Surfboard Repair

While Charlie gets to travel abroad, the most exciting thing I have on my "things-to-do" list is repair a couple of dings in my Al Merrick 6'4" and my O'Neill 7'4" surfboards. While I am not a professional ding repairman, the process is fairly simple and I take pride in doing things like this on my own.

The process begins with me collecting the necessary items I need. I use latex gloves and a protective mask to keep the repair materials off of my skin as well as outside of my respiratory system. The ding repair kit I have is made by "Ding All Surfboard Repair Products". The black bottle is the resin and it comes with a smaller clear bottle which is the hardener. Some kits come with fiberglass sheets in case a larger repair needs to be made (luckily I don't need to make those type of repairs right now).

I begin by using some fine sandpaper to remove all sharp fiberglass around the area where I will be making the repair. I then take the resin (black bottle) and pour about 2 ounces into a plastic cup. I then begin to add about 10 drops of the hardener (smaller clear bottle). I use a popsicle stick to stir the resin/hardener mix for about one minute. I then begin to slowly pour a little of the liquid mix onto the area of the ding, about the size of a quarter. As I smooth it out with the popsicle stick, I clean the drips if there are any. I also am generous with the resin to make sure I cover all necessary areas of the repair. Any excess resin can be sanded away.

The resin/hardener mix will harden over night. The following day, I'll take a piece of fine sandpaper and begin to smooth out any of the bump created by the resin. The goal is to smooth out the repair as if there was nothing there at all. This will help reduce any drag that a poor repair might create in the water. This is the process of repairing a ding in a fiberglass surfboard. I do not own an epoxy surfboard, but those repairs involve a different process.

Surfing for me is an escape. The way waves are created boggles my mind and I am so fascinated by this. The feeling of standing up on a wave and riding it is indescribable. I'll leave you with a quote from David Henry Thoreau, "Launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."

Linda Mar Surfing

Destination: Pacifica Latitude: 37.59915 Longitude: -122.50

I have become a regular at Linda Mar, a surf spot located in the City of Pacifica, in Northern California. This spot offers quite a few amenities that are not typical at most surf spots: Showers, Bathrooms, and a Taco Bell that offers walk-up service for the waterlogged surfer. This Surf spot is somewhat protected from the wind and offers a pretty consistent wave for beginners and intermediate surfers, which makes the line-ups rather crowded. The beach is a mile long with dark sand and numerous rocks scattered around. The south end of the beach is littered with rocks on the ocean floor and can present quite an obstacle if you aren’t wearing booties. I find myself here more and more because of the convenience, there is ample parking, and I know that if I wait long enough a large enough wave will come through. I learned to surf almost 10 years ago on the smaller waves of the east coast of Florida, but stopped surfing when I moved to Chicago in 2002. Seven years later I am reviving my passion for the sport of Surfing. I am working on improving my surfing skills so that I can seek adventures at more remote and wild surf spots. I intend to put together some surf camping trips near-by and eventually spread out further up and down the coast and someday travel abroad to search for surfing adventures. The next step will be a Big Sur Camping Trip, Stay tuned for updated, and progress.

Memorial Day Weekend

It is Memorial Day weekend, and it is time to get together with family and friends to honor those brave men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and the freedoms that we enjoy. 

Besides attending my local Memorial Day parade on Monday, I will also be tagging along with a few friends to Devil's Lake, Wisconsin for a few days of hiking, camping, adventuring, and rock climbing. There may also be a chance for the more adventurous of the group to be dared into cannon-balling polar bear style into the frigid fiftyish degree water. It should also be a great weekend to take time to reflect upon those that we have lost in wars long ago, as well as in current wars. It will also be a good weekend to take mother nature on a date, and connect with some old friends. 

 

In other news, Jeff is going to be going to Bear Valley California to honor fallen heroes by drinking mass quantities of alcohol with his friends. Although he will be staying in a top of the line Cabin, the opportunity to rope swing into an iceberged lake may also present itself if anyone in his crew has what it takes. 

More updates to come. 

REI Fresno Garage Sale

we got an email from an adventurer in Fresno wondering when their local Fresno REI was having its garage sale. Although it is easily googleable, I decided to post the answer for them. 

REI Fresno Garage Sale

When: 6/27/2009 9:00 AM

Where: REI Fresno

More specifically 36° 50.922' N 119° 47.406' W

The details: Members only sale. Will have great used and out of stock camping, hiking, and adventuring equipment items. Arrive early (a few hours early) for best (any) selection. 

The shot at acquiring excellent gear at rock bottom prices is definitely enticing. I highly recommend checking out this sale. 

Happy brawling!

