Category Archives: field notes

Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | January 4, 2010

Holy crapola it’s been a long time since I last posted. holy bad bloggerer. The last few months have been hectic. Lots of loose ends, clogging up the tubes in ol’ duders head. Let’s try to de-knot the filaments and come up with something reasonably organized. ok here goes….

ATl FishATl Fish
Surfwise, my homie Marco (ATL Surfboards) hooked me up with a new twin keel fish and I’ve been rocking some really nice sessions with it. I surfed it for most of that giant ‘Eddie Aikau’ swell in early December. It’s ace. Our surf mosse has been on a leash-less kick lately, and my log is starting to feel the effects of being jammed into the rock headlands at my local break a few too many times. But it’s all in the name of communing with the ocean, wave and board slightly differently. You really do ride differently and almost more consciously, when not strapped to the board. I definitely observe the chest high rule though: if it’s above chest high, the leash goes back on.

rob's garageRob in the garage whipping up handplanes for xmas gifts (!)
JP / MoonlightJP at Moonlight
maggie + rob cookin' pizzaRob + Maggie makin a da pizza
For the holidays, we went up to San Diego to spend Xmas with family and then on to Los Angeles, to hang with the old LA homies. Along the way I visited the surf mecca of Encinitas, stayed with Rob + Maggie and caught up with JP at Moonlight. I spent the weeks leading up to our trip jamming the internets looking for used hulls. I was all over swaylocks and spent nights on end reading through the infamous Post your Hull pictures Second Thread at last count I was on page 38. If you’re a hull/stubbie junky, this thread is a goldmine, beware it’s a total time suck.

Liddle KP 7'4Liddle KP 7'4
After trolling swaylocks, craigslist and annoying the hell out of Graham with too many questions, I finally hooked up with a bloke from the OC who was unloading a 7′4″ Liddle KP in great condition for a great price. I snagged it. Yup, I’m submitting myself to the eerily lit world of hull fanatiks. We got back from LA on New Year’s Eve and since then the ocean has been dead. I haven’t even had a millichance to get the Liddle wet. So looking forward to a maiden voyage. I’d like to send a special shout-out and thank you to all the people who I talked with along the way on my adventure to acquire said hull: Ryan Lovelace, Mary Surf Sister, KP and a very cryptic Erin Ashley, all true and good quality peoples.

Andrew + alaiaAndrew + alaia
Meanwhile, Andrew has been down here on his mexican sabbatical for the past few months and his pet project has been shaping his first alaia. He bought a bunch of Perota planks and had them glued up. Perota is a dark mexican hardwood, which is a Koa substitute. I bought a plank too, but I’ve had too much going on, to get out there with the jig saw and we don’t have a planer so it’s all elbow grease. Andrew’s stick is shaping up, I suppose I’ll learn from his mistakes.

Luca at 10 months
And in family life, Luca turned 11 months today. Last night was the first night of Operation Ferber. We’ve had sleeping issues with Luca since day one, on a good night he wakes up twice, on a bad night he wakes up 4 or 5 times. It’s been a rough 11 months. So last night we used the Ferber “cry it out” method. Little Man cried his face off for a full hour and fell asleep holding the bars of his crib. He proceeded to sleep for ten hours straight. no bottle, no midnight feeding. We haven’t slept ten hours in forever. And when he woke, he was the sweetest loving kid. It was a good night.

Lastly, I have a million photos stacked up in the ‘puter and nowhere near enough time to process them. one of these days i’ll bang ‘em out and post em here. until then..

… stay up.

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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | February 22, 2009

The water is once again relatively cold here and for the first few days back, I tried to tough it out with no wetsuit. My .5mm flight jacket was stolen along with my board in Ticla awhile back. So I finally busted out the 2mm Xcel Infiniti full suit I bought in LA last summer. It’s truly superhero quality. I can see why people dig wetsuits. It especially comes in handy for the dawn patrol and that last half an hour of the day after the sun has set and the wind is still blowing. I think the closest I will ever come to feeling like a superhero is dropping in on a head high wave with a full wetsuit on. Question: Is there a proper way to get out of this thing? Since you basically have to get out via the neck, I feel like I could possibly over stretch that part. Anyone with experience?

