Last Friday, the Watermen Crew headed east to the rolling green hills of Ramona, CA, to enjoy a day of friendly competition and team building at Velocity Paintball. After several hours of sweat and mud, the entire crew was ear to ear with smiles. At first glance, this ‘field-day’ felt like an above-average way to get out of the office and enjoy the fresh air. A cool winter day provided the perfect temperature to enjoy a thorough dose of exercise, but the benefits don’t stop here. Each round of paintball was an excellent opportunity to communicate and strategize with each co-worker. Every individual improved their ability to present a strategy and execute with clear communication. Without the cohesion, each team would face a stinging barrage of paintballs.
Communication is Key
Members from the sales team, marketing department, customer service, and shipping came together with new strategies and approaches each round. Even our technical support team from Crypto IT, joined us in some knee high grass and eucalyptus to show us a thing or two and share the laughs. Highlights included our CEO avoiding all shots, as well as an impressive performance from our newest member to customer service.
These simple skills are transferable to every work place, especially Watermen, where we take pride in our close-knit community and the customers we serve. Without our level of customer support and communication, we would be another average competitor in the swimwear and apparel space. So, on that note, give us a call, and let us know how we can help!
By now, we are back to the office to fulfill your latest suit order. Thanks for working with us over the years, and let us know if you want to join the next round of paintball! Also, check out the Olive Windansea Hoodie – it helped our sales team stay a little extra camouflaged during the paintball.
A week into 2023 and a series of north pacific storms provided the largest swell to hit California in years. With the proximity of the storm, most big waves and outer reefs were too wild, so the mission was simple; get north of Los Angeles to some fickle point breaks and other areas that rarely see any size of swell, let alone a predicted 15 foot swell.
3:30am
After departing the Watermen headquarters in the dark and driving a few hours north, we arrived to watch the sunrise at a classic rock boulder point that has the potential for large ruler edge lines and punchy scraping barrels. The Large raw swell was slightly overwhelming the point, but still manageable, with large double ups and long racing walls breaking up and down the large boulder field. Waves would taper off down the point, only to merge with another line of swell and double in size as they pushed further into the small cove. Within a few minutes of paddling out, we were trading off waves amidst a small crowd, pulling into shallow sections and flying down the line on large bowled up sets.
6:30am
Dawn patrol at a fickle, boulder-ridden righthand point break
9:30am
As the tide peaked a couple hours after sunrise, the swell backed off slightly, creating longer, more organized lines from the top of the point into the bay and the crowds came by the dozens. Feeling very content with our uncrowded dawn session we caught one more wave in and headed south to food and lesser known points that could possibly be in rare form.
High tide and mid-morning late comers push us to the next wave
10:30am
Just like clockwork, we arrived on site at another ‘fickle’ right point that was breaking in multiple spots along the point, with big walls racing off the rocks into a large sandy bay. Huge mounds of water were coming in consistently, with the opportunity to connect one of these waves 100’s of meters down the shoreline, through a variety of steep sections, and big swinging walls of water. Each of us took turns sitting deep out the back for a taste of the larger bombs, before sitting inside the rocks and swinging into large steep green wedges. With arms tired, and legs muscles burning from pumping through endless sections, the barrels became less make-able, and a light breeze began to ripple the surface texture. After a couple hours at this ‘un-mentioned’ point, we packed up and hit the road in search of one last miracle. With a few hours of light left, we had enough time to check Rincon and nearby spots. As the tide bottomed out and hundreds of surfers poured off the highway into coastal parking lots, hoping to take advantage of the unique conditions.
A lesser known point converts the large swell into long bending lines
Racing down the line on a freight train right
2:30pm
After an hour of poking around, the search came to a halt at a lesser noted right point break, with the strength and direction of the swell offering unusually long lines over mussel covered boulders and patchy sand. One last change into the wetsuits and we were running down the coast highway to our third session of the short winter day with salt in our eyes, and smiles wider than our sunburnt mouths could handle. Although the Largest swell to hit California in years did not necessarily translate to the largest waves we surfed this year, it did offer an incredible opportunity to score some fickle and lesser-surfed points with considerable size.
5:00pm
Sales team member Ryan admires long lines of swell bending around a point at sunset.
Every Watermen suit comes packed with tech and is made to last, season after season. Check out our 2022 product highlight video to learn more about the Watermen line!
Let’s state the obvious here, this is one wave you’ll dream about forever and our crew is stoking to surf it. Chicama is best known for having the longest wave in the world, then you can mosey over to Pico Alto for one of the biggest waves in the world, not a bad place huh? Don’t even get us started on the food there, ceviche for days… Maybe not the “American Dream” but sure as heck the “Watermen Dream”.
We’ll land in Lima take a jumper flight to Trujillo, and by that time the froth sets in. Once we are in Trujillo we hitch a ride to Chicama, the trip usually takes around 45 minutes, give or take how hungry we are. Start the days off with some eggs and bacon, hop on the zodiac and surf until your thighs are too sore to move.
Why do we do this to our bodies? Why do we travel to the ends of the earth all for a wave? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you, but here at Watermen we are hooked on that feeling. That feeling of adventure and being in the ocean, and what better way to travel than with your favorite crew? Maybe we could do without Ryan, since he is notorious for snaking waves.
Next month’s newsletter will have some pictures from our trip. I imagine a few stories of mishap and casualties, more than anything tales of one of the best waves around the world. But for now, we will leave you at the edge of your seat wanting more…
