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I've been busy lately so I didn't get a chance to say thanks to everyone at the Moon Base for getting the green machine ready for my Mexico trip. Missed seeing JP when I went to pick up the board, so here it goes - thanks bro!
My solo trip went from "few days" to three weeks, partly because of the broken drive shaft 1000 miles south of the border. Really, it was just an excuse to wait for the next south swell.
I didn't score majorly but had some fun warm water ones, most of the time surfing alone or with 3 other guys max. Who said that the surfing suffers from overcrowding?
It's little thicker and longer than what I would normally choose but it makes for an interesting ride. 6'1"x 21" x 2"7/8
Test track #1 (it doesn't look head high, heh).
The road to the end of the rainbow.
Cheerleaders Baja style.
Snapped my kook rope on this one.
Probably the funn-est session of the trip. Toasty and glassy.
Say goodbye to the Monuments ... it will soon be the boat access only spot.
I really wanted this spot to work but it just didn't materialize. Probably one of the nicest beaches in Baja.
The dark horse didn't want to budge.
Too good to be true? Why yes.
Just before the shaft snappage.
I heart solar power. It provided the evening entertainment for the whole trip. I finally saw all the Cassavetes' movies.
Post Extras:
HydroSprout
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 10/23/06
Posts: 3459
Loc: O'side Ghetto by the Sea
Quote: tell me about the solar power thing..how easy, how well does it work,, worth hauling it in your car? looks cool.
It's super easy, hook up the + and -, and that's it. Just a single cable running out of the panel. I didn't have the voltmeter to monitor the battery charge (Optima Yellow Top) but I've been running the inverter off of it for three weeks, charging laptop, PSP, cameras and powering up the satellite radio every day and it held the charge fine. The panel fits neatly on the dashboard so you can charge it at all time. $75 from Pep Boys.
It's beyond me that solar power is not more popular in California having 364 sunny days a year and all. I guess there're no millions to be made off of it so nobody bothers.
I'm planning on buying more solar panels, you know, to offset my 12mpg Land Rover.
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silentbutdeadly
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 11626
Loc: Tower 13
Quote: Wow, great story and pics. Thanks for posting. Looks like you went down pretty far.
Are you talking solo as in just you or you and one other person?
I went all the way to the East Cape this time, I was actually thinking of crossing over to the mainland but I didn't want to push my luck. I was on my own and although at times quite challenging and downright scary, you get a really good feeling when you conquer the obstacles on your own. Like trying to figure out how to swap the drive shaft for the first time, 1000 miles south of the border, under the car in Baja dirt, hoping that car doesn't roll over you while you are torquing the bolts with junky tools and barrel of Mag flashlight and that you will make it back home in one piece. I guess I'm kind of a loner.
Bad Shaft.
A pool skater's nightmare.
I've been thinking of publishing a photo book of trippy Mexican murals....
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20W-50 and blood
Duke status
Reged: 02/04/04
Posts: 16764
Loc: SOCAL
KIck ass pic jouunal man, thanks for posting it. Between getting suckered into drinking steel reserve by yours truly and switching out a drive shaft on your own in baja, you have officially hit hero status. Hope that octafish rocks, i just scored my first bonzer and am pretty damn stoked to say the least.
-------------------- Jesus was Mexican, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9-11.
I drove a Discovery for a while. Felt like a solid car. Have a lot of miles on it for that shaft to die?
that's such a farkin awesome photojournal/trip you took. Were there situations where you felt like "thank god i'm in this awesome 4x4" or do you think lesser cars could make the journey?
I have a Honda Element 4wd with all terrains...lol. I wonder if I could do Baja with it and be ok.
Quote: Were there situations where you felt like "thank god i'm in this awesome 4x4" or do you think lesser cars could make the journey?
I have a Honda Element 4wd with all terrains...lol. I wonder if I could do Baja with it and be ok.
You have a perfect vehicle for Baja. At least you don't have to worry about carrying extra (premium) gas with you.
It was definitely comforting (and fun) to be able to just be impulsive and take any rough road or a drop off that may lead to the beach without worrying whether you'd make it. I tried not to drive off the beaten path unless I really had to, sometimes driving on the beach was the only way to get there. Disco is an awesome off road machine though I've not used low range 4x4 all that often (it's an all time 4wd). Sometimes I'd be all grateful for having the 4x4 and that I got to the other side of the wash without getting stuck only to be greeted there by a dude in a Golf convertible. Having said that, I pulled out a fair share of vehicles out of sand and mud with that thing. The drive shaft was a wear and tear issue (90k on the clock now) and my own fault for not checking the car more thoroughly before the trip. I guess I could have limped home on a rear drive shaft alone but I wanted to stop at some spots on the way home.