El viaje a México estaba loco

Fireworks, tequila, surfboards, and la policia. That is how I sum up our Mexican adventure. It started off with an 8hr drive from San Francisco to Poway, CA. We arrived around 3pm and spent the rest of the day at the beach, a roof top bar, and playing in an adult league softball game. We were in no shape or form prepared for any sort of competitive activites. Sandals were not allowed in this league, so Brian borrowed some guys business dress socks and some old Goodwill looking shoes while I lucked out and got to wear my surf booties. Friday we packed up for our departure to Mexico and all met at a harbor in the San Diego Bay. With uncooperative weather, the sailing unfortunately did not take place. We did however climb aboard, daydreaming about what it would be like to be out on the open water, and then headed to Mexico in our caravan.

We crossed the border without receiving full
body searches, and made it to our condo. The
rest of our caravan wasn't supposed to arrive until late in the day, so Brian and I pulled on our wetsuits and grabbed our boards and headed out into the water. Google "K38 beach" and this is where we surfed. Friday night turned into a "pre-party" to what was supposed to be the "actual party" on Saturday night. The night ended around 2am with us throwing glow stick rings (out of Brian's survival pack) off of the 10th floor balcony and trying to make them into the pool. This game was quickly ended when security caught us. Saturday was a day full of waking up hungover, drinking lots of coffee and eating little food, surfing for 4 hrs, and then getting in the hot tub with a styrofoam cooler full of beer. The day quickly turned to night as we (we from now on consists of 4 guys, a.k.a LOTPs or Life of the Party) got dressed and headed for the "real party" celebrating Carolyn's graduation with her Masters at UCLA. Margaritas, beer, awesome mexican food, and a Mariachi guitarist. Everyone became increasingly roudy and we decided to grab our headlamps (out of our survival packs) and fireworks (not from our survival packs) and head to the local beach to light up the sky. Pictures were hard to take during this outing while we were all either trying to light fireworks or avoid losing our hearing. On our trek back to the condos, we had to trespass onto some locals land, dodge a furious canine, save Brian's pet rock that he would not leave behind, all as we were climbing a fence.

Waking up Sunday morning wasn't too hard. The past two nights I had slept out on the 10th floor balcony with my Kelty mummy bag (20 F) and my air mattress. Nothing beats the sound of the ocean and hard tile flooring after a night of drinking. Sunday we had to trek back to San Francisco. That was supposed to be about a 10 hr drive. About 1/4 of a mile from the border to the US, we were stopped by la policia (Brian was driving of course). Illegal left turn from a middle lane on a one way street, and the cop wanted us to follow him the the police station in Tijuana. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Brian talked the cop into taking $40 and letting us go! As we crossed the border, reminiscing about our weekend and about how we wanted Taco Bell, the car engine check light went on and off. We hoped this car would make it home, for we were on a tight deadline to make it home for a Easter dinner with the family by 5:30pm. Now it is about 2pm and we are broken down on the side of I-5 North. The car decided to completely shut down, which we found out later that the oil pump had failed and exhausted the entire engine (and turbo) of oil. Calling AAA got us a tow truck who towed us 3 hrs home!! We were only two hrs late for Easter dinner.

Things we learned:

-Don't drive your own car across the border

-Have some cash on you at all times, but not over $60

-Try to learn some Spanish before you head out on this adventure

-Take more tequila than you really want

-Don't throw a lit M-80 at the feet of your drunk friends

-Rocks don't always make best friends

-Never make this trip with out people you trust or people who should be there...meaning Charley next adventure we have you are COMING...no excuses!

Contributor Bio: Jeff Eckenhoff

• Name: Jeff Eckenhoff
• Home Base: San Francisco, CA
• Education: Graduated from University of Colorado-Boulder
• Industry: Commercial Real Estate
• Music: Bob Marley, Sublime, Classic Rock
• Adventuring Experience: Wilderness Survival, Hiking, Backpacking, Camping, Fishing, Skiing, Surfing, Rockclimbing, Mtn. Biking, Canoeing, Kayaking, Snow camping, Cliff Jumping, international travel, Eagle Scout
• Non-Adventure Hobbies: Sand between my toes or in my hair, sports gazing, lifting
• Countries Traveled: USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Australia, Thailand, England, Scotland, Ireland
• Noteworthy Adventures: Backpacking on the Kalalau Trail twice(Kauai, HI); Snowcamping (Lake Tahoe, CA); Camp Oljato (Fresno, CA); Middle Fork River Rafting Trip-5 nights (Idaho)
• Places I want to set up a tent and sleep in it: Bear Valley (CA), Pacific Coast, Mexico, Colorado Rockies, Half Dome (CA), Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Alaska
• Where I want to travel: All over the world, definitely Germany for Oktoberfest, back to Australia, South America
• Best part about Adventuring and Travel: I love being prepared for what my travels could throw my way. Being prepared is all about having the right gear for the right situations. When I don't have the right gear, I enjoy the rush of adrenaline in surviving when I don't have what I need. It is all about getting out in the wilderness, away from electricity and tvs, and spending some time with the outdoors. Backpacking 11 miles on tough terrain to a white sand beach that can only be accessed by foot or helicopter is what I dream about...