We have been lucky to have Scott contribute to our Blog in the form of Scott Valor’s Surf Journal. With that said I recieved the note below from Scott and was immediately moved by a family scenario that could impact any of us. Fans and Firends of Scott please read below and help if you can. Please also see the following flyer for more info: Friends For Eric Flyer
Dear Friends & Colleagues–As most of you know, my brother Eric suffers from a terminal disease known as ALS (aka “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”). In his current condition, Eric is on a ventilator 24 hours a day and requires 24/7 professional care. The cost of the caretakers is not covered by any insurance due to the specialized type of care required. Our family currently pays the caretakers $2,780 per week ($144,560 per year) in order to be sure Eric’s needs are met. As you can imagine, this has proven to be very difficult for us.Today is Eric’s 41st birthday. This time last year, we held a fund-raiser in Eric’s home town and many of you donated money, time, and services for the event. The proceeds from the event helped our family make it through the past year, but we still face the ongoing costs.This year we have taken a different approach. Attached to this e-mail you will see a one-page informational flyer about Eric’s plight. We have also set up a website: www.friends4eric.org in order hopefully spread the word about Eric’s ongoing needs.I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward this flyer and/or the link to his website to friends, family, and institutions that might be willing to assist us with Eric’s care. No donation amount is too small under these circumstances. We feel that getting the word out is the best way to find those who might help.To that end, I am willing to personally match every donation that is made in order to hopefully provide an additional incentive. This obviously doubles the impact of your generosity.
As difficult as it is to ask, I appreciate your willingness to listen and to help out. Thank you again for all the support you have shown our family in the past and at this time.
Scott Valor Surf Journal followers…Scott has made another surf mission to Barbados and has provided us a tasty video with a great soundtrack…
Enjoy!
Scott Valor has also followed P Diddy’s lead and is now on Twitter. Twitterers or Twits can find Scott’s Twittering here: http://twitter.com/burningpier
Hey guys! Scott Valor is travelling/surfing in Barbados again and although we don’t have any pictures or videos we figure your mind can paint the picture.
Right now it’s been epic here. They had a great October and there’s more now and coming. Here’s why: Normally Barbados gets “all” swells from the basic straight east trade wind swell always, to the southeast tropical wave stuff in the summer, to the NE swell from the north atlantic now. What’s rare is North WEST swell that generates itself off the coast of Florida and comes straight down on the island. The result is that rather than having NE swell wrap around to the west side (just do the geography), the swells hit the north and west dead on and normally flat (and I mean dead flat scuba diving) areas on the west light up. Now, for most Bajans, just like us here, they go to the regular spots–kinda like the parking lot in front of porto, 26th, mb pier. But when you have NW so many out of the way spots break that take just a little bit more work to get to, but are insane.I surfed Duppies yesterday. Not a secret spot, but requires the right swell direction. From where I am near Soup Bowl, it takes about 30 minutes to get to–main roads (such as they are on an island) and some tracks (what they call paths or dirt roads). Anyway, minor effort (less than for us to drive to Malibu) and I pull up to what is mash up of Laniakea and Big Drakes (Hollister Ranch). Offshore, faces 5-7 foot, and only me and my friend Kenny Ward there. We paddle out to point break-like rights that are about 200 yards long. Two hours until the sun sets. Rural area with jungle right down to the water. You walk a steep path down like 1/2 the Black’s walk to a tiny beach cove for an easy paddle out. In my 28 years of surfing, it’s a top 10, maybe 5. Shitting myself with the quality and just me and Kenny.Plenny other spots like it, but this is an unknown place unless you know locals. I do. I’m lucky. No photos because Kenny drives an open Land Rover (like a Jeep), so I didn’t want to leave it in the car. But more NW coming, so I’ll bring the camera next time.
Editor’s Note: Scott sent me some photos and a video of the swell refrenced above. ENJOY!
Barbados in the mid-60s or so, from visiting Americans.During the Vietnam War, the US still had the draft.Those who didn’t want to be drafted into the military faced arrest and imprisonment, so the draft dodgers usually only had one choice: leave the country.Many went to Canada.The smart ones headed to Barbados.
Their influence on a select few Bajans who lived near the coast is obvious.The Bajan term for boardshorts is still “baggies,” though we haven’t used that term in the
US for over 30 years.People still remember the first generation Bajan surfers.Most are dead, but some like Snake in Bathsheba and a handful of guys who live in the south part of the island, can still be seen paddling out when it’s good.Everybody knows their names and they are shown respect.
Meanwhile the young Bajans don’t realize how good they have it—the Internet’s daily reports, more traveling surfers than ever, more surf-related products available, like boardshorts, new surfboards, leashes, and wax.The poorer Bajans still have to get by on the kindness of visitors, but many you see with the newest equipment and clothes.
Soup Bowl is empty today, except for one Bajan kid who seems to prefer surfing solo.Yeah, there are waves.It’s bigger than yesterday, overhead on sets, but it’s a little windy and the tide is high.If this was my first day here, I’d be frothing and out there immediately.But, after a week of constant surf, I’m just falling into the Bajan trance—take your time, wait for a better tide and for the wind to calm down.It’s gonna get better, mon…
First, the brief surf report: “wind swell” again today, which means head-high + sets at Soup Bowl.Paddled out late (11 a.m.) because too much rum the night before means too much sleeping in the morning.It gets light here by 5 a.m., so you can be out surfing at the same time your friends are pouring out of the bars headed home in
Hermosa Beach (it’s currently three hours ahead here).
