OC Weekly picks the SoCal Surf Forecast as “Best of OC 2009”!

Totally out of the blue…my little surf forecast got selected as one of the “Best of OC 2009” by the OC Weekly.



Naturally no one at the Weekly bothered to tell me that I won anything (they probably just didn’t want me crashing the awards party)…but I am pretty stoked nonetheless. I haven’t actually seen the paper but my section is probably wedged somewhere between the Cannabis Club and the Escort ads. Anyways…just thought I would share.

Check out the online version when you get a chance…

http://www.ocweekly.com/bestof/2009/award/best-surf-forecasting-blog-538155/

Thanks OC Weekly!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Hey gang…it is hard to believe but it has now been 2 years since I started doing this little blog.

It first started out as a companion to the other more traditional forecasts that I was posting over on Wavewatch…but I quickly found that it gave me a lot more freedom, and more importantly was a lot more fun, to change up that boring old format with the blog style that you guys are reading now.

928 posts later we are still cruising along.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for making it another great year of doing this…seriously all the support and kind words that you guys and ladies send my way is incredible…you guys have made it an awesome experience.

I am definitely looking forward to the next year…the forecast and the website are going to keep evolving, hopefully in your eyes getting both more useful and more entertaining as we move along. I don’t want to build this thing in a bubble though…I want to have it shaped by all of our needs as surfers and waveriders…so please don’t hesitate to send feedback, ideas, suggestions, crazy mastermind plans for world domination.

Thanks again

Cheers!

Adam

The SoCal forecast blog and the future

First off I wanted to give a huge thanks to you guys for the support...a lot of you have sent some amazing emails (so many that I haven’t had a chance to respond to them all)...and to be honest it is a little overwhelming. I am so stoked...this is really a reminder why I love doing the forecasts and the blog.

Ok that is enough talking about my feelings...let’s get down to some thoughts on the future of the forecast. But before we get too deep I want to make a few things clear.

1. The SoCal Forecast that I post on this blog will continue.
2. I would like to grow the site into something even more useful.
3. I want it to be free.

I first started this forecast blog about 2 years ago with a couple of ideas in mind...I wanted to be able to create a surf forecast that was accurate, fun to read, and still contained enough detail for everyone (from beginners to seasoned vets) to get a few waves when the swells arrive. With your guys’ help I think I have done a decent job.

I think I can do better...there is still a lot of stuff that I think that the site can offer. More tools, more details I want to be able to dial in the forecasts to a County-level. I would love to set up a few “quality” morning surf reports for the most popular spots (not at the “secret” or crowd-sensitive breaks).

When you get right down to it...I guess I really want to create a solid resource for Southern California Surfers, and not just from a forecast standpoint but from a surf-community standpoint. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but surfing is supposed to be fun, and I want to make a cool site where we can all have a little more fun.

In a perfect world I would love to make this website a full-time job. Unfortunately it isn’t quite there yet...it makes a little revenue from the google ads, (thanks for the clicks by the way), but the site doesn’t quite have the traffic to make it on advertising alone, particularly if I want to grow the site.

I am not going to go the subscription route...you guys shouldn’t have to pay for a surf forecast...especially when everyone’s wallets are taking a hit.

I am going to throw a “tip jar” on the site...it will be the Paypal donate button over on the right-hand side of the page. Or if you are getting this post in a email you can click this link.

Click Here to donate

By no means am I expecting anyone to donate anything...the site will continue along as usual...but if you dig the forecasts and/or you are interested in growing the site feel free to help out.

Also I am working on getting some swag put together (Hats, Stickers, T-shirts, crap like that)...if anyone donates more than $30 I will make sure that you get a fun-pack of stuff.

Thanks again for all the kind words, emails, and support over the years!

Cheers!

Adam

Adam Wright
Surf Forecaster
Socalsurf.com