Crazy Day at El Porto (Except for the Waves)
A total mixed bag today at El Porto. I met a few friends of the site (Hey!), had a celebrity sighting, but I also dinged Aaron’s and my board (totally my fault). It was weird, I was super jazzed getting into the water, and then bummed when I got out.
Rolling into the parking lot I saw Thomas, a tweep whose always posting handy surf reports for El Porto. I stopped the car long enough to say hello and shake hands. It’s always sweet to meet online friend in real life. Peter and Aaron were already waiting in the parking lot. Aaron is freshly back from his honeymoon in Costa Rica (where I hear the water was warm and the waves were excellent). While we were chatting, Tyler Hatzikian parks right next to me. We are all big fans of his work (and all long for a Tyler board). We tittered a bit like kids, “Look! Look! It’s Tyler Hatzikian!” Later we realized his window was down, so he probably totally heard us. Such surf nerds.
We suited up and headed down to the water. There was some sort of gathering on the beach where we usually go out. A local school was having a competition. We decided to walk farther south to give the competition some room. Then, while cruising down, I met frequent site commenter and sweet photographer Miguel and his friend Lisa. They were there in support of Lisa’s son in the surf competition. Again, eFriends becoming real people; wonderfully surreal.
So now I’m on a super high from meeting all these cool people in real life and chatting. I find Peter and Aaron out in the water and paddle out to them. The waves are nothing spectacular. Mostly 2 footers with the occasional rogue 3 foot wave. While taking video of the crew suddenly I become obsessed with the idea of catching a wave with Aaron, riding right in front of him and getting some action video footage. Instead, I ate it, causing my board to fly into Kruisechev, dinging both boards. Oh, the shame. Aaron’s first time out since Costa Rica, and I dinged his board. Grrr.
Also had a grip of video camera problems but I won’t go into that as it’s not too interesting. Suffice it to say that I am not happy with the Flip UltraHD and I am now searching for a better solution. If you know of any good underwater HD cameras, be sure to drop me a line.
Brother Jeff,
Don’t sweat the ding! Like a Phoenix, Kruisechev will rise and ride again. It was good to be back in the water with the brothers
Great to have you back. I have no doubt Kruisechev will be back out. The ding barely phased it – you did your best riding after “the incident.” Still, I totally owe you.
as i said to double-a out in the water, “it has been far too long since kruise made a visit to peeb’s patch’em’porium.” i almost think that board brings better wave karma the more it gets donked.
as for the celeb sighting, TH is an amazing artist and a surfer dedicated to intrepidity and the search for funishment. check this vid to see what i mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXUq3dJT8oc&feature=fvsr
No doubt. Obtaining a Tyler board is on my “must” list. I’m always cruisin’ Craigslist and eBay looking for a treasure. Much like Harbour boards though, they can be pricier than your standard board. (Totally worth the cost, don’t get me wrong. Just saying I wish I had more disposable income.) One day…
Jeff Good Meeting You..
Yea.. there was a lot of Aloha at El Porto this morning.
Watching the Groms Compete and Work on Their Surfing Skills was Cool.. Sort of missed getting wet but sometimes it’s best just to sit on the sidelines and let the kids find their Stoke.
Lisa said her son (Jeffery) got his first stoke of the day when he spotted Tyler’s Surf Shop as they rolled through El Segundo. He’s a freshman surfer from San Pedro High School. Then got stoked again as they drove down 45th street and noticed a nice 2-3′ section near the tankers. How cool is that??!!
Now that I know where your surfspot is, I’ll probally ber joining you for a few sessions in the near future.
Share the stoke, Surf with Aloha.
Good to meet you as well. It’s always awesome when other people around you get stoked. It’s contagious. Once one person gets pumped, then everyone gets stoked. Hope Jeffery did well today.
We’ll be looking for you out in the line up!
Here is a pretty good review of an HD underwater camera from Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5396576/gopro-hero-hd-camera-review
Thank you,
James