I was late this morning, then, but no matter.Three guys out, light wind, and bowling waves.Even with the windswell, it gets hollow here and clean.Unlike home, where onshore/sideshore winds make it unsurfable, here once the wave hits the reef it’s a super smooth ride.You can go out any time of the day. Sometimes more wind, sometimes less.Don’ matter.
As in
Mexico, pretty much all the local surfers here have nicknames.If you’re lucky like Kevin Nicholls, you’ll get a cool one like “Buju” (as in Buju Banton).If you’re unlucky like Adrian Smalls, you may be stuck with “Grommet.”Nevermind that Adrian is a top surfer, one of the older, second/third-generation guys (in his mid-30s), has sponsors and rips, when he was a young up-and-comer the first generation guys named him and it stuck.Everyone calls them by their nicknames, even non-surfers.You might too if you get to know them better, but until then, it’s Kevin, Adrian, Omar, whatever.
Supposed to have the same swell and conditions tomorrow.Should be fun all day.Lather, rinse, repeat…
They call them “bonnies.”They are better known as Scotch Bonnet peppers and they are hot.What is hot?One of the hottest Mexican peppers is the habanero, which is a ridiculously spicy little cube-shaped pain chamber.According to some spice-rating system, the bonnies are ten times hotter than the habanero.This can make Bajan food interesting.
Bajan pepper sauce is everywhere.It’s the
Tabasco, the Tapatillo, the Sriracha of Barbados.It’s a mustard-based sauce with a strong, but pleasant scent, grounded in bonnie seeds.At first taste, it is somewhat sweet.After a brief moment your mouth is on fire, all bets are off, and you’re reaching for the ice cubes, a beer, a polar ice cap—whatever you can get your lips and tongue on to relieve the pain. But it’s good—oh so good.
Respect the bonnie seeds, man, because that’s the heart and soul of the umph in the Bajan pepper sauce.
The good news: Bajans aren’t immune to it.They think it’s as hot as you do, but they know how to cook with it and use the correct amounts in a meal–just enough to bring out the flavor, not too much to blister your palate for a week. It’s all about seed control.While bonnie skins are somewhat sweet, bonnie seeds can ruin your day.It’s a Bajan yin and yang and somewhere in there is a balance that makes a meal excellent.And interesting.
What’s the point of all this?After two separate three hour sessions at Soup Bowl, in the fun head-high range all day, water about 80, turtles popping up everywhere, Snake brings over some fresh caught local fish, vegetables, and, yes, some fresh-picked bonnies and immediately goes to work.I supply the rum and the locally-brewed Guiness Stout (7.5%).He plays chef with a dexterity that matches his flow in the Soup Bowl pocket.
Marley,
Third World, David Kirton on the radio. The sun is setting. I’m surfed out and soon to be full of good food.Another day ends in Barbados.Yes-I.
I sit out at the top of the break alone.It’s early, on a nearly windless morning.Eventually one guy paddles out, then a few others.
“Hey, you’re here!When ’d youget in?” one asks.“Good to see you,” says another.“You brought the swell, thanks mate!” says yet another, half joking I thought, until I heard the same line from five more people throughout the day.
I’m the only visitor at this break.The rest are locals, but they have a knack for remembering you if you’ve surfed with them before.I’m on an island with a population of 250,000.Only 300 of them are surfers.The break is called Soup Bowl and it’s surfable about 350 days a year.
Welcome to Barbados.
Barbados has its share of visiting surfers.A lot of east coast surfers have it figured it out, but most surfers assume the
Caribbean is flat, except for big hurricane swell.Not so here.
Sitting toward the bottom of the Caribbean island chain, Barbados sits the farthest out into the Atlantic Ocean of any the islands, exposing it to any manner of swell—South east tropical waves, north east storms, and the constant, oh so constant, trade wind swells.When there aren’t waves, it’s usually dead calm and tranquil in its own way.But, that’s ok because sometimes you need a break to snorkel and fish under the spot you’ve surfed practically every day.
Barbados, like so many
Caribbean islands, relies on tourism to drive a large part of its economy.But surf tourism isn’t really the mainstay.Wealthy Europeans (many from the UK, as this was once a British colony) make their way here to the expensive resorts on one side of the island.Surfing is more of an afterthought, if anything, and that’s ok with the locals.
Kelly Slater comes here, this is one of Timmy Curran’s favorite places in the world, and Reef has held professional contests here, but it still stays off the radar screen.That’s good news for me.And could be for you.
Check out two of Scott’s Videos from Past Surf Trips to Barbados featuring Bathsheba and Soup Bowl
PS: that’s Snake (aka Edison Hedley, one of Barbados’ first ever surfers) grilling fresh shark with Bajan spices for dinner. The peppers are “bonnies”–scotch bonnet peppers–that make habaneros seem like milk duds. Or M&Ms.
Phase One Surf Editor’s Note:
Scott Valor is a very knowledgeable and experienced surf traveler. We are stoked to share his stories of surf travel and adventure. We will be posting Scott’s adventures to this BLOG as he travels the Globe from his home base in Manhattan Beach to wherever the surf is calling…
