a week and 13hrs ago i was on the road to go to my beach house 3 hours away and a great grey flew over the highway as i was merging on. Huge! very good medicine, those were some of the best waves i have ever seen
Easternpacific, You are only the second person in 38 years that has said “Thanks for serving” You are welcome, and thank you ! To Riddim : I have worked and lived in Vietnam a lot since 1995 and have logged close to 30,000 miles on my 2 motor bikes exploring Vietnam, My wife and I own a house in Hue and I am part owner of a wood working shop in Hue. I have spent a lot of time exploring for surf spots . Have gone on every road and path between Danang and Dong Ha and know most of the possible surf brakes in that area. The surf is totaly dependent on the typhoons and you can figure you will get 3 or 4 days of good surf before the typhoon and a couple days aftere and then it will be flat. I am not much interested in the beach brakes but in the point brakes so have spent most of my time finding those areas. It is very difficult to get to the places as most of them you need to go on a motor bike and you need some one to go with you to protect your stuff. I hire my nephews to go with me (I am married to a Vietnamies). I don’t know any other surfers in Vietnam all though mr.Tam who runs Danang surf club does sometimes. I would not consider vietnam a good surf destination allthough from about mid September to February you can count on some damn good kite surfing. It’s lonesome surfing there and I allways thought I should get 4 or 5 guys together and go. I would take my stepson to organize everything. The big thing to me is how polluted the water is as the Vietmanese dump their shit dirrectly into the ocean . Every time I go out I end up pushing turds out of the way . Thats why kite boarding is better , leave the beach standing up and come back standing up !!! I really worry about catching some crud from being it the water there. If you eat seafood in Vietnam you will get sick. In fact if you spend enough time there you will get sick anyway. I have got sick every time I go back and it takes close to a month for my body to adjust. Aloha for now, Wood_Ogre
Wood_Ogre,
Ouch! Right through the heart.
When I wrote my comment after your China Beach post I thought about closing with a thank you. I’ve seen this and other bulletin boards go ballistic over minor political issues in the past so I just skipped it. Then I see that you appreciated e’pac’s comment and I feel bad for not saying it in the first place.
Thank you very much for serving. I know many people who appreciate those who serve and for sure it doesn’t get said enough. My dad served in WWII, my uncle in Vietnam and many friends and family at various times and places. At our church, when we get a young man back from training or a tour, it’s often mentioned and usually met with much applause and sometimes a standing O. You guys deserve that.
I should’ve said it in the first place.
Thank you.
Ryan, Thanks! When you are a soldier for your country and you fight for your country (right or wrong cause it dosen’t matter) You are above Politics! Dosen’t matter what side you are on you are a soldier! My brother inlaws are all Vietnam soldiers ( NORTH ) thats VC !!! But we were all soldiers and friends and family!! Yes they are communist and I am american! Our politics and religions are different but our war was the same, Hardship, Death, Fear we know it !! I bleed on their soil ,the same soil that is soaked with their blood ! Because of that we are the same , soldiers and brothers! When the guys and gals come home from Iraq,Afganistan, put the politics aside, Remember that they have walked a path that you will never know!! They are soldiers and have earned their place in this world!! When you see a soldier with tears in his eyes you should know that he has seen and done what you will never know. He will carry that heavy load for the rest of his life!! And if my wife is right, into the next life too! Again Thanks Ryan ! Much Aloha Wood_Ogre.
Thanks for the detailed reply Wood_Ogre.
Always on the look out for the next great surf destination
Guess I’ll keep looking. But if I find myself in that part of the world
during Hurricane season, I may have to stop in.
When the guys and gals come home from Iraq,Afganistan, put the politics aside, Remember that they have walked a path that you will never know!! They are soldiers and have earned their place in this world!! When you see a soldier with tears in his eyes you should know that he has seen and done what you will never know. He will carry that heavy load for the rest of his life!!
This is one of the heaviest things that I have read here. There have been a few in this category.
God bless
Quote:
Easternpacific, You are only the second person in 38 years that has said “Thanks for serving” You are welcome, and thank you !
I don’t mean to overwork this topic but I was reading it again and thought I’d say something else. Last June I participated in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. Basically a 10K on dirt with some obsticles. Anyway, it’s for charity and most of the traffic,course and booth work was done by young Marines who were “voluntold” that they would help out.
I had a chance to talk to a couple here and there. I’d ask what they do, what their going to do after, where they’re from, etc. They were all positive and polite with a ready smile. I left each one of them with a thank you, and each one looked a little humbled, almost taken aback by it. I’d got different responses but clearly they are not hearing that sentiment very often. That’s a shame.
I would engourage anyone who reads this, if you know a service person or have a conversation with one, throw them a thank you. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, just sincere. They’ll appreciate it. As Wood_Ogre says, soldiers serve, they don’t make the politics so don’t blame them for what you don’t like. Appreciate them for their service.
Wood, I guess you got me a little worked up. I’m done now.
Actually, according to Yater himself in a profile in this summer’s Longboard Magazine, reps from the movie came to his shop and bought four yater boards off the rack. none of them, by the way, were “spoons” as referenced by the Kilgore character in the movie script. Milius also confirmed they’re yaters in an article in the San Diego Union Tribune in January. But the board’s graphics as seen in the movie were NOT done by Yater himself. That was done by the movie crew and you can see the paint is applied directly over the glass, in particular the Redux version shows a couple of angles in the boat where the Kilgore’s board clearly has no wax on the deck. And yater, again according to longboard’s story, only did 90 replicas, according to that story, and sold them for $3,000 each. THe original kilgore movie prop is still in the hands of a bankrupt bar owner who tried to auction it off in San Diego earlier this year for $100,000, but the highest bid was only $25,000, according to the Union-Tribune so the bar owner refused to sell it. meanwhile ever since Longboard printed an actualy picture of the Yater knockoff of the movie knockoff, there are probably many knockoffs being made now. Oh and if you recall according to the Kilgore script, the board in the movie was supposed to be an “8’6” yater spoon" so the board pictured is actually 8’6", more true to the movie than the yater knockoffs to the movie knockoff. I believe yater did 9-footers in his knockoffs. I’m not sure, but it was definitely not 8’6". In the words of Lt. Col. Kilgore: “Blow 'em back into the stone age, son.”