my best tube ride was my very first one – at the old Scripps pier, wood pilings, the right on the south side of the pier. One day I pulled into a tube, suprised the heck out of me. I still remember it like it was this morning… even thought it was decades ago.
Late Fall 1974. Low tide Governments Point, Bixby Ranch, Santa Barbara.
I was riding a 7’6" Liddle, with a textured deck and a huge rhino fin.
I remember being able to draw really long lines that were almost parallel to the cresting wave top. The waves were a perfect 3-5’ with glassy conditions turning to off shores and then back to glass again. I was on my way up from a deep turn when the wave hit one of the many sandbars and jacked way up. I found myself leveling off and hearing that hollow conch shell sound in my ears. I came out and proceeded to experience the same thing many more times on the same wave. After a while, I could see the section coming off of the bottom turn. Those waves went so long that it became a real challenge to run back up to the point, so we chose our spot and had a short Zuma type distance paddle out and picked up the waves after they had passed a sandbar and rode them on in.
My friend, Art Malcolm, was riding a Greenough Wilderness spoon kneeboard and he was getting incredible fourth gear turns and some mind blowing tubes as well.
We surfed these conditions for over 3 hours, until some local cowboys chased us out.
As we were DRIVING OUT, the Santa Barbara Sheriff was there at the gate(opposite the Jalama entry road) to give us a stern warning that next time we were caught, we would be spending some jail time. I have a picture, that Art took of the waves as we were leaving, hanging next to my bed. I will never forget that soulful experience.
for the most consistent tubes in one session, hands down little drakes, some years back.three of us rotating in the lineup and laughing for hours…
oh, as i re-read Dale’s original post, I have to say what I was riding-displacement hulls by Liddle or Paul Gross…
Wed Oct 12th 2002. Hurrican Hernan was hitting Baja full force. Swell was hitting So Cal from 160 degrees, the swell was moving away from the Ca coast line. And all eyes were on Newport and the Wedge, but theres a nice little break in San Diego only accessable by boat that pick’s up this kind of swell perfectly. 2x overhead 150 yard rides, pulled into and out of the tube 3 times on almost every wave. The worst thing was that there were 50 guys out, but there were so many waves that it didn’t matter. You could dictate when, and how deep you wanted to get every wave. Classic Southern California surf once every 20 yrs.
-Jay
The winter before last at Malibu. There was a lot of sand way inside of first point. I was riding “El Paipo Grande” getting some zippy little waves in very shallow water. On this one 3 footer the wave pulled the hull into a total nose to tail dry barrel and we came out clean…best tube in my 43 years of surfing but the wave was not through! It opened up again and in we went for another… enveloped totally and again coming out high and dry. The two best tubes of my life on the same wave.
Hope to have the EPG (shaped by Paul Gross) taste some world class barrels over the next couple years… Superbank…low tide Pequena…Maalea(sp?)…J.bay…endless possibilities.
Roger
Howzit Dale, 1979 6’ to 8’ Hanalei, took off at the point about 30 feet behind Hambone,was catching up to him when Flat rock jacked and we were both inside, but Bill was sure I was history by then. As I emerged from what seemed like forever Bill was doing one of his classic cutbacks and I just plowed right through him. When we came up he said he couldn’t believe I made it, luckally no body or board dings. After that wave I never had to worry about Bill taking off on me ever again. Aloha, Kokua
I still wanna hear Dale’s tuberide 
It happened on Kuaii (sp?) in 1986. I have only been there once, so everything is kind of fuzzy. But the barrels weren’t.
The spot was called, I think, Centers. It was on the South Shore in August, right next to a surf spot called Acid Drops. The waves were about a foot overhead, maybe a foot bigger (six to eight foot faces). The wave would come in at about four to five feet, a fast little glassy hump of water. Had to paddle fast, but it was easy to catch. Then, all I had to do was stand up, set an edge, and mellow, stand up dry barrels, one after the other. I was the only one out. Weird. I remember a jetty with a left nearby, maybe it was a restaurant. There was an aquatic park inside (you know, snorkelling).
That’s all I remember.
Other than that, it’s a local beach in Encinitas that gets hollow even at high tide. It’s very reliable, open to all swells, and within view of the lifeguards in case it gets too heavy and I’m afraid of drowning.
…Was Steve Merrill out with you that day Jay?
…Herb
I’m not sure, but there were 4 or 5 of guys taking pictures, 30 boats, and about 50 guys in the line up. It broke for about 2 days, we got it on the first day. I was ridding my red HIC 9’0" super charged-C5 fun gun, fast and making all the sections.
