"Unnecessary risk!"

But, no, you cannot tell me that you have forgotten about Bolinas, California, a stone’s throw from San Francisco, already. You cannot say that an ode to the cathartic benefits of surfing and its natural social distancing, penned by the great Transhumanist Zoltan Istva, who traveled there to glide free, has disappeared from your memory.

Of course it hasn’t.

The sensible surf media, filled to the very brim with Modern Surfers, pounced on the recklessness, the wanton recklessness of leaving home for any reason whatsoever, much less to participate in something as egregiously criminal as surfing but it appears that its judicious advice has gone unheeded for now, thanks to Zoltan, Bolinas has been completely overrun with toxic, disgusting, likely-infected surfers.

A true Coronavirus Hellhole.

But let’s turn to a local on the ground and writing letters to The New York Times‘ editor for more.

Bolinas, a tiny, once isolated California town, has become a surfers’ mecca. The community is now completely overrun on a daily basis with countless out-of-town surfers.

During the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, local authorities have finally seen fit to make the effort to control the chaos brought on by the surfing masses. Mr. Istvan advocates an exception to lockdown regulations and using Bolinas as a surfing zone for all. He places his surfing wishes above the health of the people of Bolinas, who are obliged to shelter in.

Bolinas has just been shown to be disease-free by a unique townwide test organized for scientific purposes. Crowds of out-of-town surfers and their families streaming into Bolinas in violation of shelter in place would put the people of Bolinas at unnecessary risk.

Jeffrey Labovitz
Bolinas, Calif.

Stab? Is there not anything you can do to stem the tide?

World Surf League? Maybe a second, delightfully whimsical, round of #HomeBreakChallenge?

Help!

#waiting

As you have certainly heard, by now, Kelly Slater has blocked BeachGrit on Instagram and Facebook. He has also blocked me, personally, and I love him no less. Greatest surfer in the world, handsome, one-time boyfriend of Cam Diaz, Pam Anderson, Gissy Bündchen, unafraid to think broadly, etc. but alas I can no longer gaze upon his stray thoughts.

His visage looking more and more like Joe Rogan every day.

Oops.

I wasn’t supposed to see that.

In any case, and thankfully, World Surf League CEO Erik Logan hasn’t blocked me yet.

Three days ago, he posted a picture of him sitting in a sunset dappled Manhattan Beach lineup with the caption “Soon #waiting.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_zw_rMFPhz/

I assume he meant waiting to surf again which brings us around to a profound statement made by David Lee Scales today as we sat in Album Surfboard’s upper room and chatted.

“Waiting? Why doesn’t he just go surf? How boss would it be if he got arrested for surfing, his personal photographer hiding in the bushes capturing every moment then selling it to TMZ and using Oprah connections to push the story wide? World Surf League CEO Erik Logan arrested for surfing. Now that’s a story that would draw eyeballs.”

I completely agree and, again, the World Surf League continues to blow it worse than any other organization, save Souplantation, in the Covid Era.

With the absolute dearth of sporting news, it would headline ESPN’s Sportscenter and be New York Times front page.

The Modern Surfer may even skim the story.

You’d think a one-time President of Content and Media would be more on top of it, no?

We also discuss the joys of protesting nude, getting paid to finance a new car and teaching parrots to curse police horses.

Fine enough for your commute not to work?

I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Listen here!

Woke.

Last night, after a full day of homeschooling, light yard work and a slimy red tide surf, I rolled into bed and began scrolling Instagram. A vague sadness permeated, as it was my first night blocked by Kelly Slater, but the ionized glow from a salt lamp soothed my nerves.

Instagram held no surprises, posts of “wacky animals in quarantine” and “ain’t my hair funny in quarantine” followed one after the other until I stumbled upon a particularly odd offering from Stab magazine.

I thought the post had been deleted, per Stab tradition, but just found it. The content praises the World Surf League’s bold recent moves while mocking the Stab commenter as an extremely angry, racially and sexually diverse mob.

The caption read:

“Those who said the @wsl is foolish for proposing a World Title surf-off: do you feel differently after learning that a majority of recent World Champs love the idea?”

But back to the mob.

Have you ever seen one that looks like this?

Is this the group that forced mayors and governors to criminalize surfing around the world?

The group that calls the police when they see a neighbor BBQing with non-relatives?

How many people have they blocked, collectively, on social media?

Is there a manager on stand-by to harangue?

Does Stab make more sense knowing this is the readership?

Many questions.