Can we decide on an exact latitude?
Tonight is the night that we will reveal BeachGrit’s Man* of the Year and I can barely contain myself. In the future, this night will be the most important on surfing’s calendar and a black-tie affair. Celebrities and a who’s who of surfing greats will flood Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, jostling as they try to catch a glimpse of Monster of Surf Photography Pete Taras. Ben Marcus will take the stage as the master of ceremonies, regaling the audience with tales of working for the most important surf magazine in history at its historical zenith, beating Kelly Slater in pingpong and getting joshed, good-naturedly, by Shane Dorian for musical tastes. Then the orchestra will strike up and tears will flow as BeachGrit’s Man* of the Year receives his* award.
Before we get to this evening, though, we have a little bit of housekeeping. A quick question we must solve together so we can all be on the same page.
What are the appropriate circumstances to “go full rubber?”
I ask because the World Surf League President-elect of Content, Media and WSL Studios took to Manhattan Beach, California yesterday donning thick black wetsuit, hood, boots and gloves, writing on his Instagram:
Yes, its that cold Going full rubber this morning. Stiff offshore winds made it even more frosty ⛄️. It does help keep the crowds down!
Oh the combination of “full rubber” and “stiff” is certainly evocative but my question, is it ok in southern California? What about Sydney? I grew up surfing in Coos Bay, Oregon much to future master of ceremonies Ben Marcus’s chagrin, and happily took ice blocks on the head before covering it in neoprene and always lost my boots so surfed with bricks for feets, permanently retarding my style. Is it ok to go full rubber in Torquay? Wig’s your expertise is required here.
I suppose what I’d really like to know is the exact latitudes in both northern and southern hemispheres above and below which full rubber is ok.
Is that possible for us?
*all masculine words are gender fluid.
Wetsuits are just clothes for thee water,
wear what ya want, stay warm+have fun!!!
Did ya have fun out there?
By the way,
check out this recent weather pic from here in Los Angeles on this 2nd day of thee New Year, ok?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
See how cold it’s been around L.A. overnight? Brrr. That winter time Santa Ana off~shore wind ain’t too warm right now. Think that the 59.2° water is gonna feel real warm, bitchin’, as ya duck~dive your first few white~waters or waves as ya paddle out after runnin’, with~out booties on, over the chilly sand before ya paddle out for a dawn~patrol this time of year? It is indeed chilly~willy, friend. But have fun, no matter what ya wear!!!
RW
Pffft.
I’m an old surfer, I wear what ever I want.
Though I’m born+raised in L.A.
I have cold temp Swedish blood in my Family back~ground, have worn 4/3mm with booties here many times over thee years, well it’s usually a thin 3/2mm glued+blind~stitch I like, but that said, alotta times as I’ve aged though, I dig paddlin’ out any~time in trunks for a quickie sesh, even in 54° So. Cal winter water. Do any of you think that we do not get ice~cream head-ache water here some~times in Dec/Jan/Feb/March in the waters off Los Angeles? Surely you do not know what you write about, friend, for we do periodically. But that said, it is all relative.
If ya surf Alaska, Canada, Oregon, then it’s waaarm down here.
You be Hawaiian, or maybe a tropics travelin’ kinda surfer, who maybe ya just got back from say, a fun surf trip to a warm water place like Fiji, ya might find that with So. Cal’s recent winter Santa Ana winds blowin’ thru the local snow covered mountains like Big Bear, churnin’ up the water, up~wellin’ it, bringin’ the colder water to the surface, well it makes a dude or a surfer girl colder, quicker. So who cares what a fella or gal wears to stay warm!
Would you scoff because I some~times where socks with sandals sometimes?
Tip time: I also shave my chest hairs some~times too, an old trick I learned from Doggie~Town surfer/sk8 legend Jay~Boy Adams back in the early ’80s, to keep wax off ’em if I trunk it. That gonna bother ya too? With 43 years in the waters off So. Cal. this September, I do what I want, not what you or others want this, or another surfer, to do, so f**k that takin’ a hard look at myself bull~sheee~it! Pffft.
Happy New Year,
by the way…
RW
someone book big-shot ELO a flight to New Jersey for January… there’s no question regarding full rubber… he’s got Manasquan Inlet first peak on the wrong swell direction, wrong tide, and wrong wind written all over him…
Erik Logan is for Beach Grit what Trump is for late night talk show hosts. I’m so very much looking forward to the continued gifts in 2019!