On photography: I’ve been taking an O.G. Lubitel 166 Lomo medium format camera out to the beach with me for sessions. It was a bequeathment to me, from my grandfather Edmund Jr. I’m racking up a nice bag of exposed film. Gotta send it off to Mexico City or the states, though, to get developed. What a hassle. Can’t wait to see the returns.

Luca - 17 days

In baby land: Luca is finally sleeping on some kind of schedule in regular 4-5 hour spurts. that means we only need to get up once maybe twice in the middle of the night. This kid is awesome. Unfortunately I have a wicked lung cough, add some allergies into the equation and my head feels like it’s underwater most of the time. I finally broke down and got some Claritin. And finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Martha, Marcia’s mom, has been staying with us since we got back from the GDL, generally taking good care of Marcia, making sure she eats properly and leaving me to slide back into work mode and giving me breathing room for a few surf sessions. Martha leaves today, though, so there are dark clouds ahead. I’m gonna have to cook at least two solid, square meals a day. Veggie style. No more feeding my girl quesadillas and pasta. We’re talking rounded meals here. That requires deep concentration. I’d talk about the joys and frustration of breast-feeding but y’all don’t wanna hear about that. trust me.

In “The Wire” land, we made it all the way through Season 4. The Wire is truly the best show on tv, bar none. The five season story arc is so tight, it makes Lost look like, well, Lost. Edward Burns, the show’s creator is definitely “genius” level. We are intensely looking forward to Season 5. I gotta admit, I shed a tear when Stringer Bell met his demise and I think Omar is certainly one of the coolest characters on tv and Bubbles is my man. Marcia is looking forward to McNutty being back on the unit for Season 5. People underrate Season 2, but I agree that it’s still the B+ in a room full of A+’s, though I did wanna see Ziggy catch a bullet, he deserved it. Marcia and I have taken to calling each other McNutty and Bubs. It’s sad to think we have only one season left and this show is no longer on the air. Truly a great series. Where does Edward Burns go from here? TV will never be the same.

momma ganga

And lastly, my parents are off on an insane six week trip through India. We stocked them up on as many little tidbits of useful information as their brains could carry and sent them on their way. Their minds are about to be blown. I miss India so much. I’m feeling super jealous, right about now. Here’s some of our photos from India (if you’re relatively new to this blog: we passed through India and a few other places on our honeymoon, two years ago): Varanasi | Rajasthan Part 1 | Rajasthan Part 2

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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | November 11, 2008

Yes, it’s been quiet time on the blog, I know sorry, having a kid will do that to you, takes lots of mindshare to prepare for the arrival of mister little man. We’re now 8 weeks and counting. Slowly slowly we’ve become seriously disillusioned with the “Mexico Baby Factor Industry”. The medical establishment in Mexico is a horror show of C-Sections and Episiotomies. So we’ve decided to go the natural route and have a water birth. More on this process in a dedicated post.

My shaper friends Marco and Amy rolled in to town last weekend and we spent Sunday catching some nice hollow sliders. No serious size just a nice day in the sun and some good waves, this rivermouth sandy bottom break is one of my new favorites. Nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a hawaiian pullout on a waist high hollow closeout toobito.

This past week we went up to Guadalajara to go to our birthing clinic, meet our new doctor and our “doula“, an amazing woman who will assist us through the birth process. I’ve learned more about the natural and “industrial” birthing processes this past week than I have after 6 visits with our local Vallarta doctor.

I also got some time in the shaping bay with Marco. I snapped some great pics and he took the time to give me my first lesson on shaping. It’s all about geometry, which happens to be the only math I excel at. We’ll be spending 3-4 weeks in Guadalajara, in late December and January as we’re having the baby there. So I’m hoping to spend a few intensive weeks in the shaping bay and glassing studio, studying under Marco. Hoping. more pics from the shaping bay coming soon.

Paquita

We have a new addition to the Q.Peeps familia. Her name is Paquita and she’s a Mexican Hairless Dog or Xoloitzcuintle, pronounced like “cholo-skwink-lay”. We’ve been thinking about getting a dog and as luck would have it, a friend of ours had puppies a few months ago and Paquita needed a home. She’s three months old and has the illest, cutest personality. She’s super shy and already has impeccable manners. She gets a lot of attention on the street. Mexicans ask if she’s a Xolo and remark that Aztecs used to serve Xolos with molé at the dinner table and gringos kinda screw their faces up in wonderment at a black-as-midnight dog with no hair and creased skin like a pachyderm (hence her given name). She’s freakin awesome and once she’s crate trained we’ll be happy parents. She’ll make an excellent companion and guardian for the baby.

