Riviera Paddle Surf Tag

07 Feb

Posted at 23:39h in Adventure, Behind the Scenes... by
34 Likes

Brophy Dream Machine Van at Nelscott Reef Oregon Big Wave Surf“Surfing big waves becomes a mission.  It takes money, time, effort, travel, and all at the last minute.”

A few years ago my family and I drove along the Oregon coast on our way to Seattle.  I brought surfboards hoping to surf some giant waves.

But, all I saw from the road was an unruly ocean, rugged cliffs and super giant waves smashing on rocks with not a surfer to be found anywhere.

The waves in Oregon are so big and dangerous it would be suicide to surf alone.  I just imagined my wife and son watching me disappear into the sea, never to be seen again. Big waves, strong currents, isolated as it gets, and oh yeah, big sharks!

But the lure of the giant surf along this rugged coastline was strong.  I had heard of a spot called Nelscott Reef, but I could not find it, and I had no one to ask.  So I promised myself that someday I would have to come back and surf this beautiful place.

Last week on Wednesday night I got the call; “Nelscott’s on” from my friend and big wave surfer Ian Wallace. He was on it, he had all the details, and all I needed to do was get there.

Nelscott Reef is a killer surf spot about a half a mile out.  It’s  in Lincoln City, Oregon. The Big Wave World Tour (BWWT), headed by Gary Linden, holds a contest at Nelscott when the swell and weather get just right.

Contest promoter Jon Forse thought it was a good idea to add a Standup Paddle Surf Challenge to the contest.  This was an ideal way for us to surf any big wave spot; with good friends, a support of bad-ass waterman on safety skis, and a lot of extra eyes watching out for you.

If I could be there by Saturday morning,  I could stand up paddle surf in the contest.

I was excited.  This was my chance to surf the Oregon coast, in big giant waves.  The drive from San Clemente to Lincoln City Oregon is 18 hours straight.  I needed equipment, time and money.

My wife laid out the facts.  “We need money for expenses, a tune up to the Dream Machine, a new board and a safety vest.  There’s no way I want you out in those waves without it.”

Lotta gear to surf these waves!

Need a lot of gear to surf these waves!

Surfing big waves becomes a mission.  It takes money, time, effort, travel, and all at the last minute.  But I had been asking to surf these waves.  Now was the opportunity to do it with friends, skis, and good waves.  If not now, then when?  We went to bed Wednesday night unsure.

Thursday morning, Maria and I decided that if the Universe wants us to go, then it will come together.

We put the word out to our business partners and friends to ask for help.

I should have already been on the road making the 18 hour drive, but I had to be in Los Angeles for my client, Escape Camper Vans.  I paint vans for them, and I do an entire van in one day.  I told Rob Mewton at Escape about the contest. As a fellow surfer, he was stoked. They decided to help me with a major tune-up for the van and got it road-ready for the journey.  That was one thing off the list!

Then Maria texted me saying that Mike Muir from  Riviera Paddle Surf was on board, they would cover the entry fee and bring me some gear and a new 10’6” Ron House gun.    Later, we got word that another sponsor, Keen Footwear out of Portland Oregon, offered to cover our gas expenses and we promised to stop in at their new headquarters.  And of course my super organized friend Ian had an extra safety vest and custom-made big wave SUP leashes for me.

Maria and Dylan at Keen Footwear Offices in Portland ORegon Feb 2013

At the cool offices of Keen Footwear

It almost all came together too easy!  The universe obviously wanted me to go.

My list of goals for January was to explore and get some big waves up North.  I surfed Mavericks and Ocean Beach two weeks ago.  Now Nelscott!

With the support of my wife, sponsors, and friends, our adventure began.

Friday we headed up the freeway at 4:00 a.m.  Being a seasoned traveler, Dylan went right into travel mode.  We drove 18 hours straight to Lincoln City, Oregon.  We arrived just in time to meet fellow paddlers, Ian and Haley, at Mo’s for dinner.

Saturday morning was the first time I ever saw ice on my boards!  But, surf conditions were perfect.  No wind, sunny skies and a long period swell filling in.

The paddle boarders were to be the first ones out in the lineup; the guinea pigs, so to speak.  With the three of us out there, the judges hoped to see the scale and quality of the waves.

