Getting Stoked

Right now is the season to be a surfer in Santa Barbara. Sure,
there may be an odd-ball summer south swell or a fatty west-angled
parting gift in late March, but what it all boils down to for
805-based wave sliders is that sweet 10-week window from mid
December through February that we currently find ourselves
smack-dab in the middle of. True to form, points, peaks, and reefs
from Gaviota to Carpinteria roared to life just before the winter
season officially began late last month and they have seldom
subsided since, with an impressive string of Pacific storms all
aiming their energy our way. Rincon has done nothing but solidify
its reputation as one of the best right-hand point breaks on the
planet for the past three weeks with dozens of other lesser-known
points — that shall remain anonymous — doing equally impressive
impersonations of world-class surf spots. And, if the weather
forecasters are to be believed, it appears that local surfers
should remain happy and satisfied well into 2007.

In this, the height of the Hollow Day season, The
Independent offers its annual January celebration of S.B.’s
surfing culture. Read on for an interview with Shaun Tomson, a
first-hand tale of riding waves in Fiji, and an update on the
remaining limited-edition Yater Spoon, the surfboard seen in the
film Apocalypse Now.

Yater’s
Spoon

Final Replica of  Apocalypse Now’s Surfboard Hits eBay

Surf
Talk

Q & A with Shaun Tomson

A Tale From the Tropics

Surfing and Lifeguarding in Fiji