North County, San Diego experiences a shark boom!
North County, San Diego is not what would be called a “dangerous” place. Hugging the gentle coast just south of Camp Pendleton, the communities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas and Del Mar are upper-ish-middle-class and impossibly comfortable. Very little violence and Mexican restaurants owned and operated by a woman named Diane Powers. Many Lexuses. The beaches are sandy and the waves that roll in are inviting, playful, easy to catch and easy to push children into, sharing the Pastime of Kings with future generations.
Many Sprinter van conversions.
Except these days, chances are if you are out pushing children into waves in North County, San Diego you will be pushing them directly into the gaping maw of a shark and it is true. This tranquil seaside paradise has been transformed overnight into a Great White-infested hell.
I don’t know how it happened and I don’t know what is to blame but beaches have been shuttered, from Oceanside to Del Mar, as the angry beasts patrol just offshore. Nibbling on seals but just waiting for a plump human belly filled with sizzling fajitas from Diane Powers. Never in my almost decade living here, and four decades visiting, have I even thought about sharks. They were Mendocino County’s problem. Byron Bay’s. But now they are everywhere, multiple sightings per day by trustworthy sources like professional snowboarder Todd Richards.
Surfers chased from the water every hour. Surfers congregating in parking lots, around Sprinter van conversions, washing the sand of their feet with customized hoses and staring at each other, wide-eye’d.
Del Mar’s chief lifeguard, John Edelbrock, told the Coast News Group that most of the sharks the lifeguards have seen in their area have been juvenile sharks, which are about 6 to 7 feet long. The sharks’ behavior has been docile — “not aggressive in any way,” he said.
Oh.
Maybe I got a little carried away here.
But also, just wait until one of these juveniles nibbles on a plump human belly filled with seafood chimichangas from Diane Powers.
It will be the end.
And tell me, do you ever think of sharks when you paddle?
Will you now?
Is the bright side that these sharks come in the summer when the waves suck? Maybe when a south swell comes they might be skared away? I guess I should be glad I am slumming it in South County. Oi
Last year they were north of Pendleton up through San Clemente and Dana Point. I saw more white sharks (mostly juveniles) last year while surfing than in all my previous years combined. This year I have only seen two. They get your attention for sure but at least the 16 foot submarine sized varieties are still pretty rarely seen.
Yeah they were a common sight last year in San Clemente. Nobody (including me) it seems has any fear of ’em. As soon as someone gets nipped maybe I’ll change my mind. Harmless Val suppressant…all good.
Yeah I feel the same. However I will confess one got me pretty puckered last fall. I was sitting there and got the “feeling”, looked down into the water just off the nose of my board, saw one coming up at a 45 degree angle at me at a high rate of speed. It turned a few feet from me and shot back down, a quick 120 (or maybe a Cotes 540) degree turn and a flash of tail then a pretty good sized boil. The whole thing took about 5 seconds including the boil. About 30 seconds later the adrenaline hit and passed. Damn teenagers.
Can anyone suggest a good Surfer/ Skater Brazilian Orthodontist to alter the face of this Passionate Demon of the Deep ?
hahahah
I’m thinking of getting a Chrysler K car and loading it full of Slater Designs with all the money I’ve saved. And some of those shark eyes gimmicks, cause sharks won’t eat anything with eyes.
Ah! Did you buy my old van?
About 20 years ago, a surf buddy of mine converted a giant aluminum bodied delivery van into a surf wagon. It had racks for multiple boards, a bed/couch, wall to wall carpets and custom cabinets, he did some really beautiful craftsmanship, it was rad! In It’s previous life it had been a diaper delivery service truck. I always wished he would have left the diaper graphics on it, it would have been even more rad!
A plump human belly filled with seafood chimichangas must surely be the shark equivalent of a Jalapeño popper with sweet picante pepper, bacon and mozzarella filling!
