STEF VANDERWELT

Regresso a casa...

2010-11-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Nao ha nada como a viagem de regresso a casa, depois de uma longa, muito longa surfada.
Na verdade, nao ha nada realmente de novo em casa, mas com o regresso e isso mesmo que procuramos… a nossa gente, a nossa rua, o nosso lar, o chuveiro quente, o cheiro conhecido do shampoo, as cores, os cheiros e os ruidos familiares. O nada, o simples e perfeito “nada de novo” no qual nos sentimos seguros e confortaveis, no qual transformamos a realidade em sonhos e os sonhos em realidade.
E no fundo regressar e quase como partir. E deixar um sitio ou um estado para ir para outro mais, ou talvez menos afastado. Diariamente levamos a casa e o trabalho para o mar, e o mar para o trabalho ou para casa. Entre estas curtas viagens criamos universos de expectativas, criamos fantasmas, nutrimos medos e coragem, construimos sonhos tao solidos como castelos de areia, tao diversos e duradoiros como as ondas do mar. E dessa mesma viagem que estou a falar…
Regressar e como partir para nao mais voltar. E contemplar aquilo que nos espera, sabendo o que nos vai faltar. E ter consciencia de que deixamos um mundo em complexa e infinita transformacao, que nos transforma enquanto o transformamos, que nos da pouco ou muito, do pouco ou muito que lhe damos. Nunca somos os mesmos quando deixamos o mar, sendo este sempre outro quando la voltamos.
Estou de regresso a casa depois de uma longa, muito longa surfada….e e verdade, disseram-me que nao havia nada de realmente novo em casa, mas com o regresso e isso mesmo que procurava. A minha gente, a minha rua, o meu lar….as cores, os cheiros e os ruidos familiares. O nada simples perfeito no qual me sinto seguro e confortavel. Regresso transformado, com uma mala recheada de tanto que me foi dado, em troca do pouco ou muito que dei….Quem sabe quanto foi? Eu nao sei...
Neste partida ou regressar, vou criar expectativas, fantasmas, medos e coragem. Vou construir sonhos como castelos de areia, como as ondas do mar. E dessa mesma viagem que estou a falar…
E tristemente feliz que regresso partindo, diferentemente na mesma, para o meu novo “nada de novo”. E com saudades de tudo, que nao terei saudades de nada.
Obrigado California, mas finalmente estou de regresso a casa…

Stef

1 460 dias

2010-07-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Acordei suado da noite, descoberto, em calafrios. Tinha sonhado que vivia num mundo no qual a liberdade nao passava de uma janela aberta entre os preconceitos do mundo real e os presupostos da minha mente, quais puras traducoes impostas por um sistema despotico, pobre e embrutecido. Estava tudo mal. Tinha feito tudo errado.
Tinha quebrado as barreiras temporais do impossivel e talvez, ate as barreiras da razao. Quantas vezes segui aquilo que pensava ser loucura, insensatez pura, solidao dolorosa, para descobrir que so assim era feliz, quando era feliz. A recompensa primordial da viagem sempre foi a viagem em si.
Acordei suado das batalhas travadas com os fantasmas das oportunidades, os demonios das opcoes e as sombras do passado. Visitei um “alter-ego”, numa dimensao oposta ao rumo da minha propria vida. Este “outro eu” que virou a esquerda onde eu fui a direita, que sorriu quando eu chorei, que disse sim quando eu disse nao. O "outro eu" comodista em tempos de rebeliao, que foi noite quando eu fui dia, que foi carneiro quando eu fui leao.
Acordei suado, em calafrios, amedrontado por nao reconhecer nada ou ninguem.
Acordei. E tu? Onde estavas? Corri para o teu quarto. Dormias como sempre, um sono profundo e calmo de quem dorme sem temer. No teu rosto adormecido, encontrei a luz pulsante do meu farol preferido. Es astrolabio, quadrante e balestilha. Es a minha ancora num porto distante e escondido.
Es a parte da viagem que da sentido a viagem.
Obrigado, minha filha, por tudo o que me tens ensinado.
Parabens para ti, nesta data querida.

(Photo by Bernd Zeugswetter)

Vampire Hull by Ryan Lovelace

2010-07-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a bit of summer fun.

Vampire Hull 7'0" x 23" x 3"

Just hope I can show this board some salty water very soon....
Maybe a nice long summer wall at Poles.

