Summer in Winter!...

(Will Rogers Tower #6 area, Jan. 25, 2012. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.)


(Will Rogers Tower #16 area, Jan. 24, 2012. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.)

Mid 80's?!... in January?!... and a High Surf Alert?!... No, you are NOT dreaming!

That's right, as previously announced yesterday:

Winter Storm/High Surf Warning!

It will be here..., Thursday, Jan. 26th and El Porto and other west and northwest facing beaches are going to get SLAMMED!

http://local.msn.com/bulletin.aspx?q=Marina+del+Rey-CA&eid=20332&zip=90292

Excerpt:

HIGH SURF WILL IMPACT THE COAST LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. * SURF...BREAKERS WILL BUILD TO 6 TO 8 FEET BY LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THE SURF IS EXPECTED TO SUBSIDE TO 4 TO 6 FEET BY LATE MORNING FRIDAY. THE LARGEST SURF WILL BE ON WEST TO NORTHWEST FACING BEACHES. * IMPACTS...LARGE BREAKERS IMPACTING THE COAST WILL CREATE AN INCREASED RISK OF DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS AND SNEAKER WAVES. ..."

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"Ocean Wet Daily: East Coast Report", by Tom Thorson

Just in from LACo Recurrent (Ret.), Tom Thorson, from the East Coast who through the winter continues to kayak in the early morning despite cold temps.

On Jan 23, 2012, at 9:28 AM, Thorson, Tom E. wrote:

"It was around 18 degrees... perfect kayaking weather... 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground... but the JJ kayak was ready."









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*** All Photos by & Copyright Tom Thorson 2012. Used here with permission.

Thanks to Tom for sharing his photos and remarks with all of us. And for his exceptional example of staying ocean fit despite the cold temps. So all of you
snowbird recurrents charging in the powder this winter... no excuses!

10-4

Until next time.....



"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Stormy Saturday in Central Section...

Dateline: Saturday, January 21, 2012.

As the rain storm continued to pelt Los Angeles, the on shore wind and salt spray was heavy at the beach until past noon. It cleared up thereafter but stayed windy on shore thru till sunset.

Enjoy!









Below, OLS John Zimpelman, on duty and on patrol on Santa Monica South this morning...








Below, OLS and Central Section Call Car Crew member, Patrick O'Neil, at the switchboard at CSHQ late this morning...


Dusk along the bluffs above Will Rogers Tower #8 at Temescal Cyn. Rd. earlier this evening...


The sunset this evening...


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10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

"Pelican On Duty", by Tom Thorson

(Photo by & Copyright Tom Thorson 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used here with permission.)

Dateline: San Pedro, California
Tuesday morning, Jan. 17, 2012

In an exclusive interview with "County Recurrent" News, Veteran LACo Recurrent Lifeguard/Photographer/Father/Grandfather, Tom Thorson, captured this amazing photo above of an absolutely Ginormous California Pelican early this morning on a set of nets down by the waterfront in San Pedro. This Pelican is clearly not missing any meals. These nets are not getting stolen, that's for sure!

Clearly, Top Dog, er, Pelican, this Monstrous Pelican laid claim to this bundle of nets and as Tom approached to get a closer look at it, the Pelican raised its wings and actually advanced on Tom ! Whereupon having gotten this shot, Tom retreated to a safer distance. After all, he is back on the west coast visiting one of his daughter's who just gave birth to his fourth grandchild, and in this case a grandson, namely, Nicholas Robert Kruse, born Jan. 13, 2012. Apparently, there are two more grand kids in the oven, er, on the way too. Enough Thorson's to make the Norwegian Gods shed tears of joy.

Congratulations, Gramps! And Thanks for letting us share your great photo of the King of Pedro Pelicans with all of us.

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

("So.Cal.Sunrise". Photo by & Copyright Tom Thorson 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used here with permission.)

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

"Josh Williams Extreme NorCal Rescue", by Tom Seth

Just in from LACo Lifeguard Captain Tom Seth!