Nelscott is a crazy place; the reef lies about a half of a mile out.  You can barely see surfers dropping in from the beach.

To get out to the break, you have to battle through a treacherous shore break and a series of sand bars that are breaking like Puerto Escondido in cold water.

There were jet skis to pull us out to the reef.   I was ready with my 10’6” Ron House Riviera Gun, Kialoa paddle, hooded Patagonia wetsuit, boots, gloves, a Dakine safety vest and Ian’s custom-made double waist leash which worked great.

Bruce Topp photo of Oregon SkiIf you think getting pulled out by a jet ski is easy, think again.  The worst beating I got all day was on that ride out through the surf.

I cannot imagine trying to paddle out. Haley was impatient and paddled out alone, he is a madman.  It took him a long time and I worried for him. Our friend Wade missed his ride and tried to paddle out also, he was almost out when a set detonated on him breaking his board. Good reason to take the ski.

Once out there on the reef, it was beautiful and clear.  We sat so far out that you could see the great Oregon coastline with green forested mountains climbing in the distance.  There was giant bull kelp everywhere, making you wonder what creatures was swimming down there!

The first sets were small, 15’ – 20’ faces with not a drop out of place.  The right was long, allowing you two sections to enjoy with an easy exit to the channel.  The left was shorter but great.

We started to have a few bigger sets roll through, one catching me in the pit.  I had to dive and swim through it.  I don’t know how big it was, but a lot bigger than the others that I surfed.

All of my equipment worked well.  My vest popped me right to the surface and my double-waist leash pulled me up instead of ripping my leg off.

I was amazed at how lucky I was to be surfing with friends for 2 hours in perfect conditions at a gnarly spot like Nelscott.

Ian Wallace Photo by Stefan Czarnecki

Ian Wallace
Photo by Stefan Czarnecki

We rode wave after wave showing the judges and competitors that the swell had arrived and it was really good.

The lineup was soon filled with the best big wave surfers in the world; Guys like Greg and Rusty Long, Jaimie Sterling and Peter Mel.

Some of them said that we were crazy to be out there navigating the lineup on standup paddleboards.

One difference between surfing big waves on a paddleboard is that you can see the sets coming and you can jockey into the right spot by hunting the wave down.

Standup paddling does have you more at risk, though, once committed to catching the wave you can be too far in front of it with no escape.

Haley Fiske, madman

Haley Fiske, madman

Ian, Haley and I definitely earned some respect from our fellow surfers.  Even though standup paddling has advantages to regular surfing, in big waves it is ultimately a lot more difficult and scary.

We watched from the channel as our friends competed with hoots and whistles after every ride.

We surfed the South Reef for a while also; it was bigger and harder to catch.  After a few hours out there, we were all exhausted.  We realized that trying to catch giant waves with no energy was a bad idea.  I will return with a bigger board one day and charge that left I promise!

It took 45 minutes to paddle back in after the contest was over, once on the sandbar.  I decided to charge a huge closeout and barely made the drop; it had multiple double ups and it was everything I could do to avoid the lip, which was double overhead.  It sped up and mowed me down beating me 150 yards all the way to the beach.

Everyone got the same beating going in and everyone was stoked to get to shore after an entire day on the water.

Maria and Dylan were happy to see me safe, on land.  Their smiling faces ran down to greet me on the sand.

The beach was buzzing with jet skis, spectators and camera crews.  Surfers were standing around telling stories of their epic rides.  We passed out beers and enjoyed the moment.

Winner Jamie Sterling

Winner Jamie Sterling

That night, we all went to the Nelscott Reef Awards ceremony.  My friend Jamie Sterling won the contest, I had watched his rides from the channel and knew he had he had done well.  Everyone had a great time at the event.

In my mind we all won, we all made the effort to be there, and we all got to surf Nelscott.

The right place at the right time with the right people.   It had been a great day, one I will never forget.

Life is Good – Drew

Thank You to all that made this Possible for me, I am just a guy who loves to surf

HERE’S A VIDEO of one of my NELSCOTT REEF WAVES:  (Thanks to Bruce Topp of NorCalSurfPhotos.com!)

