a fraction of fun

I'm in the process of writing a feature for drift on the joys of owning a quiver. This isn't all of them but more than enough for the snowmen to choose from!

drifting round point concept

Super stoked on my latest piece for Drift, an interview with the talented young shaper Ryan Lovelace with pictures by the equally talented Morgan Maassen.

Check it out here, click on the concept crafts feature

Go Jools!

So not my pic but stolen in a good cause. (i think it's from wavedreamer but i'm not sure) Some of you will already have heard me bang on about the quality of Gulfstream's boards, well now it is official, shaper Jools Matthews was voted best fish shaper in the UK in Carve Magazine's shaper's poll. Votes were cast by 35 different UK shapers and by a couple of thousand people online.
So congrats to Jools, it's well deserved and anyone in the market for a new fish (or log or anything else) would do well to give him a call!

support your local shaper!

old toy, new toy

Current fave fishy, a lovely 5'8 Larry Mabile classic keel & the wheelbarrow my grandfather made me when i was five. Was supposed to be a tighter shot but caught out again by the holgas quirky viewfinder!

the skelton

He'll probably hate me for posting this but......

Skelly, a true local underground legend, surfs better than you, rips on everything from a vintage 60's bilbo to a modern thruster, has one of the largest collections of vintage boards in the country, learnt to play the concertina (really well) for a bet, ex world bellyboard champion, Gulfstream shop manager, spear fisherman, true friend and someone I respect a huge amount. His name would have been all over the mags if he was interested in the recognition but he prefers a simple life with as much water time as possible.

The pic is from midtide, midmorning Saunton, the board is a 5'8 twin keel, shaped by Rich Pavel in exchange for a fish and chip supper when he visited here a couple of years ago. Legend has it that this board and it's 5'4 successor are virtually the only boards Rich has completely handshaped in recent years. Either way they both fly under his feet.

fish frenzy

head over keels

Over the last four years i've been nursing a serious obsession with fish, particularly those of the keel variety, there's just something about the feel and rhythm they produce as they move down the line, drawing lateral rather than vertical lines. This beauty was my now departed 5'10 gulfstream, copied from a fish shaped by jimmy blears just after he won the 72 world contest, complete with glue on rubber leash disk. My current fave is a magic 5'8 Larry Mabile classic keel replete with double foiled ply keels and a glass job to die for, definately a keeper and a board that i can honestly say i have never had a bad surf on.

Weirdly fishing does nothing for me, probably something to do with my inability to sit still!

one for tommy...