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Friday, May 16th, 2008

Blackies surfing icon Peter Kalionzes was ripped off Tuesday night! Blackies Pete stopped by his son Nick's office at Bliss Magazine, on 31st St. to visit him. On top of Pete's car, in a Prolite bag, was a 9'0 Cordrell that Nick had presented his dad for his birthday. When he came out of the office... the board was gone. The board has a single stringer, with an Orange Cordell lam on the top and bottom, and Pete's name, along with a note from Cordell, written on the foam. Please be on the lookout for this board... we all are!

Pete enjoying his birthday present...

and

It's that time of the year again...

Tomorrow Sat. is the Peninsula Pride Dodge Ball on the Beach 4!

Stop by the Newport Elementary black top and watch your favorite team get maimed and pelted!

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... in Newport

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California Pro surfer Alex Gray was nice enough again this year to narrate a slideshow of photos from last weekend's Volcom World Championships, held at 54th... and it turned out pretty damn funny. Click the photo below to see the show.

Newport's Pat Towersey strikes a pose... at the Volcom World Championships

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For a preview of the Volcom World Championships, click the photo below, and check back for a link to a slide show of the crazy event...

Team Volcom... All pumped up!

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The MOB

(The Mothers On Boards)

For more and more mothers in town sitting on the beach while their family surfs, or taking their kids to the skate park and waiting for them in the car is a thing of the past.

Paddle out on any given day at Blackies, the Lower Jetties or any playful wave in Orange County for that matter, and you'll see an increasing plethora of "grown up girls" in the line-up... Moms. The City of Newport Beach even has a surf class specifically for them.

Is this just a fad? It's doubtful!

Over the years my wife has shown limited interest in riding a surfboard, but like many other moms in the area she has caught surf fever.. and caught it bad! Why? She attributes it to lighter more forgiving boards, warmer more flexible wetsuits, and an increasing acceptance from a male dominated line-up.

Without a doubt this segment of the surfing populace is one of the fastest growing in the sport, and with a mother's buying power, it's only a matter of time until the surf industry begins marketing to them.

So for now, if your kid's mom catches surf fever, prepare your garage for an onslaught of girly colored wetsuits and fun boards.

And if your mom catches surf fever... You kids better get out there, cause if she starts surfing better than you, your friends are going to ruin you.

To the ever increasing MOB pack that frequents the Newport area.. Happy Mothers Day weekend from NewportSurfShots.com

A few of the local MOB

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For a slideshow of some of last weekend's south swell action, click the photo below...

Atwater's "Spides"... Throwing water... Newport

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Warmer water, clearer skies, lighter morning wind, and a combo swell filled into town Friday and Saturday... and people in town were on it.

With Lowers shut down due to a WQS contest recently, Super Shaper Cordel Miller was unable to sneak off to his beloved break, and was left to surf at home... and people took notice. in Newport.

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You might have heard that Northern Baja was getting back to normal. Reportedly violence has been down and police are being more than cordial to all traveling tourist. But last weekend a nail was once again driven into the tourist economy. Click the photo below...

The real victims of the violence... Those that rely on the tourist economy...

(Photo copyright Cozad 2007)

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Better days in Newport

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Just a few who have been doing it for years..

 

Cordell @ 28th.... Mikey G. @ 32nd... Davey S. @ 36th.... Ted M. @ 40th.... Mike B. & Lorin E. @ 44th, Moysa @ 48th.... Chad L. @ North Side 52nd, Blackman & Nicolai @ South Side 52nd, Ronnie N. @ North Side 56th. And for the past 35+ years Lee Granger has been doing it at South Side 56th...

 

Pulling in deep behind the jetty... Casey K.

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Thinking of grabbing a few waves in South County later this week? Think again...

The Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro surf contest starts today, and runs into the weekend. The yearly WQS event is usually plagued by south wind and less than idea surf. This year however a dose of SW is forecast to fill in towards week's end. Click the photo below for a link to the event's website...

Chris Ward, at home, at Lowers

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Stoked for a buddy... in Newport

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Mr. Adam Popp

Last year everyone in town was unbelievable supportive of Newport's Adam Popp during his fight with cancer... and Adam beat the destruction disease! Unfortunately however, the cancer returned. Here is Adam's story...

"In late February I began having some side and back
pain that felt like a pulled muscle. I was due for a
CT scan the beginning of March, so I just waited for
that. It turned out that a lymph node on the right side
of my abdomen had the same type of cancer that I had last
summer, and it was now pinching my ureter, causing my kidney and
bladder to back up, thus causing the pain.

