Man Rides Out Hurricane Ike In Glass House… Gets Shacked!

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!

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Yikes! It’s Ike

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

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Surf Entertainment Night Report

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

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YOLO Stand Up Paddle Race #4 Report

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!

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Pic & Flick Surf Entertainment Night

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!

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YOLO Stand Up Paddle Race #3 Report

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

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