Covid’s effect on surfing

tank, z, even that kook Cody

 

Guilty.

 

I have been thinking about outfitting my van so that I could do something like this, but just havn't pulled the trigger. For my line of work (finance/spreadsheets/legal documents) I need minimum 2 monitors in addition to a laptop. I also need a burly high-speed connection. Thinking about getting a 5G capable phone and using it as a hotspot and mounting a couple monitors that can run on 12v...

Any vanners on here that work out of their rig?

Right now I have more flexibility but I still have to go to home base to get any real work done.

 

Me and the girl friend are wandering down that path. We've looked at everything. Realistically. I'm looking at a conversion van with a generator ..fridge..small cook top. My hold up is toilet and shower. And 10k

 

Yea the s*itter is def where cheap vans stop and expensive vans begin, unless you are using one of the empty-by-hand units. At this point I don't necessarily need one bad enough to compel me to have one of those stinking up my rig.

My dream is a high-top, 4x4 rig with a hot water heater and the whole 9 yards. At the moment however we're looking at buying a second house so I'll be in the church bus for the foreseeable future.

 

Definately looked at some cheap short bus bluebyrds. I can weld and construct things to my liking..maybe not professional but good for me.. Still looking and kicking tires

 

Check out the Ford "Okanagan" conversions, they're pretty cool and some are equipped as E-350 Quadravans. Coolest old school conversion van out there.

Also a big fan of the old Toyota Dolphin and Sunrader. Normally equipped with a 4cyl 20R engine and 2WD, sometimes you can find really cool ones with 4WD and either a 22R or a Toyota 6cyl. Not really a van, but small and fully self contained with onboard generators and such.

My personal preference would be a 3/4 ton to 1 ton 4WD pickup with a slide-in camper. Self-contained, roomy and low-key...probably best combo all-around for both off grid stuff as well as a daily driver. I know a handful of hardcore Mex travelers with this setup

 

Yeah I was all over that one too, but at over $20K it was not as similar to his current E-350 although I'm sure he could afford it. There's a guy from Oregoon that surfs and camps here usually once or twice a summer, he took a cherry early 90's Okanagan chassis and fitted it on a Quadravan frame and drivetrain... thing is the perfect off grid road trip beast. Enough room to walk around in, yet safe enough to go under a bridge ha. Plus, it's a Ford. Mechanics can work on it, you can easily get parts for it, so much easier and less exotic and expensive as a driver.

You're right about Sprinters being played out. More like a stereotype now

 

I'm a van guy myself. And I work out of it too, except with a different set of tools.

First car was a '64 VW Bus, owned it for over 7 years. Love/hate relationship, but it taught me how to work on cars...valuable experience, especially in the middle of Baja with nobody for kilometers around.

Bought it for $800 in 1981. You can't even get your hands on a rusted out roller with no motor or trans these days for less than $6500

My 3rd most favorite car, behind the old Bronco and 911. My first 3 cars, my current van is the 4th. I hold on to shit forever lol. My wife has had several cars, but those were specifically hers so they don't count as "mine"

 

This is even more annoying as someone who worked from home several days a week before COVID. That's my speech, find your own scam you kooks!

Actually my primary spot hasn't really seen much increase on weekdays. Even on the best days of hurricane season I was typically surfing solo or pretty close to it, at least any time before 2-3 pm. There's an even better spot a couple miles up the road that I gather has been more crowded than usual, but I'd have to drive there and I can't really be bothered with all that nonsense. 9 times out of 10 I'll take the completely-empty beachbreak that's a 4 minute walk from my side door so I can run home as needed to take calls in my wetsuit.

My spot only ever seems to get crowded on weekends with nice weather and waves under waist high. It's the strangest thing. Overhead glass peeling for 200 yards on an overcast Saturday? Might be 10-20 people spread over a half mile of coast. But if it's ankle to knee high and the sun's out with no wind on a weekend morning the foam boards and old dudes come out en masse. It's the weirdest thing. But I'm not complaining. And it's not a bad wave. It's actually fun as hell when it's working. Yeah, the spot up the road is better, but I'd have to DRIVE there. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

I just looked these up. SO sweet. A 4x4 version would be perfect. I can lock up a 10ft surfboard inside a van, that's the tipping point over a pickup for me. If I was a non-longboarder, or maybe a little less paranoid about my schite getting stolen, I would def have a pickup exactly how you describe.

 

The company I work for (6 continents, 25k employees) just sent out a survey asking for opinions on how coming back to the office might ideally look. I wouldn't mind having my own office space again outside of my house, but I also love the freedom that working from home gives me. I want it to be like the library when I was in college. There if I need it, but not required if I don't. The choices were:

1. Work in the office every day
2. Work in the office 3 days a week
3. Work in the office a couple days a month
4. Never work in the office

I chose the "couple days a month" option.

To the topic of this thread, I think COVID may have a permanent impact on my surfing life. It's wild to think that I may never go back to the way things were before April 2020.

 

Yea I'll click your sketchy link... NOT!

 

Those were the days... It's even packed during gentleman's surfers hours from 10 - noon, on Tuesdays!!!

 

all jammed up. i refuse to go to the closest spot now and am constantly searching elsewhere. the drive is farther, but it's been fun and found some way more exciting and stoke enducing stuff.

it sucks to get out of the water in a bad mood, and i found that was happening on the reg. it wasn't just that it was jammed up...it was the lack of etiquette, competence and sheer ignorance that drove me away. i'll go if the crowd looks thin, otherwise i'm headed elsewhere. more waves, and a better vibe.

 

Completely agree on the "mood". I have been choosing quantity over quality for years now just to be sure I don't end up getting aggro on some fools. I actively try and be cordial and respectful in the lineup, but my killer instinct kicks in if someone try's to impose their session onto mine.

I can surf in a thick crowd of people and have a great time and get out of the water feeling refreshed. On the flip side, I can be out there with one other person acting like a d-bag and it will screw with my vibe. I just try and keep my blinders on for the most part. It also helps that there are about a dozen locals at my favorite spot that I'm friends with and we look out for each other.

As for COVID, around here I'm not seeing much difference from before.

 

I'll take a wave that's a half a foot smaller with no crowds over the popular stand out spots any day. COVID hasn't changed that.

 

Covid в целом оказал очень сильное влияние на все сферы жизни

 

Hi Vicki, please send photos and stop speakin libral commie language.