"This lesser-known, closely-guarded Monterey-county break has many monikers due to its "peaky" tendencies and signature shore-pounding finale with a "deadly bite." Tube-ride take-offs are the norm here. I was fortunate to capture this priceless, solitary moment when the light transformed the waves into beautiful bronze and blue hues. It was an early summer evening with a touch of warm, off-shore Salinas Winds. ..." -- debbie sidenfaden sek

Santa Cruz's DEBBIE SIDENFADEN SEK is a Laguna Niguel, sixth-generation Californian surfer girl who grew up frolicking on the lefthanders at Salt Creek. Her love of the ocean was cultivated early on by her body-surfing father, and her photography career was born upon acquiring her chocolate lab, Cody, whom she began documenting on film. After moving to Santa Cruz in 1994 for college, Debbie began shooting local Santa Cruz contests including the Big Stick Logjam, Surf-O-Rama, and the Memorial Day contest at Steamer Lane. A former fixture on the longboard competition circuit, Debbie now prefers to be on the other side of the lens, photographing from the water, land and air (via prop plane and helicopter).

View some of Debbie's work this Thursday, 2/9 at the San Francisco booksigning with Surfline's Sean Collins at 111 Minna, including her aerial photo of Pleasure Point featured in Sean's "California Surf Guide." Also check out her site, www.seafriendly.com

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feb.08.2006 edition | off the lip

We hope the new year has been treating you right...and that you've been scoring on these NW swells and in the Sierra powder. The sand bars have been just fantastic up and down the NorCal coast. Know your limits, as we always say...Besides recent surfer deaths, we keep hearing lately about local friends getting stitches from collisions with their own boards on sizable days...

There's been quite a bit of news and upcoming events in these first two months of 2006:

MAVERICKS CONTEST 2006
Congrats to veteran Red Bull Big Wave Africa standout Grant "Twiggy" Baker of Durban, South Africa (home of the shark nets) for winning the $30k prize money on such a gorgeous, clean 20-30 foot day. Ghost Tree veteran and 2005 Billabong XXL nominee Tyler Smith of Santa Cruz took second, besting his 3rd place finish last year. Locals Matt Ambrose (Pacifica) and Grant Washburn (SF) took 4th and 5th respectively behind Brock Little. It was a perfect contest day and the shore was crowded on the toasty 74 degree day. Unfortunately, one female spectator was injured from rocks rolling down from the cliff above.

Overall, it was a well-done event, but a few veterans hope the media/organizers will do a better job in advising the uninitiated about getting there, encouraging bikes & offering tips to maximize their viewing enjoyment (it was a bummer to hear the oft-spoken refrain "I can't see" ). Too bad it's also hard to get jumbotrons onto the sand for most contests.

Check out the coverage: SF Chron SF Chron Article Photos + Vids | KTVU video | MavSurfer | Maverickssurf.com | Surfline | Santa Cruz Sentinel

WOMEN at MAVERICKS...
Elizabeth Pepin and Sally Lundburg unveiled a cool new trailer of Mavericks pioneer Sarah Gerhardt at the recent One Winter Story film benefit in January. Photos forthcoming. Other local women who have now surfed include Santa Cruz's Jenny Useldinger and Jamilah Star (aka Jam*Star) .

Click here or on the photo for Quicktime to watch Jamilah's recent ride on a serious Maverick's bomb on January 19, 2006. The clip is shot by Powerline Productions, who just released a new big wave DVD "Down the Line" featuring Ghost Tree and more.

NEW WOMEN'S SURF MAG TO DEBUT
The irrepressible Ben Marcus, a former Surfer Mag editor and prolific author, has teamed up with former Surfer Mag art director Joni Casimiro and surf journalist (Foam, SG) Kristie Griffith to launch "WET," what promises to be a cool, gorgeous, intellgent surf magazine for women of all ages, from teens to 67-year old surfers like Janet MacPherson.

According to Ben, Wet will be "contemporary like Surfer, classy and uncluttered like The Surfer's Journal, written like The New Yorker and fun like MAD Magazine." Also on board to guide the magazine are veteran surf photographer David Pu'u, Santa Cruz local Anne Allegretti and other top women surf talent, including Kassia Meador and Pru Jeffries.

As for the name, "Wet" was coined by a woman -- Griffith. "People like the name WET but others treat it as if we should be arrested, " said Griffith, also a segment producer for TV shows including Entertainment Tonight."..."WET" was so clean, concise, and nice. It just stuck. It never struck me as risque or tawdry or anything. I actually think it is funny...yes, it's a little punk, but it came from a pure place."

