Our Canadian cousins are often happy discussing deeply technical strategies for urinating in suits to stay warm, but this thread is meaty too: http://www.surfingvancouverisland.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=2&topic=554
aww how cute a bunch of 12yo’s arguing…
always wanted to see jordan river break… somebody thank em for the pictures … passionate grooup…was unable to post although I tried to fill out the application…think I heard about the place in 72? Frenchy Fredricks from S.A. reported in from Exile in B.C.positively on that place…Tom Lannigan surfed it in his trunks with out a wetsuit where are they now, ambrose
I lived at JR for 12 years or so and remember when Frenchy Fredericks and Max Wetteland used to show up every now and then. Max was working on a version of a snowboard that was articulated so when you leaned one way it turned the other. Don’t know what ever became of that but it’s obvious what type of snowboard is the most common nowadays. He liked the wave at JR but ran afoul of one of the locals over a drop-in which resulted in a bit of s push-off from behind by the offended local and some later clever exchanges of comments. Last I heard Max was back in South Africa. No idea where Frenchy might be. Take care.
Holy shite now wait a minute!! Are you T-H-E Dave H____n from JR who used to live at a world-class point break on an island in BC? Ive heard stories about a Dave H____n from a kneeboarder- prone surfer up on the Oregon coast. He visited your area for 11-12 years. If that "Dave H" is you, then a very special WELCOME TO SWAYLOCKS!!! Youre a legend!!!
Gee, I’m surprised to find that someone else remembers me. LOL Are you refering to Dale S from Newport, actually a mat builder and rider of some note? He’s the only guy from Oregon who used to come up every year. He’s a great guy. A few of the boys from that LH point in Oregon used to come up too, but the only knee-boarder I recall was Perry, (Shoemaker? who I met about 1975 or 76 when he and little Billy Smith came up. Saw some great home movies (Super 8) when they were up that time. Josh used to come up pretty often and many of us got boards and/or gear from him. I once brought back two Bill Barnfield boards from there for Tony Stein. I used to travel down the coast during the summer months when there was no swell at home. I’d hit Westport, then Seaside and area then Newport and area then down to Crescent City. Nice drive but usually not the best time for surf. Small world. Take care.
So, have you just read “The Cedar Surf, an Informal History of Surfing in BC” by Grant Shilling, then? LOL There is a very good chapter on Jordan River and some of Dave H’s story is told there. I think this book has recently gone out of print but it shouldn’t be long before it is back. It’s published by New Star Books ISBN 0-921586-93-0. Dave is my hero for many reasons & I only wish he would use his talent as a writer more often. His stories are beautifully crafted & I’m told that most are even true. Nice to see that you are familiar with the legend that is Dave H____n.
Wow!! A warm welcome to Swaylocks, Dave! http://www.cedarsurf.com/ 
This set is for you Dave H… 
Might that be the J.R.? Roger
That’s one foot JR. It’s a lot better when it’s two feet though. (grin) Howzit Dale? Have you ever received any of my e-mails the past six months? I have sent you a couple plus answered you on the message thingy on CoastalBC but never heard back from you. Drop me a catch-up note when you get the chance. Use . Regarding The Cedar Surf…I sat with Grant for a couple of hours while he taped our talk and he still got a few things wrong in there. Still, it’s better than nothing which is what we had relative to the history of surfing here in BC up until this book was released. I also contributed a bit to the Stormrider Guide to North America through Drew Kampion who I met briefly once at JR. I still miss those days a lot but I’m sure glad I had them then compared to the crowds and attitudes nowadays. Living on my past glories…LOL Take care and thanks for the welcome.
Dave: It is nice to run into a fellow Northener on this site. I have had the pleasure of reading some of your writings and hope you can find a way to work them into some of the threads on this site-good stories are universal. Take care. Patrick
O.k., o.k… here`s a bigger set for you: 2 foot JR! It’s a lot better when it’s 3 feet though. Save one for me, Dave! (grin) 
Boy that’s an old photo. No way you’d take a picture of it like that today without someone out I’d imagine. Thanks for sharing it. I still recall the very first moment I saw a set like that break off the point. I was looking out the front window of the old cabin that was on the point before the locals built the one that’s there now. It was December of 1973 and I’d slept in the cabin courtesy of Derek Richardson, who was the only guy at JR when I arrived the day before. After a summer of Long Beach I literally could not believe my eyes at the precise way these waves broke and peeled. I had a wetsuit but no board as I’d driven down from Campbell River in my 1965 GTO which didn’t have roof racks. I went crazy trying to get out as Derek enjoyed it all by himself until Jim Van Dame came over and paddled out. Perfect 4-6’ waves and me with no board and no fins. I actually tried to get out with a plastic moulded bodyboard type thing by throwing it over the rows of whitewater and then swimming to it as quickly as possible. Uh…nope. Jim loaned me his board when he was finished surfing and I rode my very first JR wave that day. Also started two new friendships. That’s also the day I knew I was going to end up living there someday because of that wave. Ten months in the Charlottes and my first trip to Hawaii happened before I did move there, but move there I did. And I’ll be grateful for that until I die. Take care.
