Archive for category: News

Photos: Matt Beanland.

Matuse Family Members, Hans Hagen, Luke Rife and Nathan Zoller, recently just returned from a trip to Java. The trio scored some epic waves. Above shows just a small snippet of what they scored. Be sure to keep an eye out in the near future for a video series showing the full extent of their explorations.

Images courtesy of WiLDCOAST.

Part of my responsibilities at WiLDCOAST is annual site surveying to monitor for landscape changes and human impacts on properties we have protected in Baja.

These trips take me down long dirt roads, deep into Boojum Tree forests and to shorelines where the only other living things have wings, fins or flippers. I spend several dusty days transecting the enormous parcels of the central Baja Pacific Coast, dodging gale force afternoon winds and seeking flat ground to set up camp. Supplies usually begin to run short towards the end of my stays, after the ice melts, and meals get simpler and simpler.

My face begins to resemble the rugged landscape around me. Layer upon layer of dust, sunscreen and salt accumulate in every pore. I get excited about the little things – some cookies for desert; a really good wave witnessed by a random local fisherman; going to sleep at night. After a few days it’s all over. I finally cross the border, which hours before felt an eternity away, take a shower, put on some clean clothes and readjust to four walls and a roof.

A recent trip took me to a northern point in the region where WiLDCOAST has protected a miles and a half of shoreline. The area has a striking resemblance to the iconic Trestles shoreline with its points and wetland. If you look west in the evenings as the sun dips behind the headland you’d swear you just finished surfing Lowers and you were headed back to your car parked on El Camino Real.

Instead of housing developments and the Western White House that sit atop Cotton’s Point in San Clemente, this coastline is home to thousands of shorebirds, curious sea lions and a small fish camp that has been launching their pangas here for 30 years.

WiLDCOAST is working with the fishermen that reside in the camp to protect the land and resources around them. They understand the vulnerability of the precious coastline and are working hard to improve the sustainability of the settlement and their fishing practices.

For now I am back behind my desk in Imperial Beach, working to finalize several land transactions and carrying out the ongoing task of finding funding to continue protecting the Baja coast. But I know that I shouldn’t get too comfortable.

Sooner than later I’ll again be seeking flat ground to set up camp in the wild lands of Baja.

For more info on WiLDCOAST or to help support their efforts visit: http://www.wildcoast.net/

Photos: Wilson

A warm welcome to the Matuse family to Eric Tomlinson. When not on a strike mission to Central America or nursing jet lag from a jaunt to South Africa or Australia, 21 year old Eric Tomlinson can be found chasing waves around his hometown of Surfside, California. With backing from sponsors Insight, Sanuk, Famous, Matuse, and Katin surf shop the future is only looking brighter for Eric. His favorite wave is the one he grew up on in Surfside, and when it’s good, it’s the best wave he could ask for. Being able to run in to his house to shower off and get food before charging right back out isn’t bad either.

Competing in the NSSA as a grom, Eric won a few events but has geared his surfing towards more of a free surf mentality. Eric noted that “I decided to travel and learn more about the world and the people in it than try and keep my competitive side going”. He is currently working on various video projects as well as linking up with photographers whenever the waves come up. Look forward to big things from Eric.

There is no more tangible form of stoke than a surfer claiming a wave. But choosing the proper claim after a killer wave can be tricky. Not to worry, all questions will be answered in this episode of Korduroy tv’s Surf Sufficient as we look at a variety of claims to add to your surfing repertoire. So whether you slash the juicy nectar out of the shore pound on a skim, get spit out on a body board, perch ten on a log, or just need a few more points to get through your next heat, you’ll know exactly what to do after watching this..

Collaboration with:
Derek Dunfee & Josiah Panella

Additional Camera:
Noel Robinson (R.I.P.)

Camera:Edit
Erik Derman

Original Music:
“Claim”
Bobby Vanilla