Talked to my brother-in-law, he lives and surfs the Strand. The surf had been cranking for a while, and most were surfed out. There are still a few dicks around that will act foolish and if it makes you feel any better, in the ‘70’s when I lived there, I witnessed much much worse acts of localism. Try- rebar jammed through boards and roof of vehicle, multiple times. Slashed tires and blown out windshields. You got Sharpied?? Not too bad. They must have taken a liken’ to ya…nah, really it all sucks, unnecessary and weak.
A well known older So. Cal. shaper who likes big waves parked somewhere around back toward the cove…found a path to the water…paddled into the top of the lineup by himself…dropped into the biggest wave too far over and ate it! He thought they might give him a little respect after his ballsy attempt…but instead hasseled him…asking him what his zip code was or something stupid. He got his share of waves and exited with no drama the same way he entered. This was the story as he told me in J Bay after he came up there chasing a swell…subsequent to particpating in the Dungeons Red Bull contest near Cape Town. Any guesses who this might be?
Roger
Linden
When in doubt ask yourself “WWSLJD?”
That’s right “What Would Samuel L. Jackson Do?”
When you’re tired of guys tryin to take your wallet, snakes on airplanes and SSL’s just remember…
WWSLJD?
The rest will work itself out from there.
yep…impressive for a guy that is closer to 60 than 50…me thinks
Roger
sorry to hear about your trailer getting tagged.
…the whole local gang mentality of surfing is rooted in fear. they fear the outside because they can’t adapt to the world around them. most of them lived tucked away in a cowardly enclave. these guys that damaged your property (if they’re not teens) are paranoid criminals struggling with drug/drinking problems and host of other problems. i camped out with a few ssl guys at a surf contest one time and they proudly told their terrorist stories. i almost felt sorry for them because they seemed like 14yr. old kids trapped in 30 yr. old bodies.
this aside, i’ve been on both sides of the fence when it comes to surfing and dealing with outsiders. i know the feeling of being pissed about tons of people showing up to “your” break…but when it comes down to it…hurting, doing damage to property or being punk to others is bulls$#! and self-centered.
what gets me about the whole culture of this local gang attitude is that the kids are starting to revive the belief that being a vandal or felon is cool. they think the losers in front of the liquor store that don’t surf much anymore, have a long police record and briefly competed on the asp (or were in surf video), are gods.
the only good news is that time eventaully serves justice. the locals that cause trouble and get aggro on others always dig their own ditch. they stand out and are easy targets. guys around town that act this way are always in such disbelief when their cars or homes are vandalized back or they are carried off by the cops from a tip off.
peaceful surfing habits balanced with healthy competitive spirits are what surfers should strive for.
no matter how many a-holes i’ve encountered in the lineups and beaches, i always make it point to smile and say, “how is out there?”
i just hope you get a handful of aloha and good times on your next trip to counterset the bad experience you guys had in ventura.
cheers,
ps. go farther north next time…pm me if your around here and i’ll tell you some good free camp spots/waves.
gary is 56 and a hell of a nice guy I am proud to know him and has more balls than any of those PV hasslers. the wave they call big he calls a snack.
Just a little Linden tale from me.
I’m not plugged into the industry like so many here are. I’m just and average surfer. Maybe a dozen years ago, I saw an article profiling Gary and his RECYCLER model. It was early in the epoxy days. It said all the RECYCLERs were shaped by Gary, not the machines and shop shapers. Good enough for me. New, lighter, stronger materials and shaped by Gary, I called to order one.
It was Gary who answered. He said he’d be in the shop on Saturday if I could come down and talk about the board, and bring what I’m riding now. Hell yes! I was stoked. Before that, all I’d ever talked to was store guys. I show up on Saturday and Gary lets me in. There we are in Gary’s shaping bay with my board on his racks talking about the board he’s going to shape for me. That was a first on many levels. He gave me a tour, I got to watch some of the guys paint a laminate for the first time. I was in surfer heaven.
Gary was a really nice guy who treated a nobody like a somebody. Totally a class act. I was very impressed and will never forget it.