I think that literally any vehicle could make it (I mean, just look at what locals drive) you'd just have to do a little more planning instead of just ploughing thru the shortest route. Extra ground clearance always helps. Friend of mine made it in an old diesel Jetta few years back and we all remember LeeD and his Baja adventures in a Honda Civic. It's mind over matter. It just depends on how bad you want it.
I took my VW Vanagon down few times, you just have to drive a little more gingerly. No can do 50mph on washboard roads.
Thanks all for nice words.
Post Extras:
HydroSprout
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 10/23/06
Posts: 3459
Loc: O'side Ghetto by the Sea
Quote: How long did it take to get the shaft? Did the green angels get you one, or what?
One great thing (or not so great if you are a purist) about Baja today is that the cell phone coverage is amazing. I started hearing a clunk from underneath the truck when putting it in drive and slight vibrations when accelerating. It didn't seem too bad. By shear luck I decided to double check the shaft just before leaving the last civilization for the next 300 miles (near Gro Negro). If I didn't take the drive shaft off before it snapped completely, it would have taken the tranny, transfer case, cat and god knows what else with it - no trail fix. I was lucky to be able to get hold of the rebuilt shaft, losing 3-4 days in the process. No Green Angels this time, though I've seen them up and down 1.
edit: Just to share a horror story: A friend of mine rolled his rental car in Baja couple of weeks ago. It was a rental that wasn't supposed to be in Mexico. He managed to stop some locals to give him a lift to the nearest town where he found a tow truck. As they were driving back to pick up the rolled car, they could see the same bunch of guys who helped him earlier driving off into the distance. Sure enough the car was stripped to the bone, wheels, stereo, speakers, engine parts - all gone. He's now trying to claim Mexican insurance while Enterprise is chasing him for the full amount of the totaled car.
Edited by HydroSprout (04/13/07 12:46 AM)
Post Extras:
silentbutdeadly
Tom Curren status
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 11626
Loc: Tower 13
Awesome pictures, one of the best posts I've read on this forum. Two questions, how did you like the Octafish? That board looks super fun, and second, where did you get the solar panel? That would make surfaris alot better. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Post Extras:
HydroSprout
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 10/23/06
Posts: 3459
Loc: O'side Ghetto by the Sea
Quote: Two questions, how did you like the Octafish? That board looks super fun, and second, where did you get the solar panel? That would make surfaris alot better. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
I'm still figuring out the Octafish. I had few pretty good waves on it but still pretty inconsistent to form a valid opinion. It is very skatey and maneuverable even compared to the Speedialer, it likes to go vertical with ease and it's really fun backside. Probably would choose this board for backside point breaks instead of a Speedialer type quad or a fish. I did have a problem breaking the line few times on bigger waves when really getting up to speed. I'm thinking it could be the fat rails that do that at speed because MC packs a lot of foam in them but as I said, I'm still finding my feet on it. It could be a user error, probably still standing too far forward. Most breaks I came across on this trip were either overhead points or mushy fat beachbreak, I have a feeling this board likes something in between.
Re: Solar Panel. I got mine at Pep Boys but good place to look would be RV stores. I'm sure Google search would come up with something too.
Quote: Two questions, how did you like the Octafish? That board looks super fun, and second, where did you get the solar panel? That would make surfaris alot better. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
I'm still figuring out the Octafish. I had few pretty good waves on it but still pretty inconsistent to form a valid opinion. It is very skatey and maneuverable even compared to the Speedialer, it likes to go vertical with ease and it's really fun backside. Probably would choose this board for backside point breaks instead of a Speedialer type quad or a fish. I did have a problem breaking the line few times on bigger waves when really getting up to speed. I'm thinking it could be the fat rails that do that at speed because MC packs a lot of foam in them but as I said, I'm still finding my feet on it. It could be a user error, probably still standing too far forward. Most breaks I came across on this trip were either overhead points or mushy fat beachbreak, I have a feeling this board likes something in between.
Re: Solar Panel. I got mine at Pep Boys but good place to look would be RV stores. I'm sure Google search would come up with something too.
I would suggest trying to just surf it off the sweet spot(if you found it yet). I have found and continue to have to remind myself of that, also that I can not approach surfing mine like I surf my Thruster or quad. Last week I decided to change things up a bit and only ride my Thruster for a week after pretty much only riding the Octa this winter, after 4 or 5 waves of manifesting some serious homodonkey kookiness w/o any semblance of timing, I stopped trying to do all the things that the Octafish finds naturally, ie take a high-line, accelerate around sections, glide w/speed. I could only make the Thruster work when I focused on ridding it like I new how ie hitting the lip, and using a lot of rail- often. It was fun and I am glade I did it, but I wouldn't trade what the Thruster offered to what I new I was missing on the Octafish.