Great, now im hungry.
that todd guy tries way too hard. very douchie
Can you explain to me how an empty cargo van, a fucking 6 cyl engine enclosed by an empty shell, costs 35K new? And look at the “amenities” which there are none. The cabs interior has the same technology as they did in the 70’s… no fucking upgrades.
And a broader thought…. our phones become obsolete in a year. Literally. Yet the internal combustion engine powers still 98% of the market? How embarrassing is that from an engineering stand point? Mortifying.
Easy. Inflation+Mercedes badge+hipster tax. My local break is more of a Toyota truck/SUV convention
no man, I was looking at fucking Fords and Chevy’s….. cargo vans should be less expensive than economy cars, there is nothing to them.
my drivers trash em anyway, no reason to buy a mercedes.
My Sprinter was 40 grand and comes standard with a diesel that gets 22mpg with a full payload. I own one but it’s my work truck not a camper. I have taken my previous one on surf trips and slept in it though.
Oh yeah, don’t forget if you buy one ya get to go to Mercedes dealers for maintenance..
And those fucks have perfected the peer down their nose at you and make you feel unworthy act to the ninth degree..
I think its like antiques or any collectible. If some cunt is willing to pay for it, the seller is happy to sell it.
too funny, I take it Diane Powers cooks up the goods.
I was bummed last visit that BullTaco’s was gone in Encinitas. I was there to drool over yoga women anyway so mission accomplished, but I was hungry afterward.
It’s so crowded in your hood Chas, a few bites might clear the joint out and since you’re rarely surfing… no worries mate.
It’s crazy! Crowds have gone all the way out of control and I just chuckle at the two Mexican Diane Powers restaurants I see because can’t think of a whiter name than Diane Powers.
Any relation to Kenny Powers?
I have to assume.
https://youtu.be/T5dAt7CRczQ
I know right! It seems like right around 10 years ago is when all the kooks took up residence…….
Hmmm…
Right about when Chas moved in..
I kid, it was ruined right about the time Encinitas incorporated Cardiff..Leucadia..Oliveinhiemand the soul of North County was cast to the wind
Just looked at her websites…. looks like she married a white guy’s name cause she looks like an abuela to me.
My family had a beach house in Oceanside throughout my youth, where I developed surfing and it was a ramshackle marine base pissing stop at best (other than heaps of sand compared to today). Now the place looks like Irvine only with better surf, but gentrified beyond the jar heads aesthetic.
Carlsbad was an open air old folks home. Leucadia was the first stop on the Hippy tour and although the waves were never very good, the girls were delicious. Kind of like white person’s mexican food, hold the rice, beans and cheese and are those gluten free tortilla’s?
Only one joint you need know about in Encinitas… Nothing beats a brekky burrito and horchata from Juanitas, post-surf.
Juanitas’ hot sauce is the absolute best on the planet. Green or brown. Carne asada burritos and hard shell tacos are the best I’ve ever had and mexican food has been the bulk of my diet for the last 25 years.
1000 percent agree
Thanks for the advice, think i know the place on the corner near the stairs to that reef break.
It’s VW transporter ownership here. Eye watering.
should do a story on cape cod surfers, their mentality etc.
Can you imagine waiting all year for hurricane season and your island gets swamped by whites? That’s worse than ferries full of VAL’s coming over from the mainland.
The waves there are fickle, the fishing is decent, the winter lasts 8 months, and piping plovers close the beaches.
Surfing in sharky waters requires a delicate balance of acceptance and denial.
Beach Grit – Surfing in snarky waters.
Future Shock…..Alvin Toffler described it as “ too much change in too short a period of time”. In less than a generation we have gone from Jack London’s “ royal sport for the natural kings of earth” to London Almida ,becoming sport for sharks and unnatural dings ,insta murfers ,flat earthers , wave pools and fools …… ok we were always fools to believe it was not going to change ..?
How come you believe Todd when he yells shark but not when he yells 540? Conspiracy shit right there.
