StokeReport User Surf Reports

My Surfer Magazine subscription finally came, but the new issue sucks.

madpie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:17:45 -0700

Sigh. It took like 10 weeks just to get here and it's not even any good (except for the article on Buttons). A firstworldproblem if there ever was one, I know, but a bummer nontheless. Incidentally, I always wonder about the economics behind these pointless "buyer's guides" for wetsuits and board that the mags print every year.

Bombarded by subscription offers from surfer/surfing

madpie — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:06:03 -0700

I finally broke down and bought a 2-year subscription to Surfer Magazine back in February. I have yet to get the first issue, but I've probably had about six pitches to subscribe even more, subscribe to Surfing too, subscribe subscribe subscribe. I'm kinda like : *no*, you fucking fucks.

Romney's House - right in front of Big Rock?

madpie — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:12:41 -0700

Garr why can't I edit the text properly? Edit: never mind, I guess it's near Sea Lane. Romney probably paddles out at Simmons.

sharky high five

madpie — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:03:12 -0700

repurposed from reddit. But worth it.

shocking handplane secret revealed

madpie — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:24:22 -0800

This actually worked great. Scrap plywood + shoelace. No rocker, no finesse. Zero dollars. Had a blast out there today, to my surprise.

kind of fun stop motion music video shot at OB

madpie — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:37:58 -0800

With apologies for passing along something off of Reddit, here's a kind of cool video shot at OB. I'm confused about how they did it, but I like the look and the song is solid.

rad little video of snowboarding crow

madpie — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:13:19 -0800

pretty off topic, but nevertheless of interest

wavejet over da falls at Jaws [video]

madpie — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:37:15 -0800

Check the very last wave in this clip. Is that Gmac getting tossed off the wavejet?

the crazy chopu sesssion with much better music.

madpie — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:04:09 -0700

not sure if this will work, but I'm using tubedubber to mash up the tow in video (which has a wack soundtrack) with a mogwai track that kind of takes the video where it should actually go: http://tubedubber.com/#6SWgCHGoBpo:KMDCM5OAOaE:0:100:0:0:1

Any secret lurker kitesurfers on here?

madpie — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:50:36 -0700

Do any folks on this board kitesurf at OB or in the bay? With the wind the way it is, it seems awfully appealing to me. If you do it, do you dig it?

If you don't actively oppose the culture of surf "respect," aren't you riding on Sunny Garcia's coattails?

madpie — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:48:11 -0800

When the endless localism debate flares up on this site, there are always folks who write things like "I don't endorse violence, but you gotta show respect," "you gotta earn your place in the lineup, that's just how it is." The point these people seem to be making is always that they themselves aren't (necessarily) about violent localism, but that the hierarchy of "good" surfers versus those who

skateboard luge - old school

madpie — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:27:00 -0800

My uncle in the midwest just sent me a collection of old pics, one of which kind of cracks me up. No details about when/where/who shot it, etc.

xcel key pocket fiasco

madpie — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:27:30 -0800

This evening I went out bodysurfing at OB and had a fun time only to discover on getting back to my car that my key had blown completely out of my key pocket and out of my wetsuit. So I had to call my wife on a borrowed cell phone and dance around for half an hour trying to prevent myself from going into hypothermia.

On the usefulness of a still photo in assessing the surf

madpie — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 08:55:43 -0800

I find it strange and interesting that it's often easier to get a clear sense of what the surf conditions are like by looking at the still image on ob-###### than by considering any other kind of information, including the webcams.

A quick ode to stokereport

madpie — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:13:21 -0800

I just want to say that I really dig this site, not because I need lots of surf reports but because I like having a little bit of a sense of community around surfing. Somehow, when I get to read other people's accounts of their sessions or even their experiences of frustration at missing great waves, I relate to it and I have a greater sense that the things I love are meaningful.

pitted ... redux [video]

madpie — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:38:36 -0800

a new and even more amazing remix of "pitted" guy. hat tip to surfpulse.

What happened to Global Quiver? (Bonzerology, volume 2)

madpie — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:29:12 -0800

I finally wanted to use it, but I guess it's dead. At any rate, anybody want to trade bonzers with me for a week just to compare the feel of the boards? I can't tell if I've got a wonky shape or if I'm just ruined by 20 years of riding thrusters.

NYT on Andy Irons and the Paddle Out

madpie — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:30:14 -0800

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/fashion/21PADDLEOUT.html?hp

Bonzer-ology

madpie — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:49:13 -0700

My friend shaped me a bonzer. It's a beautiful board. Yesterday I took it out for the first time on real surf, and I found it a little tricky to ride. It felt kind of like a single fin to me, like that big central fin was really the focus of control and I needed to have my weight pretty well clamped down over that central point in order to avoid spinning out.

