. A few downloadable
surfing images of the local crew are currently available on
Fuel TV's website, and many more will be rotated onto the site
in the future. Click the link below and checkout some of the
local crew in action.
Fuel
TV
Put one of these lovable
local creatures on your phone today
_______________________________________________
"POOCH" HERE, ALWAYS HAS
A SMILE AND AN "ALOHA" FOR EVERYONE THAT SURFS THE
BLACKIES AREA... AND NOW THE UNOFFICIAL CITY GREETER THROWS
A DOUBLE "SHAKA" TO THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AND
WISHES THEM
A HAPPY 100 YEAR BIRTHDAY!
Great Food, Great Music, Great People,
and fun activities for the kids....
Newport Harbor High School
This year's NHHS Junior and Senior class is special to this
site. Nearly 3 years ago, when they were in their early High
School years, and developing into good surfers, I began taking
pictures of them surfing. Some of them knew me as one of the
grumpy older surfers from the Lower Jetties area, and I'm sure
rolled their eyes at my feeble photographic attempts.
Over the years they worked with me however and put up with
me pointing a camera at them on the beach, in the water, and
while dropping in on them. Additionally they met up with me
at dusk, at dawn, at dark, and at out of town places for surf
photo shoots. They also tolerated being blinded by a flash while
surfing, agreed to surf bad conditions so I could experiment
with photo equipment, and took time out before sprinting out
to the water to let me know the surf and lighting conditions
were good.
As my knowledge of photography and their surfing skills
grew, our working relationship paid off. A couple of them landed
photos in ads, the newspaper, on the internet, plus a magazine
feature. Without a doubt, these young surfers are one of the
most important reasons for the advancement of this site's photography.
It's been a pleasure for me watching their surfing progress,
and them mature into responsible young adults during the last
few years.
Last month NHHS had their annual surf banquet. NewportSurfShots.com,
as well as supportive school parent Joe R. had a slide show.
Additionally Regan R. presented a NHHS surf film. Check the
album section for NewportSurfShots.com's 15 minute slideshow
of the local kids shot over the last few years, accompanied
by tribal music from Australia's Yothu Vindi, available on Hollywood
Records.
NHHS's Joey H's Smooth Slice...
July 2003
NHHS's Joey H's Fin Free
Slice... Feb. 2006.
___________________________________
Dark Monday...
The Day the Surfboard Industry stood still.
Clark Foam, the maker of 90% of surfboard
blanks in the U.S., recently announced that they are immediately
halting business. The company cited local Fire Authority and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) infractions, and continued
litigation with these agencies related to foam blank production
as the reason for their closure.
What does this mean to you, the surfer,
right now? At present, there is no large volume manufacture
in the United States that supplies polyurethane blanks, the
ones used in most surfboard production. Inevitable blanks from
foreign countries such as Australia and parts of Asia might
arrive, but blank supplies in those countries are limited, and
the cost of them is uncertain. Additionally the lag time for
those blanks to find their way into the shaping bays of U.S.
board manufactures will not happen overnight, which will surely
financially impact surfboard shapers and glass shops throughout
the U.S..
Large U.S. board manufactures (think Merric, Rusty & Lost)
are one step ahead of the masses, and have set up shop overseas,
and are ready for surfboard production. They, as well as "pop
out" Tuflite surfboards, will undoubted attempt to fill
the surfboard void in the U.S. market, but at what increased
cost to the consumer, is uncertain.
Alternatives to polyurethane Clark
blanks for surfboard construction do exist, and the current
issue of Surfing Magazine discusses some of them. But at present,
most shapers and glassers in the U.S. are not up to speed on
working with these EPS/Epoxy alternatives.
For now, keep that board of yours
safe, and away from the rocks! Because it's not going to be
easy, or cheap to replace any time soon. If NewportSurfShots.com
can make any announcements for any of those in the local surfboard
shaping or glassing community, please let me know... Best wishes
to everyone who has been impacted by this untoward event.
"Mowing
Polyurethane"
___________________________________________________
A few weeks ago NewportSurfShots.com held it's first ever
slide show. 711 slides over 42 minutes. The goal was to try
and represent every surf spot in Newport, and include as many
different people in it as possible. In late August, when I was
offered the opportunity to do the show, I thought it was to
late to get record company's permission to use the songs that
I wanted in the show. So we came up with the idea of using a
live DJ. I think the DJ did a pretty good job that night.
