a ghostly presence

Low light, bulb shutter and a shaky hand. I kinda like it though! GS keel fish at P-Land, early winter 16. Over the next year i'm going to be helping the boys at Gulfstream with their online content. Really looking forward to getting my teeth into some writing again.

lunchtime

Whenever I travel to surf, it always strikes me how much easier it is to be a surfer in some other places - California and Hawaii are great examples. There's almost always a wave somewhere and generally there's going to be somewhere the wind is reasonably favourable or the bottomshape is strong enough to keep the wave quality ok. I honestly think people in these places wouldn't bother to get in the water in half the stuff we regularly paddle out in. Surfing is just "there" to take or leave as life allows. You don't need to be quite as obsessive as UK surfers often "need" to be

The
point I'm making is how "on it" you need to be to get any good at surfing here. Almost everyone I know tries to keep their schedule as flexible as possible, constantly keeping an eye on the tide and forecast hoping to create a slot of freetime at the right time.

I'm lucky, I work 5 minutes from the beach and whilst I cant always pick the perfect time to get there, I can find a slot most days there are waves. Then its just a case of having a quiver of the right boards in the mobile garage that my van constitutes and hoping the summer traffic isn't too bad.

Lomo LCa picture from just after a springtime liquid lunch

keels are so hot right now...

The third(?) rise of the keel fish is coming, mark my words!

They may have been the design that spearheaded the "ride everything" alternative shape revoloution in the early two thousands, turning plenty of thruster riding shortboarders onto designs with more volume and flow and coaxing longboarders onto something shorter, but the humble keel fish hasnt really been the board du jour in more recent times.

They flat out work though, in a wide range of surf, not just mushy junk waves ( the design was basically born in san diegan barrels) and ive long believed that with a log and a fish as a quiver you've got pretty much everything covered for everday waves.

Auralian Asher Pacey and his self shaped 5'4 along with Ryan Burch and Bryce Young in california have bumped the design back into the limelight. Burch's section (most of which is above) in Psychic Migrations from Volcom in particular shows the keel in bigger more powerful surf than it is often associated with. Burch rips.

Over here Gulfstream make an amazing keel fish. If you havent ridden one, its a design that deserves your attention, whether you're concerned with being "on trend" or not!

decisions

 

Well after what wasnt really a banner summer for surf, autumn continues to deliver so far! Another couple of days of long distance, well organised swell with perfect winds.

 I've spent my sessions on a mix of the two boards in the picture. The 5'8 Larry Mabile twin keel mentioned a couple of posts ago and the 5'2 Tyler Warren Bar of soap. It's been interesting comparing the two boards and also comparing the bar of soap to my SeaPea. The twin keel fish definately carves a turn better and takes more weight through the turn without slipping out but loses out in speed generation and section making. Definately fun though.

The bar of soap, as i've posted before, is one of the best boards i have owned. It's definately got more shortboard influence than most mini simmons, there's no stringer, the wide point is not forward and the bottom shape is roll into a deep vee'd double concave (spiral vee?!) That translates to a board that feels really alive and spritely under your feet with great down the line speed but slightly less smooth flow than the single concave of the seapea. Off the top it's looser and easier to whip through turns, feeling like it really sits up high in the water.It's not quite as good as the SeaPea in junk waves though, it definately likes just a little bit of shape.

 It really just wants to play, just like me!

fish scales and tall tales

 

What with all the SeaPea related excitement, i hadn't ridden a keel fish for ages until the other day. Pretty much on a whim i paddled my 5'8 mabile out on a tiny day, really way too small for anything but a log. It felt tiny and thin compared to a mini simmons despite being half a foot longer. I'd be lying if i said it was an epic session but there was a lot of satisfaction from generating speed and getting a couple of turns in on a tiny gutless wave. In summer everything is fun right?

dharma bums

We had a fun little weekend swell hereabouts, not too busy and fun size. The water has definately dropped a degree or two though. A slightly optimistic wetsuit choice on saturday left me shivering outside the van a couple of hours later. Great to see a couple of seapea's in the water. Looked like they were giving as much fun as mine did on saturday!

