Location: Grey Whale Cove. Time 12.00-2.00pm. Please turn up to help clean this much neglected but stunningly beautiful beach. The guys from Surfrider do a fantastic job, please support them, I think they are giving away free Tshirts as well!

The San Mateo County chapter of Surfrider is holding a beach cleanup on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 12:00PM – 2:00PM at Montara beach. Please help if you can. Full details can be found on the Surfrider web site

We had a fantastic turn out for the event! Over 75 people gathered at Montara Beach to join the 900 global locations to say NO to off shore drilling, and YES to cleaner energy sources. Thanks to everyone for joining us and a big shout out also to Lynn Adams of the Pacifica Beach Coalition, Paul Hobi of the Ocean Conservancy, April Vargas and the guys from ‘below the surface’ who paddled up from Mavericks to join us!

This event takes place this Saturday June 26th at multiple locations across the plant. You can join in by being at Montara State Beach at 11.00am, at midday we will join hands to form a protest line in the sand to say NO to off shore drilling, and YES to clean energy. Wear black to represent the tar balls on the beaches in the Gulf. You can get full details at the Montara Beach Coalition web site or the official ‘Hands Across the Sand’ site. See you there, bring your friends

At the end of Birch Street is a new nursery that has opened its doors for business in Montara. My wife and I paid them a visit today and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and variety of plants for sale. The other advantage with buying plants from a few blocks away is that they are more than likely already acclimatized to the Montara climate. The people are really nice and I wish them all the best in their new venture. Drop by and check them out, maybe buy a plant or two and support your local businesses.

On Sunday, May 23rd, coastal counties throughout California are sponsoring “Save the Whale Day” to raise awareness regarding a U.S. proposed compromise agreement that would legalize some forms of commercial whaling for the first time since the international ban on whaling was approved in 1986. PACIFICA WILL HOST SAN MATEO COUNTY’S “SAVE THE WHALE DAY” ACTION When:  Sunday May 23, Program Begins at 10am and Concludes around 11:30am Where:  Sharp Park Beach Promenade/Pacifica Pier, Speakers Include:  Elizabeth Cataldo, President of the American Cetacean Society, SF Bay Chapter  –  Shari Bookstaff, Biology Professor, Skyline College; Former President ACS, SFBC   – Leland Yee     –  Assemblyman Jerry Hill     –   April Vargas Music performed by:    Dave Crimmen The Pacifica Beach Coalition is partnering with the Western Alliance for Nature, organizers of the event, to collect signatures on a petition that will be sent to the Obama Administration requesting campaign promises to support conservation be kept and a final halt to commercial whaling be committed to through the continuation of the moratorium.   Fourteen other events will be held simultaneously, from San Diego to Humboldt. What you can do:  [Read more →]

Though nearly 7 years of existence the Montara Beach web site has undergone several design changes. It’s just morphed again, this time taking on a more blog/magazine type feel. It’s easier to read and browse than the last version while retaining it’s environmental tilt. Check it out at montarabeach.com.

The San Mateo County chapter of Surfrider is holding a beach cleanup on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 12:00PM – 2:00PM at Montara beach.

The new web site I designed for Liz Anah.

Liz Anah escaped from New Jersey at a young age, never looking back. Her spare, smoky vocal style and simple but unforgettable songs grew out of a journey that included stops in Michigan for school, a pilgrimage to an Ashram in India, and serious hard time teaching in the Oakland public schools. Liz Anah’s music has a kind of gritty innocence. Her songs are direct, potent stories of real-life heartache and shattered love, powered by an indomitable optimism that demands attention. (Excerpt from her website bio).

Liz's new CD realease 'Fade to Black' Photography by K.Stokes

I met Liz Anah through other local coastside musicians, namely Montara locals and good buddies Mark and Mike (The Fourth Street Experience). One night at Cafe Lucca open mike, Liz and I got talking after her set, she knew that I designed Mike McCalls CD ‘The Lone Cypress’ and worked with him on several photo-shoots. She told me that she had a new CD nearly ready for release and that she needed a design for the cover. We took it from there and agreed that I would shoot her for some promo shots and her CD cover and re-design her website to fit in with her new look. I’m really pleased with the result (so is Liz)! Visit the website www.lizanah.com it features several shots from the photo session taken one very cold day around the HMB boat yards. Liz wanted a gritty urban look, but also wanted to retain a feminine feel, I think we achieved what she was looking for. The final CD cover image was taken toward the end of the session in the afternoon light. ‘Fade to Black’ is Liz’s first CD release and you can get hold of a copy on her web site by clicking this link.