Next year I hope to have the opportunity to showcase everyone's
surfing again, and to put together a sound track to go along
with it. If any surf companies or clubs would like to use this
year's slide show at one of their events, let me know. Thanks
to those that were able to attend, I hope you enjoyed it.
A Newport local... enjoying
the slide show.
__________________________________
Hawaiian female power surfer Kealea Kennelly had never surfed
Newport before. But a couple weeks ago, after losing in the
quarter finals of the Malibu WCT event, a heat she said she
lost due to poor wave selection... she ended up in Newport at
a friend's house. And the next morning she paddled out and tapped
into the power of 54th St... well ok so maybe it wasn't that
powerful, but it was playful.
Her impression of Newport's famous sandbar... "it was
ok". Hopefully one day she'll return, and catch"The
Point" when there's double overhead bombs or "The
Wedge" when there's dredging death pits... there's plenty
of power in those waves.
Kealea
Kennelly... playing in Newport
______________________________________
Da Water Update
During this summer my boards
often sat in my garage growing cobwebs, while I instead spent
a lot of my surf time figuring out how to shoot from the water.
You don't know how many times I envisioned tossing my camera,
wrestling someone's board away from them, and using it to grab
a few waves of my own. My efforts however are starting to pay
off, as I'm now spending less time swimming in circles, and
more time lining up ok shots. When I told a professional surf
photographer last spring that I was going to add water photography
to my mix, he just laughed, "you poor guy, you have no
idea what you're in for"! As I've found out, shooting water
takes a lot of preparation, is a hell of a lot of work, and
2 hours of floating around with a box strapped to your arm,
taking waves on the head, and dodging people, often results
in only a hand full of good photos. Yea I've got a ton of photos
of people going straight down the line and and what have you,
but that's not what I'm looking to get. Because the number of
good photos from each water shoot is minimal, I'll be putting
water shots in albums only when I get a decent amount of good
ones.
Eric, toying with the tube... @ 54
__________________________________________
Three years ago this week,
long time Newport surfer Steve Webster was killed in a terrorist
bombing on the small Indonesian island of Bali. If you look
on the 52nd St. jetty you'll see a plaque embedded into the
rocks in his honor. Recenlty 3 additional bombs exploded on
the small island, killing 25 and wounding 100, numbers that
are sure to rise. My wife and I have kept in touch with a local
guy that was our driver when we visited the island years ago.
This father of 3 reported that over the last year the tourist
dollars that the locals depend on were beginning to return to
the island. Saturday's bombings is sure to be a blow to their
businesses and Bali's economy. For info. on Bali's surf, and
news from the Bali surf community, click the link below. Crazy
fricken world we live in.
The Wedge
____________________________________________________________________
In the 70's there was a free skate
park in Irvine that we used to skate, but after a similar city's
skate park was sued by a skater that hurt himself, they shut
it down, fearful of a lawsuit. This drove us to be creative
and look for other places to skate. The Orange Coast College
pool when empty was one of them, as was a reservoir near the
top of Margaret in Corona del Mar...
Recently a skate park opened to the
public in Costa Mesa, and NewportSurfShots.com's Kiefer is in
tune on what's happening up there. Look for him to post some
skate albums in the future.
Volcom
team rider "Maddog" busting concrete air... in Costa
________________________________________________-
NewportSurfShots.com's 15 minutes
of fame came and went... Thanks to Laylan Connelly at the Orange
County Register for all her hard work in putting the article
together.
_________________________________________________
The Quiet
is Shattered
An incident occurred nearly 30 years ago
in front of the small Balboa Bay beach in which I grew up that
I will always remember. A couple of vans pulled up one weekend
next to our house, and a group of kids and their chaperones
piled out for a day of fun in the bay's calm waters. The bay
was clean back then, and to us kids in the neighborhood, the
channel in front of the house was our big swimming pool. We
knew every nook and cranny of every seawall, dock, boat and
bridge in the area.
In the early afternoon we heard sirens screaming
down the street, stopping at the foot of the beach. Apparently
one of the teenage boys had been swimming in the bay, when he
suddenly gasped for air and went under. The guard that manned
the beach tower was alerted to the incident, and was in the
water frantically looking for him. He was soon joined by other
guards. Unfortunately they did not find him, and the objective
turned to retrieving the body. The lifeguard deptartment asked
all the locals watching the ordeal to get their mask and fins
and assist in the search. No way your saying to yourself, they
would never ask that! Well this was 30 years ago, when rules,
regulations, policies and procedures were a lot different.