I had a stint placed in my ureter mid March and then began the
first of 20 treatments of Radiation Therapy March 24. My last
treatment was 10 days ago and the Radiation has left me
with an upset stomach and extreme fatigue. I am scheduled
for a CT scan the beginning of May to see if the Radiation did it's job."

Please keep Adam in your thoughts and prayers...

Adam Popp staying fit with a healthy dose of surfing... Wed., in Newport

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Newport's Chris McLaughlin flies to Bali next week.. but Wed. he took time out of his busy schedule to fly around the shorebreak of Newport.

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Earth Day...

We have probed the earth, excavated it, burned it, ripped things from it, buried things in it.... That does not fit the definition of a good tenant. If we were here on a month-to-month basis, we would have been evicted long ago.
- Rose Elizabeth Bird


If you know where this world class wave is, then you know there's been a plan to develop the area. The latest word is a geological study of the terrain found it to be unsafe to build on... Perhaps Mother Nature alone won this one.

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As a single father, Newport's Skip Snead knows a thing or two about a child's interest. And after having written an episode of Rocket Power for Nickelodean a while back, he recently decided to try his hand at writing and illustrating a Children's book... and the response to the book has been really good. The cover can be viewed, and the book purchase at Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.com.

Snead's inspiration...

Strider Snead. Springtime Skate Session... in Newport

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...............................................................Welcome to Newport

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Newport's Jared C..... @ Rocky Point

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What's been going on with Factor54 lately?

Click the link below and find out...

Factor54 raising money to grow

Todd Miller, ready to take on the surf wear industry...

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April 15th, Tax Day!

Transworld Surf photo editor Arron Checkwood... excited about Tax Day.

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From the producer of the surf films Snapt 1 & 2, comes Newport film maker Chad Towersey's new creation. For a glimpse of some of his recent film's action, click the link below...

Sons Of Sickness

Chad Towersey, surfing as well as those he shoots...

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For the last several years Joe Riggo Sr. (above) has been instrumental in providing photos for NHHS's surf team. Joe's son graduated from NHHS a few years ago, yet Joe Sr. still graciously gives his time to shoot the team during competition... and he's becoming quite a photog! See below...

Newport's Joe Riggio Jr., now attending school at U.C.S.B., nabs a solid one on campus.

(Photo by Joe Riggio Sr.)

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Click the photo below to see who won the Global Big Wave Awards.

Greg Long, Todos Santos, 11:14am, Dec. 5th, 2007

Winning wave, Billabong XXL Paddle In Award

(Photo copyright Tom Cozad)

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Caught in the action

During the 80's and into the 90's anyone that surfed Newport was estatic to have their photo taken by surf photographer Mike Moir. Back then there wasn't the army of would be photogs stumbling all over each other in town like there are now. There was mainly Randy Johnson, Dick McCoy, and Master Moir who shot the surf in Newport.

On Oct. 20th, "Offshore Sunday" of this year, I ran into Mike while I was shooting off 56th jetty. He had a camera with a fisheye lens in a housing, and he had it set high up on a pole. Pure Genius!! And although he told me not to worry about it, I tried my best to stay out of his way while he was at work. Still though I thought I might be getting in his shots, so I packed up and moved elsewhere, eager to see where his photos of the session would end up, and what they'd look like.

When I got home from work the other night, my wife and I flipped through the new issue of Surfer Magazine. And Low and Behold there it was, a double page spread by Mike Moir from that day... but with my dumb self standing right in the middle of the photo... Damn, I wish they hadn't Photo Shopped out the NewportSurfShots.com on the back of my shirt...

Master Moir @ work... "Offshore Sunday" in Newport

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ARCHY The movie

Click the photo for more info.

Archy... in Newport

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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

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Word is that one time Balboa Peninsula resident Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar, still rocks at concerts, and he's 70!

Unfortunately Dick is undergoing major surgery Friday at Cedars Sinai Hospital for cancer. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. You can find out info. about him at www.dickdale.com.

Dick Dale, forever a music legend...

(Photo Cathy Brumier)

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NewportSurfShots received so many classic emails on April Fools day from people complaining about it supposedly being sold...

NewportSurfShots was sold???

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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

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Under cloudy, clear, rainy, dry, warm, cold, glassy and blown out conditions. Last weekend NHHS held the...

9th Annual Newport Classic

Check out FiatSurf.com, and the NHHS's Surf Team website for additional photos of the event.

