Hey kids,

Not sure if you have seen this article or not but I thought I'd share. After watching
Riding Giants on the weekend, I knew I'd read something about "Doc" Renneker
somewhere and of course I had which brought me back to this ......

Chris Isaak - The Loney Surfer

Riding Giants is a documentary which starts with the early days of modern surfing.
It has three main stories which consist around Greg Noll - who became famous after
being the first to surf Waimea Bay in 25-30 ft surf. Half Moon Bay, where Jeff Clark
rode a big wave known as Mavericks for 15 years before the surfing community came
to see what all the fuss was about and Laird Hamilton with tow-in surfing making the
once unrideable Peahi waves the ultimate big-wave ride!

The cinematography is so beautiful and the interviews are very interesting. A
must see for any surf fan or even those interested in learning a little about
Mavericks.

*hugs*
Miss Sugar xx

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing!

You know I was wondering the same thing the other day adout the Forever Blue song I wasn't sure if it was breathing or a defect...interesting.

You are so welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Man, I've got to
listen more closely to Chris's songs. I've never actually noticed but
I'll have to check it out now. *giggle*

I'll send some Chris posters to your padded room for you Jillie!

*hugs*
Miss Sugar xx

Thanks Miss Sugar, I just KNEW I could count on you!!! heeheehee

You know the break at Mavericks really is awesome to see... I use to watch it in the very early '90s when hardly anyone paddled out. When Mark Foo died, it was big news among the surf set in Half Moon Bay (I think that might have been the first or second year Clark held the contest). If you ever get a chance, drive out, walk to the end of the point and take a look. Contest days are interesting, but my favorite days are watching the elite few out there... like it was before the contest came into existence and the HMB boys kept it a close secrete.

Come to think of it... I use to go to Ocean Beach many nights after work to watch the sets roll in and to see the guys ride them... you never know, Chris might have been out there too.

Hey Jenn,

So sad the way he died really. Since the wipeout didn't look too serious,
no one noticed his absence in the crowded lineup. They talk a little about
Foo and that fateful day at Mavericks on Riding Giants.

"If you want the ultimate thrill, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price." Mark Foo!

I just can't believe that Chris surfs out there. Those waves
are huge, bigger then Waimea Bay that's for sure.

Miss Sugar xx

JillieB, I have listened closely to Chris's accoustic song version of "Forever Blue" today and you can definetly hear him breathing during the song. It does pay to listen very closely to Chris's songs so that you can hear them better and understand what the words mean.

-Deanna

Thank you for the link to the article, it was great! I don't know much about surfing, or the ocean for that matter. I've never seen one. Don't get a chance to travel much. Sounds exciting! And beautiful.

Thank you!

Hi Miss Sugar,
Yeah, I can't believe Chris surfs Ocean Beach either... tripple overhead days are amazing to see. I can't believe he paddled out to Mavericks either (well, I can't believe anyone goes out on the really big days)... when the huge sets roll in the waves can be 50 feet and they break in a huge rock garden that the guys call "the bone yard"... that really only lasts a day or two when the winter swell makes its way down from Alaska. Other days it is a "regular size", for lack of a better term. Growing up and living in the San Francisco area all my life, the Pacific Ocean along the Northern California coast is what I consider "normal surf". When I went to the east coast and saw the waves there, I could not believe how small they were in comparison.

Mark's death really opened some eyes and now the contest has many safety personnel on the water and in the air. Mavericks is very tricky, and a wipe out there is very different from a wipe out on other big waves... the waters are cold and full of rocks, not to mention great white sharks. The rescue team does a great job and everyone is picked up before reaching the bone yard. The day Mark died was epic swell (they called it 10-100 year swell)... it hasn't been that big or fierce since. There were two other surfers were held down for a long time that day and they both thought they were going to die... so again, I can't believe anyone would want to go there, but Jeff runs a good contest... if the break it too dangerous and he wouldn't surf it, the contest is put on hold for the next day... that is why the contest coud be any day from mid-December to mid-March... the conditions must be perfect so everyone stays as safe as possible.

