CSC Newsletter Subscriptions On SubKit

The CSC Newsletter(s) have a new home! I’ve partnered up with a great new platform called SubKit to launch a series of subscription products for my intellectual content. There will still be tons of free content here on the blog, on YouTube, and on my Instagram, but if you want the special-est of the special sauce then you’ll want to go over there and pick a plan. As I describe in my first post, there are 4 main plans:

1. The monthly CSC newsletter @ $3 per month: same newsletter you’re used to getting chock full of interesting surf content, philosophical thoughts, updates on retreats and events, and links to other rad stuff I’ve come across.

2. A weekly newsletter @ $25 per month: this replaces the ‘active client emails’ and advanced Patreon tiers. Weekly surf tips, updates, and technique videos, plus insight into surf forecasting, swells, and issues of etiquette and social norms in the surfing lineup. A 1x per month community Zoom Q & A to nail out your surfing queries.

3. Book Club membership @ $10 a month: If you just want to do book club then this is the ticket. We do 2-4 Zooms a month to discuss a text we’re reading. We’re currently reading World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing (2014).

4. Everything Conatus @ $35 a month: it’s all of the above.

Subkit is rad in that it collates all of the tiers for me, so that when I’m composing my weekly or monthly posts, it will only send them to the subscribers behind the particular paywalls. You won’t get any content that you don’t want. Adding the subscription feature keeps me enthusiastic about pumping out more great content and hosting more physical and virtual intellectual surfing events. Again, there will continue to be smatterings of free content here on the blog and on instagram — I do want to provide something for everyone — but the more in depth surf support emails will live over there. If you dig my monthly and weekly “surf zines” please tell your friends and get them involved too!

CSC x Subtropical Storm Ana

This was quite a swell event. We’ve had a grueling spring with very few days over waist high. There certainly have been a few one day swell events here and there, but this is the first two day swell I event I can remember in quite some time. Out here on the east coast we learn not to get our expectations or our hopes too high. Of course we secretly want every swell to over-perform the forecast, but it’s important to stay reasonable because more often than not one’s hopes are quickly dashed. We saw this happen all winter and spring. We’d see a low pressure develop out to sea on the 5-7day model and start to be optimistic. Then we’d keep checking the radars every day only to see said low pressure system get completely destroyed and blown out to see by a high pressure ridge coming off the continental US. This was the dominant pattern for the start to 2021.

On Thursday night I had a phone conversation with long time Rockaway stalwart, Sol Joseph, about what to expect. As I chatted with him I was on windfinder looking at the system. It was big in terms of area and positioned to the ESE of us, but as I clicked through the three hour advances I didn’t see it intensifying. I did see that it would be biggest Saturday evening, but had very low expectations for that to continue into Sunday. On the models I looked at the storm just petered out. A lot of things can change in live time when it comes to weather and swell. Surfline had an article explaining what happened (and I can’t find it now for the life of me), but basically high pressure (why it was so darn hot all weekend) was in our favor this time. Instead of coming off the continental US, the high pressure came from the northeast and held the storm in place and in fact intensified it. So it ended up being a much larger and better swell producer than any model had originally suggested.

Surf check with the advanced Laru Beya group.

Saturday started off very small and very junky, but it was surfable throughout the morning with buoys reading 3ft @ 9 seconds from the ESE. After a morning surf check I went home and did a cursory spelling and grammar edit on my dissertation. At 10a Juan and I did our first coaching session with the Laru Beya advanced group. We’re coaching some of their up and coming grommets throughout the summer and fall. Tide was low and waves were still small and pretty closed out but the wind had backed off and there weren’t any crowds. We had an epic first session with them — everyone got waves. Around 12p the swell started filling in with chest to head high sets rolling through here and there. Had a few fun ones on my 5’3” fish. After 3 hours with no water I needed to go home and get hydrated. So I did. Also snacked on a banana, some almonds, and a few coconut flakes.

When I got back at 2p the waves were quite a bit bigger and the tide was surging. The wind was WNW, so side offshore. There were a lot of closeouts, and it was crowded. First hot summer like day of the season. I was slightly overheating in my new Still Blue 3mm full suit, so I tried out my 2mm long sleeve spring suit. Water was a bit brisk on the legs but overall I was warm enough. Surfed for about 3 hours and was out of rhythm most of the time, except I did get a few gems here and there. Students Emory and Brant were on the beach observing the lineup and taking notes. Emory brought their Canon down with a new lens and snapped some pretty great photos. They have a new surf photography instagram @artisan.son.productions you should check out.