Winner of the coveted High School Division Chase Wilson, feeling right at home...

(Photo Toby Sharp)

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Larry Christensen poised and in no hurry to come out...

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One of the best underground rippers in town, and a staple off the end of the 56th St. Jetty...

BlankStyle owner Jared, tearing into another one off the jetty.

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After years out of the surf industry, consulting, and running a successful hat and foreign apparel line, ex Surfing Magazine Editor Skip Snead is now back in the surf business. Skip recently took over management of J.C. Surfboards as its V.P. of Sales and Marketing. Look for great things to happen to the surfboard company, because when Skip puts his mind to something... great things happen.

A High Flying J.C... in Newport

(Photo Casey Kalinyak)

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The nominees for the 2008 Billabong XXL awards have been announced. Click the photo below and check them out.

Not XXL, but still pretty damn big... Adam @ Todos.

(photo copyright T. Cozad 2008)

"If I had 2 legs I could do that!"

Cyrus @ Blackies

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If you haven't seen Surfline's slideshow of early Spring in California. Click the photo below.

Springing into Spring @ Lowers.

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Fresh off a 6 week jaunt to Australia, and now with a new sponsorship...

Analog team rider, Brightton "Bones" Brandenburger.... @ Lowers.

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Lowers

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Frequent local surf film maker "Norwell" was in San Deigo last week filming a music video, when strong offshore winds kicked up early one evening. Instead of heading to his out of state home after the shoot, he changed his itinerary... and unexpectantly showed up on my door step around midnight.... amping to shoot good surf in Newport the following morning.

Turn your speakers up, and click the photo below to see his movie of the day.

A Norwell9 Production.
Music provided by Mizota of DJ Culture in Huntington Beach.

Norwell's 99 problems

Team Froghouse... happy about Movie Day.

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The Reef Ad?

Victor D.... on Reef, above reef, and with a reef model beside him...

(Photo by Becky Peterson)

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Pipeline

People are wondering what's up with the pipe and chain-link fence on the 32nd st. jetty... A guy is building a house on 34th and Oceanfront. He's building an underground garage, and when he dug the hole for it... water poured in. So he brought a tractor in, and dug a huge hole in the sand in front of his house, and dumped the water into it. For some crazy reason he thought the city wouldn't care. You can imagine what the city inspector had to say when he saw a huge hole in the middle of the beach. The guy immediately had to have it filled.

Now the guy has run a pipe buried under the sand, from his garage on 34th to the 32nd st. jetty, and out on the rocks. Once the garage is finished being built, and there is no more water seeping into it, the pipe will be removed.

Now most people in town can't even hammer a nail in the side of their building without pages and pages of city permits... Go figure.

Backdoor Pipeline.. in Hawaii

(Photo copyright T. Cozad)

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"Flying in the wind"... F54 team rider Leon in Newport

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The surfing conditions? The flag says it all...

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Local 44th st. surfer Lorin E. attended the City of Newport Beach's recent council meeting on the proposed sand relocation project. Lorin noted he had a good conversation with Mike Sinacori (City Engineer) and Chris Webb (Coastal Scientist) about the project. And stated they seem very receptive to the proper placement of the sand (ie shaping it to enhance the local surfing sand bars).

Respected Newport city beach activist Jim Brooks also attended the meeting. He plans to ask the city 3 questions in advance of the next public hearing, so that they have time to adequately prepare clear cut answers. Those questions are...

(1) What will the width of the beach be after the sand dumping?

(2) What will the sand height be?

(3) What will the slope of beach be?

During the recent meeting Lorin did note one surprise. In a separate project, the city will be dredging the back bay and dumping the sand near the shore in the Santa Ana River Jetties/Prospect st. area in a week or so. The project is a done deal, and while it appears it won't have any impact on the surf, the dredge material does contains 70% sand, and 30% silt and 'other stuff'... That material that is silt and other stuff is planned to be dropped into the ocean at a site far offshore.

Additional info. about the beach expansion project can be viewed here as it becomes available.


A pack of locals, ready to protect their beach...

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It was sketchy heading to Baja last month, as no one could guarantee what the conditions would be like in the morning. I'd just gotten back from Hawaii the night before, and wanted to just stay home, relax and surf the building swell. But when I was offered a ride "South of the Border", and a boat to shoot from... and then heard about the Tanner Bank buoy readings... I had to go!

Click the photo below to see some of the action from "South of the Border" during the recent swell.

10ft X 10ft... l

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Below is a blurred image from one of one of the heaviest barrels I've ever shot. The sequence won't be released on the internet... as it's being saved for print.

