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Thursday, September 24, 2009

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Saturday, April 22, 2006

Where does the time go, it seems only yesterday I was surfing with my new Friends from Canada in Todos Santo Mexico, great memories. The shutdown of Clark foam was the biggest news event from the winter along with the fantastic 2 weeks in January, some call the best ever in Southern California surfing history.


Back to clark foam there are many rumours of who will step in and take up the slack.
The ever present chinese theory along with a host of other nations.

Was clark forma worried about pending lawsuits regarding maliganant mesothelioma

Some say it was just an excuse for Clark to shut down and walk away leaving workers in the dust.

Who is to say

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Tim Gilberg

I was surfing my Home Surf Break Friday January 6th Cardiff Reef, and a gentleman was filming the waves from the beach, he waved me to come over after I just caught a nice set wave. He told me he could put it on a DVD for me, I said Awesome. I asked if he could put it up on the web, which is the link below. He spelled my name wrong but not a big deal

Tim Gilberg on a wave

Thanks again

John

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Tim Gilberg

Saturday Morning Ron and I Decided to drive to a different surf break, It was called La Pastora. We stopped in town (Todos Santos) for Breakfast, after devouring a delicious mushroom omelet we were on the road

La Pastora is blessed with nice sand beach with fun rights and lefts and minimal crowd. To get there, go north just east of the old Hotel California. At the bottom of the hill, make a left and follow the dirt road several miles to the north. Keep your eyes peeled for a poorly posted Pastora sign and fork to the left.

The road was somewhat brutal full of ruts and flying gravel. Due to the low clearance of the mini van I cringed every time it scraped the bottom of the road.

As we reached the surf break we could hear the crashing waves, the surf was in the 7-8 foot range but the direction of the waves was causing it to close out, which in surf lingo means your length of ride is minimal and you get pounded to boot.

So we got back in our trusty steed (rental minivan) and grinded our way back to our home break.

We parked the van grabbed our boards and paddled out into the lineup. My surfing strategy is to sit outside, surf lingo again for waiting further out than most of the other surfers, positioning myself to catch the bigger set waves if they arrive

The advantage of course is that you have a shot at getting a large solo wave by yourself, the disadvantage is the guys surfing the inside section will catch more waves per session.

After about 20 minutes I peered at the horizon and noticed the color of an incoming wave turn a deeper shade of green, meaning a set wave was on the way. The ocean changes to a darker hue as if an artist was laying depth on a painting My heart started to race, there are several emotions battling inside my head the few seconds prior to attempting the wave. Not that I like to admit it but fear is one of them, watching surfers from the beach it looks fluid and effortless. Not True. When a surfer paddles for a wave they are laying flat on a surfboard inches above the water. The wave I was attempting to ride had a 12-foot face. To give you an idea lay flat on the first story of a house and look down. And remember the house is not a moving wall of water.

From years of experience there are several factors needed to make the wave, first off you need to gain speed by paddling powerfully, from a quick glance backwards you instantly need to get a read on the speed and angle of the wave, so as to position yourself.

As the critical moment arrived as it often does when I attempt larger waves, the clock seems to slow as if each second were a minute, but at the same time everything moves at the speed of light, I guess this is the true addiction phase of surfing, terror and bliss 1 second apart.

After springing to my feet as the wave begins to crest, the most critical moment is over. Standing upright you feel in total control and this is the ecstasy you glide and move at one with the waves power and energy, minute adjustment of my body weight will cause my direction and angle to flow.

I dragged my right hand into the face of the wave to slow my speed and stay in the critical most powerful section of the wave, The lip of the wave crashing with a thunderous roar mere feet behind the tail of my board.

This entire ride may have lasted 30 seconds, but in that period of time you are transported to another place.

As the wave came to its end I exited the back of the wave. Natures drug in full force in all of my being I felt as if I was paddling on air with endorphins crashing through my brain.

As I paddled back to the lineup, several surfers commented on the ride, which even lifts you to another level. A local surfer paddled up, and having watched the wave told me by dragging my hand on the wave (an instinctive move) it keep me from being thrown from the wave and he congratulated my on the best wave of the day.

These are the moments and memories that last a lifetime

Monday, January 02, 2006

Tim Gilberg

We loaded the mini van and continued on to our next surf spot, it was only 2 miles south of the first fiasco at Los Palmas. The new destination was called San Pedrito once again after we saw the sign stating RV park we pulled along another dirt road and headed west about 2 miles.








Here is a photo of the rental minivan it looked like a showroom model yesterday, note the dirt starting to accumulate after less than 24 hours in Baja. There were Palapas and a series of Cabanas past the main entry Gateway

We pulled up to the beach with nervous anticipation; we heard waves breaking before we spotted them, which is always a good sign. As we crested the sand we viewed what we had been hoping for, clean glassy emerald green surf in the 6-8 foot range.

