Downing-Hennessey

 Who?

Thickness is where? Behind the mid-point?

Not a gun, but tapered template.

Fin box allows for experimentation.

Some delam on the deck where hands go when making the drop will be filled with resin. A few other open dings will get proper treatment before getting it wet again. I picked up a glue-down leash loop so I don't have to glass one on before surfing the board at least once. 

Tangent. On the East Side of Santa Cruz I went to 4 of the 5 surf shops and only found one single glue-down leash loop. One! Are people not buying old boards anymore and trying to ride them? I know "too cool" surfers are still getting longboards without leash loops. When us normal people buy a cool guy's board, we need leashes!

I'm interested in this board because of how different it is from the Lightning Bolt style boards of this era. It has a relatively wide tail, and thickness behind the mid-point. It's similar to Bolt boards with the wide point forward and the domed deck to flat bottom making for hard, down rails. If it's fun to ride I'd love to put a pigment layer of resin over the whole board. Something white-grey similar to the modern Velzy pig I did repairs on a little more than a year ago.

Spanked

The conditions were great for "at the limit" Tres mile. I opted for the Channin 8-ft something pipeliner. My last surf at this spot on this board was great with smooth slides into big long walls. The next session on the board was at Scott's, and wasn't so good. I had trouble getting waves that day, and surfing that reef with low tide and some chop made it even harder. So, with those two data points in mind, I really thought I was going to have another great session back at the spot that went so well before.

I didn't.

This time the waves were breaking harder. This time I tried to surf a different part of the reef. This time there were more people to contend with. And finally, this time I had bad luck.

The waves were breaking harder and I thought I could handle it. I paddled up to the top of the reef where the drop can be more sudden, but the section to surf was hollow. I swear I saw a make-able barrel, and its rare for any barrel to appear at this break. I worked my way up to the top and tried for a few smaller waves to get my first wave of the day. After missing one, a set broke out the back. JB had been sitting further out and over to the shoulder than where I was trying to catch a small one. He barely made it under the first wave and I took the broken wave on the head. I knew there was no way to fight through the mess so I let them hit me and tried not to drift to far in. The waves kept coming, maybe 6 in the set, and I just washed in to the calmer inside waters. When the set finally passed I paddled sideways to the channel and worked my way back out.

I sat on the inside bowl to catch my breath. I missed a wave or two and got ants in my pants, so I paddled back to the top where JB was. This time I didn't make the mistake of trying for smaller waves and instead waited for a set. JB got a good one, and then a big set it. I tried to make it over but once again I took a multi-wave underwater ride to the inside. Again I was patient and waited to get over to the channel. This time JB was sitting on the inside bowl and I had given up on the outside point. I sat with him and even though it had only been an hour, he said he was ready to go in. I told him I wanted to actually ride a few waves before going in. After about 10-min waiting for waves, a sense of unease hit me. It wasn't "shark," but I don't know what it was. The big waves had me being careful, but I wasn't scared. But now I didn't feel right. I told JB I changed my mind and was ready to go in. He caught a good one on the inside bowl, and more were coming. I tried for one but the nose lifted and I got pushed out. The next one was good two and I was in okay position, so I tried for it. The inside bowl often stands up then rolls for a bit before breaking. This one never backed off. I made it to my feet but they landed on the tail and although I made the drop I was completely out of control. I looked at the wonderful big wave breaking off in front of me just before I fell.

I let the white-water wash me into the beach where I caught up with JB. And that was it. One wave that I got to my feet and then nothing else. Another humbling experience served up by the Pacific.

On the other hand, JZ picked up a used board for me, JB got it from JZ, and then brought it to me. It's a 70's era Downing-Hennessey. I don't know anything about the shaper(s). It's interesting to be because it has the early 70's down rails but more of an egg or funboard outline. Single fin, sunburnt, dinged up, and delamed. I'm going to get it water-tight and surf. I'd like to make it look pretty, but I'm not sure I have time. Too many other "to-do" items I also want to do, but just don't.

Normally to big

 I arrived in the pre-dawn light as was happy to feel the calm air. It's also wasn't all that cold for a mid-January dawn session. The buoys read 10-ft, so I went to the spot that should be at its limit with long head+ walls. What I found instead was waves smaller than expected. I really wanted to ride a particular board, so I went up the coast where the waves should be bigger.

The next stop found the "small wave" situation was spreading. Also, the morning sea surface had more junk on it that expected since the wind hasn't been blowing all that hard lately. I continued north to a spot I have been avoiding because it's normally to big and crowded. What I found was some waves in the size range I wanted to ride. It didn't look great with the tide in the wrong range and the sea sickness here to, but there was nobody out and the breeze was offshore. I drank more coffee and convinced myself I really needed the exercise and to ride this board before selling it. I went out to see if I was wrong about the board.