 

17 Jul

Posted at 04:29h in Adventure, Behind the Scenes..., SURF SUP and Paint Tour by
42 Likes

Salmon River Run on a SUP!

I had heard a lot about the Salmon River from some of the crew that I paddled the Colorado River with last year.

So about a week into our three month Surf, SUP and Paint Tour, I planned a day to SUP the Salmon River.

Maria and the kids and I had been exploring Idaho for about four days before we got to Riggins, a town that calls itself “the Whitewater Capital of Idaho”.

Right next to Riggins is Lucile, where we set up camp for a few days. Lucile is a one street town where there’s no cell service but plenty of deer, bears and elk.  Our friend John is building a house there along the Salmon River and said we could camp on his property, though he was out of town traveling as well.

I had everything I needed to standup paddle the river except for one thing:  a life jacket. On the drive to Lucile I was telling Maria that we needed to find a place to buy one.  Then, a few minutes later, on a desolate road nestled between 10,000 foot peaks, I saw something lying in the middle of the road.  It was a brand new lifejacket! I turned the van around and picked it up.  Now, I had what I needed to SUP the Salmon:

  • A lifejacket and WRSI Whitewater helmet (‘cause if you fall and hit your head on the rocks, the party is over)
  • Riviera Paddle Surf inflatable paddleboard (brand new prototype)
  • Kialoa Paddle
  • Ocean & Earth’s “world’s strongest” Leash (if you lose your board on the river, it keeps going!)
  • Patagonia 2 mil full suit (realized later that I didn’t really need this – the water wasn’t as cold as I thought and I didn’t fall as much either)
  • Keen Gorge boots (this allowed me to jump off the board onto rocks without destroying my feet – this was the most important piece of safety equipment in my opinion)
  • Go Pro camera (make sure you know how to use it – I put it on the wrong setting and it didn’t get any pictures!)
  • Good attitude and a cool wife to take photos as you SUP on by!

I put into the river at Shorts Bar.  It’s a killer sandy beach where we spent the day trying out our new paddleboards in the river.  There’s a nice little eddy there that the kids could paddle around in.

Maria tracked me from the road in the Dream Machine and took pictures from the bank.  There are great lookouts at each rapid, so it was easy for her to pull over and get some photos as she watched me surf the rapids.

This time of year the river is running low and the rapids are minor, but enough to give you a good thrill.   The Riviera Inflatable Standup Paddle board was perfect for this river, since the water was low and there were a lot of sharp rocks that other boards would be damaged by.

The biggest rapid is called Time Zone – it’s right before the bridge at the far north end of Riggins. Time Zone is a long, snaking rapid with a ledge running down the right side.  The current zig zags back and forth, all the way down to the bridge. I stuck that rapid, swinging left to avoid the ledge.  I was pretty stoked – it’s been a year since I’ve run a rapid.

After Time Zone, there were about a dozen smaller rapids with a lot of space in between to rest.

This is big country out here!

Along the way I saw big horned sheep, deer and beautiful landscapes.  It was really peaceful being on the river alone.

It took me two hours to go 11 miles.  I ended at the boat ramp on John’s property in Lucile.  Dylan ran down and handed me a beer when I got out!

I wanted to do it again, but it was getting dark and the kids were hungry.  We were headed to Montana at 5 a.m. the next morning.  I’ll have to come back another time, but in the spring when the water is higher and the rapids are gnarlier!

I think any surfer or standup paddle enthusiast could do this run safely during the summer at this water level.  Spring would be more challenging.  If you were spending a few days up there, you could do the run a couple times a day and then drive further up river and do a longer run, where there are bigger rapids and killer standing waves.  I can’t wait to come back!

Life is good – Drew

See the Video, below:

26 Sep

Posted at 21:48h in Adventure, Behind the Scenes... by
27 Likes

“Some people do not understand the allure of Stand up Paddling; it’s much harder than regular surfing, and at the Mexican Pipeline, it’s borderline insane….”

I have been surfing in Puerto Escondido for over 20 years.  I first made the journey from South Carolina so that I could learn to surf big waves at the Mexican Pipeline.  Instantly, I felt right at home in the waves, in the town and with the people I met there.

