On Sept. 21, 2014 an estimated 1,000 surfers paddled
their surfboards around the Ocean Beach Pier to raise awareness for
ocean and beach pollution by participating in the Paddle for Clean
Water. Photo by Terry Rodgers An estimated 1,000 surfers paddled
their boards around the Ocean Beach pier on Sept. 21 to raise awareness
of ocean and beach pollution by participating in the Paddle for Clean
Water. The event, now in its 23rd year, is not only a fundraiser for the
San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, it serves to remind us
all that we need to take better care of our most precious resource, our
oceans. So instead of just paddling, here are some things you can do to
make a difference.
Pack it in, pack it out
If
you and your friends decide to go to the beach to enjoy some tacos and
64 ounces of diet soda, please make sure you throw everything away in a
trash can or take it back to your car. I can’t tell you the dozens of
times I have gone to the beach and watched visitors leave their food
wrappers and bags of fries unattended as the seagulls moved in and tore
it to shreds. The worst part is, most of those same people suddenly felt
that it was no longer their duty to get that trash off the beach. If
you see those people, tell them to get a clue and educate them on where
the closest trash cans are located.
Hold on to your butts
I
know some people love their smokes, but next time you decide to blast a
cig and feel the urge to flick that butt out of your car window, know
that your act will be adding to a terrible problem on our beaches. All
trash on our highways and city streets eventually finds its way into our
storm drains and into the watershed. Last year during just one beach
cleanup in Pacific Beach, volunteers picked up more than 6,200 cigarette
butts off the sand. In 2013, there were nearly 60,000 butts picked up
on the beach — and that’s just what volunteers counted on a few
occasions. That number could be zero if people took a few seconds to
dispose of their butts properly. Be aware that your actions matter.
Beach toys
Each
summer tourists and locals alike want their kids to have a great day at
the beach and often pick up a package of blue and pink shovels, green
buckets and orange molds to keep their little sand-jammer stoked while
they bronze their pale carcass on the beach. What’s mind blowing is how
many parents just leave them behind when the exit the beach, like they
are doing the next family at the beach a favor. What really happens is
the high tide comes in and washes these items into the ocean where they
never break down completely and chip into tiny pieces that are
eventually ingested by sea animals. Always remember that if you bring
it, you take it home.
We are all stewards for our coast and if
you love the ocean, pick up trash every time you leave the beach and
look into volunteering at the next ocean or beach cleanup. Check out sdcoastkeeper.org or sandiego.surfrider.org for more information about our environment.
With fewer tourists in town, fall is a great time to
catch some great waves in San Diego in the morning and explore the
county in the afternoon.
Charlie NeumanFall is the time of year surfers will
gladly add a few millimeters of wetsuit in exchange for the summer
kooks heading home. To celebrate, here’s a short list of some things
that make our sweet hometown that much better when autumn makes its
return.
Empty line-ups and beach parking
Yes!
We finally get our beaches back! The kids are in school, vacations are
over and tourists have gone back to wherever it is they came from. You
can now slide into all those available parking spots, shimmy into your
new full-suit and enjoy the uncrowded waves at your local spot. After
your surf, tuck into one of the epic coffee shops to warm up. I
recommend Bird Rock Coffee Roasters and Bay Park Coffee as they are two
of San Diego’s finest and their espresso will rock your socks.
Indian summer
In
late September and in October the Santa Ana winds return and the
northwest swells get groomed to perfection. These chilly mornings are
often less crowded due to the brisk water and later dawns so get out of
bed early and be rewarded by watching the day turn from average into
something extraordinary. Nothing beats the sunrise and empty perfect
tubes.
Football
As a surfer, nothing beats a
1 p.m. kickoff. You will watch the line-up empty out as die-hard fans
leave great waves to watch the game and give you the opportunity to
enjoy some uncrowded conditions before dark. The downside is if you love
the Chargers like I do, you will miss many good waves on Sundays
sitting on your couch cussing at the TV. Pick your games wisely and if
the surf is good, get out there because you know Rivers is going to
break your heart in the fourth quarter.
Julian apple pie
October
is apple season in our local mountains and trucking up to Julian is a
San Diego rite of passage. Go shred the waves early, grab some coffee
and a breakfast sandwich from Kono’s in Pacific Beach then head out on
the beautiful drive into Julian. There are quite a few options for pie
in town but the standouts are Mom’s and Julian Pie Co. Try both, but in
my eyes there is only one that is best and that’s the Julian Pie Co.,
hands down. Try the Dutch apple pie and I think you’ll agree with me.