I GUESS IT DOESN'T LOOK COOL TO WEAR A MINI RESPIRATOR WHILE SURFING MAVERICKS.

Hey Jenn,

I just think it is really cool how Chris can hold his own at there
with people like Mark Renneken by his side. It must be such an
amazing ride and a breath taking experience.

I didn't think the day Foo died was a competition day actually.
The big wave surfers from Waimea Bay heard the surf at Mavericks
was pretty big and took the red eye in to catch some waves. I
thought that it was still fairly new and only about 2 dozen surfers
where out there and with news of this big name surfers flying in
brought all the media attention.

(Mind you, I only get that from watching this documentary)

Ohhhh - the two surfers who wiped out - that is also on Riding
Giants as well as Foo's wipe out. Scary stuff. If you haven't
seen it Jenn, I can highly recommend it although you get
to see it in real life you lucky thing.

Mwah Sugz xx

I looked it up last night and the first official contest was in 1998 and Mark died in 1994 on the "epic swell" (you are right about it not being an official contest... for me all the waves kind of gets jumbled). When Mavericks starts to break (the big break), the contest begins 24 hours later. So, during the epic swell, lots of surfers caught late night flights in order to ride the big waves. The waves can go from 50 feet to 30 feet overnight, so when it is big, everyone drops whatever they are doing. Some of my surf friends were watching that day (both from the cliffs and from their boards)... it was a day unlike anything that had been seen before, and the end result was truly heartbreaking... everyone in Half Moon Bay knew what had happened within hours (it was very much a small town back then and everyone who surfs knows Jeff) and the entire bay area knew by the next day.

I miss the Half Moon Bay of those days... it was very quiet, a real small town. Highway 92 wasn't bumper to bumber traffic back then. Even though, I wasn't from the immediate area, the locals considered me and my boyfriend at the time locals... and they could be really funny... they always asked everyone where they went to high school... that was such a big deal. Now, all the new homes are amazing to see... the funniest part is that there was this bare piece of land right on the ocean that I was thinking of buying (and it didn't cost that much), but I was worried about the erosion and undercut from the waves, so I passed... well, now that same piece of land is a Ritz Carlton!!! ...if only I had decided to buy... ahh hindsight.

Oops... I put my greeting in the name section... well, you all know it was me

Thanks Miss Sugar for sharing the article. Really enjoyed that one. It is pretty amazing that Chris can hold his own out there with all those surfers. The water in San Francisco is so damn cold. I can only handle it up to my ankles. I would love to surf one day. In San Diego they have some womens surf lesson place called Surf Diva's. I'm always trying to get some gals together to go but no wants to go.

Hey Miss Wildflower,

That sounds like so much fun and with a name like Surf Diva's
*giggle* how could you go wrong. If I lived in San Diego, I'd
totally go with you sweetie!

Bwaa haa haa - oh that's priceless. I knew it was you Jenn
although it did throw me for a second. *wink* Yeah it's funny
how territorial locals can be and you might have lived some
where your entire life but still not be considered a local
because you weren't born there.

The Ritz Carton hey, I bet you kick yourself every time
you drive by. Some things aren't meant to be I guess
but still - how fricken cool would it have been.

*smooches*
Miss Sugar xx

Hi Miss Sugar,
Yeah, I do kick myself sometimes. Back in the day that piece of land was just an artichoke patch, on salty soil, that was slowly falling into the Pacific... you are certainly right... some things are not meant to be. The pilings they had to install to ensure the hotel does not fall into the ocean, like some of the houses in Pacifica, are certainly an item beyond the reach of my pocket-book.

The funny thing is that I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area (so I am a local)... just born on the "wrong side" of the mountain when it came to be considered local by the Half Moon Bay crowd... but like I said, they came around as my boyfriend at the time was a surfer, we hung out there a lot, and they eventually considered both of us locals (even though the boyfriend was born on the east coast! ).