Hi Dave, The former black and white photo dates to March of 1981. The latter shot was taken in March of 1978… upon arrival JR looked like a waveless lake. But toward evening, the swell began rising, and by the following morning sets were pushing head high plus just above the rivermouth, unwinding down the strait from CC. It was a powerful W/NW swell which lasted for 3 days and nights, peaking on the second evening about 2 feet overhead. Glassy at dawn, light offshore evenings. Many long, deep tube rides. On that visit, I rode two Fish-influenced kneeboards: a wider, thicker, solid foam, tucked edge rails, dual concave w/chines, and a narrower, thinner, soft-railed, flat bottom flex tail. Sunny 65 degree days, 45 degree nights. On the morning of the 4th day, all traces of that beautiful swell had vanished. But springtime Equinox on the island never did me wrong.
A person could get seriously hooked on fantasizing about those riderless PNW point breaks! (((sigh))) What`s the water temp up there like?
Thanks for sharing that story old friend. I was working at Port Renfrew so may have missed that swell. Used to break my heart sometimes having to drive away from perfect surf in the morning to go to work. I used to console myself with the knowledge that oftimes Doug Harvey would have to work in the office at the logging camp and watch Sewers and the point all day. Much greater torture to actually be able to see it all day but be unable to ride it, and then it’s almost dark when you get off work. Funny I can’t remember you knee boarding at all, just mat surfing. Must be getting old or something. Oh, and for Hal, those empty days are long gone I’m afraid, although the last time I watched good surf there, even with a crowd out, there were still lots of good waves going through unridden. The overall level of surfing ability didn’t seem all that high to me, so any good surfer shouldn’t have any trouble getting a wave under normal circumstances I’d think. Take care.
Hi Dave, On that March 1978 visit, we didnt even see more than 4 or 5 other surfers during the three day span of that swell. The guy I traveled with got sick and was only able to enjoy a few waves, which was especially unfortunate because he had hoped to use his new Clyde Beatty Rocket Fish. Anyway, each day a few other surfers would finally drive up and go surfing for an hour or so before sundown. The rest of the day, the point was all mine. Youre right, I did have my mats along, but divided water time in what became a customary manner: mat surfing the mid-day bump, and riding my kneeboards during the clean early mornings and light offshore evenings. If I remember correctly, you told me that the rainforest reef break to the north had been much bigger and better! Wow… I thought wed really missed it! Ill bet you could share a few stories about this place… http://www.beattyproducts.com/Rocket.htm 
Ah yes, the new cabin. That cabin was built in the spring of 1977 as the old one had been bulldozed onto the beach and burned. The original had once been the home for a woman named Jesse Mapes who had been married to one of the old camp Managers but was then married to Bud Mapes. Bud and Jesse lived immediately behind the old JR Hotel and were both alcoholics. A couple of hippy freaks had befriended Jesse in the pub and convinced her she should allow them to live in the surfers cabin. This was just after the end of the 1976 spring sessions. During the summer none of the locals ever came out to JR in those days so there was nobody available to do anything about it. Naturally the surfers were a bit miffed when they arrived for the first swells of fall and discovered this guy Jeff and his pregnant girlfriend Blue living with an assortment of friends in the cabin. Complaints to the logging company brought little satisfaction as they envisioned the headline Local Logging Company Evicts Pregnant Woman in the newspaper so decided to wait until Blue had her baby before giving them the boot. An uneasy truce existed that winter (76-77) as the surfers still used the sauna but were denied use of the cabin. After Blue gave birth arrangements were made and they left. The place was a wreck so it was burnt on the beach and the surfers built the one in the picture. I remember that spring very well as I was working in Renfrew all week but caught four foot or better surf every weekend for nine weekends in a row. The boys building the cabin were super stoked as they’d work on the cabin until conditions were right, paddle out and grab a few waves then come in and work on the cabin some more. Really a consistent spring that year. Wish I had a nickle for every hour I’ve spent sitting in front of that place or in the sauna warming up. I think I’d have a few bucks for sure. I’m really loving your stash of old pics Dale. Keep 'em coming. Take care.