Seichan

Last day of my official work holiday - got some really small but glassy waves yesterday at Hakashita, riding the 9'1" for the first time in a long time. Super fun and I learned a lot.

今日は会社の休み終わりますのに、昨日のあさに朝小さくてきれいななみを乗りました。久しぶりに9フットを乗って、波の乗り方を習いました。すごく楽しかったです。

Today's subject is Seichan Beach, a popular, almost exclusively shortboard spot. I say "exclusively" not because of any localism, but because the wave just breaks so vertically and hard that riding a longboard there is just dumb on most days, especially on the north sides of the two jetties.

今日のテマはセイチャン海岸です。セイチャンにとって人気なショットボード場所です。ルングボードは大丈夫だけど、セイチャンの波が強くて直立にブレイクしているので、ロングボードを乗るのが一般的にセイチャンでロングボードを乗るのがほとんど無理と思います。

Seichan is located in Komiyasaku in Kashima, about 1 km north of Oritsu and Hirai, just off of route 255. I'm not sure if it's called Seichan because of Seichan Shokudo (Seichan restaurant, a little ramen shop) or if Seichan Shokudo is named after Seichan beach... but that's what they call it.

鹿嶋市の小宮作のセイチャン海岸は下津から約２ｋｍくらい北へ行くとあります。国道２５５号の右肩にあります。僕は「セイチャン海岸」と呼ぶ理由が分かりませんが、せいちゃん食堂も近くにあるから、多分関係があるのかな？

There are two access roads to the beach. One is right in the rear parking lot of Seichan Restaurant, the other one extends east off of the Akashi stop light, just before the 255 joins the 51.

海岸は入口が二つです。一つ目はせいちゃん食堂の駐車場の後ろにありますが、二つ目は明石信号の東へ入った所にあります。

Here's the Seichan Restaurant and its parking lot:
この写真はせいちゃん食堂と駐車場です。

Now from this beach you get a T-shaped tetrapod jetty that breaks on both sides, though the North is more popular, breaking big and fast into a beach that drops off quickly.

この入口からT字のテトラポッドがあります。両肩でブレークをしますが、北側の方が人気です。波が速く深くなっているの砂浜へ強くて速くブレークをします。

Hakashitanatomy

This is the beach I surf at most often. It's the place I learned, and IMHO the best all-round spot in the area. It has areas that are good for longboarders, good for beginners, and there are some spots up in the middle that are more suited to shortboarders. It's often crowded, but it's also big enough so that you can paddle far enough to eke out your own territory.

ここは僕が一番よく行っている海岸です。初めてサーフィンを習った場所だし、どんなサーファーにも乗りやすい場所です。ロングボードや初心者など使いやすいし、ショートボーダーにも乗りやすい場所があります。

From time to time the sandy bottom will shift, and the break will change - but since beach break is what we're used to we adapt.

時々海の底の形は変わっていますが、波も変わっています。でも、ビーチブレイクには慣れているので、僕たちはそれに適応することができる。

First, let's introduce you to the jetty, or the "chairlift", as I like to call it. On most days, but moreso on an North/East/Northeast swell day, the waves will come in and form this rip current that will just pull you out to the waves.

まずは、テトラポッドを見て下さい。僕はこれを｢チェアリフト」と呼びます（笑）。※スキー場のリフト
普通に波が来たら、リップはサーファを波へ引きます。

Word of warning for the uninitiated - this current isn't the strongest, but it's still a current and it isn't about to stop for anyone. If you find yourself caught in it, turn left and paddle out of it - it's only about 3-4 meters wide at its biggest. I didn't know this and was almost pulled out to sea one evening. Sun was going down, I was getting tired paddling against the stupid thing. . . ah newbie memories.

注意ですがこの海流はあまり強くないけども海流ですから、全然止まらないです。困った状況になったら、左に回って海流から出てください。海流の広さは３－４メートルだから、出やすいです。初心者の時に僕はこのことを知らなかったから、ほとんど海の中へ引っ張られてしまいました。

Nice little summer thigh-high waves:
穏やかでいい夏の波だ！

And here it is in late March, post-typhoon, breaking pretty much at the end of the jetty:
今年の三月の下旬です。台風の後でテトラポッドの一番遠いところで波がブレイクをしています。

This is the entrance to the beach. Be respectful to the graveyard and the local residents, do your best to follow official (and deemed-as-official by local residents) parking regulations and for pete's sake take your garbage with you.

海岸の入口です。この墓と近所の人に敬意を払って、車を止める時にルールを守って、ゴミは必ず持って帰ってくださいね。

First Post 8.14.2011

Hey all, this is my first surf-related blog and I hope you’ll realize from the postings, questions and terminology that I’m still quite green and comment accordingly. I’ve been surfing here in Kashima, Ibaraki, for about 3 years now and am just starting to get my sea legs. Started out on a 9’1″ and have since moved up to a 7’2″ funshape and am getting better with turning, catching waves and staying out of bad situations, of which I’ve had a few.

My aim with this blog is to become more well-versed in weather and wave terminology and for that I’m inviting any and all communication with the more well-versed. As well, I’d like to provide detailed information in English about our area – since surfing is HUGE in Japan, there are tons of really good Japanese language blogs on the subject. We used to have a real guru living here, and he gave me a ton of good (life-saving at times) advice, but he moved back to NZ with his family.

It’s been an unseasonably large swell lately, mostly related to that typhoon system that hit Southern Japan in the last few weeks. Seems like things are back to pretty much normal August conditions.

Lately, I’ve been trying to get used to Seichan Beach because it was more exposed to the southern swell that we were receiving, but when things got too intense there (i.e. can’t get outside for the life of you because of a big board and an impenetrable wall of foam) I switched back to Hakashita, which is more sheltered by Hirai, the harbor and the big tetrapod jetty. Had a couple of epic days there that made it seem like February. Nice offshore winds, regular sets just piling in non-stop.

I’m going to try and post something in Japanese now – my beautiful wife will likely edit and make fun of my terrible diction, but what the hell, this blog is about learning.

皆さんへ

こんにちは！このブログは私が初めて作成するサーフィンについてのブログです。僕の文書を読めば「初心者だ」と思うと思います。正解ですよ。僕は茨城県鹿嶋市に三年間サーフィンをしていたが最近よく出来るようになっています。9フットボードで始めましたけど、今年7フットのボードに変えて乗っています。

僕の目的はサーフィンと天気の用語を習って、この場所の波・天気のコンディションを案内して、サーフィンの先輩に会って話したいです。コメントを頂ければ、うれしいです。

最近鹿嶋の小宮作のセイチャン海岸で乗っていましたが、台風の海流は時々荒すぎたので、その代わりに平井の墓下海岸へ乗りに行きました。セイチャン海岸はタトラポッドが少ないので、波が荒いが墓下海岸は多くのテトラポッドがあるため、波は落ちついています。墓下では最近の海流はと風流もがよかたから、コンディションは最高でした。

日本語でも作文を書きますが、日本語でも初心者ので妻は作文についていじめて正しますが、このブログの目的は習うですね。

よろしくお願いします。