Stay well.

Venice...Italy.

2010-02-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

~SBMM~

2009-09-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has quite a nice and small collection to show...here are some of the highlights.

George Greenough's Flexspoon and camera used in the movie "The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun" :

Tom Curren's Red Beauty by CI:

One of Slater's first Boards by CI:

The "Rocket Fish" by local legends Clyde Beatty Jr. and Max MacDonald:

And......a very nice "Rincon" Longboard by Yatter:

The SBMM is worth a visit:

http://www.sbmm.org/

There are no words to describe atrocity...

2009-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

"Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realize that you cannot eat money."

Cree Indian Proverb

Enjoy the Universe Tonight

2009-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Since Speak & Spell in 1981 and "just can't get enough" that I have been listening to Depeche Mode. 1987 and Music for the Masses was a turning point for Depeche Mode. I recall DM taking over the charts and taking over the "masses". I loved that record, but somehow, I disliked the "mainstream" side effect and all the media hype at the time.
1997 was "Ultra" for sure.
The last two albums have been an act of greatness. Playing the Angel, 2005, was just fantastic. A mature DM presented us with some of the older sound and feeling from 1981/87.
Sounds of the Universe, 2009, has kept up with all my expectations and has been the soundtrack of my days since last April.

I am trully excited to finally see DM live, after all this years.
Santa Barbara Bowl here I come.

She is...

2009-08-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

3 years old. She is my life and my angel.
Thank you for being in my life....my joy, my jewel. I love you my child.

Just because....

2009-07-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

One's inability to see or understand underlying differences doesn't make things all the same.

A Strange Kind of Love

2009-06-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

Tri-Plane Hull by Mandala Surfboards...

I saw....and I am in LOVE.

OC

2009-06-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Went down to OC...Newport was kinda flat on Sunday and Huntington wasn't much better.
On my way up the 1, I saw the BU...Nice walls but the 3,568 guys in the lineup made me drive right back home...to a flat, very very flat Santa Barbara.
Here are some pics of Surf City by the Pier:

2009-06-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

I really miss the winter 2007-2008. If a picture is worth 1000 words....here is a nice essay about surf in Santa Barbara: Relax and Enjoy.

Leads....yes leads...

A very secret spot... the one with the rookies behind the big rock

Only Kelly Slater knew where to find a perfect wave.....NOT.

FINS.....

2009-05-20T09:07:00.001-07:00

True Ames L-Flex B 9" and True Ames Farberow Flex 9.5"

After the fire is before the fire

2009-05-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

After some good times in Kauai and another fire ravaging our town, evacuations, smoke and ashes, here we are enjoying a nice wind swell. Back to normal life again.

The only real concern left right now is - How many times will we have to pack our houses in our cars and run again? Fire season started really early this year and I personally think that we will have a hard and dry summer.

Hawaii

2009-04-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

After a very bad winter for surf in southern California...I'm going to Hawaii for some surf.
Hope to get some good ones...Have a nice time over here or were ever you are...Aloha and see you soon again.

I'm going home

2009-03-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

May your voice take me home for a few hours. Back to the places were I was young. Let your voice fill my eyes with colors, my mouth with flavors, and my ears with sounds of things and places I have known. Today I'm going home for a while. Thank you Mariza...Obrigado Fado.
http://www.mariza.com/

It's flat...lets go to Hawaii

2009-03-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

After a flat winter in CA, I thought about spring in Hawaii.
I booked a trip to Kauai and I will pray for surf each and every day...Imagine I would get skunked....

Dawn Patrol II

2009-03-13T13:50:00.001-07:00

Well...there was no real swell but the set waves were fun....

And at the very end of another session a Humpback came to say hi and bye.

I had never seen a whale as close to shore as that one...it made my day.

Gaviota...

2009-03-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

Essentials...

2009-03-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

Enjoy

Stubby Dawn Patrol

2009-03-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

Got my Point Concept Stubby from Ryan Monday and a borowed center fin.

I'm so stoked...it's so gorgeous.

Tuesday 03.03.09, 6:30am I suited up at the usual parking lot.

Fast surf check: OK

At the point, the sets where breaking just behind the rocks. I went slightly to the left of the point and got a couple of nice set waves.
The Stubby paddles well and generates a lot of speed....but the powerless waves made it very hard work. The borowed center fin didn't let me bottom turn as sharp as the conditions were asking for - the set waves were closing out very fast.

