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Good WNW Swell and Favorable Morning Winds Current state of the North Pacific = good to solid surf for the West Coast.

Overlapping pulses of good to solid WNW swells
Background SSW swell through Wednesday, dropping after that
Favorable offshore AM winds for most, some offshore all day


Saturday Dec 16th, join photographer William Sharp for his launch and signing of his new book BACK IN THE DAY, at Dogtown Coffee in Santa Monica, 3-5pm. Legend Tony Alva will be there to sign books, plus a free, one of a kind print of Tony, given to everyone who buys the book that night.



If you’re into skateboarding or want to know what it was like back in the late 1970’s skate scene you want to get this book, BACK IN THE DAY can alos be pre-ordered online at Amazon



Bruce Brown, the most iconic surf filmmaker of all time who brought “ The Endless Summer” to the world, passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was 80 years old.

Brown was born in San Francisco, California, in 1937 and found surfing at age 10 after moving to Long Beach with his family. It was there in Southern California that Brown fell in love with surfing and got his first taste of surf cinema, attending screenings of early Bud Browne surf films at his local auditorium. It wasn’t until 1955, when Brown was stationed on a Navy submarine in Honolulu, that he created his first surf film, a Super-8 short.

Early surfboard magnate Dale Velzy purchased Brown his first 16-millimeter movie camera, which he used to shoot the full-length film “Slippery When Wet.” The film was well received on the burgeoning surf film premiere circuit in large part because of the fun, lighthearted narration that would become a touchstone of all of Brown’s work.

Brown would go on to make four more surf films, including “Surfing Hollow Days,” which documented Phil Edwards surfing the first Pipeline wave ever ridden on film, before he set out to make his most ambitious movie yet. “ The Endless Summer” was filmed on a $50,000 budget in 1963 and starred Mike Hynson and Robert August on a journey around the world searching for “the perfect wave.” While “ The Endless Summer” may appear to be a simple travel documentary, Brown’s charming narration and the story of seeking and discovering perfection and adventure around every turn spoke to core surf and mainstream audiences alike. The film was a massive commercial success upon its wide release in 1966, and is seen as the most iconic surf film of all time, inspiring countless surfers to hit the road in search of their own perfect wave.

In the following years, Brown worked on several other projects, including the 1971 Oscar-nominated motorcycle movie “On Any Sunday,” before going into retirement. Brown didn’t work on another film project until 1992 when he directed “The Endless Summer II,” a sequel that he co-wrote with his son Dana.


Ocean Park had some decent waves on Sunday. Here's a few photos from shot by Six12 Media














There are a lot more photos from this day, all full size and in high-resolution, in the Ocean Park - Sunday 12-10-2017 Gallery.

Wanna see photos from previous days at this and other surf spots?
Click Surf Spot Galleries for a list of past days.


Sunday morning at Bay Street, shot by Six12 Media






There some more photos, all full size and in high-resolution, in the Bay Street - Sunday 12-10-2017 Gallery.

Wanna see photos from previous days at this and other surf spots?
Click Surf Spot Galleries for a list of past days.


Saturday morning at the Venice Pier and the jetty, shot by Six12 Media










There are a lot more photos, all full size and in high-resolution, in the Venice Pier - Saturday 12-9-2017 Gallery.

Wanna see photos from previous days at this and other surf spots?
Click Surf Spot Galleries for a list of past days.