Bottom turn in the spring suit. Pic by Emory Lee @artisan.son.productions

Ben Lai showed up around 4p and I paddled out with he and Emory. Right when they hit the water the swell really started to pulse and well overhead sets started rolling through. I can forget sometimes how intimidating that can be for a newer surfer. I was trying to get Ben and Emory to sit deep on the jetty with me but I think the sense that a huge set would come through and wipe them out was a bit overwhelming. Both got into a wave. At the end of the day it’s good they were just out there charging. Emory went in around 5p and Ben stayed till about 530p. I started to get a little cold with the winds, so I went back to the van, drank 3 canteen fulls of water, changed into my full suit, and switched up my boards. I had been on my 5’6” Potentia (pictured above) and was loving it, but wanted a little more volume for two main reasons: 1.) I was tired from surfing all day; 2.) The swell was getting bigger and I wanted to be able to get in as early as possible. I switched to my 5’11” rounded pin. By this time the beach was pretty empty and the lineup was even emptier. Large sets came frequently. I began to think that Sunday was going to be a lot bigger than forecasted. I check buoy 44025 shortly before paddling out. 6.5ft @ 13 seconds from ESE.

Saturday got large!

I surfed myself silly until about 730p after which I could surf no more. I started off at the above jetty until the outgoing tide made a rip through the take off zone. Then I moved a jetty east and had probably the best session of my day. There was a moment when I was the only one out in well overhead surf. When that happens it really feels like I’m getting rewarded for putting all the time into my craft. My board was working great — getting in early so I could thread some tubes (some I made, others not so much) — and my wetsuit was flexible and kept my body at the perfect temp. But my arms and shoulders eventually told me to quit, even though there was at least 30-45 minutes of light in the day. No one was filming that session and I should have tried out the Solo Shot but I really just didn’t want to be bothered to set it up. Plus I wanted to have the freedom of the entire sweep of the lineup and I’m still new to using it. When I got out of the water, however, I noticed that Thomas Lagrega was taking pics, so I instagram messaged him to see whether he got one or two. As my luck would have it, he did! He was focused on other surfers for the most part, but I’m just stoked he got anything.

Sometimes it’s just nice to stand tall and look at it. Pic Thomas LaGrega

I got home around 8p, showered, had dinner, and conked out. I woke up at 430a the following morning, and the first thing I did was check the buoy: 5ft @ 13 seconds from the ESE. That storm was still in place producing swell, and it really hadn’t dropped much in size. Bryan Doring and Catee Lalonde had rented clubhouse rooms that night. We all had coffee and went to check the surf at 5a. Our eyes confirmed what the buoys read: there was still plenty of size. I had to reschedule all of my beginner lessons. I know that surf schools still try to make a pretty penny on days like May 23rd, but I prefer to make calls that I think are really going to benefit peoples’ practices. Going out in waves that are too big for your ability level can be fun and challenging in one way, but in another sitting and watching from shore is more productive. You’re still at the ocean, watching waves, developing the vision and desire to make the most of them the next time you go in. With the way our swells drop so quickly, that could even be later that same day. And you’re making more room in the lineup for those of us that have put time into our practices to make the most of the bigger surf. I tend to think that that kind of patience and respect for the difficult practice of surf pays huge dividends in the long term.

As you can see in the video above, I did, however, coach intermediates throughout the day. Catee Lalonde, Emory Lee, Brant Weil, and Bonnie Stamper all sunk their teeth into it at one point in the day or another. Also featured in the vid are Bryan and Franco. It’s interesting watching Bryan, Franco, Catee, and Emory because they’re all at varying levels of the same stage in their surfing: they make most of their drops and go down the line and they can do rudimentary turns, but they’re not utilizing the full potential of the wave or their bodies at this point. All of them are regular foots and all of them struggle figuring out how to time the backhand sections and to coordinate upper and lower body so that they they generate tons of speed before turning. My advice to all of them is to surf out of a lower stance and to push harder through the feet to drive the board through sections. When you’re first learning to place turns the body wants to start everything with the arms — and it’s not that the arms aren’t a big deal — they are — but if you’re not pushing equally hard with the legs you’re not going to get the board where you want it to go. Another key component is finding the fins with the back foot so that the board is not turning from the middle. But these are the kinds of waves that help intermediate surfers realize these mistakes and also in which they get a larger canvas to try out more stuff.

In general people can expect that I’ll call off beginner sessions when buoys are 4-5ft @ 10-14 seconds and larger. I have a large intermediate crew now and will be targeting the more pumping days with them. But I should stress that small days are good for everyone’s surfing. If you can’t do a cutback in 2ft surf then you need to learn how!

Philosurfing Lite Edition: Winter Storm Orlena

Heya! I’ve been in a deep dissertation cave and not posting much on the blog. I did put this little edit together from Winter Storm Orlena back in February. We’ve had a pretty miserable winter since then with tons of high pressure ridges pushing swell away off our coasts. This, however, was a really fun snow surfing event. The video starts from inside the clubhouse where I’m watching The Search by Sonny Miller (1993) featuring the fantastic surfing of Tom Curren. This was my favorite surf video to watch growing up because Curren has such great form to imitate — the low compressed stance and impeccable timing for tubes and turns. I’m a goofy foot and have had zero problem integrating some of the insights I get from watching Tom (who is regular foot) surf into my own surfing. This is a bit of advice for everyone out there: the person doesn’t have to have the same stance or body type (or even gender — I love learning from great women surfers too) as you for you to get something out of their surfing. The thing you have in common with that great surfer: you’re both human beings, usually with two legs, two arms, two eyes, one nose, one set of hips, etc. Different surfers have developed different ways of placing these body parts vis a vis board and wave and some might appeal to you more than others. If it appeals to you, try it out! Try it first at home and then go plan to put it into practice in your own surfing. This has been my method since I was 12 years old and I can say in full confidence that it works.

