November 12th, 2008 by admin

“This site is a tribute and testament to the art of surfing.  Also, to report actual surf and weather conditions. Above all to document the good times and to capture and share some of the epic sights and landscapes encountered along the way.

This is an ongoing journal of adventures to surf destinations on Vancouver Island, Canada and around the world.“

Special Note: - Looking for secret surf spots on Vancouver Island? You will not find any here.

December 24th, 2009 by admin

After some how surviving the night with 15 pounds of Christmas Dinner turkey in my belly, Steve and I left Nanaimo around 8:00 heading South towards Lil China.

We got to our destination and were greeted by the parking attendant who told us it was pretty flat down on the beach.  We got a little nervous because up until that point we still hadn’t seen a single person in the water.  It had been a long time since either of us had been in the water so we didn’t even take the recon mission to see if there were wave we just geared up and began our hike.  There were a noticeable amount of big trees that had fallen since my last visit there must have been some pretty big wind storms  in the area already this year.

We were pleasantly surprised by the sound of nice sized waves crashing as we approached the beach.  We turned the last corner and within seconds saw some pretty descent waves coming in.  They weren’t quite 13 feet as the forecast projected but the only thing that really matters is that they were rideable!

We went in just before Rock Piles and stayed there for the majority of the day.  The day was absolutely perfect.  It was around plus 8 or 9, the sky was blue and the sun beat down on us the entire day allowing us to go hoodless near the end of December.  There wasn’t one other surfer out there the entire day.  Our spectators consisted of a couple of eagles who stared at us from the top of a tree right off the point and a few different families of seals who got a little to close for Steve’s comfort at one time as he had to shout at it to get out of the way as he was riding out a wave.

August 23rd, 2009 by admin

It was the morning after my birthday and we all woke up way too early. (”Das Boot” made an appearance at my birthday party the night before, nuf said.)

Alex, Adam and I were in our truck and Kim, Shane and Steve jumped in the Bennet’s Jeep and we all headed for Chesterman Beach.  We arrived to meet up with Rich and Breanne who just walked back up from the shore and informed us it was flat. We caught a glimpse of Long Beach on the way by and it looked descent enough to give a second look.  When we arrived there was a pretty good swell and it wasn’t too terribly crowded so we suited up and hopped in.  There was an extremely dense fog but the surf conditions were pretty sweet.

Rich, Adam and Breanne peeled off to the right of the big boulder and the rest of us headed to the left.  To close to the big rock on either side and you will find yourself in a pretty strong side rip.  The conditions were perfect everyone was having a great time except for me. :(  The combination of nursing an injured front foot and in all honesty a bit of a hangover equalled a fairly lackluster day in the water.  The waves got bigger and better as the day went on but so did my fatigue as well as the pain in the ball of my foot.  There was no where else I would rather be than in the water, don’t get me wrong but it is a shame I was there under those conditions.  That’s ok, I fully made up for it my next day out once my foot started to feel better.

August 22nd, 2009 by admin

I’ll start this post off by saying Best Birthday Ever!  Steve offered to bring me along wakesurfing with him at a friends cabin on Sprout Lake.  This was my first time visiting Sprout Lake and I can say it is gorgeous.  Kim and Shane got up to the cabin just after we did and after a birthday BLL it was time to prep the boat and hit the water.  Shane went first it was my first time ever seeing anyone wakesurf in person and Shane made it look easy.

Next up Steve-O, he was up and riding like a pro right away.  I think he was cheating a bit because he was riding his own hand shaped surfboard.  Steve is one of the most amazing custom surfboard shapers on Vancouver Island.  I was getting fired up because I was up next and would get a chance to ride his most recent work of art.  I got up and the combination of the Cadillac under my feet and the thrill of a never ending wave was one of the best experiences of my life!  A huge thank you goes out to the most gracious hosts, thanks a million for inviting me in to your awesome cabin and taking me rippin on your stellar boat.

January 11th, 2009 by admin

Adam, Rich, Kelly and I left Nanaimo at 6 and got to French Beach around 8:30. The road to China Beach, Sombrio and Port Renfrew was closed. Apparently there was a giant sink hole that opened up and took the road right out.