The waves were pretty shifty, hitting several different parts of the reef. Some breaking and rolling along with such a short shoulder I couldn't hop it to get in. Others bowling and throwing the lip before I could get down the face. I honed in on waves that were swinging wide, bowling, but kind of rolling awhile before breaking. Even with this user friendly take off I was struggling to catch waves. Those I caught I was so late in I struggled to make the drop. I ended up with one ride and a lot of frustration before paddling in to the inside and letting the waves wash me to shore.

I wasn't done and I swapped boards to try the Channin. I had a good time on it last week and tried it out to see how well I could get it to work in different conditions. The waves had cleaned up and gotten better, and with it the crowd had increased. It wasn't crowded, but I no longer had my pick of the waves. I got one good wave that I rode conservatively. I didn't make turns or push myself, and I was excited to catch another and try to get a better ride. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It was partially because I was sitting far out to avoid getting hit by the occasional bigger set, and partially because the right spot to catch waves had a handful of people. I continued to try to find a wave that missed the group, but I never got another ride. Again I paddled to where the waves could wash me to the beach and called it a day after a solid 2 and a half hours.

It felt good to surf somewhere else, it felt good to try different boards, and if felt good to be in big waves without to many people around so I could push myself and make mistakes without feeling like I was at risk of hurting anyone else. I'm now convinced I want to sell the board and I've lowered the price and added more photos. I also have another session on the old Channin and know how it feels a little bit better. So even though I didn't feel like I surfed very well, I feel good about the day.

Redemption

My last two trips to the beach had been disappointing. Luckily, I redeemed myself on Saturday.

The first thing I need to talk about is forecasting. This year I've wanted to surf some bigger waves, but the run of swell we've been having meant I needed to look for windows when the swell got small enough to surf. Sure, I could have surfed in town Santa Cruz. But I've really been feeling great surfing the less crowded spots north of town, outside the protection of the Monterey Bay. Many of the spots I want to surf have been overwhelmed when the swells peak. Imagine 10-ft closeouts 100-yards wide. That's at the more protected spot that doesn't focus the energy!

So, with Sunday forecast to be "big" big, I opted for Saturday afternoon during the tail of an outgoing swell . I'm glad I did too! I scored Tres for a few hours with it being at it's limit, which means 8' makeable sets and 10' closeouts every once in awhile. I tried something new, also. I pulled an 8'6" 1970's era single fin gun out of the rafters of the garage. This board hasn't been waxed in decades. It was shaped before leashes, it's a hair narrow of 19" at the widest point forward of center, with a long taper to a 3" wide little tail block. It's got a blocky shaped fin, hard down rails of the era, and is at least 3" thick through a large portion of the board. I wasn't sure I could even surf it, but I'm open to new experiences.

Paddling out was a bit of a challenge because I could only duck-dive 1-2' of whitewater when the wave was half broken. I couldn't get it deep enough to dive under a real wave. With the biggest sets closing out the channel, I waited for the ocean to calm before jumping off the ledge. Even so, a few snuck through and hit me in the channel and I wondered if I was going to make it out to ride a wave. Luckily I did and took some rest in the channel and watched the line up(s). I took my first wave on an inside bowl off the edge of the channel. It was 6' and I was able to get in early. I kept telling myself to go easy on the flat tailed single fin and not try to make any sudden turns. That mantra helped and I eased into a gentle bottom turn and made the wave. It also helped me deal with the narrow board and not over-react to the rail-to-rail speed the board has. I found that at speed, the board is really stiff and just wants to go in one direction. A gentle turn can be made, but waiting to bleed off some speed made the board looser. I caught a few and then everyone left. I couldn't use my normal lineups, and being alone made it really hard to get into position. But waves kept coming to me and I kept getting rides anyway. I did well catching a handful and not falling. JB finally showed up, but the waves were coming less often. A dozen shortboarders filled in the waves breaking at the top of the reef while we stayed over waiting for some to swing wide. I did finally make some mistakes with one late enough that the lip hit my back before I could stand and I belly rode to the shoulder. Then another that I didn't read correctly and drive the nose strait to the bottom and kept going. All in all though, I did okay.

Overall it was a good session that helped me feel like I'm not a total kook. JB was kind in telling me how great he thought my waves were. I'd really like to see how I was riding because it felt like I was way on the shoulder for all the waves, and like I was moving in slow motion. Not slow across the wave, but my turns were slow. Anyway, I'll ride this  board again, and maybe try it at some of the mellower big wave spots I've been watching. The forecast has another window of "small" waves this weekend, so I may get a chance at it if the weather holds.