Elliott Almond - Surfing: Mastering Waves from Basic to Intermediate

About the Author

Elliott Almond, an award-winning journalist and photo enthusiast, caught the surfing bug when still a child living in the Los Angeles beach community of Torrance. He started hanging five on skateboards with clay wheels, and graduated to surfing as a teenager living in Orange County, California. He dedicated the next twenty-five years to traveling the coast from Santa Cruz to Mazatln, Mexico, in search of the perfect wave. A former member of the San Onofre Surfing Club, he helped lifeguard Dan Kenney organize the underground Santas Chug-a-Lug longboard contest in Newport Beach, California.

Almond wrote a paper on the rise of localism in surfing for a senior-class journalism project at California State University, Fullerton, where he graduated with a bachelors degree in Communications and a minor in Political Science. Since then he has written stories on the sport of surfing for the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, San Jose Mercury News and other publications, as well as covering the Olympics and soccer for the San Jose Mercury News.

When not chasing guanacos in Patagonia near San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, Almond lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he spends his free time hiking through the verdant redwood forests or at the Central Coast beaches still searching for the elusive perfect wave.

Opposite: The author sits on a mini-mal on a frigid, foggy summer morning at San Franciscos Ocean Beach. (Photo by Tim Harvey)

Acknowledgments

This project would not be possible without the shared adventures and wisdom of the Kenney clanJohn, Dan, Chick, and Vicki and her husband, Keith (Grasshopper) Shequin, who often broke into the Elliottmobile to redecorate the dashboard with paper cutouts proclaiming Inland geeks go home. Caitlyn and Kelly Kenney patiently posed for photos, and they, with mom Kathy and aunt Chris, offered unwavering support. John Shumate doesnt surf, but he never failed to join us in Mexico or down a patch of suburban ice plant. Joe Martinez laughed at my mindless jokes and never stopped encouraging me to stay stoked. Bob (Yorba) Zylius was living proof that The Curse does exist: Wherever Bob went, the waves broke somewhere else. Steve Shequin accompanied me and his brother Keith on some early surf trips.

The 38th Street Gang never will be forgotten; it includes Bob Blanchard, Kirk (Buzz) Busbey, Marie Cruz, Dr. Terry (Ted) DAmico, the Ebels, Blake English, the Fitzgeralds, Chuck Hayward, Terry Johnston, Kirk Kogel, John McGraw, Tommy Olswang, Brian Slater, Scott Smith, and Ed Zintel. At Grant Street in Newport Beach, Andy, Bruce, and Gary Crane made the transition from the beach volleyball court to the sea as smooth as a late-evening glass-off. Santa Cruz surfers Don Carroll and Danny Anderson expanded my appreciation for wetsuits by taking me to frigid waters up the coast. Tim Harvey, a San Francisco surfer/lifeguard/photo artist, provided erudite observations, this authors photo, and invaluable friendship over the course of three decades. Brent Laucher of Santa Cruz and waitress surfing diva Anna Wankel of San Francisco displayed extraordinary kindness.

Some of the worlds most famous surfers and industry experts generously opened their lives to mesome in the past, others for the purposes of this book. Thanks to Shannon Aikman, Hobie Alter, Grant (Twig) Baker, Jericho Poppler Barthlow, Tim Bernardy, Duke Brouwer, the Bronzed Aussies Ian Cairns and Peter Townend, Corky Carroll, Jeff Clark, Sean Collins, Hillary Craven, Mary Lou Drummy, Phil Edwards, Lenny Foster, Ricky Griggs, Jack Haley, Laird Hamilton, Lorrin Harrison, Fred Hemmings, Glenn Henning, Rick Herzog, Maggie and Marissa Hood, Todd Johnson, Bruce Jones, Hunter Joslin, Danny Kwok, Brett Lickle, Josh Loya, Dan Mann, Toby Martin, Greg Miller, Casey Mills, Dr. Andrew Nathanson, Sander Nauenberg, Margo Oberg, Jack ONeill and Marilyn Trimble, Evan Slater, Rell Sunn, Mark Richardson, Shaun Tomson, Jodi Wilmott, Zack Wormhoudt, and Santa Cruz women warriors Sarah Gerhardt and Sierra and Hailey Partridge. Steve Pezman, publisher of Surfers Journal, shared his wealth of surfing knowledge and has been a nourishing soul for three decades. Surfer/author Matt Warshaw, shaper John Mel, famed surf photographer Aaron Chang, world-class surf school instructors Matt Cole and Ed Guzman, and the ever-gracious Jenny Useldinger offered profound insights. Alexis Pasquariello captured the beautiful image of Useldinger, and Alex Elmore posed for photos. Patrick Tehan, a colleague at the San Jose Mercury News, generously collaborated on the color photos and artist Tracie Griffith Tso provided the illustrations.

Ron C. Judd isnt what youd call the prototypical surfer, but hes one of the best outdoor writers and journalists Ive read. His quiet influences can be found throughout this book, as can those from his wife, the writer Meri-Jo Borzilleri, and from Keiko Morris, Jonathan Rabinovitz, and copy editor Heath Lynn Silberfeld. Donna Hewitt, Janet Jones, and Jaime Rupert always were there to listen and encourage. Thanks to The Mountaineers Books bereditors Kate Rogers and Dana Youlin, whose belief in the project brought it to life.

Afterword

Surfing will transport you to a happy place, as Polynesians discovered thousands of years ago. When the early steps seem insurmountable, remember your raison de tre: Fun. Its nice to practice, but it is better just to have fun; if youre not having fun, just go in, says surfing champion Margo Oberg, owner of a famous surfing school in Kauai, Hawaii. All aspects of the learning stages, especially catching your first wave, will leave lasting memories, no matter how far you advance as a surfer.

The first hint of an offshore wind or the crackle of the weather radio announcing a northwesterly headed toward shore is enough to spark a surfers imagination. And surfing massages the senses: the plaintive cry of a gull or the sudden clap of a cascading wave; the sight of a cylinder of greenish water; the sticky feeling of salty water on the skin. Its enough to draw you back for more.

You may never tow into a jaw dropper at Jaws or sit in the pulsating lineup when Mavericks has awakened from its summer slumber, but that doesnt lessen the thrill of surfing elsewhere. Surfing, you will find, is enjoyable just about any time you hit the beach in search of the elusive perfect wave. Its one of lifes little treats, wrapped in the perfumed scent of surf wax, or in shafts of light dancing across the smooth surface of the sea just as the sun begins its daily rise. Even as the sport progresses with technological advancements in board building and gear, the heart of surfing endures as an exercise of free-form expression on natures undulating stage.

So dont quit after struggling to learn for the first few days. An activity this much fun is worth the effort. Its also worth developing good habits from the start so you can enjoy surfings beauty after a few months of practice. Surfing may not come quickly, or easily, but it will move you and shape you and call you when it does.

Appendix A: Recommended Reading

The following are some of the more interesting books about surfing. Look to these to broaden your knowledge and further your surfing education.

Ahrens, Chris. The Surfers Travel Guide: A Handbook to Surf Paradise. Cardiff-by-the Sea, England: Chubassco, 1995.

Barrett, Bradley Wayne. Grannis: surfings Golden Age, 19601969. San Clemente, CA: Journal Concepts, Inc., 1998.

Coleman, Stuart Holmes. Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero. Honolulu, HI: MindRaising Press, 2002.

Collier, Ralph S. Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century: From the Pacific Coast of North America.