In the spirit of sharing the seapea stoke, i managed to finagle a few waves on Thom's Bing Dharma on saturday then a whole session in fun shoulder high beachie on sunday using BGA's new dharma. Both were 5'8

Just in case you are curious, here are my semi-learned thoughts! First thing i noticed was how much more foiled it was than i expected. I had kind of imagined the dharma to be on the mini sim side of the fish but that isn't the case at all. Although there's plenty of foam under the chest, it's really (nicely) thinned out at the rails and nose. The rocker is eally flat and the 5'8 paddled beautifully early into the clean zippers on offer. The other thing that immediatly struck me was the depth of the single concave, you could almost feel the base curving upwards under your fingers as you grabbed the rails to sit up or duck dive.

Once into a wave it felt a lot more "neutral" than i expected, more like a shortboad that wants some input from the rider rather than a simmons or fish that needs guiding but goes immediatly towards its own characteristic line. The tail feels narrower than it is and almost disappears beneath you allowing you to direct with force wherever you want and without having to push or fight to break a line. This shortboard style nature translated to easy backhand surfing and a really fun couple of hours.

That said, it is very fast laterally and will trim past sections almost without the need to pump. I'm sure cheater fives would be possible if you were so inclined..

Not at all the board i was expecting but a really great shape. One that i think perhaps likes a bit of shape and isn't quite the mush buster that the outline photos might suggest. It felt like a quad fish that you could really drive around and get up in the lip - i made a couple of late timed floaters i had absolutley no business keeping my feet on! If you normally ride shortboards i think it might be an easy transition, it's definately more on that side of the spectrum than a loggers shortboard.

Definately one to snaffle another few waves on in the future!

p.s. kerouac = genius

capsule quiver

I, like many people in recent times, am lucky enough to have a reasonable quiver of boards racked up in the shed, covering long, short and several different schools of design thought. Some are bigger favorties than others and there is a gentle cycling through of boards over the years as my tastes, thought processes and surfing evolve. I dont get to travel far to surf and riding different boards at the same few places keeps things fresh but still local in a way exploring new places does for those lucky enough to be time rich and responsibility light.

So i've usually got a couple of boards in the van and i chop and change them bsed on the forecast and my mood. When i do get to travel is when the difficult choices arise. With the usual luxury of a shape for every eventuality, picking one or two boards for a trip can be a difficult process, fraught with insecurities about making the wrong selection. A fortunate dilemma to have obviously!

Over the years i've come to the conclusion that the photo shows my perfect "capsule quiver". I reckon i can have fun in pretty much anything i'm prepared to paddle out in with a skinnyish fish and a single fin log in the bag. Much as i love the mini simmons i've been riding over the last yearor two, their super flat and foamy nature don't give me as much confidence holding in (or squeezing under) bigger faster waves elsewhere. The GS twinnie above (which is heavily influenced by the christenson school of fish shaping) is slight enough to cope with decent size (for me anyway) bowly waves and still flat and fast enough to be fun in punchy small surf.

As for having a log with you, sure they are a pain to travel by air with but if there are small reeling point breaks (or even small clean beach break) on the agenda then a single fin is a must. My current personal taste being for something a little less bulky and more foiled / narrower than i'd ride at saunton.

could it be magic?

Most people will be familiar with the concept of having a "magic board". It's a much used phrase in connection with the ASP world tour and most surfers will feel like they have owned one at some point over the course of their surfing life.

The board in the picture above is one of mine. I pulled it out of the shed the other day and paddled out on it for the first time in ages. Sure enough, once i'd dodged the crowd enough to slide into a head high reeler, my feet found the sweet spot and i started a session full of smooth carves and cutbacks that only a true twin keel will give. Although the design has moved from being "new" (again) into being almost a standard "summer shape" they really are versatile boards and will handle most things the UK can throw at you.