The age cut off to participate was in the
mid teens and those, including myself, that were to young ran
to Bay Island to watch the search. All of the "divers"
lined up across the length of the channel, 2 blocks north, under
Bay Island bridge. On command from a lifeguard everyone dove
to the bottom of the shallow channel, scoured it for a body
and resurfaced. The line of divers then moved up a few feet,
and repeated the maneuver. The group did this for the length
of the channel and found nothing. I remember some of the guys
being pretty freaked out by the experience when talking to them
afterward.
The city then brought in the O.C. Sheriff's
scuba divers, and they soon found the young man under a Bay
Island dock, in eel grass. Our house was the command post during
the ordeal, and sanctuary for the victim's friends. We learned
from them that the teenager had a history of Epileptic Seizures.
So it became evident that a seizure most likely occurred, which
resulted in him engulfing water, and drowning. The chaperones
of the outing were in total shock, absolutely devastated by
the mishap, and my parents did what they could for them.
A couple weeks ago sirens sounded throughout
the lower jetties area, and the rescue vehicles turned up 27th
St.. If sirens turn up a 100 block, it usually means something
is occurring on the beach. When I arrived the paramedics were
securing an IV, airway and performing CPR . The 48 year old
male had been pulled from the water and was reportedly a suicide
attempt. The telling photos shot I don't think should be posted.
Suffice to say the police, fire dept., and lifeguards where
on the scene immediately, instituted heroic measures, and the
victim was immediately transferred to Hoag with vital signs,
but later died. Ironically at approximately the same time, a
woman leap from one of Newport's bay bridges in an unrelated
suicide attempt. NewportSurfShots.com will not make a habit
of reporting similar events.
_________________________________________________________
Wheels
2 Water
Laylan Connelly has always been extremely close to her older
brother. Tragically a few years ago her brother was shot while
on a motorcycle at a stop light. The shooting was without motive,
no one was ever apprehended, and it resulted in her brother
being paralyzed.
Laylan is a reporter for the Orange County Register newspaper,
and has the monumental job of covering any and everything that
occurs in the Newport area. If something is happening in our
town, you can be sure she is digging up the facts on it for
the paper.
Last Fall Laylan became aware of the Wheels 2 Water event
held at Blackies. She subsequently contacted myself, and the
founder of the organization Travis Tremble. Which then lead
her to write a compelling, in-depth article on the newly formed
organization. It is an article she was very compassionate about
writing, given her brothers paralysis. Read
the story online by clicking here
_______________________________________________
The Eland
is not ONland anymore.
The dredge support ship, the Eland, was being
passed a line from shore Sunday morning near Orange St., when
the vessel nudged the sandbar. Those that live in the Shores
said the captain gunned the engine so hard attempting to prevent
the ship from running aground, that there were huge clouds of
black smoke in the air, and they thought there was a fire. One
of the lifeguards who watched it happen, said 'that when the
ship began to become stuck, it swung around perpendicular to
the beach, and waves started hitting the side of it". This
pushed the vessel further towards shore, and up onto the sandbar.
The tide dropped throughout the day, and there was little chance
of freeing it up and getting it back out to sea.
On Monday the crew
of the Eland choose to try and free the ship without the expensive
assistance of a tug boat. The 158ft. ship with 20,000 gallons
of fuel rocked a bit, but remained embedded in the sand. Mid
morning when the skipper of the vessel looked out from his perch
and saw the Fire Dept., Police, Lifeguards, a City Councilman,
the Contractor, and the Dept. of Fish & Game gathered in
a circle along the side his vessel, he must of known his company's
checkbook was coming out immediately.
_________________________________________
Growing up on the Balboa Peninsula,
our crew used to surf the dumping shore pound around 7th St
during windswells. The wave was garbage, but it was cool for
us to say we surfed in front of our houses. At the age of 13,
I was surfing the thumping walls, and was hit by my board so
hard that it broke my front tooth off, and imbedded it into
the fiberglass of my board.
