Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hurt in backflip by I.B. pier

"Had to spend a week flat on my back”

Paloma Aguirre Bacalski: “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo.” - Image by Kevin Stuart.
Paloma Aguirre Bacalski: “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo.”

Name: Paloma Aguirre Bacalski

Age: 40

From: Imperial Beach

Sponsored
Sponsored

Location: Imperial Beach Pier

Occupation: Coastal and marine director for Wildcoast

Paloma Aguirre Bacalski was one of about 12 that paddled out in honor of Doug Bradley last Monday (January 29th) by the Imperial Beach pier.

At about 10 a.m., Aguirre-Bacalski caught a 1-2 foot wave on her Science bodyboard. “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo,” she said. “A 360 spin is basically what it sounds like, a spin but in opposite direction of the wave and a rollo is when you do a flip off the tip of the wave and land in front of it.”

Aguirre-Bacalski’s family lived in Puerto Vallarta in the early 90s and this is where she taught herself how to bodyboard. At the time, she was 16 years old and the only one in her city that “sponged.” She has bodyboarded in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca and at Baja Malibu (north of Rosarito). “The heaviest and scariest [surf for me] was in Pascuales, Colima Mexico,” she said. “It is one of the heaviest beach breaks in the country.”

At times, she surfs on a longboard and paddle boards, but loves bodyboarding the most. “I think it’s extremely fun, you can take off on heavier waves (than surfing) and can get deeper in the barrel.”

Sometimes, her neck locks up due to a super-gnarly wipeout that occurred on the north side of the pier back in 2007. She attempted a backflip off of a wave to land in front of it, but “I landed in an awkward position and suffered two vertebral subluxations,” she said. “This means they shifted a bit out of place and I had to spend a week lying flat on my back.”

The IB Pier and the entrance point by Seacoast Drive are Aguirre-Bacalski’s favorite surf spots, so much, that in the last 12 years she’s been advocating for clean water in the border region.

“I work to prevent and mitigate sewage spills that generate across the border and work locally with agencies to ensure beach water quality monitoring is the best it can possibly be for Imperial Beach.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Paloma Aguirre Bacalski: “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo.” - Image by Kevin Stuart.
Paloma Aguirre Bacalski: “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo.”

Name: Paloma Aguirre Bacalski

Age: 40

From: Imperial Beach

Sponsored
Sponsored

Location: Imperial Beach Pier

Occupation: Coastal and marine director for Wildcoast

Paloma Aguirre Bacalski was one of about 12 that paddled out in honor of Doug Bradley last Monday (January 29th) by the Imperial Beach pier.

At about 10 a.m., Aguirre-Bacalski caught a 1-2 foot wave on her Science bodyboard. “I like to do a reverse 360 spin into a rollo,” she said. “A 360 spin is basically what it sounds like, a spin but in opposite direction of the wave and a rollo is when you do a flip off the tip of the wave and land in front of it.”

Aguirre-Bacalski’s family lived in Puerto Vallarta in the early 90s and this is where she taught herself how to bodyboard. At the time, she was 16 years old and the only one in her city that “sponged.” She has bodyboarded in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca and at Baja Malibu (north of Rosarito). “The heaviest and scariest [surf for me] was in Pascuales, Colima Mexico,” she said. “It is one of the heaviest beach breaks in the country.”

At times, she surfs on a longboard and paddle boards, but loves bodyboarding the most. “I think it’s extremely fun, you can take off on heavier waves (than surfing) and can get deeper in the barrel.”

Sometimes, her neck locks up due to a super-gnarly wipeout that occurred on the north side of the pier back in 2007. She attempted a backflip off of a wave to land in front of it, but “I landed in an awkward position and suffered two vertebral subluxations,” she said. “This means they shifted a bit out of place and I had to spend a week lying flat on my back.”

The IB Pier and the entrance point by Seacoast Drive are Aguirre-Bacalski’s favorite surf spots, so much, that in the last 12 years she’s been advocating for clean water in the border region.

“I work to prevent and mitigate sewage spills that generate across the border and work locally with agencies to ensure beach water quality monitoring is the best it can possibly be for Imperial Beach.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.