Maybe my skills are just too limited and old and one dimensional but I'll take the feeling of being 'at speed' on the sweet spot of my Octafish over anything else I have ridden. BTW- nice story and pics
-------------------- less barking and more wagging~
Now im jonesed to get back to mex. Ill be en mi casa en mainland from mid june to oct or so,,,,, any u guys coming down be sure and drop me a note . . .
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janklow
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 12/14/04
Posts: 1012
Quote: One of the best threads ever on this erBB thing.
You should work for one of the magazines...
like TSJ.
Don't encourage me, I'm not earning enough to feed my surfing habit as it is.
I used to freelance for a few Euro magazines back in a day but I got bypassed by the whole digital stills revolution. Wish I at least kept all the Canon glass I used to have.
Quote: ...it likes to go vertical with ease and it's really fun backside.
And that was exactly the goal with that board. I’d been riding a fish for a while and had finally been caught in a macking predominant left Oxnard beach break with it. (I’m regular foot) It was ugly. I loved my fish, but I wanted one that was more versatile. I wanted one that was easier to surf backside (I suck backside on a more normal fish) and I wanted to get more vertical stuff in, all while retaining some of the other fish advantages. I came home, set the fish down on the carpet next to an e-wing bonzer, and suddenly the solution was obvious. Like peanut butter and chocolate.
I called Malcolm and he made it happen.
That’s what I love about custom surfboards. Taking a perceived problem, setting a goal, coming up with a creative solution and then working with a master shaper to make the vision a reality. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Try that with your Chinese pop-out container board.
-------------------- Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
Quote: I came home, set the fish down on the carpet next to an e-wing bonzer, and suddenly the solution was obvious. Like peanut butter and chocolate.
I called Malcolm and he made it happen.
yeah, yeah next thing you know you'll be tellin us you told him to put three fins on a board and some deep concaves!! come on give me a break!!!!!!!
Really it is nice to hear how some of these boards evolve and that our fellow BBers had a hand in it. GWS and OT the leaders of the futuristic psudo retro high performance bonzers!( that was ment to be a compliment)
great post thanks! your soloar panel you bought at pep boys; how much power does it put out? does it come with the cables for battery connect? thanks for any info
Post Extras:
HydroSprout
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 10/23/06
Posts: 3459
Loc: O'side Ghetto by the Sea
Quote: great post thanks! your soloar panel you bought at pep boys; how much power does it put out? does it come with the cables for battery connect? thanks for any info
It outputs 5W in ideal conditions. Comes with battery connect and cigarette lighter cables.
Post Extras:
GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 32161
Loc: Dustopia
Quote: next thing you know you'll be tellin us you told him to put three fins on a board and some deep concaves!! come on give me a break!!!!!!!
That is SO not true. I was just knew single fin stingers were the future.
However, I do believe I can take credit for the demise of the "Bonzer Light Vehicle." I relentlessly dogged Malcolm with lines from light beer commercials.
“Bonzer light vehicle? What, are they like a third less calories?
TASTES GREAT!
Less filling.”
I do believe he just couldn’t take it anymore.
So he invented the five fin Bonzer.
I also created the internet. And Love Story was about...
never mind.
-------------------- Only a fool trips over what’s behind them
Octafish, your post made my day. What a great trip going alone and scoring some good waves. Sometimes it the process of the trip that is just as fun as the surf. Two thumbs way up...
Great, great post. Very brave to pull that trip solo . . . I wouldn't. The bonzer looks fun as well. Probably a fud board for rolly, point waves given the width and thickness. I had something along those lines a few years back; then I realized that you can't expect one board to do too many things.
A few of those left points looked really, really good. I say you scored!
Post Extras:
FecalFace
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 11/21/08
Posts: 6692
Loc: down there by the harbor
Quote: great post thanks! your solar panel you bought at pep boys; how much power does it put out? does it come with the cables for battery connect? thanks for any info
It outputs 5W in ideal conditions. Comes with battery connect and cigarette lighter cables.
One thing you will want is a charge controller. They are pretty cheap ($20 to $40) and they will shut off the charge to the battery when it is full to prevent the battery from cooking. They also prevent the battery from discharging through the solar panel at night.
Also, a deep cycle or marine battery (Optima Blue Tops makes a killer one) are the bomb. They hold up better for deep discharges (using the battery when the it is not being charged). I used one (an Optima) with my camper and a 100W panel while driving through Mex and Central America. Never charged the battery and I was gone for over 7 months.
-------------------- Don't f*ck with the infinite. -Jehovah
Post Extras:
TreeClimber
Nep status
Reged: 11/19/08
Posts: 837
Loc: Pacific NW
Good tip on the solar panel thingy. It did pretty well without but I only charged my laptop, iPod and stuff like that. Planing to buy a bigger panel and install it permanently on the roof of my molesto van.
Post Extras:
Basswave
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 08/22/05
Posts: 2316
Loc: Near the Witches
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