A Late Morning Jog

Not the best day of my trip in terms of wave height... but it certainly was a beautiful morning. The sky was crystal clear and the offshore winds were creating a misty effect on top of the ocean's surface. It looked like the water was glowing.

Sunset at Hammonds

I wanted to see a bit of sunshine this evening (rainy day in Santa Barbara)... so I decided to look through some photos I took while at Hammonds Beach a few weeks ago. This particular day was also a bit stormy. However, the clouds cleared a few hours before the sun went down and it made for a beautiful sunset. These photos were taken after I had just finished a surf session. There was a cold/gusty breeze blowing and my toes were numb. However, I decided to stick around for a moments as the sun dipped below the skyline. My car's heater felt awesome as I drove back home.

Footprints In the Sand...

There is an ancient Greek saying that "the sea can wash away all evils"... and a wide range of cultures have sacralized the sea, trusting in its power to wash away what is dangerous, dirty, and morally contaminating. The sea makes life on land possible by keeping it "pure." In this particular photo, footprints are in the process of slowly washing away with the incoming tide. Shortly after, all traces that a couple walked by will have vanished from sight... only the memory remains. 

Bali Evenings

Every weekend the villagers from Canggu gather on the beach to enjoy the last moments of the day and watch the sunset together. There are street vendors (with AMAZING grilled corn), families, super competitive soccer games (if the tide is low enough), teenagers, lovers, pets, and just about anyone you can think of (including tourists like me). The hour before the sun goes down is the best time of day in Bali... the temperature cools down, the sand becomes tolerable to walk on, and the sunsets are worth the cost of a plane flight. I thought the first picture was a good representation of the crowd. The stone steps act as the stadium while the ocean and nature put on a show.

The other pictures in this set are of a fishing village further down the beach. The fisherman head out on the boats after dinner... and they stay out all night (or until they catch enough fish). If you're ever in Bali and wonder what all of those lights are in the middle of the ocean at night, it's these little boats. Also, if you wake up early enough in the morning, you can see all of the boats coming in. It's a pretty cool site... and if you help the boat drivers come in, you might score some super fresh seafood.

Want to go for a walk on the beach?

The pathway between two towns in Canggu... the sand acts as a natural "boardwalk" in Bali (much more convenient than trying to find a paved road). 

Playa Encuentro - "The Right"

Looking further down the beach on Playa Encuentro at a spot referred to as "The Right". Can anyone guess how this spot got its name? This wave was "bowly" and offered an occasional barrel... but mostly the kids liked to launch airs on the many ramps. It was a lot of fun (but no airs for me). The only issue with this wave was that there was a constant rip pushing you away from the peak. You had to constantly paddle to stay in position.

Playa Encuentro - "The Left"

Just in front of the resort I stayed at in the Dominican Republic was Playa Encuentro. Playa Encuentro is a beautiful and quiet beach on the northern coast of the island... and it just happens to have one of the  best waves in the Dominican. Most people I spoke with referred to it as "The Left". There was another wave further down the beach referred to as "The Right" (They're not very creative with wave names in the Dominican). The wave starts with a steep/hollow takeoff and is followed a fast/long wall. On the best sets, you could get rides up to 200m long. The bottom seemed to be a mixture of sharp coral and rocks (which I was lucky enough to not come into contact with even though I had some pretty epic wipe outs). This was definitely one of the most fun waves I've surfed in a long time!... and this is how I spent my Thanksgiving (have much to be grateful for!)

Wedding... "Fiji Style"

As I was paddling around the lagoon between two islands in Fiji, I noticed boats carrying supplies back and forth from a sandbar in the middle of the ocean. After watching them for a little bit, I realized that they were setting up for a wedding. Imagine having or going to a wedding in the middle of the ocean... I think it would be pretty incredible. I thought about sticking around to watch the ceremony, but I had already gotten a lot of sun and decided to cruise back to the shade of some palm trees. However, before I bailed, I decided to take a few photos.

My Fijian Adventure - Exploring the Ocean

About a mile out to sea (from Malolo Lailai Island in Fiji), a sandbar forms between two reefs at low tide. I decided to take a kayak, my camera, some snorkel gear, water, and A LOT of sunscreen with me to this amazing spot. I started my journey around medium tide... so the sandbar had not shown yet. However, I scouted out the spot the day prior (when I was passing by on a boat to go surfing) and had a pretty good idea where it would form. A mile paddle on a kayak is relatively easy in calm seas... but I had a lingering fear that my camera would fall out and get destroyed. Therefore, I went a bit slower than I otherwise would have (and wrapped my camera up in several plastic bags, a camera case, and a backpack).

When I floated up to the spot, a sliver of sand had started to show (as seen in the top image). It was incredible to be in the middle of the ocean with no one else around me... and no sounds other than the ocean and an occasional boat. As the tide continued to drop, the sandbar continued to grow... at its biggest, it's about a half mile in length. However, like anything in the ocean, it's constantly changing... and by the day I left, it had shifted a couple hundred meters to the south.

Surrounding the sandbar are coral reefs... and just outside the reefs, the ocean depth drops rather significantly. This made for some incredible snorkeling! (which is why I brought the snorkel gear) I did some free dives down to the ocean floor and was surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish. It was a pretty rad experience.

In the second image (with sailboat), you can see how shallow the ocean is in this area. During low tide, boats coming to/from the island had to take a much longer route to avoid the reefs. If I had wanted to, I could have walked all the way to where that sailboat was.

HB - Lifeguard Towers

Every county in Southern California has their own unique lifeguard towers. Therefore, when you see an image of a lifeguard tower in an advertisement or movie, you can usually tell what beach it's being filmed at ("The OC" never actually filmed any of the beach scenes in Orange County). These particular images were taken at Huntington Beach (in Orange County) right as the sun was about to go down.

Just Add Waves

Looking out at the ocean in Miami Beach. It's a very nice beach... just missing one important ingredient- Waves. It almost looked like a lake.