Greg Long waited patiently out the back for a bomb to come in Monday. He scratched into it, drove throw it like a bulldozer, got annihilated by the lip, and came up with 2 pieces of his board. The guy is one of the nicest people you could meet, and is super human in the water.

Greg Long... A long way from making it out...

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Surf doesn't get much better than this...

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Full Suit, Booties, Gloves, Helmet, and a Life Vest??

Safe, Warm & Happy... in Hawaii

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@ Rocky Point

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When Newport starts booming, and there's barrels to be had, there's guys in town that stick to their longboards and set out looking for bottomless pits. Farwell, Beandip, R.P. and this guy are some of them.

Nate W., preparing to thread his big board into a big barrel...

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High Tide Swampage

Oneill's Kaleigh G. squeezes in one last big turn before the wave dumps onto dry sand...

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"The Board Bandit" @ Blackies

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Big Boil in Baja

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Got Change?

Parking in Newport is ridiculous. When younger I used to buy these really junky cars for a couple hundred dollars and park them any and everywhere in Newport that I needed to. In the red, during street sweeping days, at expired meters. I racked up a crazy amount of parking tickets. And when I turned 18, I went to the courthouse, threw myself at the mercy of the judge, and was sentenced to cleaning the Harbor Municipal Court judges chambers.

And with my record cleaned, I started fresh... racking up more parking tickets around town again. In fact every time I got about 25 tickets, the city would come and tow my car away, and sell it at auction. No problem though, I'd just buy another junker.

Well now days the city is more calculated, and there's no way you can play those games. Currently in Newport there is an Annual Parking Pass that allows you to park at only blue meters. And a Master Parking Pass, that allows you to park at any blue or silver meter, plus any of the city lots. The Master Pass though, at a cost of $625.00 a year, should allow you to park in the middle of the street or on the sidewalk, and should come with a valet that parks your car.

Below are the new parking pass fees for 2008...

The Annual Permit fees are as follows. If purchased during:

January 1 through March 31: $100

July 1 through September 30: $ 50

April 1 through June 30: $ 75

October 1 through December 31: $ 25

The Master Permit fees are prorated as follows. If purchased during:

January 1 through March 31: $625

July 1 through September 30: $313

April 1 through June 30: $469

October 1 through December 31: $156

These guys get hungry... in Newport

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"This, is probably gonna hurt!"...

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... in Newport

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NewportSurfShots isn't one to waste your time boring you with photos of sunsets... But New Year Day's sunset was pretty amazing.

2008 is looking bright... in Newport

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2007

With a never ending run of NW swells that were too steep, the surf in Newport during the Winter of 2007 was pretty uneventful. The Spring of 2007 however arrived with one of the biggest Southern Hemi swells to hit town in years. The Summer of 2007 flew by without a single hurricane swell in Newport. The Fall of 07' had one of the best offshore days in recent memory. November of 07' had an uncharacteristic large Southern Hemi swell hit town. And early December delivered one of the biggest West swells of the decade. Here's to another interesting year of surf in Newport.

Waiting to see what 2008 will deliver. In Newport.

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Philip Cousteau filming for "Animal Planet" behind him, seals playing in front of him, and sharks lurking somewhere below...

Newport's Joey Head handles it all with style...

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Jenner H., caught in a flash... at Sunset in Newport

(Photo by oden & cozad)

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Taking a short walk to the pier... The "Board Cam" @ Blackies.

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How did Grant "Twiggy" Baker win The Maverick's Surf Contest in 2006? By throwing himself over the ledge of beasts like this time after time...

(photo copyright Tom Cozad 2006)

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Say good-bye to the surf of December, 2005...@ Todos

(photo copyright NewportSurfShots.com)

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All photos on NewportSurfShots.com are copyrighted Tom Cozad.

No images may be reproduced in any form without written consent.

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NewportSurfShots.com Archive

NewportSurfShots.com's 2004 Year End Review

Photo Shoots for Surfline

The Follow Board Cam

Newport Surf History

Big Surf!!

Recent Happenings

Organizations

Misc. Photos

Newport Alumni & Profiles

30 years from now having a photo of yourself walking up the beach with your board, coming in through the surf, or hanging with your friends on the beach will be a pretty cool thing to have. It's for that reason NewportSurfShots takes candid photos of people. If for some reason you don't want your mug on the site, send an email and it'll be gone. (Photo above, Summer 1972)

 

Click here to email: NewportSurfShots@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 
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