"Josh Williams' Extreme Rescue" by Tom Seth

"I am writing to let you know of an extreme rescue that occurred in October 2009.

At about 7:30 am, on Saturday October 31st, off-duty LACo Ocean Lifeguard Joshua Williams paddled out for a surf at the south end of Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

The surf was 12 feet and the wind was blowing off shore by 10 mph creating perfect but dangerous conditions. The only problem was the dense fog allowed only 50 yards of visibility.

Joshua entered the water, battled the relentless over-head shore break, and paddled through the deep water rip current area to the barreling peaks on the outside. He caught a couple waves and had not seen another surfer but as he sat on his board waiting for another wave he thought he heard a distressed voice coming from much further outside. Joshua paddled toward the voice and soon realized that it was a desperate cry for help. As it happened, another surfer had paddled out and as soon as he got to the outside break he was caught by a set. A number of waves broke on his head with one of them snapping his leash and sending his surfboard to the beach. The surfer was then pulled further off shore by a rip current and the hard offshore wind.

When Joshua reached the victim he was a quarter mile off shore in a state of panic, he had swallowed some water and was having trouble keeping himself above water. Joshua pulled the man up onto his surfboard to rest and calmed him down for about 10 minutes. Luckily by this time the fog had started to lift and they had close to a quarter mile visibility. Joshua pulled the victim in to just outside the surfline and waited for a big set to pass. He timed it perfectly, paddling hard for shore with the victim holding on to his feet and made it through the break before the next set. He muscled through the rip current and again timed the shore break perfectly between sets. A couple of surfers realized what was happening and met Josh in waist deep water to help. On the beach Joshua received a hero’s welcome by a large group of beachgoers that had found the victims surfboard at the shore line and feared the worst.

The following letter was sent to Surfline.com by the victim and published as the letter of the week.

LOCAL NEWS:
Letter of the Week: A BIG thanks to 'Josh' for helping me out this weekend at Sloat in SF. On a big OH/DOH day, my leash snapped. I took a couple on the head and started to take on water. I was a little panicked and started looking for help. A bro by the name of Josh swam over to calm me down and help me back to the shore. I just want to send him a HUGE thanks and a big debt of gratitude. A little humbling to be put in such a position, however, I'm glad he was there to lend a helping hand. Thanks, Josh for bringing me back to the shore and pulling me out of the pit! Scott from SF

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Many Thanks to LACo Lifeguard Capt. Tom Seth for sharing this story of Josh Williams extreme rescue in the waters off San Francisco. And a Huge Shout Out of Kudos, Props & Way to Kick A** off duty and save a life by LACo Recurrent Lifeguard-Paddler-Surfer, Joshua Williams.


(Photo above shows Josh Williams, front and center, seated and wearing a green sweatshirt and hoisting twin victory hand signs. Summer 2009 Venice First Place Intracrew Team. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire.)




(Photo above shows Tom Seth, at right, with fellow lifeguard-competitor, Mel Solberg, June 2011 at Torrance Beach at the Annual Jimmy Miller Foundation Lifeguard Competition. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2011.)

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Winter Storm Warning: El Porto!

Dateline: Saturday morning, January 7, 2012.

So we all know that El Porto rages on a west or northwest swell and so the rumor mill spread the word that E.P. was going off this past Friday and Saturday. Without any further delay the entire editorial dept. of "County Recurrent' hustled together its camera equipment and hauled a** down there. We will let the photos that follow tell the story...

"Strafing Dockweiler"


"Winter Storm Warning"! You are now entering EL PORTO! Check out that Peak offshore!










LACo Lifeguard Captain Greg Lee, in his wetsuit, ready for action. How stoked were we to see that this crew working El Porto and Manhattan Beach were being led by one of LACO's Finest!


L2R at Rosecrans, OLS Jamie Orr (on duty) and OLS Jessie Simon, just returning from a workout after having tested his surfing chops in the west swell pounding El Porto and No. Manhattan Beach


OLS Jessie Simon is "all over it" with a pair of binos and keeping an eye on a few sketchy surfers...