Stay tuned for Wet's April debut, a 100-page issue printed in a 10" x 10" square format on quality paper stock akin to The Surfer's Journal. Peak at sample articles and the media kit here and the | press release

Advertisers plus contributions from talented female writers & photographers sought! Contact Ben Marcus at310-270-7500 or email him.

Aloha,
Monica Lee & the Tribal Surf Crew

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surf essentials | test drive

TYLER SMITH & PAT SIMMS' DING REPAIR
Tel: 831-457-9126 (Pat Simms) | Santa Cruz

Speaking of Mav surfer Tyler Smith, the 27year-old Volcom team rider and Santa Cruz standout has partnered up with Pat Simms and launched their own ding repair business on Santa Cruz's Westside. With the demand for repair craftsmanship at an all-time high with the foam shortage (and Felix Alfaro & his Sand Dollar crew happened to be on vacation), we tested their acumen with two boards -- one with a torn fin box and an epoxy wood veneer board with cracked rails. We were very pleased with the work. Turnaround was very fast and prices were reasonable. Simms (who still plays in the band, the Parafins) has over 20+ years of well-rounded board shaping, repair, and manufacturing experience.


The Waterproof Pentax Optio 330 WP1
DP Review. List Price: $285-300

Looking for a decent waterproof camera that's compact and works better than the "fling 35s" plastic drugstore versions?

Ocean Beach surfer Joe Hill, an avid documenter and water toys aficionado, personally recommends the Pentax OptioWPi, which enables the user to shoot continuously for up to approx. 30 minutes underwater at a maximum depth of 1.5m. It's perfect for surfers, scuba divers, and other snow & water activities, not to mention party tricks. Check out Joe's Mavericks contest photo above, shot from the channel from his surfboard. Sorry, we can't show you the outdoor hot tub photos from the New Year's Eve winter storm festivities.

Other options? The Pentax Optio 330RS and 430RS digital cameras also come with the optional waterproof housing that can be submersed and withstand pressure up to a depth 40 meters (131 ft).

Email us with other recommended "essentials" that belong in a surfer's arsenal that you'd like us to review!

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monterey coast | rally

HELP SAVE THE MONTEREY PINE TREES & SURF

Mark Massara needs your HELP in his long-running battle against Clint Eastwood and the Pebble Beach Company's proposal to cut down 17,000 pine trees in the Del Monte Forest to build a new golf course (adding to the 20 existing courses), plus 33 mansions and 170 resort rooms. The forest is one of the rarest forest ecosystems in the world, serving both as a genetic heritage site for a global multi-billion dollar forest products industry and the source of much of the Monterey Peninsula's renown beauty, which attracts tourists and revenue from the world over.

According to Massara, "Liquidating the remaining coastal forests for golf will have dramatic adverse water quality impacts Also, the resort intends to utilize huge amounts of pure river water from the threatened Carmel River -- already overdrafted and a steelhead trout habitat -- for the golf facilities, as the recycled water from the plant they funded has too much salt content to be usable."

What can you do? Send email and snail-mail letters to the Coastal Commission with this handy format. The public is also encouraged to attend Monterey hearing in June 2006.

Learn more: Save Pebble Beach | Coastal Commission | CoastWatcher | Sierra Club

Photo: A 10-acre solid block of Monterey Pine Forest (one of the last left down by the ocean) that is proposed to be clearcut for a golf driving range.

Photo by Ken & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project.


Photo: Site of the proposed "Forest Course" that requires require cutting down over 10,000 Monterey Pine Trees, filling of wetlands, plus destruction of rare orchids and endangered red-legged frogs.

Photo by Ken & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project.

Mark Massara, the director of the Sierra Club's California Coastal Campaign, is a surfing attorney well-known for helping Surfrider Foundation in 1991 win a major settlement from two Humboldt Bay-area pulp-mill companies's Clean Water Act violations. These mills were dumping 40 million gallons of toxic effluents per day into the ocean.

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About Swell Happenings
As the Northern California surf community continues to grow, we thought it'd be fun to put out a list of quality "surf culture" events in the area to help bring people together when not donning wetsuits. Swell Happenings publishes every 10 days (1st, 10th & 20th generally) and is separate mailing from the "Tribal Surf Invites" about special events we produce ourselves. We welcome event postings, editorial content submissions, and inquiries if we can help you put on or promote an event! | more about tribal surf