Coastal Cuisine. Gone.

Coming home from work last week hungry and too burnt to cook I decided to swing by The Mavericks Roadhouse and pick up one of their tasty burgers for me and the missus. Imagine my disappointment and frustration to find the place shut, or as the website puts it ‘Gone to the beach’ for the season (in this weather?). WTF? Why? This just says to me that they don’t give a monkeys ass about the local trade, tourists are all they care about. The main road sign has even been pasted over with another sign directing any hungry customers to the mothership HMB brewery. So I now have to wait for Spring for the place to reopen, maybe I’ll go to La Costanera instead, wait, it’s Monday they are shut to. Argh!

These shots were taken by me from the bluffs which are about a mile from the wave, thanks to the Canon 600 mm lens my buddy Michael has lent me I was able to get some half decent shots of some of the first heat waves. It’s great to see shots of the pit from a boat close up, but these distance shots really give you a sense of the scale and magnitude of these waves. The surfers truly are modern day gladiators! Enjoy my photos, by clicking the full screen viewer.

I saw this video on coastsider.com and had to share.

Montara Beach Report 2/9 from Kevin Stokes (Coastsider) on Vimeo.

A short video report showing the damage to the sandstone bluffs on Montara Beach sustained during the recent high tides and winter storms.

Here is the second installment on my ‘Waves and Riders’ surf photography series, this time the shots are mainly from sessions shot during the big storms that have been hitting the NorCal coast. I hope you enjoy (be sure to click on the ‘Fullscreen’ button in the middle of the image box to enjoy the work at full size).

Styrofoam covers a Pacifica Beach. Photo © Ian Butler

This problem just gets worse and worse, we must enforce a styrofoam ban NOW. Make your voice heard by clicking here. Take a look at John Mayburys Peninsula Coastside Blog entry by clicking here.

Surfer Bart WIllems attached a cam to the nose of his board and paddled out to catch some waves at Mavericks, great footage, and as close as most of us will ever get to riding one of the waves out there.

Jeff Clark. image ©yahoo.com

In June 2009, Jeff Clark, the man whose name is synonymous with the infamous big wave, ceased to be Contest Director of the Mavericks Surf Contest run by Mavericks Surf Ventures. The sad irony here is that the company he helped form in 2003 to promote and be an ambassador for the wave, the sport, the contest and Mr. Clark himself, seems to have turned on the man who started it all over 30 years ago. Since then Jeff has been very quiet on the subject hoping to settle his differences with Mavericks Surf Ventures and it’s CEO Keir Beidling in private.

Sadly, it seems that Jeff’s vision of keeping the Mavericks Surf Contest true to honoring his spirit and passion for surfing has failed in the face of corporate sponsorship dollars and broken promises. He now has to resort to a legal approach to settle the dispute.

The Mavericks Big Wave contest is still waiting to be called at the time of writing (the 24 competitors now call the start), huge swells hitting the coast promise an exciting competition if Mother Nature allows the right conditions. The question has to be asked, can corporate sponsorship demanding a return on their investment and the true spirt of big wave surfing ever live comfortably together? Personally I think not, especially when Mother Nature holds the ultimate trump card of game on, or not.

Good luck Jeff, I believe you have a solid case. And good luck and safe surfing to all the competitors in the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest!

To read the man’s own words check out his blog Jeff Clark: My Word.

(If you happen to read this post Jeff drop me a line, I have 10 Montara Life questions for you!)

Check out the live weather, swell, and surf updates on the Mavs site, click here.

The big red jolly guy made a surprise visit for the kids at Montara Elementary School over the weekend, he dropped in for a visit riding a firetruck.