Lifestyle

Introduction By:
Nicole Grodesky

My experience as a competing female surfer and learning how to shape surfboards.

My favorite surfers all come from the 60's and 70's, the era that surfers shaped their own crafts. Guys like MR (Mark Richards) George Greenough and MP (Michael Peterson) are all unparalleled with their abilities in the water and in the shaping bay. Their grasp of the concepts of design and the relationship created between board and wave are seemingly instinctive. They were the masters of the ocean and their equipment.

Tatiana, you and Juliana started The Butterfly Effect in Hawaii in 2007. How did the two of you come together and organize this epic adventure?

One hot California afternoon, a man was walking to the sound of soft crackling-water flowing through a creek. As he strolled along he noticed something lying on the ground. The object was made of old cracked-wood with the word Veriflex painted in bright colors on the bottom. The man picked up the object and discovered that someone had abandoned a skateboard. Instead of just leaving it there, he decided to give the skateboard a new life and he took it home to his daughter.

Only surfers know the feeling, and sometimes that sensation needs to be altered in order to enhance that experience. One way to mix up the feeling is to try new boards or the ultimate, shape one from scratch and then ride it. A couple pro-surfers in Australia did just that, but with an old school twist.

I was amazed at the speed you could generate on my first attempt at riding the alaia

Amee Donohoe:
I have been curious about alaia’s for some time.

It was a night celebrating big wave surfing- Northern California style. Winemaker Oded Skakked and Longboard Vineyards teamed up with the Maverick’s community to make a special release Peter Mel/ Maverick’s Cabernet Sauvignon and host the photography exhibition, “Maverick’s: Everest of the Seas.” The acclaimed photos were displayed alongside an epic collection of surfboard guns including surfers Jamie Sterling, Shawn “Barney” Barron, and Grant “Twiggy” Baker’s winning gun from the Maverick’s Contest 2006.

If there is one person that has plenty of energy to give away, it would be Malia “Squib” Fuertes. You can find her romping around Southern California climbing big rocks, surfing her longboard, skateboarding or making bone carvings. Raised in California, she is no stranger to being outdoorsy.

Once I discovered surfing, my whole life changed

“I spent most of my time growing up in San Bernardino bmx-ing, climbing trees, getting dirty and playing all of the “ball” sports,” Fuertes said.

They say you have to accept the bad times to be able to truly appreciate the good. They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. When you are used to everything going your way, like I have been accustomed to, these sayings seem trite and meaningless.

They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger

A hodgepodge of camping gear and a staggering number of skateboards filled the majority of the van as old-time friends and newcomers got together for a California road trip up the coast.

It’s finally summer. Sell your textbooks, pack your bags, put the boards on the roof and hit the road. To experience a unique surfing culture where waves meet wine, visit Sonoma County in Northern California. Roughly 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge on the West Coast, the region is defined by rolling hills lined with vineyards.

Welcome to the wine country. After a surf session at Doran Beach or Salmon Creek in Sonoma County, head to Healdsburg where you will find some of the most delicious and internationally acclaimed wines in the world.