There was probably a total elapsed time of 2 minutes as I snatched my board and ran to the water. As I dove in the surf and gild on top of my board the water was an enjoyable 76-degrees, no wetsuit needed.

There were about 25-30 total surfers in the lineup, which may sound crowded especially being on the southern tip of Baja Mexico, but this was a premier surf spot and there was more than enough room to accommodate all of the surfers.

Ron and I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at this awesome right point break.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Tim Gilberg
Ron and I looked at each other as the Mexican landowner cursed us in spanish. He had a cell phone and we figured out that "Policia" mean he was going to call the police. Ron speaks some spanish so he tried to ask if we could park in the area outside the gate. The man didn't seem to go for that. Ron said we should be all right here and I said I didn't want the stress of leaving the van in the area. Who knows what could happen. He could vandalize the van...or he could call the police.

It wasn't worth ruining our trip. We could just leave and go to another spot, so we made a conciliatory hand gesture that we were leaving. He went up the hill and sat on a ledge on what looked to be his property up to the left above the mud ruts and pools of muck portion of the road.

We surveyed the hill again.
It looked much harder to navigate backing up. I had a sinking sensation in my stomach that we would get stuck; it was pretty hairy. I did not think my Triple A Auto Club Towing Service would send a tow truck to the southern tip of Baja.

Ron picked a line through the obstacle course of ruts and muck and as we plowed upward the water splashed on the radiator or engine causing it to steam, but he did make it past the first part.

Strange how it seemed to me a mere 35 minutes ago that I thought going down this hill was no big deal. Ron gunned the minivan up the second incline zigging and zagging our way to safety. I felt a surge of relief. We got out to survey any damage. It looked good with the exception of mud splattered everywhere.

Although I don't speak spanish, I told Ron to let me try and communicate with the man. I am sure he was thinking what morons we were, but we didn't try and force the issue at the bottom of the hill.
I got out, made an open hand gesture and apologized and said, "Stupido, Stupido" and pointed to myself. He didn't smile, but the mood was lightened. We were off to the side of the road, and I made a gesture and pointed to the van as if to say, "Is it all right here"? He nodded.

Relieved, we could now walk through the gate with our boards. Like the US, Mexican landowners cannot block beach access.
There must be a path to allow entry to the beach, but when we were trespassing with a vehicle on private land that is a whole different matter. Once again, we grabbed our boards and made our way through the lush Oasis type trail and made it to the beach. It was not too far past the barbwire gate.

We learned a very simple travel tip - if there are any signs you can't read and a gate with a barbwire fence, do not drive your vehicle into that area.

We were only into several hours of our second day in Mexico. This is going to be quite a trip!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Tim Gilberg Surf Trip
Todos Santos, which is noted as a sleepy artist colony and fishing town, sure makes a lot of noise at night!
It seemed as if every barking dog (The Mexican dogs really know how to party at night), street sweeper, and building construction was going full steam all night long. There was also a continuous stream of semi trucks downshifting as they drove by; all freight travels through Todos Santos.

We ate breakfast in the dining area of the Hotel California. Fresh flour tortillas, eggs and chorizo, along with fresh squeezed orange juice accompanied by the usual swarm of flies. I am known as a quick eater, so the flies didn't get much love from me.

Ron purchased a Baja Surf Guide which notated various surf breaks along with basic directions. Our destination was Las Palmas. We drove back South along Highway 19 for about 18 miles. Ron spotted the turnoff to the dirt road and we swung the minivan onto it. After driving about a mile and a half on the dusty road it sloped down and there were numerous ruts and potholes that looked ugly. Many of them were filled with water so we pulled the Van to a stop to take a look.

We got out.
It looked like an Oasis ahead with lush gigantic palm trees. Everything was green and tropical; quite a contrast to the barren desert landscape a few feet behind us. The reason being that there is a freshwater stream flowing under this section of land, which allows plant life to flourish.

After closer inspection of the water-filled ruts we, of course, decided it would be a bad idea to proceed......just kidding....why on earth would two surfers do something that made sense on only the second day of our trip?
We had a minivan that had about 6 inches of clearance. Ron races Baja motorcycles so I let him do the honors of navigating the minivan down the first set of obstacles.
With clunking, scraping, mud flying and tires spinning he made it through. Hmmmm, that was harder than I thought, and there was another sloping rut-filled mud pit ahead. We decided not to take any more chances and turned around. Sorry, that was also a joke! If you do something stupid maybe another stupid move will make it into a positive.

He drove the minivan expertly through the maze of mud and muck.
We did it! We made it to the bottom. We high-fived and drove about 20 yards where there was a barb wire fence filled with Mexican signs. We got out. It wasn't locked, just tied, so Ron untied the fence and we thought it would allow us to drive to the beach. Unfortunately, trees blocked the path a mere 10 yards ahead.

We pulled the minivan up and started to unload our surfboards when a redfaced, angry Mexican in mud boots started cursing at us in Spanish. Uh, OH, Part Two tomorrow!