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.
Big Congratulations to Phase One Surf team rider Theo Fedoruk on winning the seventh event of the Sun Diego / Monster Energy in Ocean Beach.
Surf was 3-5 feet and Theo dominated the entire day. Theo rides a custom Phase One Surfrboard hand shaped by Chris Diercks in San Diego.
Theo has been surfing very well in the contest scene recently. Coming in 7th at NSSA Nationals and also making the semi-finals in the previous Sun Diego Surf Contest.
I asked Theo to put something together to describe the experience:
The competition was especially difficult, given that several of the Pro Juniors had entered the event.
During my heats: I tried to stay confident and wait for the good waves.
When you’re surfing in a heat against someone that is better than you, you gotta surf every wave as good as you can, and rip it.
I got a some good waves during my heats and surfed them well.
An awesome Phase One surfboard, a positive mental state and confidence goes a long way…Special Shout out to Adrian, the one who makes sure you have the BEST equipment, and to Chris Diercks, the ULTIMATE surfboard shaper!Keep it up Theo!
This article is borrowed from our good friends at Swellmagnet.com. The bottom line best surf report for the Southbay. Enjoy!
Although the practice of nasal irrigation originated in India, today there are numerous people in Europe and the United States who use this simple technique as part of their daily routine.
I receive quite a few email about treating surfers sinusitis with the Neti Pot and how exactly to sinus flush. Hopefully the Net pot in action picture is not viewed during dinner. I can see the scenario now, the Midwestern starlet comes to Hollywood hoping to make it big and her first break is nasal irrigation. Dream big! Here are a couple emails and my response that hopefully will better describe the sinus flush and the Neti Pot:Hello Dr. Jude,
I’m an acupuncturist/Surfer in Long Island, New York. Wild, we do actually have waves and a great surf scene. I’ve noticed among my patients and also among my fellow surf family that the Neti Pot is awesome to use after surfing and pretty much before bed time if you are experiencing chronic sinusitis. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the Neti-pot. Its a ceramic little tea pot looking thing and you place bottled water in it with a bit of sea salt and you gentle place it in one nostril and coordinate your head and lean back so that the saline solution can fill the sinus and drain from the other nostril over your sink.I do this every time I surf and when the weather dries me out in winter… so far so good all is well.Warmly, Pie(Not to shabby, Swellmagnet has a New York contingency. Hey Pie, Surf where you live Kook! Just kidding, welcome to the South Bay waves, check out El Porto next time you land at LAX)
Dear Dr. Jude,
I am a long-term surfer, living and working here in LA for the past 10 years. I have been surfing religiously since 1989, but over the past 8 years I’ve found myself increasingly sensitive to changes in the water, especially around here (venice/SoBay).At first it was reactions to obvious/thick red tide with multi-day screaching headaches; total sinus blockage without drainage and sneezing. Now, any sign of redtide in neighboring water (playa del rey for example) sets me off. when the water’s opacity changes (and signals the presence of some bacteria or algea?) the symptoms return. There have been many days where the water appeared normal, just a little murky perhaps, and i got sick. i confess i’ve had trouble keeping myself out of the water, unless it was clearly red or the waves were truly awful.It always seems to take about 10-15 hours for the symptoms to fully manifest, meaning, i get no sleep, since it always strikes at night. my sensitivity has intensified and the congestion/headache is pretty much chronic. my ears have been crackling for months and months.I have no preexisting allergies of any kind, that i know of.
Medication-wise, I’ve taken benadryl and claritin and various inhalers at times, over the years. But pseudoephedrine makes me feel like i am going crazy with amplified nervousness and the inhalers are short-term.
I am pushing 40 now and after almost 10 years of returning/chronic sinus irritation and infection, I’m beginning to get paranoid that a more serious condition/damage could be in the works.
Any thoughts/recommendations would be truly appreciated! Thank you for your time.
Sincerely
Alex
Here is my reply to the last email
Alex
Thanks for the email.
Your symptoms, nicely described, definitely put your diagnosis as chronic sinusitis.Your treatment plan is currently reactive. You plan to only treat the symptoms when they pop up. To optimize this plan, I would add 600mg of Motrin three times a day when the symptoms return. This will help with the raging headache and frontal sinus pressure. Also, Sudafed has various over the counter derivatives that you might find helpful; this drug and the related drugs really help dry up your sinuses after your sessions.
So here is my advice, if you want to keep surfing beyond 40 years you need to be PROACTIVE about your health. The one simplest solution for your chronic sinusitis is the Speedo competition nose clip. The Speedo clip has a tighter grip than the others on the market which helps with duck diving and wipeouts. Amazon sells these clips; purchase a few because the shipping cost usually equals the $3.00 cost for the clip and they do tend to disappear. I absolutely guarantee that if you wear a nose clip every time you surf you will never have another surfer related episode of sinusitis. You probably already read my article but just in case you have not, check it out:
The only other proactive solution to your sinusitis is nasal irrigation with the Neti pot after every session. Nasal irrigation works great: turn you head so it’s parallel to the ground dump the water from the Neti pot into one nostril and let it drain through the other nostril. Youtube demonstrates nasal irrigation but start with wikipedia here:
So most important: purchase the Speedo nose clips right away and your sinus problems will resolve. Give the Neti pot a try, the nasal irrigation will clear your sinuses but the flush takes a little getting used to.
Email me back with an update or any questions.Surf Safe!
Dr Jude
More info on the “Neti Pot”About 50% of the emails I receive are from surfers with sinusitis so hopefully we can put this topic to rest.To learn how to use the Neti pot, with an added laugh bonus, take a look at this youtube clip (its hilarious):
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…
The pad overall is pretty good (scale 1-10, I give it a 7.5 for reasons explained below):
-The thickness on the pad is perfect. Just thick enough to provide comfort to the bottom of the foot…and not too thick to the point that the pad leaves the rider feeling as if he lack the food connection to the board.
-The center lift of the pad is nice for the heal of the foot. Allows one to center himself confidently on the pad and find the “money” spot on the tail
-The traction on the pad itself is great! Soft, comfortable, responsive.
-The overall design is appealing. The thin slits towards the top of the pad give the pad a sleek, aerodynamic look. And the gray zig-zag is dope.
-Size wise, I think the pad could have a bit more width. The current width of the pad leaves a bit too much exposed board on the rails, such that it is necessary to wax the rails in order to have solid control.
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.
