The Most Rediculous Post

What board looks best under your arm?





WTF right? Well yeah I know, but since nobody is reading this blog I can be stupid without getting caught.

So I was looking at old photos and thinking how cool those old 70's era single-fin boards look under the arm. Guys standing at the waterline with drawn out spears held loosely under one arm gazing out to some tropical line-up.




Image from iconsofsurf.com

That mental image doesn't always match the awkwardness that results when the boards are being ridden. Sure, in perfect waves they go great, but ever tried to cut back on one? You have to plan ahead and make a reservation. Once you've done a cutback you're dead in the water and need to pray to Poseidon that the wave picks you up gently and gets you up to speed before the lip catches up. Don't even think about rebounding off the whitewater, not gonna happen.

I've ridden a 7'-ish spear built back in the mid-70's and enjoy the ride. Of course I have a hard time negotiating the drop competing with better surfers riding shorter boards with modern rockers. But if I can sneak one in at just the right time, and it's got a wall to ride, that board is fun. Of course at the end of the wall if I want to cut back, well, that's a different story. It's better sometimes to just kick out and not look back. (That next section wasn't gonna be good anyway.)

I think this is part of the reason I bought the Bonzer I have. It's got similar lines to the 70's single fin guns. It also has me struggling to make late drops. Of course the bonzer does maintain speed a bit better on a cutback, but maybe that's because it's shorter and I can bring it around quicker, staying in the pocket better... hmmmm

Can't Surf?

My board quiver is noticeably missing a Kiteboard or a Skateboard or a Snowboard. These are all options to get a boarding fix when the ocean just isn't cooperating. For me I'd rather use my extra money to buy more surfboards than get any of these other boards. That leaves me with few options during times such as these when I can't figure out how or where to go surfing.

One option is board repair. Bad surf is usually a good time to repair all those minor dings that aren't worth fixing if it means missing waves. My problem is that I have nowhere to do board repair at home so I either have to sneak into work on the weekends and try to do board repair without being spotted by the boss, or drive 1.5 hours each way to my parents house.

Another option is to go shopping. For the most part I hate "shopping." I see it as a rich persons diversion and wasteful beyond forgiveness. By "shopping" I mean wandering around looking for something you didn't know you needed or just trying to find some way to spend your extra money and time. Why did I mention it? Well shopping for surfboards is something I do when ever I can't surf. Even if I don't have money I'm always looking around at what's out there. As soon as I have $300 extra saved up I start looking seriously. By the time $500 is in my pocket I've narrowed my search down to like 5 boards and I'm ready to pull the trigger. It's a disease and it's only cure is to surf until I don't care any more.

Where I "Shop"
http://www.mollusksurfshop.com/ dodge the hipsters to find something interesting
http://swaylocks.com/ mostly researching what's out there.
http://craigslist.org/ maybe I can make it work even though you can't
http://surfysurfy.blogspot.com/ mostly just dreaming
http://www.hesssurfboards.com/ seriously dreaming

Of course I could always spend a day looking for a nook or cranny that's picking up some swell and isn't getting worked over by the wind.

What do you do when the onshores have been blowing for weeks? Or the ocean is dead flat?

Post Surf Trip Ramble

The Junod did the job. We posted up at a long left hand point break in Mexico. The swell was changing the whole time we were there so we got to see many faces of the place. First few days were solid overhead and long lined up all the way through. The Junod had the speed I needed to just stand there and make most sections, but loose enough to drop around the occasional overly eager section.
A few days later there was a NW on top of the S and the size dropped to shoulder to head. The NW caused the sections to be a bit faster. On my backside I couldn't do the thruster style tic-tac and had to move off to the shoulder to the other side of the top section. I borrowed some 550 vector Futures and put in a tiny trailer riding the board as a Twin-ish with trailer. This gave me solid drive off the bottom and more holding power if I was to get caught by the section and try to rail grab pull through the white water.
Last few days of the trip the south was warbly and sectiony. Shorter rides but gave me a chance to try to get tubed on the bowly sections. I had a couple dump on me once inside so they sorta counted, but since my eyes were closed expecting to get killed I'm not counting them. Backside on high tight barrels when I don't get tubes, ever, isn't easy.

Overall we got offshore winds and 8 strait days of good morning surf. I got a chance to work on my backside riding, and I'm definitely getting some larger side fins for the Junod, maybe not 550's, but I'll have to do more research on what all fins are available from Futures since there website is lacking details. Standing on the inside rail for speed made it hard to wrap around and do a cutback without some foot movement. I attribute part of this to the tail width of the board, but it was something I was starting to account for as the days ticked by.

Want to know where I was? Well, here's a hint, square burritos. I'll give more to someone who shows me there's first.

Oh, photos. Well the resident photog wouldn't start shooting until later in the morning when I left the water and the rippers had taken over. There was a traveling photog who got several shots of me, but when she gave me a DVD it was blank when I got home! She also got video and said she'd email it later so maybe I'll update then. Or, more likely, I'll see how big of a kook I look like and not post any photos. :)
The photog was part of this group http://www.gringoinvasion.com/, they're a fun loving bunch of travelers on a bus trip to Costa Rica.

Long Rambling Pre Surf-Trip post about nothing in particular

Leaving for Mexico this Friday, mainland, Pacific side. I'm bringing the Junod because I'm guessing I can ride it in just about everything I'd want to surf anyway. If I bring one board I can cram it in a board bag with the other guys and pay for 1/3 of the total, $50. OR, I can bring a second board and my own board bag and pay $75 each way. I can think of too many reasons to bring a second board and too many reasons not to. I think I'll have to go with my gut and bring the Bonzer.

Why? Cause I think that my Bonzer is similar to the Russ Short models that the Campbell brothers are making now (narrow tailed Light Vehicles) and I saw some fun looking footage from the 70's of Russ Short in Mexico.

It's possible he was in the same region I'm going to. I'm not thinking it's a karmic connection, I'm thinking he was getting good rides on a board similar to what I'm considering bringing. (It also helped that I had a fun session on the bonzer just a few days ago.)

Still haven't packed, not even sure I can get these two boards in the board bag I have. The only forethought I've had was I ordered this super expensive sunblock that's supposed to be actually waterproof. Dr. Martins of Maui. It's about $5/oz after shipping! but it claims 30spf and 20spf after 6 hours in the water. If it works I'll get a lot more waves since I wont have to get out of the sun at 9AM only to return after 5pm. I may be able to add a few hours of surf per day!

Not sure if I'll bring a camera, maybe a disposable waterproof one, but those are only good if you get REALLY close to the object of the shot, and I don't want to be hanging around the impact zone trying to take photos of my friends surf when I could be surfing.

I'll be taking the surf mat and a pair of flippers. That lets me body surf and play around on weak waves or onshore wind blown point breaks. I think I'll be covered as long as it's not huge.