-Jay
1992, Tavarua, Cloudbreak, quadruple overhead sets. Only boatboy Hans and the camp owners are out (w/helmets). I had broken my 8’3" single which was 1 week old that morning. Twelve other broken sticks that day, including the Chiefs last board. Me and buddy ask Eddie for boat out at dusk. Flecky and Jack decline(this is the trip Black Flies concocts super-sex- sells suglasses concept). Eddie drops us(don’t own helmet) way out in channel. I’m down to a 7’0" twinny with wings, six channels, and a phony wood remay scrim color job. As we paddle half way in to the line-up, lo-and-behold comes a monster swinger way out in the channel. Hans and his bosses are scrambling out the deep side. I just got so excited that I didn’t even think to hesitate. Easy mountain drop to hands in the sky green roof(low tide square) like dreems of pipe , quad overhead …deeper,deeper, deeper, …cough. Just as I was about to do the glory slash, a drop the size of a 55gal drum, blasted my cranium through my board . When I came up, the front half was gone. Me and my prickly-itchy tail enjoyed the full set beating over shishkabobs. I got my hands on the reef scaffolding(this was the week after Endless Summer 2 was there) and climbed it. Eddie came around back and I paddled my 3-foot tail to the boat. I was out of boards for the rest of the week, and no one would loan one. They deemed Cloudbreak too big to surf the next few days and everyone broke more sticks a Restaurants. I learned to catch seasnakes with the kids in the middle of the island. Flecky and Jack returned home and sold a bundle of spectacles using a naughty-girl image. Love, Delbert Pumpernickel
Maybe Dale will post something new…but check out his web site an read his little story…you’ll feel like you’re riding piggyback.
…Yeah Jay,
…That was one of the times Steve invited me down to boat it,but due to family obligations I couldn’t make that one.
…He told me about the crowds …He was soooo bummed,that he wanted to sell his boat.I guess a goody group of “surfstars” were out on that very swell clogging the line-up as well as the phototoggers too.
…Aftermath…We got really hassled out there a couple times by the coast guard.The last time about a year ago,The U.S.C.G. started tossing our stuff around on his boat after boarding it while we were surfing,nice guys,heh?
…Have fun Jay,I’m in town once and awhile to visit mom/Bob ,maybe we can get a session in together this summer…Herb
Absolutely,
My buddys got a nice little 23ft Black Fin that we take out all the time, there’s a more consistent break around the corner that picks up more kinds of swells that a blast if your a goofy foot. I’m privey to the USCG commander in town so land access down by the light house is always an option. We can walk and use the rope down the cliff. …but, you’ve seen the cliff, and the rope is a marginal jute, hemp, home made thing. Using the rope is always a great inspiration and psyological advantage the line up. The rest of the crew see you rapelling down the 60 ft cliff from a peice of shit jute rope and they always give you a wide berth. No way, those are those crazy dudes that climb down that cliff…how’d you get there?
…Yeah,Tanks or dnuts works.
…got it good there a few times, in the fall extreme offshore season…while evenone else was riding the local reversed blown-out stuff.
…I’ll be in I.B. next weekend,maybe I’ll see you there?Herb
I always remember my first it was Hurricane David in '79 
what a great feeling to come out clean. But it took me until my Indo trip in 2001 to get my best. It is a hard call between Maca’s and Telescopes but there were so many it is hard to say what was the best only that i’m still grinning ear to ear from that trip!
lately I’ve been lamenting the delamination of a board I made last year. a blue 6’4" spoon fish (aka ‘spawn’) twinzer with almost as much belly as the bottom of a clawfoot bathtub. At 3.25" thick 21.5 wide and #1 density styro…she floated and paddled like an 8 foot board. 60/40 rails turned down hard in the tail…it was a trimming high line machine…a screwy lap job and not enough sanding adding to the homemade aura…“dude what happenned here?”… “is that thing made out of play dough?” etc… So…in front of a full gallery of peanuts one sunday afternoon last november at a super frustrating, closed out, swell wasting, shifty peaked, mush burgery piss ant of a wave (that can be the only ball game in town on occaision) I got three deep in the hole tubes on one incredible perfect wave. The third tube stands out because it horse shoed super hard and came right at me. The water went from blue to black/grey/brown as it hit the sand bar. I was standing way behind the curtain and had to turn down in the barrel to adjust. People were tripping on the beach…I’ve surfed that spot on and off for 18 years and never ever seen any body get three in one there…still feeling the stoke
Lots of good ones but the one freshest in my mind was G-land last tuesday. Solid 8’-10’ and a very light early season crowd. Second wave of the session and all my buddies were still paddling back up after their first ones. … A pretty good size set comes through outside money trees. Skipped the first and swung around second. Not so used to surfing in booties and almost did not make the drop. Finally got my feet in the right spot and made a nice long bottom turn… the little delay actually put me deeper in the pocket. No stall needed the section was there, grabbed the rail and kept her pointed down the line. I could feel the tail dancing on the foam ball the whole time. The memorable part was that i felt in perfect pace with the wave… sections were not passing me up and i was not out driving it. One of thoes days when you really feel like you have the right board. 6’10" singlefin stinger shaped by Paul Carter. Got tons more that day but that one was memorable.
JL
Hermosa beach Costa Rica… about 10 years ago… stormy cloudy day, huge swell… 95% of vaves closed out… no one was surfing… few surfers watching this huge sets from the beach… I paddled in with a friend of mine “don’t know why we did it”, it tooks us like 45 minutes just to get in… being there there was no way out, waves were unsurfable… my friend paddled a small one “10 foot face” and wiped out… I was alone, It started to rain… was really scary moment… after like 2 hour of waiting for a surfable wave, I noticed a fairly good shaped wave, without much thinking I paddled it and got inside this huge barrel…I was inside the barrel like 6 to 8 seconds…it felt like forever… suddenly the wave spited me out of tube… I was so stoked…
I was riding a 6’5’’ swallow tail shortboard…