As the tide dropped, the waves got hollow and the bottom very shallow...I took a last small ride to shore and went home. Santa Barbara hasn't seen one single decent surf day this winter...I'm so bummed. As I left the parking lot, Dave Johnson was suiting up.

Nex surf attack with a 3 fin set up is planned for friday 6:30am.

Balance Of Opposites

2009-03-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

One should always try to perfectly balance the opposites...

Nothing like a hike in the mountains to let you know how much you need the ocean.

Life is a long and lonely walk you can only be prepared for, if someone shows you the way...

Portuguese Water Dog

2009-02-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Portuguese will become First Dog at the White House.

"The business of choosing a First Dog has been almost as stressful as picking a US Commerce Secretary. Finally, though, a kind of consensus has emerged. It will be a Portuguese water dog from a rescue shelter and it will arrive in April. For the name, we will have to wait a bit longer. That there would be a dog in the Obama White House was never in question. Every US president since Calvin Coolidge has had a pooch under the Oval Office desk. And as we heard from Barack Obama on election night, his two girls, Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, were promised a puppy if Daddy won. Michelle Obama reveals the choice in an interview with People magazine. There had been talk of a Labradoodle, but no longer. Part of the attraction of both breeds is they shed only sparingly, helping Malia, who is prone to allergies. "From the size perspective, they're sort of the middle of the road," Mrs Obama said. "It's not too small, but it's not a huge dog. And the folks we know who own them have raved about them." They would include Senator Ted Kennedy, who has two, Splash and Sunny. In a statement, he said he was "proud to endorse the Portuguese water dog as the next First Dog of the United States". The dogs were favoured by fishermen on the coast of Portugal since they are strong swimmers and were known to rescue men who fell overboard. But dexterity and intelligence in a dog can present challenges. "They're really good at opening refrigerators and cabinets, and so thank God the White House has staff to take care of things," said Janet Boyd, of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. The naming of the dog is clearly going to take a little more work. "Frank was one of them. Moose was another," Mrs Obama said. "I'm like, 'No. Come on. Let's work with the names a little bit'." From- The Independent 27 Fev 2009

I thought Presindent Obama had better things to do!!! Well I guess not...Keep up the good work Sir...

Scott Price...

2009-02-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Although my favorite photo from him is "Indigo Wave", I really wanted to share the natural beauty and violence of "Super Tubes"... More at: http://www.surfingdolphins.com/

That's all folks.....

2009-02-26T09:37:00.001-08:00

Wow...what a ride

2009-02-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday...I finally went out.

Shoulder hight to overhead conditions gave me the opportunity to test the Stepchild. I have never had a fastest ride in my life. It let me go really nice down the line and gather enough speed to make it over the section. It turns a bit more like a Longboard than I would like it to turn, but considering the 7'0" and the single fin setup it was still lose enough to let me go down the face

again on longer waves. I loved it and I will take it out again next time to try some other things.

By the way...I saw the Point Concept 5'3" Blue Nugget in action yesterday....Holy shit....it goes like a lightning up and down the face while throwing buckets of salty water into the audience...

Great sound...

2009-02-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

I went to this concert last Wednesday.

Donavon Frankenreiter & Gary Jules were performing @ Soho (a local music club).

The crowd was flowing in as a gentle and colorful stream...and pre-paying the ticket online saved me a long line at the door...Yeah. Donavon was friendly, smiling is way across the room. Great jaket man....

Gary Jules opened alone with his guitar. His music filled up the room with a sound reminiscent of early years...Oh man...listening to Cat Stevens, chill out under the shadow of an olive tree, looking at the ocean, counting shooting stars under the moolight of Tavira. He left the stage with his 2001 version of Mad World ( yes you know it from Donnie Darko). Great cover of Tears for Fears 1982 original version. Shortly after Donavon Frankenreiter hit the stage with his band for the joys of old and young. That's when I realized I wasn't in a concert but in a typical Santa Barbara "to see and to be seen" kinda Zoo. I mean F@#& you old fart....no Donavon didn't play at Woodstock...he wasn't born in 1969!!! And yes, that's why there are so many young folks in here. You can smoke doobies and drink tee at home. And what is wrong with you younger and older girls??? Do you really have to walk around with a sign saying "Single mother looking for pro surfer" or "School girl likes Kelly"...the only inpression you left was the one guys get from over-styled cheap blond bimbos (have you ever seen a surfboard? Can you spell that for me please?).