And as a non-wearer of underwear I’m giving that poor guy a whole lot of bonus nuts sweat along with my regular sweat…
#looks like a kook
Guess what buddy. You are a fucking kook.
I’ve been the kid the wetsuits get handed to (all 5mm mind you) except on the way out they say “Cool, now I know my size so I can buy one online!”
Rubber is for tyres and novel sexual liaisons. I always just vas up head to toe. At least then I have something to blame my kookiness on.
The hot trend here is to go in the opposite direction. Pretend it’s 1965 and neither leashes nor functional wetsuits have yet been invented. I keep seein’ people tryna surf in trunks and spring suits. Idk, go crazy, kids.
I hate booties with all my hate and put off wearing them to the point of absurdity. Winter’s usually fine, but fucking spring upwelling is the devil.
Virtually every time I surf I see the spectrum: from trunks through full ELo. Summer or winter! It’s getting weirder and weirder.
Right? It is the weirdest.
Like green eggs and ham . Try them try them you will see . It’s just like learning another language . Once you have you’ll never want to have cold toes again , you’ll save on wax and they grip better than any deck grip ever made !
Heh. I have a little adventure in mind and it will require booties, so I s’pose I’ll have to buy me some new ones. Maybe I can learn to like? Idk.
Just remember to WASH THEM OUT thoroughly or suffer the curse of the dead dolphin as my mate’s French wife once described the stench .
Thanks to cold upwellings and numerous large rivers pumping out snow melt, the East Coast of the South Island (NZ) is prone to a hideous lag in water temperatures rising to any where near that of the increased air temperatures — it can be 10 degrees celsius in September/October while air temps are hitting 30 degrees celsius thanks to foehn winds. Without fail, the moment the air temperature rises, a core bunch — usually the BeachGrit Man* of the Year on ancient, rockered out glass slippers — paddle out en masse into a frigid Pacific and flail about wildly, or just sink, eventually getting washed to shore in a mild state of hypothermia.
Oh yah, we have that happen during the winter here sometimes — super warm air temps, chilly water. It confuses the fuck out of the tourists for reals!
I’ve met a few of those folks hoodwinked by the California sun — there’s always a sense of disbelief in their voices, like they’ve been sold a lie by Hollywood.
Vivid images like a David Attenborough Documentary . Depending on one’s clime it makes sense to spend more money on the wetsuit than the board ?
A fair point. Being a skinny, rabid little surf rat with terrible heat retention properties and living in an area with three seperate coasts with quite differing temperatures, I spend a lot on wetsuits — usually 2-3 new suits a year. But being a skinny, rabid little surf rat (hard to get a stock board at my preferred dims) with eyes and ambitions bigger than the amount of storage space at my disposal, I also spend a lot on boards. In short, smashed avocado is not the reason I don’t own a house.
Don’t~cha mean go crazy, people?
This: what to wear in the water discussion, is f**kin’ funny!
Wetsuits are just clothes for thee water, surely you fine folks here know that, right?
We are all different, in taste, personality, body type, metabo. Fat, outta shape pep’s stay warmer than skinny pep’s, or in great shape with less fat on’ em, ya~all know of this already, don’t~cha?
Some people handle cold easy, some do not. So who cares what a surfer wears to keep warm, stay comfortable as they try to ride a few waves to make their day a lil’ bit happier before work, school, family, the rest of daily real~life???
See this pic of Austin surfin’ Topanga 1 fun January mornin’?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
The cold winter off~shore winds were blowin’ hard off the snow covered mountains near Big Bear,
causin’ the local up~welling to bring that chilly water from thee bottom up to the surface. You do know that wind~chill can be a bit cold as ya wait for another wave to ride, even in here L.A. right? Ahh, betcha he was warmer than many of you woulda been durin’ that surf session!
Tip for ya folks, ok?
Old dudes with no hair get cold quicker. I learned of this when I went skin~head years ago.
Don’t believe it? Go + shave your lil’ head Jen See, go punk~rock, {or live with cancer + chemo, or just be chrome~dome like a few pep’s I know} and then watch your head+extremeties/core temp get cold waaaay quicker this winter up where ya surf, betcha you too might luv some booties or even, aghast, a squid lid then.
