Two New Correspondents

Have just checked in with Hippie Sean, who is currently living abroad in New Zealand. Last report he was on the South Island surfing point breaks with no one else in the water. He will be adding photos/music/stories/etc. and will be our Official Dirtbag Correspondent of Oceania.

Alex W. is off to Morocco for two years. He will be living in huts, working super hard and getting payed shit. However, I am sure it will be worth it.

Morocco.

And a hugely jealous congratulation goes out to Curtis S. on making it through US Coast Guard Training. I was speaking with D.B. Taylor and we were commenting on how terrible it would be to be stationed on the Gulf Coast and with Curtis' luck in life he would probably be calling Mobile, Alabama home. But that is not the case, he will spending the next few years on Maui! Congarats! Here he is on a trip to Mav's before shipping off to Basic Trainings:

Upcoming Events

This Sat. stop by and save some money for your next trip!

When: Tonight, Wed. Feb. 24th at 7:00pm
Where: Level 5 at City Stage, 21 N. Front St., downtown Wilmington
$5.00 at the door (all the treasure benefits WBLA outreach efforts and Paco Strickland).

Panama

Will be in Panama at the end of March, from the 25th thru April 4th. Will be staying at casadeestrella.com on the Azuero Peninsula.

While Dirtbags Taylor & Jess scored Santa Catalina, Panama this past summer. I will be exploring the more remote Azuero Peninsula. Which from maps I have seen holds a ton of potential.

Total trip budget including airfare will be roughly $450. Stay Tuned!

Santa Cruz Cont.

Santa Cruz

I ventured out to the Bay Area a couple weeks ago. You might have heard the hype everywhere from Surfline to the Weather Channel which dubbed the weather systems the "Western Wallop!"

Three major storms battered the West Coast, leaving flooded roads, mud slides, major rain, stormy surf and incredible snowfall in the Sierra Nevadas.

I spent a week there. 6/7 days was blown out with stormy surf in Santa Cruz while northern spots had 20+ faces with unridable conditions. I managed to catch Steamer Lane the day before I left. Sadly, I wrecked my knee before I paddled out and I could hardly make a bottom turn.

Highlights of the trip: R. Dorosko charging middle peak on a rental tuff lite longboard sitting next to a couple locals on their guns, and just barely scratching into a wave that I am saying measured close to 18 feet. He managed to get one that was around 16 foot though. *Point of interest, the Dorosko brothers are incredible surfers. R. and Dave surfed Todos Santos on a woman's rounded pin short board and an 80's fish, respectively.

Total Trip Cost: $400. Total Waves Caught: 6. Averages out to$66.67 a wave. Not what I would consider a successful trip by any measure but a fun trip none the less.

*These photos were taken after the session.