Blue Mountain Surf

Blue Mountain Surf is now an Amazon Affiliate. Buy one of these gifts for your favorite surfer by clicking on the links below.

Blue Mountain Surf has just partnered with a property in Rodanthe, Outer Banks, North Carolina.  If you need a place to stay in OBX, please visit the Hit The Beach website for more info. There is a quality surf break across the street and Pamlico Sound is in your backyard.  The REAL Kiteboarding facility is right down the street. This place is perfect for surfing, stand up paddle or kite boarding, fishing or just relaxing.

Steve stayed here for a week in October and had waves every day.  It was nice to finish off every surf session in the hot tub.

…Just back from another amazing day on the water!  We had perfect weather for our Paddleboard costume parade around Destin Harbor.  We visited the Destin Fishing Rodeo crowd watching the weigh ins and then took a trip under the East Pass bridge.  As we approached Crab Island, we were treated to a pod of dolphins playing in the glow of the sunset.  And, like all that was not enough, a squadron of old war birds put on an aerial acrobatic show just over our heads.  Those who stuck around for dinner were treated to a fireworks show from the Destin jetty!  Amazing,  this is quite a paradise we have the good fortune to live in.  Happy Halloween everybody!  Enjoy this short video of some of the Surf Spooktacular event:

An unusual weather pattern generated some exceptional October surf.  While it is not unheard of to have some tropical action still this late in the year, this non-tropical swell was a bit of sneaker.  The Pensacola buoy topped out with 16.7 feet  at 9 seconds.  The wind remained steady out of the North all day.  The outside sandbar at Blue Mountain Beach was working great, so long as you could get through the punishing inside to get out there.  John Cross and I put in about a mile down the beach anticipating a strong drift and were rewarded with some excellent waves.  Here is a link to the shots: http://picassa.google.com/midbaymedia/2008_Oct24#

Join us at the Harborwalk in Destin for a creepy good time!  On Thursday October 30th, one hour before sunset, adventurous souls will be stand up paddling along the harbor front in full costume.  After spooking the fishing fleet,  we’ll enjoy the haunted house and other festivities with friends and family!

Join us…unless you’re too scared!

Video from Last Year:

Who:
YOLO Board, WAVE 102.1 & Scully’s on the Bayou

What:
YOLO Board Winter Stand-Up Paddle Series Kick Off Event

When:
Sunday, October 26th at 1:00 pm (race starts at 1:30 pm)

Where:
Scully’s on the Bayou
200 Eglin Pkwy NE
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
For directions, visit www.scullysonthebayou.com.

Details:
NO ENTRY FEE!  Please call 850.622.5760 to sign up your team!  Divisions for the race event include: 4 person co-ed adults, 13-18 youth open, 12-under, individual shootout, short distance and buoy course.  Prizes for division winners!  Open demo after races.

See you there!

Memorial Paddle Out for local surfer Robbie Aldrich.

Date: Monday, Oct. 6th 5:15 pm.

Location: Ft. Walton Beach Pier (East of ‘Howl at the Moon’ nightclub.)

For more information contact: Christoph Landsberger at convoyfollows@hotmail.com

Credit: Jon Spencer / BlueEyedNanuk@aol.com / www.MySpace.com/blueeyednanuk

It took me a little while to get my pictures together from the Hurricane Ike trip. Below is a gallery of pictures I shot at a not-so-frequently surfed spot in the Panhandle of Florida (location withheld). The pictures are from Saturday, 9/13. The surf on Friday was big. As one person in our group stated, “What am I doing out here.” Saturday was fun at select spots. On Sunday there were some nice longboard waves on the outside sandbars. As is the case with most hurricane swells, you can usually find fun surf in your comfort zone at some point during the swell.

Join us this Friday night, September 26th, 2008 at 6:30, for the second of our Fall Season “Waterman Gatherings.” We’ll be meeting at the Gulf Place Artist Colony, right across the street from Ed Walline Park on 30-A (map).

Bring your own guitar to pick a couple of songs for us or, if you have any surfing home video, bring a DVD to show off on the big screen. This is a family friendly event so choose your material accordingly and we’ll all have a great time. (Promo of some local footage.)

We will be featuring a presentation of the Yolo Board Standup paddle board race series slideshow. Also a presentation of video and stills from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Chandler Williams of Modus Photography will be showing some of his excellent work!

The Artists Bar will be open for business if you would like beer or wine and there are several restaurants on the property for pizza, sandwiches or fancy food. Picnic style is just fine too… there’s plenty of room to spread a beach blanket and just chill with friends!

Current forecast is for clear skies and cooler air. See you there!

Well, Last night we enjoyed the final race of the YOLOboard Stand-up Paddle Board Race Series.  And what a beautiful race it was!  We could not have asked for better weather as the air was noticeably cooler and the Gulf was emerald green and smooth as a lake.  The venue at Seaside was just right for this finale of races and Bud & Alley’s restaurant provided a fitting beach-side lounge for the slide show and awards presentation.

