Showing posts with label Open Ocean surf shop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Open Ocean surf shop. Show all posts

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Doctors Orders - Go Surf.. By Eric Cedeno

I went to the doctors the other day because I wasn't feeling very well, figured it was time for a check up. Turns out I have high blood pressure right now. It's the first time in my life that ever remember having high blood pressure. Usually I'm super mellow and not stress out, but lately life has been a bit rough. My Doctor ask me if had gone surfing lately and I have to think about and suddenly realized that the last time I went out surfing was on 9-16-12 (Read all about it) over a month ago. So my Doctor said I shouldn't be out of the water that long and ordered me to surf and relax and said that I have to make time surf.

I have to admit that I didn't realize that it's been that long, but now surfing is all I think about and that's a good start. I woke up around 7:00 am and it was still dark out. I looked online at the surf in Torrance and the report was calling it 1-3 foot and walled. I figured I'd better go surf and make the best of it and that should help mellow me out again (Doctors orders).

I loaded my 7'10" noserider and 6'10 mini-log in my car and headed for the beach. I did a quick surf check and I could tell right away there was waves out there, but the surf report was right (for once) it was walled, but now and then a clean zippy barrel would find its way to shore. I figured I'd ride my 6' 10" mini-log that Jamie from Open Ocean made me a while back (I love that board).

 I caught a few fast ones right away and felt a little rusty, but happy. I found a good hole where the right were coming in clean and waited. I saw the familiar ripple on the horizon and new a set was on its way. I paddled a little farther out. It was lining up good as I paddled deep for the one of the better waves of the day. I popped up easily to my feet and took the drop casually dragging right hand in the water as the wave section and pitched out wide high above me. My mind took a mental picture that of the was curling a few feet out of my reach as another guy was paddling out over the shoulder pointing at me smiling. I didn't make it out of that one, but it was worth it.

I caught a few more fun ones here and there as the tide slowed thing down even more. The waves seem smaller than earlier and pretty much most of them were all walled up. I saw a fun little wave making its way to me and it looked like this one was going to hold up. I paddled into the shoulder high wave and after standing up quickly pulled into the pocket and stayed there... all the way in...I escaped from the barrel just a few feet from shore. "Now that's a good wave to end a session," said the guy hanging out on the shore line and happily agreed and thanked him.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Riding 4 Boards on 1 Wave at Bolsa Chica... By Eric Cedeno

2-3'+ Bolsa Chica 8-31-12:

By buddy Cliff had made plans to take a trip down to Bolsa Chica to take Jack out surfing for his birthday. Jack is Shelly's kid and we all met up at Cliffs house early in the morning  before heading down to Bolsa Chica for the day.  I had already loaded 4 of my boards in My honda Element (7'6" bear, 7' new Lopez remake and 6'10" mini log and my 6'6" JC retro rocket) so I'd have all the basic board options in the water. I added two of Cliff's boards to the mix at his house (5'10" twin fin fish and 6'2" stinger) and was surprised at how well all six boards fit inside my car.



Cliff loaded up his car with food and a pop-up tent, one extra board and had Shelly and Jack in there too. We stopped off for gas and I grabbed a few extra waters before we headed south on the 405 freeway. Traffic was light at 6:15 am and we made it all the way down to Bolsa Chica pretty quickly. There was no line to get in at the state beach and I just followed Cliff to where ever he wanted to go. We turned south in the long parking lot and finally parked down at the end near Tower 16. There was plenty of parking and the beach was wide open. We did a quick surf check and found the surf to be a peaky 2-3' and it looked super fun. We unpacked our gear and boards and set up camp for the day.

Eric Cedeno at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Jack, Shelly and Cliff
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Jack is a new surfer and is a surf hungry beginner. Jack had no idea that he was getting his first surfboard (inside the black surf bag in the picture above). He was so stoked! All us guys got ready to surf and I handed off my Canon G10 to Shelly just in case she wanted to take a few pictures of this historic moment of he kid and his first board. I had lots of boards to choose from and picked my 7'6" bear to start the day off in the high tide rolly conditions (easy to get into waves early and can handle slower waves). 

Eric Cedeno and Jack at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12

Eric Cedeno and Jack at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Eric Cedeno at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Riding the 7'6" Bear
Eric Cedeno at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Riding the 7'6" Bear
Cliff at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
 Riding my 6'10" Mini-log
Eric Cedeno at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Riding the 7'6" Bear
Cliff, Eric Cedeno and Jack at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
We had lots of boards to choose from and I took full advantage of that. After riding my 7'6" bear for a while I did a quick board change and grabbed my 6'10" mini-log (also great in rolly waves but can turn faster). I rode that for a while and then cam in for another board change and took out my 7' new Lopez remake as the swell was building (this board rides best in larger waves). After another hour of surfing I went in and changed back to the 6'10" mini-log which was really the best board for the conditions at the time. After another hour of surfing I was getting hungry and decided to go in a grab a quick sandwich and some water. The wind was just starting to pick up a little and the surf still looked super fun even though the side current was picking up which means lots more paddle is needed to keep from drifting down the beach. After resting up I took out Cliff's 6'2" stinger and that was interesting to say the least. It's a real small board with three fins but rides more like a twin fin (fast and tricky). I got a few really fun waves on that board, but decided to stick with my 6'10" for the rest of the day, because it paddles so easily and that really helped my fight the side current.

Eric Cedeno at Bolsa Chica 8-31-12
Riding Cliff's 6'2" Stinger
After a few more hours my arms were pretty much jello and so I decided to keep the last of my strength for the drive home. I snapped a few more pictures before taking a quick power nap (see below). It was really a family day for everyone, lots of people were learning to surf and it was great to see the stoke on so many faces. After I woke up we loaded up the cars and braved the horrific 405 Freeway traffic back home. 

Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno
Bolsa Chica 8-31-12 Photo by Eric Cedeno

Thursday, April 12, 2012

New Board - nobody listens to turtle

My friend Jamie at Open Ocean Surf and Skate in Redondo Beach (CA) made me a few boards recently. I did some sea turtle art work on this 6' 10" mini longboard (21" x 2 3/4") and it is up for grabs.