Respect to Gary.
Well put.
Although S.S. is Oxnard, which is a different beast than Ventura.
I vote to dump this thread on account of it’s negative and un Holiday vibe—
Also, it seems that a Gary Linden thread should crank up, no need to bring such a positive individual into such a bummer thread—any seconds??? (Hank Warner-Swift Label-Starfish) shameless subject change…
Dump it.
i second that motion.it is what it is and has been for over 30 years now. i don’t see it changing anytime soon, especially since the city of oxnard is allowing homes to go up everywhere, which of course, brings more new people to area,more crowding,etc.eventually the masses will become too much for a few enforcers and the break will be open to all who brave it, like in so many other spots around the county.was out the other day and did not see a person or face i knew…shoot, a friend of mine, who is a surfer known around the world and grew up here got hassled by some younger guy at a local break-yelling at him to go home, back to l.a.,etc.it’s hopless…
let’s hear some more about linden…
flushed
OK, guess we can dump this thread on account of xmass and all. Too many people, just saying can’t do anything about it. I’m tired of surfing El Porto so if you guys change your mind and want to take over Lunada, I don’t mind being the enforcer. Hell, I could have wiped the floor with both the punks who got in my face last time. Err, I mean Merry Christmas.
ok, seriously that was it. i got it all out.
The Strand, what a spot. Just so people understand, that break doesn’t necessarily need locals to regulate. On the right day, it’s a local in and of itself. Back in the winter of '83, a couple of buddies of mine that were students at UCSB did a sneak attack dawn patrol in their mom’s Chrysler New Yorker. The beauty of the “Land Shark” as we called it, was that our boards all fit in the trunk, so no one ever suspected the car to be holding surfers. Being idiots, we had showed up with 5-8 twinfins, took a look at head high a-frames and paddled out next to the rocks. I got out first, with Perry and Ross right behind me. A set shows on the horizon, and it’s not near as clean as it looked from the beach, and even worse, it’s three times bigger! We managed to get a few, Ross snagged a heaving left and went airborne dropping into a backside disaster tube, got ragdolled to the beach and went in. Perry, being the more solid surfer of the bunch caught a few and went in just before my next to last wave. I’m sitting out there by myself when this macking set comes, and it’s coming right to me. Whaddya do? It’s coming right to me but it’s feathering and backing off, feathering and backing off, and I’m just trying to figure where I need to be to drop into to this beast. When it gets to me, I paddle my azz off and “catch” it, dropping in on/in the lip, landing on the flats still standing on my board and, of course, got totally annihalated. Just blasted. Actually seeing stars when I came up. I caught a wave in, a head high left that would’ve been fun except my mind had ceased to function properly for surfing, so all I could do was angle in and kinda straight leg it to the beach. We didn’t get any grief from any of the locals on the berm when I got in, I figure they thought the Strand had shown me who was boss. I didn’t surf there again until the next winter (decided a little more board really helps).
exactly what i was referring to when i said “those who brave it…” if the boys don’t work ya, the waves will…
i like the south end near the base…where the body boards have taken over. they surf with aloha and put up with my shenannigans…with the right santa annas…it lights up!! always go alone…
Roger
first of all you don’t pull up to strand with 5 guys …your just asking for it…second …silverstrand has sone of the best surfers around…had you tried to do anything…what did you say? put some guys face in the sand…ypu would defiantly lost unless you have a army as harass as strand does…da boys take care of each other.when some look like you pulls up with 5 guys and a attitude, you will get bounced and bounced on…strand is about respect and nothing more…your disrespecting it by running your mouth about it…your lucky you still had your car and your teeth kook…S.S.L. Will live forever to keep asses like you from surfing there
bring it were ready…
Hi Tracy - you do realize you are directing your reply to a comment posted 11 years ago by a guy who hasn’t checked in to Swaylocks in over a year, right? I mean its ok to do that if you want, but just sayin’.
great comment.Mine were a little more to the point…this guy sounds like a show off, loudmouth