I got up for some swell this am.  Things were looking good in the forecast.  But when I got to Venice it was Close Out Central.  2 – 4 ft waves dumping on the beach, churning up all kinds of sand.  It was rather unpleasant out there.  There were some dudes looking for something to [...]

Troubadours, I have taken ill of late.  It’s just a run-of-the-mill cold, but enough to keep me out of the water for a few days.  I’ve been maintaining my stoke via a bevy of surf films.  When my DVD collection ran out, I turned to YouTube and found this gem – Style Evolution: Wipeout! This [...]

Even in his worst movie, Matthew McConaughey is still Captain Cool. He says all kinds of sweet phrases in his films (and in real life). But some gems rise above the others. Which is your favorite?

Bobble Sufer Free is an iPhone app from Lemur Software that will help you get your wave fix when you can’t make it out to the ocean.  It’s built on the tilt sensitivity of the iPhone, so tilting the phone left will turn the little surfer dude left and tilting the phone right will turn [...]

“The waves were as good as waves get.” As I’d expect from The Moonshine Conspiracy (turned Woodshed Films), The September Sessions is rife with great waves and great surfing. The premise is that Kelly Slater, Rob Machado and friends take a break from the competitive surfing circuit and travel to Sumatra just to surf. No [...]

The most terrifying thing about today’s surf session was the beach break. I’d catch these clunkers way on the outside. Then I’d fight them all the way waiting for the wave to form. And once the wave did form it was suddenly a 5 foot face ready to break right on the beach into a [...]

Power to the people, babies.  It’s time to harness the power of the pen (and the web). A bill to re-authorize the BEACH Act is moving through Congress (also known as The Clean Coastal Environment & Public Health Act of 2009 – H.R. 2093 & S.R. 878). This Act will do more to protect public [...]

Dear & Yonder – daring stories of ladies united by the sea… As you might expect, this is not just your standard surf film (as is true with most Woodshed Films productions).  What sets Dear and Yonder apart is that it is a surf film by surf women about surf women.  But even more than [...]

Many of you may remember Tiny Dancer, our sea lion pup we befriended on June 19th at El Porto (north end of Manhattan Beach).  Well, TD was clearly not feeling well and was way too thin for his age.  The lifeguards told us it was likely that his mother may have also been ill and [...]

Oh lordy, lordy, ladies and gents. This morning was borderline epic at Newport beach today. The waves were 2-4s, great A-frames, long rides, and best of all, constant sets. I barely had time to chat with Donnie or Chris (The Wave Warrior) during the whole session. The Spherical Revolver was Spherically Revolving all over those [...]

Peter and I set out for a Dawn Patrol sesh at Sunset Blvd this morning.  We got there at 5:30 just in time for the -2 ft low-tide but there was nothing to ride.  Just tiny waves breaking right on the beach.  We decided to pull stakes and take our chances at Venice.  There was [...]

We had a big crew at Newport today including me, Brandon, Donnie, AJ and Chris (The Wave Warrior).  (Much like Josh, Chris will attack every wave that comes his way.)  The clouds looked rainy and the wind made for some turbulent seas.  It was totally chowder most of the time.  But the faces and shoulders [...]

What is Stinkbutt? This may go by other names in different areas, but I’ve always known it as stinkbutt. (Let me know if you’ve heard of different terms for this.) Stinkbutt is when a surfer is riding down a wave with their buttocks protruding out. Essentially it looks like you are cutting the cheese or [...]

Super mega fun surf session today at El Porto.  The waves weren’t huge, but they were fun and constant.  I can’t even tell you how many rides I caught today (a score? a baker’s dozen?), but man was I beat when we called it quits.  The waves were these little, but strong 2-3+ foot rollers [...]

It’s hard to debate any of the non-fiction surf movies being better than Endless Summer.  But what about the cheesy Hollywood fictionalized surf movies.  Granted they are generally all terrible.  Yet when they are on, we all watch them.  So, which of these films is your biggest secret shame?