Chamois

Just back from a lightening trip to France for some snow sliding. Chamonix and the surrounding area is so rad. Fun to be back in winter on the same roads and passes that i climbed by bike last summer.

the people switch

 

It's the Easter Hols, at least it is for school kids, i'm still working with no time off for good behaviour! Living in an area that makes much of it's income from tourism, this weekend tends to mark the beginning of the season. I often think of it being when "the people switch" gets thrown since the contrast can be so dramatic. Winter can be fairly sleepy with little traffic and few people around, especially in places like Woolacombe. As soon as easter comes, so do the throngs of families jaywalking through the village, the traffic queues to get through Braunton, the lack of parking spaces to sneak a few waves at combesgate, the bobbing foam flotsma clogging the line-up.

With dry weather and small swell forecast, it's likely this year will be no exception. Time to dust off a big log and a bigger dose of patience!

planing

Jools hard at work in his shaping cave.

It's hard to explain just how difficult it is to cut a decent shape with a planer (for a newbie like me anyway) The foam is so fragile and the planer so aggressive that the tiniest change in angle or speed is reflected by creating a bumo or worse still a gouge....

The best comparison i can make would be trying to carve sonmething out of florists oasis with a dremel tool! Steady hands and a good eye are the bare minimum.

Hope everyone got some fun fathers day waves over the weekend. There certainly were a lot of people in the water. In the end a bit of patience was rewarded with a slightly smaller but quieter session. I rode my pointy squire log which hasn't been in the water for a while. It's pretty different to a proper log and a nice alternative to a three fin longboard in bigger waves. Despite having the wide point back of center, the roll in the bottom and the flexy fin give it an almost hully feel to the bottom turn. Especially if you get low and crank it over. There's a nice pivoty drive to it's cutbacks and the 17 nose really makes you work for your tip time. It's an unusual but satisfying board to surf.

Monday was a beautifully fun logging wave, small glassy and perfect for the if6was9 log i've been favoring recently. Boots off too!

The rain may be back today but it's my birthday and i'm going surfing!!!!