This one is a 5'8 classic keel shaped by Larry Mabile that i brought back from the US four or five years ago (back in the glory days of $2 to the pound!). It's got a more 70's influenced template and bottom contour than the heavily concave bottomed ones that the likes of gulfstream and christenson make.  Larry is not that well known world wide but incredibly well respected around san diego and is one of the best fish shapers you could go to having learnt his craft under Skip Frye at the G&S label many moons ago. He also makes a lovely version of skip's eagle gliders but i think even virgin would baulk at flying one of those back!

I can honestly say i've never had a bad surf on this board, ever! In fact from where i'm typing it is the first "magic board" i've owned. The Bar of soap could be the second, but i digress....... It got me thinking about how much of the magic is in the shape and how much is in the eyes of the beholder? I mean how much of my love for it is in the fact that it suits me, my surfing and the waves i surf beautifully, how much is in the foam? Would it be magic for anyone, everyone?

Proponents of moulded or computer shaped boards will rave about how the technology allows mass production of a perfect prototype with all the flaws ground out by testing but it isn't entirely true since either process only replicates to a certain level of accuracy and the hand finishing, whether by surfer or chinese labor is still influential. In fact, i've heard quite a few people voice the opinion that it's the imperfections in a hand shape/ finished shape that will make a board magic and another of seemingly identical shape a dog.

For the record my fish was a custom order of a "model" Larmo has made for years, i have no idea if a computer was involved!!

a healthy obsession?

So the following was a piece that i originally did for Dan Crockett's kook project but in the end didn't get used. It found a home in Corduroy lines magazine issue 13. Much as i'd love to think everyone who reads this blog has bought a copy, i know that , partly for reasons of geography, plenty of you wont which is why i'm reprinting it here........

We're pretty cool right?

Basking in the reflected glow of the way surfing is perceived by the media. Congratulating ourselves on our status as those in the know. Inducted into a tribe with it's own language, customs and traditions that those on the outside could never truly understand. Pursuing waves for the childlike fun it brings into our lives as we pit our athletic bodies against the forces of nature.

But maybe there's a darker side, a compulsion, a desperate need to repeat the thrills. The tug of the sea ever stronger once the hook is set. As any old sailor will tell you, the sea can be a cruel mistress.

The following is (only slightly) modified from one of the many self tests for addiction to harmful substances or habits found on the internet.............................be honest, i bet you score pretty highly!

Do you often find yourself spending more time surfing than you intended to?

Is it hard to imagine a life without surfing?

Has excessive surfing or surfboard buying resulted in financial difficulties for you?

Do you sometimes feel that something inside you, beyond your control, pushes you to surf?

Do you hide your surfing habits or purchases from family and friends?

Have your relationships with family and friends ever suffered because of your surfing?

Do you feel "high" following a good surf?

Have you tried to stop "over surfing" but been unable to? (e.g paddled out on a day you know will be rubbish just to "get wet"?)

Do you often feel compelled to surf even though conditions are not ideal or you cant afford the time?

Do you feel surfing helps you cope when you are lonely, anxious, disappointed, depressed or angry?

Has your desire to surf ever interfered with work or school?

Do you find that your friends are determined by your surfing habits?

Do you plan your life around surfing?

Do you ever feel anxious about how long it will be until your next surf?

Have you ever failed to keep promises as a result of going surfing?

Sadly not everything we love is as good for those around us....

timmy's trust........

Longtime readers on here will have heard my appreciative comments about Tim Mason's surfboards. Tim is a real craftsman and one of the nicest men you could possibly hope to meet. Tim probably knows more than anyone else in Europe about hull style boards and makes beautiful displacement hulls as well as some lovely casper inspired mini simmons.

What lots of you wont know is that Tim is a real family man and at the end of the last year lost his 7 year old son Timmy after a long battle with cancer. It's such a sad thing that you feel even more keenly when you have your own children.

Tim and his wife Kate have set up The Timmy Mason Trust to help families in a similar situation in the future and to keep Timmy's memory alive.  Their first goal is to raise £5000 to achieve UK charitable status which will really mean they can move the trust forward. They would gladly recieve any donations of course.