I have only ever owned a 3/2. There’s one memorable session in my life in Santa Barbara. I wasn’t left out in the cold. I left out in the cold.
It was a nice day. Sunny. Crisp low 50’s air temp. A junky right point named Devereux or better known as Coal Oil Point. Waves were decent 4-6ft, a bit warbly, yet it looked fun. Then, to my surprise I noticed there were only five guys out!? I thought “lucky me”. 3/2. No booties. Don’t own a lid nor gloves. I hit the water. Damn! Water temp had some bite. I maybe duck-dived 5 waves, at the most, on my way out. Got out to my favorite take-off spot, sat up and did one of those breath exhales that felt like the very last warmth inside me just left. My head was throbbing so bad it consumed all thought processes. Spun around, looked back at the beach, bathed in sun and thought “I want be there. Not here.” I could hear my ego excitedly encourage me to make that “want” my reality. Getting chased out of the water because of discomfort from the cold in SoCal (let’s include SB for sake of this story) is a fucking travesty to be avoided at all cost, not matter the peril. Fuck that though. Not at that moment. I don’t know exactly how cold the water was, probably 50°, but I’ll say maybe even 48-49°. I started my egress. Stepped on the sand after one crummy shoulder hop on a shit wave, and was so happy. Couldn’t feel the sand with my numb feet but my eyes beheld the betterment of my situation.
I wasn’t left out in the cold. I left out in the cold.
What do you mean let’s include SB for the sake of the story? What are you the new Sam George who preposterously once tried to claim the dividing line northern line of Southern California was Point North (100 yards north of Super Tubes) and Sourh of Pt. Mugu so that he could claim that SB was in Central Cal or who the fuck knows maybe in his delusional head, Nor Cal. What a f’ing joke. There is only one authority and one authority only on the division of California and that’s Bank Wright in Surfing California. Point conception divides Southern California from Central California. The Golden Gate bridge divides Central California from Northern California. It’s real fucking simple and you and SB are firmly in Southern California.
Definition of a kook: (1) one who wears a “NorCal” hat south of the Golden Gate Bridge, or (2) Sam George.
Or, (3) anyone from SB who claims it’s not firmly located in the heart of Southern California.
You should learn to relax more. You’re an adult right? I lived in SB. Not from there. Nor is it of importance to the story. I was only thinking about avoiding any semblence of slight perceived by our beloved and dear Jen See. As for you? Your emotional well-being is of no consequence to my commenting. You should care for you that little too. But since we’re on the subject of lines of division, help me understand this: does Ben Marcus living in a van on the side of a road in Malibu make him a Malibu resident?
I’d say it’s a perfect fit for him. A self-imposed exile into a four walled jail with just his bitterness and irrelevancy to keep him company.
You seem like a good Christian.
Seem is the operative word.
I noticed that bit and laughed delightedly! 🙂
I know, it’s bad. But the Strait can seem like a lock for 6 foot and you drive 4 hours and for no fuckin’ reason it’s a soft 9 inches. The longboarders even just sit there and freeze and hope and don’t catch any waves. So it’s kook out on the SUP gliding along tiny rollers, or drive 4 more hours back home without even getting wet. To be honest it’s fun but yeah not a great look
Oh my fucking God ELO!
Let’s set aside for a second the fact that “today’s water temperature in Manhattan Beach is 63 degrees,” and no man, woman, or child of any sort of weak constitution needs anything more than a 3/2 for 63 degree surfing.
YOU ARE ON A SUP! YOU ARE ONLY GETTING WET 5% OF THE TIME, MAX. The last time I grovelled around the surf on a SUP was a knee high day on the Strait. Water 44, air 45. I put on a hoodless 4/3 and booties and was fucking roasting BECAUSE I WAS BASICALLY DRY, IN A WETSUIT, AND EXERCISING.
How fucking hot do you need to be man? Are you storing up heat for the rest of the day? Of course not, because you’re not a reptile, or at least no one could prove it if you were. Did you get some free wetsuits and want to try them out? Let me assure you that very soon the charm of heavy wetsuits will wear right the fuck off when you actually need them. Did you need to sweat yourself into a prom dress? Do that at home with dignity, in a plastic garbage bag on the treadmill.
Let’s just forget that this embarrassing full-hooded, way too much rubber for dry exercise in a lukewarm sea, looking like your first day surfing was yesterday incident ever happen, and get back to focusing on getting pitted. What you do is crouch as far back in the curl as you can while the wave lurches up and over you. Then you come out of the “water-tunnel” and for a minute fee like Oprah seems to feel every moment of her life.