While you’re up there, try some local wines at the Orfila tasting room
in Wynola, and for bonus points do the gold mine tour just out of town,
it rules.
Torrey Pines
The beach hike at
Torrey Pine State Beach is always killer but go in the late afternoon
and watch the cliffs light up during magic hour. Afterward, head up into
the bluffs and look out on your beautiful ocean. From that vantage
point look for whales heading north, dolphins riding some waves and the
local osprey catching fish. It’s breathtaking to say the least and it’s
Instagram gold.
Do you have some favorite locations that best
represent fall in San Diego that you think we missed? Share them with us
on Instagram #discoversd
Byron Rohrer is the inventor of Dummy Mount, a
simple Mouth Mount solution to carry your GoPro Camera between your
teeth.
— Rick NoconDo you own a GoPro Hero 3? You know
the one. It’s the little hi-definition camera that is the world’s
best-selling camera. San Diego surfer Byron Rohrer has one, and after
using it and finding that the accessories available to him didn’t meet
his needs, he created the world’s first mouth mount for the device. The
creation, called the Dummy Mount, is a molded mouthpiece made of soft
silicone and rubber that the user can easily breathe through and film
their favorite activity hands-free.
Every idea starts somewhere,
and for Rohrer that moment came in early 2014 when he suffered a knee
injury. During the recovery, he started tinkering in his garage,
fabricating prototypes for a mouth-mounted accessory that would fit his
GoPro camera. He wanted something that he could use and keep his hands
free to push up on his surfboard. Eventually, it all clicked, and the
breathable mouthpiece mount was ready for research and development.
Byron Rohrer is the inventor of Dummy Mount, a simple Mouth
Mount solution to carry your GoPro Camera between your teeth.
— Rick Nocon The little item with the funny
name is making its debut to the public after months of R&D and
grass roots marketing. I asked Rohrer how the name came about and the
bushy-haired surfer said, “When I was first using the prototype, my
buddies would give me a hard time saying that it looked like I had a
baby pacifier in my mouth. On my trips to New Zealand I remembered that
the Kiwis called pacifiers dummies, so right then and there I knew I had
my name.”
I also asked what the response was like when he first
used it in public, and with a smile Rohrer said, “Everyday, 15 people
would paddle up to me and ask what it was and where they could buy one.
It turns out many other people have GoPro cameras and share the same
frustrations.” With that bit of inspiration, Rohrer rolled the dice, got
a loan and decided to quit his dead-end job and make a fresh start.
Within the week, he filed for a patent and started on the fast track to
producing the world’s first breathable mouth mount for the GoPro camera.
After
Roher got his production samples, he knew he needed to get some backing
from professionals. The tenacious Rohrer booked himself a flight to
Fiji at the same time as an ASP world-tour surf event, chartered a boat
and paddled into the Cloudbreak lineup with his invention. He knew he
had to make his own luck.
Right away, the pros were asking him the
same question as the kids back in Pacific Beach, “What is it?” and
“Where do I get one?” Rohrer passed out his samples and explained the
device to top pros Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson and many others. The
positive feedback was immediate, and it didn’t stop in the surf. The
demand for the Dummy Mount has grown outside of water sports, finding
traction in tennis, golf, fishing and biking. These are a few other
sports that are discovering the little accessory with the unforgettable
name, what would you use it for?
Surfer Josh Kerr, 30, who lives in Carlsbad is one
of top surfers on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) tour.
He will compete in the upcoming Hurley Pro at Trestles.
K.C. AlfredOne of the first things you learn as a kid growing up in San Diego is
if you want to get good waves in the summer, you’re going to have to
drive an hour north or south. If you’re at Crystal Pier in PB and it’s
waist high, you can jump in your car and make the 50-minute drive north
and score pumping overhead sets at Trestles. Just know that 50 of the
best surfers in Southern California will already be out, and there won’t
be a scrap left for the old, the weak or the kooks. The young lions
will take what they want.
Lower Trestles, while only a few hundred
yards away from San Clemente and the grind of the OC, is in north San
Diego County. Locals like Kolohe Andino, Christian Fletcher, Chris Ward
and many others have built their careers there due to its consistent
surf and proximity to local surf magazines — making it a favorite for
surfers and surf photographers alike. While it’s known as SoCal’s cradle
of modern surfing, the other thing that makes the wave so special is
that it picks up almost all swell angles, and the summertime south
swells focus on the rugged cobblestone point like no other.
Sunset view from Trestles in North San Diego County.
