all signs point to yes!

I shot these pics of Carmel Point this winter. It was pretty good...15-20 foot faces...light wind...sunny....and not a kook in sight! When you paddle out to a wave like this you don't even have to worry about who's in the line-up; they're probably all your local friends.

Check out these local surfers. Whether it's crazy ariels, huge carving turns, or in this case making epic drops, these guys know how to get it done. They're stoked!!!

local high-lights

I haven't posted in a while. Too busy rippin'!!! A lot has happened in a year. Besides all the waves that have been destroyed by central coast locals, here is a little high-light list of the years happenings:

• Kelly won number 10. Even the most loked out local has to give him props.


• Andy passed. Even the meanest and most hard-core surfers feel for the fam.


• Tsunami. Waves can create so much emotion...all the way from the biggest stoke to a natural disaster. Wouldn't have wished this one even on the kookiest kook.


• Sacred Craft. Major get together of all things surf board. A nice co-migling of locals and kooks. I'd say a 3:1 ratio.


• Less big waves. Last year my mind was blown by all the hugs storms. As I type this neither Mavericks or the Eddie has run.


• Lots of good waves. For the majority of central coast locals, who needs the biggest waves anyway? We rip anything!!!

crowd surfing

I shot these pics on a nice sunny day on the east side. I estimated there were about 2,000 surfers in the water. After doing some calculations I figure there was about a 2:1 local-to-kook ratio. Now I have to question the local-ness of those locals who were willing to go out there with 1,999 others and surf the same wave. Even if you are that good you have to assume you'd be dodging kooks left and right. The most core locals don't like doing that. They want to focus their energy shredding waves, not surfing over the backs of kooks!

Maybe these guys should have upped their kook deterring skills. Barked louder, mad-dogged harder, waxed windshields, uh, more. I don't know. They should have done something!

Even though the waves were pumping (again), these locals have a lesson to learn: if you plan on ripping waves really hard, you have to take the crowd factor into consideration. Crowd surfing isn't for hard core central coast locals...it's for kooks!!!

wild wild westside

My wife and I took a drive over to the westside a while back. Nothing says central coast local quite like the surfers who frequent Steamer Lane. It was winter, the sun had set, a big swell was in the water (how many times have we said this this winter?), and there were a dozen guys still out...ripping.

I took some pictures of what I witnessed. I'll let them do (most of) the talking. The locals didn't have to intimidate anyone out of the water on this night. The conditions yelled "beat it kook!" for them!

On an additional note, a loyal reader and friend asked that I explore the Santa Cruz surfing east-west rivalry. I usually like to pen the central coast local vs. the kook, but I suppose I could consider doing an expose into this feud. Stay tuned...

Super Sick Silver Strand...

While I was still chillin’ in the other central coast, I had the opportunity, no privilege, no honor, of taking some photos at Silver Strand. That’s right, the Silver Strand. It was super sick!!! The A Team was out in full force. There wasn’t a kook for miles around. I would take aim and shoot a sick barrel down the beach, then turn and shoot a sick floater up the beach. It was all-time!!! I give mad props to the locals that were absolutely ripping that morning. Take your time and really soak in these photos…maybe you will get a small taste of what I got to enjoy at Silver Strand…

the 'nard rocks!

I recently took a trip to the other central coast...to the Ventura/Oxnard area. The 'nard rocks! I couldn't believe my eyes! El Nino has been super good to them too! Check out this Oxnard local getting sick on his backside. The Channel Islands behind him and nothing in front of him.

Kooks beware: if you're in the 805 and the waves are pumping, it's best to stay out of the water.

Merry Christmas, Kook!

This past Christmas I took a couple trips down the coast to photograph other central coast rippers (and to shred some waves myself!). Santa Claus delivered this bomb a couple days late but you didn’t see this guy complaining…way too much froth in his mouth to argue with Santa!

When the waves are this good, you don’t even have to worry about kooks; they’re either on the beach watching or washed up on the rocks! Where is this un-identified monster? Let’s just say it’s south of Big Sur and north of the Ranch...‘nuff said, kook!