Lastly, I’m computer-less. My dvd drive took a crapper about 6 months ago and I’m finally getting it fixed. I had to drop the cpu at an apple service center in the GDL, they have to order the parts from Mexico City and then do the work and ship back to me. They say it’ll be done early this week. I say with luck it will be done early next week. And back to me by late next week. I’m already having withdrawal symptoms. I’m writing this from Marcia’s cpu. But I’m missing all my music and photos and work stuff. Having a mac in Mexico is awesome. Until you need it serviced and then it becomes a massive headache.

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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | October 8, 2008

Tzahui entering the tube
Tzahui air
photos from yesterday’s session at Holi, after the tide and wind had both come up

Ok, this is version 2 of an entry I wrote last week and than mistakenly deleted1. Where in the world is Mundo Fladonski? After the ill-fated trip to Ticla which ended promptly with my board being stolen, I flew out to Quintana Roo to hang with my girl and her mom for a week or so. Pictures coming soonish for both Ticla and Q.Roo.

Back to the homestead and back to the grindstone, I’ve been knee deep in editing the final touches on the book, hence the lack of updates. Too much computer time makes not enough surf time. The storm clouds broke this past weekend with nice big swell coming through the area, putting an end to almost three dry weeks2. I’ve managed to get a session in every day since Friday, it must be some kind of record. The ocean has essentially been flat for three months, so I’m taking every opportunity.

I’ve gotten barreled three days in a row! The first two days on some walled up second peak inside break, with a mushy, crouched, eyes closed, foam ball. And yesterday, with a gorgeous, open-eye, overhead, throwing ledge with a closing iris. The last was straight out of a surf film, complete with slow motion wall creeping up my right side, heaving overhead and then down my left side, without touching me – a spiritual experience of the nth degree. Of the four tubes I got myself in to yesterday, I managed to ease out of one of them. I really dig barrels.

Two interesting sightings, both surfboard related. The first: a local kid, Roberto, who owns a surf shop in Bucerias with his girl Barbara had a super nice come-up. Somehow he ended up with an Andreini diamond-tail single fin, roughly 7′0″ to 7′2″ with a Greenough 8a-like fin. The board is a bit beat up but looks to be only a few years old. Super stoked for him. The second sighting was a Skip Frye triple-stringer twin feel fish. Looks to be about 6′8″ or so. Some visiting surfer was riding it out at Burros in overhead conditions this past weekend. The thing was a bolt of lightning and dude knew exactly where to put it and when. First I saw the outline of the board, then the contrast between the stringers and the white glossy coat and then the little wings logo. This is perhaps the most beautiful board I have ever seen, in action, with my own two eyes. I wanted to stop and talk with the guy, but he was lightning fast and never sat still enough for me to catch up. Was he a ghost?

Incidentally, did you know that Skip Frye’s wife, Donna, is on the San Diego City Council and ran as a write-in candidate for Mayor and won a majority of votes, but lost the election because people spelled her name “Fry” instead of “Frye”3. How can I help this lady get elected?! Here’s an interview with Skip Frye from Surfer Mag from 2004, about the possiblity of becoming the first husband. great read.

And lastly, the Japanese Motors album is out. I’m downloading it from iTunes as we speak. support the cause. Update: the album is sick! and worth every penny of the 10 bucks I payed for it. I’ve already listened to it 3 or 4 times today. The songs are well written, simple, raw and rocking. You can put the entire album on repeat and not get bored. It’s good. Q.Peeps approved.

  1. can we get a version of TimeMachine for WordPress? thank you ↩
  2. I’m talking in metaphors here, people ↩
  3. I don’t have words for this kind of breakdown of democratic ideals ↩
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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | August 19, 2008

La Lancha blur

Still working furiously. 18 hour days. no joke. strapped to the computer, my arm has a rash from this cheap Ikea MDF desk. I’m going blind. I’m trying to wrap things up in time for our trip next week to NYC. Summer is in full swing and by the time we get back I fully expect Vallarta to be deader than a doornail. Septhambre. That’s fine, more waves for me.