Chris , Start your own revolution ( and a half ) and cut out this Todd man ….. ?
It’s all tied up with the Lolita Express.
an irrefutable argument.
The only person I believe is Matt Meola
No actual attacks, though? Ultra-Flaccid Surf Candy, that is… this between Jeffrey’s and T-Poo has been brutal from a content standpoint… hey, how ’bout a ‘CT Humor Power Rankings, where all Tour surfers are ranked by how funny they might theoretically be?
“27. Kelly Slater – Never have I witnessed him intentionally being funny. We all know someone like him, the successful guy in your group, the one you really don’t understand why you still hang out because he’s a weirdo, kinda megalomaniac and tries waaaay too hard (always speaking in a monotone), who insists he’s funny despite never actually being. He likes to pass off as jokes things that he says earnestly once people express disapproval or indifference. Tries desperately to have people love him, a mendicancy that in capable hands might be funny, but he just can’t pull off.
Ranked higher because of the time he got beat up by the boogie boarder… hilarious!
…
22. Julian Wilson – A jock… honestly, I forgot about him until here and I didn’t feel like moving shit around…. I’ve seen him laugh before. He’s like Plain Yogurt: not even good, but not the worst thing ever.
…
13. Sebastian Zietz – Seabass could be funny, hell, I have no idea. While he could be a comedic savant, however unlikely, I imagine his humor skills, which cause girls to giggle at his dumb jokes, derive from his being a blond, tall(ish), tan, and reasonably good looking surfer. If you can get away with it, a great strategy! Three thumbs up!!
…
4. Jeremy Flores – A short, angry, big-mouthed Frenchman, this guy is hilarious! Seriously, a French dude with a Napoleon complex, how could he not be hilarious?!
…
1. Jordy Smith – Jordan Michael Smith, definitely is the funniest person on Tour… slim pickings, I know. We saw a little glimpse of humor in Stranger Than Fiction, a stereotypically unfunny Taylor Steele (the king of unfunny surf comedy skits) surf movie, when he was the only surfer to not come off as completely wooden in his scene, jumping on a trampoline and then saying he can’t work today (it’s worse than I imagine), and be slightly amusing (in a smile, but only internally kind of way). His post-heat interviews can also be somewhat entertaining, I can just imagine him profess his love of Dido and Shakey’s Pizza to either of the constipatedly confused Pete Mel or the perpetually focused Rosy Hodge on the sidelines. He seems to be the only current Tour surfer in the booth with any personality, letting loose on Boer War during J-Bay saying he surfed a wave like crap. Funny.”
Jordy for sure No1.
Yeah it’s cringy when Slats is holding court.
Haha yeah good one ya goat weirdo!
Maybe Matt Warshaw is more visionary than historian. Giving up surfing makes good sense, if fear of death by shark attack is a factor in hanging up the wetsuits. Increasing shark numbers means all these juveniles will grow in size to mammal chomping adults. It is inevitable there will be more human casualties. Sadly, what was not so long ago deemed by surfers as a fair and acceptable risk of shark attack is now a thing of the past, Unless…hmm…join the dots…more responsible and preventative action needs to be taken…but who is willing to pay?
Sharks, they’re like dogs. They only bite when you touch their private parts.
I’m worried about the youth of today.
You should be. Their fully cooked
“Their fully cooked” what?
Sausages?
Meat-style patties?
Pretty much. iPhone induced Chernobyl brain. Causes gay haircuts and softtop love.
I do think bad (gay or not) haircuts need to be heavily regulated.
Says a guy with very little hair to cut anymore.
I’m with you. My forehead is growing as we speak. Every barber nowadays does one haircut. Ask for a perm, he’ll shave the sides and leave you a pompy wave in front. Lowers testosterone immediately.
Fuck.
What I’d give for a pompy wave.
https://youtu.be/afam2nIae4o