My longtime friend, Puerto local Angel Salinas, does a lot of good for the community there.  Angel owns Central Surf, the first surf shop in town and he started hosting surf events many years ago.  Now he puts on invitation only contests for stand-out surfers.  I was stoked when he started his SUP contest three years ago, and I was on the invite list.  Angel may be the first guy who was doing stand up paddling in Mexico.

Even with the difficulty of traveling with big, ten foot surfboards, I always cannot wait to get there to see my friends and the giant waves.  It’s not about winning a contest; it’s a meeting of the tribe!

Some people do not understand the allure of Stand up Paddling; it’s much harder than regular surfing, and at the Mexican Pipeline, it’s borderline insane….

Boards just break here!

Chasing 12 to 15 foot waves on a ten foot paddleboard feels like hunting mountains of moving water.  You see the waves coming from way out at sea, then you race to meet them just as they are standing up, looking their meanest.   You dig in with your paddle against the hard off-shore wind as you teeter on the top of the beast, then free-fall into the tube.

Stuffing yourself, a paddle and a ten foot board into the tube is no easy feat.  The bigger the wave, the better.  You either get a 10 point ride, or, chunks of broken board and paddles as the wave detonates over you.

All of the contestants of last week’s Central Surf Pro caught epic waves and got their turn at hideous wipeouts.  The joy of surfing the event with old friends and new is what it is all about.  Showing the spectators and surfers what we can do in the waves on our stand up paddleboards felt really good.

Stand up surfing and paddling is sweeping the world.  It is a fantastic way to experience any water, lakes, rivers and ocean.  Water is water and SUP gives you access like nothing else.  We don’t go anywhere without our paddleboards.

Even though I just turned forty, this year I’ve been more active than ever.  I celebrated my big birthday by surfing Pipeline in Hawaii, then in May I paddled 225 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  This summer I paddled uninhabited islands in South Carolina.  I am in the best shape of my life.A lot of people start to physically decline when they hit their forties and fifties.  I plan to be active well into my 100’s.  Besides paddleboarding and surfing, to stay in shape I eat healthy, organic foods and have a full, daily regimen of premium MegaFood whole food vitamin supplements.  I want to continue to live the life of my dreams, charging big waves and having adventures.

Painting with the locals of Playa Zicatela

With age, I feel wiser and I can see the impact of actions from my distant past.  For over 20 years, I’ve been going down to Puerto and have painted surfboards for the local kids.

It’s not easy for locals to earn money down there, and so the kids’ surfboards are always old and damaged.  The only new boards you see on the beach are those of travelers from out of town.

A little Uni Posca paint pen painting on an old board makes it look new again, and that does magic for the morale of kids in a small Mexican town.

I’ve watched people grow up here, and some of the guys, now grown up, tell me that when they were a kid and I painted their boards, it left them feeling pure joy.  Now, they give me waves and they run the place.  They are my friends.  It’s more than just art; it’s giving each other your time.

This year I sat in the grass with my Uni Posca paint pens and painted surfboards while a crowd surrounded me.  We all spent time together, kids, parents, contestants, lifeguards and tourists.  We made something out of nothing.  It was the place to be, there in the grass.  The energy of joy everywhere.

Those young kids got to see how simple life can be.  Plus I just earned another ten years in the Puerto line up!

We are all a part of each other’s stories now.

Life is Good – Drew

For details on the contest (I got third place!):  go to CentralSurf.tv and Surfline.

Special Thanks to:

MegaFood – I’ve never felt healthier.  I am strong and fit, giving me the confidence to do anything!  And, their sponsorship enabled me to be there for the contest.

Hinano Tahiti – For my great clothes, the legend board shorts are awesome.  And, their contribution to my travel to Puerto also allowed me to be there.

Ron House and Riviera Paddle Surf – Mike Muir of Riviera Paddlesurf made sure I had new boards to compete with.  They rode amazing.

Kialoa Paddles – Only the best will do in these waves.

Keen – My Keen Waimea toe guard flip flops rule – no more stubbed toes!

Ocean & Earth – My leash never broke, thanks to the world’s strongest leash. 

Hoven Vision – Boy I needed good shades the sun is always bright in Mexico!