locals only

 

Shannon and Vaughn heading out for some small zippers in early spring.

After the great Saunton car park debacle of  the end of last year, the new barriers are in but the jury is still out. As of the time of writing its not running that smoothly with the cams failing to read some number plates, especially when the sun is low and big queues at the machines meaning some people are getting charged for extra hours parking because they are queueing for 10 minutes. To be fair, on quieter days the system is working so far.

I hope they get it sorted and crucially put some more pay machines in because things are going to get ugly as the proper summer crowds arrive later this month!

HB CP

Another year........ older - yep, wiser - maybe..........

introducing the slim pig......

Introducing the new Gulfstream Surfboards Slim Pig!

This one is 9'4 x 17.75 x 23 x 16.25 x 3 Flat rocker, wide point behind centre, a little tail kick, subtle nose concave and a tiny amount of roll in the bottom but really soft, pinched rails the whole length. Its a refined foil and fairl;y slimmed out, its not a chunky pig shape

Designed for a greenough 4a style fin. (This one is a mikey detemple 10 inch but its practically the same as a 4a).

Gulfstream's finishing just gets better with a part polish, geometric cut tail patches and a gold leaf logo.

The idea behind it is moulded from the shapes that people like Devon Howard, Harrison roach, dane Peterson and alex knost have been riding over the last few years and it borrows heavily from a board that Randall of if6was9 shaped that has been my go to log for the last two years. The idea is to get away from a parallel railed noserider that is hard to turn and bring a bit more performance (involvement!) to your surfing without sacrificing the traditional lines on a wave and a loggy feel. Moving the widepoint back does two things. It gives more surface area for the board to lock into the pocket for nose riding and it helps the board rotate under your feet when turning. this coupled with a slimmer fin than a traditional noseriding template means a more manageable board in steeper waves and harder turns when you are cutting back.

Whilst you might think a narrower nose would compromise nose riding ability, in a steeper wave it actually works in your favour by increasing control and allowing the board to get more parallel to the wave.  The narrower front end also reduces swing weight which helps your turns once again

 We've been lucky to have had some clean summer waves to test it in and Jools has definitely nailed it with this model, believe me it noserides really well, locking in really solidly and with a good trim speed from the nose. It turns superbly too. If you are after something a little different to a saunton foil or something that will cope with faster beachbreak waves, the this is a great choice!

the retreat

brooding

terminus

 

End of a film roll, end of a long day, end of a swell.

see-land

So i've been working on a new log with Jools at Gulfstream ready for summer. More details to come soon - it's going to sit as a model in their range as a nice counterpoint to the saunton foil.

The place in the picture has had a big hand in it's template and  the direction my prefered longboard shapes have taken over the last few years, coupled with the worldwide move by loggings stylemakers away from the paralell templated Nuuhiwa style logs and towards those more informed by Pigs, Nat's magic sam, Greenough's 4a template and the Australian involvement movement.

beauty

This could be on of the most beautiful sunsets ive ever seen, from Avoriaz at Easter

feeling fishy

 

While i was waiting for the superchunk to turn up i got right back into riding my keel fin fishies. Bang on trend obviously since Burch et al are being filmed riding them again. They are super fun boards - not as good at generating speed as the mini sims but much more able to carve a tight line through cutbacks. Even though the boards in the picture are superficially from the same branch of the design tree, they're actually quite different. The larmo on the right is rolled into vee on the bottom with double foiled keels. It's super smooth and flows like liquid along a wave. A real San Diego fish. 

The GS 5'6 is more heavily influenced by the fish Chris Christenson makes with much more performance built in. It's skinnier with a deep single concave through the fins, a harder edge in the rail and single foiled keels. It needs more push in the wave but it squirts speed more readily when you pump and allows a muchm more aggressive approach to cutbacks and moves off the top.

80's technology is fun

 

Latest addition to my camera quiver is an old polaroid camera and some impossible project film to go with it. It's fun so far.........

superchunky..............

 

New quiver addition 5'4 x 20.5 x 2.5 Mandala Superchunk. Beautiful foil to it like Manny's boards always have. All i need now is for the onshores to die so i can get it wet. I'm hoping its going to have some of that simmons drive mixed with more fish style carving turns without the skateyness of the seapea / bar of soap.

log jam

 

Log jam at doheny. A busy sunday but a mellow crowd and some fun wave coming through. Always a pleasure to surf in boardshorts!