Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Back to the Future

Wavegarden wave pool surfing (Extended version)

A few words from those guys at : www.wavegarden.com/#

Our vision gives people of all ages and surfing levels the ability to enjoy a beach environment and a real surfing experience...beyond the oceans of the world. Wavegarden®’s cutting edge technology allows the creation of a broad and customisable range of authentic surfing waves in a safe and natural environment. This cost effective and environmentally friendly wave generation technology is now available to the public and for the first time makes economically-viable inland wave sports and lifestyle facilities possible.

A few more words from me:

So either I need to become really wealthy so I can afford one of these in my back yard or I need to become friends with the guy who already has one in his back yard. Either way I would like to give it a test drive on a few different boards (Longboard, Shortboard and Hybrid). I understand that it's a smaller wave and that has it's own limitations, but it still looks fun. I can imagine a few up and coming amateur and profession longboarders inventing some new nose riding tricks there. Not sure if the guys at Wavegarden plan on inviting Joel Tudor and his friends but I'm sure it would make one great story. I think I may need to become friends with Joel to up my odds of getting to play around at this place.

Update 2014:
It looks like there have been some major improvements… Check out what I found (via blog.gessato.com)

Wavegarden 2.0

With the best of summer yet to come, surfers must be anxious to hit the waves. For Wavegarden’s CEO José Manuel Odriozola, the perfect wave is an engineering art – one that has been perfected with Wavegarden 2.0. The artificial waves are produced by a hydrofoil that creates the familiar peaks and crests, which can hit a frequency of 120 per hour for continual enjoyment. Completely reliant on electric power, the system is a reliable alternative for those who might otherwise find beaches inaccessible. There is a fee to use the facilities, which are cropping up across Europe and even the Middle East, but who can really put a price on summer fun?

Images © Wavegarden

ABOUT KIMBERLY LI - Kimberly is a graduate from MIT's Department of Architecture, and has recently joined the publication team at MIT OpenCourseWare. While architecture remains her first love, her interests encompass literature – epic poetry and Medieval romances are her favorite – and also fashion. She delights in various design projects, featured on her website "unkliched".

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Liquid Motivation...

Check this out: Dane Pioli - Progressive longboarding.. gold coast/indonesia

This is really motivating me to get back out there on my longboard. I think it's time to start learning some new tricks again...

Eric Cedeno at El Porto 1-20-12: Photo by Shell Shott Photography

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Back to the beginning...

Eric Cedeno at Knob Hill: Photo by Shell Shott Photography

It was back in the summer of 1990 and I wasn't looking forward to starting the seventh grade when school started up again in the fall. The Dude opened up his cluttered garage and pulled out a seven foot Gerry Lopez (a classic 70's surfboard) off the rack mounted to the wall. He passed the board to me and told me about a famous surfer- Gerry Lopez. He said that this board was special and to take care of it. It barely fit under my arm when I carried it and it was a few feet taller than I was at the time. I've always said it's an orange colored board but all my friends still disagree and say it's yellow. It has red lightning bolts on the rails and a single green fin with a hole in it that a was attached to a leash that was probably older than me. I weighed maybe 90 pounds, skinny, but physically fit and really stoked about learning how to surf. We stripped the ancient blackened wax and put on a fresh coat. We always used Bubble Gum surf wax back then, a pinkish-orange color that still smells like surfing to me.

The next morning I had the car loaded up by seven and waited patiently for the Dude to get out up so we could go. We cruised the surf route and met up with every one at Pearl's Point (across the street from Critter's bar in Hermosa beach). All of them had been surfing for many years, and it showed. There was Marti and Hog, Leis and the Dude and me. They all rode longboards, I rode a seven footer that seemed to work like a longboard to me, since I was only four foot and some inches back then.

The surf was not that big, but for me they always seemed over-head. We walked to the shore line and I waxed up the Lopez for the hundredth time. That's when the Dude said, "This is how you surf. Paddle out. When you see a wave coming, turn your board towards shore -and paddle real hard. When you feel the wave pick you up arch your back -bring your knee's up to your chest and stand up, cover your head when you eat it. See ya!" Then he paddled out and was catching waves with the gang.

Eric Cedeno working on the new "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day)

I paddled out as best I could until I thought I was out far enough, of course I wasn't. All morning I kept trying to catch a wave on my own or just sit on my board without it flipping over on me. This really scared my mom, since I could not swim very well. I could tread water for a few seconds, and that was long enough for me to grab onto my leash and get back on my board. Usually I would only surf for an hour or so, mainly due to the fact that I get cold easy. I would get out, dry off and watch the gang catch waves.

Every weekend for those first few months I would come home with a giant smile on my face and a new cut or bruise on me somewhere from getting banged up by my board. The water started getting cooler and I was getting closer to riding my own wave. I could catch waves now but I would either pearl-it or eat-it one way or the other. Till the day came.

We all cruised up to El Porto and decided to go out. The water was getting colder now and I didn't have a wet suit. I paddled out rather quickly, having lots of practice paddling out but not standing up. I was catching a few but eating it as usual. Then I saw it and just knew that was the one. I paddled for it and the guys cheered me on. The wave picked me up and I pushed off my board and stood up hoping I would not pearl like always. I held my breath as my board made its way down the face of the wave. I made that wave and rode it straight in since I did not know how to turn yet. I was so stoked! I was laughing and hooting all the way back to the line up and all the guys congratulated me on my excellent ride. I was hooked.

I'm still hooked today. I still have the Lopez, but it's been retired and hasn't been ridden for a few years now. I recently made up my mind to have a new seven foot Lopez board made, but with a few small changes; Tri fin instead of a single fin, a smoother nose and I wanted to add some art on it. It's got the same familiar rails and flotation. It's like being able to drive your first car again and you already know what to expect from it- lots of fun seizing the day.

Eric Cedeno at El Porto 1-20-12: Photo by Shell Shott Photography