To help raise funds, Tim is intending to auction off one of his beautiful boards every month. First up is the lovely Lis inspired fish in the pictures. It's 6'4 and like all of Tim's boards it's a thing of beauty and sure to be a joy in the water. Search my earlier posts to find out how much i rate Tim's shaping!

If you are interested in this board or to see what's available next month check here.

fare thee well friend

Nearly time for Rob Lion of Royal surfboards to wave goodbye to our windswept shores and resume life on the other side of the pond. Opinionated, experimental but a thinker with a passionate surfing heart, although our pathes have crossed only occasionally in a physical sense, each time has been a pleasure and Rob's company is something i always look forward to. Sadly i didn't make it down to the fish fry last weekend, sounds like i missed a great day as well as the chance to say farewell in person!

Good bye and good luck Rob, hope all goes well for you. Make sure you stay in touch!

all this could be yours......

well ok, not the barbcue.........and i kinda need the suit (assuming summer ever arrives!) but the fish could be cos i'm selling it.....

Under the stripy wax it's a 5'9 double bump quad fish shaped by bro diplock drawing very heavily from the Mandala quads (i.e the same computer file!:-) It's a super fun board in great condition but a little bit surplus in the board store at the moment and room is needed so it's looking for a loving home.

more photos and details here

contact me there or leave me a comment if you are tempted.

a fishy business

quiet peaks.......

far from the madding crowd.


Braving the wind and dodging flying surfboards i put my new fish through it's paces. At 5'6 x 20.5 x 2.5 ish it has less foam than anything i've had before, little enough to have given a few worries that i'd gone too small. My fears were unfounded though. It still paddles well and is so responsive and loose it feels like an extension of my feet, coming really square off the bottom and whipping through cutbacks with ease.

It's also the best fish i've ridden on my backhand. The decreased length really lets you feel like your weight is fully engaged on the rail on your bottom turn and it sticks less off the top too. Safe to say i'm looking forward to putting her through her paces in depth over the summer.

oh yeah, it's a gulfstream!

catch of the day

 

The polish on this so shiny and so flat, there's no distortion to the reflection on it at all. Jools nails another class bit of kit. Jonesing to take it for a test drive now!

flying the friendly ghost...

Anyone with even half an idea of current trends in surfing outside the all encompassing thruster movement will doubtless be aware of the emergence of the mini simmons as a new branch on the board design tree. Coming out of the work of Simmons in the late 50's and his adherence to the principles of even earlier boat hull theory, the concepts were rediscovered by Richard Kenvin as part of his Hydrodynamica project. Working with Joe Baugess from much longer simmons originals  and apocryphal stories of simmons riding a styrofoam 6 footer til the windansea shorebreak destroyed it they first made a 9 foot replica in balsa that Kenvin and co. successfully rode in large waves in California and the Galapagos. Then they went shorter..

The result was an epoxy 6 footer quite unlike anything else out there, a seemingly simple shape with decpetive subtleties. This first board was named "casper" after the friendly ghost and started to pop up in photos and videos around the net a couple of years ago. Having been ridden by a number of high profile surfers, all well documented with glowing ride reports the idea caught on and quickly many different shapers began to take the idea and put their own spin on it.

I think it's pretty safe to say that few people in the UK have actually seen one of Baugess original shapes though there are a few UK shapers who are making a version. For the past 6 weeks or so i've been riding the little 5'8 in the pictures and it's very quickly become my favorite board. This one is a Point Concept Velo sim, designed by Ryan Lovelace in Santa Barbara but loving shaped over here by Tim Mason off Ryan's templates.

Tim actually does a very fine copy of the Baugess which is shorter and thicker than this with a more pronounced s deck and has a slightly more complicated bottom shape. My board is bellied to flat to concave through the fins, 5'8 x 22 x 3 but foiled out through the rails. The fins are wood keels but more semi-circular in shape than those for a classic fish.