Eye on the prize ELO, eye on the prize. We know you can do it.
Looks like he’s on a longboard to me. Still kook though.
Oh whoops – sorry – I somehow wasn’t drawn to look at the picture.
On further review ELO IS in fact surfing in a wet wetsuit. And that’s kind of a nice looking wave, and ELO has positioned himself somewhat adjacent to the semi-critical zone.
I smell a tube ride coming in the 18-24 month time frame, maybe as short as within the year if he spends the $36k or whatever for a week with the crack coaches of adult learners at Surf Simply. Nice work ELO – this is progress. You are on the right path my man.
Can I just say I am really enjoying this continuing vein of Elo encouragement PNW.
So good. This might be my fave feature of the comment section, in fact!
The sweating into a prom dress bit is gold.
Yeah you coaching ELo into the water tunnel might be my fav bit of the year too.
** To save others the trouble of having to convert Fahrenheit to normal measurements, the water temp was about 17°C
I go out in a rashie and trunks in that temp.
Weak ELO.
Fuckin WEAK.
Your comment has song lyric potential. Seriously.
BG theme tune as performed by Electric Light Orchestra?
For me boots and hooded 5/3 come on once the water drops below 12 degrees. Only once the water becomes unbearable will I don gloves, which I find cumbersome. Having no actual board contact will kill your mojo for approx 1.5 sessions before you adjust, causing you to resemble an adult learner for a period. God fucking knows why ELO would choose to do this in SoCal.
Yeah gloves are a pox. I’d rather not be able to unlock my car than wear gloves
Mittens are even poxier.
If you’re not wearing a hood or gloves it is not really that cold . When it is , one has no choice . Wear it all and surf , or sit in front of the fire at home and wait for spring to thaw .I have a date tomorrow with the Baltic Sea and will not be worrying about whether it’s cool or comfortable , just want to survive , surf and have fun ….
I hate booties more than condoms, I wear condoms but never ever booties.
Just FYI the first go on your feet, the latter is for the penis. Switch at your own peril/pleasure, depending.
Go root ya boot is an Aussie expression, just getting in before Ben Marcus fires up the glass barby again.
The man* of the year had better be the Grumpy Local, embodiment of the loyal long suffering surf fan. Either him or Elo’s surf photographer.
Coming from the most Southern tip of the dark continent I can assure you there is no shame in full rubber both in and out of the water.
Oh of course in South Africa. I’m just trying to sort out where it becomes inappropriate. Have you ever been to Southern California?
The Durban lot can wear baggies all year round. They don’t, but they should!
Ah, baggies. Like board shorts but from Durban.
My grom years were spent in a 3/4 T-Reef (remember those?). In summer that meant alternating 30 mins in the water and 10 mins thawing in the sand, and in winter that meant trying to keep as much of the body submerged as possible to avoid the wind chill. Improved wetsuit technology has been the best thing about surfing over the past 20 years!
These days the biggest factor in whether or not I’m fully clad is the age of my wetsuit (and/or how many holes it has in it). I can usually only scrape together enough ZAR for a new suit ever 4 years or so once life becomes unbearable…
The water in San Francisco is much much colder and rarely do you see someone in a hood let alone gloves even in the winter. Ocean Beach would tear this kook a new one.
Very interesting how OB doesn’t wear hoods. It’s colder up here, but when it warms up to OB temps the hoods stay on. A Westport local once told me you get used to the hood and feel weird without it ….
I surfed OB my first three winters there in the 90’s in a shitty Hotline 3/2, then finally caved and bought a better quality 4/3. Man would I love to have my youthful base metabolism back!
Really? Seems to me like at least 50% of people are in hoods from December-April for central cal beachbreaks. Depends how big too, more duck diving = more hoods generally.
I got the dishes covered brother.
https://youtu.be/wn8XFiAwLkM
I felt like a pussy wearing a hood in Easky yesterday!
That river is as cold as hell. Gave me crab hands back in October.
It’s been very mild recently!
And smells like the fart of thousand cows !
I nearly froze to death there in Easter 98 !
I’m 53 and surf Torquay from time to time, mostly over by Flinders.
I wear gloves and boots, but have never worn a hood.