The waves looked pretty nice at Jordan River A and B but there was a ton of giant drift wood and other debris floating around out there in the waves.

We all suited up and hiked down the path to Frog Beach, once we hit the beach we hiked along the shoreline and portaged across a couple of (freezing cold) rivers including the Strait of Juan de Fuca until we got to a real nice point break.

I sat on the beach for a while and examined the break, the best line to get out through the waves and the best spot to catch the swell for the longest ride. The waves were beauty, anywhere from 6 to ten footers probably the biggest waves I have ever surfed to date. I was a little intimidated to paddle out through the waves but once I got out and actually did it there was nothing to it, it was surprisingly simple. We stayed and surfed in this spot for a while, I got a few real nice rides out of it. Right before we decided to leave the break and venture further down the shore Kelly got cracked in the face with his board and instantly got a lovely black eye and a giant goose egg on his cheek.

We hiked down the beach a little further and portaged across another icy river until we reached China Beach. The waves were awesome! They were rolling in perfect sets, not too close together and smooth as glass there was absolutely no wind. Everyone was getting some real stellar rides in. It was nice to ride some decent sized fast waves, it took a little while to adjust but I could feel everything click once I did.

We surfed at this break for an hour or maybe a couple hours before we decided to pack it in and start the long walk back to the truck. We left at just the right time, the tide was coming in and if it was any higher there would be no beach to walk on and we would have had a hell of a time climbing over logs and pushing through the rain forest with our boards.

January 10th, 2009 by admin

Adam and I were hanging out and we had to make a pit stop in Departure Bay. We pulled in to the parking lot right on the beach and got out of the car. The South east wind was blasting in and was making some pretty decent sized waves right in Departure Bay. They were too small to actually surf but they were coming in nicely.

Adam decided that seeing these waves was enough of an incentive to go check out a few spot up the coast that could be paying off due to the wind speed and direction.

We arrived at the first beach and saw a lot of potential. The waves were almost there. We hopped back in the car and got to the second beach. There were 3 guys out there floating around on their surfboards.

There were about 3 to 4 foot waves and they definitely looked surfable. We stood and watched the guys who were already out there, it looked like they were having a pretty difficult time. Yes, there were waves that could be surfed but there was absolutely no rhyme or reason in which the waves were coming in and where they would be. So, it was pretty much a game of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

By this time we were quickly running out of daylight by the time we went and grabbed our gear and suited up it would definitely be dark. I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to hit the water but more fired up at the idea of finding a brand new place to surf when the wind is just right.

January 3rd, 2009 by admin

The craziness of the holiday season is over and I finally got a window of opportunity to get some surfing in. I set out for Jordan River around 8:00. On the drive there big flakes of snow were coming down pretty heavy. I got to Jordan River a little after 9:00 and the waves looked pretty decent, although any waves would look good at this point considering a haven’t been able to get out for a few weeks. The waves were about 3-4 footers and were coming in from the Northwest. There was very little wind. I decided to get right at it, so I suited up and hit the water. Due to the waves not being terrific I had the whole bay to myself.

While I was paddling out the sky opened up and huge flakes of snow began to fall again. There were dark gray clouds directly overhead but the sun was poking through some blue sky and was reflecting off the snow capped mountains on the horizon. I paddled right past a family of 6 seals wrestling and playing around. On the opposite side of me there was a big curious sea lion who had decided to come right up and investigate to see what I was all about. He hung around and watched me surf for a couple of hours. A few times he infiltrated my comfort zone and got within 10 to 15 feet away from me so I’d hold my board straight up in the air and let out a few loud grunts. I don’t know if this was establishing my dominance or if he just thought I was a crazy lunatic either way he never got too much closer to that.

I surfed until about 1:30 the waves pretty much flattened right out by then so I decided to hit the road. I got quite a few good rides in, the waves weren’t huge but as always they were fun.

The time spent out in the water surrounded by nature was absolutely surreal, one of the most memorable trips to date.