The racing was again competitive.  In the Ladies division YOLO came into the race with a 9 point lead over Walton Wahines in the overall standings and three of the ladies teams were within 4 points of each other.  For this race it would be Team YOLO-litas claiming the prize for first!  They were followed by the Waterbabes, then YOLO, Walton Wahines and Kitty Hawk Kites.

The overall Ladies Championship goes to the YOLO women.  Second place, the song I just can’t get out of my head…YOLO-lita’s!  They are followed by Walton Wahines, Kitty Hawk Kites and Waterbabes.  Way to go Ladies!

For the Men it has been and was again,  a nailbiter!  Teams Aqua and YOLO have been working hard at eachother through out the series.  Aqua has placed first 4 times and second once.  YOLO just the opposite with 4 second place finishes and one first.  The points difference between the two teams coming into the race was only 4 points.  Behind these two powerhouses in the series has been a consistent RYNO team with 4 third place finishes.  Destin Health, Sunset Beach Services and Surfrider have been swapping middle of the pack honors and arrived with only three points separating the three teams.

The Men’s race was fairly evenly paced with RYNO leading the pack until the final seconds as Gary Wise delivered a Knock out  punch, catching a roller for a wave ride to the finish line.  If not for that wave he would not have been able to catch RYNO, the race was all but finished.  We know our lifeguards have a keen eye for surf conditions, rip currents, and sandbars, but this one takes the cake.  Talking with Gary afterward, he says he had spied that roller earlier and actually decided to take a wider path coming down the last leg in hopes of catching one in.  Great job Gary and congratulations to all the competitors!

The spectacular finish threw the points standings into a mess with Team Aqua and Team YOLO coming out even for overall first place honors.  We’ll be firing up the chainsaw to split the trophy unless a custody arrangement can be made.  Team RYNO broke their streak of thirds for second place in the race but remains third in the overall final standings.   Rounding out the overall was another tie.  This time an equal fourth place to Surfrider and Sunset Beach Services. Fifth was Destin Health and Fitness.  Sixth an absent this race Team ROV .  And,  Kitty Hawk Kites and Amavida Coffee tie for 7th.

This paddleboard race series has been such a success, I’m certain the next series will bring more competitors and a whole lot of fun.  Speaking of which, we have several fun events in the works so check back for event postings.

Next Friday evening at Gulf Place we will have another “Waterman’s Gathering”.  Again we’ll show home surf footage on the big screen and feel free to bring your own clips or slideshow in DVD format.  It’s a casual, family friendly event so bring a soccer ball for the kids to play while you kick back with us and relax!

Also, start getting  your costume ready for the “13th Annual Surf Spooktacular” Stand-up and Surfing Halloween costume contest! (date and time T.B.A.)!

Steve and I traveled to a remote Florida panhandle spot for Hurricane Ike surf. Below is some video I shot. There were lots of broken boards and at least one guy left the beach with a new neck brace. The surfer in this video is Mike Paulzak of Ft. Walton Beach. I spoke with him today. He says he just stayed with it until getting clocked pretty hard at the closeout, he then paddled out to catch a couple more with a head full of adrenaline. Nice ride Mike!

Hurricane Ike blew this pink flamingo off course. We are doing some research to see if anyone has seen one in Destin previously. Blue Mountain Surf, co-founder Mike Sturdivant, captured this video during a surf check at the East Pass.

Hurricane Ike sent some excellent surf our way and a pink flamingo (video)! The video below gives you a taste of what Ike brought as the swell was building late Wednesday in Blue Mountain Beach. We’ll have more video from the clean-up days coming soon! Mike

The Destin, Florida area had a lot of great surf from Hurricane Gustav. The swell hit late in the day on August, 31, 2008, peaked the next day at double overhead, and was solid overhead for the next morning. Below are pictures from the surf sessions. We have decided to not mention the names of the places to keep the locals happy and to not ruin the adventure for everyone. [Photo Credits: Steve Combs, Bob Cross; Surfer: John Cross]

[DISCLAIMER: No clients were on this trip so we did things a little differently. No one got hurt during this adventure trip, and overall everyone had a good time. Those are the important things.]

On Sunday, August 31, 2008 a group of seven of us (3 guys; 4 ladies) tried to surf an island (name withheld)in Florida for some Hurricane Gustav waves.

The main surf break in the area when the surf gets this big had over 100 surfers there, so we thought a nearby pass break. The warning sign posted at the boat landing across from the island gave lots of different warnings regarding alligators, sharks, currents, and ended with “No Rescue Possible.” (pic) No joke.

