Sea NotesWhy I hate summer in North Countychris.ahrensAugust 5, 2010July 20, 2015 August 5, 2010July 20, 20150207 Every year around this time, the Midwest moves here, and I think of moving there. Our town looks too crowded, too paved, too sterile, too...
Sea NotesPaddleboards take surfers beyond traditional barrierschris.ahrensJuly 22, 2010July 20, 2015 July 22, 2010July 20, 20150497 Surfers love the ocean, and yet their (our) knowledge of it generally extends no further than a few hundred yards off shore. Riding waves has...
Sea NotesEssential accessories for the journeychris.ahrensJuly 8, 2010July 20, 2015 July 8, 2010July 20, 20150184 There must be a better name for surf stuff than accessories. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but “accessories” usually refer to those brown...
Sea NotesNew board shop, traditional family-business valueschris.ahrensJune 24, 2010July 20, 2015 June 24, 2010July 20, 20150204 I’ve known J.P. St. Pierre for nearly as long as his parents have. I recall him eating sand and dirtying his diaper while his parents,...
Sea NotesGoodbye to a true soul surferchris.ahrensJune 10, 2010July 20, 2015 June 10, 2010July 20, 201502203 It looks like Cardiff is suffering sympathy pains for the Gulf oil spill, red tide coloring the lineup a muddy red until nighttime when the...
Sea NotesLife in Baja with the Scorpion Queenchris.ahrensMay 28, 2010July 20, 2015 May 28, 2010July 20, 20150219 My poor wife was tired of my petty whinings: May gray, real estate signs littering the sidewalks, massive sweepers shutting me out of Cardiff and...
Sea NotesThe legend of the great Kit Hornchris.ahrensMay 13, 2010July 20, 2015 May 13, 2010July 20, 20150266 With nearly half a century of surfing behind me, I have met most of my surfing heroes — the ones who hung on my bedroom...
Sea NotesThe doctor is in — the tubechris.ahrensApril 29, 2010July 20, 2015 April 29, 2010July 20, 20151232 I didn’t know his real name and never bothered to ask. He was introduced to me as Blaze, and even those that know him by...
Sea NotesLocal surfer, fisherman is a man of the oceanchris.ahrensApril 15, 2010July 20, 2015 April 15, 2010July 20, 201511591 I knew Robert Wald before I ever met him in the mid ‘80s. Well, not really knew him, but knew about him — mostly from...
Sea NotesGiving back to the lineupchris.ahrensApril 1, 2010July 20, 2015 April 1, 2010July 20, 20150211 So, there will be no surf contest at Swami’s. I, for one, am glad, but wish the best to those who want to hold the...
Sea NotesBoxing isn’t just about fighting, its benefits extend beyond the ringchris.ahrensMarch 18, 2010July 20, 2015 March 18, 2010July 20, 20150203 It’s really windy today, without a decent wave in sight. Too windy even for the kite boarders it seems, since the Cardiff lineup is empty....
Sea NotesGuardians needed for crowded coast?chris.ahrensMarch 4, 2010July 20, 2015 March 4, 2010July 20, 20150170 From late January through this writing in late February, the surf has been pounding — not really huge, but sizeable and sometimes well shaped and...
Sea NotesSurfing turns out to be one of the safer ways to get thrillschris.ahrensFebruary 18, 2010July 20, 2015 February 18, 2010July 20, 20150120 The surf’s been good, but I haven’t been on it. Blame it on a go-kart injury — I was showing off, trying to pass my...
Sea NotesSean Mattison and the winter so farchris.ahrensFebruary 4, 2010July 20, 2015 February 4, 2010July 20, 20150257 Everything is wet. The ocean is too wet. Too big, cold and nasty to paddle out and get swatted. Not at my age. I mean,...
Sea NotesStand-up paddlers steal surfers’ waveschris.ahrensJanuary 28, 2010July 20, 2015 January 28, 2010July 20, 20150297 I first saw Stand-Up-Paddle (SUP) surfing in Waikiki when Hawaiian beach boy Bobby Achoy used one to take photos of tourists in the late ‘70s....