December 6th, 2008 by admin

Adam, Bob and myself hit Jordan River by about 7:45 -8:00.  The waves were shaping up and looked promising but there were already a few people out in the water so we decided to go check out China.  We hiked down and saw there was only one guy out there.   We figured we could definately surf here but we would give one more look back at Jordan River before we committed.  JR was about the same so the decision was made, we drove back to China Beach suited up and hit the water.

The waves were not all that big (4 to 6 ‘ers) but provided for some fun rides.  There was barely any wind whatsoever and the waves were rolling in from the Northwest.  The tide was all the way in but just starting to head back out.  The waves were swelling up best right in the heart of Rock Piles so that’s where we rode for the majority of the day.  The Rock Piles may be one of my new fave spots.  When your out there you can easily identify the huge piles of rock that sit just below the surface, through the crystal clear teel green water.  You just gotta make sure you keep your head on a swivel and always know where the rock piles are when your charging through on a wave.

Adam gave me a few really great surf tips that made an immediate impact on my surfing.  He suggested I pull myself up higher on my board and then really lean back when getting up to my feet.  The reason why I have been further back on my board is because I have been nose diving when I put my front foot down, but when you lean back you eliminate that problem.  My pop up is all of a sudden beginning to feel very natural and less forced which also results in my footing being in exactly the right place on the board which makes my turns much more comfortable as well.  Thanks Triple-A.

November 23rd, 2008 by admin

Adam and I left around 5:45 and headed up to Port Renfrew.  This is my first time ever being to Renfrew, what an awesome spot, definitely coming back camping.

There was a pretty thick layer of frost covering everything it was a bit nippy but a beautiful day, not a breath of wind.  Unfortunately there were no waves either.

We could see the lines approaching in sets of 4 or 5 coming in from the Northwest.  They were sooooo close, they were breaking pretty much right on shore but you could see the potential.  We hung around for about an hour or so and watched the tide come right in with our fingers crossed but it just didn’t happen.  I talked to a man who was camping on the beach and he said the waves were three times the size for the last four days.  That was the last kick in the nuts with a frozen moccasin we could take, we headed back to Sombrio. SKUNKED!

The pic below is what the waves are supposed to look like at Port Renfrew.

At Sombrio the waves looked alright but as usual there were far too many people out there trying to catch them to be even worth suiting up.

China Beach was a mild lake.  The highlight was that some way, some how, someone got a car all the way through the narrow winding trail all the way to just before the steps to get on the beach and that’s where they left it.  I really have no idea how they got it down there or how the hell they will get it out.

Jordan River looked like it was going to be alright when we first past by at day break but when we got back they had died right off to the odd white cap.

The MagicSeaweed report called for 9.5 footers which was obviously way off.

November 15th, 2008 by admin

Razor and I hit up Jordan River Camp.  We got out there around 10:30 and it looked very flat and there was no one around.  After watching for a few minutes we noticed there was actually some nice sets rolling in from waist to shoulder height coming from the Northwest.  (MagicSeaweed called for 7.5-8 footers.)

We went in straight off the parking point and got some nice little fun ones right off the bat.  It is quite shallow right off the point so we would have to bail off after a fairly short ride.

There was a graveyard of logs, drift wood and debris floating around in the water.  We were a fair ways out from the point now and I was riding a wave in when I looked down and saw big jagged rocks maybe 6 inches below the surface of the water.  I kept cruising and luckily a couple seconds later it got a little deeper again so I bailed off, “sacrifice the body and save the board” is what was going through my head.

After a short break we decide to venture across to the center of the bay.  Razor stayed and surfed here, where he said he got some nice rides in and I continued past the bay to a rock bed break.

Great waves about shoulder height.  My arms were feeling the burn from being out of shape and paddling so far but I stayed out for a few hours and caught some really fun rides.  Fairly shallow on some spots and big boulders rather than the gravel that makes up most of the bay. Worked a lot on my turning and feel like I am getting a much better feel for controlling my board under my feet.  There was no wind at all which made it very enjoyable no fighting against the white wash coming in, it was perfect.

It was a long paddle back after I had worn myself our catching waves.  When I finally got back to shore Razor told me that there was a sea lion that tailed me all the way across the bay just a few feet behind me.  I imagine that the flailing of my rubber arms and my out of breath grunting probably mimicked a wounded seal pretty closely.