Kip A. was out surfing Blackies recently
when his board hit him in the mouth and chipped not one, but
both of his front teeth. It was pretty surprising how cool he
was about it, considering he was looking at spending some quality
time in the dental chair. How he avoided a split lip during
the accident is still a mystery. Word is his smile has already
been repaired...
It's always better
to smash the lip, than be smashed by the lip.
Will A. smashing through
the lip... @ 54th St.
________________________________
NewportSurfShots.com's archive section
has only been around about 6 months. Prior to the archive a
"Hotshot" of someone would be up one day, and down
the next. Often the person in the photo never found out about
it until days later, and missed out on seeing it. It is for
this reason that once a week NewportSurfShots.com will present
a "Hotshot" feature from long ago. It might be the
first time you've seen it, it might be one you don't remember,
or it might be a photo and feature of you that you never knew
existed.
The big storm
during Jan. woke up another one of Newport's secret surf spots.
Mike L. surfed fun ankle high lefts at 39th and Balboa Blvd.
yesterday, with the occasional waist high set coming through
when a bus drove by. I also heard there was a top to bottom
right off of a raised curb at 48th and River. If the high tide
along with rain persisted, look for both of those new surf spots
to be extremely crowded. As of now Newport lifeguards have no
plans to blackball either place during rush hour traffic. Mike
L. signaling a left lane change @ 39th......... and Balboa Blvd.
___________________________________________________
The Clean up
The City of Newport Beach can be a
difficult place to reside in. The parking regulators at times
seem to institute covert tactics in order to nail a ticket to
your windshield. The growth a few of the City Council Members
try to institute, often seems absurd. And then there's the building
dept. Try getting their stamp of approval on anything the first
time you present it, it's just not going to happen.
But there is one dept of the city
that deserves kudos, especially lately. The beach maintenance
department. When the large chunks of lifeguard ramp broke off
from the Newport Pier last month and ended up on the beach,
they removed it the next day. When the recent storm washed tons
of debris onto the beach, they were out the moment the weather
cleared to start the long process of cleaning up. And when 500
large squid washed up onto our sands last week, even though
all the squid somehow mysteriously vanished by the next day,
the maintain crews had prepared to rid the beach of the creatures
the following morning.
The end of January a few of us were
walking the beach and commented on how fast it was starting
to look like it's old self. We noted however that the large
amount of kelp and debris that had filled in and blanketed the
rocks of each jetty, would have to wait and be washed off by
the next large swell and high tide combo. But sure enough, the
next day the maintenance crews were out in full force digging,
scooping out, and shoveling the debris and kelp from the crevices
of each jetty.
Those guys are
awesome!
Sean M., solid hit in front
of what is now a
clean 28th st. jetty.
________________________________________________
Blah, blah, blah, the River is still
flowing. Blah, blah, blah the water is still
brown and Upper West Newport
beaches are still closed. Blah, blah, blah the beaches and jetties
are still littered with debris. Blah, blah, blah there are hundreds
of large squid scattered on the beach... Large Squid?
Jan 19th the beaches of Newport were
littered with squid up to 6ft. in length. Strewn on the beach
in front of the small walled surf in the lower jetties on Wed.
alone, there were nearly a hundred of the ocean creatures. The
Register Newspaper is reporting that they may have been
chasing bait fish and got washed up onto the beach.
On another note, a crew of surfers racing
off of Newport in an Aluminum boat hit the 32nd st. jetty a little
after dark on Jan 19th. Word is no one was seriously hurt, except
for the boat, a few surfboards, and the boat driver's ego.
Contaminated Water, Giant
Squid, A Ship Wreck...
Remember when the only exciting
thing that ever happened along the coast of Newport was a big
air.
Big
Air @ "The Point
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I
hate to say it, but if you have been surfing only Newport the
3rd week of Jan, you missed out. Sure you got that one barely
head high wave, after waiting 20 minutes, that raced down the
beach. But the word is everywhere else on the coast was overhead
and perfect. I too am guilty of staying put, and have had to
endure reading emails, and listening to people tell me how good
Rincon, Trestles, Swami's, Sunset Cliffs... and every river
mouth up and down the coast was.
To
much West, to long interval, not enough sand, to much sand...
whatever, Newport missed out on the meat of the swell. But then
again, when Newport's beloved " Point" was double
overhead last summer, how good do you think Swami's or Rincon
was?
Oneill
team rider Nick J., taking off ...
@ 28th
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