heya kokua, you guys are really fortunate to have been exposed to surfing at an early age.
it took the philippines the internet age to wake up to surfing, and back in the mid-90s the only surf instructors available here were haoles gone native hehe. heck, all those wasted years thinking the only thing you could do at the beach was go swimming & get drunk hehe
cheers,
Hey beerfan,
The groms of today are so bloody lazy…Back in the day I was surfing Lennox before and after school…Don’t know why there so lazy these days???
Get up in the dark. Suit up at home and do the 45 second drive down the street to the surf. Paddle out when it’s just light enough to see. Get my wave fix. Drive home in wetsuit, shower, breakfast and get to work by 9:30.
I absolutely LIVE for the dawn patrol.
I have spent most of my so called Adult life self employed. I could make my own schedule and often did the dawn patrol. At other times when conditions were right I would get to work very early and have the afternoon to make a drive to the Baja and catch an evening glass session. Of course there were those times that I would put in long days working and wait for that swell to hit and then take some time off to Surf.
When living in Utah I had the opportunity to do something very special. I did a pre dawn hike up a ridge with some other skiers. the Sun came up and little was just magic on about 18 inches of light fully untracked power.
Night surfing Malibu into the dawn is a blast. The dawn is the cleanest part of the day.
Kirk, nice shot, great wave.
lucky me, i’m self employed. my wife and i own and operate a tattoo studio and never have to hit the shop til noon. so we’re up at 7, wet by 8. out by 10:30, and work by noon. generally all other concerns are secondary, including breakfast and often coffee. trouble is, it’s really only good at low tide most of the time, and sadly, that just don’t mesh up real well a lotta the time. we still paddle out on flat days just to keep from gettin noodly when the swell finally comes. wish i could knock off anytime it was good, but ma bell and the landlord want their dough monthly regardless of pleasant surf conditions
Here now, the light is good from 5:45, depending on cloud cover, and if no clouds, im out at 5:50, and start work at 7. Love this time of year for that reason.
I live for those pre-work dawn patrols ( I wrote about my time-saving strategies on here awhile back.) But last week I actually had a pretty frustrating morning. It was the first day of a building swell, and my usual (convenient) break was so packed it looked like a summer weekend! In over an hour, I only got a couple of waves, and those were “leftovers” that became available when somebody else fell.
The thing that got me really steamed was that the SAME half dozen guys or so were on most of the waves - white-haired dudes who’ve been retired for years, guys who I know for a fact are self-employed, and a handful of hipsters who like to wear attention-getting garb and pose for their friends videotaping on the beach. (Gee, can you guess where I was surfing? LOL!) All the wave hogs that day were people who had the ENTIRE DAY to surf, yet they were shutting out people like me who had to catch a few and then get to work on time. I was NOT a happy camper that day!
Maybe those of us with time limitations should wear colored jerseys or something - since the wave hogs put the blinders on, and don’t notice that the person next to them is wearing a WATCH in the lineup and checking it frequently! Helloooooo!
Any suggestions for next time? Other than going to a less convenient spot, which I may resort to doing? (I do occasionally let the people around me know that I’m gonna claim a wave in to the beach, once I’m already close to being late.) On a related note, I think it’s high time that ALL of us start calling wave hogs out!
It was probably crowded because it was convenient for everybody else too.
It’s the trade off, should the local crew get more waves because they put in the effort to get the place wired? I think yes.
Should they share with others? Yes again.
Should we call out wave hogs? Depends… Do they get the most waves by riding a longboard to compensate for lack of skill and paddeling power, or are they just more dedicated to the sport in which they have earned their bounty.
I did the dawn patrol this morning at a beachbreak that runs for miles. Plenty of waves, and hardly anybody out, but not a “classic” like Malibu.
I guess its like it has always been. “To the victor go the spoils” If you don’t get what you think is your share of waves, go for a two mile swim every day. When I was younger and still in school, our swim team workout was five miles daily, plus forty- five minutes in the weight room. Earn that place in the line-up.
