Biffs, Barnacles, and Ben&Jerry's...

Date: November 8,2007

For the past two weekends, I've been drivin' over to the jetty in Florence, Oregon for some ocean surfing. With little rain in the forcast, the ocean has looked mighty fine.

Saturday:

I convinced a few buddies of mine to come over with me. Two of which were planning to kitesurf....it's very different from the standard kite boarding. The winds weren't blowing too hard on Saturday until the evening when it picked up to about 20 knots. Chris Gabrielle drove down from Corvallis to meet us on the coast. He had never been ocean surfing before but he sure picked it up fast.


When you arrive at the jetty, I recommend that you drive out toward the point...ONLY if you have the right tires. (There are some nasty sharp rocks out there). When we arrived on saturday, the swells were already rolling in. There were plenty of seals and yes...the salmon were running. Not exactly what makes ya feel comfortable about ocean surfing right?

(Above) Again, duct tape can fix anything!

Before I geared up, I decided to take my dog Pepper on a mini walk....this really consisted of letting her yank out my shoulder, chase the seagulls, freak out when she got splashed by a wave, decide that was alright and chase more birds, see a seal...try and get it ... confused, then sprint back to the car. She just turned lucky 13 and she was a happy happy dog.

Swells peaked around 2 pm and then gradually declined as the tide came back in. That seems to be the pattern in Florence. We all had great rides and a fair share of beatdowns...I'm pretty sure the guys up in the coast guard tower found us all entertaining. (There happens to be a CG base right at the entrance to the jetty) Chris figured out how to blunt and I learned how NOT to get out at the jetty. I was trying to ride a small wave up to the boulders where we get out. I timed it wrong and before I could throw the boat up on my shoulder it filled with water and decided to beat the crap out of me....barnacles suck is all I'm gonna say.

(Above) Chris Gabrielle dropping in

(Above) Christina using the ju ju

After about four hours of surfing, we unanimously decided to call it a day and head to the Firehouse Grill in downtown florence for their world famous garlic fries... when in florence, you CANT miss the place. Now when most of us hear garlic fries, we think "ah a little garlic seasoning on top" well, this place piles on the raw stuff and wow it has a kick to it!


Sunday:

Since we drove all the way over from Bend, there was no way we were going to just surf for one day. We returned to the jetty on Sunday for another sweet session....by the way, you can camp just down the road where they have freshwater showers...it's friggin awesome. oh ho I can't leave this part out....ok. On Sunday morning, Chris was trying to avoid a campsite fee so he was going to move his car out of his site....unfortunately for him, the park staff saw him pull out and before we knew it, there was a low speed chase going on as Chris tried to pull out onto the highway. Ha ha they pulled him over and slapped him with ...wait for it....wait for it....a $5 fine. yeah I know, all for $5. I'm pretty sure the park staff has been waiting all year to turn on their lights!

We got back to the jetty and were pleased to see that there were some good sets coming in already. It was still a wee bit early but we got out on the water.....

(Above) Party wave...that's three surfers and two kayakers....YEAH!

(Above) Christina blunting left

The ocean is always a great spot to work on tricks and of course, enjoy a nose full of seawater. :) Hopefully I will make it back there this weekend...if no creeks come up that is. Hope everyone is getting out on the water! Till next time....

-Christina