Guys I have a question!!! Where did you all get cloned and sent to the world as brainless zombies surfing white K smalls "verticaly" and "in the pocket"? Are all those brands your sponsors? By the way - No, Kelly Slater is not your buddy now just because you bothered/met him ( and me. I didn't even know I was standing next to him for quite some time. hey!!! He is smaller than I thought and had a wool beanie over his bold head...I was trying to enjoy the music.) and I don't think he will add you as a friend on Facebook now....

Donavon sent us home with a "if it don't matter to you, it don't matter to me" and all the room finally sang along. To make a long story short - the evening had a great sound, but really nasty vibes. Something is really wrong in this surfing town...

Adios Amigo!!

2009-02-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

Adios amigo... My 1985 325es BMW and I went separate ways. The divorce took place last night around 6:30pm. It complained many times about beeing left alone and beeing neglected. It couldn't take my secret affair with "that Volvo" any longer. It wanted to be needed. I had no arguments against all that and I had to let it go. It still has so much life.
Have fun out there little guy!!I'll miss you.

Stepchild Part II

2009-02-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

Some more pics of Steve Brom's Stepchild.

Steve Brom's Stepchild

2009-02-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well today I am going to pick up a Stepchild Single Fin 7'0" shaped by Steve Brom.

It's an odd looking kind of board...A longboard with a chopped off nose is how I would describe it best. I believe it to be the ultimate summer wave catcher. The single fin gives you a souly feeling, the size makes it easy to turn and trim and the thickness and width make it an easy paddle with noseriding potential. Sounds like a lot of fun....but it will have to wait for tomorow. Today the priority goes to the music of Donavon Frankenreiter and beer.

So what???

2009-02-17T20:32:00.001-08:00

So I'm bored, and grumpy, and nervous and I have been drawing shit with Paint and listening to Punk again.

I just can't go out and surf...no time to get sick from all the shit that goes into the water after the rain. But I think the next couple of days look ok....if only I had my Longboard

Because it's President day....

2009-02-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Just...

2009-02-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

...another Sunday in the park.

Islands....Paint

2009-02-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

I like it like that!!!

Wet dream....

2009-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was dreaming about this freak right...I hate Crayola.

Clones...

2009-02-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Donavon is in Town...

2009-02-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Yep....Donavon Frankenreiter is in beautiful SB next week.
He'll be playing next Wednesday the 18th @ Soho...I've got my ticket.
But..."if it don't matter to you, it don't matter to me".

Stubby Part III - Update

2009-02-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

Panoramic view of the Rails

View from the Deck

DeTail.....

I'm so stoked....Point Concept Stubby - Part II

2009-02-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

I have no words to describe how stoked I am about this board.
Ryan is just doing an amazing job.

Who's "the Conductor"?

2009-02-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

In his quest to find "the conductor", Steven Kotler takes us on a strike mission through surf, science and religion. This is how he describes a wave...My favorite part of the book:

"The water that was roaring toward me was quite literally a memory. It started out in some other part of the world, forming when a change in temperature produced a change in pressure. Air's natural tendency is to move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. We call this movement wind. When wind flickers across the ocean's surface, it produces small ripples which provide a greater surface area that can then catch more of that blowing wind. Eventually these ripples become larger and larger until they cohere into wavelets and eventually waves, attaining their greatest size when the come closest to matching the wind's speed. What makes this whole chain of events slightly stranger is that it is not the water itself traveling across the ocean as a wave, but merely the memory of the original wind's energy being constantly transferred as vibration from one neighboring water molecule to the next. When I heard the roar of that wave behind me at Nusa Dua, what I was actually hearing was the sound of the past arriving in the present with me directly in its path."

Bad weather...

2009-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Good surf.

Today some surf came back to our town...Thanks.

Some know this spot...some don't...and that's good.

Let the music flow...

2009-02-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

Pandora.com
Pandora must be the most precious invention to all of us "office studs".

There is nothing more relaxing than just doing your work without bothering about all the bla bla on radio stations. No commercial breaks. No music you don't like. No BS.

Just relax, work and let the music flow. Right now I'm just enjoying some Phish, The Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Lou Reed and so much more...Open the box and let it change your world.

