bonne anniversaire

Happy Birthday to my little bean!

dreams burn down......

Last one of the four shots rescued from the expired film debacle. Seems like a long time ago now, back when summer still seemed a promise of good things to come and not the damp, grey cold reality we've suffered again.

Incidentally the random post title is from a Ride song that my ipod threw up. Shoegazing was a huge musical trend there in the early nineties but most of the bands are long forgotten. Made me smile to hear the intro to "leave them all behind" on Steve Clevelands last movie. He always picks good soundtracks i think.

measuring up....

Jools from Gulfstream takes a closer look at a mini simmons

just add sprockets

Turn the volume up, close your eyes and chill to the honeyed sounds of Real Estate.....

arrifana

 

thirty degrees and a foot of glass

an authentic story.....

[TRAILER] The Avthentic Story from Avthentic Films on Vimeo.


I've just been watching this new little dvd from talented frenchman Rudy Jacques and it's really pretty cool. Least it made me want to go surfing and thats a pretty good test of any movie i always think!

It's 40 mins of artfully shot french logging with a handful of oher stuff thrown in. Rudy would be the first to admit that Thomas Campbell is a huge influence and it shows clearly here, there is a definate feeling of the seedling being a strong point of reference.  Dismissing it as purely derivative would however be unfair and would be missing the originality and gallic flair that Rudy's filmakers eye exhibits.

Most of the surfing is by guys you wont have heard of (although Clovis donzinetti is in the latest vans duct tape comp) and most of the waves are under head high. It will probably redefine you're preconception of French beach breaks - it's not all thumping barrels, summer offers trunkable logging waves as well as the obvious attractions of ace seafood and fine cheap wine. I think my two favorite sequences are the body surf/ paipo session and the guy cruising on a frye fishsimmons at the end.

What really pervades the footage is a sense of fun and an absence of pretence. This "authenticity" is a thread that runs through all of Rudy's work and it's something i know he regards as central to it.

Bottom line, i really enjoyed watching it. Head on over to avthentic.com to get a copy and see for yourself!

red boat

Pretty idyllic view from a restaurant terrace at Salema in the Algarve. Pointed and shot between mouthfuls of fine fresh seafood washed down with vinho verde!

lest we forget

Tudor is rightfully venerated for being hugely influential in the second rise of traditional style longboarding but in current times it's easy to forget the contribution made by Robert "wingnut" weaver.

Back when Tudor was still all about pink wetsuits and tri fin longboards and Knost still thought his dad was the coolest surfer in the world, wingnut was cruising blackies on a single fin, taking his style cues from edwards and company. He did a huge amount to popularise riding longboards, particularly in a traditional style and not least by riding a log in everything the endless summe 2 shoot threw at him

It could in fact be argued that wingnut was one of the direct catalysts to tudor seeking out single fins and black wetsuits as the 90's wore on. Sure his personality and ceaseless self promotion grated with many as did his latterly association with surftech but he should still be remembered by todays loggers for his influence, despite not having the same "cool quotient" of others.

Oh and he still has one of the best drop knee cutbacks in the business!

handmade

So if you're anywhere near Hayle / Gwithian on the 8th or 9th sept, James Pary's second annual Hip wiggler single fin invitational is happening along with schmoozing oppurtunities with the Bing people. It's kindof the low key Brit eccentric version of Joel's duct tape contests and is bound to be a fun time. Hopefully the weather will be kinder for spectating this year!

Bing, Matt Calvani, Elliot Dudley and Mick Rodgers will be demo ing boards at Saunton from 8 on the 15th sept then hanging in the Nineplus shop in braunton from 12 and at a special film screening at the surf museum that evening. The museum is also hosting a bbq / old board meet with them at saunton from 11 on the 16th september.

Finally, Rich Mcgonical and friends are organising the european fish fry at Crackington on the weekend after (22nd sept) Should be fun and great to catch up with Rob Royal!

Today's reccomended is sound track...... Handwritten by The Gaslight Anthem, shades of springsteen only cooler....

the life of jai.....

 

Really stoked to post a link to my latest piece for drift, an interview with aussie noseriding maestro Jai Lee. Super big thanks to Jai for making an interesting subject and to Dane Peterson and Thomas Robinson for the great images. Thats one of Dane's above!

 

check it out here

 

Also i forgot to put a link to the phone cases from the post above, check them out here

going overboard.......

 

A couple of years ago I paddled out at a small, inconsistent but quiet Rincon to share the lineup with a couple of dolphins and a man talking on his cell phone. It somehow struck a jarring note in such a beautiful natural environment.

 I've always quite liked the fact that paddling away from the beach takes you away from the stresses of modern life and a waterproof phone case has not been something I've sought out for just that reason. That said I do like snapping the odd photo and the idea of being able to post watershots to instagram does appeal so I was stoked to get sent the new overboard iPhone case in exchange for posting a review.

It retails for between £15 and £20 and is essentially a phone sized heavy duty vinyl bag with a simple plastic clamp closure. It comes with a lanyard and a bag of silica gel to deal with any condensation issues and looks well made and well presented.  Overboard market it as a way of protecting your phone from accidental spills overboard or into the pool although it is rated for a depth of 9 Metres. It's small enough to tuck into your wetsuit and not get in the way. It's easy to use, lightweight, watertight and allows you to use the touchscreen of your phone through the plastic, so its perfectly possible to post tweets from the line up in real time if you feel the need. 

Once I'd stopped worrying about my phone drowning ( overboard wisely suggest you test each case empty first!) I managed to snap a couple of cool little pictures as you can see.

 

 

 

Overall it's a good product without a negative i can think of, other than not being able to leave your phone behind when you paddle out!  I can see a huge potential for people whose jobs require them to be "on call" but not at work if the surf is pumping!

 

the handplane five

Karl Mackie lives a couple of hours west of here. As well as making rad little hand planes, he takes some lovely photographs (like this one) and is just about to launch his own little shaping label, Born to the sea featuring among other things, his mini simmons which, from the photos at east, look like little beauties