So after digesting all the hype i was keen to get a feel for the shape people are raving about, and let me tell you it's a hell of a lot of fun!! It's definatley a board that draws lateral lines rather than truly vertical ones on the wave. The feel is probably best described as being like riding a bar of soap. It rolls from rail to rail smoothly and cuts through the water much like the feel of a hull. It's a board you need to get low on as you bottom turn and it feels great in a high line trim. Where it differs from the hull is in turning.The fins are set well back, only a few centimetres from the tail and the board will pivot off the bottom or the top much like a normal twin keel fish. Once you outrun a section it cuts back like a skatey loose fish so you can set up for the next speed run, then repeat til your grinning like a loon and hooting yourself!

 It's much friendlier on your backhand than a hull too. Like a hull, the roll in the bottom gives it a slightly "unsafe" feel as you put it into a bottom turn. It requires a bit of practice to get the right amount of weight on the rail as you start the turn, you almost need to gently but progressively weight the rail but once you have that figured it performs backside too.

Like any board, it loves a clean down the line wave, i've had it out in headhigh and under surf so far and the speed it generates is awesome. Where it really excels, however,  is in junk surf. I can honestly say that a couple of weeks ago i had the best surf ever in 1-2ft sloppy windswell. The combination of effortless speed generation and quick direction change facilitated by the bottom contour and short length respectively give you the ability to chase the open face through, over and around whitewater and maximise the fun in poor conditions. It could be the ultimate junk wave design, as long as you're not a died in the wool shortboarder desperate to live out your slater fantasy for every surf.

While Tim obviously isn't the only shaper who will make you one of these, i honestly think few shapers in the UK understand boards derived from hull principles as well as he does and for something like this you want someone with that knowledge. Ryan, whose original design this is, has a proven track record in these types of shapes with a group of like minded test pilots and Rincon to work out the flaws. Once again not it's not going to be everyones cup of tea but it is a MUCH more functional daily driver than a hull while still retaining the smooth feel and different enough from a Lis style fish to warrant having both in your quiver.

 These shapes are a different branch of the tree than conventional concave bottom shortboards and if you believe Kenvin, are the true ancestors of the modern high perfomance board as well as both skateboarding and snowboarding. Big claims but the proof as they say, is in the eating!

suits you sir

The last couple of months i've been testing this Nineplus stylist wetsuit and so far i'm very impressed. The latest generation of suits seem a real step up in quality from the last nineplus suit i had a couple of years ago. Mostly single lined 3mm Yamamoto neoprene, it's soft, fits like a glove and is supple and flexible too. Seams are glued blindstitched and spot taped on stress points. The "shorts" area in particular feels very flexible, you aren't aware of the seams in this area at all.

Closure is with a back zip and a generously sized "batwing" collar underneath to keep it watertight. It's a warm suit and i'm looking forward to getting my full leg version soon which i'm sure will be even warmer!

The big problem with the Nineplus suits i've owned in the past has been durability but so far it doesn't look like an issue thats going to affect this suit. All in all, stylish, warm, flexible and good value for money.

Velo sim stoke!

Huge, massive thank you's to Tim Mason who battled the traffic to drop off this beauty today. 5'8 Point Concept Velo sim designed by Ryan Lovelace and shaped in the UK by Tim. It's mini simmons-esque but way more foiled than the Baugess caspers with a hull entry into a single concave through the ply fins.

First impressions from a brief session in sort of surfable chest high junk were really fun. It feels very much like a hull crossed with a fish, smoother and more laterally fast than a keel but more user friendly than a hull. I think it's going to go really well in a much wider range of conditions than the hull but still have that feeling of super fast trim.

Proper report when i have a few more sessions under my belt

sunset special

I'm not going to lie and say it was epic. Too high, small, one turn and your done p-land. But the sunset was beautiful and it was just what the doctor ordered tonight.

all a quiver.....

My much trailed ramble on the joys of owning a few too many boards is up now on drift. Nice comments only.........pleeese!

clicky clicky

Lovely photos and helpful quiver caddying from Jamie!