It's raining outside but I've got some sunshine in my heart...

The king is dead. Long live THE CRAMPS!!

2009-02-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

Lux Interior is Dead....F#*k!!

I can't believe this shit...and it makes me realize that life is far to short to be doing things you don't love. I will surely miss your voice Lux. R.I.P.

Here is the text by Cortney Harding for Reuters/Billboard:

"Cramps frontman Lux Interior dies"
"NEW YORK (Billboard) - Cramps frontman Lux Interior died Wednesday at a Glendale, Calif., hospital as the result of a pre-existing heart condition, the band's publicist confirmed to Billboard. He was 52.
The Cramps formed in 1976 and were part of the now legendary downtown New York punk scene. Their lineup shifted over the years but always included Lux and his wife, Poison Ivy. The band's rockabilly-infused punk has been credited as an influence by bands including the White Stripes and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Interior, whose real name was Erick Lee Purkhiser, was born October 21, 1946, in Ohio. He met Ivy in 1972 and started the band shortly thereafter.
The Cramps released 14 albums over the course of their career, their latest being 2004's "How To Make a Monster." Their best-selling album, 1984's "Bad Music for Bad People" has sold 95,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Reuters/Billboard"

Point Concept Stubby

2009-02-04T14:40:00.000-08:00

So here it is...
My 6'8" Stubby.
I spent some time watching Ryan shaping today...here are the first impressions.

Cambria again...

2009-02-04T14:27:00.001-08:00

A voz vem do vento e do mar...

2009-02-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

The voice comes from the wind and the ocean... said the strange young woman in my dream.....

So does beauty. Cambria at its best.

Elephant Seals and White Rocks

2009-02-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas (South Big Sur) near San Simeon.

More infos at http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/elephant-seals.html

Cambria Solo Sunset Sesh

2009-02-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

Cambria Solo Sesh....

Some guys are just lucky...

There am I enjoying the Sunset and this guy actually is having a solo sesh....

The last time and only time I had a solo was on a flat Sunday at 8am.

No big swell gave this lone ranger the ride of his life, but some set waves rolled shoulder high to the coast and gave him the right to enjoy a nice left and paddle back to a one man lineup...lucky SOB.

Though times call for though books

2009-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

John Maynard Keynes

I am not very sure if the way out of recession goes through the use of governmental fiscal and monetary policies, but today I decided to reread ( and this time with more attention to detail) J. M. Keynes' "General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money".

Is cleaning up the banks' balance sheets and increasing public expenditure the solution? Can we apply "Welfare State" and protectionist policies to "free market economies"?

I think we might have to reinvent the world and go back to agricultural communities and sustainable microeconomies.

Here is what some of my friends in Germany achieved: http://www.gastwerke.de/

Why??

2009-01-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have been asked why we chose to live in Santa Barbara???
Well because.... Santa Barbara is a place where you
can enjoy beauty every single day....away from the noisy, crowded and polluted metropolises around the world. Each and every day you get up to enjoy the sunrise, a clear blue sky, the beach, the surf and the sunset over one of the most beautiful and quiet places on earth.
Why??? Because we can...

Sunset over Santa Barbara

Sunset in Malibu
(Driving south on the PCH)

Grand Sunrise

2009-01-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

Just a shot of today's sunrise over Grand Av.

7am going to work can be just fine...with a little bit of sunshine.

Think global. Eat local.

2009-01-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

A stroll through the Santa Barbara Farmer's Market is always worth the time you put into it. Singing folks. Wannabe environmental hippies. Pale-faced poop-smelling vegans. Organic-only radical extremists. What a colorful place to be. The best out of it are the tasteful local organic products you can find (and eat). I made it a tradition to get shrimp, Oysters, Veggies and fruits at this local happening. Think global. Eat Local.

I hope the plastic basket wasn't made in China...

Farewell old log

2009-01-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

Farewell old log. You served your time...Now move on. Teach the essence of walking over water to the next fellow man.

I believe you are what you surf and I was never a longboarder. The quest for a perfect board is almost as important as the quest for a perfect wave. In a perfect balance of gear, technique, soul and ocean conditions one should be able to attain the ultimate end - The perfect ride.

I sold my log last week and now hope that my Point Concept custom 6'7" is "that magic board" I was searching for.

More about Point Concept at: http://pointconceptsurf.com/