— John Gastaldo / John Gastaldo
During
the 1960s, access to the area surrounding Trestles was restricted
because of military activity, so determined surfers would paddle great
lengths to surf the wave. Unfortunately, it was a time before leashes,
so if you lost your board and didn’t get to it quickly, some angry
military police would chase you down. In 1970, President Richard Nixon
signed a bill allowing access to the beach at Lowers, thus forever
changing the surf scene in Southern California.
While there have
been contests held at the break for decades, none is more legendary than
the 1989 Body Glove contest when San Clemente surfer Christian Fletcher
took skateboarding tricks off the ramp and into the water, shattered
the status quo and unknowingly poured the foundation of today’s modern
surfing maneuvers. At the time, the world’s best surfers were lucky to
get their fins out on their top turns. Today, pros like Hawaii’s John
John Florence and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina have built their careers
flying six feet above the waves. In recent years, the one surfer who has
owned the spot competitively is 11-time world champion Kelly Slater. He
won his first professional contest at Lowers in 1990, and has since
gone on to win the event six times.
The tour comes to town
Kelly Slater greeted by fans at the beach after finishing
off Kalani Robb in the quarter finals in 2005 surf competition at Lower
Trestles.
— Peggy Peattie This week’s ASP World Tour
stop, the Hurley Pro, is Southern California’s only chance to watch all
the top-ranked surfers compete at the legendary break. It is also where
the pros break out the most cutting-edge equipment and progressive
maneuvers. To say the pros look forward to the Lowers event is an
understatement.
One of the first things you’ll notice is that
Hurley pulls out all the stops with this event. It builds a huge,
three-story compound on the point and provides every amenity for
traveling surfers, their families and the surf industry insiders who
hang from every corner of the scaffolding. This event is where the ASP
first started putting surfers’ names and world rank on the back of their
jerseys, helping the unknowledgeable to differentiate the competitors.
It’s those little things that make an event step up from good to great.
2014 Hurley Pro
When: Sept. 9-20
Where: Trestles (in San Onofre State Beach)
Online: aspworldtour.com
Some
differences this year will be the presence of larger non-endemic
blanket sponsors such as Samsung, which was a decision made by the new
controlling entity of the ASP, ZoSea. This move was once controversial
within the surf industry, but the “new” ASP has done a nice job with its
newfound professionalism. The increase in prize money, the return of
great venues and a static announcing crew are all things that have the
pros nodding with approval and keep the surf fans tuning in to every
contest.
What it takes
I recently spoke with Josh Kerr,
the gregarious Australian surfer now living in San Diego’s North County
who also happens to be ranked in the top 10 on the world tour. Kerr
lives right down the road from Lowers in Carlsbad with his wife and two
children, and is a team rider and brand ambassador for a number of local
companies, including Arnette sunglasses in Encinitas, Fish 101
restaurant in Leucadia and Rusty Surfboards and Saint Archer beer, both
based in Miramar.
I asked Kerr what he thinks it takes to win the
Hurley Pro. “Lowers is such a rippable wave, you really have to be on
point with your surfing, otherwise it shows,” Kerr said. “At other
places you can rely on wave choice and just be on the good ones for
barrels and such, but that doesn’t apply at Lowers.”
I also asked
Kerr what his favorite memory at Lowers is, to which he replied, “Just
every time my family and friends cheer for me after riding a wave. It’s a
great feeling.” If you were looking for someone to root for, I think
you just found your man.
Previous winners
2013 – Taj Burrow
2012 – Kelly Slater
2011 – Kelly Slater
2010 – Kelly Slater
2009 – Mick Fanning
2008 – Kelly Slater
2007 – Kelly Slater
2006 – Richie Lovett
2005 – Kelly Slater
Kelly Slater came from behind in the final round of 2005
Boost Mobile Pro Men's World Tour competition at Lower Trestles to win
the event, beating out Australian Phil MacDonald, who was ahead for 32
of the 35 minute final.
— Peggy Peattie
What to bring
Going
to the comp? Be aware that this event is in San Onofre State Beach and
there are limited amenities. It’s a fair walk from the parking area to
the cobblestone point so plan accordingly. Here are a few items you
should consider taking with you:
• Beach umbrella
• Beach chair
• Food and refillable water jug
• Surfboard (while you can’t surf Lowers, you can surf the cove, Uppers or Cottons)
• Zinc-based sunscreen SPF 50 or higher
• Sunglasses
• Good sandals or walking shoes
• A Sharpie and a surf mag for autographs
When
you’re on the beach make sure you take a selfie with Slater or one of
the touring pros and tag it with #discoversd. After the comp, stop into
The Riders Club restaurant in San Clemente for the best hamburger you
will ever eat, hands down.
