Australia's Surfing Life Magazine

It's Only Just Begun

Written by Binnsie Thursday, 03 September 2009 00:00

Day One, Breakers By The Bay

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Six super groms sailing on a mobile home... Pic Shield

Well, we've made it. Andrew 'photo/ice-cream eatin' dude' Shield piloted a planeload of groms (Dean Bowen, Garrett Parkes, Mitch Crews and Noah Lane) from Oz to San Francisco via LA, with Bowen getting a different domestic flight and copping $170USD in excess baggage fees, and Owen Wright and Stu Kennedy joined us a day later from Europe. Talon 'film/vibe/drink tea' Clemow and myself got into town a coupla days early to soak up the town of manlove. Think that's a joke? Trying to park under the Golden Gate Bridge a man backs out of, then waves us away from, his spot. 'I'm giving it to the gay guys!' he roars, nodding his head at two men in a red convertible. How can you argue with that?

Not the most under the radar way to rock up at a surf spot... Pic Shield

The City is crazy, like a mix of Sydney (surfing, harbour/bay, gay people) and Melbourne (kinda cold, full of culture/architecture, big into sports) and we're more than happy to play tourist for the weekend before the boys arrive.  We surf at Ocean Beach, go see a comedy show, drink in the hipster suburbs  Haight Ashbury, where the Beat Poets found their form and hit up the kinda festival you'd struggle to stumble into in Oz, with Jack Black, Jack White, the Ween brothers and a whole bunch of others going mad in the fog.

Mitch Crews will have the crew in stitches for the whole trip. Pic Shield

After a Monday of endless fiddling, trying to get settled and sorted and line up our ducks, we find ourselves in possession of two enormous, 28 foot long, houses on wheels, or Recreational Vehicles (RVs) as they're called over here. I'm steering Bus Number One, home to the Bloods; Owen, Noah and Mitch, while Shieldman chauffeurs the Crips; Dean, Garrett, and Stu. Talon goes where he pleases, playing by his own rules, but doing whatever we tell him to.

Cold Californian coast. Pic Shield

Waves? Not so much yet, but we're not stressing. We've got a ton of time, and there are a few guys calling swells. We've got a network of dudemanbros up and down the coast on speed dial, we've got wet and washed off the flights already, and about the only thing the gang would change so far are for more girls. 'Where are all the fake boobs/rollerbladers/college girls etc?' being the standard call from the back. Tonight we're eating Mexican and having fun and trying to work out where the hell to park these things. Apparently it's illegal to pull up on the side of the road, but let's try it and see what happens ay?

Taking it easy in one of the busiest places on earth... Pic Shield