East to West: A Surf Journal
Posted on August 24, 2008
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a New England surfer heads west. I will be using this space to log my surf experience in and around San Francisco… and beyond. the numbers log the days I have surfed since moving to the area in the autumn of two thousand and eight.
Happy Thanksgiving from Ocean Beach!
Posted on November 26, 2009
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That red light means don’t do it! ha ha. inside looks makeable… but it ain’t. Outer bars looking a lot closer than they are in reality.
91: full moon
Posted on November 1, 2009
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the crowds are at the beach, sunlight with the fall slant.
looks like it’s a decent sized swell, well overhead; filled in overnight.
halloween hangover, oh boy, we go. time to be humbled.
dreamy haze in the golden light, hanging low at beach level.
not as tough a paddle as it looked.
long lulls, there is time to take it all in.
dolphin pod gliding lazily by, mother with baby. real close. I can hear their breathing.
jumbled, mixed, building swell. you have to be picky, but there are a few good ones.
rip moving out and to the north.
full moon rises above the hill.
hillside on fire with the sunset, looks like italy with buildings pink on the hillside and church spires and trees. giant yellow moon above.
confidence builds, take a steep one and miss a section, tossed. board hits me in the foot as I go over the falls and dings board good.
sun dips, time to leave.
giant tidepool blazing orange, upside-down chihuahaus skittering along.
beach fires blazing, laughter.
conga drums, a fire dancer, the beach is alive this evening.
up the hill and home.
083: let’s, shall we?
Posted on September 26, 2009
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fall day beauty. big WNW swell; pushing double overhead on the sets.
sunny, glassy, all day.
sunburned.
shoulders burn.
none better.
camera phone tube
Posted on August 11, 2009
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Look Mom! I’m filming myself surfing, with a camera phone… from jarrod Tallman on Vimeo.
drop in…
Posted on August 7, 2009
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Sterling Spencer’s – Human Boardslide from RUNAMUKVISUALS.COM on Vimeo.
070: big south
Posted on July 25, 2009
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Steamer Lane on a big south… write-up forthcoming.
069: punch junk
Posted on July 19, 2009
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between vfw’s and kelly’s for a couple of hours. summertime slop, but with some punch, and I saw a guy get a legit barrel. in and out on an inside bar, pretty thick lip even. I had a couple fun ones; sloppy kind of like back home only with tons more power… fully shortboard-able. no fish or longboard needed. for some odd reason I tend to surf better when it’s small and shitty. it’s like it doesn’t matter or something, and it’s what I’m more used to being from the east coast.
the fog has arrived. for real this time. kinda dismal. they warned us. it took ten months but it’s here now. not complaining though, we’ve had a real good run of sun, and the surf just keeps on coming.
068: biathalon
Posted on July 13, 2009
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lots of biking back and forth to work these days. it just doesn’t ever rain here this time of year.
seven and a half miles each way the route I take, usually 4 days a week.
sprint home for evening session, again after work. I like watching the sun go down over the pacific. nothing like it.
low hopes, but it was super fun, even more so than last friday.
I don’t know what it is, but I surf best in the smaller stuff. just feels like it doesn’t matter, so why not try it? lip smacks I actually land and even a couple little slotted cover ups. and I mean little.
couple of really fun waves. knees getting old. ha.
067: post work, jerk
Posted on July 10, 2009
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Photo by J. Boltz
bombs.
dive bombs, that is. pelicans going nuts these days. practically need an umbrella.
bombing for fish, just a couple yards from my board.
late evening cruise. summer slop, but surprisingly fun. sun is out. waves are small, and it’s a close period jumble from the northwest and maybe some small south in the mix. but punch for their size.
so, they do have seasons here. summer=sloppy and (a little bit) warmer water.