when calafia is working omfg sooo fun. also down the road salsipuedes is epic on the right swell.. and barely anyone out during the week
You must be sad. and why on earth would I "research" gay marriage. you obviously have done your homework. eat a deyack and choke on the man milk you wannabe Cali brah
whatever you say redneck.. =) Keep your confederate flag flying arse in the south... I guess you don't spend much time in civilized american cities, so I forgive you for your ignorance... You do know that the "Yanks" took the south a long time ago. I would usually be the last one defending the gay community, but you sound like such an uneducated hillbilly that you really have no right to insult anyones lifestyle...
RIGHT? I am a goofy footer and I would take that place backside over anywhere! And you must have had to paddle through that cove to the north with the break called mushrooms to get there. If that little underwater reef jetty is working, its one of the best pitching rights I've ever seen. We made friends with the guys who work at the hotel so they watch the vehicles for us while we are out... But I was told by the guys who introduced me to that place to never surf mushrooms if the two locals are out... We just respectfully go to Calafia with the crowd, but if you ever see Mushrooms empty, it too is an EPIC wave. Its not a long freight training barrel into jacked reef like Calafia, but the form is SICK! Just talking about this make me want to go down there... That left Papoltla was ruined when they built those condos.. They dumped all the rubble off the cliff right into the lineup and it doesnt even break anymore. I heard there is a military ship that wrecked up against the reef too.... Its a shame, cause that used to be an equally good left. Exactly like Calafia, but lefty. =(
First off, hi all. This is my first post and there's no "check-in" thread, so I'm jumping right in. I'm 41 & have been surfing for over 30 years, although my limited skill level wouldn't suggest it. I was born and raised 2 blocks from the beach in NJ until I was 20, so I have a pretty good idea of what NJ has/does have to offer for waves. I've only been to California once and stayed for a little over a month. I remember getting off the plane and thinking "So what...it's sunny." After a month of the best weather I've ever encountered and pretty incredible waves, I was impressed. To answer the original question and basing it purely on waves and weather, I'd say "yes." A lot of other factors come into play for each individual, but strictly for the sake of surfing...definately.
to me, those two spots epitomize baja norte... at calafia you can park the wife/gf/whatever up at the hotel or the pool its like 110-120$ per night for some sickass room overlooking the break (eat/drinks cheap as hell too). leave work early take the toll road for 1 hr max and catch calafia before dark + get on it the next day and and be back in time for work the following day... or before they ruined papotla like you said it was a mirror image of calafia, just epic pseudo-exotic surf with 3-4 chill ppl in the lineup max and 7$ a night to camp. Hell even K58s gets good and jose's restaurant is siiiick best french toast i ever had and its $2. i guess the closest thing you will find to that on the east coast is nova scotia? not really comparable tho
Why'd they quit surfing? I'll bet they quit sometime during the Closer to the Sun record. All the albums afterward don't seem as inspired... .
Maybe they travel to tropical spots and surf. But the only time I see them is at a bar or at a show. I just haven't seen them in the water in OB or the cliffs in years. They are busy. Im guessing they get some time in elsewhere.
You can go for it, but good luck... When I moved to SD, I got a lot of flack from locals here. No one has ever said anything to me in the water, because as long as you can surf well, people assume you are a local anyway... But, case in point: The first year I was here, I was playing pool in a bar. The guys me and my buddy were playing were pro surfers. They were the local Volcom team... bascially, my friend and I kicked their as$ in pool and the guy was like "Well, you can beat us in pool, but if we were in a surf heat, I would kick your as$". Now, granted, they guy didn't even know I was a surfer... But I was like, well, lets paddle out tomorrow then.I bet you I will give you a run for your money... Then the conversation was "Uhh, where are you from? Jersey? Maryland???? There isn't even an ocean there is there? Blah Blah... " "Ohh, the atlantic is there... Well, you don't even get waves over there... Blah Blah".... Just complete disrespect... So, not all guys are like that, but most guys I know that were born and raised her dont even consider the Atlantic a surfable area... Granted, 9 out of 10 of them have probably never been, but as far as asking them the question of where they would rather spend the summer, I think it would be unanimous... I don't ever argue with anyone about it anymore... I know how good the guys back east are. There are rippers in every town. Every time i go back to OC, i see kids going big and progrressing well, so its really a BS argument... Cause I am from the east coast born and raised, and surfing the waves there put my talent ahead of most guys here in my opinion because we are used to windswell and some really bad conditions, so you set us up with a nice big point break, its like freaking christmas... East coasters will be slashing it all over the place.