A strange sort of classified

madpie — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:17:22 -0700

So this is a little weird, but I need to meet some new people just to hang out with/go surf with as friends. All my old friends who live here in SF are moving back to San Diego, and the only other guy I know who surfs always wants to go on extended adventures to Santa Cruz, which I, as a dad of a 4-year-old, can't usually do.

poor surfing conditions at San Francisco - Ocean Beach

madpie — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:53:07 -0700

2-3 wedgy foamballs. Lotsa dolphins in the lineup. Vaguely amusing.

(Submitted via the Web)

Delicious Avocados....

madpie — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:59:00 -0700

Off-season DIY alaia project? Anyone? [video]

madpie — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:54:14 -0700

Okay so the surf is going to be blowed for a while. I've been thinking I'll occupy myself with making an alaia just for fun. And no I don't mean I'm going to spend lots of money to take a class to make a super-bitchen alaia.

"Poor Surfing" or "Great Surfing"? Depends on your point of view. [video]

madpie — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:40:20 -0700

Easter Eggz [video]

madpie — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:59:21 -0700

You may recall that this past Easter Sunday featured pounding rain and 20 mph wind. I was really wanting to surf and had this idea that I was going to go out even if it was awful. . . . but it turned out a little better than I expected, or at least it looked a lot better than I thought it would look at the Beach That Will Not Be Named.

Am I the only one who can no longer see the Surfpulse cam?

madpie — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:48:29 -0700

A few weeks ago I stopped being able to see the surfpulse OB cam display (I just see a black square), and figured it was temporarily out. But as time has gone on, it's starting to feel like I've got some problem on my end, though I can't imagine what. I can still see the Surfline cam feed just fine. Anybody else having trouble seeing the surfpulse cam display?

After the offshores started...

madpie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:26:56 -0700

Not a report. Merely some pictures from today of some mysterious spot that nobody has ever heard of. It is definitely not right by the side of the freeway. (I actually tried to do a report but it disappeared, which is perhaps just as well.)

fair surfing conditions at San Mateo - Rockaway

madpie — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:46:02 -0700

Sort of fun and junky this AM at ###### rockaway. some swell in the water, perhaps a bit OH on the sets, but also plenty of wind and miscellaneous funk. I ended up surfing the oddball left that breaks off the southern point, which was mostly just entertaining for its novelty and for the company of the cool surf lady who I shared the peak with. The one other time I surfed on that left I just got sucked out in the current like a freight train, so this was at least a little more manageable and fun, if not exactly all time.

(Submitted via the Web)

The secret stokereport handshake?

madpie — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:15:38 -0800

I'm trying to sort out the unwritten code of stokereport socializing. This came up because I had a lot of fun this am at northend ###### on the dawn patrol before the rain hit.

Rotator cuff physical therapy, here I come

madpie — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:07:59 -0800

My rotator cuff has been jacked up for almost a year, ever since one unfortunate slam in the Potrero skate park. Today I go to the physical therapist to try to get my wing un-screwed up. We'll see if it works, and I hope it does, because it's kind of hard to paddle!

Sharp Park, Mussel Rock: Ever tried 'em? [video]

madpie — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:33:32 -0800

I'm forever driving by Sharp Park on the way to points south and going "huh, that doesn't look too bad. Nobody's out...." And then the other day I drove to look at Mussel Rock, which is sort of on the border between south Funston and north Sharp Park, and it looked ... well, it didn't look very inviting on a 10' swell with a lot of wind blowing around. But I wonder about these spots.

SF Supes approve Sloat Erosion Measure

madpie — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:51:30 -0800

The Board of Supervisors:

-- Authorized the Department of Public Works to proceed with emergency work to shore up a storm-battered stretch of Ocean Beach coastline south of ###### Boulevard.

poor surfing conditions at San Mateo - Rockaway

madpie — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:00:30 -0800

The swell really dropped down tremendously from yesterday, but a couple guys were catching rides sort of in the middle of rockaway. I ended up trying the ###### of the beach and the middle and basically getting skunked all the way around. Still, better getting wet than getting nothing. This video is more about the odd coincidence of the song that came on the radio as I was pulling up.

(Submitted via the Web)

Wetsuit Gloves - why don't more surfers wear 'em?

madpie — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:50:57 -0800

I recently got some wetsuit gloves to wear when bodysurfing because if I wear booties under my flippers my flippers are too tight and hurt my feet. Having gloves makes an enormous difference, keeping everything considerably warmer, and between my 5/4/3 and the gloves I could probably spend a good 90 minutes bodysurfing, even in the cold water of lindamar or rockway. ...