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!
______________________
... 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
_____________________________
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
____________________________
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...
&-1728.jpg)
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...
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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
__________________________________
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.
___________________
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.
_______________________
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
_________________________________
...............................................................Welcome
to Newport
_________________________
____________________________
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...
_________________________
April 15th, Tax Day!
Transworld Surf photo editor
Arron Checkwood... excited about Tax Day.
_______________________
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...
__________________________________
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.)
________________________________
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
______________________________
ARCHY
The movie
Click the photo for more info.
Archy...
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
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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???
____
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)
__________________________________________
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.
-----------------------------------
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.
_______________________
Lowers
___________________________
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.
_______________________________________________________
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.
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Backdoor Pipeline..
in Hawaii
(Photo copyright T. Cozad)
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"Flying in the wind"...
F54 team rider Leon
in Newport
_____________________________________
The surfing conditions? The
flag says it all...
_______________________
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...
__________________________
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.
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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...
________________
Surf doesn't get much better
than this...
__________________
Full Suit, Booties, Gloves,
Helmet, and a Life Vest??
Safe, Warm & Happy...
in Hawaii
_________________________
_________________________
@ 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...
________________________
High Tide Swampage
Oneill's
Kaleigh G. squeezes in one
last big turn before the wave dumps onto dry sand...
__________________
"The
Board Bandit" @
Blackies
______________________
Big Boil in Baja
____________________________
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!"...
_______________________
...
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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