Foolish Okay listen I get the whole "I have pride in my home break and my coast stuff", but the reality is this. California is a surfing state and you can surf year round. ON the nothern part of the east coast you can surf for maybe 5 month out of the year and not have to wear a 5 mm wetsuit and feel like your going to the moon. I lived there i grew up there and i was that guy that was always like yeah when it goes off it rivals anything anywhere. That is incorrect. I live in la jolla i surf hospitals everyday almost. Its an amazing REEF break. The word reef doesnt exist on the east coast. Next there is a swell every week not like the east coast when you wait for storms to have any chance at surfing. Lastly and this is the most important and most overlooked. The level of ablity of surfer in california is so much more advanced than the east coast. Everyone at every break can surf, nobody is terrible and the majority of guys kill it. The groms are unreal and even the old guys are awsome. Plain and simple cali is way better further more so cal is the best. And whoever said "man in the Grey pajamas" Thats amazing and im stealing that line, but he stays up north so yeah there are sharks but if you going to get killed surfing or lose a limb i think i would rather have it be a great white than some kind of jersey shorebreak or a lame east coast shark. Im from the east coast i love the east coast but when it comes to surfing and surf quaility there is no question no doubt its all about Cali. Now some lame Guy with a chin strap and spikey hair is doing curls in his wife beater watching MTV and reading this and is going to fire back at me and tell me if he sees me at his break in southern Jersey he will beat me up. Well you can have it Tony or Vinny im never coming back. Oh Yeah it was over head all Weekend and now its like 4-6 and perfect. How is it in jersey today?
ok,not too bad - maybe thigh high, glassy, today surfed at the same beach where my dad learned how to surf in the early 50's, down the street from the club where my grandparents got married in the 1930's. Looking forward to teaching my 3 year old to surf at the same beach. You can disparage your roots till the cows come home but you still have to face up to fact that you live in La Jolla, but you ain't from there, and you never will be. To all people who trash NJ, you're right-on, it sucks, so please, please just GET THE **** OUT (Thanks though to those who put their words into action for moving and at least walking the walk)
I'm with you man. And for the same reasons you speak of above, I will probably be back somewhere on the east coast. Not Jersey or MD, but somewhere within driving distance to my family, so I can raise my kids at the beach, but still have family. Again, this is the touchiest of all subjects, that gets underneath many people's skin... I don't like sitting on here bashing anyone or anywhere. I loved every minute of growing up back east. Waves and good weather meant more back then. It was much more rewarding.. But this thread wasn't about life, or family or anything. It was a surf based question, which we all answered honestly, but the question was Rigged... You asked a group of hundreds of avid surfers if they would rather spend 4 months in the winter in a 5mm fullsuit, gloevs and booties, surfing every now and again when a good Noreaster comes through, or do you want to wear your 3MM wetsuit, no booties, and surf stretches of reef break everyday for months... It's a loaded question. But it will always start an argument... Here is a more Fair question: Would you prefer to spend you FALL in Southern California, or back on the east coast... See, at least that way, you guys still have warm water, good weather and some decent waves.... But here is the kicker. When its hurricane season over there, it hurricane season in california too. It has been 4-6 feet and perfect here for days... Completely unhyped. We are on our 6-7th swell off of all the storms down off of Cabo... So, the fact remains, that even in the fall, when Jersey and the Midatlantic is lighting up, SoCal is beginning it's most consistent time of year as well... FALL is my all time favorite season in cali. Boardies through october. Santa Anas. Offshore wind. Super fun South swells filling in all up and down the coast... So, there is a more fair question: Would you rather spend Hurricane season surfing the Atlantic? Or would you rather spend you FALL surfing the storms on the west coast? I went out to my beach break 2 days ago. Report said 2-3 feet, and fair. I got there, paddled out, and no sh**, it was well overhead. Dumping in the sand. I was pulling sand outta my ar$e for hours after that one. And it was yet another, unannounced, unhyped swell over here... And it has been firing ever since. Its looking head high through thursday.
Most of you are a bunch of clowns. I respect those of you who answered the question honestly and did just that. This is almost the same argument of stand up vs bodyboarding.. get over it. These arguments and disputes don't get any of you ahead. Live where you want and surf what you can. All in all... we are all doing the same thing. CHEERS!
