Living the Cali Life?!

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Kendog - Photo: Mark Miller

Kendog - Photo: Scott Reeder

Looks like the wave quality has taken a bit of a dip in SD, although that's not stopped Kendog getting together with Phileas. Mark Miller and Scott Reeder were there to act as chaperon and took on camera duties. 

By all accounts, Phileas and Ken had a blast making the most out of some pretty inconsistent lumps of water. Sounds like more is to come around there too before Phileas finally gets back on the road. 

If Phileas makes it that is...

I dunno if she's traumatized by her recent assault at Phileas Fogg's but I'm worried she may be going off the rails.

Time for an intervention perhaps. Take care of yourself old girl.

Cheers

G

Photo: Scott Reeder

San Diegan Hoe Down

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Scott Reeder

Word from Scott Reeder and it looks like Phileas is having a blast. Scott has sent over some video clips, all of which will go in to the next video. For now I've got some screen grabs.

Before going on, it's worth looking at the events that took place before the session. Like good hosts, Scott and his wife Pam took Phileas out on the town. For the obvious reasons, but also down to wanting some "British" grub, Phileas was keen to visit Phileas Fogg's to eat out. They certainly seem to be trying to get in to the spirit of things with chips and gravy or curry sauce (although they do call them "fries" so they ain't that British).

One authentic addition though was a drunken Geordie. They say that Magpies are attracted to shiny things and before anyone could say "why-aye", said Geordie had grabbed a Sharpie and added to Phileas's growing array of tats! Thankfully, he actually made quite a sweet addition and I wonder if what seemed on the ground as threatening and aggressive may actually have been that lovable Geordie exuberance. 

So Cal Geordie Artwork

Tat attacker in the background

Looking at the shot above, I'm actually starting to wonder if the guy was from Newcastle afterall, what with being under 20 stone (280 lbs) and having his shirt on. Perhaps he's a Mackem.

Anyway, Phileas powered on through and groggily hit the surf with Scott and friends. Here's what Scott has to say:

We finally got Phileas in the water, G. Kendog talked us into heading up to North County, something we rarely do, and we actually found a couple waves.

As we arrived, Andrew Smith was already leaving! A busy teacher, writer, family man (and one of the first dedicated mat riders down here), Andrew never seems to have more than 15 minutes to surf. I just hope he enjoyed his 15 minutes. Next time, A.

Scott Reeder

Elder statesman Peter St. Pierre had first honors. Although the lineup was a bit clogged with surfboarders, he snagged a bunch of fun little runners, including an improbable connector. Forty-plus years of experience at this spot has its perks. Pinliner is the man, and Phileas is a “special gal,” in his words. 

Peter "Pinliner" St Pierre

Mark Miller was up next. He and Phileas hit it off right away. The frame grabs describe their relationship better than I ever could.

I managed a few right before dusk. To goose a little extra horsepower, I gradually aired her down well below a 180 bend. That made for a couple wild situations.

Thanks for including us, G. Great mat!

Great project!

Mark Miller

Scott Reeder

So it seems that they've been having a blast and Scott tells me he's off to meet more mat riders and more footage.

Looks pretty sweet over there right now!

G

Mark Miller

Scott Reeder

Mark Miller

Mark Miller

Mark Miller

Peter "Pinliner" St Pierre

Mark Miller

Scott's "Rolled Taco Chop-Hop"

Pinliner's Tat

Heading West.

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Word from Mark Rogers who has been kind enough to offer board and lodgings to Phileas over Christmas. Alas it seems the poor fella hasn't been too lucky:

Happy new year to you.  

I'm gearing up to send Phileas west to San Diego tomorrow, so that it can try its luck with the Pacific El Nino wave season.  

The surf variables looked iffy yesterday, but I pulled the trigger & left pre-dawn with a couple of inches of snow on the ground to see if I could scrounge up a few waves.  A lumpy, building windswell, super high tide, fog, and sideshore winds apparently had other plans.  I checked & re-checked several spots, but it just wasn't in the cards, and honestly the fog was so thick that I didn't even get a decent picture of Phileas out at the point. 

Sometime you win some, sometimes you lose, but I'm bummed that I didn't get any decent waves on Phileas during its New England leg this winter.   

Thanks so much for the opportunity to host Phileas for a while.

The next contact that you gave me is:
Ken McKnight 

That's right... The name is Ken McKnight. Phileas is heading out to the Wild West.

ain_t_that_just_plain_beautiful__by_wild_west_nightfury-d7axehx.jpg

I believe the modern surf parlance is to say that "I'm frothing" over the next leg of the journey.

Cheers

G