ASP Plans to Hold Surf Contest in New York

For those who don't know, the ASP stands for The Association of Surfing Professionals and "is he foremost governing body of professional surfing." This is the organization that runs the World Tour of surfing that stops at some of the worlds best locations and will now include Long Island, New York from September 3- September 12, 2011. Throughout its long history the ASP contest formats and locations have had to be revised due to what I believe to be decisions based more on monetary incentives rather than the best possible surf conditions. If you were to look at Surfer Magazine, you would be able to see good conditions.



(Long Island, New York)







But lets be real. The conditions there are dependent on hurricanes and are hardly reliant or consistently existent to warrant this location as a tour location. But I will admit, this is just from what I have read and that I have never surfed there. At least when they held the contest at Mundaka in Spain, which in the past couple years as been very inconsistent, there was at least a chance that there would be perfect conditions and an endless left. When I was there I caught one of the best lefts of my life.
(Mundaka, Spain)

In order to increase support and attendance the ASP as offered a 1 million dollar purse, the largest ever. In the same Surfer Magazine article, Surfline forecaster, Sean Collins, appears at most hopeful that there will be good surf. This seems to large of a gamble for the ASP, especially with a 1 million dollar prize purse that could be used better elsewhere. I believe that this event is meant to attract the large population of New York City dwellers that will suddenly feel the urge to buy a new surfboard that they probably will never use. Why not hold the event in Central America which would definitely benefit the local community. I realize that the Rip Curl Search contest usually holds its event down there but whats the harm in holding a second one with great conditions?

Boomerang Surfboards

Yo,

I just got a new surfboard, 5'8.5" from John Hromin who owns a company called Boomerang Surfboards in Oceanside, CA. He's been shaping for 20 years and he also rips. check out this photo.
Go check him out at http://www.myspace.com/boomerangsurfboards

He makes blades at a good price.

Lifeguard Cuts

This is definitely an old issue but the City of San Diego budget cuts have and still hinder the San Diego Lifeguard Service in performing its duties for the local community. Beaches such as North Pacific Beach as well as Blacks faced cuts in staff back in November 2010 and from what I have seen already have due to the rejection of Prop D during the last election. I say “from what I have seen” because I did not work last summer or this winter and only noticed that I did not see any lifeguards patrolling Blacks Beach while I was surfing this morning as well as hearing of demotions in the service in the last 6 months due to cuts. If cuts indeed happened in North Pacific Beach, senior lifeguards would be stationed elsewhere, according to San Diego News Room, creating longer response times for those senior personnel. I have been in many situations where lifeguard assistance was essential in saving a life and the possibility of having areas of beach unprotected makes me worry. I have memories of being in Mexico where I have made water rescues because the beaches were usually understaffed. These cuts also require more employees to work overtime and have less time for training and improving their lifesaving skills. There has been a study about whether hiring more employees is cheaper for the City than increased overtime. I have not found a source that describes the outcome of this study.

The Lifeguard Service does an important job protecting people that go to the beach year round. During the summer they make hundreds of rescues despite the common misperception that lifeguards just sit around working on their tan. In addition to water rescues they are usually always the first on scene during the most vital moments of medical aids before paramedics arrive. The lifeguards in the Service that I have come to know are responsible, hard working, and excellent at their job. I am no expert of the City and could not tell you what government institutions to cut funding for instead but I would like to voice my opinion.

I hope you take this into consideration the next time you vote on propositions that will eventually affect budget cuts for the San Diego Lifeguard Service.

California Burritos

My first post will be about Mexican food because I’ve spent the last 4 months in Asia and I have been a little obsessed with this. I just recently moved to the beach while finishing my last semester of school and there is a Mexican restaurant nearby that I have been going to fairly often. This place is called Los Muchachos.

The reason why I’ve decided to bring this restaurant to your attention is because the first day that I entered there, I realized that there was no “California Burrito” on the menu. For those of you not native to Southern California or are allergic to delicious food, a California Burrito is comprised of carne asada, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and French fries wrapped in a tortilla. I have indeed seen different variations throughout the San Diego area and some may argue whether both guacamole and sour cream are included but these are the typical ingredients.

You may be thinking that I’m crazy for writing about a certain type of burrito but if The California Burrito Review blog is any indication, I am not the only one.

Anyways, I was shocked because I thought that California Burritos were everywhere in California. It would make sense for the California Burrito to live up to its name. Apparently this isn’t true. When I questioned the staff, they said that it was a San Diego thing and that even though customers request it very often, they don’t serve it. After that incident and ordering a delicious breakfast burrito instead, I decided to do a little research of my own and found that even on Wikipedia, California Burritos are credited as a San Diego, CA specialty and called a “border fusion” food. I am not sure whether I should be excited that I was lucky enough to be born in the city that introduced this wonderful creation or be struck down in remorse that I was not aware that many parts of California have not experienced the joys of eating a California Burrito. Whether it is after surfing, a late night out, or you’re just starving, nothing can compare to a California Burrito. I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter and your stories with favorite memories while arriving at taco shops around the world. I definitely have many which I plan to share.

Despite my criticism, I would like to say that Los Muchachos is a restaurant with delicious food and great service. I recommend anyone in the Hermosa Beach area to stop by and give it a try and you’ll always find someone eager to chat with while you enjoy your food.

What up?

So, this is the first of many posts (I hope).
This is for my writing class but maybe ill continue this after as well.
As the name of the blog suggests I plan to write about Southern California and surfing. But I plan to sample the large selection of food trucks in the LA area when I have time. If anyone has any tips for potential topics feel free to let me know. Im assuming at lease one other person will read this blog and Im not just talking to myself haha......