FALL

There are two ways to know that Fall—which is actually our summer—has arrived on the Monterey Peninsula. First, and most important, cool grey skies and fog have been replaced by morning sunshine and a warm, off-shore breeze. Double down on that with some weekend West swell and the promise of high quality surf, and voila! ... summertime blues are dead and buried.

And second—which is actually fifth—the Monterey Bay Aquarium has put another Great White shark on display. As of this morning, No. 5 is cruising the million gallon Outer Bay exhibit, and you might be able to catch a glimpse of her here.

The first white shark ever displayed in captivity made her public appearance at the MBAQ in August of '04 and, with the exception of '05, each year since has seen a new one, always in August.

Wait... actually, there's one more way to know that Fall has arrived. Today is Jackie Sanders birthday. HBD Jackie!

BLUE

Where else but Lake Tahoe can you find this shade of blue? That's right... nowhere.

Wish you were here?

Yeah, me neither. And so, with Category 2 Hurricane Bill—soon to be Cat. 3, probably today—bearing down on the Caribbean, Marie and I opted out of our tropical vacation plans and successfully avoided 111 mph winds and whatever they are throwing around the skies near St. Martin.... which is almost directly in the path that spinning monster.

The Dolphin Race

Racers ready... heading out...

Last Sunday's Dolphin Race—the first of its kind in Carmel—went off about as smoothly as could be expected. Considering that the event organizers (Brian Mullen, Mike Jones, Brent Allen, myself and a few others) threw the whole thing together in only six weeks, and that the sunny/clear conditions we hoped for were replaced by fog, low visibility and unruly swell out in the open ocean, it's slightly amazing that nothing went seriously wrong. Looks like a good time was had by all, and we expect next year's event to double in size. Congratulations to all who raced and huge thanks to everyone who helped.

Jarrett Winter, 1st Unlimited Class, and 1st Overall

Brian Spear, 1st Stock Class

Joe Beek, 2nd Stock Class

Brian Mullen, 1st 14' Class

Mike Jones, 2nd 14' Class

Noelle Mosolf, 1st Womens Class (2 Mile Race)

Josh Pederson, 2nd Unlimited Class

Me, el Mikexican, yo... 3rd Unlimited Class

Tired and stoked.

In my backyard

This Sunday, August 9th, I will finally be racing the paddleboard at my own beach, in my own backyard. Well, in the Ocean, technically, but you know... it's my piece of Ocean. Instead of getting up pre-dawn and driving an hour or more, while the coffee attempts to kill the butterflies in my gut, I'll simply roll out of bed and roll down the road, through Pebble to Carmel. I'm looking forward to getting to the beach early, checking out the conditions, checking out the state of the kelp beds and plotting my course for maximum efficiency from a variety of elevated vantage points—the home course advantage. The gun goes off at 8am.