But before you call out any wave hogs, make sure you have your mixed martial arts training. Wave hogs often have an attitude in and out of the water. Things can go from ugly to worse in an instant.
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Night surfing Malibu into the dawn is a blast. The dawn is the cleanest part of the day.
Kirk, nice shot, great wave.
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i want to night surf Malibu at least one time. seems like the way to go. i'm sure it's still crowded but at least get one or 2 from the top to the pier. that'd be sweet! same thing with Trestles... where i surf, it's not hard at all to find waves with no crowd and surfing alone is pretty easy too... usually the spots with the better waves are less crowded than the ones with junk waves. the junk waves have parking lots and bathrooms whereas the better waves have cliffs and or walks... used to love the dawn patrol before my daughter was born 2 1/2 years ago. now i get home from work at 5, go straight to be, and up at 9 to start my real job until my wife gets home in the evening to take over, then i go back to work... in a year or so, when baby girl starts school, i'm looking forward to the dawn patrol again. love the feeling of scoring then getting out of the water just as the crowd shows up.
Dawn Patrol has been a part of surfing from the beginning. The wind hasn’t come up yet, it’s quiet, and watching the light change on the water, and if you have them, the bluffs turning shades of red and pink is magic.
Chrisp, If you ever get the chance, a night surf at Malibu is a total blast. The lights from the pier help out and if it’s a red tide running, it becomes an acid trip with the phosphorescence. You can watch trails come off your hands paddling and when a buddy is on the wave…forget about it. It really is a trip to see. One caveat; Watch out getting out of the water. You never know what you’ll run into. One night I got out by the Kiddie Bowl and almost stepped on a couple doing the “wild thang”. When I surf with buddies at night now, we wear cyalume sticks to locate one another. That’s why Chipfins’ glow in the dark fins interest me.
Chrisp, hope you get that chance. But I hate to tell you… it can get a little crazy at night too with crowded waves. When the water is really warm (not this year) people will show up at night. When this happens it pays to be vocal in the water.
TBlank & Chrisp, have you guys night surfed Malibu often? There used to be a regular crew of us that arrived about 1-2am. I had a Black & Tan Bronco back then. I’d leave when the first truck pulled up on PCH and started suiting up - I always figured that they were on a schedule and I wasn’t!
Hey Lockedin, howzit? I haven’t surfed Malibu in probably 10-12 years let alone at night. There was a time in the early 90’s (our previous recession) I found myself with time to go semi-regularly, mostly at night. Daytime was for Dume or somewhere else. Less crowded. Good chance I’ve seen you around.
right on Tblank... one day (night)
Lockedin, i've only surfed it once during the day. it was fun but only about chest high. some of the pics i've seen tho make me wanna get it when it's head high +... seems like the least frustrating way to do that would be at night
Night time is the ideal. There’s usually a few people out, but generally a better vibe in the water.
And Tblank is right: The phosphorscence (red tide) in the water is better than a college rave! Neon green lights up the white wash, other surfers on the wave, the lip, & fish wakes. Definitely makes the lulls more entertaining - “Duuuuuude I’m seein’ trails”!
BUT - make sure to gargle & shower after your session - you are in Malibu (think old, leaky septic systems in an earthquake / slide prone area that burns every couple of years)
I used to do a fair amount of night surfing at Malibu…one time I lost my board and spent a half hour looking for it…thinkin someone ran off with it in the dark…eventually found it floating in a pool…
I moved to the Santa Monica Mountains(near Malibu Lake) in the late 80’s…in large part to be close to Malibu…Until I retired in 2005…I would drive by every day and always had one or more boards with me…I would surf Malibu when it was right…or from there go by Topanga…or from there Venice…occasionally to Bay Street or El Porto…many many sweet morning sessions…
roger
Howzit Proneman, I might be bringing my board to my nephews house in Oak Prk off Kamen Rd, we atlked about how you livedthere lat time we got together. Would be great to get some waves with you when My neck gets better. Aloha,Kokua