And here is another treat! According to Jessie Simon, shredding across this double overhead wave below is Shane Gallas, son of Veteran LACo Recurrent, Diane Graner Gallas (of the infamous Graner Clan of lifeguards, watermen and firefighters, etc. et al)


OLS Jamie Orr assisting OLS Cosmo Flynn (off camera) change out 02 bottles... these guys are really on it!


This Seagull owes its life to a concerned beach patron AND most of all to the surgical skills of Cosmo Flynn and a pair on narrow nosed pliars that removed a tangle of nasty hooks from a fishing lure.


Nothing like a "Breakfast Sandwich" at Wendy's Cafe in El Segundo afterwards along with the L.A. Times showing LACo Recurrent/Pro Surfer, Matt Mohagen, in triumph after charging a huge wave on Jan. 7th at the El Segungo Jetty (L.A. Times, Jan. 8, 2012, Section AA, LATEXTRA).


caveat: we also note here, for the record, that we are informed, however, that LACo Recurrent, Arthur C. Verge, Phd, prefers the Blue Butterfly Cafe around the corner on Main St.

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*** All photos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012. All Rights Reserved.

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News


Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

"County Recurrent" Grapevine FYI

(CSHQ, Friday, Jan. 6, 2011)


(Venice Pier, above, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 around 10:30 a.m. Note Baywatch rescue boat off north side of pier; and below in close up)




(Swell revealing itself on north side of Venice Pier, Friday morning, Jan. 6, 2012. Gonna be another minus tide after 2 pm today. -0.5).

Just in via the proverbial lifeguard grapevine.... with respect to known Permanent Lifeguard (OLS, Captain) Transfers and (Re)Assignments for 2012... effective Jan. 8, 2012:

Transfers Across Sections:

• OLS JVD (from Central) to Rescue Boats - Del Rey

note: no worries to the Central Section Competition crew as JVD will still be eligible to compete in Central Section.

• Capt. John Larson (from Central) to Zuma

• Capt. Roger Murray (from Central) to So. Section

• OLS Tito Bourget (from Central) to Rescue Boats

• OLS Dave Carr (from Central) to Zuma

• OLS Spencer Parker (from Central) to So. Section

• OLS Patrick O'Neil to Central (SMS) (from Zuma)

• Capt. Ken Haskett from all over to Central (Venice)

• Capt. Brent Katzer (from Zuma) to Central

• OLS Alex Vicente (from Zuma) to Central

Area Reassignments:

• OLS Rick Solomon to Venice

• OLS Rebecca Gilman to Venice

• OLS Lidia Barillas to Venice

•  OLS Eric Wylie to SMS

• OLS Eric Howell to Venice

• OLS Matt Pennington to Will Rogers

note: All OLS and Captains referenced herein are former LACo Recurrents. Just sayin'...

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All photos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012. All Rights Reserved.

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com


Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Happy New Year!

We begin this new year with a very special photo taken on New Years Day 2012 off Waikiki showing a pod of dolphins. Photo above courtesy of LACo Recurrent, Jeff McConnel. Photo by & Copyright Sebe Saenz de Santa Maria 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used here with permission. Thanks Jeff and Sebe! 10-4.

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Additionally, how about the following shot from So. Section on New Years Day!?... by none other than veteran LACo Recurrent/Surf Guru, Kip Jerger?!...


"New Years Day 2012". Photo by & Copyright Kip Jerger 2012. Used here with permission. Per Kip: "The shot was taken January 1st. At Ainsworth Court in Redondo on the south side of Redondo pier."

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We thought we would also pass along a great parable forwarded to us recently by veteran LACo Recurrent, John "Matty" Matesich, as follows:

From: John Matesich
Subject: Two wolves ..... as told by the old Cherokee
Date: December 31, 2011

"This is probably the best I've ever heard life explained!"

TWO WOLVES

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:

"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied,

"The one you feed."

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Thanks Matty! 10-4.

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Happy New Year!




(Photo source: the two preceding sunset shots were taken from the bluffs above Will Rogers Tower #8 on Jan. 2, 2012. Photos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.)

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

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