We only had one boat, so part of our group paid another boat to drop them off at the surf break in the pass at Crooked Island about 4 miles away. The plan was for the rest of the group to follow behind in our boat. The motor would not start on our boat, and we didn’t have any way to contact the first group. I called my brother who happened to be in Mexico Beach for the weekend. He agreed to pick up the first group in his boat via the Gulf of Mexico route and take them back to his marina through the pass at Mexico Beach.  The first group later drove back to the boat landing to make another attempt at reaching the island.

Being without a boat, we decided to paddle straight across to the island and hike to the surf. Part of the group went right, instead of left, around a swamp and were not able to make it to the surf. They had to backtrack to the car. The three of us that went left (including me) made it across the island and surfed until it got dark. The surf was head high and building fast but it was getting dark. We walked back the beach route  and one person hitched a ride to the car and returned for the group.

One of the cars broke down on the dirt road leading back to the group at the beach. Somehow we were able to get a tow truck on a holiday weekend to come help us in the middle of the woods.

Crazy times.

Tonight’s Waterman Gathering was lots of fun.  The gathering was preceded by a brief meeting of the Surfrider Foundation.  Speaking of which, we now have the new Panhandle  Surfrider T-shirts available for purchase…just $15 dollars!  E-mail from our contacts page if you would like a shirt and I’ll hold one for you.

We started the evening festivities with some head to head Kelly Slater PS2 game action, then watched local surfing footage from Hurricane Katrina.  Folks then  hung out while the kids played soccer and the adults were treated to a viewing of Sprout.  All in  all,  it was quite a fun evening  with friends.  We’ll do it again on  4th Friday’s through the fall.  Maybe even sooner, watch this page for more information.  Thanks go to John Cross &  Mid Bay Media for providing the projector and screen tonight.  Contact him if you have any Website or advertising needs! John@midbaymedia.com

Once again, we had magnificent weather for the race last night. The wind was light providing smooth waters across the Destin Harbor. Competitors paddled against a swift outgoing tide from the harbor to the East Pass bridge and then were helped by the same current for their return trip. Times were fast with most competitors making the turn marker in about two minutes and returning in about a minute and a half. Team Yololitas finished strong for the victory in the first heat. In the men’s heat, Aqua Surf Shop prevailed and now sits atop the overall series standings. The fifth and final race of the series will be September 18th at Seaside. This last race will be held in the Gulf waters. This should up the ante and provide an opportunity for the teams with wave experience to shine. The last race will be wrapped up with a reception and awards party at Bud and Allie’s. See you there!

Do you have a good photo of the Emerald Coast for Parade.com’s Oceans of Wonder Photo Contest. The deadine is September 8, 2008.

Join us this Friday night, August 29, 2008  at 7:00, for the first of our Fall Season “Waterman Gatherings.” We’ll be meeting at the Gulf Place Artist Colony, right across the street from Ed Walline Park on 30-A (map).

Bring your own guitar to pick a couple of songs for us or, if you have any surfing home video, bring a DVD to show off on the big screen. This is a family friendly event so choose your material accordingly and we’ll all have a great time. (Promo of some local footage.)

The Artists Bar will be open for business if you would like beer or wine and there are several restaurants on the property for pizza, sandwiches or fancy food. Picnic style is just fine too… there’s plenty of room to spread a beach blanket and just chill with friends!

Current forecast is for clear skies and cooler air. See you there!

The YOLO Board Stand Up Paddle Board Race Series continued last night with another great race. Watercolors provided a beautiful setting. The boat house and dock made water entry and transition staging a breeze. Excellent racing was complemented by another spectacular sunset and full moon rising.

Also rising was the level of competition. All of the competitors are looking more polished as we work our way through the series. Heat one action included all the ladies teams and the jr. lifeguards. Several teams had last minute recruiting going on along the docks as a few team members were unable to attend. This found the Jr. Lifeguard team supplemented with two first time racing adults Allison and Phil. Kitty Hawk Kites also found a last minute recruit. Thanks for answering the call to fill in! The heat one results were:

1–Yolo Ladies

2–Jr. Lifeguards

3–Walton Wahines

4–Yololitas

5–Waterbabes

6–Kitty Hawk Kites

Heat two included all the Men’s teams. The racing started off with a bang as all the teams took off fast. One team broke out in front and kept it up for a commanding finish. Team Aqua came across the line at 15:34, a comfortable 30 seconds ahead of Yolo Men. Third place went to Team RYNO. At 16:20, Team Surfrider (also now known as “team we weren’t last”) just edged out Sunset Beach Services, only one second separated the two teams. The racing was rounded out by team Amavida at 18:06 and Team Kitty Hawk Kites at 18:37. It should be noted that Kitty Hawk kites recruited three of their four members on the docks just before the event. Thanks again to the folks that were willing to jump in!

1–Aqua

2–Yolo

3–RYNO

4–Surfrider

5–Sunset Beach Services

6–Amavida

7–Kitty Hawk Kites