It’s been raining like mad this past week. After two weeks of absolutely no rain, all the green jungle vegetation was starting to turn brown. Last Thursday, a torrential downpour sent water flowing into our kitchen and living room from a door to our open air service room. The sight was totally out of place, Marcia and I both had to take a second to register what was happening. It must have rained 12 inches in a 6 hour period. insane.

We’re being infested with ants. Rather than kill them all with some noxious poison, I put out some sugar water in a bowl to divert their attention from our trash. They loved it. They went home and told their friends. And their friends told their friends. After a few days we had ant trails all over the house. It took me about a week to figure out that I needed to put the bowl outside.

You can tell I haven’t gotten out of the house much lately, huh?

The surf has been dead. I’m sure there’s been some small waves here and there, but no real swells to speak of. This summer has been a total bummer. We are mid way through the season and we’ve only had 3 storm systems pass our way. Last summer we had something like 14. Something about the storm angle being off and heavier than normal jetstream flow across Chile. Global bummer.

For anyone keeping tabs, the seedling is coming along nicely. We’re in the 18th week and he is of the male variety. We’re slowly circling in on a name. Something that sounds good in both english and spanish, and that isn’t easily twisted in school yard fun. A hard criteria.

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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | July 18, 2008

This past Saturday I drove up to Mazatlan for a surf contest at a left point break called Patole, with boards and camera in hand. The drive is six hours. I arrived at 1pm to wind-blown waist high slop. The contestants tried their hardest to put on a good show and I tried my hardest to snap some interesting shots. In a funky ass mood, I hung around for 4 hours or so and turned right around and drove all the way back to Vallarta. By the time I got home, at 11pm, I was so cracked out from that Monster energy drink I had, on the way, I couldn’t get to sleep. what a day. I have a post brewing on the cost of living in Mexico, as it relates to my road trip to Mazatlan. You will not believe how much it cost me to get there and back.

With big swell on the way, some homies have headed down to Pascuales to catch the deep water, open seas swell. I broke the budget for the week, so I’m holding the Bahia de Banderas down for the local bras.

The Bahia de Banderas is the name for the giant bay this entire area sits on. From Cabo Corrientes on the southern tip, to Punta Mita on the northern. This is also the name for the municipality I live in that stretches from Nuevo Vallarta to Lo de Marco. The state of Nayarit and Fonatur (the governmental development agency) call this area “the Riveria Nayarit”. In theory, giving the area a classy attaché in hopes of luring tourists and foreign investment dollars. The locals call it “Badeba” a contraction of its full name. I like Badeba, cuz it sounds kinda naco and probably pisses a lot of developers off.

I got skunked not once but twice yesterday. An am trip to Veneros, some nice chest high waves, but 30 people in a break that maxes out at 15. No waves at all at Albercas. And after a long trek in through the muddy river bed to Burros and nothing there as well. In the pm, back to Veneros to find blown-out waist high closeouts. I need some water.

Regular updates resuming shortly, just as soon as I can get my face out of this ginormous MS Word doc I’ve been editing for god knows how long. If I’m not in the water, I’m in this dumb word doc.

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Field Notes

By Ed Fladung | June 19, 2008

apartment complex.
apartment complex in guadalajara

Every cliche ever uttered about Mexico is simultaneously true and false at the some time. I can’t explain it. It’s just how it is.

Still in GDL, Tzahui called last night asking if I wanted to take pics today, from the boat. Waves are at 3 meters. I shat me ponties with regret. What am I doing in this concrete jungle?

Late to the party as usually, I just read Sissy Fish’s End-of-Nau post. wow. amazing read. what a bummer. peep the comments. one part bad business plan, one part bad economy = disaster. Chum has my condolences.

Now up to date on BSG. great freakin season despite its early, questionable episodes. Ep10 was insane!

Half-way through Gerry Lopez’s Surf Is Where You Find It. great read. love talkin story. Admittedly, I’ve actually never read any of Lopez’s articles before. He’s a great story teller with a very direct and undecorated writing style. His pre-70s Hawaii and early Uluwatu/G-Land stories are my current favorites. The Buzzy Trent and Miki Dora stories are stone cold classics. required reading.

Keeping my eye on that Photography Book Now deadline, July 14th.

File under “Did you know that”: Swell sells a pretty good priced reprint of the exhibition poster for the Pre-War Surfing Photographs of Don James at Danzinger Gallery? I have my mouse on the “buy” button as we speak.

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