Oldest Wahine

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More intriguing than her lines of wisdom, which she wears beautifully, is the energy and might that this 81 year-old woman possesses.

It's not everyday you see a woman swinging a sledgehammer that equals more than half her body weight. In a stylish fashion, wearing a light blue bandana and pearl earrings, Eve Fletcher conquers the concrete slab that stands before her. Swinging her sledgehammer with flawless execution is the perfect metaphor to depict how Eve has approached life. With style and poise she achieved what we all strive for: the perfect balance of working hard and playing hard.

Next to the dismantled riprap that Eve loads into the trunk of her Subaru wagon lays her 9' single fin. Aside from her passion for gardening and landscaping she possesses another talent that very few participate in at her age. With five decades under her belt Fletcher maybe the world's most experienced female surfer. Staying true to her roots, just as she has for the last forty years, Eve makes the weekly journey from her eclectic yet modest Laguna Beach home to the line up at San Onofre where she is greeted with warm smiles and a well of respect....

I see her out at Sano Onofre a lot when I'm there and its hard to think of any other regulars who get the respect she does. I've never spoken with her except casual greetings in passing int he water. Always smiling and encouraging to all those around her in the water. I hope I'm able to continue surfing and being stoked into my 80s!

Shelter

Maybe its because its the first surf video I bought, or the just first one that really struck a chord with me, this has always been my #1 favorite surf movie. Lots of good videos since then, but Shelter more than any other really sums up my feelings for the surfing lifestyle.

I haven't watched in it quite a while (I have it on VHS, no VCR) but every time I hear Mason Jennings, White Buffalo, even old southern soul style music this pops into my head. It just seems to have a very original and different feel to it. It just fits me and who I am in surfing. It also makes me want to move to a ramshackle farm house somewhere, anywhere thats country and close to waves.

Inner Kook

I'm a kook. At least I'm starting to realize I have a significant amount of kook-ness in my person. It may not be a bad thing, but I've come to realize that after years of looking down on all the non-surf-brand companies that mooch off of our lifestyle, I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Who's to blame? My unborn son is the culprit here, I blame him.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Holister, American Eagle etc have been copying legitimate surf brands as the surfing lifestyle has become popular, they're not what I'm taking about. What I'm talking about is the Walmart, Target, and Big lots clothing emblazoned with "Surf Hawaii" and "Surf _______"(fill in the blank). Thankfully I've grown up and have gotten over the need to wear the "right" brand of clothing, but as I think about my son and prepare for his arrival, I can't help but buy things like the "Surfer Baby" sign in two posts previous and stickers like this for my cars.

I'm sure many of you are guilty of seeing stuff like this as kookish. I've always thought advertising "I surf" is a total Matthew McConaughyish thing to do. Having a kid on the way seems to have given me an outlet/excuse to buy all the cutesy surfer stuff with Hawaiian prints and surfboards on them.

Damian Fulton

Surfline's portfolio series showcases influential and talented surf artists every month or so. The latest is Damian Fulton. His artwork illustrates the life of surfers in Southern California and particularly the aspect of being torn between the over-stimulated fast pace we are almost forced to follow just to get by.

"In my paintings, surfers compete with the barriers and ballyhoo that under any other circumstance would pummel a man into eventual submission, stifling his zeal, swallowing him up whole into lifes daily grind. The urban surfers are powerful, stoic figures, battling the elements, intrusions and vicissitudes of city life-My surfers brave all for the privilege of a saltwater baptism."

See his artwork here.

There's a lot of Surf artists that either just merge surfing experience with their fine art, and some who romanticize the art of surfing. Damian's paintings are a narrative of the surfing lifestyle most of us live on a day-to-day basis.

A couple of his pieces that 100% sum up the way I feel daily, one when I'm in the water and one when I'm out of the water.

"Left Behind"

"Epiphany on 4th and Broadway"

Sun, Sand, and Shoulder-Hoppers

There are few better ways to spend a sunny Sunday morning than trunking it at San-O. Even better is that we got there at almost 10am expecting the normal 1-hour wait at the top and arrived to see only one car ahead of us! Fun waves, everyone in the water and out was smiling and having a good time. I think this is the one place where shoulder-hoppers are the norm, but there were small semi-clean waves for all so there were no worries and lots-o-fun.

On a side-note, does anyone out there have any experience going to a single-fin setup on tri-fin longboard? I want a more "Loggy" ride but can't see getting much of a log feel out of a 9'6" Ukelele Drifter. Baby on the way, no $$$ for a board so I need to make do with what I've got.