Surf’s up this Saturday for the 24th annual Venice Surf-A-Thon, a grassroots local tradition that has evolved from a mentorship gathering for youth beset by gang violence to an intergenerational celebration of community. The contest involves seven back to back age-bracketed heats, including a pro-am with top echelon riders and an “expression session” in which everyone surfs together and beginners can “take down a pro if they want,” says founding organizer Ger-I Lewis. Lewis learned to surf on the Venice Breakwater in the late 1960s and fronted local punk band Front Side Grind in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Upon returning from Army service in Desert Storm to find many pockets of his hometown ridden with gang violence, he launched the Surf-A-Thon in the summer of 1993 to introduce local youth to competitive surfing and jobs in the surf industry. “I wanted to give the youth something to look forward to other than getting shot down,” he recalls. “Very few are going to make it as a professional surfer or skateboarder, but there are other jobs in the industry.” Over the years, says Lewis, numerous Surf-A-Thon participants have parlayed their experience into surf industry careers. Lewis had a similar vision for the Venice Skate Park, which he was also involved in creating. By Andrew Dubbins
Originally posted on The Argonaut website and in their printed weekly newspaper.

Photo by Six12 Media.

Surf’s up this Saturday for the 24th annual Venice Surf-A-Thon, a grassroots local tradition that has evolved from a mentorship gathering for youth beset by gang violence to an intergenerational celebration of community.

The contest involves seven back to back age-bracketed heats, including a pro-am with top echelon riders and an “expression session” in which everyone surfs together and beginners can “take down a pro if they want,” says founding organizer Ger-I Lewis.

Lewis learned to surf on the Venice Breakwater in the late 1960s and fronted local punk band Front Side Grind in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Upon returning from Army service in Desert Storm to find many pockets of his hometown ridden with gang violence, he launched the Surf-A-Thon in the summer of 1993 to introduce local youth to competitive surfing and jobs in the surf industry.

“I wanted to give the youth something to look forward to other than getting shot down,” he recalls. “Very few are going to make it as a professional surfer or skateboarder, but there are other jobs in the industry.”

Over the years, says Lewis, numerous Surf-A-Thon participants have parlayed their experience into surf industry careers. Lewis had a similar vision for the Venice Skate Park, which he was also involved in creating.

The Surf-A-Thon began as a raucous affair — a bikini contest was central to the festivities — but it’s mellowed with age, says Lewis, becoming a family event.

“Many of the original contestants are grandfathers now,” he says. “As I evolved as a person, the contest evolved as well.”

As he recounts in his memoir “1978: Crashed Memories,” Lewis (born Todd Gessel) took the name Ger-I Lewis after he and friends got into a brawl with some Venice gang members and one of them called him a “Jerry Lewis looking muthaf*cka.” After his wild days, he found Jesus, joined the Army and worked as a Los Angeles County Lifeguard.

Lewis currently works as a wildlands firefighter, most recently assigned to Bonita Canyon fire near Taos, New Mexico. He no longer lives in Venice — home base, he says, is “wherever the Forest Service sends me” — but returns once a year for the Surf-A-Thon.

As in Surf-A-Thons past, this year’s contest will conclude with an award ceremony featuring creative custom-made trophies and music by local artists Nasty Habits, Colonel Klink and DJ Jacques.

Lewis is dedicating the event to four early Surf-A-Thon organizers who passed away in recent years: Mike Baldwin, Tony Cahill, Gabriel Morgan and Scott Adams.

To mark the Surf-a-Thon’s silver anniversary next year, Lewis says he plans to pass the torch to a new group of organizers “to steward the event into the next 25 years.”

The Venice Surf-A-Thon happens from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 9) near the Venice Pier. Registration is $20 to $25; the contest is free to watch. Contact organizers at sk8pks@aol.com or Venice Surf-A-Thon Facebook Page.

You can pick up a free printed edition of The Argonaut at various stores in the Venice/Marina Del Rey area.
Solid wave heights projected in the central and northwest Pacific this weekend.

Solid WNW swell NorCal, smaller for SoCal
Modest Southern Hemi swells mixing in
Winds looking favorable, especially in mornings


It's Wednesday, so here's another photo set of surfers sending it.   These are recent wipeouts from Ocean Park and the Venice Pier and Breakwater areas.   They were caught by Six12 Media.     












      We post new sets of wipeout photos every Wednesday (more or less).   Click: Wednesday Wipeouts to check out the previous Wipeout Wednesday photo sets.