July » 2008 » paul lang photography

Stinky's 7-13-08

Another kiteboarding housing shot, this one of my good friend Kevin “Dog” Murray at Stinky’s on Fiesta Island in Mission Bay.

Support the Mission Bay Aquatic Center

Please visit http://www.missionbayaquaticcenter.com/takeaction.htm to show your support for The Mission Bay Aquatic Center by sending a message to the San Diego City Council to approve the Mission Bay Aquatic Center’s lease. It’s a great place that offers tons of programs. Your support will help the MBAC continue doing what they do for another 25 years.

Info from the MBAC: The Mission Bay Aquatic Center is an educational program that has been jointly operated by the Associated Students of San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego on Santa Clara Point since 1964 with a long-term lease since 1975. Efforts to seek approval for a new lease following more than 9 years negotiations were recently completed by the City’s Real Estate Assets Department and the lease is now proceeding to the City Council.

The Center has a proven and undisputed track record of quality service to a diverse cross-section of the San Diego community for the past 44 years that has included under-served youth, persons with disabilities, school programs, camp programs and extensive educational offerings to university students, faculty, staff and alumni, and members of the general public.

The universities renovated a dilapidated old boathouse, dock and seawall that the City could not afford to operate and transformed it into the world renowned facility that it is today. Proposed changes in the new lease will for the first time provide rent to the City for all non-collegiate users including use by members of the general public. Additionally, the universities’ student programs have agreed to invest over $430,000 for a new solar photovoltaic generating system and family restroom. The solar photovoltaic system will generate 100% of the Center’s yearly electrical use and over the life of the system prevent over 4,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. The family restroom will provide private facilities for persons with disabilities and parents with children.

Show your support at http://www.missionbayaquaticcenter.com/takeaction.htm

Leo Carillo, 6-29-08

I drove up to Leo Carillo to catch a day of kiteboarding and ended up having one hell of a day. The weather was beautiful – warm water, clear skies and perfect 12 meter conditions. I took off for the beach and headed upwind to a few waves that my friend Alexis had told me about. This is where my trouble started.

On the first wave I rode, I fell and lost my board. The board rode the whitewash all the was to the sand, so I followed it in. Little did I know that there were rocks everywhere just below the surface between me and my board. I found myself lying on top of a pile of rough rocks when a wave came in and tumbled me around. As I was in the washing machine, by kite came unhooked from my harness and the harness loop caught on the end of my bar. The kite powered up and I got drug right over the top of the rocks. On top of this humiliation, a lifeguard waded out to me to yell at me that I wasn’t allowed to land at that beach. I got my board back, collected myself, and took off. I went back downwind and got out of the water to check out the damage, finding my body covered with scratches and bruises. My ankles, legs, knees, forearms, and a few fingers were all scratched. They were all minor scratches, and the biggest hit was to my ego.

I went back out, and played a little further out, near the kelp fields. I found one section that was about 30 feet wide and figured that it would be fun to jump. I hauled ass at the kelp, jumped, and came up about two feet short. The board came to a stop as soon as the fins hit the kelp, breaking a fin and fin plug.

After taking a break for a few minutes, I borrowed a twin tip and went back out. I went blasting around for about 30 minutes, and then heard and felt a loud pop while I was in the air on a jump. I crashed to the water, and realized that my harness broke. the webbing on one side had snapped. I rode back in to the beach, landed my kite, and decided I’d had enough.

There was still plenty of wind and the weather was very clear, so I grabbed my housing and swam out to get a few photos of Alexis. After swimming back in, I packed up my broken gear and jumped in the truck for the three hour ride home. Arriving exhausted and beat up, I told Robin about my day. While showing her the scratches on my hand, I realized that my wedding ring was gone. As if I hadn’t had a rough enough day already.

Leo Carillo Kiteboarding