On this note, the “surfing” in this video is GoPro pov. When you’re watching this think about what I’m looking at when I’m out there. You don’t see much of my feet or my surfboard except the nose because I’m always LOOKING AT THE WAVE. Or if I’m paddling back out I’m looking into waves frothing on seeing them come at me in their tubing formations. This is the best way to understand where to sit to take off and what to reasonably expect to find as you ride down the line. Remember that surfing is not about being in the moment — it’s about being ahead of time. Our brains, to use the words of the great philosopher Daniel C. Dennett, are anticipation machines (Consciousness, Explained, 2011). When they’re functioning at their best they’re seeing the road ahead and making moves that will benefit us in the short and the long term. In order to anticipate what any wave will do you have to be able to understand and see waves as rights, lefts, and closeouts, as fast, mushy, tubing, or sectioning. The more angles you watch waves from — the beach, the shoulder, the inside, the more patterns you’re uploading into your internal software to write the programs that will help you ride these suckers! Notice that I begin the vid with a good surf check from shore so that I can see what the possibilities are before I put on my wetsuit. Nothing mystical about it! Waves are what we study in order to read them well. So get to it!

Fuzzy still from the early part of the morning. That looks like a wave that probably won’t pan out super well unless you’re on the far end, which would be the middle of the beach. The peak breaking has a right on it that looks like it will run into the jetty and the first part of the wave will “section off”. It’s the section section going to the left that would be the ticket on a wave like that.

Introducing the Clubhouse Page

As most people know I’ve been setting up the CSC Clubhouse in Rockaway since this last fall. Covid has kept me conservative about blasting it out and filling it up, but things are starting to loosen up and the clubhouse is ready to go. By “loosen up” I mean many of us have had Covid, have gotten the vaccine, or are just so used to the protocols that we’re able to navigate life with them in place. I’ve set the place up so that it can be reasonably shared with others without any overlap. We’re pros at using text groups to communicate our moves — board pick ups and drop offs, co work hours, shower turns, wetsuit storage, etc. I’ve made a dedicated page on this site to read about the clubhouse, with links to products in the store.

Clubhouse

I experimented with a scheduling page for co-working but it’s too confusing and I’m going to stick with Venmo and text messaging for now. Scheduling stuff around surf and swells just requires a kind of flexibility that cloud computing cannot keep up with. As you’ll see on the page, we’re ready for overnights. Please get in touch via text or email before booking, but you should be pretty good to go with the way I have the forms set up on the site. I’ve also decided to rent out boards from the CSC Quiver. This is a great opportunity to try a number of different shapes and fin set ups before purchasing your next board.

Phenomenology of Surfing: 3 Sessions, 1 Morning

Here’s a 10 minute video that documents the last morning in February surfing around the Rockaways. I was coaching Brant Weil who is figuring out how to ride his 6’6” CSC x Barahona Potentia shape. I’m riding the same shape, but in 6’1”. The video contains voiceovers and slow motion. I explain some of the things that I consider while I am surfing — both in terms of overall conditions and particular thoughts and considerations that I have and make while riding waves. The filming is done by CSC student Emory Lee. Emory alternated between their Canon and their iPhone. Surf filming is a great way to get better at surfing, and I mention this in the video. I will be doing more videos like this one, but I will also do some that get into one particular aspect, say wave judgment, or the take off. Not all of these will go public. The best way to ensure that you get all of the content is to sign up on our Patreon page. Right now Patreon subscribers get early access to all content. For example current subscribers have already seen this video. There are some cool perks over there, so check it out!

Introducing the Philosurfing Series on the YewTube

Inspired by the fact that I finally launched the channel, I’ve posted another vid quick on the heels of the last one. This a day in the life style video. I will call all the day in the life style videos “Philosurfing” and will label them with the date. They won’t all have the same formula, but you can expect that there will at least be two things: philosophy and surfing. Here, inspired by the audiobook I had just finished listening to, The Four Horsemen, I discuss surfing, religion, and sport on my drive to surf in NJ. Then I have a surf session, over which I have done some voiceovers to help people understand better what to look for when entering a wave. Then I head back to NY, check the surf again, decide against it, go back to the CSC clubhouse, rinse the gear, and sit down to read Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise, the preface of which we discussed in book club last night. I had thought I was done surfing for the day, but then I saw the winds had glassed off and that there was still some significant swell on the buoy. So I paddled back out and had an incredible session. Stoked and fortunate that CSC stalwart Emory Lee was walking their dog on the boardwalk and got some great iPhone clips of my last waves, which I placed at the end. There will be more vids of this sort, but the next few will feature more about the style of teaching and focus on some of my students. I’ll also do some more detailed gear review vids to get that process started. It’s fun to make these things. Likes, follows, comments appreciated!